Other sports

Tennis

Venus Williams helps U.S.

shut out Belarus in Fed Cup

After hitting her first competitive serve in five months slightly long, Venus Williams relaxed, recoiled and fired off another that was too much for Anastasiya Yakimova to handle.

Williams' comeback was off to a good start that got better as she teamed with Liezel Huber for a 6-1, 6-2 doubles victory over Yakimova and Darya Kustova that capped a 5-0 Fed Cup first-round shutout for the United States against Belarus on Sunday in Worcester, Mass.

"It was perfect conditions," Williams said.

Williams' teammates, including younger sister Serena, had already secured the victory and swept through four rounds of singles in the best-of-five event. That relieved any pressure Venus Williams might have felt in her first match since she withdrew after the opening round of the U.S. Open because of an autoimmune disease.

The fatigue and joint pain of Sjogren's Syndrome weren't issues for the 31-year-old Williams, who said she felt great and hopes to ride her comeback all the way to the London Olympics this summer. She is not certain when she will be ready for singles play.

Top-ranked Victoria Azarenka of Belarus sat out the event. The Australian Open champion has a back injury.

Skiing

Mancuso wins in World Cup

Julia Mancuso of Squaw Valley, Calif., won a super-giant slalom in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, for her first World Cup victory of the season and sixth of her career.

"I thought when I crossed the finish line, 'If that wasn't good enough, then I don't know what is,' " the 27-year-old Mancuso said.

Lindsey Vonn of Vail, Colo., skied off the course and did not finish — one day after taking a downhill for her 50th career victory.

The Vonn-Mancuso weekend sweep was the first time two different U.S. women have won World Cup races on consecutive days since December 2006, when Vonn and Mancuso accomplished the feat in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.

Mancuso won Sunday in 1 minute, 20.50 seconds. Anna Fenninger of Austria was second, 0.13 seconds behind.

Baumann takes men's event

Romed Baumann of Austria held off a challenge from promising Alexis Pinturault to win a World Cup super-combined race in Chamonix, France.

The 26-year-old Baumann, who earned his second career Cup victory, led Pinturault by 3.27 seconds after posting the fastest time in the downhill run. He did well enough in the slalom segment to win by 1.10 seconds.

Motor sports

Villopoto wins in Supercross

Ryan Villopoto of Poulsbo became the first Supercross rider of the season with two victories, winning the main event Saturday night in Anaheim, Calif.

James Stewart of Haines City, Fla., was second.

Villopoto leads the Supercross Class standings by three points over second-place Chad Reed of Dade City, Fla.

Elsewhere

• Short-track speedskater J.R. Celski of Federal Way placed third in a World Cup 1,500-meter race in Moscow in 2 minutes, 22.656 seconds.

South Korean Noh Jin-kyu won the event in 2:22.326.

• Wenatchee's Tyler Farrar, riding for the Garmin-Barracuda team, placed fourth in the opening stage of the Tour of Qatar. Belgian Tom Boonen of the Omega Pharma-QuickStep team won, covering 88.55 miles in 3 hours, 11 minutes, 32 seconds.

• Game On Dude beat Uh Oh Bango by 5 ¼ lengths to take the $200,000 San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

Game On Dude, a 5-year-old gelding trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Chantal Sutherland, was competing for the first time since running second to Drosselmeyer in the $4.545 million Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 5 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Game On Dude ran 1-1/8 miles in 1 minute, 46.88 seconds and returned $2.60 on a $2 win bet in the Grade II San Antonio.

• Hansen, last year's North American champion 2-year-old male, is among 397 early nominees for the Triple Crown Series for 3-year-olds, which starts with the May 5 Kentucky Derby.

• Gymnast John Orozco of New York won the Winter Cup Challenge on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

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