Safina shocks Henin at German Open

Sports Digest

May 9, 2008

Top-ranked Justine Henin was upset by Dinara Safina, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1, yesterday in the third round of the German Open in Berlin.

Serena Williams breezed to her 17th straight win, ousting Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-3, 6-1, to reach the quarterfinals. Defending champion Ana Ivanovic struggled past Sybille Bammer, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, and third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova lost to Alona Bondarenko, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Fourth seed Jelena Jankovic advanced, 6-2, 6-4, against Maria Kirilenko, along with No. 7 Elena Dementieva, who beat Vera Dushevina, 7-5, 6-3. Tenth seed Agnes Szavay defeated No. 8 Marion Bartoli, 7-5, 7-5.

Henin's loss to the 17th-ranked Russian followed a 6-2, 6-0 drubbing by Williams at the Sony Ericsson Open last month.

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Henin returned from a month off with a knee injury hoping to restore her confidence on clay in time to win a fifth French Open title.

• More tennis // Andy Roddick and James Blake advanced to the quarterfinals of the ATP Rome Masters, marking the first time in six years two Americans reached the final eight. Roddick beat Simone Bolelli of Italy, 7-6 (5), 6-3, and Blake rallied past Fernando Verdasco of Spain, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2. Top-ranked Roger Federer defeated Ivo Karlovic, 7-6 (4), 6-3. Others advancing included Novak Djokovic, Radek Stepanek and Nicolas Almagro.

• Pro football // Cleveland Browns linebacker Willie McGinest says the 2008 season will be his last. McGinest told SI.com that he wants to finish his career on one last playoff run. "This will be it," he said. "This will be my 15th season. I've worked hard; I think I've done everything I set out to accomplish."

• College basketball // West Virginia said men's coach Bob Huggins was taken to a hospital in Charlotte, N.C., for precautionary reasons after tripping on an airport tarmac and hitting his head on the pavement.

• Pro soccer // Cuauhtemoc Blanco's 30-yard strike in the second half helped the visiting Chicago Fire (5-1-1) beat slumping D.C. United, 2-0. United has its worst seven-game start (2-5-0) since 2003.