The biggest losers at the Rome Masters on Saturday were the fans.

One after the other, Andy Roddick and Radek Stepanek quit shortly after their semifinal matches began.

Roddick pulled out with a back problem after falling behind 3-0 in the first set against Stanislas Wawrinka. Stepanek stopped while trailing Novak Djokovic 6-0, 1-0 after appearing affected by the heat.

Total elapsed time for the two matches: a wimpy 49 minutes.

Wawrinka will face Djokovic in today's final.

  • Elena Dementieva beat second-ranked Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 7-5 to reach the final of the upset-filled German Open in Berlin. In today's final, the ninth-ranked Dementieva will face fellow Russian and 17th-ranked Dinara Safina, who beat 18-year-old Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-4, 6-1.

    HIGH SCHOOL

    Bonnie Richardson ran. She threw. She jumped.

    And when it was time to hand out the team trophies, Richardson accepted the 1A track and field team championship in Austin, Texas, for Rochelle High School -- by herself.

    Richardson was the only Rochelle athlete to qualify for the state meet and stunningly won the team title. University Interscholastic League officials said it was the first time they can remember a single athlete winning a girls' team title.

    It's happened before on the boys' side, but not since former Baylor Bear and Pittsburgh Steeler Frank Pollard did it for Meridian High School in the 1970s, said UIL Athletics Director Charles Breithaupt.

    Richardson's

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    title march began with field events on Friday when she won the high jump (5 feet, 5 inches), placed second in the long jump (18-7) and was third in the discus (121-0).

    On Saturday, she won the 200 meters in 25.03 seconds and nearly pulled off a huge upset in the 100 before finishing second (12.19) to defending champion Kendra Coleman of Santa Anna. Richardson, a junior, earned a total of 42 team points to edge team runner-up Chilton (36).

    BOXING

    Timothy Bradley knocked down Junior Witter in the sixth round on the way to winning the WBC light-welterweight title in Nottingham, England, on a split decision.

    The unbeaten American, who had never fought as a pro outside of California, will take home the belt after his big punches overcame a 10-year age gap against the experienced British fighter whose only previous loss in 39 fights was eight years ago.

    Bradley's big right hand was always a danger to the 34-year-old champion who constantly switched to his left but was unable to unload enough powerful shots to worry the American, who is now 22-0. Witter, making his third defense, is 36-2-2.

    DIVING

    Wang Hao won the women's 10-meter platform at the USA Diving Grand Prix in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., then teamed with Kang Li to take the synchronized event off the high board.

    Wang dominated the individual final, finishing with a score of 420.30 points for five dives. Wilkinson, who won platform gold in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, was a distant second with 360.80, while Mexico's Tatiana Ortiz took third at 338.15.

    CYCLING

    The Slipstream-Chipotle team won the first stage of the Giro d'Italia in Palermo, Sicily, with American Christian Vandevelde crossing first to take the leader's pink jersey.

    Five riders with the U.S.-based team finished together, with Vandevelde a bike's length ahead at the end of the 14.7-mile course around Palermo. Slipstream finished in 26 minutes, 32 seconds. Team CSC finished 6 seconds behind in second place, while High Road was third, 7 seconds back.

    Vandevelde is the first American to take the leader's jersey at the Giro since Andy Hampsten won two stages in 1988 on his way to the overall victory.

    LPR Brakes, the team of defending champion Danilo Di Luca, was 28 seconds off the lead in sixth.

    The Astana team, which has two of the pre-race favorites in Alberto Contador and Andreas Kloden, finished 1 second behind LPR.

    The Giro continues in Sicily today with a 129-mile leg from Cefalu to Agrigento.

    HORSE RACING

    On the Acorn won the $250,000 Jim Murray Memorial Handicap at Hollywood Park for the second straight year, rallying in the final yards to nose out fellow British-bred and overwhelming favorite Champs Elysee. The 7-year-old gelding covered 11/2 miles on the turf course in 2:27.36 and paid $21.60 and $4.20.