Serena Williams Gives U.S. Lead in Fed Cup

Serena Williams overpowered Olga Govortsova 7-5, 6-0 in her first Fed Cup match since 2007, and Christina McHale beat Anastasiya Yakimova 6-0, 6-4, giving the United States a 2-0 lead over Belarus in the Fed Cup on Saturday in Worcester, Mass.
The best-of-five series concludes Sunday with two more singles matches and one in doubles, with the winner advancing in the World Group II series. Williams is scheduled to play top-ranked Victoria Azarenka in the opening match Sunday, but the match might not happen because of the back injury that forced the Australian Open champion to withdraw Saturday.
In other Fed Cup action: Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova gave Russia a 2-0 lead over Spain with straight-set wins; Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and Iveta Benesova gave defending champ Czech Republic a 2-0 lead over Germany; Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko and Italy's Sara Errani won in a match tied at 1; and Serbia's Jelena Jankovic and Belgium's Yanina Wickmayer were victors in a 1-1 match.
Elsewhere in tennis, defending champion Gael Monfils will meet top-seeded Tomas Berdych in the Open Sud de France final in Montpellier, France, and Mikhail Youzhny will play Lukas Lacko in the Zagreb (Croatia) Indoors final.
Vonn earns 50th World Cup win • Lindsey Vonn became the third woman and sixth skier ever to capture 50 World Cup victories, winning the downhill in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Among women, only Annemarie Moser-Proell of Austria (62) and Vreni Schneider of Switzerland (55) are ahead of Vonn. Only three men have at least 50: Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden (86), Hermann Maier of Austria (54) and Alberto Tomba of Italy (50).
American wins 800 • Maggie Vessey of the United States outstretched Erica Moore at the tape to win the women's 800 meters in 2 minutes, 2.361 seconds at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston. Americans Jenn Suhr (pole vault), Adam Nelson (shot put) and David Oliver (60 meter hurdles) also won events. Cruiserweight defends title • Yoan Pablo Hernandez of Cuba defended his IBF cruiserweight title with a unanimous decision vs. American Steve Cunningham in Frankfurt, Germany.
Utah State's Smith leads North • Utah State's Michael Smith ran for 124 yards and a touchdown to lead the North to a 24-19 victory over the South in the Players All-Star Classic in Little Rock, Ark.