Australia Takes Lead Over Spain

Todd Woodbridge and Wayne Arthurs gave Australia a 2-1 lead in the Davis Cup tennis final at Melbourne, Australia, beating Spain’s Feliciano Lopez and Alex Corretja, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3, in doubles today.

The title will be decided Sunday when Mark Philippoussis takes on Juan Carlos Ferrero in the first reverse singles, followed by Lleyton Hewitt’s match with Carlos Moya.

Hewitt gave Australia a 1-0 lead with a 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (0), 6-2 victory over Ferrero on Friday. Later, Moya defeated Philippoussis, 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (4), to even the final after the first day.

Arthurs and Woodbridge, playing in their sixth Davis Cup match, broke Correjta’s serve in the fourth game of the opening set to go up, 3-1. Lopez, playing in his first Davis Cup match, had only played one previous doubles match with Corretja.

The Australian pair broke Corretja again in the third game of the second set. At the end of the set, Corretja took an injury timeout to have a sore shoulder worked on by medical officials, but it only delayed the inevitable as Australia took the match easily in just over 80 minutes.

Woodbridge’s appearance set a record for matches in the nation’s 84-year Davis Cup history. It was Woodbridge’s 29th Davis Cup event for Australia, breaking the mark of 28 set by Adrian Quist between 1933 and 1939.

Woodbridge began his Davis Cup career in 1991 for Australia and has a record of 26-10 -- 23-6 in doubles and 3-4 in singles.

“I was calm and really focused, and I had a lot of confidence in Wayne,� Woodbridge said of today’s match.

This year, Woodbridge won his 78th doubles title on the ATP tour, equaling Tom Okker of the Netherlands for most career doubles titles since the start of the Open Era in 1968.

Winter Sports

Whether the course was steep or flat, Anja Paerson just kept on picking up time.

The defending women’s World Cup giant slalom champion easily won her first race of the season, claiming her specialty event by the wide margin of 1.04 seconds at Park City, Utah.

Instead of slowing on the flatter section of C.B.’s Run that claimed much of the competition, Paerson kept extending her lead in the second race of the World Cup season.

“I don’t know. It’s just in me. I don’t train any special flats training,� said the 22-year-old skier from Sweden. “I just go and I don’t think. I just let my skis run.

“I cannot tell you why I’m the fastest one. I don’t know what I’m doing right.�

Whatever it was worked, as Paerson won her 12th World Cup event -- fourth in the giant slalom. She also has eight World Cup wins in the slalom, in which she will compete today.

Paerson, also the gold medalist in last season’s world championship, led by 0.28 seconds after the opening run, then left everybody behind in the afternoon.

Paerson finished with runs of 1:12.83 and 1:14.31 for a combined 2:27.14, well ahead of Austrian Nicole Hosp’s second-place time of 2:28.56.

Denise Karbon of Italy was third (2:28.65). Sara Schleper of Vail, Colo., was the top American, finishing ninth (2:29.28).

Matti Hautamaki of Finland easily won the opening World Cup ski-jumping event of the season on the 120-meter hill in Kuusamo, Finland. He was followed by Adam Malysz of Poland and Veli-Matti Lindstrom of Finland

Hautamaki jumped 139 meters in the first round and 133.5 meters in the second round for 291.5 points. Malysz was a distant second with 276.8 points after jumps of 132 and 134 meters. Lindstrom had 261 points.

Hautamaki is the newest Finnish star in ski jumping. He won an Olympic bronze medal in 2002 and a silver at the world championships last season on the big hill.

Golf

Kenny Perry shot a four-under-par 68 to take a one-stroke lead halfway through the Nedbank Challenge at Sun City, South Africa.

Perry is at 11-under 133 in the 18-player event. He is one stroke ahead of Sergio Garcia, who shot a 66 for the day’s best round, and Jerry Kelly, who had a 67.

Ernie Els, playing in his home country and a three-time winner in the event, shot a 75 and is in last place at 147.

Garcia had a 31 on the back nine, starting with an eagle on the par-five 10th, to move into contention. He won this tournament in 2001 in a playoff against Els.

Sophie Gustafson failed to make the cut after shooting a five-over 77 in the second round of the Casio World Open in Kaimon, Japan.

Gustafson, the first woman to play on the Japan Golf Tour, had two birdies, five bogeys and a double bogey for a total of seven-over 151.

Katsumune Imai carded his second straight 65, including a hole in one on the par-three fourth, to widen his lead to four strokes with a 36-hole total of 14-under 130.

Miscellany

The U.S. men’s volleyball team lost to European champion Italy, 25-12, 29-27, 25-22, in the World Cup, a qualifying tournament in Tokyo for the Athens Olympics.

The defeat dropped the Americans’ record to 7-2. The top three teams qualify for the Olympics. They trail Brazil (9-0), Italy (8-1) and Serbia-Montenegro (8-1).

The Long Beach Jam of the American Basketball Assn. announced that assistant Earl Cureton has been named head coach.

Cureton replaces former Laker and Loyola Marymount coach Paul Westhead, who left to become an assistant with the Orlando Magic.