Watney seeks first PGA win

Yet another potential first-time PGA Tour winner topped the third-round leaderboard in the Zurich Classic.

Third-year tour player Nick Watney shot a four-under-par 68 Saturday at Avondale, La., to reach 12 under and take a two-shot lead over another player who has been seeking a maiden tour triumph for more than a decade, 38-year-old Ken Duke.

Duke shot a 66, the best round of the day in the tournament that has had first-time winners in four of the last five years.

Mark Calcavecchia, who began the day with a one-shot lead, appeared to be bothered by his back and finished with an even-par 72, leaving him tied for third with Scott Gutschewski (67) at nine under. Gutschewski also is winless on the tour.

Rookie Kyle Reifers (71) was alone in fifth at eight under.

Calcavecchia, who won the PODS Championship last month in Florida, is one of few familiar names atop the leaderboard. His only major hiccup in the third round was a double bogey on the fourth hole. He also had a bogey on the 16th.

Defending champion Jay Haas shot a three-under 69, giving him a one-stroke lead over Brad Bryant, Wayne Levi and Mark James entering the final round of the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf at Savannah, Ga.

Haas, seeking his second Champions Tour victory of the season, was at seven-under 137 at the Club at Savannah Harbor. Levi shot a 68, Bryant had a 69, and James shot a 71.

TENNIS

Federer and Nadal reach Masters final

Roger Federer overcame a slow start to beat Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-3, 6-4, setting up a second straight Monte Carlo Masters final against Rafael Nadal in Monaco.

The top-ranked Swiss player saved two break points when trailing, 3-1, in the first set, then won the next four games to take the set. Nadal advanced after beating 10th-seeded Tomas Berdych, 6-0, 7-5.

“It’s always fun to see the No. 1 and No. 2 playing against each other,” said Federer, who is 3-6 against Nadal.

Serena Williams completed a sibling sweep at Delray Beach, Fla., leaving the U.S. Fed Cup team on the verge of beating Belgium.

Playing Fed Cup for the first time since 2003, Williams beat Caroline Maes, 6-1, 6-4, to give the American team a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five opening-round match.

Older sister Venus Williams wobbled in the wind but rallied to beat Kirsten Flipkens, 7-5, 6-2.

Russia took a 2-0 lead over Spain in Moscow. France and Italy, both playing at home, also took 2-0 leads.

Kim Clijsters will not play at the U.S. Open, making Wimbledon the last Grand Slam tournament of her career. Clijsters already pulled out of the French Open because of preparations for her wedding July 14.

SOCCER

Beckham sets up winner in his return to Madrid

David Beckham returned to Real Madrid’s lineup and set up the winning goal in his team’s 2-1 win over Valencia in the Spanish league.

Beckham, who came on as a substitute in the 65th minute, sent a free kick that Sergio Ramos headed into the net in the 73rd for the winning goal.

Beckham was making his first appearance in six weeks. The former English captain, who will join the Galaxy this summer, had sat out the previous five games because of sprained right knee ligaments.

Manchester United was held to a 1-1 tie by Middlesbrough, dropping two points in the English Premier League title race.

United, seeking its first English title since 2003, has 82 points. Chelsea, bidding for a third straight Premier League title, has 78 points and plays at Newcastle today.

Lyon won its sixth straight French league title without even playing because second-place Toulouse lost to Rennes, 3-2. Lyon, which plays at Auxerre today, has a 17-point lead.

Ji Ting scored in the 90th minute to lift China to a 3-2 victory over the FIFA Women’s World Stars at Wuhan, China.

The match was played the day before the draw in Wuhan for the Sept. 10-30 Women’s World Cup. In today’s draw, the No. 1-ranked United States, defending champion Germany, Norway and host China will be the seeded teams in the four groups.

Former Argentine star Diego Maradona, 46, was transferred to a private psychiatric clinic where he is to undergo treatment for alcohol addiction after being hospitalized twice in less than a month.

MISCELLANY

England victorious at Cricket World Cup

England edged the West Indies by one wicket with a single ball to spare at the Cricket World Cup in Bridgetown, Barbados, in record-breaker Brian Lara’s final international match for the West Indies. Neither team had a chance of reaching the semifinals.

The Louis Vuitton Cup sailing event was postponed again due to a lack of wind at Valencia, Spain. It is the fifth day in the last six that the challengers series has been postponed due to unsuitable wind.