Serena Williams gets her season off to a winning start

Serena Williams sent an ominous warning to world No. 1 Justine Henin that she intends to regain the top spot this year.

Williams, who will defend her Australian Open title in Melbourne next month, made a winning start to the new season by beating Lucie Safarova, 6-0, 2-6, 7-5, today at the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia.

Shrugging off jet lag after a journey that began Sunday in Miami and took her via New York and Dubai, the American looked fitter than she has in recent years.

“Of course I want to be No. 1,” she said.

“Of course I want to win Grand Slams. Come on, I wouldn’t be out here if I didn’t have those thoughts.”

Jelena Jankovic and Novak Djokovic won their singles matches as top-seeded Serbia beat Taiwan, 3-0, at the Hopman Cup mixed teams tournament. Jankovic defeated Hsieh Su-wei, 6-4, 6-4, and Djokovic, who struggled because of a back injury in the second set, rallied to beat Lu Yen-hsun, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3.

Lindsay Davenport got off to a good start in her first tuneup event for the Australian Open, beating Laura Granville, 6-2, 6-3, in the first round of the ASB Women’s Classic at Auckland, New Zealand.

Davenport won in 66 minutes and looked fit and sharp as she prepares for the Australian Open, her first Grand Slam event in more than a year.

Shahar Peer rallied to defeat Julie Ditty, 3-6, 6-0, 6-2, in a first-round match at the Australian women’s hardcourt championships at Gold Coast.

In other first-round matches, Nathalie Dechy defeated Yan Zi, 6-2, 6-2, and Victoria Azarenka defeated two-time Gold Coast champion Ai Sugiyama, 6-2, 6-3.

WINTER SPORTS

Moan edges Demong to win in Germany

Magnus Moan battled snowfall and strong wind to win a Nordic Combined World Cup event, edging Bill Demong by 0.1 of a second in a photo finish at Oberhof, Germany.

Moan finished in 40 minutes 8.8 seconds for his first win of the season, with Petter Tande taking third, 9.1 behind.

Thomas Morgenstern had the best leap of the day in the second round to win the first stop of the prestigious Four Hills ski jumping tournament at Oberstdorf.

The Austrian, who has won seven of eight World Cup events this season, was boosted by optimal wind conditions on his second jump of 141.5 meters, pushing him past first-round leader Gregor Schlierenzauer.

Nikolay Morilov and Arianna Follis won the sprint races in the Tour de Ski at Prague, Czech Republic. Morilov finished the 1-kilometer freestyle race, which took place in front of the Prague Castle, in 1 minute 35.8 seconds, edging Simen Ostensen by 0.3 of a second.

Follis covered the women’s 1-kilometer course in 1:50.5, ahead of Pirjo Muranen and Marit Bjorgen.

MISCELLANY

Daytona wins Grade II San Gabriel Handicap

Irish-bred Daytona won his third consecutive graded turf stakes by staying mostly in front throughout the Grade II $150,000 San Gabriel Handicap at Santa Anita. Daytona covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:47.57.

Sunday’s win was worth $90,000, pushing Daytona’s total earnings to $551,390 with a record of 5-2-2 in 11 races.

In the 61st running of the San Gabriel, Daytona withstood the final run of Proudinsky by three-quarters of a length after taking the lead early, briefly ceding it to Lang Field on the first turn, and then quickly reasserting his control at odds of just over 2-1 in the field of six.

Medici Code, who finished second to Daytona in the Hollywood Derby, was third in Sunday’s race, 1 3/4 lengths behind Proudinsky. Storm Military, the 2-1 favorite, was fourth.

--

Three people remained hospitalized after being injured when an escalator malfunctioned Saturday night at Giants Stadium after the New England Patriots’ 38-35 victory over the New York Giants.

The escalator at Gate A apparently failed at the bottom steps, police said.

Liverpool missed the chance to close in on Premier League leader Arsenal when it tied 0-0 at Manchester City.

Liverpool dominated possession and chances at City of Manchester Stadium but was unable to break through.