Teenage sub for Serena clinches U.S. victory

With Serena Williams sidelined, Fed Cup teammate Vania King showed she can do more than sing, winning in singles to clinch the U.S. team’s match against Belgium at Delray Beach, Fla.

The 18-year-old King won raves for her rendition of the national anthem before the first match Saturday, then substituted Sunday for Williams and beat Kirsten Flipkens 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.

That gave the Americans an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the best-of-five match. Serena and Venus Williams won in singles Saturday.

Serena Williams pulled out an hour before she was to face Flipkens, citing slight inflammation in the right knee.

The Americans will play Russia in the semifinals on July 15 at a U.S. site to be determined. Russia advanced by beating Spain 5-0. France and Italy also won 5-0 and will meet in the other semifinal.

•At Monte Carlo, Monaco, Roger Federer seems no closer to figuring out how to beat Rafael Nadal on clay.

The top-ranked Swiss star lost his fifth straight match to Nadal on clay at the Monte Carlo Masters, 6-4, 6-4, and the second-ranked Spaniard extended his winning streak on the surface to 67 matches.

Nadal won the title at Monte Carlo for the third straight year. The two-time defending French Open champion is 14-0 in clay-court finals, and 4-0 against Federer.

Running

Hall makes history

Ryan Hall made his marathon debut in style – and nearly upset some of the sport’s top athletes.

Hall ran the fastest time for an American making his first appearance in a marathon, finishing seventh in the London Marathon in 2 hours, 8 minutes, 24 seconds.

Hall finished 18 seconds behind marathon world record holder Paul Tergat and 30 seconds behind two-time world champion Jaouad Gharib.

Hockey

Russia beats U.S.

Alexei Cherepanov and Egor Averin scored late in the third period to help Russia beat the United States 6-5 in the final of the under-18 world championship at Tampere, Finland, ruining the American team’s bid for a third straight title.

Sweden beat Canada 8-3 in the third-place game.

Miscellany

McClelland wins

Mike McClelland won his fifth Bassmaster Elite Series victory, finishing with a four-day total of 70 pounds, 7 ounces in the Pride of Georgia on Clarks Hill Lake at Evans, Ga.

•At Atlanta, Janez Brajkovic of Slovenia overcame a flat tire with the help of teammates and held on for his biggest victory, winning the Tour de Georgia cycling race by 12 seconds over Christian Vande Velde.

•At Valencia, Spain, American entry BMW Oracle Racing posted its third straight win as the Louis Vuitton Cup yacht racing series resumed after five of the previous six days had been postponed due to a lack of wind.

•Parry O’Brien, who held the world shot put record from 1953 to 1959 and won three medals in four Olympic Games, has died. He was 75.