IN BRIEF

TENNIS

Serena Williams wins, will reclaim No. 1 spot

Serena Williams is headed back to the top.

Williams needed only to win her second-round match at the China Open on Tuesday in Beijing to reclaim the No. 1 ranking, because the current top-ranked player, Dinara Safina, couldn't get past that round at the tournament.

Williams took about one hour for a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Ekaterina Makarova of Russia.

In other action, Maria Sharapova claimed a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-5 win over Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, and Peng Shuai of China upset defending champion Jelena Jankovic, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Also: U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro made a quick exit at the Japan Open.

He was knocked out in the first round in Tokyo, losing 6-4, 6-4 to French qualifier Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

COLLEGES

UNLV women's golf takes ninth in tourney

The UNLV women's golf team took ninth in the 15-team Windy City Collegiate Classic in Glenview, Ill.

The Rebels shot 15-over-par 303 in the third round for a 36-over 900 total. Purdue, the only team to finish under par, won at 4-under 860, paced by medalist Maude-Aimee LeBlanc, who finished at 5-under 211.

Therese Koelbaek shot 2-over 74 in the final round for the Rebels, finishing 17th at 5-over 221.

Also: Kristina Nedeltcheva won her first-round match for UNLV in the qualifying draw at the Riviera All-American Tennis Championships before bowing out in the second round in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

Nedeltcheva beat Florida State's Federica Seuss 6-3, 6-1, then lost 7-5, 6-3 to Arizona's Natasha Marks.

UNLV's Luca Barlocchi and Mehdi Bouras lost in second-round singles qualifying at the D'Novo ITA Men's All-American Tennis Championships in Tulsa, Okla.

The duo later teamed in doubles, losing 8-3 to Oklahoma's Ionut Belelev and Andrei Daescu.

Tennessee men's basketball player Emmanuel Negedu will not play or practice during the 2009-10 season but will remain on scholarship after suffering sudden cardiac arrest last week.

The 20-year-old sophomore forward from Kaduna, Nigeria, underwent surgery to have a cardiac defibrillator implanted in his chest to monitor his heart's rhythm and deliver energy when an irregularity occurs.

Negedu had just completed a team weightlifting session and had been racing a teammate on the Vols' indoor football field when he collapsed Sept. 28. He lost consciousness and had no pulse.

Tennessee athletic trainer Chad Newman and director of sports medicine Jason McVeigh used an automatic external defibrillator and performed CPR to revive Negedu.

MISCELLANEOUS

Mickelson's back injury OK for Presidents Cup

Phil Mickelson said a minor back injury that flared up last week during practice will not keep him out of the Presidents Cup matches this week at San Francisco's Harding Park.

Mickelson said his lower back tightened Friday when he was chipping and putting. He played only nine holes Tuesday and said he would play another nine today.

"It's not a big deal. I'm fine," Mickelson said after holing a 60-foot birdie putt to finish off a friendly match during practice.

The Presidents Cup begins Thursday.

Also: The Las Vegas 51s and Reno Aces tied 8-8 in their season series in the Pacific Coast League, so a draw of cards was held Monday in Reno to break the tie for the Silver Plate Trophy.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman drew a 7, beating the 6 drawn by Reno Mayor Bob Cashell.

Cycling great Lance Armstrong signed a deal with Anheuser-Busch InBev to be the spokesman for the company's Michelob Ultra brand of beer.

The seven-time winner of the Tour de France and the brewer announced the three-year deal. Armstrong will appear in two TV ads featuring the brand, and his image will be in outdoor, print and in-store advertising.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said cyclist Mitch Comardo accepted a two-year suspension from the sport after testing positive for several prohibited substances.

Pierre-Marc Bouchard was held out of the Minnesota Wild lineup for the home opener against the Anaheim Ducks due to the center's recurring headaches.

Bouchard, who played in the team's season-opening loss in Columbus on Saturday, told Minnesota coach Todd Richards the headaches he has been suffering for a few weeks were getting worse.