Marat Safin threw, kicked and cursed his racket but couldn't make it behave, and he lost, 7-6 (6), 6-1, to Dominik Hrbaty in the third round of the Nasdaq-100 Open in Key Biscayne, Fla.

The combustible Safin, ranked fourth, became progressively more discouraged as his match progressed yesterday. He made no effort to reach Hrbaty's final shot, an ace down the middle.

The No. 26-seeded Hrbaty improved to 7-6 against Safin, and the result left the tournament without three of the top four players in the men's ranking. Fifth-seeded Carlos Moya lost to No. 25 Thomas Johansson, 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-2. No. 2 Lleyton Hewitt withdrew before the event with a toe injury, and No. 3 Andy Roddick lost his opening match.

Late March usually brings out the best in three-time defending champion Serena Williams, but she needed 90 minutes to beat Israeli qualifier Shahar Peer, 6-3, 6-3.

The top women were impressive. No. 1-seeded Amelie Mauresmo, No. 2 Maria Sharapova, No. 8 Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne all won in straight sets.

Hockey

Natalie Darwitz scored off a rebound with 1:08 left to give Minnesota its second consecutive NCAA women's title, 4-3, against Harvard in Durham, N.H. In the third-place game, St. Lawrence beat Dartmouth, 5-1.

Gymnastics

Six West Virginia University gymnasts were recognized by the East Atlantic Gymnastics League. Jane Cox earned first-team all-EAGL in the all-around, floor exercise and balance beam, and was a second-team pick on the uneven bars.

Tynisha Dennis joined Cox on the first-team floor exercise, while Cheryl Goldenfield joined Cox on the first-team balance beam. Jessica Bartgis took home honors in the all-around and uneven bars. Kari Williams earned a spot on the first-team all-EAGL vault. Jaime Gold drew second-team honors on the vault.

Curling

Sweden beat the United States, 10-4, to win the World Women's Curling Championship in Paisley, Scotland. Cassie Johnson's U.S. team blew an early 3-1 lead.

Cycling

Six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong returned to cycling, finishing in the pack at the Brabant Arrow race in Alsemberg, Belgium. Spanish world champion Oscar Freire won the 123-mile event in 4 hours, 38 minutes, 56 seconds. Marc Lotz of the Netherlands was second and Belgium's Axel Merckx finished third. American George Hincapie finished sixth.

Show jumping

The International Equestrian Federation recommended that Irish showjumper Cian O'Connor lose his Olympic gold medal because his horse tested positive for banned substances.

FEI spokeswoman Muriel Faienza told The Associated Press that the organization's judicial committee ordered O'Connor's disqualification after an 11-hour hearing in Zurich, Switzerland.

The final decision to strip O'Connor of his medal lies with the International Olympic Committee. The IOC usually follows the recommendations of individual sports' governing bodies.