Nadal's ascent to No. 1 put on hold

Rafael Nadal's move to No. 1 will have to wait a couple of more weeks. Looking weary after two months of nonstop winning, the 22-year-old Spaniard got run around the court last night in Mason, Ohio, and, ultimately, bounced from the Cincinnati Masters one step short of another title match. Instead, Novak Djokovic reached the final with a 6-1, 7-5 victory that delayed the inevitable. The third-seeded Djokovic will play Andy Murray for the title today. Murray reached his first Masters series final by beating Ivo Karlovic, 6-4, 6-4. By reaching the semifinals, Nadal piled up enough points to overtake Roger Federer as the world's No. 1 player. Given the way points accrue - the last 52 weeks are counted - he will surpass Federer in the Aug. 18 rankings. "I feel happy because for sure to be No. 1 is hard work from a long, long time ago," Nadal said . . . Jelena Jankovic might not feel worthy of being ranked No. 1, but she has ensured that she will move up to that spot this month. Jankovic, who never has reached a Grand Slam singles final, will become the 18th player to lead the WTA computer rankings when she rises to the top spot Aug. 11. Currently No. 2, Jankovic will move ahead of another Serb, Ana Ivanovic, who has led the rankings since June 9, the day after winning the French Open. Ivanovic beat Jankovic in the semifinals at Roland Garros with the No. 1 ranking at stake. According to the ranking projections released by the tour, Jankovic will have 3,620 points to Ivanovic's 3,612 Aug. 11.

The St. Louis Cardinals conceded the Matt Clement signing was a failed gamble, releasing the righthander who has struggled to return from shoulder surgery in 2006. The Cardinals also announced that outfielder Chris Duncan would undergo surgery to repair a ruptured disk in his neck tomorrow, a procedure that is likely to end his season. Clement, 33, was pitching for the team's Triple A affiliate in Memphis, going 1-0 with a 4.61 ERA in 12 games. Clement, an All-Star in 2005 with the Red Sox, did not make a start, totaling 13 2/3 innings, and had allowed three home runs.

Atlanta Braves ace Tim Hudson felt more discomfort while trying to play catch and plans to have season-ending elbow ligament replacement surgery within a week. Dr. Xavier Duralde, the team's lead orthopedist, and Dr. James Andrews found the righthander has major ligament damage in his pitching elbow . . . Detroit Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya has tenderness in his upper right arm and shoulder area and will not be available to pitch for a few days . . . Florida Marlins minor league pitcher Daniel Gil will begin serving a 50-game suspension immediately after testing positive for the steroid boldenone during a recent screening . . . The Kansas City Royals designated righthander Yasuhiko Yabuta, a longtime star for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan, for assignment and placed second baseman Mark Grudzielanek on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right ankle, injured in a Friday collision with teammate Ross Gload . . . The host Pawtucket Red Sox scored six runs in the eighth inning to put down second-place Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 7-3, and extend their North Division lead to 1 1/2 games . . . John Rogers of Little Rock, Ark., bought a 1909 Honus Wagner baseball card for $1.62 million at a memorabilia auction in Chicago.

Canadian Ron Fellows splashed his way to victory in Montreal in the first NASCAR points event run on grooved rain tires, winning when heavy rain and poor visibility forced officials to end the Nationwide Series NAPA Auto Parts 200 26 laps early. Fellows took advantage of Marcos Ambrose's pit-road speeding penalty to take the lead, and had a 33-second advantage over fellow Canadian Patrick Carpentier when the race was red-flagged, then called a few minutes later . . . Joshua Clottey captured the vacant International Boxing Federation welterweight championship with a ninth-round unanimous decision over Zab Judah in Las Vegas. Clottey (35-2) connected with a right hand to Judah's left eye in the ninth round that immediately sent blood rushing down his face. Ringside physician James Game examined Judah (36-6), who claimed he couldn't see, and the fight was called at the 1:22 mark. Clottey was ahead, 86-85, on two scorecards and 87-84 on the other . . . Victor Darchinyan took the IBF junior bantamweight title from Dimitri Kirilov with a fifth-round knockout in a fight that Darchinyan dominated from start to finish in Tacoma. In the co-main event, 2004 US Olympic bronze medalist Andre Dirrell scored a fourth-round TKO against Mike Paschal in a battle of undefeated super middleweights . . . Alejandro Valverde of Spain won the San Sebastian Classic cycling race with a strong burst in the final sprint. Valverde, who was third in last year's race, finished the 148.5-mile race in 5 hours 29 minutes 10 seconds. Russia's Alexandr Kolobnev was second.