WORCESTER, Mass. - Serena Williams returned to Fed Cup play Saturday, giving the United States a strong lineup for its matchup against Belarus.

That lineup became more imposing when world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka was sidelined by a lower back injury.

The Americans capitalized with straight-set victories by Christina McHale and Williams for a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 series, which will conclude today with two more singles matches and one in doubles.

McHale beat Anastasiya Yakimova 6-0, 6-4 before Williams overpowered Olga Govortsova 7-5, 6-0, leaving the U.S. team one victory away from advancing in the World Group II series.

Williams was inconsistent in the first set, winning the first three games before sputtering midway through as Govortsova tied it by winning three straight games.

Williams and Govortsova were tied at 5 before the American star won the final eight games.

"I relaxed a little bit and started making more shots," said Williams, playing her first Fed Cup match since 2007.

Lukas Lacko of Slovakia reached his first ATP final when he ousted 2007 champion Marcos Baghdatis 7-5, 7-6 (3) in the Zagreb Indoors semifinals in Croatia.

Lacko, playing on the main tour since 2007, will face third-seeded Mikhail Youzhny, who is seeking his eighth title in his 18th career final. Youzhny advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Michael Berrer of Germany.

Defending champion Gael Monfils saved a match point to edge Gilles Simon 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 in an all-French match and reach the Open Sud de France final. Monfils will meet top-seeded Tomas Berdych, who beat Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-3, 6-4.

College Football

West Virginia-Florida State game canceled: West Virginia has decided to cancel its Sept. 8 football game at Florida State.

School officials informed Florida State late Friday that they would pay a $350,000 escape fee to shelve the trip.

Florida State athletics director Randy Spetman said Saturday that he's disappointed West Virginia would not honor the first half of a home-and-home agreement that calls for Florida State to visit Morgantown, W.Va., next year.

Utah State's Michael Smith ran for 124 yards and one touchdown to lead the North to a 24-19 victory over the South in the Players All-Star Classic at Little Rock, Ark. LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson led the South on two scoring drives, one he capped with a 7-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

Former Iowa offensive coordinator Ken O'Keefe is moving up to the NFL to become the Miami Dolphins' wide receivers coach. O'Keefe surprised many Iowa fans Friday when he announced he was leaving the program after 13 years.

Skiing

Vonn gets 50th career World Cup win: Lindsey Vonn of the United States dominated another downhill race Saturday to claim her 50th career victory in the skiing World Cup at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

Vonn, 27, conquered the 2,930 meters Kandahar piste in 1 minute, 44.86 seconds in sunny but freezing conditions in the German Alps to grab the win from Swiss Nadja Kamer (1:45.27) and Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein (1:45.65).

"It is a great feeling. Fifty is amazing. I never thought I would achieve this," said Vonn, who escaped a scare in the midsection of the course.

Vonn's 50 wins are the third most in the women's World Cup. Only Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell and Vreni Schneider of Switzerland have won more races with 62 and 55, respectively.