Vonn finishes 9th in season-opener

SOELDEN, Austria (AP) — Lindsey Vonn made a satisfying start to a World Cup season in which she begins as the defending overall champion.

She matched the best result of her career in the giant slalom by finishing ninth Saturday in a race won by Kathrin Zettel of Austria.

Zettel was fastest in the second leg of the season opener, completing the two runs in 2 minutes, 22.99 seconds to beat first-run leader Tanja Poutiainen of Finland by 0.98 seconds.

"I think that was definitely a solid start to the season," Vonn said. "I had some trouble in the speed section of both runs, but I skied well in the lower section and I had the speed there to kick it into fifth gear."

Vonn won the overall World Cup title last season, becoming the first American woman to do so since Tamara McKinney 1983. She and Bode Miller gave the United States a sweep of both overall crowns.

U.S. women's Alpine coach Jim Tracy believes Vonn will contend again.

"If she stays healthy and keeps going, there's no reason why she couldn't be right up there defending the title big time," Tracy said.