Figure Skating

NAGANO, Japan - American Ashley Wagner finished first in the women's short program at the NHK Trophy on Friday, edging Miki Ando of Japan.

Wagner opened with a triple flip, double toe loop in a routine to the soundtrack from "Once Upon a Time in America.'' Her only mistake came on a double Axel that was downgraded, and she finished with 56.54 points. Ando was second with 56.22 points, while Yukari Nakano of Japan was third with 54.92.

"First place is a good place to be but it wasn't my best performance,'' Wagner said. "My double Axel was downgraded but hopefully I can do it cleanly tomorrow in the long program.''

Cynthia Phaneuf, 21, of Contrecoeur, Que., was seventh.

Wagner, who finished second in the Rostelecom Cup, is bidding for a place in the Grand Prix final, which will be held in Tokyo on Dec. 3-6.

Ando, who won the Rostelecom Cup two weeks ago in Russia, fell on her second element - a triple flip - but recovered to keep herself in position for a second Grand Prix title.

"I wasn't pleased with my program today. It was poor from my viewpoint,'' Ando said. "It wasn't just that I fell but the overall performance wasn't good. I was able to finish second perhaps because of the support of the fans but the result today just wasn't good enough.''

Nakano two-footed the landing on a triple lutz and botched her opening combination jump.

"It's a shame I missed that opening combination,'' Nakano said. "Because other than that I was pleased with the way things went.''

In the men's short program, Brian Joubert of France finished first and Jeremy Abbott of the United States was second.

Vaughn Chipeur, 24, of Edmonton was 10th and Jeremy Ten, 20, of Vancouver was 12th.

Joubert opened his routine with a quadruple toe loop, triple toe loop combination and received 85.55 points. Abbott was second with 83.00 points and American skater Johnny Weir was third with 78.35.

"I'm very happy because my first Grand Prix was difficult,'' said Joubert, who finished fourth at the Trophee Bompard in Paris. "I was very disappointed with the result (in Paris) so it was important for me to get a good result today and for the rest of this competition.''

Joubert, the 2007 world champion, stumbled on the landing of a triple lutz but otherwise skated a clean program.

Abbott, the U.S. champion skating in his first Grand Prix of the season, opened with a triple flip, triple toe loop combination and hit all his jumps.

"I was pleased that I got everything done and did everything with quality,'' Abbott said. "I didn't miss any jumps and that was important.''

Abbott left his coach of 10 years, Tom Zakrajsek, in May and is training with former world champion Yuka Sato.

"Last season was a big breakthrough for me,'' Abbott said. "But the end of the season wasn't that good and I felt like I needed a change. My new coach has made me skate with a lot of confidence and even when I feel bad I am able to be comfortable on the ice.''

Weir, battling a cold he picked on the 13-hour flight to Japan, turned in his best performance of the season.

"I skated well today,'' Weir said. "I wasn't thinking about skating. I was just trying to save energy for Saturday's free skate.''

Daisuke Takahashi of Japan, skating in his first Grand Prix since returning from knee surgery, had a solid performance but made a weak landing on a triple lutz and fell during a step sequence.

American pair Meryl Davis and Charlie White were first after the compulsory dance, and Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov of Russia topped the pairs short program.

Vanessa Crone, 18, of Aurora, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 17, of Unionville, Ont., were fourth in the ice dance. Allie Hann-McCurdy, 22, of Nanaimo, B.C., and Michael Coreno, 25, of Delhi, Ont., were ninth.

Canadian pair bronze medalists Mylène Brodeur, 22, of Stanbridge-Station, Que., and John Mattatall, 26, of Wallace, N.S., were sixth in the pairs. Paige Lawrence, 19, of Kennedy, Sask., and Rudi Swiegers, 22, of Kipling, Sask., were seventh in their first go-round on the ISU Grand Prix circuit.