IN BRIEF

TENNIS

Nadal, Davydenko win in Shanghai semifinals

Rafael Nadal advanced to the Shanghai Masters final on Saturday after Feliciano Lopez became the ninth player to retire from the event in Shanghai, China.

The unseeded Lopez said he woke up with a right foot infection, then twisted his right ankle on the last point of the first set. He was trailing 6-1, 3-0 when he retired.

The top-seeded Nadal will play in today's final against sixth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, who outlasted second-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (1).

Also: Samantha Stosur earned another shot at her first WTA Tour singles title, reaching the Japan Women's Open final by upsetting defending champion Caroline Wozniacki 6-0, 4-6, 6-4 in Osaka, Japan.

Stosur, the world's 15th-ranked player, has lost all five of her previous finals. The third-seeded Australian will play for the title against fourth-seeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy, who routed India's Sania Mirza, 6-2, 6-1.

The top two seeded players at the Generali Ladies lost, leaving Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium and Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic to play for the title in Linz, Austria.

No. 3 Wickmayer beat top-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy 7-6 (5), 6-3, and Kvitova upset second-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, 6-3, 6-2.

UNLV

Nedeltcheva advances to tennis tourney final

UNLV women's tennis player Kristina Nedeltcheva reached the singles final in the Wilson/ITA Mountain Region Championships at the Darling Tennis Center.

Nedeltcheva, ranked 90th and seeded second in this event, rolled over Brigham Young's Kristina Doerr 6-2, 6-0 in the semifinals. In today's final, Nedeltcheva will face Boise State's Pichittra Thongdach, the tournament's top seed.

Nedeltcheva and Jana Albers lost in doubles play.

Also: The UNLV women's golf team shot 13-over 297 in the second round of the Stanford Intercollegiate Championship to remain in 11th in Stanford, Calif.

UNLV posted a 23-over 591 total. Third-ranked Arizona State led the 15-team event at 13-under 555, paced by Carlota Ciganda (5-under 137), who is tied for first with Vanderbilt's Marina Alex.

Therese Koelbaek shot 2-under 69 and was tied for 14th at even-par 142 heading into today's final round.

The UNLV women's soccer team tied Wyoming 1-1 in Mountain West Conference play in Laramie, Wyo.

Ashleigh Shoughro put UNLV (5-6-5, 1-2-1 MWC) up 1-0 on a goal in the 22nd minute, and Wyoming (9-5-3, 3-1-1) tied it in the 71st minute. Neither team could find the net through two overtimes.

The UNLV volleyball team swept New Mexico 25-21, 25-18, 25-18 in a Mountain West contest at Albuquerque, N.M.

Cursty Jackson had 17 kills, Kelsey Keeler added 11 kills, and Samantha Richard had 36 assists for the Rebels (5-11, 3-5 MWC).

The UNLV cross country team ended its regular season by taking 16th at the 18-team Bronco Invitational in Santa Clara, Calif. The Rebels had 395 points. New Mexico State won with 49 points.

Bailey Kuestermeyer led UNLV, taking 74th in the 156-runner field with a 5-kilometer time of 18 minutes, 48 seconds.

MISCELLANEOUS

Abraham KOs Taylor in Super Six opener

Arthur Abraham knocked out Jermain Taylor with six seconds left in the opening bout of the Super Six super middleweight tournament in Berlin.

Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs), the former middleweight standout moving up a division for the first time, was set to win on points at O2 World Arena but flattened Taylor with a right to his chin at 2:54 of the 12th round.

The defeat was the fourth in the past five fights for Taylor (28-4-1).

In the tournament's second fight, held in Nottingham, England, Carl Froch retained his WBC super middleweight title with a split-decision victory over Andre Dirrell.

Froch (26-0, 20 KOs) barely won the messy fight, earning 115-112 margins on two of the three judges' scorecards while fighting in his hometown against Dirrell (18-1), the previously unbeaten U.S. bronze medalist.

A video showing Diego Maradona making crude gestures on the team bus after his profanity-filled tirade on live television could complicate Argentina officials' efforts to put the scandal behind them.

The video, rapidly spreading on the Internet, shows Maradona gesturing gleefully at photographers and cameramen through the window as the bus pulled away after the game.

Maradona already faces a possible five-game suspension and nearly $20,000 fine if FIFA decides to punish him for his comments to reporters after the 1-0 victory over Uruguay that allowed Argentina to qualify for next year's World Cup.

Maradona's repeated expletives, directed at his media critics in an official setting, prompted FIFA president Sepp Blatter to announce in Cairo that he had "no other alternative" but to ask his organization's disciplinary committee to open a case against the coach.

Soccer's governing body and the World Anti-Doping Agency are teaming up on a project to test Europe's top players for banned drugs.

FIFA medical chief Jiri Dvorak said a blood-profiling scheme similar to cycling's biological passport could start trials next month.

Hot Cha Cha pulled away down the stretch to easily win the $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., and earn her first Grade 1 win.

The 3-year-old filly was third behind Shared Account and favorite Gozzip Girl at the three-quarter pole but surged late, passing them both to win by 41/2 lengths.

The horse won for the fifth time in 10 starts this year, but the others were Grade 3s.