In Brief

TENNIS

Serena rumbles over Lisicki
to reach Stanford title match

Serena Williams, who needed nearly a year to recover from surgery, is putting her best foot forward again and playing like a champion.

Williams moved into the final of the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, Calif., with an impressive 6-1, 6-2 victory over Germany's Sabine Lisicki on Saturday night.

"I feel like a kid again," Williams said. "When I was younger, I had the goal of being in the top 100, then qualifying for a Grand Slam without a wild card. I have those goals again."

It's her first appearance in a final since winning the title at Wimbledon last year, and it's her first final on American soil since losing to Victoria Azarenka in Miami in March 2009.

The unseeded and 169th-ranked Williams will meet third-seeded and ninth-ranked Marion Bartoli of France. She advanced when Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova withdrew from the other semifinal because of a strained abdominal muscle.

Bartoli beat Williams in the fourth round at Wimbledon this year, their last meeting.

"She should be fresh, and I will be ready," Williams said. "It's a whole new match, and I'm a better player than I was at Wimbledon. This is great progress, and I'm excited about my potential as I go forward."

Lisicki played tight in the first set, which fed into Williams' aggressive attack.

"I have never played her before, so I did not know what to expect," Lisicki said. "I'm not used to having the ball come back at me so hard. It was a new experience, a learning experience."

Also: Mardy Fish fought from behind in the third set to advance to his second straight final, beating teenager Ryan Harrison 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (3) at the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles.

Fish and Harrison were playing a rematch of their semifinal last week in Atlanta, where Fish went on to win his first title of the season.

In today's final, Fish will face Latvia's Ernests Gulbis, who beat Alex Bogomolov Jr., 6-2, 7-6 (4).

Fourth-seeded Fernando Verdasco beat top-seeded Nicolas Almagro 6-7 (2), 7-6 (2), 6-3 to set up an all-Spanish final against Marcel Granollers at the Swiss Open in Gstaad, Switzerland.

The eighth-seeded Granollers defeated Mikhail Youzhny, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

Marin Cilic beat Fabio Fognini 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the Croatia Open final in Umag, Croatia.

In the title match, the fourth-seeded Cilic will face second-seeded Aleksandr Dolgopolov, who beat Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-4, 6-4.

Top-seeded Shahar Peer advanced to the finals at the Citi Open in College Park, Md., beating third-seeded Tamira Paszek, 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4. Second-seeded Nadia Petrova beat American Irina Falconi 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the other semifinal.

GOLF

Kim fires 62 to claim lead
at PGA Tour's Greenbrier Classic

Anthony Kim shot 8-under-par 62 to take a one-stroke lead over PGA Tour rookie Scott Stallings after the third round of the Greenbrier Classic in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.

Kim's low round of the year gave him a 10-under 200 total, and he could earn a spot in next week's Bridgestone Invitational with a win. He hasn't missed Firestone since his rookie year in 2007.

A third place-or-better finish would put him in position to get into the PGA Championship in two weeks in Atlanta.

Stallings shot 66 to move into second place. Gary Woodland (67) and second round co-leader Webb Simpson (69) were at 202.

Kim's last victory came a year ago at the Shell Houston Open before he underwent thumb surgery and took three months off. He's had an up-and-down year, with eight missed cuts and two top-10 finishes in 21 events.

Also: Caroline Masson of Germany shot 4-under 68 to take a two-stroke lead after the third round at the Women's British Open in Carnoustie, Scotland.

The 22-year-old Masson made three birdies in the front nine and three on the back to hold off a late charge from Yani Tseng. The top-ranked Taiwenese player closed within a shot at one stage after picking up five strokes in as many holes, including an eagle, and she ended up with her second straight 66.

Masson was at 15-under 201, with Tseng at 203. Former Bishop Gorman High School standout Inbee Park, who fired a 64 on Friday, shot 73 and was tied for third with Catriona Matthew of Scotland at 207.

Olin Browne fought off the heat to shoot 65 and forge a two-shot lead over Mark O'Meara through three rounds of the U.S. Senior Open in Toledo, Ohio.

Browne, never a winner in his three years of Champions Tour competition since turning 50, set the tournament record for lowest score through 54 holes. After a record-tying 64 followed by a 69, he's at 15-under 198.

David Howell, Richard Green and Simon Dyson were in a three-way tie at the Irish Open in Killarney, Ireland.

England veteran Howell shot 7-under 64 for the best score of the day, and England's Dyson and Australia's Green shot 68 as all three finished at 11-under 202.

Northern Irishmen Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell fell out of contention with 72s on a wet, windy day.

MISCELLANEOUS

Duke basketball looking into
possible violation by Krzyzewski

Duke is investigating whether an NCAA recruiting rule was violated when men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski reportedly offered a scholarship to a recruit during a summer tournament.

Forward Alex Poythress told CBSSports.com that Krzyzewski spoke to him last week while he was in Orlando, Fla., for a tournament with his AAU team, the Georgia Stars, and offered him a scholarship.

NCAA rules prevent coaches from contacting recruits before they are finished playing in tournaments.

Duke spokesman Jon Jackson said in a statement that the school is gathering facts and that "proper adherence to NCAA bylaws has always been, and will continue to be, a cornerstone of Duke athletics."

Poythress, a 6-foot-7-inch forward from Clarksville, Tenn, is considered one of the nation's top high school seniors.

Also: Illinois football coach Ron Zook said junior linebacker Ashante Williams was suspended indefinitely following a violation of team rules.

No additional details about the suspension were available, and school spokesman Kent Brown said the university won't comment any further on the violation.

Shaun White won the gold medal in the X Games skateboard vert competition in Los Angeles, dramatically edging rival Pierre-Luc Gagnon on their final run.

White scored a 93.00 on his last chance against Gagnon, the three-time defending X Games champion. Gagnon crashed moments later, and White celebrated his first X Games title in vert since 2007.

White is a two-time Olympic snowboarding gold medalist with a thriving two-sport career, but he lost to Gagnon at last year's X Games.