In Brief

TENNIS

Murray knocks off No. 1 Nadal,
will face Federer in title match

Andy Murray defeated top-ranked Rafael Nadal of Spain 6-3, 6-4 in the Rogers Cup semifinals on Saturday in Toronto, earning a spot in the final against Roger Federer.

Federer advanced with a 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 victory over Novak Djokovic, which will raise Federer's ranking to No. 2 on the ATP Tour and drop Djokovic to the third spot.

Murray, the No. 4 seed, needed 1 hour, 44 minutes to complete the victory over Nadal on a muggy afternoon at the Rexall Centre.

"You never expect to beat the best players in the world," Murray said. "But I think if I play my best tennis like I did today, I have a very good chance against all of them."

Also: Kim Clijsters needed only 12 minutes to reach another title match.

Ana Ivanovic hurt her left foot during the first set of their semifinal at the Cincinnati Open in Mason, Ohio, forcing her to withdraw in tears, with the rest of her season in doubt.

The fourth-seeded Belgian will be well-rested when she plays her third title match of the year, this one against Maria Sharapova, also trying for title No. 3. Sharapova beat fellow Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 in a sloppy semifinal.

BASKETBALL

Granger paces Team USA
to easy win against China

Danny Granger scored 22 points, and the United States men's basketball team sprinted past China 98-51 in a scrimmage at Madison Square Garden in New York.

On a day they gave their strongest hint yet that they're prepared to take only one center to the world championships, the Americans were credited with a 32-4 advantage in fast-break points.

Eric Gordon strengthened his case for a spot on the team with 15 points. Kevin Durant scored 14 and Derrick Rose 12.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski probably did show who two of his cuts will be, not using Jeff Green or JaVale McGee. If McGee is cut, it would leave Tyson Chandler as the only true center on the U.S. team.

MISCELLANEOUS

Pascal retains WBC crown
with victory over Dawson

Jean Pascal beat Chad Dawson on points after the fight was stopped in the 11th round, allowing Pascal to retain his WBC light heavyweight title in Montreal.

The fight was stopped after an accidental clash of heads opened a deep cut above Dawson's right eye and prevented the American from continuing. It went to the scorecards, and Pascal (26-1) got the win over Dawson (29-1) on scores of 106-103, 106-103 and 108-101.

There is expected to be a rematch between the two, who put on a thrilling show at the Bell Centre.

Also: FIFA president Sepp Blatter said soccer's governing body will consider eliminating ties in all World Cup games.

Blatter said on Germany's Focus weekly that the dramatic change would make the tournament more interesting. He said the change could involve going to a shootout after 90 minutes of regulation or adding sudden-death overtime.

First-round games have always ended in draws if tied at the end of regulation.

Didier Drogba had a hat trick to lead defending champion Chelsea to a 6-0 win over West Bromwich Albion in London on the opening day of the English Premier League season.

Arsene Wenger signed a three-year contract extension to coach Arsenal through June 2014. The deal will extend Wenger's stay at the Premier League club to almost 18 years.

Telling, ridden by Garrett Gomez, prevailed in the late stages of a three-horse stretch battle to win the $500,000 Sword Dancer Invitational by 1½ lengths at Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Telling ran 1½ miles over the inner turf course in 2:25.29 and, as a long shot, paid $22.60, $9.50 and $6.20.

Bearpath finished second and Al Khali third in the field of nine.

Russell Baze rode the 11,000th winner of his career. The 52-year-old jockey, aboard Separate Forest, claimed the fourth race at the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa, Calif.

Baze was already North America's winningest thoroughbred jockey, having surpassed Laffit Pincay Jr.'s record of 9,530 winners in December 2006.

Rebecca Bross powered through another impressive performance, winning the U.S. national all-around gymnastics title in a runaway over Mattie Larson in Hartford, Conn.

Bross, the 17-year-old coached by Olympic champion Nastia Liukin's father, scored 120.3 points to outdistance Larson by 3.3 points.

American teenagers Danielle Kang and Jessica Korda ousted their Canadian opponents in the U.S. Women's Amateur to advance to the 36-hole final in Charlotte, N.C. Kang, 17, edged Jennifer Kirby 1 up, and Korda, also 17, defeated Stephanie Sherlock 4 and 3.