TENNIS

Nadal is bounced from World Tour Finals with loss to Tsonga in the group stage

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga qualified for the semifinals in the ATP World Tour Finals at the expense of Rafael Nadal, beating the second-ranked Spaniard 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-3 in a decisive round-robin match Thursday at London.

Tsonga improved to 2-1 in group play while Nadal fell to 1-2, meaning Tsonga will join Roger Federer in the last four from Group B. It’s the first time Tsonga has reached the semifinals at the season-ending tournament for the world’s top eight players. Nadal missed out for the second time in five appearances.

Federer beat Mardy Fish 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to finish the group stage 3-0. David Ferrer also has qualified for the semifinals from Group A, with Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych contending for the last spot going into the final group matches today.

A WIN FOR VENUS: Venus Williams defeated her sister Serena Williams 6-4, 7-6 (5) in an exhibition match in Medellin, Colombia — the first match for both siblings since the U.S. Open in September.

GOLF

WORLD CUP: Richard Green and Brendon Jones, both of Australia, shot an 11-under 61 in better-ball play to take a two-stroke lead at Haikou, China.

Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland, the last two U.S. Open winners, were second along with Stephen Gallacher and Martin Laird of Scotland.

AUSTRALIAN PGA: Steven Bowditch of Australia and Choi Joon-woo of South Korea shot 6-under 66s to share the first-round lead at Coolum, Australia.

SOUTH AFRICAN OPEN: Steven O’Hara of Scotland and Jbe Kruger of South Africa shot 7-under 65s to top the leaderboard after the first round at Johannesburg.

BASKETBALL

CONNECTICUT 73, UNC ASHEVILLE 63: Shabazz Napier and Jeremy Lamb each scored 23 points to help No. 4 Connecticut (5-0) run its winning streak to 16 games by beating UNC Asheville (2-3) at Paradise Island, Bahamas.

Napier made four 3-pointers, including a late four-point play, and also had seven assists and three steals.

FLORIDA STATE 73, UMASS 53: Michael Snaer scored 18 points and No. 22 Florida State (5-0) held UMass (4-1) to a poor shooting effort at Paradise Island, Bahamas.

SAINT LOUIS 62, BOSTON COLLEGE 51: Brian Conklin scored 18 points to lead Saint Louis (4-0) over Boston College (1-3) at Anaheim, Calif.

 

— From news service reports