GOLF 

Els gets past Spieth to reach semifinals of Match Play

Ernie Els has made it to the semifinals of the Match Play Championship for the first time in 13 years.

The four-time major champion still hasn’t played great golf at Dove Mountain, but it was good enough to get past 20-year-old Jordan Spieth, who was clearly frustrated in losing on the 16th hole.

Graeme McDowell had a lead for the first time all week – and he wound up losing. His magical week ended on the 18th hole when he lost to Victor Dubuisson of France in a tight match.

LPGA: Anna Nordqvist shot a 5-under 67 at the LPGA Thailand for a 4-stroke lead over top-ranked Inbee Park and American Michelle Wie at Chonburi, Thailand.

Advertisement

Leading since the first round, the 26-year-old Nordqvist has an overall 11-under 205. She is chasing her first win on the U.S. LPGA Tour since 2009.

Park shot 67 and Wie 69.

TENNIS

DUBAI CHAMPIONSHIPS: Venus Williams won her 45th career WTA title with an impressive 6-3, 6-0 victory over Alize Cornet of France in the final at Dubai.

The 44th-ranked Williams, playing courtesy of a wild card, also won this title in 2009 and 2010. She’s won her last 15 matches at Dubai.

Williams, who will move up to No. 29 in Monday’s updated rankings, last won a title at the 2012 Luxembourg tournament.

Advertisement

On Friday, Cornet scored her first career upset over a No. 1-ranked player by beating Serena Williams 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals.

DELRAY BEACH OPEN: Kevin Anderson beat qualifier Steve Johnson 6-2, 6-4 to reach the final at Delray Beach, Fla.

Anderson, seeded No. 4 and ranked No. 21 in the world, will be playing in his second Delray Beach final on Sunday when he faces the winner of the other semifinal between No. 2 seed John Isner and No. 7 seed Marin Cilic. Anderson won this event in 2012.

RIO OPEN: Top-seeded Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic and fifth-seeded Kurumi Nara of Japan will face off in the final at Rio de Janeiro.

Zakopalova defeated local hope Teliana Pereira 6-2, 6-1, and Nara won over Nastassja Burnett of Italy 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 in the semifinals.

Zakopalova will be aiming for her third WTA singles title. She won her first two in 2004, and since then has been a losing finalist 11 times.

Advertisement

SOCCER

PREMIER LEAGUE: Wins by Chelsea, Manchester City, and Arsenal left the top of the league unchanged.

Defending champion Manchester United is still 15 points from the top, but moved up to sixth after ending a three-game winless run with a 2-0 victory at Crystal Palace.

SPAIN: Gareth Bale scored from long range to help Real Madrid win 3-0 against Elche – its third straight win without Cristiano Ronaldo, who has finished his three-game suspension.

FRANCE: Marseille beat Lorient 1-0 to stay in the hunt for a Champions League place.

HOCKEY

Advertisement

NHL: Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Fedor Tyutin will miss two to three weeks due to an ankle injury suffered while playing for Russia in the Olympics at Sochi, Russia.

The 30-year-old has four goals and 20 assists with 30 penalty minutes and a plus-6 rating in 53 games with the Blue Jackets this season.

A native of Ivhevsk, Russia, Tyutin had four penalty minutes and was plus-1 in five games at the Olympics.

– From news services


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.