Sock, Federer advance to semis

Jack Sock is getting quite the workout at the BNP Paribas Open, with all four of his matches stretching to three sets on his way to the semifinals. The 24-year-old American notched his biggest singles victory yet with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 quarterfinal win over Kei Nishikori on Friday. Sock finally broke through against a top-five ranked opponent after losing his first seven matches against such competition.

“The doubters in the past can’t really say much anymore,” he said. “I actually feel almost stronger as the tournament has gone on.”

Sock will need to keep up his strength for his semifinal against four-time Indian Wells champion Roger Federer, who advanced when Nick Kyrgios withdrew with what the Australian suspected was food poisoning.

The women’s semifinals Friday night featured No. 14 Elena Vesnina against 28th-seeded Kristina Mladenovic and No. 3 Karolina Pliskova against No. 8 Svetlana Kuznetsova.

ODDS AND ENDS

NASCAR: Joey Logano ran a fast late lap to claim the pole for the Camping World 500 on a Phoenix International Raceway track made slick by the heat. With the temperature in the low 90s as the sun set, Ryan Blaney qualified second to give Ford the top two spots to start Sunday’s race. Logano won with a top speed of 137.321 mph.

Skiing: Mikaela Shiffrin doesn’t even need to step into the World Cup Finals starting gate in Aspen, Colo., to wrap up her first overall title. Shiffrin secured the season-long title after Ilka Stuhec’s coach said the Slovenian won’t compete in the slalom.