Off the wire

TENNIS Djokovic advances

Novak Djokovic converted his fourth match point to beat Donald Young 6-2, 7-6 (9) Thursday and advance to the semifinals at the Eastbourne International in Eastbourne, England. The top-seeded Djokovic saved two set points, on Young’s serve at 5-4 and on his own serve in the tiebreaker, and clinched victory with a return winner. Djokovic will play Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals of the Wimbledon warm-up tournament on England’s south coast, after the Russian player beat fourth-seeded Steve Johnson 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. Second-seeded Gael Monfils will play seventh-seeded Richard Gasquet in the other semifinal match today. Monfils defeated Bernard Tomic 7-6 (4), 6-0 and Gasquet beat third-seeded John Isner 6-3, 6-2. In the women’s tournament, Angelique Kerber, Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova — the top three seeded players — joined Johanna Konta, Caroline Wozniacki and Svetlana Kuznetsova in advancing to the quarterfinals.

Murray cancels match

Andy Murray has pulled out of another exhibition match ahead of Wimbledon because of a sore hip. The top-ranked Murray was scheduled to play at the Aspall Tennis Classic at the Hurlingham Club in London today but said he needs to rest his hip. He withdrew from an exhibition match against Lucas Pouille on Tuesday with the same problem. Wimbledon starts Monday and Murray is the defending champion. In his build-up to the grass-court major, Murray lost in the first round at Queen’s last week.

Police: Venus at fault

Florida police said tennis star Venus Williams was at fault in a car crash earlier this month that led to the death of a passenger in another vehicle. Palm Beach Gardens police released a report Thursday saying Williams was at fault in a June 9 crash that injured Jerome Barson, 79, who died two weeks later. The report said Williams was driving her 2010 Toyota Sequoia SUV when witnesses said she ran a red light into the path of a sedan driven by Barson’s wife, Linda. Maj. Paul Rogers said the crash remains under investigation. Williams has

not been cited or charged. Williams’ attorney, Malcolm Cunningham, said in a statement that Williams expressed “her deepest condolences to the family who lost a loved one.” He said the light was green when she entered the intersection.

SWIMMING

King sets up showdown

Olympic gold medalist Lilly King can prepare for another showdown with Russian rival Yulia Efimova after winning the women’s 200-meter breaststroke at the U.S. National Championships in Indianapolis on Thursday. King had the second-best time in the world this year — 2 minutes, 21.83 seconds. Efimova went 2:19.83 two weeks ago. Katie Ledecky and Ryan Murphy lived up to their reputations, too. Ledecky qualified for the American world championship team with a victory in the women’s 200 freestyle. Murphy took the men’s 200 backstroke. Other winners included Kevin Cordes in the men’s 200 breast, Townley

Haas in the men’s 200 free and Kathleen Baker in the women’s 200 back.

MOTOR SPORTS Gordon back at Brickyard

Five-time Brickyard 400 winner Jeff Gordon will lead the field into the race one more time next month — as the pace-car driver. Gordon competed in each of the first 23 races on the historic 2.5-mile oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that is not far from his childhood home. Two years ago, after Gordon had announced he would retire, race officials billed the race as his “last ride.” The plan was to have Gordon in the pace car last year. Instead, Gordon came out of retirement to replace the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr. This time, Gordon, who won three poles at Indy, will drive a supercharged 2017 Camaro ZL1. The race is scheduled for July 23.

HOCKEY

Former Oiler Semenko dies

Former Edmonton Oilers tough guy Dave Semenko, who protected Wayne Gretzky in the 1980s, has died. He was 59. The Oilers said Semenko died in Edmonton after a short battle with cancer. Semenko was the body guard for “The Great One” for parts of 10 seasons with the Oilers in the World Hockey Association and NHL. He helped Edmonton win the Stanley Cup in 1984 and 1985. he had 65 goals, 88 assists and 1,175 penalty minutes in 575 regular-season NHL games and 6 goals, 6 assists and 208 PIMs in 73 playoff games.

FOOTBALL

Game officials announced

The roster of NFL officials this season will include eight rookies on the field and the league’s first female instant replay official in the booth. Terri Valenti, who has worked on instant replay for the NFL for the past five years, was promoted to the role of the officials who are part of each of the 17 crews of rules arbiters. The league announced the assignments on Thursday, with all 17 referees returning to their lead roles. Valenti has previously served as an on-field official for high school, college and minor league games. The instant replay official determines when the game should be stopped for reviews after scoring plays and the two-minute warnings, and throughout overtime. Final decisions on reviews will be determined by the NFL’s centralized operations in New York.

Modified sentence sought

Ex-Penn State athletic director Tim Curley wants a judge to modify his sentence for failing to report now-convicted sexual predator Jerry Sandusky to authorities, saying he has incurable lung cancer and liver damage. The Centre Daily Times reported Curley wants to serve his seven- to 23-month incarceration on house arrest and work release. A judge earlier this month ordered Curley, 63, to serve the three months of his sentence in jail followed by four months on house arrest after Curley and two other former Penn State administrators were convicted of child endangerment charges. State prosecutors aren’t opposing the motion. Curley’s attorneys filed the initial motion to modify his sentence a week later. They filed an addendum Wednesday citing unspecified “additional medical information” not spelled out in the motion.