Serena tops Sharapova
Serena Williams extended her winning streak against Maria Sharapova to 14 matches with a 6-2, 7-6 (7) semifinal victory Friday to earn a shot at back-to-back Brisbane International titles in Australia.
Williams, the defending champion, will play secondseeded Victoria Azarenka in the final and will be favored to retain the title that kicked off her stunning 2013 season that included 78 wins from 82 matches and 11 titles.
Azarenka overcame a shaky serve and another case of the nerves to beat former Jelena Jankovic, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
On the men’s side, top-seeded Roger Federer coasted to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Marinko Matosevic of Australia and moved into a semifinal against No. 8 Jeremy Chardy of France.
More tennis
Venus Williams fell short in her attempt to capture her first title in more than a year, losing to Ana Ivanovic, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4, in the final of the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand.
reached the final of the Qatar Open in Doha by coming from behind to beat German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Nadal and will face of France, who only dispatched Florian Mayer of Germany, 6-3, 6-2.
Stanislas Wawrinka earned his 300th win on the ATP tour as he breezed past Slovenian Aljaz Bedene, 6-2, 6-1, to reach the semifinals of the Chennai Open in India. Wawrinka became only the fourth Swiss player to reach the milestone after Roger Federer (923), Marc Rosset (433) and Jakob Hlasek (432). Wawrinka next will play fifth-seeded Vasek Pospisil of Canada, who beat local favorite Yuki Bhambria, 6-3, 6-3.
and Peng Shuai advanced to set up an all-Chinese final at the Shenzhen Open in China. Top-seeded Li defeated Germany’s Annika Beck, 6-1, 6-3, while fifth-seeded Peng advanced in a walkover when American Vania King withdrew with a right thigh injury.
Golf
Coming off a remarkable rookie season, Jordan Spieth made a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 7-under 66 to share the lead after one round of the Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii, with Chris Kirk, Michael Thompson and Webb Simpson.
Baseball
Colorado Rockies co-owner pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and was sentenced to two years of supervised probation during which his alcohol use will be monitored. The plea stemmed from his arrest Nov. 4.
James Loney finalized a $21 million, three-year contract with the Tampa Bay Rays, the largest the budget-minded club has given a free agent since current ownership led by Stuart Sternberg took control after the 2005 season. Loney, 29, hit a team-leading .299 with 13 homers and 75 RBIs for the Rays last season, his first with Tampa Bay.
Soccer
Former U.S. national men’s coach Bob Bradley is moving to Norway, where he will take charge of Stabaek, a small club that was just promoted to the top division. Bradley, 55, most recently led Egypt’s national team, but his contract wasn’t renewed after the country failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup.
Randy Waldrum, who led Notre Dame women’s team to national championships in 2004 and 2010, resigned to become coach of the expansion Houston Dash of the National Women’s Soccer League.
Ski jumping
Sara Takanashi of Japan extended her domination of the women’s ski jump World Cup by earning her fourth consecutive victory to start the season, underlining her status as the overwhelming favorite for the Sochi Olympics. Takanashi landed jumps of 99 and 96.5 meters for a total of 232.6 points at the Chaikovsky night event in Russia.
Harness racing
The Meadows Racetrack & Casino canceled a live card for Tuesday afternoon because of cold temperatures in the forecast. It will be rescheduled for Thursday, usually a non-racing day.