All-Williams final thwarted

The hope of an all-Williams final at the Dubai Championships in United Arab Emirates ended Friday on the racket of Frenchwoman Alize Cornet.

Cornet, ranked 26th, scored her first career victory over a No. 1 player when she upset Serena Williams, 6-4, 6-4.

Earlier, Venus Williams earned her spot in the final when she dominated eighthseeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 6-3, 6-2.

More tennis

Top-seeded Rafael Nadal reached the semifinals of the Rio Open in Brazil, defeating Joao Sousa of Portugal, 6-1, 6-0. Nadal, in his first tournament since losing the Australian Open final, will face fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar. Andjuar ripped through Tommy Robredo of Spain 6-1, 6-1.

Richard Gasquet of France and defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga advanced to the Open 13 semifinals in Marseille, France.

Hockey

Detroit Red Wings captain and center Henrik Zetterberg, 33, had back surgery Friday, and the team expects him to be evaluated again in about eight weeks. Zetterberg played through pain and scored a goal in Sweden’s opening victory against the Czech Republic at the Sochi Olympics, but that was his only appearance before he left because of a herniated disk. Detroit is fighting for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and it now seems the Red Wings will be without Zetterberg for most if not all of the stretch run.

Thea Imbrogno broke the program career record for points as the No. 9-ranked Colonials (23-7-3, 12-5-2) secured a first-round bye in the College Hockey America tournament after a 5-2 victory against visiting Penn State (4-26-3, 1-17-1).

Soccer

Less than a year after pushing to leave Manchester United, striker Wayne Rooney, 28, committed his long-term future to the struggling Premier League champion by signing a lucrative new contract through June 2019. His deal reportedly is worth around $500,000 a week.

Cycling

Attorneys for Lance Armstrong argued that he shouldn’t have to return to arbitration with a Texas company over million-dollar bonuses he received for winning races even if it was revealed years later that he lied about taking performanceenhancing drugs during his spectacular career. SCA Promotions of Dallas sued shortly after Armstrong acknowledged in 2013 that he had lied for years about doping. It then asked an arbitration panel to reopen a 2006 settlement it reached over about $12 million in bonuses it said it paid for three of Armstrong’s seven Tour de France victories.