Sports shorts Stephens advances to first Grand Slam final

Two points from defeat against Venus Williams at the U.S. Open, Sloane Stephens summoned her best strokes when she needed them the most to reach a Grand Slam final for the first time.

Stephens was so close to defeat before taking the last three games of a back-and-forth semifinal between two Americans at Flushing Meadows, edging seven-time major champion Williams, 6-1, 0-6, 7-5 on Thursday night.

At 37, Williams was attempting to become the oldest woman to win a Grand Slam title in the Open era, which dates to 1968. She was trying to reach her third major final of this season, something she last did 15 years ago.

Stephens showed signs of jitters during the warmup, dumping her first two practice forehands into the net. Then she double-faulted on the second point of the match.

A former linebacker has filed a lawsuit against Notre Dame, claiming the university concealed the results of a spinal scan from him and that he has potentially permanent nerve damage to his neck.

The Indianapolis Star reports that Douglas Randolph filed the complaint this month in St. Joseph Circuit Court, naming coach Brian Kelly among the defendants. Randolph alleges he shouldn’t have been allowed to continue playing during the 2015 season. The complaint says he was later diagnosed with spinal stenosis. It doesn’t specify damages being sought.

Paul Brown, a spokesman for Notre Dame, says he can’t comment because the school hasn’t received the lawsuit.

The suit says Randolph was hit during a practice drill and “suffered numbness.” The complaint says symptoms continued after every impact on the field.

Bibiana Steinhaus will make history in Germany on Sunday when she becomes the first woman to referee a Bundesliga game.

The German football federation announced on Thursday that the 38-yearold police officer is to take charge of Hertha Berlin’s home game against Werder Bremen, confirming her place among the league’s elite group of 24 referees.

Steinhaus has already spent a decade refereeing in Germany’s second division and she has plenty of experience with many of the country’s top stars from taking charge of German Cup games, too.