Aussies, British are tied
Australia salvaged a split of the first two matches when Bernard Tomic beat Dan Evans in four sets after Andy Murray gave Britain a 1-0 lead in the Davis Cup semifinal at Glasgow. The other semifinal between Belgium and Argentina at Brussels was also at 1-1 after the opening singles matches.
In other Davis Cup competition, Jack Sock breezed past Farrukh Dustov in straight sets to draw the United States level with Uzbekistan at 1-1 in their World Group playoff at Tashkent. The U.S. is trying to continue its 26-year-stay in the top-tier World Group. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal helped put Switzerland and Spain, respectively, into commanding positions in their playoffs.
France’s tennis federation fired its Davis Cup captain Arnaud Clement after growing tension between him and the players. The federation said that Clement, who led France to a runner-up finish in the competition last year, was dismissed because of his struggles to unite and motivate the team.
Ajla Tomljanovic of Croatia rallied to beat Madison Brengle, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, to advance to the semifinals of the Japan Open at Tokyo.
Lithuania defeated Serbia, 67-64, at Lille, France, to advance to the final of the European basketball championship and clinch a slot at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. In its second consecutive final, Lithuania will play Spain on Sunday after ending Serbia’s unbeaten run of seven games. Serbia has been the tournament’s highest-scoring team at an average of 88 points per game, but Lithuania limited last year’s World Cup silver medalist to 33% shooting from the field.
Tommy Johnson Jr. took the funny-car qualifying lead in the NHRA Carolina Nationals at Concord, N.C., the first event in the six-race NHRA Countdown to the Championship.
Johnson, seeded third entering the playoffs, had a track-record time of 3.971 seconds at 312.42 mph in his Dodge Charger R/T. Clay Millican took the top-fuel lead, Greg Anderson topped the pro-stock field, and Jerry Savoie was the fastest in pro-stock motorcycle.
The NASCAR Truck Series race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., was postponed because of rain. It was rescheduled for 7:30 a.m. PDT Saturday.
The New York Islanders signed 38-year-old defenseman Marek Zidlicky to a one-year contract. . . . The Arizona Coyotes signed defenseman Stefan Elliott to a one-year, two-way contract. Financial terms weren’t disclosed in either deal.
Elana Meyers Taylor and Steven Holcomb started a new bobsled season in familiar fashion — by winning. Lauren Gibbs won the women’s USA National Bobsled Push Championship at Lake Placid, N.Y., while Meyers Taylor and Holcomb won the pilot push titles.