Rybakina, Kasatkina to clash in Abu Dhabi tennis final

No. 1 seed Elena Rybakina and No. 7 Daria Kasatkina will meet in the final of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open after winning tough semifinal matches on Saturday in the United Arab Emirates.

Rybakina, of Kazakhstan, outlasted No. 8 seed

Liudmila Samsonova of Russia 6-0, 4-6, 6-2. It was her first win in five matches against Samsonova and came in one hour, 51 minutes behind nine aces and six service breaks.

Kasatkina, of Russia, reached the final following a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 win over Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia, the No. 6 seed.

The two finalists have split their previous four matches.

Elsewhere: At the

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Transylvania Open, Ana Bogdan defeated fellow Romanian Jaqueline Cristian 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to move to the final in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Cristian actually won more total points — 94 to 92 — than Bogdan, the No. 8 seed, but the match turned in the third set when Cristian lost serve to go down 4-2. In Sunday’s final, Bogdan will face Czech Karolina Pliskova, a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Great Britain’s Harriet Dart.

ETC.

MacKenzie

NHL:

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Weegar collected his first career hat trick and the visiting Calgary Flames beat the New York Islanders 5-2 on Saturday in Elmont, N.Y., to run their winning streak to four games. Weegar’s trio of tallies gives him 15 on the season, most among NHL defensemen. His previous career high was eight, set two seasons ago while with the Florida Panthers.

Huberdeau and

Blake Coleman both collected one goal and one assist, and goaltender

Jacob Markstrom sparkled with 35 saves, 16 of them in the third period. Markstrom added an assist, giving him four on the season — most among

NHL goaltenders . ... Jake Walman scored on a penalty shot 23 seconds into overtime to lead the Detroit Red Wings to a 4-3 home win over the Vancouver Canucks. Walman was awarded the penalty shot after being slashed on a breakaway by Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes . ...

Jake Neighbours scored twice to lead the visiting St. Louis Blues past the Buffalo Sabres 3-1. Jordan Kyrou also scored and Joel Hofer made 33 saves for the Blues, who won for the sixth time in their past seven games to remain in the race for a Western Conference playoff berth.

College basketball:

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Alex Karaban scored 25 points as No. 1 UConn throttled Georgetown 89-64 in Washington, D.C. Karaban finished 10 for 14 from the field and 4 for 7 from three-point range for the Huskies (22-2, 12-1 Big East), who matched their season high with 52 points in the first half and never trailed en route to their 12th straight win . ... Mark Mitchell scored 17 points to lead five players in double figures as No. 9 Duke took control in the second half to defeat visiting Boston College 80-65. Kyle Filipowski and Jeremy Roach each had 16 points,

Jared McCain collected 11 points and 10 rebounds and Tyrese Proctor posted 10 points for Duke

(18-5, 9-3 ACC), which has won two in a row at home since a loss last Sunday at North Carolina . ... A.J. Hoggard scored 23 points and Malik Hall added 22, including a pair of crucial three-point plays down the stretch, as host Michigan State erased a late eightpoint deficit to stop No. 10 Illinois 88-80 . ... Noah Fernandes had 17 points on 6-for-6 shooting, including a season-high five three-pointers, to guide Rutgers’ 78-56 upset of No. 11 Wisconsin. Fernandes came off the bench to have his best game of the season, while Jeremiah Williams racked up a gamehigh 18 points, five rebounds and seven assists for the Scarlet Knights (13-10, 5-7 Big Ten) in their third straight victory. The Badgers (16-8, 8-5) lost their fourth in a row.

NBA: Free agent guard A

Spencer Dinwiddie will sign with the Los Angeles Lakers after he clears waivers, The Athletic reported. Dinwiddie, 30, was traded to the Toronto Raptors from the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday in exchange for guard Dennis Schroder and forward Thaddeus Young. He subsequently was waived by the Raptors.

MLB: Baltimore

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Orioles All-Star closer

Felix Bautista underwent two procedures on his pitching elbow Friday, but the club said it won’t hinder his projected 2025 return from Tommy John surgery. Bautista, who underwent the major surgery on his right arm in October, had elbow debridement and ulnar nerve transposition procedures performed on Friday in Dallas. The procedures cleaned out scar tissue and moved the nerve to avoid compression. Bautista, 28, injured his right ulnar collateral ligament in a game against the Colorado Rockies on Aug. 25 and missed the rest of the 2023 season.