Isner advances to Atlanta final

Top-seeded John Isner advanced to the Atlanta Open final for the eighth time, beating fourth-seeded Matthew Ebden 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-1. Seeking his fifth victory at Atlantic Station in the past six years, Isner will face eighth-seeded Ryan Harrison, who beat Cameron Norrie 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

NHL: The New York Rangers avoided arbitration with defenseman Brady Skjei and agreed on a six-year contract. Skjei, a 2012 first-round pick, has played 169 NHL games and is going into his third full season. He averaged a career-high 21 minutes a game and had four goals and 21 assists last season. Boxing: Britain’s Dillian Whyte moved closer to a shot at the world heavyweight title by winning by unanimous decision against New Zealand’s Joseph Parker in London.

Whyte, 30, accepted the fight with Parker, 26, in an attempt to force a rematch with Anthony Joshua or a challenge at WBC champion Deontay Wilder.

Whyte barely made the final bell. A heavy knockdown in the final round and exhaustion left him struggling to defend himself against Parker, a former WBO champion. But an earlier knockdown of Parker helped Whyte receive judges’ scores of 115-112, 115-110 and 114-111. Obituary: Bruce Lietzke, the fun-loving, 13-time PGA Tour winner whose practice regime — or lack of one — spawned an often-told spoiled banana story, died of brain cancer in Athens, Texas. He was 67.

With family, fishing and a large muscle car collection to tend to, Lietzke had little time or desire to tinker with a trusted swing. At the final event in 1984, Lietzke told caddie Al Hansen that he wouldn’t touch his clubs again until the 1985 opener. The unbelieving Hansen put the banana in Lietzke’s golf bag as a test, only to discover the rotten fruit still there in January.

Lietzke played in the United States’ 1981 Ryder Cup victory in England, and finished second to John Daly in the 1991 PGA Championship.