Off the wire

— TENNIS

Russians in Rogers Cup final

Maria Sharapova advanced to the final of the Rogers Cup with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Russian compatriot Alisa Kleybanova on Saturday night. Sharapova will face fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva in the tournament's first all-Russian women's final. Dementieva beat second-seeded Serena Williams 7-6 (2), 6-1 in the first semifinal. Sharapova, who missed nearly a year with a serious shoulder injury, will make her first appearance in a final since April 2008. Kleybanova, who needed 3 hours, 16 minutes to beat No. 5 Jelena Jankovic in the quarterfinals the previous night, was up 3-1 in the third set. However, Sharapova rallied, breaking Kleybanova twice to roar ahead 5-4. She then closed out the 2-hour, 37-minute match with back-to-back aces, her fifth and sixth of the match.

Roger Federer had lost five consecutive matches to Rafael Nadal before a straight-set victory in the final at Madrid, Spain, in May, and on Saturday, the world's No. 1 player snapped a four-match losing streak against second-ranked Andy Murray to reach the final of the Cincinnati Masters in Mason, Ohio. Federer won 6-2, 7-6 (8) and will face fourth-ranked Novak Djokovic today. Djokovic earned his second consecutive appearance in the final and snapped his five-match losing streak against No. 3 Nadal with a 6-1, 6-4 victory in the other semifinal.

CYCLING

Cavendish wins second stage

Britain's Mark Cavendish has won the second stage of the three-day Tour of Ireland, with Lance Armstrong 26 seconds behind the overall leader. Armstrong also received Cavendish's time of 5 hours, 7 minutes, 33 seconds. The Texan finished 74th Saturday and is 20th overall. Russell Downing kept the race leader's yellow jersey by five seconds over Russia's Alexander Kolobnev, with Matti Breschel of Denmark third. The final stage todaycovers 115 miles from Bantry to Cork on Ireland's south coast.

HORSE RACING

Careless Jewel wins Alabama

Canada-based Careless Jewel opened a clear lead on the stretch turn and drew away to an 11-length victory in the $600,000 Alabama Stakes for 3-year-old fillies Saturday at Saratoga Race Course in New York. Jockey Robert Landry rated the grey filly behind the early pace set by Be Fair and entering the stretch turn sent Careless Jewelto a lead that she extended with every stride. She ran 1 1 /4 miles in 2:03.24 to win her fourth consecutive race. Milwaukee Appeal, also sent from Canada for the Alabama, finished second and Casanova Move was third. The Josie Carroll-trained Careless Jewel paid $7.80, $4.60 and $3.60. Milwaukee Appeal paid $3.90 and $3.00 and Casanova Move paid $5.90 to show.

Chirac scored a wire-to-wire win in the $300,000 Philip H. Iselin Stakes at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., on Saturday, beating You and I Forever by 6 3 /4 lengths. Trained by JaneCibelli and ridden by Elvis Trujillo, the 4-year-old gelding covered the 1 1 /8 miles over a sloppy main track in 1:49 and paid $26.40, $8.20 and $5.40. You and I Forever returned $5.80 and $4.60, while Pampered Sir was another 4 1 /4 lengths back in third and paid $8.40.

Trainer Bob Baffert's filly Internallyflawless held off long shot Nan by a half-length Saturday to win the Grade 1 $350,000 Del Mar Oaks. Ridden by Garrett Gomez, Internallyflawless was second in the field of 10 3-year-old fillies in the early stages of the race, took the lead on the final turn and held on for the win, covering 1 1 /8 miles on the turf in 1:49.46. Overwhelming favorite Well Monied rallied late but only managed a third-place finish. Internallyflawless paid $15.80, $8.20 and $4.80. Nan paid $21 and $8.40. Well Monied returned $2.60 to show.

Lucky Jim capped a near-perfect season by winning the $600,000 Breeders Crown Open Trot at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, N.J., for his 17th win in 18 starts. Coming off a world record-tying performance in his previous start two weeks ago, Lucky Jim was put on the lead by driver Andy Miller on the backstretch and held off a challenge by Arch Madness at the top of the stretch en route to a 1 1 /2-length victory.

FOOTBALL Nebraska coach dismisses RB

Running back Quentin Castille has been dismissed from the Nebraska football program for violating unspecified team rules. Coach Bo Pelini did not elaborate on the violations committed by the junior from La Porte, Texas. Pelini announced the dismissal following the No. 24 Cornhuskers' practice Saturday, even though Castille has not practiced with the team for several days. The 6-1, 235-pound Castille was expected to be a key contributor for Nebraska this season after rushing for 467 yards and six touchdowns last season. He'd been battling Roy Helu Jr. for the starting job at running back.

TRACK AND FIELD Bolt wins again, but without world record

BERLIN - Usain Bolt's third gold medal of the world championships failed to produce a third worldrecord because the Jamaican 400-meter relay team only managed to produce the second-fastest time in track and field history.

"It is a little bit my fault," an apologetic Bolt said, complaining he was just too tired after nine races in eight days.

"I didn't run the best third leg. I was happy to get around the track and givethe baton to Asafa," he said. "I am dying right now."

Compounding Bolt's fatigue was Asafa Powell's groin injury, which made the anchor runner uncertain until one hour before the start.

Since the Beijing Olympics last year, Bolt had won five major gold medals with a world record each time. The world record streak ended in the 400 relay after he set two individual marks in Berlin.

"The main thing that counted was getting the gold," Bolt said.

The Jamaicans won in 37.31 seconds, a championship record but slower than the world record of 37.10 they set in Beijing last year.

Trinidad and Tobago took silver and Britain got bronze.

American Dwight Phillipsjumped 28 feet, /4 inch on his second attempt to win the long jump on Saturday. His main rival, Olympic champion Irving Saladino of Panama, was eliminated with scratches in his first three tries.

Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland set a world record of 255 feet, 9 inches to win the hammer throw and earn a $160,000 check for winninga title with a record.

Wlodarczyk reached the mark on her second effort and did not make any other attempts until the sixth and final series. Betty Heidler of Germany won silver.

Despite the long jump victory Saturday, it still was a bittersweet day for the American team. The United States failed to make the women's 400 relay final, with Muna Lee falling to the ground injured after a handoff in the heats.

The injury compounded the U.S. relay problems one day after the men's team was disqualified from its heat for handing over the baton outside the designated zone.

Sports, Pages 24 on 08/23/2009

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