TENNIS
Nadal advances to final
Top-seeded Rafael Nadal dismissed Andreas Seppi 6-1, 6-2 to set up a Hamburg Open final against Fabio Fognoni. The fourth-seeded Fogoni beat qualifier Lucas Pouille 6-2, 7-6 (3) after saving a set point in the second set. Nadal is looking to extend his streak of having won at least one European clay court title every year since 2004. The former No. 1 has dropped to 10th in the rankings and is playing his first tournament since losing in the second round of Wimbledon. He won in Hamburg in 2008, the last time he played in the clay-court event. Nadal served a double-fault at match point in the seventh game before breaking serve in the next to win. He holds a 4-2 career edge over Fognini, the 2013 Hamburg champion.
• Two-time defending champion John Isner rallied to reach his 19th ATP Tour final Saturday, beating friend Denis Kudla 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the Atlanta Open semifinals. Isner's serve was once again overpowering and, after winning a rock-steady first set, Kudla made too mistakes over the final two sets in Atlantic Station. Fifth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus faced seventh-seeded Gilles Muller of Luxemborg in the night semifinal. Isner broke serve twice in the second set, each time winning games as Kudla sent apparently easy forehands from the baseline into the net to give the 6-foot-10 former University of Georgia star leads of 3-1 and then to clinch the set at 6-2. The only service break of the final set came on another Kudla forehand mistake, when he sent one wide to end the match. Isner moved to 19-3 in Atlanta while reaching his fifth final in six years. He will chase his 10th title Sunday.
BASEBALL
Angels' Wilson out?
Angels left-hander C.J. Wilson held up his left arm and tried to bend it. It didn't bend much. Then he tried to straighten it. It didn't straighten much. He had reached the point, he said, where he no longer could pitch this season. An MRI revealed bone spurs on all sides of his elbow. Barring a different opinion from Dr. Neal ElAttrache or Dr. James Andrews, Wilson said he'll require surgery and miss the rest of the season. Wilson said an MRI earlier this year showed bone spurs, and he pitched through the condition for the entire season. But he kept losing range of motion. "There's nothing much I can really do," Wilson said. "I don't have a good knuckleball." Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said it was obvious from Wilson's four-inning, six-run start on Tuesday that he was struggling with the elbow. The loss of Wilson should not jolt the Angels significantly. Right-hander Jered Weaver is expected to return from a hip injury next week.
• Cole Hamels was officially added to the Texas Rangers' active roster on Saturday. In his last start for the Philadelphia Phillies, the 31-year-old left-hander no-hit the Chicago Cubs on July 25. Hamels (6-7) was acquired in a seven-player trade that also brought left-handed reliever Jake Diekman to Texas. Diekman pitched in the Rangers' victory over the Giants on Friday night. Texas on Saturday also added right-handed reliever Sam Dyson, who was acquired from Miami on Friday. To make room on the roster for Hamels and Dyson, Texas optioned rookie right-hander Keone Kela to Class AA Frisco and placed catcher Robinson Chirinos on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to Friday with a strained left shoulder.
• The Colorado Rockies placed right-hander Kyle Kendrick and outfielder Corey Dickerson on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday. The Rockies also recalled right-hander Scott Oberg and outfielder Kyle Parker from Class AAA Albuquerque. Right-hander Christian Bergman (shoulder fatigue) was reinstated from the disabled list, and left-hander Aaron Laffey was designated for assignment. Kendrick left Friday night's 7-0 loss to the Cardinals after one inning with shoulder inflammation. He is scheduled for an MRI in Denver on Monday. Dickerson broke two ribs while diving for Jason Heyward's line drive during Thursday's 9-8 loss to the Cardinals. Dickerson is hitting .315 with five home runs and 18 RBI.
BASKETBALL
Player grievance filed
The National Basketball Players Association is filing a grievance against the Kings on behalf of forward Luc Mbah a Moute, who had a contract he signed with the team last month voided after a failed physical, according to a Yahoo Sports report. The Kings were reportedly concerned about Mbah a Moute's right shoulder, but the free agent and Cameroon native was cleared to play for Team Africa against Team World in the first NBA exhibition game in Africa Saturday. Mbah a Moute signed a one-year deal July 14. He averaged a career-high 9.9 points in 67 games for Philadelphia last season.
• Kentucky Coach John Calipari suggested Saturday that the increasing international flavor of Kentucky's roster is more coincidence than conscious effort to recruit globally. "You're recruiting guys who don't want to run from this," he said. "This is just what they want. And whether I'm from Lexington, Kentucky, or Toronto, Canada, Australia or New Zealand, who wants this?" Kentucky freshmen Skal Labissiere and Jamal Murray are from Haiti and Canada, respectively. Transfer Mychal Mulder is also Canadian. Karl-Anthony Towns, who sat next to Calipari at a joint news conference Saturday, played for the Dominican Republic National Team. Speculation has Kentucky interested in a 7-foot native of Australia. "It's not been by design," Calipari said. "The guys we have, I don't care where they're from. They're pretty good players." To add to the international intrigue, Calipari mentioned a 7-foot-5 Italian who apparently was on campus recently. "He made Karl look about 6-7," Calipari said.
HORSE RACING
Red wins Jim Dandy
Texas Red took the lead from Japan with an eighth of a mile left and held off Frosted to win the Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy by a half-length Saturday at Saratoga Race Course in New York. Trained by Keith Desormeaux and ridden by his Hall of Fame brother, Kent, Texas Red won for the first time since capping his 2-year-old season with an upset victory in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Texas Red ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.77 over a fast main track in the prep for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes on Aug. 29. The 3-year-old son of Afleet Alex finished second in both his previous starts this year, the Grade 2 San Vicente on Feb. 1 and Grade 3 Dwyer on July 4. Favored at 3-5 in a field reduced to four by the scratches of Upstart, Competitive Edge and Tekton, Frosted was 3 3/4 lengths ahead of Japan, and Frammento followed. Tekton finished second Friday in the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga, while Competitive Edge and Upstart are scheduled to take on Triple Crown champion American Pharoah in the Grade 1 Haskell today at Monmouth Park. Texas Red returned $5.70 and $2.40, and Frosted paid $2.20. There was no show wagering. On the undercard, Rock Fall edged The Big Beast by a nose in the Grade 1, $300,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt, and Holy Boss cruised in the Grade 2, $200,000 Amsterdam, both for sprinters. Red Rifle split horses in mid-stretch to win the Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green for older turf horses.
Sports on 08/02/2015