Auto Racing
Vettel, from the pole, needs top-five finish to win F1
GREATER NOIDA, India – Sebastian Vettel closed in on his fourth consecutive Formula One title Saturday by claiming pole position for the Indian Grand Prix.
Vettel only needs to finish fifth or better Sunday to wrap up the championship with three races remaining, and he bettered his own lap record to claim his third conecutive pole at Buddh International Circuit. The German has won both previous Indian GP races, leading every lap. He clocked 1 minute, 24.119 seconds to beat his nearest rival by 0.7 seconds.
Soccer
Morgan will sit San Francisco against New Zealand
SAN FRANCISCO – Alex Morgan is sidelined with an ankle injury and will miss the U.S. national team match against New Zealand on Sunday.
The third-leading scorer for the USA team suffered a minor ankle injury this week during training. She’ll be held out of the exhibition at Candlestick Park.
Morgan has six goals and four assists in 11 matches this year. Leading scorer Abby Wambach, along with Sydney Leroux and Christen Press, will be the featured forwards.
Neymar leads Barcelona over Bale and Real Madrid
BARCELONA, Spain – Neymar scored one goal and set up Alexis Sanchez’s winning chip shot in the 78th minute, carrying Barcelona past Real Madrid 2-1 in the first “clasico” since the defending champions added Neymar and Real signed Gareth Bale.
With Lionel Messi oddly quiet for Barcelona, Neymar opened the scoring in the 19th minute from close range after a pass from Andres Iniesta. Two minutes earlier, Neymar struck the ball into the arms of Madrid goalkeeper Diego Lopez with the game’s first shot.
Neymar received an ovation when he was substituted with six minutes to go after a match in which the Brazilian striker clearly outshone Bale.
Neymar, a player who could represent the team’s future in a distant post-Messi era, joined Barcelona this offseason for $76 million. Bale, an attacking midfielder from Wales, signed with Real Madrid for a sum reported variously at $120 million and $132 million.
Tennis
Struggling Serena rallies for a WTA final against Li
ISTANBUL – Serena Williams can’t be stopped, even when she hits the wall.
An exhausted Williams managed to hang on to beat Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 on Saturday and will play Li Na in Sunday’s final of the WTA Championships.
Li advanced to her first WTA Championships final by sweeping 2011 winner Petra Kvitova 6-4, 6-2, setting up a showdown Sunday between the two oldest players in the tournament.
It’s only the second time in the history of the event that two players over 30 – Williams at 32 and Li at 31 – have made it to the final four. The season-ending tournament features the top eight players in the world.
World Cup Skiing
Swiss star slices to victory in World Cup-opening GS
SOELDEN, Austria – Lara Gut of Switzerland sent a message to her rivals less than four months before the Sochi Olympics.
She captured a season-opening World Cup giant slalom Saturday for her fourth career victory but first in the discipline. She is the first Swiss woman to win a giant slalom since Sonja Nef in 2003.
Kathrin Zettel of Austria was second and Olympic champion Viktoria Rebensburg was third. Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S., who won the slalom title last season, was sixth for her best World Cup result in the discipline.
Four-time overall champion Lindsey Vonn skipped the race and plans to start her season next month in a comeback from knee surgery.
Julia Mancuso, the 2006 Olympic champion in the discipline, finished the first run in 31st but was allowed a second run after Emi Hasegawa of Japan was disqualified.
Associated Press
