Auto Racing
Gordon and Ambrose to start 1-2 in Sprint Cup race
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Jeff Gordon won the Sprint Cup pole for the Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen International.
Gordon turned a fast lap of 129.466 mph in the second and final round of knockout qualifying on the 2.45-mile road course to top Marcos Ambrose and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson.
Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch rounded out the top five.
Ambrose crushes Nationwide field at Watkins Glen
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Marcos Ambrose won the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Watkins Glen International.
Making his first appearance in four years in a race he has dominated, Ambrose drove a flawless race from the fourth starting position after an early altercation with Kyle Busch, then held off a hard-charging Busch in the closing laps for his fourth consecutive victory in the event.
Joey Logano finished third, followed by Penske teammate and polesitter Brad Keselowski. Matt Kenseth was fifth as Sprint Cup drivers dominated on the speedy 2.45-mile road course.
Points leader Chase Elliott finished sixth, Ty Dillon was eighth, and Regan Smith had a difficult race and came home 17th. That boosted Elliott’s lead in the standings to 12 points over Smith and 13 over Dillon and Elliott Sadler, who was seventh.
Cycling
Evans wins Stage 6 in Utah; Danielson keeps his lead
SNOWBIRD, UTAH – BMC Racing Team’s Cadel Evans of Australia survived a long day in the breakaway and outsprinted challengers to snare victory Saturday at the Tour of Utah. The 2011 Tour de France champion won Stage 6 in 4 hours, 34 minutes and 31 seconds.
Evans was part of an early 15-rider lead group which was whittled down to just four riders as they hit the bottom of Little Cottonwood Canyon, the last of four categorized climbs on the 107.2-mile stage. American Joey Rosskopf of Hincapie Sportswear Development finished second, followed by Austrian national road race champion Riccardo Zoidl of Trek Factory Racing in third.
Despite Evans’ assault in the Wasatch Mountains, the leaders in the overall standings remained unchanged with one day remaining. Fort Lewis College alumnus and Garmin-Sharp’s Tom Danielson retained his leader’s jersey and his 57-second advantage over Lampre-Merida’s Chris Horner of the United States. Ben Hermans of Belgium and BMC Racing Team remains third in the general classification but lost time to fall 1:26 behind Danielson.
Tennis
Venus beats sister Serena to reach Montreal’s final
MONTREAL – Venus Williams defeated Serena Williams 6-7 (2), 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday for the first win against her sister in more than five years and advanced to the final of the Rogers Cup.
The 32-year-old Serena, ranked No. 1 in the world for the 200th career week, leads the series 14-11 and had won the last five matches. The 34-year-old Venus, ranked 26th, ended her sister’s 14-match Rogers Cup winning streak that dated to wins at the 2011 and 2013 tournaments in Toronto.
In the second semifinal, third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska beat Ekaterina Makarova 7-6 (1), 7-6 (3).
Federer will play Tsonga for the Toronto championship
TORONTO – Roger Federer advanced to the Rogers Cup final Saturday night, beating Spain’s Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-4 to set up a match against upset-happy Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
The second-ranked Federer is seeking his third title of the year. He has 79 career titles and is a 17-time Grand Slam champion.
Tsonga beat his third consecutive higher-seeded opponent, topping seventh-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-4, 6-3. The 13th-seeded Frenchman beat top-ranked Novak Djokovic on Thursday and eighth-seeded Andy Murray on Friday.
Associated Press
