Sports in Brief

Published 5:00 am Saturday, August 10, 2013

Tennis

Canadian showdown in Montreal — Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil set up a semifinal showdown at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, overshadowing two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic and Spanish star Rafael Nadal. Canada’s top two singles players won quarterfinal matches Friday, continuing a rare run of success for homegrown players at the country’s biggest tennis event. They will face each other today with a berth in the final on the line. Pospisil became the first Canadian since Mike Belkin in 1969 to reach the final four of the event, once called the Canadian Open, when Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko retired due to illness. Pospisil led 3-0 in the first set when Davydenko stopped playing. Raonic, the 11th seed, rode the spirited support of the center court crowd for a 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-4 victory over Ernests Gulbis, the Latvian player who knocked out second-seeded Andy Murray on Thursday. In the other quarterfinals, the top-seeded Djokovic, from Serbia, beat seventh-seeded Richard Gasquet of France 6-1, 6-2; and the fourth-seeded Nadal beat Australian qualifier Marinko Matosevic 6-2, 6-4.

Serena in semis — Top-seeded Serena Williams eased into the Rogers Cup semifinals Friday night in Toronto, overpowering Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova 6-1, 6-1. Williams had seven aces and finished off Rybarikova in 60 minutes, 5 seconds. “I’m definitely feeling pretty good, playing much better than I have the past month I would say,” Williams said. “I’m glad I’m getting back to the feeling and getting into some rhythm.” The two-time Rogers Cup champion will face third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, a 7-6 (1), 7-5 winner over fifth-seeded Sara Errani of Italy. In the other quarterfinals, fourth-seeded Li Na of China beat Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova 7-6 (1), 6-2; and Romania’s Sorana Cirstea upset sixth-seeded defending champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Baseball

Pujols suing — Albert Pujols says he’s taking legal action against Jack Clark after the former St. Louis Cardinals star accused him of taking performance-enhancing drugs. “I am currently in the process of taking legal action against Jack Clark and his employers at WGNU 920AM,” the injured Los Angeles Angels’ slugger said a statement Friday night. “I am going to send a message that you cannot act in a reckless manner, like they have, and get away with it.” Clark said Pujols’ former trainer, Chris Mihlfeld, told him 10 years ago that he “shot him up.” Mihlfeld told ESPN.com that he didn’t tell Clark that Pujols took performance-enhancing drugs.

Rangers get Rios — The Texas Rangers acquired Alex Rios from the Chicago White Sox on Friday, beefing up their outfield for the stretch run with All-Star Nelson Cruz suspended. The Rangers will also receive cash considerations while sending the White Sox a player to be named later or cash. The Rangers, who began the day a percentage point behind Oakland for the AL West lead, were looking for help. Cruz, their All-Star right fielder and 2011 AL championship series MVP, was suspended 50 games Monday by Major League Baseball following its investigation into the Biogenesis clinic accused of distributing banned performance-enhancing drugs. Rios, 32, is batting .277 with 12 home runs, 26 stolen bases, 55 RBIs and 57 runs scored.

Football

Surgery for Steelers WR Burress — Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Plaxico Burress will have surgery on Monday to repair an injury in his right shoulder and is out indefinitely. Coach Mike Tomlin called the damage to Burress’ shoulder “significant” but declined to specify the exact nature of the injury. ESPN and NFL.com reported Burress has a torn rotator cuff. Burress was battling Jerricho Cotchery, David Gilreath and rookies Markus Wheaton and Justin Brown for a spot behind starters Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders.

Jets QB Smith leaves with injury — Mark Sanchez had an interception returned for a touchdown, and Geno Smith left with an apparent ankle injury. Not an ideal start for the New York Jets. Lions rookie Ziggy Ansah looked like a natural in his exhibition debut when he intercepted Sanchez’s pass and ran it back 14 yards for a touchdown, and host Detroit went on to a 26-17 win over the Jets on Friday night. Smith, the rookie from West Virginia who is Sanchez’s main competition at quarterback this preseason, exited early in the third quarter after appearing to hurt his right ankle.

USC’s Lee might be injured — Southern California receiver Marqise Lee left practice early Friday after apparently injuring his right shoulder. The All-American appeared to get hurt while attempting to catch a long pass from Cody Kessler in coverage. He stayed down on the field before USC’s medical staff escorted him away. Coach Lane Kiffin provided no update on Lee’s condition after practice, saying he hadn’t seen exactly what happened to his top player. Lee had 118 receptions for 1,721 yards and 14 touchdowns last year as a sophomore, winning the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver. He also was the Pac-12’s offensive player of the year.

Horse racing

Borel leads Hall inductees — Jockey Calvin Borel, who captured the Kentucky Derby three times in four years, led the class of inductees into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame during a ceremony Friday in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Along with Borel, five thoroughbreds and two racing luminaries were inducted Friday in a ceremony at the hall across Union Avenue from storied Saratoga Race Course, where the nation’s best thoroughbreds are currently competing. The 46-year-old Borel has ridden the winners of more than 5,000 races and has purses exceeding $121 million in a career that began in 1983. Besides the 2007 win at Churchill Downs, he won the Derby with Mine That Bird in 2009 and with Super Saver the next year.

Cycling

Aussie wins again in Utah — Australia’s Michael Matthews raced to his second stage victory in the Tour of Utah on Friday, sprinting uphill to edge Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet at the finish line. Matthews, riding for Orica GreenEdge, also won the second stage. Van Avermaet, riding for BMC, finished second for the third straight stage after winning the first leg. Belgium’s Jasper Stuyven, riding for Bontrager Devo, was third in the five-lap, 33.8-mile stage in Salt Lake City. Australia’s Lachlan Morton, the Garmin-Sharp rider who won the third stage Thursday, remained atop the overall standings — 19 seconds ahead of Van Avermaet. American Lucas Euser, riding for UnitedHealthcare, remained third — 40 seconds back. The race continues through Sunday.

— From wire reports