In brief

Roddick, Blake in D.C. final

By wire services
Published August 7, 2005

WASHINGTON - Top-seeded Andy Roddick and unseeded James Blake won straight-set semifinal matches to advance to the final at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic on Saturday.

Roddick beat 13th-seeded Paradorn Srichaphan 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, advancing to a final for the 29th time in his career. Blake, a Tampa resident, beat 10th-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-3 to reach his fourth career final.

"He's a good friend, and those are always interesting matches," said Blake, who last faced Roddick in Cincinnati two years ago. "We're friends, but (today) we're going to want to go out and beat each other's brains in."

VENUS WILLIAMS OUT: Wimbledon champion Venus Williams won't be able to play in next week's Nordic Light Open in Stockholm, Sweden, because of the flu.

After second-place finishes in two Olympics, two outdoor world championships and one indoor world meet, Adam Nelson finally won the shot put at the world championships in Helsinki, Finland, with his best throw in three years: 71 feet, 31/2 inches. American John Godina, a three-time world champion, failed to qualify for the final. In the women's 10,000, 19-year-old Tirunesh Dibaba led an Ethiopian 1-2-3 sweep in 30 minutes, 24.02 seconds.

Roger Hammer won the $1.5-million Hambletonian with Vivid Photo. The 59-year-old trainer and driver guided a 23/4-length victory over favorite Classic Photo in harness racing's biggest event at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, N.J.

WHITNEY STAKES: Commentator opened a wide lead then held off a charge by favored Saint Liam to win the $750,000 race at Saratoga Race Course by a neck.

Marcus Williams of Connecticut and Rajon Rondo of Kentucky each scored 17 to lead the United States to a 103-83 victory over Lithuania in the preliminary round of the men's Under 21 World Championships in Mar Del Plata, Argentina.

WNBA: Sheri Sam scored 11 of her 26 in the two overtimes and host Charlotte snapped a franchise-record 10-game losing streak, beating Detroit 82-73. ... Ann Wauters scored 18 and Becky Hammon 16 to lead host New York past Seattle 79-67. ... Nykesha Sales scored 26 and Taj McWilliams-Franklin had 14 points and 12 rebounds to help visiting Connecticut beat Indiana 74-65.

Carlos Ruiz scored twice for Dallas, which christened its new soccer-specific stadium, Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, with a tie at 2 against the MetroStars. Youri Djorkaeff scored twice in the second half for the MetroStars ... Andy Williams scored the 5,000th goal in league history to help host Real Salt Lake beat Chivas USA 2-1. ... Scott Sealy scored the winner in the 74th minute as Kansas City snapped New England's nine-game home winning streak 2-1. ... D.C. United took a 3-0 lead and held off a rally to beat host Chicago 3-2.

X GAMES: Nate Adams injured his foot but made his way into the second round of Moto X freestyle, the dangerous sport of high-flying dirt bikes and midair acrobatics, in Los Angeles. The defending champion smashed his right foot into the dirt while landing a backflip. Also, Dave Mirra won BMX freestyle park and Cara-Beth Burnside won the women's skateboard vert.

TAMPA DOG TRACK: WW Gale Donner won for the fifth time in six starts and advanced to Wednesday's semifinals of the Tampa Juvenile stakes. Bob's Winters (30.74 seconds) had the fastest time of the second round.

[Last modified August 7, 2005, 01:31:12]