Venus and Clijsters set to renew old rivalry

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A rivalry spanning almost a decade will be rekindled on Friday when Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters square off for a place in the U.S. Open final.

Federer blows hot at windy U.S. Open

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Roger Federer mastered the wild weather and his opponent to storm into the U.S. Open semi-finals on Wednesday and remain on course for another showdown with his great rival Rafa Nadal.

Text message brings U.S. Open title for Bryan and Huber

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A text message brought American duo Bob Bryan and Liezel Huber together for only the second tournament in their career and ended with them winning their second grand slam at the U.S. Open on Thursday.

New deal to keep Woodson with Packers through 2014

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Charles Woodson has signed a contract extension with the Green Bay Packers that will keep last season's defensive player of the year with the NFL team through the 2014 season, the Packers said on Thursday.

Durant masterclass fires U.S. into semis

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A masterclass performance by forward Kevin Durant steered the United States into the world championship semi-finals with an 89-79 victory over Russia on Thursday.

Patriots' Brady returns to field after car crash

BOSTON (Reuters) - New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who led his team to three NFL championships, showed up to practice as usual on Thursday, reporting he was in good shape after an early-morning auto accident in Boston, the team said.

Fisher enjoys solid Ryder Cup warm-up in the Netherlands

HILVERSUM, Netherlands (Reuters) - European Ryder Cup rookie Ross Fisher made an excellent start in the Dutch Open first round on Thursday.

Rockies' Cook breaks leg, season in doubt

DENVER (Reuters) - Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Aaron Cook has broken his right leg, putting his season in jeopardy, his agent said.

Peter eyes Klitschko upset to reshuffle deck

BERLIN (Reuters) - A victory over heavyweight champion Vladimir Klitschko on Saturday would make challenger Samuel Peter from Nigeria a household name overnight and open up the division after years of Ukrainian domination.

Crosby delivers home run off batting practice pitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The smashing hit probably was not as exciting as winning a Stanley Cup title or leading Canada to the Olympic ice hockey gold medal, but the home run ball brought a smile to Pittsburgh Penguins All-Star Sidney Crosby.

IOC, U.S. Olympic Committee closer to financial deal

BERLIN (Reuters) - A long-standing financial row between the U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee over revenue sharing looks on course to be settled after both sides agreed to speed up talks for a deal.

FIFA may abolish extra time at World Cup

BERNE (Reuters) - FIFA may abolish extra time at the World Cup with drawn knockout matches going straight to penalties, the federation's president Sepp Blatter said Thursday.

U.S. track and field boss's job on line at board meeting

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) - Chief executive Doug Logan's future with USA Track & Field (USATF) will be on the line when the governing body's board meets in Las Vegas this weekend.

Federer breezes past Soderling into semi-finals

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Roger Federer won a measure of revenge and a return to the U.S. Open semi-finals as he beat fifth-seeded Swede Robin Soderling 6-4 6-4 7-5 on Wednesday to book his place in the last four for a seventh successive time.

Hot Hamels leads the way for surging Phillies

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Cole Hamels continued his dominant run by pitching seven scoreless innings to help the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Florida Marlins 10-6 on Wednesday and stay top of the National League East.

Wozniacki cuts through wind to reach semi-finals

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Caroline Wozniacki stayed on course for a return to the U.S. Open final, fighting near gale-force winds and big forehands from diminutive Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals.

Boxing workout for Wozniacki fits tennis like a glove

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Boxing is one of top seed Caroline Wozniacki's off-court interests and the 20-year-old Dane has exhibited a fighting spirit during her charge through the draw at the U.S. Open.

Players battle wild winds at U.S. Open

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic and Caroline Wozniacki, battling the elements as much as their opponents, sailed into the semi-finals of the U.S. Open on Wednesday with straight-sets wins.

Djokovic into fourth straight U.S. Open semi

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Serbia's Novak Djokovic defied high, swirling winds to reach the semi-finals of the U.S. Open for the fourth consecutive year with a convincing 7-6 6-1 6-2 victory over Gael Monfils on Wednesday.

Djokovic T-shirt in vogue at U.S. Open

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic might not agree with his father's fashion statement at the U.S. Open but the Serbian is not about to make him change his ways.