Grace Choi

Federer tops Ferrer in 3 sets

Associated PressAug 10, 2017, 8:13 PM EDT

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MONTREAL — Roger Federer overcame a weak first set to post a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Spaniard David Ferrer in the third round Thursday at the men’s Rogers Cup.

In Friday’s quarterfinals, the second-seeded Federer will face 12th-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain, who outlasted Frenchman Gael Monfils 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (2) on center court at Uniprix Stadium.

Unseeded Argentine Diego Schwartzman posted a strange win over American Jared Donaldson 0-6, 7-5, 7-5 to advance to a quarterfinal meeting with Robin Haase, the 52nd-ranked Dutchman who upset seventh-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-1.

Federer, who breezed past Canadian Peter Polansky in the second round on Wednesday, struggled in the opening set, spraying balls long, wide or into the net, but gradually rediscovered at least some of the form that has seen the 36-year-old Swiss earn two grand slam wins this year.

Federer is 17-0 in his career against the 35-year-old Ferrer, who was ranked third in the world in 2013 but is now at No.33.

Bautista Agut fought off a match point to force a tiebreaker, which the tired-looking Monfils opened with a double fault and never challenged again.

The unseeded Monfils played his third straight three-set match, including an upset win over fifth-seeded Kei Nishikori in the second round.

Schwartzman saved four match points to upset third-seeded Dominic Thiem in the second round. The win over Donaldson put him in a quarterfinal for the sixth time this year. Schwartzman’s only ATP win was on clay in Istanbul last year.

Donaldson, 20, was seeking a first career quarterfinal in a Masters Series tournament, where he is 0-13 in round of 16 matches.

Later Thursday, Canadian Denis Shapovalov faced top seed Rafael Nadal.

Keys, Vandeweghe advance to finals at Stanford Classic

Associated PressAug 6, 2017, 1:17 PM EDT

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STANFORD, Calif. — Madison Keys and Coco Vandeweghe each won in straight sets on Saturday to advance to the finals of the Stanford Bank of the West Classic.

Sunday’s championship match will be the first meeting between Keys and Vandeweghe, the runner-up to Serena Williams at the 2012 Stanford Classic.

Vandeweghe beat CiCi Bellis 6-3, 6-1 in the first semifinal and Keys, the No. 3 seed, needed just 57 minutes to beat Wimbledon champion and top-seeded Garbine Muguruza 6-3, 6-2 in the second.

The sixth-seeded Vandeweghe had five service breaks, won 83 percent of her first-serve points and had seven aces while beating Bellis in 65 minutes. It was the first WTA semifinal appearance for the 18-year-old Bellis.

Muguruza and Keys traded breaks to start the match before the latter won 12 of the final 14 points to close the first set.

Keys, who missed the first two months of the season following wrist surgery, snapped Muguruza’s nine-match win streak to reach her first final of 2017.

Sharapova wins first WTA match in US since 2015

Associated PressAug 1, 2017, 3:44 PM EDT

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STANFORD, Calif. — Maria Sharapova played her first WTA match in the United States since 2015 and beat Jennifer Brady 6-1, 4-6, 6-0 on Monday night in the opening round of the Bank of the West Classic.

Sharapova, a wild-card entrant and five-time Grand Slam champion, won the opening four games of the match, lost the first three of the second set and cruised in the third.

“I feel like I just want to hug everyone and say thank you,” Sharapova said in an on-court interview. “It’s my first match in the States in a really long time, and it’s the closest thing to home for me.”

Sharapova served a 15-month ban after testing positive for a newly banned drug at the 2016 Australian Open. She returned in April and played in three tournaments, but missed Wimbledon because of an injury.

Top-seeded and reigning Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza will play 17-year-old American Kayla Day, a 6-4, 6-2 winner over Japanese veteran Misaki Doi.

Ana Konjuh, the No. 5 seed from Croatia, won 6-3, 1-0 after New Zealand qualifier Marina Erakovic retired from the match with an injury. Seventh-seeded Lesia Tsurenko beat Spain’s Lara Arruabarrena 6-3, 6-3.