Kvitova faces Azarenka in WTA final

Tennis: Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova will play Victoria Azarenka in the WTA Championships final today in Istanbul with the No. 2 ranking on the line along with a $1.5 million paycheck.

Kvitova, a Czech left-hander with booming serves, rallied to defeat U.S. Open winner Samantha Stosur 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals Saturday, while fourth-ranked Azarenka defeated Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-3.

Kvitova beat Azarenka in the semifinals en route to winning her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon this year.

• Tsonga, Del Potro reach final: Top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated German qualifier Daniel Brands 6-2, 7-6 (4) to set up a final against Juan Martin del Potro at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

Earlier, the second-seeded Del Potro defeated Kevin Anderson of South Africa 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to reach his third final of the year.

• Tipsarevic, Cilic square off: Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia will play Marin Cilic of Croatia in the final of the St. Petersburg (Russia) Open.

Tipsarevic defeated Alex Bogomolov Jr. of the U.S. 6-2, 6-1 to reach his second final in as many weeks, and Cilic ousted 2004 champion and last year’s runner-up Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-4.

McIlroy increases Shanghai lead

Golf: U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy shot a 7-under-par 65 to increase his lead to three strokes after the third round of the Shanghai Masters.

The 22-year-old star from Northern Ireland made seven birdies in another bogey-free round on Lake Malaren’s Jack Nicklaus-designed Masters course to finish at 18-under 198.

American Anthony Kim was second after a 65. South Korea’s Noh Seung-yul was 14 under after a 67.

• Van Pelt on top: Bo Van Pelt shot a 4-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead over fellow Indiana player Jeff Overton after the third round of the Asia Pacific Classic in Selangor, Malaysia.

Van Pelt had a 16-under 197 total. Overton, tied for the second-round lead after a course-record 62, had a 69.

Jagr leads Flyers past Hurricanes

NHL: Jaromir Jagr scored two goals and Ilya Bryzgalov rebounded strong in net from a string of bad games to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 5-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes in Philadelphia.

• Red-hot Kessel sparks Leafs: Phil Kessel scored his league-leading 10th goal midway through the third period to lift the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Toronto.

• Sharks top Islanders in OT: Brent Burns scored a power-play goal 1:07 into overtime to give the surging San Jose Sharks a 3-2 victory over the New York Islanders in Uniondale, N.Y.

San Jose has won the first five games of its six-game road trip.

Dempster will return to pitch for Cubs

Baseball: Chicago Cubs right-hander Ryan Dempster elected to exercise his $14 million player option and return to the team in 2012.

Dempster, 34, was 10-14 last season with a 4.80 ERA in 34 starts and reached 200 innings pitched for a fourth straight year. He is 112-116 in his career, including 62-61 with the Cubs.

Baylor women ranked No. 1 in preseason

Basketball: Brittney Griner and Baylor are starting the season where they hope to end it – at No. 1.

The Bears are ranked at the top for the first time in the preseason women’s basketball poll by the AP.

Notre Dame drew six first-place votes and was second, with Tennessee, Connecticut and Stanford rounding out the top five. Gonzaga received votes and was 28th.

Vettel qualifies for pole position in India

Miscellany: Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel topped qualifying for the inaugural Indian Grand Prix for his 13th pole of the season, one short of Nigel Mansell’s 1992 Formula One record.

Vettel turned a lap in 1 minute, 24.178 seconds on the 3.192-mile Buddh International Circuit. The German star has already wrapped up his second straight season title and has 10 victories this year.

• U.S. men lose to Mexico: The United States was knocked out of the Pan American Games basketball semifinals, falling to Mexico 71-55 before a raucous crowd in Guadalajara, Mexico.

• Russia’s Tuktamisheva wins: At Mississauga, Ontario, Russian Elizaveta Tukta- misheva became the youngest women’s singles gold medalist at Skate Canda in 30 years.

The 14-year-old claimed the top honor at Canada’s annual senior Grand Prix figure skating event, becoming the youngest gold medalist since Canada’s Tracey Wainman won at age 13 in 1981.

• Diaz wins unanimous decision: Nick Diaz moved back into title contention with a convincing unanimous decision victory over BJ Penn in the main event at UFC 137 in Las Vegas. In the co-main event, Cheick Kongo defeated Matt Mitrione by unanimous decision 30-27, 30-28, 29-28.