Digest: Lexi Thompson takes second-round lead at Meijer LPGA Classic

LPGA: Defending champion Lexi Thompson fought through back pain Friday to take the second-round lead in the Meijer LPGA Classic in Belmont, Michigan.

The 21-year-old Thompson shot a 4-under 67, rebounding from bogeys on 15 and 16 with birdies on the final two holes to reach 10-under 132 at Blythefield.

Canada’s Alena Sharp bogeyed her final hole to drop into a tie for second with South Korean players In Gee Chun, So Yeon Ryu and Q Baek. They all shot 67.

Thompson won the Honda LPGA Thailand in February for her seventh LPGA Tour title. The long-hitting Florida player, ranked fourth in the world, also won a Japan LPGA event last month. The back pain could be a major concern heading into the busy summer schedule and golf’s return to the Olympics.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko and No. 2 Brooke Henderson, coming off a playoff victory over Ko in the KPMG Women’s PGA, were together at 7 under after matching rounds of 68.

Sparks beat Mercury, improve to 11-0 to tie WNBA record

WNBA: Candace Parker had 24 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, and the Los Angeles Galaxy beat the visiting Phoenix Mercury 77-71 to match the best start in WNBA history at 11-0.

The record was set Tuesday night when Minnesota (11-0) broke its own league mark. The Lynx will face Los Angeles in a home-and-home series next week.

Candice Dupree scored six straight Phoenix points to pull the Mercury to 73-69 with 3:56 remaining, but Phoenix didn’t score again until Diana Taurasi’s baseline jumper with 17.1 seconds left. Parker sealed it with two free throws with 16.5 seconds left.

Essence Carson added 12 points for Los Angeles (11-0), which is ranked second in the AP power poll. Kristi Toliver made three of Los Angeles’ five 3-pointers and finished with 10 points. Nneka Ogwumike had 10 points and three blocks.

Dupree scored 12 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter for sixth-ranked Phoenix (4-7). Taurasi, who entered as the WNBA’s No. 2 scorer at 24.1 points per game, was held to 15.

McCoughtry’s 22 points helps Dream beat Sky: Angel McCoughtry made two free throws with 3 seconds left in overtime to finish with 22 points and the Atlanta Dream beat the Chicago Sky 101-97 in Atlanta.

Cappie Pondexter made a 3-pointer with 3:56 left in OT – her first field goal of the game – to give Chicago a 92-91 lead. Elena Delle Donne hit a 3 on the Sky’s next possession for a 95-91 lead, but that was Chicago’s last field goal.

Elizabeth Williams tied it at 97 on a putback and Atlanta made 4 of 6 free throws in the final minute.

Williams had 20 points and nine rebounds for Atlanta (8-3), which is ranked No. 3 in the AP power poll.

Elena Delle Donne scored 26 for fifth-ranked Chicago (5-7). She made a contested shot in the lane to tie it at 89-all with 19.8 seconds left in regulation. McCoughtry and Delle Donne missed shots from there to force overtime.

Chicago made 14 of its first 17 field goals (82.4 percent) for a 38-27 first-quarter lead. It was the most points scored by the Sky in any quarter this season. But Chicago only scored 17 points in the second quarter and 14 in the third.

Tamika Catchings scores 23, Fever beat Stars: Tamika Catchings had 23 points, five steals and two blocks to help the Indiana Fever beat the San Antonio Stars 84-75 in San Antonio.

Catchings moved into eighth place in WNBA history with 581 career 3-pointers, hitting an open 3 from the wing with 2:40 left in the second quarter. The Fever led 42-29 at halftime behind Catchings’ 10 points.

San Antonio battled back in the third by outscoring Indiana 26-13 to tie it at 55. Kayla McBride started the fourth with a 3-pointer to give the Starts their first lead since 7-5. But Indiana went on an 8-0 run, with 3-pointers by Catchings and Marissa Coleman, for a 65-60 lead.

Dearica Hamby’s 3-point play pulled San Antonio to 77-71 with 2:06 left, but Briann January answered with a 3-pointer.

Lynetta Kizer added 13 points for Indiana (5-7), which is ranked No. 8 in the AP power poll. Catchings was 8 of 11 from the field with two 3-pointers.

McBride led San Antonio (2-8), 12th in the poll, with 21 points.

Murray advances to Queen’s Club semifinals

Tennis: Andy Murray continued the defense of his title at Queen’s Club in London, reaching the semifinals with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory against Kyle Edmund in an all-British match.

Top-seeded Murray struggled to gain the upper hand against his Davis Cup teammate, wasting an early break in the first set before breaking again to lead 4-3.

The 21-year-old Edmund took a 3-1 lead in the second set, and although Murray immediately broke back he fell heavily in the next game and dropped his serve.

Murray failed to capitalize on three break points as 85th-ranked Edmund served for the set, but then took charge in the final set by winning the first five games.

“(Edmund) is the future of the game in this country,” Murray told BBC Sport.

Four-time champion Murray will next face 2012 winner and fifth-seeded Marin Cilic after the Croat edged American Steve Johnson 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4.

Neither player earned a break point in the opening set, and the match remained close after Johnson claimed the tiebreaker. Just one break of serve decided the second set, and in the third Cilic needed to fight off three break points to hold for 1-1 before snatching a decisive break at 4-4.

“Very tough,” said Cilic. “He was giving me a lot of trouble with his serve.”

Federer reaches semis at Gerry Weber Open: Roger Federer closed in on a ninth title at the Gerry Weber Open, beating David Goffin 6-1, 7-6 (10) in the quarterfinals in Halle, Germany.

The top-seeded Federer didn’t drop a point off his first serve in the first set, and saved five set points in the second-set tiebreaker.

Federer will play Alexander Zverev in the semifinals. The German beat Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus 7-6 (9), 6-3.

Third-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria will play Florian Meyer of Germany in the other semifinal. Thiem advanced on a walkover against eighth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber, who withdrew before the match with a hip injury.

Mayer beat Andreas Seppi of Italy 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Kerber dropped in quarterfinals at Aegon Classic: Angelique Kerber became another in a sequence of leading players to have their Wimbledon preparations cut short when she lost her title in a dramatic quarter-final defeat in the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, England.

The second-seeded German was beaten 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 by Carla Suarez Navarro, the world number 16 from Spain, despite a fine fightback in which Kerber appeared to have regained the momentum during a final set in which she was three times within two points of victory.

Navarro however appeared to last a physically very tough match the better after a schedule in which both players had to complete second round matches earlier in the day.

“I had to fight and play my best to beat the best player,” Navarro said, even though Kerber has often found it had to rediscover her best after her sensational Grand Slam triumph in Australia at the start of the year.

Here today she was at least much nearer her tenacious, intelligent and athletic best. “I didn’t defend my title but I have played well,” Kerber said, though she looked very disappointed by her loss.

“She (Navarro) started very good but I came back well and it will give me confidence going into Wimbledon (in 10 days).”

That may not be the case for Agnieszka Radwanska, the top-seeded Pole, or Petra Kvitova, the two times Wimbledon champion, or Belinda Bencic, the 19-year-old who is the youngest in the world’s top ten, who were among six seeds who failed to reach the quarter-finals amidst continuously disruptive rainstorms.

Navarro tomorrow plays the only remaining seed, Madison Keys, the top 20 American who recovered from a wayward start to overcome Jelena Ostapenko, Kvitova’s conqueror, by 6-7(1-7), 6-4, 6-2.

The other semi-final will be between CoCo Vandeweghe, the American who ousted Radwanska in the first round, and Barbora Strycova, the Czech who is a former finalist here.