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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In Brief: Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka advance to U.S. Open men’s final

Novak Djokovic reacts after defeating Gael Monfils in the semifinals. (Charles Krupa / Associated Press)
From staff and wire reports

Tennis: It could be said that someone finally made Novak Djokovic sweat in this year’s U.S. Open. The beneficiary of two retirements and a walkover in rolling downhill toward the championship final, Djokovic on Friday at least encountered a semi-competitive semifinal against Gael Monfils.

It also should be noted that perspiration was no option for anyone in humid, 90-degree-plus heat inside sweltering Arthur Ashe Stadium. And, apart from Monfils’ third-set flurry, Djokovic’s biggest problem, ultimately, was the squandering of 12 break-point opportunities during the 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory.

“We both struggled toward the end of the third and beginning of the fourth,” Djokovic said. “Long rallies. Tense moments, obviously. Physically we both felt the humidity and the tough conditions. Just very glad to overcome that.”

Djokovic will try for his third U.S. Open championship and 13th major trophy overall against Stan Wawrinka.

Wawrinka emerged with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Kei Nishikori in the U.S. Open semifinal.

Sunday’s final will be a rematch of the 2015 French Open final.

Wawrinka upset the top-ranked Djokovic that day, just as he stunned a top-ranked Rafael Nadal for the 2014 Australian Open championship. He’s 2-0 in Grand Slam title matches and has won his last 10 tournament finals overall.

Stewart, Bird score 17 in Seattle Storm win

WNBA: Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird scored 17 points apiece and the Seattle Storm beat the host Washington Mystics 81-76 in a critical showdown between teams battling for the final playoff spot.

The Storm (14-17) won their third straight on the road to move into a tie for seventh place with Phoenix.

January leads Fever: Briann January scored the last six points of the game from the foul line and finished with 20 points in the Indiana Fever’s 95-88 victory over the Chicago Sky on Friday night.

Erica Wheeler added 16 points and Marissa Coleman and Lynetta Kizer 14 apiece to help the Fever (15-15) move into a tie for fourth with the Sky (15-15) and take the tiebreaker advantage. Fourth place earns a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Charleston Southern suspends 14 players

Miscellany: Charleston Southern has suspended 14 players for its game at No. 3 Florida State on Saturday for violating NCAA rules by using financial aid meant for books to purchase other items.

The school said a total of 32 players would serve one-game suspensions. None of the players was identified by the school. Charleston Southern said 16 players already have served suspensions over the first two games of the season and two more would serve a suspension later.

U.S. tops Canada: Patrick Kane and Joe Pavelski each had a goal and an assist to help the United States beat Canada 4-2 in an exhibition game in Columbus, Ohio, before the World Cup of Hockey.

The teams will play again Saturday night in Ottawa, Ontario.

Jonathan Quick made 32 saves in the first two periods, and Ben Bishop stopped nine shots in the third. Zach Parise and Derek Stepan also scored for the Americans.

Carey Price, playing for first time since a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee ended his season for the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 25, had 22 saves for Canada.

Patrice Bergeron and Drew Doughty scored for Canada.

U.S. forward Ryan Kesler was ejected late in the second period for boarding Shea Weber.

Iverson, Shaq headline Hall of Fame ceremony: Allen Iverson and Shaquille O’Neal tried to let their play define their stature on the basketball court.

The former NBA MVPs headlined the 10-member Class of 2016 that was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inSpringfield, Massachusetts. One of the most star-packed classes, it also featured international star Yao Ming, WNBA great Sheryl Swoopes, coach Tom Izzo, and owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

Budapest proposed Olympic ballot clears: A proposed national referendum on bid by Budapest, Hungary, to host the 2024 Olympics meets the initial, formal legal requirements, Hungarian election authorities said.

The National Election Committee now has until Oct. 6 to carry out a full inquiry on the question asking citizens whether they want Parliament to repeal the law about bidding for and hosting the Olympics.

The question was submitted for approval to electoral authorities by opponents of Budapest’s bid. The referendum still faces several potential legal hurdles and organizers need to gather 200,000 signatures in four months in favor of the vote.

Froome wins Vuelta time trial: Chris Froome took a big bite into Nairo Quintana’s lead of the Spanish Vuelta in Calpe, Spain, by winning an individual time trial with two days remaining in the race.

The Tour de France champion reduced Quintana’s lead of 3 minutes, 37 seconds entering the 19th stage to 1:21 before the penultimate and decisive day.

Froome, who won bronze in the time trial at last month’s Olympic Games, sped through the 37-kilometer (22.9-mile) route from Javea and Calpe along the Mediterranean coast in 46 minutes, 33 seconds.

Thompson beats Schippers: Elaine Thompson extended her sprinting dominance through her last race of the season, with the double Olympic champion beating rival Dafne Schippers in the 100 meters at the Van Damme Memorial in Brussels.

In a battle between the two dominant sprinters of the past two seasons, it was no contest.

Thompson never let Schippers close to finish in 10.72 seconds. Schippers, who complained of sore hamstrings, finished well behind in 10.97.

Johnson sets course record, ties for lead: U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson made two eagles in a span of seven holes, shot 31 on the back nine and set the course record at Crooked Stick in Carmel, Indiana, with a 9-under 63 that gave him a share of the lead with Roberto Castro in the BMW Championship.

Castro was the first player to reach 14-under 130 on the rain-softened course. He kept bogeys off his card, rolled in a pair of 30-foot putts and had another 65 in his last-minute bid to get to the Tour Championship at East Lake, just 15 minutes from his house.

Castro is at No. 53 in the FedEx Cup and only the top 30 make it to the FedEx Cup finale at East Lake and a shot at the $10 million bonus.

Busch dominates NASCAR Xfinity race

Auto Racing: Kyle Busch took the lead on pit road after just over 50 laps and showed why he’s the NASCAR Xfinity Series career victory leader with a dominant run at Richmond (Virginia) International Raceway.

Busch led 197 of 250 laps en route to his 84th victory in the series. He also won for the eighth time in 14 starts this season, but for the first time since July 23 at Indianapolis.

Hamlin to start first at Richmond: Denny Hamlin won the pole for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.

Hamlin, racing about 20 miles from where he grew up in Chesterfield, turned a fast last at 122.344 mph in the third round of qualifying to claim his first pole position of the year. It’s the 24th pole position of his career and third in 21 tries on the 0.75-mile oval.