Tennis: Russian Davydenko reaches semifinal round of ATP World Finals

Tennis

Defending champion Djokovic is eliminated from ATP World Tour Finals: Nikolay Davydenko of Russia secured the last semifinal spot at the ATP World Tour Finals by beating Robin Soderling of Sweden 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-3 Friday, knocking defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia out of the tournament.

Davydenko, Djokovic and Soderling each finished with two victories in the round-robin phase, but Djokovic was eliminated on sets. Soderling had already clinched advancement and finished at the top of Group B in the tournament in London.

Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal of Spain 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 earlier in the day, handing Nadal his third consecutive loss at the tournament.

Davydenko will face top-ranked Roger Federer of Switzerland in today's first semifinal match.

Soderling, who entered the tournament as an alternate after American Andy Roddick pulled out because of injury, will take on U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina later in the day in a matchup of big hitters.

Djokovic entered the tournament on a 10-match winning streak and said, "I'm exhausted from the season."

Football

Ex-Eastern Washington player Trufant helps home team triumph in overtime: Graham Gano kicked a 33-yard field goal in overtime to give the Las Vegas Locomotives a 20-17 victory over the Florida Tuskers in the inaugural United Football League championship game. It lured 14,801 fans to Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas.

Florida won the coin toss and had possession first in overtime, but ex-Eastern Washington player Isaiah Trufant intercepted a Brooks Bollinger pass on the Tuskers' 19-yard line.

Trufant fumbled but Locos teammate Andrae Thurman recovered the ball on the Florida 14.

The 26-year-old Trufant, who was born in Tacoma, is a younger brother of Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant.

Matt Bryant kicked a 27-yard field goal for Florida with 2:06 left in regulation, leading to OT.

Las Vegas (5-2), which lost twice to the Tuskers during the regular season, became the first team to beat Florida (6-1).

NHL

Ducks end Chicago's winning streak at eight games: Teemu Selanne scored twice on the power play and Jean-Sebastien Giguere posted his first shutout of the season, leading the host Anaheim Ducks to a 3-0 victory that snapped the Chicago Blackhawks' winning streak at eight games.

Giguere made 28 saves.

Soccer

Scandals threaten South Africa World Cup show: From FIFA president Sepp Blatter to iconic player David Beckham, some of the sport's big names will converge on South Africa next week to celebrate the draw for first World Cup in Africa.

Match-fixing allegations in Europe and fan violence also have forced their way onto the agenda.

Blatter's crusade to bring soccer's biggest event to Africa created excitement and optimism. But the upbeat mood for the 2010 World Cup looks to be getting overshadowed by other issues.

Despite delays, all 10 World Cup stadiums are on schedule to be ready for the June 11 start of the tournament. But there remain transportation problems and accommodation shortfalls.

Cup organizing boss Danny Jordaan is trying to convince skeptical fans from around the world his crime-ridden country is safe. Official government statistics of 50 murders a day don't help his case.

That is on top of the security problems hooligan fans from various European countries might pose to a nation that never has had to deal with them before.

Horse racing

Fluke wins Grade I Citation Handicap: Fluke beat Ever a Friend by 1 ¼ lengths to post an upset victory in the Grade I Citation Handicap at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif.

Brazilian-bred Fluke, who paid $20 to win, is trained by Humberto Ascanio, who took over the late Bobby Frankel's stable after the Hall of Fame trainer died Nov. 16.

"My job was to continue training," Ascanio said.

Fluke, a 4-year-old colt ridden by Joe Talamo, ran 1-1/16 miles on a firm turf course in 1 minute, 40.48 seconds in the $300,000 race.

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