Federer beaten easily in quarterfinal match

Federer beaten easily in quarterfinal match

PARIS

Roger Federer looked lost Tuesday in the French Open against sixth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who pounded his way to a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 victory over the 17-time Grand Slam champion.

Trailing in the third set against 2009 French Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova, top-seeded Serena Williams won five games in a row en route to a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 victory that put her back in the semifinals at Paris after a decade’s absence.

Since a first-round exit at Roland Garros a year ago, Williams is 72-3, and she’s currently on a career-long 29-match winning streak. In Thursday’s semifinals, she’ll face No. 5 Sara Errani, last year’s runner-up. Errani reached the semifinals for the third time in the last five major tournaments by beating No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 7-6 (6).

Next for Tsonga will be No. 4 David Ferrer, who stopped the wild ride of No. 32 Tommy Robredo 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 in an all-Spanish quarterfinal.

Kings get initial win in series vs. Blackhawks

LOS ANGELES

The Los Angeles Kings defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 Tuesday night in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs Western Conference Finals.

It was the Kings’ first victory of the series after Chicago won the first two on its home ice.

Game 4 is Thursday at 9 p.m. in Los Angeles.

The Eastern Conference Finals resume tonight at 8 in Boston. The Bruins lead Pittsburgh 2-0.

Fearsome Foursome’s Jones dead at 74

David “Deacon” Jones, the original sackmaster, has died. The Hall of Fame defensive end, credited with coining the word “sack” for how he knocked down quarterbacks, was 74. The Washington Redskins said Jones died of natural causes at his home in Southern California on Monday night. Because sacks didn’t become an official statistic until 1982, Jones’ total is uncertain.

He was the leader of the Rams’ Fearsome Foursome unit from 1961-71 and then played for San Diego for two seasons before finishing his career with the Redskins in 1974. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980 and made the league’s 75th anniversary all-time squad.

Phillips dies at 72; led umpires, NBA refs

PHILADELPHIA

Richie Phillips, a tough-talking Philly lawyer who became a negotiator for Major League Baseball umpires and NBA referees, has died. He was 72. Phillips’ death was reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer, which said he died Friday of cardiac arrest at his second home in Cape May, N.J.

Phillips represented NBA referees in the 1970s and ‘80s and led MLB umps from 1978 until 1999, when a failed tactic of mass resignations cost 22 umpires their jobs. The setback prompted umpires to abandon Phillips’ Major League Umpires Association and form a new union, the World Umpires Association.

Under Phillips, big league umpires held a seven-week strike in 1979, another walkout at the start of the 1984 playoffs and a brief interruption on opening day in 1991. There were other work stoppages, too.

When Phillips became the umpires’ negotiator in 1978, rookie umpires made $17,500. By 2000, they earned at least $95,000.

Sooners sweep Vols, win NCAA softball title

OKLAHOMA CITY

Keilani Ricketts homered and drove in four runs, Michelle Gascoigne pitched a three-hit shutout and top-seeded Oklahoma won the NCAA softball championship by beating Tennessee 4-0 Tuesday in Game 2 of the Women’s College World Series finals.

Ricketts, the national player of the year, drove a 2-1 pitch from Ivy Renfroe (22-5) halfway up the right-field bleachers for a three-run home run in the third inning and tacked on an RBI groundout in the seventh.

Ricketts got the night off in the circle after throwing a career-high 12 innings in Game 1 and moving to 35-1 on the season. She hit her 15th home run of the season and pushed her RBI total to 60.