Venus Williams reaches Korea Open semifinals

Top-seeded Venus Williams defeated Marta Domachowska, 6-2, 6-3, Friday to reach the semifinals of the Korea Open at Seoul. She trailed, 3-1, in the second set before winning five consecutive games.

“I wasn’t at my best today,” the Wimbledon champion said. “There is no specific problem, I just feel a little tired. Now it is time to get ready for the semifinal.”

Williams will play Flavia Pennetta, who defeated Ayumi Morita, 6-1, 6-2.

Second-seeded Agnes Szavay retired because of an injury after splitting the first two sets with fifth-seeded Eleni Daniilidou, 4-6, 7-5.

Daniilidou will play fourth-seeded Maria Kirilenko, who beat Catalina Castano, 6-3, 6-0.

Second-seeded Lleyton Hewitt was upset by Rainer Schuettler, 6-3, 7-5, in the quarterfinals of the Mumbai Open in India. Hewitt squandered a 4-1 lead after losing the first set.

Schuettler will next play eighth-seeded Olivier Rochus, who advanced when Nicolas Kiefer retired while trailing, 4-1, in the first set.

Top-seeded Richard Gasquet and Fabrice Santoro reached the semifinals. Gasquet beat Stefan Koubek, 6-2, 6-4, and Santoro defeated fourth-seeded Jarkko Nieminen, 6-3, 6-4.

Fifth-seeded Marion Bartoli upset top-seeded Anna Chakvetadze, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, to advance to the semifinals of the Fortis Championships at Luxembourg. She will play fourth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova, who beat sixth-seeded Patty Schnyder, 6-3, 5-7, 7-5.

In the other semifinal, Vera Zvonareva, who defeated Victoria Azarenka, 6-1, 7-6 (5), will play second-seeded Ana Ivanovic, who defeated eighth-seeded Tatiana Golovin, 6-1, 6-2.

Anastasia Rodionova upset top-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-3, to advance to the semifinals of the Guangzhou International Open in China.

Sixth-seeded Dmitry Tursunov defeated Wang Yeu-tzuoo, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the semifinals of the Thailand Open at Nonthaburi. He will play Fernando Verdasco, who beat Nicolas Mahut, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4.

Top-ranked Roger Federer pulled out of next week’s Japan Open in Tokyo because he needs to rest after the U.S. Open and Davis Cup. He said his doctor told him he should not play in a tournament for at least 10 days to avoid the risk of serious injury.

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TRACK AND FIELD

Robles beats Liu in 110-meter hurdles

Dayron Robles of Cuba beat world-record holder Liu Xiang in the Chinese hurdler’s hometown of Shanghai, winning the 110-meter hurdles in 13.01 seconds at the Golden Grand Prix.

Liu, the Olympic and world champion, fell behind after the second hurdle and finished third in 13.21. American Anwar Moore was second in 13.20.

In the men’s 100, American Wallace Spearmon edged world champion Tyson Gay, crossing the line in 9.96 to Gay’s 10.02. It marked a personal best for Spearmon and the first time he had broken 10 seconds.

American Sanya Richards also set a personal best, finishing second in 10.97 behind Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell (10.90) in the women’s 100.

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SOCCER

Guadalajara fires De la Torre as coach

Chivas de Guadalajara fired coach Jose Manuel de la Torre with the club mired in fourth place in its Mexican league group and two days after it lost to D.C. United, 2-1, in the second round of the Copa Sudamericana.

Efrain Flores, who worked for Chivas as a coordinator for the development teams, will replace De la Torre.

Team vice president Nestor de la Torre and general director Juan Frangie said De la Torre was dismissed because of differences of opinion, the team’s poor performance recently and a drop in attendance.

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BASKETBALL

U.S. routs Canada in FIBA tournament

Tina Thompson scored 14 points and Delisha Milton-Jones had 12 to help the U.S. rout Canada, 85-37, and clinch the top seeding in Group B at the FIBA Americas tournament in Valdivia, Chile.

The U.S. (3-0) will play the second-place finisher in Group A in tonight’s semifinals. The U.S. took charge in the second quarter, outscoring the Canadians, 21-6, to take a 38-19 halftime lead.

A posting on Kobe Bryant’s website indicates that he will join his Lakers teammates Monday at media day in El Segundo and then on the flight to Honolulu for the start of training camp.

“The countdown to tipoff is on,” the posting began. “Summer is gone, fall is upon us and that can mean only one thing: NBA training camps are just around the corner. kb24.com will be at media day to bring you the sights and sounds as the team prepares to kick off the 2007-2008 season.”

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MOTORCYCLES

Adams set to vie for motocross title

The LG World Championships of Freestyle Motocross will be held tonight at 7:30 p.m. on the grandstand infield of the L.A. County Fair at Fairplex in Pomona.

Fifteen top riders, including four-time champion Nate Adams of Temecula, will compete for more than $100,000. Admission is $17.50 and tickets can be obtained via Ticketmaster and on site. A sellout is expected.

-- Pete Thomas