DUSSELDORF, Germany, May 21 (UPI) -- The United States and Sweden have locked up semifinal berths in a $2.34 million ATP World Team Championship tournament in Germany.
The Swedish and U.S. teams, both 2-0 in round-robin play, will advance from the tournament's Red Group, but all four Blue Group teams are 1-1. The two semifinalists from that group won't be decided until the final series of round-robin matches beginning Thursday.
Wayne Odesnik and Bobby Reynolds teamed to give the United States a 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 10-7 doubles victory over Argentines Lucas Arnold and Sebastian Prieto to win the best-of-three series. That decision eliminated the defending champion Argentine team from the competition.
Sweden Wednesday wrapped up a 3-0 sweep of the Czech Republic to secure its semifinal slot.
Thursday's Blue Group round-robin play includes matches pitting the host Germans against Russia and the Italian team against Spain.
Veteran NASCAR promoter to retire
CONCORD, N.C., May 21 (UPI) -- Long-time NASCAR promoter H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler will retire after Sunday's Coca Cola 600 Sprint Cup auto race in Concord, N.C.
The race, the longest on the NASCAR circuit, is being run at the Lowe's Motor Speedway, where Wheeler has been chief operating officer and president since 1980.
He was named its general manager in 1976.
"I am grateful to everyone who has helped me throughout my racing career," Wheeler said on the track's Web site Wednesday. "I have been blessed with a wonderful family and many close and dear friends who I hope to spend more time with. I look forward to addressing the crowd for the last time Sunday during my 32nd Coca-Cola 600, and thanking them for being there because without them we have nothing."
"It may be a few more years before we can really measure the impact that Humpy Wheeler had on the sport of stock car racing," Richard Petty said in a statement.
No successor has been named.
Women ski jumpers sue Vancouver Olympics
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 21 (UPI) -- The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Winter Olympics is being sued by a group of female ski jumpers, The Vancouver Province said Wednesday.
The newspaper said an unidentified former champion Canadian ski jumper, women from Europe and the United States are named in the suit, which was filed over the decision to exclude the event from the Winter Games in two years.
The suit alleges the exclusion of women's ski jumping from the 2010 Olympics is a violation of the women's rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the report said.
Deedee Corradini, president of Women's Ski Jumping USA and the former mayor of Salt Lake City, was scheduled to be in Vancouver Thursday for a news conference to support the suit, the Province said.
Dementieva keeps on Istanbul win track
ISTANBUL, Turkey, May 21 (UPI) -- Elena Dementieva opened defense of her Istanbul Cup tournament title with a straight-set victory Wednesday.
Dementieva, as the top-seed, had a first-round bye so her first tournament match was a second-round affair with Liana Ungur that Dementieva took 6-2, 7-6 (7-4). She advanced to a third-round pairing with seventh-seeded Jill Craybas, who took out Vania King, 6-4, 6-2, in her second-round match.
All the seeded players won in straight sets Wednesday, led by second-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, who routed Sorana Cirstea, 6-0, 6-0. No. 3-seeded Nadia Petrova's win was nearly as lopsided, as she beat Marta Domachowska, 6-2, 6-2. Fourth-seeded Olga Govortsova stopped Nathalie Vierin, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.
Also Wednesday, sixth-seeded Akgul Amanmuradova defeated Aiko Nakamura, 6-3, 6-3; No. 8-seeded Tsvetana Pironkova was an easy 6-2, 6-1 winner over Veronika Chvojkova; and unseeded Andreja Klepac rallied for a 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory over Stephanie Dubois.
Jeter day-to-day with hand injury
NEW YORK, May 21 (UPI) -- New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter is listed day-to-day with a contusion on his left hand.
The injury occurred when he was hit by a pitch by Baltimore pitcher Daniel Cabrera in the third inning of Tuesday night's 12-2 loss to the Orioles.
Both benches cleared in the incident but no punches were thrown.
Jeter left the game and an X-ray was taken by team physician Dr. Stuart Hershon. Results were negative, he said.
"Obviously, it doesn't feel good, but I should be all right (for Wednesday)," Jeter said on the team's Web site. "Fortunately, it's not broken."
The injury came on the night that the Yankees got third baseman Alex Rodriguez back from the 15-day disabled list, where he had been sidelined because of strained right quadriceps.
Jeter, an eight-time American League all-star, is hitting .312 with two home runs and 21 RBI in 157 at bats.


