Roddick Advances to Final

Andy Roddick needed only an hour Saturday to beat third-seeded Sjeng Schalken, 6-3, 6-2, and reach the final of the RCA Championships at Indianapolis.

The top-seeded Roddick will face second-seeded Paradorn Srichaphan for the title in a rematch of their fourth-round meeting at Wimbledon. Paradorn defeated unseeded Nicolas Thomann, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3, in the semifinals.

Schalken wasn’t much of a factor, taking a 2-1 lead in the first set before Roddick took control by winning four straight games thanks in part to a serve that topped out at 131 mph.

Roddick, sixth in the ATP rankings, has won 19 of his last 21 matches and improved to 14-1 with Brad Gilbert as his coach.

It’s the third time in the RCA Championships’ 16-year history that the final will match the top two seeds. In 1992, second-seeded Pete Sampras beat Jim Courier. In 1996, the top-seeded Sampras defeated Goran Ivanisevic.

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Jennifer Capriati, who hasn’t won a title in 18 months, advanced to her second tour final of the season -- and first in four months -- defeating qualifier Maria Vento-Kabchi, 6-4, 6-4, in the semifinals at the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.

The third-seeded Capriati will face second-seeded Kim Clijsters in today’s final. Clijsters defeated unseeded Francesca Schiavone, 6-3, 6-2, in Saturday night’s late semifinal.

Capriati won despite six double faults and 30 unforced errors in 84-degree heat.

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Guillermo Coria and Nicolas Massu each lost only three games during easy victories to reach the final of the Generali Open at Kitzbuehel, Austria.

The second-seeded Coria, a French Open semifinalist, beat 13th-seeded Feliciano Lopez, 6-1, 6-2. The unseeded Massu defeated ninth-seeded Mariano Zabaleta, 6-2, 6-1.

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Michael Chang, who is playing in this week’s Mercedes-Benz Cup at the L.A. Tennis Center as part of his farewell tour, will be honored in a special ceremony Monday night at the tournament site.

Chang, who won the tournament in 1996 and 2000, will join a list of honorees that includes Jack Kramer, Pancho Gonzalez, Arthur Ashe, Rod Laver and Boris Becker.

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Motor Racing

Scott Wimmer won the NASCAR Busch Series TrimSpa Dream Body 250 at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colo., in a race that saw a track-record 15 lead changes.

Wimmer led for 70 laps in his Chevrolet and took the lead for good on the 227th lap by overtaking Jason Keller, who finished 1.045 seconds behind in a Ford. Wimmer, who averaged 108.19 mph, earned $91,920 for his first win of the season.

A track temperature of 139 degrees at the start of the race made for a slick road surface, allowing for the lead changes. Ron Hornaday Jr., who finished seventh in a Chevrolet, led the most laps with 80.

Brendan Gaughan ran the fastest race in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series history to win the Sears 200 at Michigan International Speedway.

Gaughan averaged 154.044 mph, his second consecutive victory and fourth in the last seven races. He broke the previous record of 144.260 by Kurt Busch at California Speedway in 2000.

The victory moved Gaughan into the lead of the series standings halfway through the season. Gaughan and Travis Kvapil have 2,000 points each, but Gaughan is first on the strength of his four wins.

Gaughan, who started sixth in a Dodge, took the lead for the final time on the 80th of 100 laps after a round of green-flag pit stops. He extended a nine-second advantage to a final margin of victory of 11.477 -- nearly a quarter of a lap -- over Ted Musgrave, who also drove a Dodge.

Paul Tracy won the pole for today’s Molson Indy at Vancouver, Canada.

Tracy, the CART points leader, lost the provisional pole -- and the championship point that goes with it -- to Bruno Junqueira Friday when CART penalized him for blocking other drivers in the qualifying session.

After watching Roberto Moreno post a fast lap of 1 minute 1.172 seconds at 104.813 mph in a Ford-Cosworth/Lola to take over the top spot, Tracy earned the pole by turning a lap of 1:01.049 at 105.024 mph, then bettered it the next trip around with a 1:00.926 at 105.236.

Junqueira, driving a Ford-Cosworth/Lola, came the closest to catching Tracy with a lap of 1:01.070 (104.988).

Tomas Scheckter won the pole for today’s Indy Racing League Firestone Indy 400 at Michigan International Speedway, turning a fast lap of 222.458 mph in a Panoz G Force-Toyota.

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Miscellany

Free-agent center Elden Campbell signed a two-year, $8.4-million contract with the Detroit Pistons, spurning other teams that could have offered him more money. Last season, he averaged 6.1 points and 3.2 rebounds in 56 games with Seattle and New Orleans.

Brandon Patch, an 18-year-old pitcher, died after being struck in the head by a batted ball during an American Legion game Friday night at Great Falls, Mont.

Patch lay motionless on the ground for 20 to 30 minutes. He was flown to Benefis Healthcare Hospital in Great Falls and put on life support. A hospital spokeswoman said Patch died early Saturday.