Roger Federer advances in Shanghai Masters

Roger Federer routed No. 5-ranked Robin Soderling, 6-1, 6-1, in the Shanghai Masters quarterfinals on Friday.

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray also cruised into the semifinals, and unseeded Juan Monaco of Argentina took nearly three hours to oust Jurgen Melzer of Austria, who beat top-ranked Rafael Nadal on Thursday.

Federer and Djokovic will meet Saturday for the 17th time, and the first since their stunning U.S. Open semifinal when Djokovic saved two match points in a five-set victory.

No. 2-ranked Djokovic beat the in-form Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-2, 6-3. The Serb broke early in both sets and fought off two of the three break points he faced.

No. 4 Murray handled an error-prone Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-2, 6-2, in 55 minutes.

Murray, who only last week rebounded from an illness that had dogged him since the U.S. Open, will face Monaco, who outlasted Melzer, 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-2.

Ana Ivanovic defeated Julia Goerges, 7-6 (6), 6-2, to reach the semifinals of the Generali Ladies at Linz, Austria.

She will face Roberta Vinci, who rallied to beat Sara Errani, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.

Patty Schnyder defeated second-seeded Daniela Hantuchova, 6-4, 6-4, to reach her third semifinal of the season. Schnyder will play Andrea Petkovic for a place in Sunday’s final.

GOLF

Mediate increases his lead

Rocco Mediate holed a seven-iron approach from 160 yards for eagle on the par-four fourth hole and finished with a six-under-par 65 to increase his lead to three strokes in the Frys.com Open at San Martin, Calif.

The 46-year-old Mediate, looking for his first PGA Tour victory in eight years, made the eagle on the 426-yard hole a day after a hole in one on the par-three third hole. He had a 13-under 129 total on the CordeValle Golf Club course in the Fall Series event.

Ryudi Imada (67) was second, and Dean Wilson (64) and David Duval (65) followed at nine under.

Rookies Gwladys Nocera and Beatriz Recari each shot a six-under 66 and were tied for the lead after the second round of the CVS/Pharmacy LPGA Challenge at Danville, Calif., taking advantage of a rough day for Brittany Lincicome.

Recari had an eagle and five birdies over her final 10 holes to get to 10-under 134. Nocera finished with seven birdies.

Lincicome, who shot a blistering 11-under 61 on Thursday to build a four-stroke lead, struggled off the tee all afternoon and shot a 76 that left her at seven under. She had four bogeys and a triple bogey.

ETC.

Reports: Seattle picks Wedge

The Seattle Mariners have reportedly chosen former Cleveland Indians skipper Eric Wedge as their new manager.

SI.com first reported that the Mariners had selected Wedge to be their manager after their second 101-loss season in three years. Other media outlets had similar reports late Friday. Wedge would become the team’s sixth manager since the beginning of the 2007 season.

Asked to comment on media reports about Wedge, the Mariners said there would be no official announcement Friday.

Brad Keselowski pulled away from Martin Truex Jr. on a late restart at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., for his fifth Nationwide Series win of the season.

A woman crashed a replica Indy race car into a wall at high speed and died while taking part in the Mario Andretti Driving Experience at Auto Club Motor Speedway in Fontana.

The San Bernardino County coroner’s office said 24-year-old Ashley Phalen of Los Angeles was killed early Friday when her vehicle slammed into a wall and overturned. She died at a nearby hospital.

Phalen was participating in what is described on andrettiracing.com as the “World’s Fastest Racing Experience.”

The website says people can drive a race car with 600 horsepower for an eight-minute session and reach speeds up to 160 mph.

The United States pulled out of the bidding for the 2018 World Cup, switching its focus to winning the hosting rights for 2022.

The 2018 World Cup will now be played in Europe, either in England, Russia or the joint bids of Netherlands-Belgium or Spain-Portugal.

Former Ohio State star Larry Siegfried, who helped the Buckeyes to their only national championship in 1960 and won five NBA titles in seven years with the Boston Celtics, died Thursday night. He was 71.

Siegfried had been at the Cleveland Clinic since suffering a heart attack on Oct. 5, said Lesli Barkdull Neal, owner and funeral director at Barkdull Funeral Home in Shelby, Ohio. Obituary, AA7