Reports vary on Biedrins in Europe

Conflicting reports had Warriors center Andris Biedrins signing with different international teams Friday. The beleaguered big man would have an opt-out clause either way, allowing him to return to Golden State when the lockout ends.

TuBasket.com reported that Biedrins signed with VEF Riga, the Latvian League champions who will play

next in the Euroleague. Blic, a Serbian tabloid newspaper, had him signing with Turkish team Anadolu Efes.

Biedrins' agent, Bill Duffy, could not be reached.

- Rusty Simmons

-- The Chinese Basketball Association said it will sign only free agent players interested in playing a full season in China, not those under contract with NBA teams who had shown interest, such as the Warriors' Stephen Curry and Dorell Wright or All-Stars Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul.

-- Elena Delle Donne had 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead the United States to a 79-67 win over Australia in the semifinals of the World University Games in Shenzhen, China. The U.S. team (5-0) will face Taiwan on Sunday in the gold-medal game.

TENNIS

Nadal and Federer ousted from tourney

A weary Rafael Nadal and an off-target Roger Federer were knocked out of the quarterfinals of the Western and Southern Open in Mason, Ohio.

Playing a day after he spent five hours on court, Nadal faded in a 6-3, 6-4 loss to American Mardy Fish. Later, the third-seeded Federer struggled with his groundstrokes during a 6-2, 7-6 (3) loss to a sore-shouldered Tomas Berdych.

In the wide-open women's bracket, second-seeded Vera Zvonareva and No. 4 Maria Sharapova advanced in straight sets. Jelena Jankovic moved into the semifinals when Peng Shuai withdrew with a sore left hip.

-- Two-time defending U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters will not go for three in a row because of a stomach muscle injury.

ELSEWHERE

Former Sharks chief bids for Coyotes

A group headed by former Sharks President and CEO Greg Jamison is one of two bidders for the Phoenix Coyotes. Julie Frisoni, spokesman for the city of Glendale, Ariz., would not elaborate on the negotiations or identify the other bidder.

-- All-Star Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller, who played very little last season after the All-Star break, said he's free of vertigo symptoms and expects to be ready for training camp next month.

Soccer: Robbie Keane, Ireland's celebrated striker, went through his first training session with the Los Angeles Galaxy and is expected to make his debut tonight against the Earthquakes.

-- Brazil's flamboyant attack meets Portugal's impregnable defense in today's final of the Under-20 World Cup. Brazil goes in as the favorite, looking for its fifth U20 title.

Track and field: Former U.S. sprint champion Michael Rodgers has accepted a provisional doping suspension and will not compete at world championships.

-- U.S. sprinter Jeremy Dodson was arrested on suspicion of identity theft just days before leaving for world championships in Daegu, South Korea. He was arrested and released after posting a $10,000 bond.

Gymnastics: Danell Leyva won his first men's all-around title at the U.S. gymnastics championships in St. Paul, Minn., beating two-time defending champion and world bronze medalist Jonathan Horton.

Colleges: Witnesses said LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson and unidentified teammates were involved in a fight outside Shady's bar at 2 a.m. Friday, according to Baton Rouge police, who have neither substantiated the allegation nor spoken to Jefferson.

Mental block for Nadal

Rafael Nadal believes he needs to overcome a mental block against new Wimbledon champion Novak Djovokic.
The Serb appears to have a hold over Nadal, with Djokovic having followed up final victories at Indian Wells,

Miami, Madrid and Rome with a 6-4 6-1 1-6 6-3 victory at the All England Club.
That has helped see Djokovic replace Nadal at the top of the world rankings and the Spaniard admitted his rival has had the edge in the big points.
"When I was 100% to play, I lost against him five times," said Nadal. "The rest of the year I won almost every match. So I'm doing things very well, but probably not against him. That's what I have to change.
"Probably the mental part is a little bit dangerous for me, because when I was at 5-4 (in the first set), I played a bad game from 30-0. When I was 4-3 down in the fourth set, I played another bad game with my serve.
"To win these kind of matches, I have to play well (at those moments). These kind of points can change the match.
"When I had the break point in the first game of the fourth set, I didn't play that point well. That was a big moment for me. Because I came back with the 6-1, if I start the fourth with a break it can change everything.
Aggressive
"To change things I probably have to be a little bit less nervous, play more aggressive, and all the time be confident with myself. That's what I'm going to try next time. If not, I'm going to be here explaining the sixth."
Djokovic has now registered 48 victories from 49 matches in a phenomenal season that has also brought him the Australian Open and six ATP World Tour titles.
His only defeat has against Roger Federer in the French Open semi-finals - and Djokovic said: "I managed to achieve a lifetime goal and I managed to make my dream come true, all in three days.
"It's just an incredible feeling that I'm never going to forget. This is the best day of my tennis career.
"For these kind of days, I was practising every day, being dedicated, being a tennis professional. Any athlete in the world dreams of being number one. This is something that gives us a lot of motivation.
"So finally when you really do it and when you know that you're the best, it's just an amazing achievement."