The next time Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova meet, it will likely be on a tennis court, with a net separating them — maybe even at Wimbledon, in the final, on the first Saturday in July.

"I think it's great for women's tennis when we play each other," Williams said.

So many things have gone wrong for Juan Pablo Montoya this season that he's come to expect the unexpected at the most inopportune time.

It came Sunday with one lap to go at Sonoma Raceway, where Montoya was desperately hoping to bank a bunch of points.

Forward Mario Balotelli will miss Italy's semifinal against Spain in the Confederations Cup due to a strained thigh, handing the team another major injury complication before facing the World Cup holder.

The Italian Football Federation made the announcement Sunday following medical tests on Balotelli's left quadriceps.

World Cup winners Spain defeated Nigeria 3-0 with two goals from Jordi Alba and another from Fernando Torres on Sunday to set up a semifinal showdown with Italy in the Confederations Cup.

Although the final score was emphatic, it could have been much closer if Nigeria had accepted some of their many clear chances in the first half. At times Spain looked vulnerable to the African champions' fast breaks.

Maria Sharapova tore into Wimbledon rival Serena Williams on the eve of the Championships, setting the tone for a tournament likely to be dominated by their unseemly public row.

The Russian blasted the defending champion for her controversial comments over a high-profile rape case and even ripped into the American's colorful private life.

Brianna Rollins served notice she is a force to be reckoned with by matching the fourth-fastest 100m hurdles time in history at the U.S. Athletics Championships on Saturday.

Running in her first U.S. outdoor nationals, Rollins booked a berth at the World Championships by posting a dominant victory in a time of 12.26 seconds.

Andy Murray will begin his campaign to end Britain's 77 years of Wimbledon hurt Monday, buoyed by his tearful defeat in last year's final and shrugging off a minefield of a draw.

Fred Perry won Britain's most recent Wimbledon men's title in 1936, the year the Spanish Civil War started and Jesse Owens spectacularly defied Hitler and the Nazis at the Berlin Olympics.

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari forecast Barcelona would get their money's worth from Neymar after the starlet again showed his mercurial talent in Saturday's win over Italy.

The 21-year-old scored his third goal in as many Confederations Cup group matches - a thumping freekick - as the Selecao saw off the four-time world champions 4-2 to win Group A with a perfect record.

The Le Mans 24 Hour race was in mourning on Saturday when Danish driver Allan Simonsen died after a horror high-speed crash at the wheel of an Aston Martin.

The 34-year-old, competing in the mythic race for the seventh time, spun off on the third lap into the safety barriers at the ultra-quick Tertre Rouge bend, demolishing his car.

An inspired second-half showing from Brazil earned the Confederations Cup hosts a 4-2 win over Italy in Salvador on Saturday to win Group A and avoid a potential semi-final meeting with Spain.

The dubious honor of facing the world champions in a Thursday semi in Fortaleza is now likely to be Italy's fate assuming the Spanish, with two wins under their belts ahead of their final meeting with Nigeria, top Group B.