BRISBANE, Australia -- One of the Williams sisters advanced to the final in an Australian Open warm-up event at Auckland, and the other is one victory away in Brisbane. Venus Williams advanced to the ASB Classic final in Auckland on a walkover when fellow American Jamie Hampton withdrew from their semifinal Friday with a right hip injury. Second-seeded Ana Ivanovic turned Saturdays final into a match between former world No. 1s when she beat third-seeded Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium 6-2, 7-6 (3). Top-ranked Serena Williams was playing third-seeded Maria Sharapova in the Brisbane International semifinals later Friday. Shes the defending Brisbane champion and has a 14-2 winning record against Sharapova, including the last 13 matches dating back to 2005. While Serena Williams has been close to career-best form, winning 78 of her 82 matches in 2013, her older sister Venus has been struggling with injuries and is playing her first tournament since September. The ASB Classic will be her first final since she captured the title in Luxembourg in October 2012. Ivanovic, who won the most recent of her 11 WTA singles titles in 2011, has the chance to carry considerable momentum into the Australian Open later this month if she can maintain her current form. She swept through the first set of the semifinal in only 21 minutes, breaking Flipkens in the first, third and fifth games. "In the first set I didnt do much wrong and in the second set we were both serving really well," Ivanovic said. "Im just really happy that I kept calm in the tiebreak and played some really good tennis." Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka was playing Jelena Jankovic in the Brisbane semifinals on Friday afternoon, hoping for a spot in the final against either Serena Williams or Sharapova. On the mens side in Brisbane, second-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan reached the semifinals with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 win over Marin Cilic of Croatia and will next meet former No. 1-ranked Lleyton Hewitt, who cruised past Romanian qualifier Marius Copil 6-4, 6-2. Top-seeded Roger Federer will play Australian Marinko Matosevic in a night match. At the Hopman Cup mixed team event in Perth, France clinched a place in Saturdays final against Poland by beating winless Spain. Alize Cornet overcame left hamstring soreness to beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-2, 6-2 before Jo-Wilfried Tsonga sealed the victory by defeating 194th-ranked Daniel Munoz-De La Nava 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-2. The United States takes on Czech Republic in a night match. Patrick Roy Jersey . Off-Season Game Plan looks at the Capitals possible summer plans, with the understanding that its tough to plot a direction without a general manager or head coach around which to set those expectations. Custom Colorado Avalanche Jerseys . 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Amid a rain of confetti, Shabazz Napier basked in the celebration on the court after being named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four following the 60-54 win over Kentucky. Napier had 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting with six rebounds, and played lockdown defence in his final collegiate game. His career began as a freshman on the 2011 Connecticut team that won the title behind star guard Kemba Walker. Now, Napier is the man. "I will say one thing when they say Ray, Rip, Ben, Emeka, Kemba -- theyll soon say Shabazz," former coach Jim Calhoun, whoer watching the 2014 squad cut down the nets. Calhoun was referring to Ray Allen, Richard "Rip" Hamilton, Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor and Kemba Walker. All except Okafor were guards. Not bad company at all. The Huskies steelyy point guard outshined Kentuckys freshmen phenoms.dddddddddddd Napier and fellow backcourt mate Ryan Boatright controlled the tempo and together outscored Wildcats twin guards Aaron and Andrew Harrison 36-15. On Saturday against Florida in the semifinals, Napier had 12 points and six assists. "Hes up there, hes up there," forward Niels Giffey said when asked where Napier rated among the history of Huskies guards. "He bleeds blue. He bleeds UConn." Napier looked like a floor general the way he directed players on offence with forceful motions. Instead of sulking after one blown play, Napier waited down court for his teammates and raised his right fist. Giffey said Napier promised his team after the 10-point loss to Louisville in the AAC tournament finals last month that they would cut down the nets in Texas. "I looked into his eyes and I really believed him," Giffey said. ' ' '