Gerrard keeps Liverpool's faint title hopes alive

Steven Gerrard's double kept Liverpool's slim title hopes alive with a 3-0 victory at West Ham on Saturday, but Manchester United could still have retained its title by the time the Reds next play.

The Liverpool captain rolled the ball into an open net inside two minutes and added another in the 38th, slotting in the rebound after having a penalty saved. Substitute Ryan Babel rounded off the victory in the 84th. The win moves Liverpool back atop the Premier League standings, although it only leads United on goal difference with the defending champions having two games in hand.

If the Red Devils beat Manchester City on Sunday, Wigan on Wednesday and take at least a point off Arsenal next Saturday, they will have matched Liverpool's haul of 18 titles by capturing a third straight title. Liverpool plays West Bromwich Albion next Sunday.

Saturday's match at Upton Park was just the 12th time that Gerrard and striker Fernando Torres started a Premier League match together this season, and it took just 76 seconds for the duo, who have struggled with injuries, to rip through West Ham's defense.

Returning after a recurrence of hamstring problems, Torres slipped the ball beyond the back four through to Gerrard. The England midfielder was onside and able to skip around Robert Green before coolly slotting home.

But Liverpool then eased off, and striker Diego Tristan was able to test goalkeeper Pepe Reina with a glancing header. Reina came off his line in the 27th to meet Mark Noble's free kick and was beaten in the air by Radoslav Kovac, but the Czech's header had too much elevation.

Ten minutes after that missed chance to equalize, the Hammers fell further behind. Their former midfielder, Yossi Benayoun, lofted the ball over the defense and Luis Boa Morte dragged Torres down in the penalty area.

While Gerrard's spot kick was saved by the diving Robert Green, the midfielder raced forward in time to meet the rebound. Jamie Carragher then made a mistake two minutes before the break that nearly gifted the home side a goal. The stalwart defender gave the ball away, allowing David di Michele to seize possession.

But with only Reina to beat, Di Michele tripped over his own feet while trying to round the Spaniard. Believing he had been tripped, Di Michele appealed for a penalty only to receive a yellow card instead for diving.

There was still time in the half for Torres send a looping header wide. Liverpool pushed for a third in the second half, with Benayoun volleying over, Torres sending another header above the target, and Dirk Kuyt denied by the onrushing Green before the goal finally came.

With six minutes remaining, Gerrard took the ball out of his own half and dispatched it to Kuyt on the right flank.

The Netherlands forward crossed to his compatriot Babel, and while the initial downward header was parried by Green, he found the net with the rebound to score a goal that gives Liverpool a six-goal advantage over United.

Djokovic the avenger eases into Serbia Open semis

World number three Novak Djokovic beat compatriot Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-2 on Friday to set up a semi-final against Italian Andreas Seppi at the inaugural Serbia Open.

Djokovic dominated the all-Serb clash, which started 40 minutes late because of a floodlight failure, to avenge defeat in his only previous meeting with Troicki in the Croatian resort of Umag in 2007.

Fifth seed Troicki broke in the opening game but the top seed replied with a barrage of cross-court winners and powerful serves to take the first set. Djokovic raced into a 3-1 lead in the second before sweeping his close friend and Davis Cup team-mate off the court to complete a 71-minute victory.

"Breaking back in the second game and again in the sixth game of the opening set was crucial, it means a lot against players of Viktor's quality," Djokovic said in a courtside interview.

"I am delighted that a huge crowd turned up for our match and I hope they will come back for the remainder of the tournament." Fourth seed Seppi progressed with a 6-4, 7-5 triumph over Marcos Daniel of Brazil.

'Lucky loser' Lukasz Kubot of Poland will meet Croatia's Ivo Karlovic in the other semi-final. Kubot, allowed into the tournament when Belgian Steve Darcis pulled out with a shoulder injury, beat Darcis's compatriot Kristof Vliegen 7-6, 6-3. Second seed Karlovic cruised into the last four with a 6-3, 6-3 defeat of Italian Flavio Cipolla.

Manchester United appeal to UEFA over Fletcher ban

Manchester United have asked UEFA to overturn the controversial red card that will keep midfielder Darren Fletcher out of the Champions League final, British newspapers reported on Friday.

Fletcher was sent off for what looked a fair challenge on Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas late in Tuesday's semi-final second leg at the Emirates, which United won 3-1 to progress 4-1 on aggregate. UEFA said the only grounds for appeal were in a case of mistaken identity, which is not an issue with Fletcher.

However, British newspapers said United, encouraged by comments from the European governing body's general secretary David Taylor, have asked if UEFA believes referee Roberto Rosetti's decision was correct in the hope it may be reviewed.

"I've spoken with Alex Ferguson personally on this as fate would have it we shared a car after the match," Taylor told Thursday's Sun newspaper. "Strictly speaking there is no appeal process but representation can be made.

"If the club want to write to us with information such as video evidence explaining why they think this is a harsh punishment then they can do that. "The likelihood is we'd refer it to our disciplinary body. They would then look to see if there were any special circumstances to justify any departure from established procedures."

A UEFA spokesman was quoted by British newspapers on Friday saying: "The letter will go to our control and disciplinary body and they will decide whether the protest is admissible and, if it is, whether it is accepted or rejected.

"The chances of an appeal being successful are quite slim because a protest is only admissible on the grounds of mistaken identity and that is not the case in this instance.

"The referee made it clear in his report that the red card was for denying a goal scoring opportunity. That was a factual decision by the referee and you cannot change factual decisions by the referee." United will play Barcelona in the final in Rome on May 27, when the Spaniards will have two players suspended Daniel Alves and Eric Abidal.

Rampant United crush Arsenal to reach final

Manchester United swept back into the Champions League final as the holders produced a stunning 3-1 win over Arsenal in Tuesday's semi-final second leg.

Sir Alex Ferguson's side arrived at the Emirates Stadium holding only a slender 1-0 lead from last week's first leg, but United scored twice in the first 11 minutes to set up a 4-1 aggregate triumph that booked their place in the final against Chelsea or Barcelona, who meet in their decider Wednesday. Ferguson said that he had been pleased with his side's display.

"Obviously we got a big break for the first goal with the lad (Kieran Gibbs) slipping and Park Ji-Sung took advantage. However, in terms of how we played and our confidence and willingness to run it was overall a terrific display," said Ferguson.

United, who beat Chelsea in last year's final, were given a helping hand from Arsenal as South Korea winger Park Ji-Sung punished an embarrassing slip from Kieran Gibbs to open the scoring.

Cristiano Ronaldo then deceived Manuel Almunia with a long-range free-kick, and the Portuguese striker put the result beyond doubt when he added his second goal after half-time.

Arsenal barely tested United keeper Edwin van der Sar until Robin van Persie converted a late penalty after Darren Fletcher was sent off, ruling him out of the final, for a foul on Cesc Fabregas.

Ferguson was upset for the Scotland star. "I think he was unlucky, because the ball certainly moved in a different direction after the contact in the area. He was terribly unlucky. "However, the referee (Roberto Rosetti, who took charge of the Euro 2008 final) is one of the best in Europe. Darren would probably have played a large part in the final."

Even that couldn't detract from a fantastic display from United, who are the first defending champions to reach the final since Juventus in 1997. They were simply outstanding and exposed the flaws in Arsene Wenger's inexperienced, injury-hit team with ruthless efficiency.

No team has retained the trophy in the Champions League era, but United are hitting new heights and, with the Club World Cup and League Cup already won and the Premier League within touching distance, Ferguson and company are close to a memorable quadruple.

Arsenal were fortunate to be trailing by just one goal after a timid display at Old Trafford and the onus was on Wenger's side to make a fast start. For once the normally subdued Emirates crowd were at fever pitch, but Ferguson had talked up United's intention to press for a crucial away goal and they were true to his word.

In the eighth minute, Anderson slipped a pass to Ronaldo down the left and the Portugal winger proved he had adapted to his new role as a lone foward by finding space in the penalty area to whip in a low cross.

Even then Arsenal should have cleared the danger but Gibbs, a teenage midfielder pressed into service at left-back in the absence of Gael Clichy, slipped over and could only watch from a prone position as Park took a touch before guiding his shot past Almunia.

As Ferguson and his staff danced a jubilant jig you could feel the momentum draining from Arsenal. There was worse to come three minutes later. When van Persie fouled Ronaldo way out on the right flank, there appeared little danger.

But Almunia had reckoned without Ronaldo's flair for the unexpected. Ronaldo had scored from 40 yards to beat Porto in the last round and, from a similar distance, he took aim and launched a thunderous strike towards Almunia, who appeared to lose sight of the ball as it flashed past him at the near post.

Wenger sat ashen-faced on the bench as Arsenal's proud record of 27 home European matches without defeat fell apart, and the match had barely begun. United were rampant and it took a superb finger-tip save from Almunia to stop Wayne Rooney curling in a third goal.

The visitors continued to counter-attack imperiously after half-time and in the 61st minute Ronaldo capped a sublime break in clinical style. He started the move with a backheel to Park, who cleverly spread play wide to Rooney on the left. Rooney's cross was perfectly weighted for Ronaldo to drive past Almunia.

Game over, and Ferguson could even afford the luxury of substituting Rooney and Patrice Evra to ensure the duo didn't earn a booking which would have ruled them out of the final - Fletcher was not to be so lucky.

Accurate O'Hair wins in Quail Hollow by one stroke

Sean O'Hair used a rock-solid long game to win the $6.4 million Quail Hollow Championship by one stroke on Sunday. Despite failing to hole a putt from outside 10 feet during the entire tournament, the 26-year-old edged fellow Americans Lucas Glover (71) and Bubba Watson (70) in a battle of attrition.

World number one Tiger Woods finished two shots behind O'Hair alone in fourth place, after parring the final 10 holes. O'Hair carded 69 to finish at 11-under-par 277, just holding on after bogeying the final two holes in a testing breeze.

"I struck the ball phenomenal this week," said O'Hair, who collected $1,152,000 for his third PGA Tour victory. "Yesterday was probably the best I've struck it ever and today was pretty solid, especially coming down the stretch. "This is one of those courses you have to have the whole package."

O'Hair's victory came barely a month after he frittered away a big lead before finishing second to Tiger Woods at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Florida. "Losing sucked at Bay Hill," O'Hair said.

"Even though it's tough to lose a five-shot lead against Tiger, you still learn a lot from it. I think it's just experience. "I talked to my coach and my caddie and we all said that all I have to do is keep putting myself in those situations and at some point I'll learn how to win."

O'Hair seized the advantage on Sunday with birdies at the 15th and 16th holes, but promptly gave them back by bogeying the final two holes, including a three-putt at the last.

That gave Glover a chance to possibly force a playoff but his approach went over the green at the par-four 18th and he missed his chip back for birdie, ending his chances.

Earlier, third rounder leader Zach Johnson triple-bogeyed the par-three second, and he faded to finish tied for 11th on seven-under 281, while New Zealand teenager Danny Lee tied for 38th at two-under in his second start as a professional.

Woods, who nearly won the tournament despite clearly being nowhere near his best, was perplexed at his performance.