Briefs | Tennis: Soon-to-be No. 1 Sharapova advances in Rome

Tennis

Sharapova, Williams sisters reach quarterfinals: Maria Sharapova rallied from a four-game deficit in the second set to beat Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) on Thursday in Rome, advancing to the Italian Open quarterfinals along with Serena and Venus Williams.

Seventh-seeded Venus Williams won 7-5, 6-2 over Vera Zvonareva and next will face defending champion Jelena Jankovic, who routed Maria Kirilenko 6-1, 6-1. Serena Williams overcame some erratic moments before eliminating Italian wild-card entrant Sara Errani 6-4, 6-3,

Sharapova will regain the No. 1 ranking on Monday because of Justine Henin's retirement.

Federer, Nadal, Djokovic advance: Rafael Nadal had no gift for birthday boy Andy Murray, winning in straight sets to join Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the Hamburg Masters.

Nadal won 6-3, 6-2 against Murray, who turned 21. Federer breezed past Robin Soderling 6-3, 6-2. Djokovic defeated Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 to stay on course for back-to-back titles after winning last week's Rome Masters.

Kuerten gets French wild card: Three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten was given a wild-card entry into this year's tournament, which begins May 25 by the French tennis federation. The 31-year-old Brazilian will be playing his final tournament at Roland Garros, where he won his only majors in 1997, 2000 and 2001.

College football

Hospital visit for Paterno: Penn State coach Joe Paterno spent several hours at a hospital being treated for dehydration before returning home.

The 81-year-old coach had been working at home late in the morning when he began feeling nauseated and was taken by ambulance to Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College, team spokesman Guido D'Elia said. Paterno had tests at the hospital but was not admitted.

Swimming

Suit battle hits courtroom: California-based TYR Sport filed a federal lawsuit this week alleging that rival Speedo, manufacturer of the record-breaking "LZR Racer," has conspired with USA Swimming to stifle competition and lure top athletes away from other companies.

The suit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., doesn't ask for specific damages but does claim TYR has lost more than a half-million dollars because of its competitive disadvantage.

Soccer

Rapids blank Real Salt Lake: Omar Cummings scored in the 65th minute and Christian Gomez added a goal on a penalty kick in Colorado's 2-0 victory over visiting Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer. The Rapids (4-4-0) broke a tie with FC Dallas for the top spot in the Western Conference.

Beasley back on US roster: DaMarcus Beasley, sidelined by a knee injury since November, was among 33 players on a preliminary roster announced for upcoming U.S. exhibition games.

Landon Donovan, Eddie Johnson and Freddy Adu were among the other picks. Goalkeepers Kasey Keller of Lacey and Marcus Hahnemann, a former Seattle Pacific and Sounders player, were not.

The United States plays at England (May 28) and at Spain (June 4), then faces Argentina at East Rutherford, N.J. (June 8).

College basketball

Dakich gets $185K settlement: Indiana has reached a settlement with former interim coach Dan Dakich, paying him the $185,000 he was scheduled to earn next year. Dakich replaced Kelvin Sampson after the NCAA accused the former Washington State coach of major rules violations in February.

Cycling

Priamo wins sixth stage: Matteo Priamo won the sixth stage of the Giro d'Italia after a late break from the pack, while Giovanni Visconti took the overall lead.

Priamo, who rides for CSF Group-Navigare, finished the 144-mile leg from Potenza to Peschici in 5 hours, 24 minutes, 49 seconds. Visconti, who rides for Quickstep, overtook the leader's pink jersey from Franco Pellizotti, who held the lead for four days.

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