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In brief
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 15, 2003
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Andy Roddick fired one serve at 147 mph, but couldn't overcome his erratic groundstrokes Friday and lost to Rainer Schuettler 6-3, 6-2 in the Pacific Life Open quarterfinals.
Roddick's ace in the eighth game of the opening set was 2 mph slower than the fastest ever clocked -- by Greg Rusedski in 1998 at Indian Wells.
But Roddick's serves were not as dominant as usual, and he managed only four aces against the German.
Gustavo Kuerten beat Tampa's James Blake 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, and top-ranked Lleyton Hewitt and Vincent Spadea won quarterfinal matches.
Top-seeded Kim Clijsters breezed to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Conchita Martinez in their women's semifinal.
American Justin Gatlin, competing overseas for the first time, underlined his reputation as track and field's latest sensation by winning the 60 meters at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, England. Gatlin, 21, followed his victory at the U.S. Championships by outracing an international field in 6.46 seconds. In the women's sprint, Zhanna Block of Ukraine won in 7.04, with Americans Angela Williams and Torri Edwards and 42-year-old Merlene Ottey completing the top four.
NCAA RECORD: Muna Lee of LSU broke Ottey's collegiate record with a time of 22.49 seconds in the women's 200-meter preliminaries at the Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. Ninety minutes later, she won the final with a time of 22.61. Ottey set the record of 22.79 for Nebraska in 1982.
The television rights for the 2010 and 2012 Olympics will go to a network that can provide "a great promotion" for the Games, and not necessarily to the highest bidder, IOC president Jacques Rogge said. He is looking for a package that would provide broad coverage of large and small Olympic sports. NBC holds the $1.51-billion U.S. rights to the 2006 and 2008 Games. The bidding will cover electronic media for the first time, and Rogge said the IOC wants to pick the winner on June 9.
Aly Wagner's goal off a corner kick with five minutes left lifted the United States into a 1-1 tie with Canada in the Algarve Cup in Olhao, Portugal. Canada took the lead in the seventh minute when defender Randee Hermus scored. "I didn't give up after the early setback. ... We created enough chances to win," U.S. coach April Heinrichs said. USA faces Olympic champion Norway on Sunday.
SPEED SKATING: Germany's Anni Friesinger won the women's 1,500 at the world single distance championships in Berlin, and American Jennifer Rodriguez finished third.
HORSES: Sky Mesa, undefeated as a 2-year-old but unraced this year, will miss the Kentucky Derby with a bruised right front foot that knocked him out of training three weeks ago. ... Ivanavinalot beat My Boston Gal by 13/4 lengths in the $200,000 Bonnie Miss Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach. ... Singletary led wire-to-wire and won the $81,100 Academy Road Stakes for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.
COLLEGES: Florida Zach Wilcox finished fifth at the NCAA Zones in Auburn, Ala., to qualify for the NCAA Championships in the 1-meter springboard.