In brief

Roddick passes test, reaches final in Paris

By wire services
Published November 3, 2005

PARIS - Top-seeded Andy Roddick beat Taylor Dent 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 7-5 Wednesday to reach the third round of the Paris Masters.

The all-American match pitted two of the biggest servers on the ATP circuit, with Dent getting four aces in his first two service games.

Former U.S. Open champion Roddick made several unforced errors in the sixth game, where he saved three break points. He broke Dent in the ninth game to lead 5-4 and served out the opening set.

"I feel like Taylor might have actually played the better match tonight," Roddick said. "He served pretty well tonight, mixed it up, kept me off balance."

Dent missed 11 chances to break Roddick in a match lasting 2 hours, 18 minutes. Dent was broken twice, including on match point when he double-faulted.

"He kind of gave it to me," Roddick said. "He had a lot of looks there in the third set. I didn't really have a whole lot of rhythm going."

Roddick felt Dent's aggressive approach meant his service game was not as smooth as usual.

"Today was the toughest one I had," Roddick said. "I think in Lyon I only faced three break points for the tournament."

Roddick, who won his fifth title of the season at Lyon on Sunday without dropping serve, now leads Dent 4-1 head-to-head and next faces No. 16 Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia. He advanced with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Jean-Rene Lisnard of France.

BELL CHALLENGE: Slovakian veteran Henrieta Nagyova beat fourth-seeded Laura Granville of the United States 6-2, 7-5 in Quebec City to reach her first quarterfinal match in 15 months.

ADVANTA CHAMPIONSHIPS: Fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia beat Angelika Bachmann of Germany 6-3, 6-4 in the second round in Villanova, Pa.

The Jockeys' Guild has called an emergency meeting on removing its president and board of directors following an intense congressional hearing into allegations of mismanagement.

Guild President L. Wayne Gertmenian is no longer trusted by the guild's membership and should resign, a group of guild representatives said in a press release.

"There comes a time when the credibility of management has been so compromised that it is no longer effective. Dr. Gertmenian should do the honorable thing and step aside," said guild senator Alex Solisin a statement.

On Oct. 19, Gertmenian and Vice President Albert Fiss were subjected to hours of questioning by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations that demanded answers on financial matters including a lapse in medical insurance coverage for its member jockeys.

During that hearing, a paralyzed jockey and his wife who have been stuck with hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills told the panel the guild had let them down. Gertmenian was accused of graft and deception by the committee.

SOCCER: ABC and ESPN bought U.S. English-language television rights for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups from FIFA for $100-million. The deal also includes rights to the 2007 and 2011 Women's World Cups, and the 2009 and 2013 Confederations Cups. ... Ferruccio Valcareggi, the coach who guided Italy to a European Championship and a World Cup final, died at 86.

TRACK AND FIELD: Bernard Lagat, a Kenyan-born U.S. citizen and silver medalist at 1,500 meters in Athens, will be exonerated of any doping offense if he drops his lawsuit seeking compensation from the IAAF for income lost during a suspension.

[Last modified November 3, 2005, 01:07:13]