In brief: Roddick prevails in wet second round
Tennis: Stuck on his least-favorite court, at his least-successful Grand Slam tournament, and dealing with wet weather that figured to make matters worse, Andy Roddick managed to lose serve seven times Thursday and still get by, beating Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 in Paris to reach the third round of the French Open at Roland Garros.
The No. 6-seeded Roddick had to wait more than 41/2 hours to start play on a match that was interrupted twice by showers.
In other French Open play, 2008 French Open champion and former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic double-faulted seven times and lost 6-3, 6-0 to No. 28 Alisa Kleybanova in the second round. Ivanovic’s decline has been swift: She’s down to 42nd in the rankings, is 10-10 this season and has won two matches at her past three Grand Slam tournaments combined.
No. 17 John Isner of Tampa, Fla., pounded 38 aces and came back to beat Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (7), 6-4 in a match carried over from Wednesday, and No. 4 Andy Murray and No. 25 Marcos Baghdatis, a pair of past Grand Slam finalists, won to set up a third-round matchup.
Unseeded Fabio Fognini of Italy was jeered by spectators when he walked on court, then closed out a 2-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 9-7 upset of No. 13 Gael Monfils of France in a match suspended at 5-all in the fifth set in utter darkness the previous night. Fognini riled up the locals by arguing Wednesday with a tournament official about whether play should continue.
Three share lead with 63s at Colonial
Golf: Jason Bohn, Jeff Overton and Blake Adams shot 7-under-par 63s at Fort Worth, Texas, to share the first-round lead at the Colonial, where 2008 champion Phil Mickelson’s return turned into a struggle after an impressive start.
Mickelson birdied the first two holes, but that was the lowest he got on a hot day with ideal scoring conditions. Lefty finished with a 1-over 71 and is tied for 89th place, while 75 players were under par.
It will take quite a comeback for Mickelson to win his third Colonial, a victory that would push him to No. 1 in the world ranking ahead of Tiger Woods for the first time in his career.
Spokane’s Alex Prugh also opened with a 71.
•Langer, Freeman lead on Day 1 : Robin Freeman shot a 6-under 66 for a share of the first-round lead with Bernhard Langer at the 71st PGA Senior Championship at Colorado Golf Club in Parker, Colo.
Two Connecticut assistants resign
College basketball: Two University of Connecticut assistant coaches have left the men’s basketball program a day before the school plans to hold a news conference to update an NCAA investigation of potential recruiting violations.
Patrick Sellers and director of basketball operations Beau Archibald both agreed to resign from the school in advance of the news conference.
NBA says Perkins eligible for Game 6
NBA: Boston’s Kendrick Perkins will be eligible to play in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Orlando Magic.
The NBA said that one of the two technical fouls Perkins received in Game 5 was rescinded. That means Perkins hasn’t hit the mark of seven technicals in the playoffs that would lead to an automatic suspension.
Perkins was called for the first technical when he elbowed Marcin Gortat in the stomach. But it was the second technical that was rescinded by the league. Perkins got that one when he complained about a foul call in the second quarter.
FIU’s Wittels pushes streak to 50 games
College baseball: Florida International’s Garrett Wittels now has a 50-game hitting streak, after a third-inning single against Western Kentucky in a Sun Belt Conference tournament elimination game at Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Wittels moved within eight games of matching the NCAA Division I record of 58, set by Oklahoma State’s Robin Ventura in 1987.
The Golden Panthers beat Western Kentucky 7-3.
Roethlisberger cleared to return
NFL: Ben Roethlisberger was cleared by the NFL to return to the Pittsburgh Steelers beginning next week, although no decision has been made on the length of his suspension.
The quarterback was suspended without pay for six games last month by commissioner Roger Goodell after a 20-year-old college student accused him of sexual assault in Milledgeville, Ga. No charges were filed.
Roethlisberger underwent a behavioral evaluation as part of the suspension, which could be reduced to four games by Goodell, who will review the case again before the regular season.
The Steelers’ next offseason workout is Tuesday, the first of three next week.
Bolt wins 300 meters at Golden Spike meet
Track and field: Usain Bolt won a rarely contested 300-meter race in 30.97 seconds in the rain at the Golden Spike meet at Ostrava, Czech Republic.
Bolt, who holds world records in the 100 and 200 meters, was boosted by a solid start and cruised to an easy victory. But the wet track, marked by puddles, prevented him from challenging the world mark of 30.85 set by Michael Johnson at Pretoria in 2000.