Tennis

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Second-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic advanced to the BMW Open quarterfinals Thursday, beating Chile's Nicolas Massu 7-5, 6-1.

Berdych will face France's Nicolas Devilder, a 6-3, 7-5 winner over Germany's Tobias Summerer.

Philipp Kohlschreiber upset fifth-seeded Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-1, 6-4 to keep alive hopes for the first German winner since Michael Stich 13 years ago.

"I felt a little nervous at the end, but I will do anything to reach the final," Kohlschreiber said. "That would be an important step for me."

Kohlschreiber will face Sebastien Grosjean, the French veteran who followed up his victory over German star Tommy Haas by rallying to edge Argentina's Martin Vassallo Arguello 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

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Second-seeded Tommy Robredo rallied to beat Alberto Martin 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-2 in a matchup of Spaniards in the second round of the Estoril Open on Thursday.

After losing the first set, Robredo trailed 3-0 in the second before turning the match around.

"I started playing more aggressively because at the beginning I wasn't in the match," Robredo said. "It's great to win this way because it builds up your confidence."

Robredo will face seventh-seeded Agustin Calleri in the quarterfinals of the clay court event. Calleri advanced when Juan Martin del Potro withdrew with a fever while trailing 7-5, 1-0.

Fifth-seeded Richard Gasquet also reached the quarterfinals, beating Frederico Gil of Portugal 6-1, 6-2.

The Frenchman will next face Vincent Spadea of the United States, who topped Olivier Patience of France 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. In the previous round, Patience knocked out top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko.

In women's matches, 17-year-old Victoria Azarenka of Belarus eliminated second-seeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-2, 6-2.

Two other seeded players also lost. Fifth-seeded Olga Poutchkova of Russia withdrew with a virus while trailing 6-0, 1-0 against Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden, and Gisela Dulko of Argentina beat ninth-seeded Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

Also, Nuria Llagostera Vives of Spain topped Nika Ozegovic of Croatia, 6-3, 6-0, and Greta Arn of Germany ousted Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

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Pete Sampras took some time away from changing his kids' diapers this winter to make a playdate of his own.

The soon-to-be Hall of Famer, who retired from competitive tennis in 2002, hung out with Roger Federer when the current world No. 1 was in California to play at Indian Wells. On the first day, they had a friendly workout hitting balls back and forth for about three hours.

"The next day," Sampras said, "he came to my house and we stepped it up a little bit. Two great players, playing on a practice court; just two guys going toe-to-toe.

"It was competitive. I held my own. For me, at my stage, I felt pretty happy about that."

What's encouraging for Sampras should be discouraging for the rest of the field at the Champions Cup stop in Boston this weekend. Jim Courier, a four-time Grand Slam winner who organizes the senior tour, said Sampras is still a great player despite the layoff.

"I can assure you that his game is more than ready to take on the competition here. This week, we're up against it," Courier said before the tour began play at Boston University's Agganis Arena on Wednesday. "If Wimbledon was best-of-three, Pete Sampras would be the No. 2 seed right now."

The 35-year-old Sampras will play in the five-day round-robin along with fellow Grand Slam winners Courier, John McEnroe, Pat Cash, Petr Korda and Mats Wilander. Todd Martin, who won the event in Boston last year, is also in the field, along with Wayne Ferreira, who played in a record 56 Grand Slam events.

"This year's field is deeper, stronger than any field we have had so far," Courier said. "Adding Pete to the mix ... with the records he holds and the prestige he brings, is unquestioned. It will all be great, until we play."

Sampras was ranked No. 1 for a record 286 weeks while winning seven Wimbledon titles, five at the U.S. Open and two at the Australian Open. Sampras, who will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in July, retired after beating Andre Agassi in the 2002 U.S. Open final for a record 14th Grand Slam title.

"I shut it down for about three years," he said Wednesday. "I didn't watch any tennis, didn't pick up a racket."

Instead, Sampras played a lot of golf and helped take care of his two children, now 4 1/2 and 1 1/2 . Bored and a little restless and still in contact with Courier, he decided to give the over-30 tour a try.

"I love my kids," he said. "But if you ask me if I'd rather play Jim or change some diapers, I'll play Jim."

Sampras opens Thursday night against Korda, then plays Wilander on Friday and McEnroe on Saturday night. The top players after the round-robin advance to the championship and consolation matches.

Top prize in the $142,000 purse is $50,000 for an undefeated champion. The players also earn points during the six Outback Champions Series events toward a year-end title.

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Australian Open champion Serena Williams on Wednesday pulled out of next week's German Open due to a groin injury. She has played just four tournaments this year.

The former top-ranked American withdrew on April 11 from the Charleston event with a strained groin, and then pulled out April 22 from the Fed Cup match against Belgium with a right knee injury.

Former French Open winner Anastasia Myskina also withdrew Wednesday with a toe injury.

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A South Carolina teaching pro has sued organizers of the recently concluded half-grass, half-clay tennis match between stars Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Renata Marcinkowska, a former WTA tour player who now lives in Rock Hill, took action against management and marketing giant, IMG, and two advertising firms involved in Wednesday's exhibition in Palma De Mallorca, Spain.

The suit, which does not specify damages, claims Marcinkowska invented the idea of a tennis court of differing surfaces on either side of the net, received a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in November 2004 and pitched the idea to IMG soon after she got the patent.

"IMG did not express interest in the Patent at the time," according to Marcinkowska's suit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Columbia.

Marcinkowska says in her suit she met with IMG in February "with the idea of having Roger Federer play Rafael Nadal on a hybrid court." Again, the suit said, IMG expressed no interest in going forward.

She learned of plans for the Federer-Nadal exhibition last month and made several calls to IMG and sent e-mails to the company to try and stop it, according to the suit

"I'm very disappointed," Marcinkowska said by phone. "I don't want to say too much because I feel like they're a Goliath and I'm just a little David."

Nadal beat Federer 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (10).

Marcinkowska's suit claims patent infringement, civil conspiracy and unfair business practices and asks for a jury trial.

IMG spokesman Brian Weiss said the company hadn't seen the lawsuit and would not comment

Marcinkowska, 42, said she came up with the idea to help players train on different surfaces. As a naturalized citizen, she also wanted to see her idea used first in the United States.

"I feel like I've been cheated," she said. "And I feel like I am not sure what will happen next."

Associated Press Writer Jim Davenport contributed to this report.

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Qualifier Julia Vakulenko beat second-seeded Kim Clijsters 7-6 (3), 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals of the clay court J&S Cup on Thursday.

Vakulenko, a Ukrainian ranked 61st in the world, hit seven aces to avenge a second-round loss to Clijsters in last year's J&S Cup, which Clijsters eventually won.

"I really enjoy playing against top players," Vakulenko said.

In other matches, Venus Williams of the United States beat seventh-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia 6-1, 7-6 (4); top-seeded Justine Henin of Belgium downed Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany 6-1, 6-2; and fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia defeated Elena Vesnina of Russia 6-2, 7-5.

Clijsters struggled to find her range from the baseline throughout the match.

At 5-3 in the tiebreaker, the former top-ranked player sent a forehand wide, then netted another forehand to give Vakulenko the first set.

The Belgian's troubles continued in the second set, where she netted consecutive groundstrokes to hand Vakulenko a 4-2 lead and the only break she would need.

"She hit a lot of aces, a good second serve and kind of had me on my back foot a little bit and always at a little bit of a disadvantage," Clijsters said. "She just played a really good match and was better than me."

Williams grabbed control of the first set when Dementieva hit a forehand long to put Williams ahead 2-0.

"In the beginning it was very tough to get into the game because she was so powerful, very aggressive," Dementieva said. "It just took me a few games to get into the rhythm of the game and be able to have a long rally."

Both players struggled with their serves in the second set. Tied 2-2, neither held serve for the rest of the match.

At 5-4 in the tiebreaker, Williams hit a forehand winner and then Dementieva pushed a two-handed backhand long to end the match.

Henin, playing for the first time since losing to Serena Williams in three sets at the Sony Ericsson Open last month in Miami, had little trouble against the 21-year-old Groenefeld.

"I just tried to stay very focused and do my job and finally won pretty easily and that's positive," Henin said.

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Novak Djokovic of Serbia won his third ATP title of 2007 on Sunday, beating Richard Gasquet of France 7-6 (7), 0-6, 6-1 in the Estoril Open final.

Greta Arn of Germany captured the women's title, rallying past Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3).

Djokovic, seeded third and ranked No. 5, also won at Adelaide, Australia, and Key Biscayne, Fla., this year. Gasquet, seeded fifth, was playing in his first final of the year after having won three titles in 2006.

Djokovic and Gasquet each dropped serve twice in the first set before the Frenchman broke three times to easily win the second set. Djokovic led 3-0 in the third set and broke again in the sixth game, then served out the match.

Arn, ranked 176th, had won four lower-level competitions. Azarenka, ranked 68th, was playing in her first final.

Arn saved three match points in the third set before forcing the tiebreaker, where the German broke Azarenka three times.

Arn rallied after the first set and broke Azarenka twice in the second set. She broke the 18-year-old Azarenka on her third try to open the third set, then saved three break chances before breaking again to lead 3-0.

Azarenka broke twice over the next six games and was up 40-15 in the 10th game. Arn pushed the score to deuce then saved match point for the third time before the players exchanged breaks to force the tiebreaker.

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Philipp Kohlschreiber won his first title by beating doubles partner Mikhail Youzhny 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the BMW Open on Sunday.

The 23-year-old Kohlschreiber knocked out three of the top five seeded players and became the first German winner of the clay-court event since Michael Stich in 1994. Kohlschreiber dropped his first set of the tournament against the third-seeded Russian.

"I am overwhelmed and incredibly happy," Kohlschreiber said.

Kohlschreiber will break into the top 40 for the first time Monday when the new rankings are released. He lost to Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters on April 20, his best performance at a Masters event.

"My goal now is to be more consistent and make the top 30 this year," Kohlschreiber said.

Kohlschreiber and Youzhny will team up to play the doubles final later Sunday.

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Rain delayed the final of the J&S Cup between top-ranked Justine Henin and Alona Bondarenko until Monday.

Henin, who beat fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 to reach the final of the clay-court event, is looking to regain the title she won in 2005.

The 40th-ranked Bondarenko upset third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 7-6 (4) on Saturday to advance.

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For Pete Sampras, it was a day to live dangerously.

First, the future Hall of Famer faced a triple match point against Todd Martin in the final of the Champion's Cup event at Boston University on Sunday. Then, between beating Martin and grabbing the first-prize check of $50,000, Sampras shared some bad news with the Red Sox fans in the crowd.

"I don't know if you guys heard, but I believe the New York Yankees just signed Roger Clemens," Sampras said during the trophy ceremony as the crowd of 3,560 erupted in boos. "I'm serious."

On the day that the 35-year-old Sampras made a successful return on the seniors tour, another old-timer announced that he would be making a comeback that was much less welcome in Boston. Clemens, 44, said during the seventh-inning stretch at Yankee Stadium that he chose New York over the Red Sox for his latest comeback.

The fans at Agganis Arena probably missed the news while watching Sampras play Martin. So Sampras, a Dodgers fan, took the opportunity to tweak them.

"I'm just having fun," Sampras said after the match. "You know what, it's not that fun in this town. It's like a religion. I've never seen anything like it. They're passionate (in Los Angeles), but I've never seen anything like it is here."

Sampras hadn't played competitive tennis since winning the 2002 U.S. Open for his record 14th Grand Slam title. Retired at 31, he didn't pick up a racket or watch tennis on television for almost three years before deciding to play a limited schedule of exhibitions and Champion's Cup events.

His presence was a coup for the seniors tour and reminder for his opponents -- Petr Korda, Tim Mayotte, John McEnroe and Martin -- of why he dominated the regular tour when they were in their prime.

"Adding Sampras has certainly added some extra buzz," said Jim Courier, a competitor and organizer of the tour. "There's no question that when you bring in 14 major titles in one body, it's going to get tougher."

In a nod to the players knees, the matches are best-of-two sets, with a 10-point tiebreaker in case they split the sets. Sampras won the first set 6-3 and it was 5-5 in the second when Martin broke Sampras' serve, then held serve to tie it.

"I was thoroughly unprepared for a lot of what he had to offer," said Martin, the winner of last year's Boston event. "The only recourse I had was to turn it into a tennis match rather than a skills test, because his skills are better than mine."

Trailing 9-6, Sampras won five consecutive points. Martin was serving for the victory at 9-8 when he hit a backhand -- a "pretty easy" one, Sampras said -- into the net; Sampras took the victory at 11-9 when Martin returned a serve wide.

"Athletically, he's still closer to the speed he was when he was competing. The rest of us have depreciated more," Martin said. "I hit a few shots today, but I was reacting 9 times out of 10, if not 19 times out of 20."

Sampras had been doing his best to stay in shape playing 3-on-3 basketball twice a week in Los Angeles with friends, including former tour player Alex O'Brien. Beach volleyball and golf have also kept him busy when he wasn't chasing his two kids, 1 1/2 and 4 1/2 , around the house.

But now that he's back on the court, he plans to make a few appearances -- not the entire seven-event tour -- including Athens in two weeks. "I'm excited about taking my folks there, being a Greek-American," Sampras said.

Sampras went 3-0 in the round-robin before beating Martin in the final. McEnroe beat Courier 6-2, 6-3 in the consolation match.

Even so, the others were glad to have Sampras around.

"I think it adds a tremendous amount of legitimacy to what we're doing out here to have somebody who still plays at that level," Martin said. "For me, it's great to know that the best player in our era still wants to compete, still wants to beat me."

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James Blake and Andy Roddick have taken exception to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's defense of the Monte Carlo Masters.

Last month, Federer and Nadal held a press conference in Monte Carlo to declare that the ATP is moving too fast with its plan to restructure the 2009 calendar.

The ATP wants to trim the Masters schedule from nine to eight tournaments by cutting Monte Carlo and Hamburg and adding Shanghai.

"I agree the tour does need to listen to it's players but I think we need to do that behind closed doors instead of just airing it out in front of everyone," Blake said Sunday on the eve of the Rome Masters.

Both Monte Carlo and Hamburg, which like Rome are two of the main clay court warm-ups for the French Open, would remain on the tour but no longer with Masters status. They are both suing the ATP.

"If it gets to a desperation point then maybe we have to use the media and get your point out that way," Blake said. "But I really don't think we're at that desperation point yet, especially since we're dealing with the 2009 calendar."

The Masters Series events are the most important tennis tournaments on the men's tour outside the four Grand Slams.

Federer, Nadal, Nikolay Davydenko and Tommy Robredo are among the players who have signed a petition opposing the ATP reform proposals.

"Some players, myself included, don't have the same education and background as some of these tour managers or player representatives or the board members that have the job to do that," Blake said. "We have to trust them because we've elected them. We have to voice our opinions, there's nothing wrong with that, but we also have to understand that some people might have better ideas and better business savvy."

Blake spent two years at Harvard before turning professional.

"James is very important for us because he's a very smart guy," Federer said. "He thinks about something very clearly before he says something. It's important that ... all players agree to a point. We talk a lot and I agree that it should be done internally in the end."

Neither Blake nor Roddick played at Monte Carlo this year.

"What no one is talking about is the finances of it," Roddick said. "This is not a knock on (Monte Carlo). The tournament is amazing, they run it great, the players love it. It's the most beautiful stadium we have.

"But if you get 70,000 people a week in Monte Carlo and then if you have a place like Cincinnati, it may be a little further out and a lot of Europeans don't like going there, but if the attendance is 180,000 and you're looking at it as a business model and who brings in the most revenue, when it's time to make cuts, that person is going to get cut."

Roddick said ATP president Etienne de Villiers was in "an unenviable position."

"When no changes are made in tennis everybody screams, then when changes start being made everybody screams," Roddick said. "Each one of us is going to have opinions mostly because of how it affects us on a selfish level. For us to be able to look at it objectively, I don't know if that's possible."

Nadal arrived Saturday in Rome, feeling fit and coming off two straight clay court titles in Monte Carlo and Barcelona -- both without dropping a set.

"I am fresher for sure. I've been on court less," said Nadal, who holds a 72-match winning streak on clay that stretches back to April 2005.

If he reaches the final this week, Nadal will eclipse John McEnroe's streak of 75 wins on indoor-carpet and establish the longest run on any surface.

"I'm going to try. Every week they find another record," Nadal said.

In 2005, Nadal beat Guillermo Coria here in the longest final in the Open Era -- 5 hours, 14 minutes. If he wins again, he'll join Thomas Muster and Jaroslav Drobny -- a Czech player in the 1950s -- as the only three-time Rome champions, although he would become the first to take three titles in succession.

Third-seeded Roddick is back on tour for the first time since injuring his hamstring in a Davis Cup win over Spain's Fernando Verdasco last month.

"It's nice to be back on tour and healthy again. I haven't felt it since, so that's a really good thing," said Roddick, who won't be joined by coach Jimmy Connors until the French Open, which begins May 27.

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Her muscles aching when she gets out bed, Kim Clijsters is done with tennis at 23.

The former U.S. Open champion, once ranked No. 1, initially planned to quit after the season. Now, with injuries having exacted too much and her thoughts turning to family and a "new life," her retirement is immediate.

"Health and private happiness are so much more important," she said on her Web site Sunday.

Still ranked No. 4, Clijsters said she was wary of the injuries that have led to fatigue, lack of motivation and a decline in play.

"It's tiring to get out of bed and to use an hour just to warm up stiff muscles in the morning," she wrote in Dutch on her online diary. "The constant injuries and continual rehabilitation ... it makes it all even more difficult to go on."

Clijsters made the decision after losing in straight sets to Ukrainian qualifier Julia Vakulenko in her final match Thursday, failing to defend her title in Warsaw, Poland.

Clijsters has been playing for 10 years and won 34 career singles titles, including the 2002 and 2003 WTA Championships. She had wanted to go out with style, making Wimbledon the last Grand Slam tournament of her career. Instead, her summer will be marked by her July 14 wedding to Brian Lynch, a former Villanova basketball player now playing in Belgium.

"It has been more than fun, but the rackets are being hung up," she said. "To retire before the age of 24, it is very young -- but it was so beautiful. I would have been able to continue for a few months and to take part in the four most lucrative tournaments (three Grand Slams and the Masters). Money is important, but not the most important thing in my life."

A left wrist injury last year stopped Clijsters from defending her only Gland Slam title in New York and from playing in the Fed Cup final. She reached the 2007 Australian Open semifinals but injured her hip. She recently complained of back pain after losing in Key Biscayne, Fla.

Clijsters was Belgium's first tennis player to reach No. 1, holding the spot for 19 weeks in 2003. But she was unlucky in Grand Slam finals -- losing in 2001 and 2003 at the French Open, in 2003 at the U.S. Open and in 2004 at the Australian Open.

Belgian rival Justine Henin praised Clijsters for what she did in her career -- "as a player, as a person."

"We've almost grown up together and I think we've helped each other to come in another level because we've pushed each other always to play better. ... She did a lot for the game, for Belgian tennis for sure, and I think I will have great memories of her."

Clijsters made an emotional farewell to her Belgian fans in Antwerp at the Diamond Games in February, where she lost the final to Amelie Mauresmo. Antwerp was her last and only tournament on home turf this season.

However, Clijsters promised her fans Sunday that she would organize another goodbye party in September.

"The most beautiful memories of my career?" she wrote on her Web site. "Many victories in tournaments, Grand Sams in singles and doubles as well as being world No. 1 in singles and doubles."

"It is time for a new life," she added. "Time for marriage. Time for children? Time also to relax and to play with my dogs. And especially to spend a lot of time with my family and friends."

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Shahar Peer defeated Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-1, 6-2 Monday, one of two seeded players to advance to the second round of the German Open.

The 13th-seeded Israeli was joined by 14th-seeded Li Na of China, who advanced after beating Maria ***ilenko 6-1, 3-6, 6-1.

Severine Bremond of France beat Sabine Lisicki 6-2, 6-1, and Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic downed Olga Savchuk 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-0. Many matches were rescheduled for Tuesday because of rain.

Top-seeded Justine Henin, Amelie Mauresmo and defending champion Nadia Petrova also are in the tournament. The field includes 16 of the world's top 20 players after the withdrawals of Serena Williams and Nicole Vaidisova.

Henin, ranked No. 1, is favored to make it four wins in six years at the French Open warmup. Petrova beat Henin in last year's final.

"Henin is my favorite," Petrova said. "She is a tough cookie. I will have to come up with something different if we face each other. But I have never defended a tournament title before -- it is one of my career goals."

Mauresmo, ranked No. 3, is making her comeback after two months off because of an appendicitis operation.

"I feel physically fit. There are no aches or pains," Mauresmo said. "But, of course, I don't know what happens when I'm back on the Center Court having to play my first match again."

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Philipp Kohlschreiber won his first title by beating doubles partner Mikhail Youzhny 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the BMW Open on Sunday.

The 23-year-old Kohlschreiber knocked out three of the top five seeded players and became the first German winner of the clay-court event since Michael Stich in 1994. Kohlschreiber dropped his first set of the tournament against the third-seeded Russian.

"I am overwhelmed and incredibly happy," Kohlschreiber said.

Kohlschreiber will break into the top 40 for the first time Monday when the new rankings are released. He lost to Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters on April 20, his best performance at a Masters event.

"My goal now is to be more consistent and make the top 30 this year," Kohlschreiber said.

Kohlschreiber and Youzhny will team up to play the doubles final later Sunday.

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Justine Henin beat Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-1, 6-3 Monday to win the J&S Cup for the second time in three years in a final delayed a day because of rain.

"To wait yesterday was pretty hard," Henin said. "It's a little bit sad we had to play a final on Monday morning -- it's the first time in my career. But finally it was a good day today."

Henin, ranked No. 1, has reached the final in four of her five tournaments this year. Her mix of powerful groundstrokes and a solid net play overwhelmed her 40th-ranked opponent.

"She plays well at the net, really everything gave me troubles," Bondarenko said. "I'm happy that I played with Justine, and I hope that next time I'll play better."

Henin broke serve in the opening game, then hit a forehand crosscourt winner at 5-1 to break again and win the first set. The Belgian dropped only three points on serve during the set, two on double-faults.

"I was jittery in the first set," Bondarenko said. "It's the first time I've played against Justine and I couldn't get my bearings in the first set, and only in the second did I start to do something."

After trading breaks early in the second set, Bondarenko hit a backhand winner to hold three break points at 2-2. But Henin reeled off five straight points, capped by a forehand winner to hold serve.

"In the second set, I lost a little bit of my intensity," Henin said. "Things were going a little bit too easy at that time and I lost my concentration for a few games."

At 4-3, Henin broke with a forehand volley to lead 5-3 and served out the match.