Times staff, wires
Monday, March 28, 2011
Tennis
No. 1 wozniacki ousted at sony ericsson Open
KEY BISCAYNE — With her dubious No. 1 ranking secure for at least three more weeks, Caroline Wozniacki's taking a break.
Her enforced vacation began Monday when she lost in the fourth round at the Sony Ericsson Open to Andrea Petkovic 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.
"I'm just going to take a few days of rest now," Wozniacki said. "I need that, you know — maybe on the beach, get some of the tan lines off."
Wozniacki's play paled next to Petkovic's at pivotal moments. Leading 5-4 in the opening set, Wozniacki failed to convert three set points. As the final set slipped away, she angrily kicked at a ball — and failed to make solid contact.
Petkovic, ranked a career-best 23rd, hit an ace to end the first set and another on match point. She waved her arms as she danced at the net to celebrate her biggest victory.
"It's the Petko Dance," she later said with a smile.
No. 16-seeded Maria Sharapova scored her first win over a top-five player in more than three years, beating No. 4 Samantha Stosur 6-4, 6-1. Sharapova, a two-time runnerup at Key Biscayne, earned a berth in the quarterfinals against No. 26 Alexandra Dulgheru.
On the men's side, two-time champion Roger Federer and top-ranked Rafael Nadal advanced to the fourth round. Federer, who slipped to third in the rankings last week, beat No. 32 Juan Monaco 7-6 (7-4), 6-4. Nadal, seeking his first Key Biscayne title, never faced a break point and defeated Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-3.
Soccer
FC Tampa Bay signs three players
With a little less than two weeks remaining until FC Tampa Bay's regular-season opener, the 2011 roster is steadily taking shape.
The team said it signed three players — defender Omar Jarun and forwards Warren Ukah and Matt Clare — to bring the number of players under contract to 19.
Clare has been in preseason camp as a trialist and scored FC Tampa Bay's tying goal in the 86th minute of a 1-1 tie against Sweden First Division club BK Hacken.
Jarun, who will help fill the void left by the season-ending knee injury to defender Yendry Diaz, played in the Polish First League. He was also a key member of the Vancouver Whitecaps' USL First Division championship team in 2008.
Ukah played the past two seasons with Minnesota and Rochester. He made 11 starts for Minnesota last season.
The contracts for all three include club options for 2012.
In other NASL news, David Downs will be the new commissioner. Downs, who takes over next week, was most recently executive director of the U.S. bid committee to draw the World Cup in 2018 and 2022.
Man U to play in MLS game: Manchester United will play in Major League Soccer's All-Star game for the second straight year. The game, part of the Red Devils' preseason tour, will be played July 27 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J.
ET CETERA
Olympics: Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou testified in Athens court on charges she and teammate Costas Kenteris staged a motorcycle crash to avoid a doping test on the eve of the 2004 Olympics in a major scandal that marred the opening of the Athens Games. Thanou and Kenteris, medalists at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, are accused of staging the crash Aug. 12, 2004, hours after they missed a doping test. The pair subsequently withdrew from the Games.
Eduardo A. Encina, Times staff writer; Times wires
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