In Brief

TENNIS

Nadal survives match point, advances at Cincinnati Masters

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal needed three sets in the afternoon heat -- plus a little help at the end -- to avoid a huge upset. And he wasn't alone in the midday distress.

Nadal and No. 4 Andy Murray were pushed to their limits Thursday before moving on to the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Masters. Both got some help with their matches on the line.

Nadal survived a match point in the second-set tiebreaker, then surged to a 5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-2 victory over France's Julien Benneteau, who developed leg cramps in the final set and wasn't the same. A worn-out Murray took advantage of Ernests Gulbis' erratic shots -- especially in the tiebreaker -- for a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4) victory.

Andy Roddick couldn't blame the heat for his full-length match. The top-ranked American played in the evening and wasted five match points -- one of them during a second-set tiebreaker -- before closing out a 6-4, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (5) win over No. 5 Robin Soderling.

No one has played less this week than second-ranked Roger Federer, who reached the quarterfinals when Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber withdrew because of a painful right shoulder. It was the second straight match that Federer's opponent was hurt. He's been on the court for 28 minutes this week.

Third-ranked Novak Djokovic advanced by beating David Nalbandian, 6-1, 7-6 (7).

Also: Kim Clijsters breezed into the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Kaia Kanepi at Montreal.

Clijsters will face Vera Zvonareva, the eighth seed from Russia who downed Agnes Szavay of Hungary, 6-3, 6-3.

basketball

Former NBA player Vincent charged in Internet job scam

Former NBA player and Michigan State star Jay Vincent has been indicted for an Internet employment scam that bilked about 20,000 jobseekers out of about $2 million, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Vincent, 51, and Anthony Portee, 53, face charges of mail fraud, and Vincent is charged with an income tax violation, authorities said.

Vincent won an NCAA title at Michigan State in 1979 on a team that included Magic Johnson.

Dallas drafted him with the first pick of the second round in 1981. He averaged 21.4 points per game his rookie season and spent five seasons with the Mavericks.

He later played for Washington, Denver, San Antonio and the Los Angeles Lakers, ending his NBA career with Philadelphia in 1990.

Vincent is "a legitimate businessman" and is cooperating with investigators, said his lawyer, Charles Ford.

Also: The NBA fined Portland Trail Blazers swingman Rudy Fernandez $25,000 for public statements that are "detrimental" to the league.

The fine was imposed Thursday, a day after Fernandez's agent said he did not want to return to the Blazers.

miscellaneous

Struggling Woods commits
to playing in FedEx opener

Tiger Woods is playing the first FedEx Cup playoff event with hopes that it's not his last.

Woods officially entered The Barclays, which starts Thursday. It's the first of four playoff events that conclude with the Tour Championship and a $10 million prize to the winner of the yearlong FedEx Cup competition.

Woods is No. 108 in the standings, and he is likely to slip further depending on what happens this week at the Wyndham Championship. Only the top 125 players are eligible for The Barclays, which will be played at Ridgewood Country Club at Paramus, N.J.

Also: Arjun Atwal tied a tournament record with a 9-under-par 61 and took a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Wyndham Championship at Greensboro, N.C.

Brandt Snedeker shot a 63. John Rollins, Kevin Streelman, Lucas Glover, Boo Weekley, David Toms and Jeev Milkha Singh were at 64.

D.A. Weibring and Tom Lehman shot 5-under-par 67s to share the first-round lead at the Jeld-Wen Tradition at Crosswater Club at Sunriver, Ore.

Two-time Olympic champion Michael Phelps failed to make the 400-meter individual medley final at the Pan Pacific championships at Irvine, Calif.

Fellow American Ryan Lochte flirted with the world record in the race before settling for a gold medal and the year's fastest time. He led all the way and touched in 4 minutes, 7.59 seconds.

Mike McCoy scored the winning run in the top of the 10th inning to give the 51s a 6-5 victory over the host New Orleans Zephyrs in a Pacific Coast League game.

McCoy led off the inning with a walk, stole second and came around on a single by Jarrett Hoffpauir.

Joshua Roenicke (8-0) got the victory for the 51s (61-65), and Jeremy Accardo claimed his 23rd save. Chris Leroux (0-3) took the loss for the Zephyrs (60-65).