Top-ranked Roger Federer was tested by Italian wild card Potito Starace before closing out a 6-3, 7-6 (2) win yesterday in the second round of the Rome Masters in Rome.

Starace broke Federer's serve twice in the second set and Federer needed seven game points to hold serve and move to 6-5. In the tiebreak, he had his first ace of the match on the opening point, followed by a crosscourt backhand to end the match.

Federer improved to 35-2 this season and 7-1 on clay.

Earlier, Andy Roddick beat Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, avoiding a second consecutive loss to the man who beat him at the Australian Open in January.

More tennis

Second-seeded Nadia Petrova improved to 11-0 in WTA Tour matches on clay this year, beating Russia's Vera Zvonareva, 6-1, 7-6 (3), in the second round of the German Open in Berlin. Martina Hingis also advanced to the third round with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Julia Schruff of Germany. Defending champion Justine Henin-Hardenne beat Italy's Mara Santangelo, 6-4, 6-1.

Three-time champion Gustavo Kuerten will skip the French Open because of a hip injury, as will Igor Andreev (knee injury). Serena Williams, who won the 2002 French Open, is out with an injured left knee.

U.S. Davis Cup player Taylor Dent had back surgery and hopes to return to the tour before Wimbledon.

Basketball

Will Blalock has signed with an agent, Charles Bonsignore, of Passing Lane Sports Management in Ventura, Calif., officially ending his career at Iowa State as he pursues an NBA contract.

Michigan men's coach Tommy Amaker will lead a team of Big Ten players in Australia this summer. Amaker will coach two Wolverines and one player from each of the other conference schools against Australian teams in four games Aug. 8-18.

New Indiana men's coach Kelvin Sampson doesn't expect 6-foot-10 forward Cem Dinc to appear on next season's roster. Dinc, who lives in Germany, has applied to enter the NBA draft.

Golf

Sophomore Dave Richards, a Latrobe High School graduate, is tied for 90th place with 240 strokes as the Washington & Jefferson's men's team shot a four-man score of 22-over 306 to move up to 17th place in the third round of the 2006 NCAA Division II Championships in Lincoln, Neb. Allegheny College is tied with Otterbein College for eighth place.

The U.S. House has voted to award former golf star and philanthropist Byron Nelson, 94, a Congressional Gold Medal. The Congressional Gold Medal is Congress' highest award.

Boxing

Hasim Rahman wants to avenge the most devastating loss of his career, earn the WBC crown in the ring and remain the only American heavyweight title holder among the four divisions. Rahman, 33, the WBC champion, is scheduled to fight mandatory challenger Oleg Maskaev, 37, of Kazakhstan Aug. 12 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The bout will be shown live on HBO pay-per-view. Rahman, 41-5-2 with 33 knockouts, gets another chance to earn the WBC title in the ring, coming off a 12-round draw with James Toney March 18. Maskaev (32-5, 25 KOs) has won his past 10 fights, eight by knockouts.

Luge

Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin, the most decorated doubles team in American luge history, are among 13 racers who will be on the U.S. national team for the fall season. Grimmette and Martin contemplated retirement after the Turin Olympics, where they crashed out of the competition and did not add to their collection of medals; the duo won bronze in 1998 at Nagano, then silver at Salt Lake City in 2002.

Soccer

Sevilla won its first European trophy, beating Middlesbrough, 4-0, in the UEFA Cup final in Eindhoven, Netherlands, behind two goals by Enzo Maresca. Middlesbrough's Steve McClaren becomes the coach of England's national team after the World Cup.