Top-ranked Roger Federer needed five match points to beat Spanish qualifier Nicolas Almagro, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 7-5, yesterday, and Andy Roddick was eliminated by French teenager Gael Monfils in straight sets at the Rome Masters in Rome.

Federer will face David Nalbandian in the semifinals. Nalbandian, ranked No. 3 and going for his second consecutive title, defeated 6-foot-5 Mario Ancic of Croatia 6-3, 6-3 in another quarterfinal.

Rafael Nadal beat 10th-seeded Fernando Gonzalez, 6-4, 6-3, in the other half of the draw, to extend his winning streak on clay to 51 matches.

Nadal will face Monfils, who reached his first Masters Series semifinal by eliminating the fifth-seeded Roddick, 6-2, 6-3.

More tennis

The German Open quarterfinal match between top-ranked Amelie Mauresmo and Martina Hingis was suspended because of darkness after they split the first two sets in Berlin. Hingis won the first set, 6-4, then dropped the second, 4-6. The match will resume today before the semifinals. Justine Henin-Hardenne defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, 6-4, 6-2, in their quarterfinal match. Nadia Petrova extended her clay-court winning streak to 13 matches, struggling past fellow Russian Dinara Safina, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

A top tennis player for Arkansas is ineligible for NCAA championships because of a ruling that she played professionally as a teenager. Aurelija Miseviciute was born in Lithuania and is ranked 25th in singles. Arkansas was scheduled to play Texas in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Fayetteville, Ark., yesterday. The NCAA suspended Miseviciute's eligibility for one year.

Boxing

Naseem Hamed, the former world featherweight boxing champion, was sentenced to 15 months in jail for dangerous driving that resulted in injuries. Hamed, 32, the former IBF and WBO champ was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court in England, and he was also banned him from driving for four years. Hamed pleaded guilty to dangerous driving on March 31.

Basketball

Saint Louis has hired former Billiken player Jamall Walker as its new assistant coach. Walker joins the Billikens' staff after two years at Ball State in Indiana as the basketball team's recruiting coordinator.

Track and field

Georgia's Jennifer Dahlgren set the NCAA record in the hammer throw at the Southeastern Conference outdoor track and field championships in Fayetteville, Ark. Dahlgren broke her school record with a toss of 235 feet, 6 inches -- the fifth-longest in the world this year. The junior from Argentina beat the school, SEC and NCAA records and bettered her own record for Argentina and South America.

Diving

China won the women's synchronized 3-meter springboard competition, earning a gold medal at the FINA Diving Prix in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for the second consecutive day. Li Ting and Guo Jingjing led after their second dive and easily won the competition with 336.300 points. Australia's Briony Cole and Sharleen Stratton took second (292.860), followed by Italy's Noemi Batki and Francesca Dallape (286.260). In the men's platform, American David Boudia overcame a shaky start in preliminaries to earn a spot in tomorrow's platform final.

Soccer

Everton will play two preseason matches this summer in the United States. The English soccer club said it will play the MLS' Columbus Crew July 26 in Columbus, Ohio, and Mexico's Club America in Dallas four days later.

Yachting

Top seeds Marietta College and Massachusetts advanced to the semifinals in the men's and women's varsity heavyweight eight at the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia. Marietta's men won their opening heat in 6 minutes, 2.95 seconds. In the women's competition, Massachusetts' qualifying time of 6:56.75 was faster than the other seeded teams.