Four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon won the pole for the Dover 400 with a lap of 157.061 mph yesterday at Dover International Speedway, a sorely needed lift as he tries to snap his season-long winless drought and make a big move up the Chase for the championship standings.

Gordon is 11th in the points race, 99 points behind co-leaders Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson.

Seven Chase drivers will start in the top 11 of tomorrow's race. Denny Hamlin starts third, Greg Biffle fifth, Clint Bowyer sixth, Matt Kenseth eighth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. 10th and Kyle Busch 11th.

Mark Martin turned a lap of 157.054 and starts second. Chase drivers took the 20th-22nd slots, with Johnson, Jeff Burton and Edwards all starting in the middle of the pack. Kevin Harvick is 24th and Tony Stewart is 33rd.

Andy Roddick lost to David Ferrer in five sets, giving Spain a commanding 2-0 lead over the defending champion United States in their Davis Cup semifinal. The fifth-ranked Ferrer defeated No. 8 Roddick, 7-6 (5), 2-6, 1-6, 6-4, 8-6, before a near-capacity crowd of 21,000 at the Las Ventas bullfighting arena. Earlier, top-ranked Rafael Nadal gave the hosts the early advantage with a 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win over Sam Querrey. Spain, which hasn't lost a clay-court Davis Cup series in nine years, could secure its sixth Davis Cup final appearance today when Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez play Americans Mike Bryan and Mardy Fish in doubles.

• Roger Federer beat Kristof Vliegen, 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-2, to give Switzerland a 2-0 lead over Belgium in their Davis Cup World Group playoff. Earlier, Stanislas Wawrinka beat Steve Darcis, 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, in a four-hour match to give the Swiss the lead.

Teemu Selanne has signed a tryout agreement with the Ducks while negotiations continue on a standard contract for the 10-time All-Star forward. The Ducks' career scoring leader will join the team for training camp and is expected to be on the ice today for drills. The 38-year-old free agent's signing has been delayed because the Ducks are $3 million over the $56.7 salary cap. General manager Brian Burke is expected to make a move involving defenseman Mathieu Schneider that would free up space under the team's salary cap in order to sign Selanne.

Celtics forward Darius Miles has been suspended without pay for 10 games for violating the terms of the anti-drug program at the end of the 2007-08 season. Miles' suspension will begin with the first game of the 2008-09 regular season for which he is eligible and physically able to play. Miles has missed the past two NBA seasons because of knee injuries. He has averaged 10.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in his career. The 26-year-old was selected third overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2000 draft. He signed with the Celtics last month.

• Deanna Nolan scored 22 points to lead the Detroit Shock to an 81-72 victory against the Indiana Fever in the opener of the WNBA Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. Taj McWilliams-Franklin added 17 points and seven rebounds, and Plenette Pierson had 11 points for the Shock. Game 2 of the best-of-three series will be tomorrow in Detroit.

Michelle Wie breezed through the final round of an LPGA Tour sectional qualifying tournament shooting a steady 1-under 71 to tie for fourth at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Completing the first step toward earning her tour card, she was 8 under after 72 holes. The 18-year-old Stanford student needed only to finish in the top 30 to advance to final qualifying tournament in Florida in December.

• Marc Turnesa shot a 68 in the second round and claimed a one-shot lead with a score of 133 at the Viking Classic at Madison, Miss. Will MacKenzie and Paul Stankowski are tied for second with 134.

The Houston Dynamo of the MLS postponed today's home match against the San Jose Earthquakes because of the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. It was rescheduled for Oct. 15. While the nation's fourth-largest city is recovering, many people remain without power and other services are still unavailable.