TENNIS
Patrick McEnroe gets new job: revitalize the sport in the U.S. Davis Cup captain and former top-30 player Patrick McEnroe was hired to oversee player development for the U.S. Tennis Association on Wednesday. The goal is to reverse the recent decline in American fortunes on the men's and women's tours.
"The world has caught up in some ways. But that's OK," McEnroe said. "My job is really going to be to work within the tennis community, to find those elite players that we think can become champions, to give them that pathway, to give them the opportunities to become great players."
McEnroe also received a three-year contract extension as Davis Cup coach. Last year, he led the Americans to their first title since 1995.
While Europe, Asia and South America have had increasing success in developing top-100 players, the talent flow in the U.S. has stalled. In 2007, for the only the second time in 20 years, no American made the singles finals at the U.S. Open. There are only nine U.S. women and eight men in the top 100.
• Rafael Nadal converted only four of 19 break-point chances but rallied to beat James Blake 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the quarterfinals of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., on Wednesday. Jelena Jankovic advanced to the women's semifinals against Vera Zvonareva when Elena Dementieva retired because of a back injury trailing 6-3, 3-1.
Ranked No. 2, Nadal is seeking his first tournament title this year and his first title at Key Biscayne. On Friday, he'll play 10th-seeded Tomas Berdych, who beat No. 31 Igor Andreev 6-4, 6-4.
Andy Roddick will try to end his streak of 11 consecutive losses to Roger Federer when they meet in the quarterfinals today.
COLLEGES
Hobey Baker finalists named Nathan Gerbe of Boston College, Ryan Jones of Miami of Ohio and Kevin Porter of Michigan were named the three finalists for the 2008 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, which honors college hockey's top player.
