Agassi, Roddick, Blake Advance at Italian Open

Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and James Blake became the first trio of Americans in the round of 16 at the Italian Open since 1995.

To advance even further, they won’t have to face the world’s top two players and the defending champion, who all lost.

In second-round action Wednesday, Blake beat Andrea Gaudenzi, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, Roddick overcame Andrei Pavel, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, and Agassi breezed past Michel Kratochvil, 6-0, 6-1, in 43 minutes--the fastest match on the ATP Tour this year.

Other top players had a much tougher time on the red clay at the Tennis Masters Series event.

No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt lost to Carlos Moya, 6-3, 6-2; No. 2 Gustavo Kuerten lost to Albert Montanes, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1; and 2001 champion Juan Carlos Ferrero lost to Ivan Ljubicic, 7-5, 6-2.

Top-seeded Jennifer Capriati advanced to the third round of the German Open at Berlin, beating Meilen Tu, 6-4, 6-3.

In other second-round matches, fourth-seeded Serena Williams defeated Barbara Schett, 6-3, 6-3, and third-seeded Kim Clijsters fought off four match points before losing, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5, to Anna Smashnova.

College Sports

The Southeastern Conference is investigating new allegations of rules violations involving former Tennessee quarterback Tee Martin.

The SEC is looking into alleged payments in February 1999 totaling $4,500 from Diane Sanford, then an executive at Aarco Insurance, forwarded to Martin from Mobile (Ala.) Register sports reporter Wayne Rowe.

Three Notre Dame football players and a former player are fighting the school’s decision to expel them after they were accused of raping a female student.

Sophomore point guard Wesley Stokes will transfer from Missouri at the end of this semester, but hasn’t said where he will go. The North County Times in Escondido reported that Stokes would consider transferring to San Diego State, a school that recruited him out of Long Beach Poly High in 2000.

Sophomore guard Bernard Robinson Jr., Michigan’s second-leading scorer last season, has been charged with misdemeanor sexual assault, police said.

A warrant for Robinson’s arrest has been authorized by the Washtenaw County prosecutor, Diane Brown, a spokeswoman for Dept. of Public Safety at the University of Michigan, said Wednesday.... Duke forward Casey Sanders was charged with grabbing his girlfriend and pushing her into a wall during a breakfast argument at her home. Sanders is scheduled to appear in court on the misdemeanor charge on June 3.

Miscellany

Mike Tyson’s public relations agency evidently quit this week, a month before his lucrative heavyweight title fight with Lennox Lewis.

Tyson’s profanity-laced tirades in a series of interviews arranged by New York-based Dan Klores Communications in Hawaii last week apparently prompted the company to sever its ties.

The agency’s name no longer appears on Tyson news releases, and former Tyson spokesman Adam Grant confirmed he was hired by Showtime to handle PR.

Sarah Fisher, the third woman to drive in the Indianapolis 500, found a car for this year’s race, signing with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. Fisher will drive the No. 23 car in the May 26 event and her primary sponsor will be Allegra, Dennis Reinbold said.... Jerry Nadeau was released from his contract with Hendrick Motorsports, leaving a team that has drivers Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte and Jimmie Johnson.

Bob Costas and NBC have agreed to a four-year deal that is expected to be announced next week, a TV industry source told Associated Press. The agreement is worth more than $1 million a year, the source said.... Former world champion sprinter Merlene Ottey was granted Slovene citizenship. The Jamaican-born Ottey has lived in Slovenia for several years.

Passings

Dick Farman, a former Washington Redskin lineman who played on the 1942 NFL championship team, died Sunday at his home in Seattle. He was 85.

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T.J. Simers has the day off.