Roddick Has Easy Time Getting Past Ljubicic

Andy Roddick advanced to the round of 16 at the Cincinnati Masters in Mason, Ohio, by easily defeating Ivan Ljubicic, 6-1, 6-4, Wednesday.

Roddick, seeded seventh, had 10 aces. He will play unseeded James Blake, who defeated 11th-seeded Sjeng Schalken, 6-1, 6-4.

In other matches, 2002 Wimbledon runner-up David Nalbandian beat reigning Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5). French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero also was eliminated in the second round, losing, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5), 6-4, to unseeded Gaston Gaudio.

Eighth-seeded Rainer Schuettler beat Jarkko Nieminen, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4). Schuettler defeated Andre Agassi last week at the Canada Masters at Montreal before losing to Nalbandian in the semifinals.

The second-seeded Ferrero had 16 aces to Gaudio’s six but was hurt by 10 double-faults and 40 unforced errors to Gaudio’s 24.

Guillermo Coria also advanced when Yevgeny Kafelnikov had to quit in the second set with a sprained left ankle. Coria was leading, 6-0, 5-4.

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Second-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne and defending champion Amelie Mauresmo won second-round matches at the Rogers AT&T; Cup in Toronto.

Henin-Hardenne easily defeated Marion Bartoli, 6-3, 6-3. Mauresmo, seeded third, overcame several errors in the first set to beat Elena Likhovsteva, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.

In other matches, fourth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova beat Jill Craybas, 6-1, 6-2, and fifth-seeded Anastasia Myskina defeated Nicole Pratt, 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4.

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Carly Gullickson and Corina Morariu were among eight women given wild-card entries to the U.S. Open.

Gullickson is the daughter of former major league pitcher Bill Gullickson. At 16, she became the youngest player to represent the United States at the Pan American Games.

She made her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon in June, losing in the first round on Centre Court.

Morariu returned to Grand Slam action with a first-round match against eventual champion Serena Williams at the 2002 U.S. Open, less than 1 1/2 years after starting treatment for leukemia.

Morariu, the 1999 Wimbledon doubles champion, was sidelined late last year by a torn rotator cuff.

The other six women getting wild-card invitations are Bea Bielik, Angela Haynes, Amber Liu, Theresa Logar, Bethanie Mattek and Shenay Perry.

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College Football

The parents of a Florida football player who died from heatstroke during summer training camp two years ago are suing the school, its athletic department and the hospital where he was treated.

The wrongful death suit filed by Eraste Autin’s parents, Dr. David L. Autin and Joan Autin, says athletic department officials were negligent and careless in “failing to prevent, detect or treat the heat-related injury.”

The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, also says Shands Teaching Hospitals and Clinics in Gainesville, Fla., caused Autin’s death through negligent and careless treatment.

Autin was a 240-pound freshman fullback participating in voluntary workouts on July 19, 2001, when he became disoriented while returning to the locker room from the practice field. He ran past the gate leading to the football facility and began to stagger, witnesses said.

Michigan State quarterback Jeff Smoker has been reinstated after being suspended for the final five games last season because of a substance-abuse problem.

Smoker will compete for a starting position, new head Coach John L. Smith said.

Smoker passed for 2,579 yards and 21 touchdowns -- with eight interceptions -- during the 2001 season. But his personal problems led to a poor 2002 season (13 touchdown passes, 10 interceptions).

Michigan defensive back Marlin Jackson pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in a plea agreement with prosecutors in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Jackson, the preseason Big Ten defensive player of the year, was accused of striking a man in the right eye with a bottle during a party on June 1.

In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped a charge of felonious assault, which carried a sentence of up to four years in jail.

Aggravated assault is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Sentencing is set for Sept. 11.

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Basketball

Detroit defeated the host Phoenix Mercury, 78-76, in front of 7,132, giving the Shock its first WNBA win in seven games at America West Arena.

USC’s Ebony Hoffman and UC Santa Barbara’s Lindsay Taylor are among the 30 candidates for the inaugural John R. Wooden Award for the most outstanding women’s college basketball player. Among others nominated was Washington’s Giuliana Mendiola.

Boston College guard Ryan Sidney will not return to the team for the 2003-04 season for personal reasons the school didn’t disclose. He played 95 games from 2000-03, starting all 63 the last two seasons. He averaged 11.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in his career.

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Miscellany

Brittany Hayes, The Times’ girls’ water polo player of the year for two seasons in a row, will play for the U.S. women’s junior team when it plays host to the 2003 States Cup beginning today at Los Alamitos.

The tournament, which concludes Sunday, serves as a warmup for the FINA Junior Women’s World Championships Aug. 23-31 in Calgary. The United States opens play at 9:15 p.m. against Australia.

The Sporting News has named Anaheim-Los Angeles the nation’s best sports city for 2002-2003, in part because of the World Series champion Angels, the Stanley Cup finalist Mighty Ducks and USC’s Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, Carson Palmer.

T.J. Simers is on vacation.