Blake Has Enough to Beat Enqvist

American James Blake failed on five match points in the second set before pulling out a 7-6 (5), 6-7 (1), 6-2 victory over Sweden’s Thomas Enqvist in the second round of the Franklin Templeton Tennis Classic on Wednesday at Scottsdale, Ariz.

Blake improved to 1-1 lifetime against Enqvist, who eliminated second-seeded Andre Agassi in the first round.

“At the end of that set [the second], I was disappointed because I knew I had my chances to do it then,” said Blake, who had eight aces.

“I was maybe a little tentative. I just had to put that out of my mind and say it was a whole new match. I felt like I was playing well enough to win. I just wanted to keep the pressure on and play a great third set. I wanted to keep up my level and I was able to do that.”

Earlier, Argentina’s Mariano Zabaleta upset fifth-seeded Rainer Schuettler of Germany, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. Zabaleta has reached the quarterfinals in four of six tournaments this year.

Only three seeded players remain in the field, including No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt of Australia.

Taylor Dent defeated Cecil Mamiit, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 in the first meeting between the two Americans. Dent, coming off a win at Memphis last month, has won his last seven matches.

“The fact that I’ve won six, seven matches in a row now gives me the confidence that I can break through and win every match,” Dent said.

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Mardy Fish reached his third quarterfinal of the year after beating Brazilian Fernando Meligeni, 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the International Tennis Championships at Delray Beach, Fla.

Fish next plays Alberto Martin of Spain, and a win would give Fish his first appearance in the semifinals of any tour event.

Fish breezed through the first set, but faced some resistance from Meligeni in the second. The set went to a tiebreaker, and Fish took a 6-1 lead.

But Meligeni saved three match points in a row and was close to catching up. The match ended on a questionable call when Meligeni’s backhand crosscourt shot was called out.

Martin beat Irakli Labadze of Georgia, 6-4, 6-2, to advance. Third-seeded Marcelo Rios of Chile also made the quarterfinals with a 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 win over Dutchman Martin Verkerk.

Miscellany

Former Florida State quarterback Adrian McPherson will plead innocent to a misdemeanor gambling charge, but that plea might change “if circumstances warrant,” McPherson’s lawyer said.

Attorney Grady Irvin Jr. also indicated in a statement that a trial could prompt testimony from university employees Irvin contends knew of illegal gambling allegations while McPherson played for the team.

McPherson, who started four games for Florida State last season, placed bets over the Internet on Florida State football games, including those he played in, school police said Tuesday. McPherson always bet on the Seminoles to win, the school said.

The Avengers signed former Michigan quarterback Scott Dreisbach to be Tony Graziani’s backup after Ryan Helming was lost to season-ending surgery on his fractured right foot. Dreisbach threw for 2,894 yards and 15 touchdowns for the Wolverines from 1994 to ’98.

In other moves, offensive lineman-defensive lineman Tony Plantin (lower back strain) and fullback-linebacker Mathias Vavao (injured rib) will sit out Sunday’s game at New York.

Plantin and Vavao were both injured warming up before last Sunday’s 46-35 loss to Georgia.

World championship gold medalists Ashley Postell and Courtney Kupets and American Cup champion Carly Patterson will lead 14 American gymnasts against Australia and Canada in the Pacific Challenge on March 22 at Cal State Fullerton. The women-only meet is a preview of the world championships, to be held Aug. 16-24 in Anaheim.

Norwegian Robert Sorlie held his lead to become the first musher to reach the Yukon River village of Ruby, Alaska, in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Sorlie and his 15-dog team reached Ruby at 11:23 a.m. The village is 330 miles into the 1,100-mile race to Nome and 115 miles from the previous checkpoint at Tanana.

The Wellness Community Valley/Ventura will present “Celebrating Life Through Sports: A Salute to Baseball,” an exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library this weekend. The exhibit, which features “Shoeless” Joe Jackson’s Black Betsy bat and the 1909 Honus Wagner baseball card valued at $1.2 million, is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $9.

Passings

Pete Taylor, the radio voice of Iowa State football and basketball for 32 years and an associate athletic director at the school, died after being hospitalized for a stroke. He was 57. Taylor had surgery at University Hospitals in Iowa City and died of a brain hemorrhage after the operation.