Blake advances by getting past Querrey

Ninth-seeded James Blake advanced to the semifinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters at Mason, Ohio, by defeating Sam Querrey, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

Blake and Querrey played a close-as-could-be match last month in Indianapolis. Querrey served a career-high 34 aces -- including 10 in a row -- while winning in three sets, all of them decided by tiebreakers. They went the distance again in a much sloppier match.

The 19-year-old Querrey, of Thousand Oaks, had trouble with his serve and found himself occasionally fighting his nerves in his first televised match from center court.

Blake will next face fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko in the semifinals. Davydenko beat David Ferrer, 6-2, 6-4.

Top-ranked Roger Federer also advanced, beating Nicolas Almagro, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. He will next play Lleyton Hewitt, who defeated Carlos Moya, 6-2, 6-4.

Top-seeded Justine Henin advanced to the semifinals of the Rogers Cup at Toronto with a 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory over sixth-seeded Nadia Petrova. She’ll play qualifier Yan Zi, who advanced when seventh-seeded Marion Bartoli retired during the second set.

The other semifinal is between Tatiana Golovin and second-seeded Jelena Jankovic. Golovin upset third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, and Jankovic defeated Virginie Razzano, 7-5, 6-2.

Serena Williams withdrew from her debut at the Pilot Pen tournament at New Haven, Conn., citing a thumb injury that has sidelined her since Wimbledon.

JURISPRIDENCE

Ford is convicted

in Francis shooting

A jury took little more than one hour to convict DeAnthony Norman Ford of second-degree murder in the May 2006 shooting of USC guard Ryan Francis in Baton Rouge, La.

Ford, 20, was also convicted of aggravated battery for a separate incident two nights earlier in which he fired shots at Marcus Washington, a friend of Francis’. Ford will receive a mandatory life sentence without parole during sentencing Sept. 17.

“We’re extremely pleased with the verdict,” said Kurt Wall, an assistant district attorney for the East Baton Rouge Parish. “Unfortunately, this doesn’t do anything to bring Ryan back, but hopefully it will give his family some closure and hopefully they will feel like justice is done.”

Francis’ mother, Paulette, was present when the verdict was read.

-- Ben Bolch

Former Miami Heat forward James Posey has agreed to plead guilty to reckless driving in connection with an incident in April on Miami Beach, prosecutors said. Posey, who is unsigned, agreed to a deal involving lesser charges.

Posey was originally arrested on drunk-driving charges after Miami Beach police pulled him over for stopping in the middle of a road April 9.

Police said Posey was unsteady on his feet, had slurred speech and his breath smelled of alcohol. He refused to take a breath test. According to the plea agreement, he must perform 50 hours of community service and complete six months of probation.

BOXING

Hopkins fined $200,000

for weigh-in scuffle

Nevada boxing regulators fined Bernard Hopkins $200,000 for instigating a weigh-in brawl before his July 20 fight against Winky Wright in Las Vegas

Hopkins’ fine, left to the discretion of the five-member panel, amounts to a little less than 7% of the $3-million purse he earned from his victory over Wright.

MISCELLANY

Clemson’s McElrathbey

is out for the year

Clemson running back Ray Ray McElrathbey, who earned headlines after taking custody of his 12-year-old brother last year, suffered a season-ending knee injury during practice Thursday. A team spokesman confirmed that the sophomore tore his anterior cruciate ligament. McElrathbey had decided to take care of his younger brother, Fahmarr, because of their mother’s drug problems.

A fundraiser to benefit Noe Garcia, the thoroughbred horse groom who lost his left arm in a car accident last month, brought in $125,000, well over the $100,000 goal, said Dennis O’Neill, who helped organize the event. O’Neill’s brother, Doug, trains Lava Man, one of the horses Garcia cared for.

The emotional highlight of the fundraiser, which included a silent auction and dinner Thursday night, came when Garcia walked onstage and met the man who saved his life -- Juan Arredondo-Ponce, a Navy airman who was able to stop on the freeway and apply a barehanded tourniquet until an ambulance arrived. The two men hugged amid a standing ovation.

The money raised will go toward helping the 39-year-old Garcia acquire and learn to use a prosthetic arm.

-- Bill Dwyre