Nalbandian upsets Nadal at Madrid Masters

By Lance Pugmire

Oct. 20, 2007 12 AM PT

From Times Staff and Wire Reports

Rafael Nadal, coming off a five-week layoff because of ailing knees, lost to David Nalbandian, 6-1, 6-2, on Friday in the Madrid Masters quarterfinals.

It was Nadal’s most lopsided defeat in three years.

Roger Federer beat Feliciano Lopez, 7-6 (4), 6-4, to set up a matchup against 112th-ranked Nicolas Kiefer, who beat fifth-seeded Fernando Gonzalez, 7-6 (5), 6-2.

Lopez, a wild card, committed 34 unforced errors against the top-ranked Federer.

Nadal, who sat out after the U.S. Open because of tendinitis, had five winners and 29 unforced errors against Nalbandian.

“It’s hard to play worse, which makes it a lot easier to go forward from this,” Nadal said. “I didn’t go in with a clear enough idea of the match I wanted to play.”

Nalbandian, ranked No. 33, will play Novak Djokovic, who defeated Mario Ancic, 7-6 (2), 6-2, in his first semifinal of the year.

Justine Henin reached the Zurich Open semifinals by defeating teenager Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4, 6-2, in Switzerland, and Svetlana Kuznetsova and Marion Bartoli withdrew because of injuries.

GOLF

Moore takes lead in Scottsdale

Ryan Moore matched his career best with a seven-under-par 63 to take a three-stroke lead halfway through the Fry’s Electronics Open at Scottsdale, Ariz.

Moore was at 11-under 129 on the Grayhawk Golf Club’s Raptor Course. Australian Mark Hensby shot a career-best 61 to join Ben Crane (66) and Daisuke Maruyama (65) at eight under. Phil Mickelson shot a 70 to miss the cut by a stroke.

Suzann Pettersen birdied the final two holes in windy and cool conditions for a three-under 69 and a share of the first-round lead in the Hana Bank KOLON Championship in Gyeongju, South Korea.

Champions Tour rookie Mark O’Meara made a successful return to the site of one of his PGA Tour victories, shooting an eight-under 63 to take the first-round lead in the AT&T; Championship in San Antonio.

RUGBY

Argentina takes third place

Felipe Contepomi scored two of Argentina’s five tries in a 34-10 victory over France in Paris to take third place in the Rugby World Cup. It’s the best finish ever for the Pumas.

England will play South Africa for the title today at Stade de France.

PRO BASKETBALL

Howard suspended two games

Dallas Mavericks forward Josh Howard was suspended for the first two games of the NBA’s regular season, punishment for a fight with Sacramento center Brad Miller earlier in the week.

Howard was ejected from an exhibition Tuesday against the Kings after delivering a forearm to the back of Miller’s neck. He also pushed Miller, who had shoved Dallas guard Devin Harris to the ground.

NBA Executive Vice President Stu Jackson said that Howard escalated the confrontation.

The Mavericks open the season at Cleveland on Oct. 31.

MOTOR RACING

Gordon wins Subway 500 pole

Jeff Gordon won the pole for the Subway 500 at 94.974 mph on the 0.526-mile circuit at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.

The pole is the 63rd of Gordon’s career, his seventh this season and the sixth of his career at Martinsville.

He also has won seven times at Martinsville Speedway, tops among active drivers.

Gordon, a four-time series champion and Nextel Cup points leader halfway through this year’s 10-race Chase for the Championship, is 68 points ahead of second-place Jimmie Johnson, who will start fourth Sunday.

MISCELLANY

Silva defends his UFC title

Middleweight champion Anderson Silva will defend his Ultimate Fighting Championship belt against the man he took it from when he fights Rich Franklin in the challenger’s Cincinnati hometown tonight at U.S. Bank Arena.

Silva (19-4) hammered Franklin (24-2) with knees to the head in their October 2006 meeting, winning by first-round technical knockout.

The pay-per-view card also includes a heavyweight fight between former champion Tim Sylvia and unbeaten Brandon Vera.

-- Lance Pugmire

Kingsley Costain, Pepperdine’s top returning scorer in basketball, has been dismissed from school for a violation of university policy.

Costain, a 5-foot-7 guard from Toronto, averaged 11.5 points as a junior last season. He finishes his career with 146 three-point baskets to rank fifth on the school’s career list.

Misty May-Treanor swept the AVP Tour’s postseason awards in Beverly Hills, winning her third straight MVP trophy and team-of-the-year honors with partner Kerri Walsh.

May-Treanor also won best offensive and defensive player awards for the second straight season. She and Walsh won the team honor for the fifth consecutive year.

Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Mario Lemieux will get $21 million as part of the team’s settlement of its 1998 bankruptcy.

“He’s finally getting paid from his playing contract that he signed in 1992,” team spokesman Tom McMillan said Friday.

Lemieux was owed $32 million in deferred compensation from that contract when he retired as a player in 1997. But the team filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection the next year, after running up $120 million in debt under former owners Howard Baldwin and Roger Marino.

Three-time Olympian Caroline Lalive’s comeback was cut short when she suffered a season-ending knee injury this week while training in Pitztal, Austria.

The 28-year-old was coming back from a 2006 pre-Olympic injury when she crashed during a training run on Tuesday, the U.S. Ski Team said.

Rick Reilly, who has written for Sports Illustrated for 22 years and whose “Life of Reilly” column is in the final page of the magazine each week, is leaving to join ESPN.

Reilly’s departure comes one day after Sports Illustrated announced a deal with Dan Patrick, the former ESPN “SportsCenter” anchor and radio host.