Williams victorious after slow start

Serena Williams advanced Tuesday to the third round of the Family Circle Cup, defeating unseeded Gisela Dulko, 6-3, 6-4, at Charleston, S.C.

The fifth-seeded Williams, who has won 29 tour titles, got off to a slow start before mastering her serve and scattering five aces through the match.

Unseeded Sorana Cirstea upset third-seeded Anna Chakvetadze, 6-2, 1-6, 6-2.

Second-seeded Tommy Haas was upset by Igor Kunitsyn, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, in a first-round match at the U.S. Clay Court Championship in Houston.

Third-seeded Mardy Fish defeated Rainer Schuettler, 7-6 (4), 6-3. Fifth-seeded Agustin Calleri defeated Vincent Spadea, 6-4, 6-3.

Marat Safin advanced to the second round of the Valencia Open in Spain by defeating 2003 champion Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

Top-seeded David Ferrer also advanced, beating Ivan Navarro, 6-3, 6-4.

Roger Federer rallied from a set down to defeat Olivier Rochus, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, in the first round of the Estoril Open, a clay court tournament at Oeiras, Portugal.

Second-seeded Nikolay Davydenko also made a shaky start against Jurgen Melzer, but recovered to win, 6-3, 6-1.

BASKETBALL

Memphis’ Rose puts himself up for draft

Memphis freshman Derrick Rose announced he was giving up his college eligibility and declaring himself available for the NBA draft. The 6-foot-3 guard will probably be taken with one of the top picks in the draft.

It was also announced that Memphis Coach John Calipari agreed in principle to a contract extension. Terms of the deal have not been finalized.

Gonzaga guard Jeremy Pargo has made himself available for the NBA draft but is reserving the option of returning for his senior season by not hiring an agent.

Providence hired Keno Davis as coach. Davis, 36, the son of former longtime Iowa coach Tom Davis, guided Drake to a 28-5 record and its first national ranking in 33 years.

Connecticut announced that sophomore guard Doug Wiggins has asked to be released from his scholarship so he can transfer.

PRO FOOTBALL

Jones delays appeal

for reinstatement

Suspended Tennessee Titans cornerback Pacman Jones said he has delayed filing for reinstatement with the NFL until a possible trade is worked out. Jones said that he had planned to seek reinstatement but changed his mind for now.

San Diego Chargers inside linebacker Stephen Cooper was suspended for four games by the NFL for testing positive for a banned stimulant.

JURISPRUDENCE

ESPN, Reynolds

reach settlement

ESPN said that a settlement has been reached in the lawsuit filed by former baseball analyst Harold Reynolds over his firing. Reynolds sued the sports network for at least $5 million in October 2006, three months after he was fired. He claimed he was wrongly fired after a female intern complained about what he called a “brief and innocuous” hug.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.