Andy Roddick is out early at Queen’s Club

Andy Roddick made his earliest exit in nine years from the Queen’s Club grass-court championships in London when he was ousted in the third round by 14th-seeded Dudi Sela of Israel on Thursday.

Roddick, a four-time champion at Queen’s, lost 6-4, 7-6 (8).

Three of the top five seeded players failed to survive on Thursday, with No. 2 Novak Djokovic and No. 5 Marin Cilic joining No. 4 Roddick as third-round losers. Djokovic fell, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, to Xavier Malisse of Belgium, and Cilic was beaten, 7-6 (2), 6-2, by 12th-seeded Michael Llodra of France.

Top-seeded Rafael Nadal advanced after a challenge from Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, reaching the quarterfinals with a 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4 victory.

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Top-seeded Roger Federer eased into the quarterfinals of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany, beating Alejandro Falla of Colombia, 6-1, 6-2.

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Maria Sharapova won both of her matches Thursday to reach the quarterfinals at the rain-delayed Aegon Classic in Birmingham, England.

Sharapova needed three days to complete her first win on grass this year, a 6-0, 6-3 defeat of U.S. Fed Cup player Bethanie Mattek-Sands. She then returned to the court for a 6-3, 6-1 win against Alla Kudryavtseva, the fellow Russian who upset her at Wimbledon two years ago.

ETC.

Ex-King Rob Blake to retire

Rob Blake, the rugged defenseman who controlled the blue line during 20 NHL seasons and captained the San Jose Sharks into the Western Conference finals this spring, is retiring. The announcement is not expected to come until next week.

At 6 feet 4 and 225 pounds, Blake, 40, was an intimidating force during two tours of duty with the Kings and with Colorado and the Sharks. He broke into the NHL with Los Angeles in 1990 and quickly became a Kings mainstay. He replaced Wayne Gretzky as the team’s captain in 1996 and held the title until he was traded to Colorado in 2001. That turned out to be a great move as Blake played a key role when the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup title that season.

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Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan has transferred from the MLS team to Anderlecht in Belgium. The club said on its website that he agreed to a four-year contract.

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Lee Westwood shot a seven-under-par 63, taking a one stroke lead in the opening round at the St. Jude Classic at Memphis, Tenn.

Casey Wittenberg shot a 64, Padraig Harrington had a 65 and Tim Petrovic, John Senden and Bob Estes were among eight tied at 66.

Shanshan Feng made five early birdies and shot an eight-under 64, taking a one-stroke lead over Juli Inkster and Na Yeon Choi after the first round of the State Farm LPGA Classic at Springfield, Ill.

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Oregon’s Brianne Theisen defended her title in the heptathlon before the hometown crowd at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships at Eugene, Ore.

Liberty’s Sam Chelanga pulled out front early in the men’s 10,000-meter finals and was a half-track ahead of the pack midway through the race. He finished in 28 minutes, 37.40 seconds, well ahead of runner-up John Kosgei of Oklahoma State (28:55.93).

Nikola Lomnicka of Georgia won the hammer throw final with a hurl of 215-1, and Clemson’s Patricia Mamona won the triple jump title with a leap of 45-113/4.

In the men’s decathlon, Oregon’s Ashton Eaton had 4,500 points after the first five events, an American collegiate record for the first day.