Federer ousts Nadal quickly; Djokovic falls
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Roger Federer defeated Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-3 at the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday in a fourth-round match that saw the longtime rivals meeting much earlier in a tournament than usual.
Federer broke Nadal four times in advancing to the quarterfinals in just over an hour. Although Nadal owns a 23-13 lead in their series, Federer has won the past three in a row, including the Australian Open final two months ago.
Another one of tennis’ Big Four went down, too.
Novak Djokovic’s 19-match winning streak at the desert tournament ended in a 6-4, 7-6 (3) loss to Nick Kyrgios. Djokovic joined top-ranked Andy Murray, who was beaten in the second round.
On the women’s side, No. 8 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova beat 19thseeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 6-2 to reach the semifinals.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL Missouri lures Martin from Cal
In a whirlwind few hours, Cuonzo Martin resigned at California and was announced as the new coach at Missouri.
After going 62-39 in three seasons at Cal, the former Missouri State coach will head back to the Midwest to take over for Kim Anderson, who was asked to resign. In other news: • Washington fired coach Lorenzo Romar after 15 seasons, the last six without appearing in the NCAA Tournament despite a steady stream of NBA-caliber talent.
Romar was 298-196 overall, making the NCAA field six times and reaching three Sweet 16s, but he went 9-22 this season.
SOCCER U.S. team gives Beasley a call
Once retired from the international game, DaMarcus Beasley appears to be firmly in coach Bruce Arena’s plans for the U.S. men’s national team at one of its most critical stages.
The 34-year old Dynamo defender was called up to the team for World Cup qualifiers against Honduras and Panama, pivotal games in the Americans’ attempt to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. In other news: • Dynamo midfielder Alex has been fined an undisclosed amount by MLS after the league’s disciplinary committee found him guilty of simulation for embellishing a fall in Saturday’s match against Columbus.
The committee gave Seattle defender Roman Torres a one-game suspension and fine for kicking Montreal’s Ambroise Oyongo following a collision.
WINTER SPORTS Women’s team threatens boycott
Members of the U.S. women’s hockey team are willing to give up the chance to defend their world championship gold medal on home ice unless there is significant progress in settling a wage dispute that has dragged on for months.
Players informed USA Hockey that they will not report to training camp next week or play in the tournament that begins March 31 in Plymouth, Mich., without clear steps toward what they hope is a four-year contract. In other news: • Ilka Stuhec of Slovenia held off a hard-charging Lindsey Vonn to win the women’s downhill at the World Cup Finals and clinch the overall downhill title. In the men’s downhill, Peter Fill of Italy finished second to teammate Dominik Paris and retained his overall downhill title despite not winning a race this season.
MISCELLANEOUS Busch, Logano face no penalties
NASCAR has decided not to penalize Kyle Busch, Joey Logano or their crews for their post-race scuffle at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. … A judge has dismissed robbery, assault and all other charges against free agent cornerback Darrelle Revis stemming from a fight last month in Pittsburgh, after a childhood friend testified that he knocked out two men who confronted Revis during a dispute over a cellphone.