Off the wire

TENNIS Struff advances

Veteran Tommy Haas’ last appearance at the BMW Open in Munich ended in a 6-4, 7-5 defeat to fellow German Jan-Lennard Struff in the second round on Wednesday. Struff hit seven aces and saved five of the seven break points he faced. Struff goes on to a quarterfinal against No. 3 Alexander Zverev, last year’s runner-up. Zverev, 20, hit five aces to beat Jeremy Chardy of France 6-4, 6-4. Earlier, German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann upset eighth-seeded Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-5 to reach the quarterfinals. The 273rd-ranked Hanfmann will next play second-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain. Bautista Agut rallied to beat Marius Copil of Romania 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5.

Safarova withdraws

Defending champion Lucie Safarova withdrew from the Prague Open on Wednesday ahead of her second-round match against Kristyna Pliskova because of illness. Organizers said she was ill before the tournament and her condition worsened after her 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Kristina Kucova on Tuesday. In the quarterfinals, Pliskova will face 144th-ranked Beatriz Haddad Maia. The Brazilian qualifier beat fourth-seeded Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-2. Big-hitting Jelena Ostapenko rallied to eliminate second-seeded Caroline Wozniacki 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (5). The Latvian will play

Ana Konjuh next. Third-seeded

Barbora Strycova defeated qualifier Lucie Hradecka 6-3, 7-5 and will meet Katerina Siniakova in the quarterfinals. Siniakova beat

Natalia Vikhlyantseva 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Camila Giorgi advanced with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Qiang Wang of China. She will next play qualifier Mona Barthel.

BASEBALL Hamels out 8 weeks

The Texas Rangers said lefthander Cole Hamels is expected to miss eight weeks because of a strained right oblique. The Rangers put Hamels on the 10-day disabled list Wednesday and recalled righthander Anthony Bass from Class AAA Round Rock.

Kluber on 10-day DL

The Cleveland Indians have put ace right-hander Corey Kluber on the 10-day disabled list with a lower back strain. Kluber was removed

from Tuesday night’s game at Detroit after three innings because of back discomfort. The Indians recalled right-hander Joe Colon from Class AAA Columbus on Wednesday. Kluber is 3-2 with a 5.06 ERA in six starts this season.

Volquez blisters thumb

The Miami Marlins have put Edinson Volquez on the 10-day disabled list with a right thumb blister and recalled right-hander Nick Wittgren from Class AAA New Orleans. The moves announced Wednesday come one day after Volquez struck out 9 but allowed a career-high 8 walks in 41/3 innings of the Marlins’ 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay. The right-hander struggled with the blister, throwing just 42 of 91 pitches for strikes. He became the first starter to walk at least 8 batters and strike out at least 9 while pitching fewer than than 5 innings since 1900, the Marlins said, citing information from the Elias Sports Bureau.

Woman grazed by bullet

Police said Wednesday they are investigating an incident in which a woman attending a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game was grazed in the arm by a stray bullet that apparently originated outside Busch Stadium. The victim, 34, was inside the ballpark Tuesday during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers when she felt pain in her arm. She went to a first-aid station for treatment and a bullet was later found near her seat. She had an abrasion on one of her elbows. Todd Porter, 54, of O’Fallon, Ill., was at the game with his son and said he was seated in front of the victim. “Wow, I think I’ve been shot,” the woman said near the end of the eighth inning, Porter told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “We thought she was joking, but everybody turned around and she showed me the blood coming down from her elbow,” said Porter, who left the game with his son.

GOLF

Romo signs up for Open

Tony Romo’s next pursuit of a championship will be in golf. A month after the Dallas Cowboys quarterback retired, Romo is among nearly 9,500 players who signed up for the U.S. Open. He plays an 18hole local qualifier Monday at Split Rail Links and Golf Club about 30 minutes west of Fort Worth. If he advances, the next step is sectional qualifying on June 5 to get into the U.S. Open at Erin Hills in Wisconsin. This isn’t the first time Romo has tried to qualify. He made it out of local qualifying in 2010. In a 36-hole sectional qualifier where only two of the 35 players advanced, Romo opened with a 71 and withdrew in the afternoon after two weather delays. Orville Moody in 1969 was the last player to go through local qualifying and win the U.S. Open.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL Player charged in connection with witness intimidation

A Utah State football player and another student have been charged with intimidating a witness in a burglary case against two other members of the football team.

Logan Police Chief Gary Jensen said that on April 5, 19-year-old freshmen Kevin Meitzenheimer and Dayshawn Littleton tried to hit the witness with their car and threatened to return and shoot the witness.

Police found an assault rifle in the car and arrested both men, Jensen told The Salt Lake Tribune.

The police chief said Meitzenheimer and Littleton were trying to prevent charges from being filed against two Utah State players accused in the theft of electronics from an apartment complex.

Court records show Meitzenheimer and Littleton were charged in late April.

Cache County jail Lt. Doyle Peck said Wednesday that both men were booked at the jail Monday but did not have to post bond or stay behind bars.

Messages left with Logan police seeking more details were not returned.

Meitzenheimer and Littleton do not yet have listed attorneys or a listed phone number where someone can be reached to comment on their behalf.