Nadal rallies to beat Blake at Key Biscayne

Rafael Nadal fared badly on big points Wednesday, yet still won.

The Spaniard converted only four of 19 break-point chances but rallied to beat James Blake, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, in the men’s quarterfinals of the Sony Ericsson Open at Key Biscayne, Fla.

Jelena Jankovic advanced to the women’s semifinals when Elena Dementieva retired because of a back injury trailing, 6-3, 3-1.

Nadal’s first service break came with a ferocious backhand passing shot for a 5-3 lead in the second set. He broke three more times in the final set, including on the final point. When Blake hit his last forehand long, Nadal leaped and punched the air.

Ranked No. 2, Nadal is seeking his first tournament title this year and his first title at Key Biscayne.

On Friday, Nadal will play 10th-seeded Tomas Berdych, who beat No. 31 Igor Andreev, 6-4, 6-4.

Andy Roddick will try to end his streak of 11 consecutive losses to Roger Federer when they meet in the quarterfinals today.

“It will be good,” Roddick said. “I always look forward to it, and I do believe that I’ll beat him one of these times.”

Federer, still seeking his first title this year, has yet to lose a set in three rounds. Roddick twice had to overcome one-set deficits.

Dementieva said her back began bothering her Tuesday, and she called it quits against Jankovic after 58 minutes.

The fourth-seeded Jankovic had never advanced beyond the third round in five appearances at Key Biscayne. She’s seeking her first tournament title this year, and today she’ll face No. 19 Vera Zvonareva, who beat No. 13 Dinara Safina, 7-5, 6-4.

Patrick McEnroe has been hired to fill the newly created spot of General Manager of Elite Player Development for the U.S. Tennis Assn., signing a multi-year contract.

Additionally, he was given an extension as Davis Cup captain for at least three more years. McEnroe will report to Arlen Kantarian, the USTA’s CEO, Professional Tennis.

Kantarian said that there will be a 50% budget increase in 2009 in regard to the development programs but declined to cite a specific dollar commitment.

-- Lisa Dillman

SOCCER

Liverpool, Arsenal tie in Champions League

Dirk Kuyt equalized midway through the first half and helped Liverpool hold Arsenal to a 1-1 tie in London in the first leg of a Champions League quarterfinal series.

Emmanuel Adebayor put the Gunners in front after 23 minutes.

At Istanbul, Turkey, Deivid de Souza and Kazim Kazim scored second-half goals to give host Fenerbahce a 2-1 win over Chelsea in another quarterfinal game.

Pat Onstad made seven saves for the Houston Dynamo in a scoreless tie against Deportivo Saprissa of Costa Rica in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions’ Cup semifinal at Houston.

Evelyn Lopez scored four goals and Mexico beat Jamaica, 8-1, in a women’s Olympic qualifying at Juarez, Mexico. . . . Canada beat Trinidad and Tobago, 6-0.

BASKETBALL

Crean’s Indiana deal is for $18.24 million

Coach Tom Crean’s deal with Indiana is for eight years and worth $18.24 million, it was announced.

Crean, who left Marquette, takes over for Kelvin Sampson, who resigned amid an NCAA scandal in February.

Jim Larranaga, who took George Mason to the Final Four two years ago, signed a three-year extension to remain coach of the Patriots, turning down an offer to move to Providence, his alma mater.

PRO FOOTBALL

Bengals Henry charged with assault, damaging

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry has been accused of punching an 18-year-old man in the face and breaking his car window with a beer bottle, according to court documents filed.

Henry, 24, was charged with misdemeanor assault and criminal damaging in the Monday incident in Cincinnati. A warrant for his arrest was issued in Hamilton County Municipal Court.

The NFL’s competition committee withdrew a proposal for reseeding teams for the playoffs during the owners’ meetings at Palm Beach, Fla.

The owners passed several resolutions, including allowing teams to defer their decisions to the second half when winning the opening coin toss; and making field goals and extra points subject to replay review to determine whether the ball passes over the crossbar and through the uprights.

In addition, any direct snap from center that is untouched by the quarterback now will be a live ball; in the past it was considered a false start and the play was blown dead.

The five-yard penalty for incidental contact with a facemask has been eliminated, with the 15-yarder remaining for any grasping or twisting of the facemask.

MISCELLANY

England’s Tancock sets swimming world record

Liam Tancock set a world record of 24.47 seconds in the 50-meter backstroke at the British swimming championships in Sheffield.

Dane Suttle, the City Section boys’ basketball player of the year in 2006 at Westchester, has committed to Pepperdine. Suttle played last season at Summit Prep in Simi Valley.