Tuesday's Sports In Brief

By The Associated Press

Here's a look at sports in brief around the world for Tuesday.

TENNIS

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Defending champion Venus Williams scraped through a tight first set and then pulled away for a 7-6 (5), 6-1 victory over British teenager Naomi Cavaday to begin her bid for a fifth Wimbledon title.

As reigning champion, Williams was up first on “Ladies Day” on Centre Court as the All England Club enjoyed a second spell of dry, sunny weather on a day that also featured wins by Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick and former champions Maria Sharapova and Lindsay Davenport. Fourth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko was the top name to go out.

It took awhile for the seventh-seeded Williams, playing her first grass-court match of the season, to find her game and take command against a 19-year-old wild card entry playing only her third career Grand Slam match.

Williams’ potential quarterfinal opponent, No. 2-seeded Jelena Jankovic, easily advanced by beating 113th-ranked Olga Savchuk of Ukraine 6-3, 6-2 in a late match.

Men’s No. 2 Nadal — coming off his fourth straight French Open championship and a win at Queen’s for his first grass-court title — got off to a solid start on Centre Court. Runner-up to Roger Federer the past two years, the 22-year-old Spaniard beat 122nd-ranked German qualifier Andreas Beck 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (0).

Two-time runner-up Roddick served 17 aces and never faced a break point as he downed Eduardo Schwank of Argentina 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (0). The sixth-seeded Roddick, who lost to Federer in the 2004 and ’05 finals, had only nine unforced errors.

In the day’s first major upset, fourth-seeded Davydenko was knocked out in the first round in straight sets by 116th-ranked German Benjamin Becker, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. It was the fifth time in seven years Davydenko failed to get past the first round; he reached the fourth round last year.

GOLF

Tiger Woods had reconstructive surgery on his left knee in Utah to repair a torn ligament, and doctors said it was “highly unlikely” there would be any long-term effects.

It was the second time in 10 weeks Woods had surgery on his knee, this time on his anterior cruciate ligament.

The surgery came one week after Woods went 91 holes at Torrey Pines to win the U.S. Open in a playoff over Rocco Mediate, revealing later that he also had a double stress fracture in his left tibia.

The surgery, performed by Dr. Thomas D. Rosenberg and Dr. Vernon J. Cooley in Park City, was the fourth time Woods has had surgery on his left knee. He had a benign tumor removed in 1994, and he had benign cysts removed in 2002, along with fluid around the ACL.

OLYMPICS

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — Banned sprinter Justin Gatlin got support but no relief from a federal judge who rescinded his order allowing the defending 100-meter champion to compete in this weekend’s Olympic track and field trials.

Judge Lacey Collier said that while he believed Gatlin “is being wronged,” he lacked jurisdiction over the U.S. Olympic Committee to determine who is eligible for the trials.

The former world 100- and 200-meter champion’s only recourse appears to be with the Swiss Federal Court, Collier wrote in his seven-page order.

Two weeks ago, the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a four-year ban against Gatlin. He had asked CAS to rescind his first doping violation — from 2001 — which he had hoped would reduce his penalty to a two-year ban, allowing him to compete in the trials.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously advanced an international treaty intended to curb performance-enhancing drug use in sports. Lawmakers want the Senate to provide its consent for quick ratification in hopes of boosting Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympics.

The International Convention Against Doping in Sport, which has been ratified by more than 80 countries, seeks worldwide standards for tests and penalties for athletes in international competitions. It was not immediately clear when the full Senate would vote.

Ratification is considered a boost for any country hoping to host the Olympics.

The United States is the only country among the seven bidding for the 2016 Games that hasn’t put the treaty into law. The host city will be chosen in October 2009.

SWIMMING

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — Five-time Olympic swimming champion Ian Thorpe started legal proceedings against a French newspaper and journalist he alleges defamed him by publishing claims he used performance-enhancing drugs, but Thorpe has not yet decided if he will pursue the case.

A story written by Damien Ressiot and published by the daily sports newspaper L’Equipe in March 2007 reported that Thorpe gave a sample in 2006 that showed abnormal levels of testosterone. The report also said the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority knew of the results but chose not to proceed because of a lack of evidence.

In August last year, the ASADA cleared Thorpe and said there was no evidence to support the allegation he used performance-enhancing drugs. FINA, swimming’s world governing body, made similar findings.