Gasquet's suit dismissed

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Nadal's knees hold up

Everyone's been curious about the condition of Rafael Nadal's knees, so it made sense that his first Grand Slam opponent in three months would wonder as well.

Which might explain why Richard Gasquet tried a drop shot deep in the third set of his U.S. Open match against Nadal on Wednesday. Nadal made the long run necessary to get to the ball, and flipped it back over the net, winning the point.

A moment later, as if conspiring with Nadal to show everyone how fit the six-time major champion truly is these days, Gasquet offered up another drop shot.

Lee shocked to be traded by Phillies

Cliff Lee wanted to stay in Philadelphia.

The Phillies' postseason star said he proposed a counteroffer on a contract extension Wednesday - the day he was traded to Seattle in a four-team deal that sent Roy Halladay to the Phillies.

Speaking by telephone while on vacation in Puerto Rico, the 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner says he had "disbelief and shock" over the trade. The 31-year-old left-hander said he loved pitching for the Phillies and wanted to finish his career in Philadelphia.

Knee injury sidelines Serena in Madrid

Serena Williams pulled out of the Madrid Open on Monday after aggravating an injury to her right knee during a first-round match against Francesca Schiavone.

Second-seeded Williams retired after losing the first set 6-4. She declined to detail the extent of the problem but said it would not keep her out of the French Open.

"It's not going to stop me playing in Paris," Williams said. "I didn't want to risk my chances to play Roland Garros. I don't know how serious it is, but I don't want it to get worse."

Filly could miss Preakness

Rachel Alexandra looks ready to challenge the boys in the Preakness.Owner Jess Jackson, however, isn't sure his superstar filly will get the chance.

Jackson declared the Kentucky Oaks winner primed for the second jewel of the Triple Crown following an easy four-furlong workout on Sunday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

Rachel Alexandra covered the half-mile in 48.40 seconds under exercise rider Dominic Terry, a work trainer Steve Asmussen called "beautiful." It was all the evidence Jackson needed to send the 3-year-old filly, purchased last week for an undisclosed sum, to Pimlico for the 1-3/16-mile race.

Harrington paces Bridgestone

Padraig Harrington feels good enough about his swing to concentrate on his results, and it finally paid off Thursday in the Bridgestone Invitational with a 6-under 64 for a two-shot lead at Akron, Ohio.

Harrington has not won a sanctioned tournament since last year at the PGA Championship, when he became the first European in history to win successive majors in the same season. He held a two-shot lead over Scott Verplank, Tim Clark and Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand.

Tiger Woods kept alive his streak of breaking par in the opening round for the 11th straight time at Firestone, where he is going for his seventh victory on the tree-lined course. He didn't do anything special in his round of 68, although it kept him in the picture.