John Isner beat third-seeded German star Tommy Haas 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3 Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the SAP Open in San Jose.
Isner, the ATP Tour's second-tallest player at 6-foot-9, will face Spain's Guillermo García in the quarterfinals.
Haas, ranked 26th in the world, was three match points from winning the second set in a tiebreaker before the 106th-ranked Isner rallied to win.
Fifth-seeded Mardy Fish also advanced, beating Germany's Denis Gremelmayr 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3 to make the quarterfinals for the second week in a row. Last week, the 77th-ranked American made the quarters at Delray Beach, Fla., only to lose to Robby Ginepri.
Fish will face the winner of a late match between top-seeded Andy Roddick and Japanese teen star Kei Nishikori.
Taiwan's Lu Yen-hsun beat American lucky loser Wayne Odesnik 6-4, 6-4. Lu will face fourth-seeded Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals.
– Associated Press
Boxing
Sacramento's Otis Griffin (18-2-2, seven knockouts), normally a light heavyweight, will drop down from his 175-pound division tonight to face Jesse Brinkley (29-5, 20 KOs) of Yerington, Nev., for the World Boxing Council's 168-pound U.S. super-middleweight title at the Silver Legacy Casino in Reno.
– Bee Sports staff
Basketball
Lucas Birchard of William Jessup was named to the Men's All-California Pacific Conference team. William Jessup's Christina Kidd and Kia Shaw were named to the women's team as honorable mention selections.
Horse racing
Heavy favorite Vicarino spotted his rivals a head start but still managed to win the $42,400 sprint feature at Bay Meadows in San Mateo in track-record time. Vicarino, under jockey Russell Baze, edged clear in the final furlong to win by two lengths over Tontine Too in :55.93 on a track rated wet-fast.
Soccer
An early-morning East Coast game for the Major Indoor Soccer League's only West Coast franchise turned into a loss for the California Cougars. The Cougars (8-11) were defeated by the New Jersey Ironmen (11-10) 16-8 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
– Bee Sports staff
