Off the wire

TENNIS Williams advances

Venus Williams pummeled Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 6-1 in a second-round match between former world No. 1 players at the Dubai Championships on Wednesday. Williams showed the form that once delivered her seven Grand Slam titles. Ivanovic couldn’t take advantage of the two break-point opportunities Williams offered in the sixth game of the first set. A wild-card entrant, Williams lost only seven total points in her other six service games as she moved to a 9-2 record against Ivanovic. In the quarterfinals, Williams will play Italian qualifier Flavia Pennetta, who upset second-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-1. In another upset, third-seeded and defending champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic joined Radwanska on the sidelines. Kvitova had a 6-1, 4-2 lead but couldn’t close the door on tenacious Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro, who won 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4). Sorana Cirstea of Romania upset fourth-seeded Sara Erraniof Italy 6-2, 5-7, 6-1, to land a quarterfinal berth against eighth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark. Wozniacki defeated Annika Beck of Germany 6-4, 6-4. Fifth-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia beat Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 7-5, 6-4.

Fourth-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain reached the quarterfinals of the Rio Open on Wednesday, defeating Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 6-2, 6-1 at the outdoor clay tournament. Robredo has won 12 ATP titles, 11 on clay. He next faces fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar, who advanced when his opponent Martin Klizan of Slovakia withdrew with an injury. In other matches in the joint WTA-ATP event, top-seeded Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic beat Spain’s Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-4, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals. Third-seeded Paula Ormaechea of Argentina defeated Dutchman Kiki Bertens 7-5, 7-5 to also land in the quarterfinals. No. 5 Kurumi Nara of Japan beat Taiwan’s Su-Wei Hsieh 6-3, 6-2 to reach the second round. Anna-Lena Friedsam of Germany is also into the second round, while Poland’s Katarzyna Piter and Nastassja Burnett of Italy won to advance to the quarterfinals.

Kevin Anderson and Marin Cilic advanced at the Delray Beach (Fla.) Open on Wednesday. No. 6 seed Feliciano Lopez needed three sets to move to the next round. Anderson, the No. 4 seed, reached the quarterfinals when Ivo Karlovic retired because of a stomach ailment after Anderson won the first game. Karlovic was a finalist in Memphis last week. Cilic, the No. 7 seed, made easy work of Benjamin Becker, taking only 55 minutes towin 6-1, 6-3 in a first-round match. Lopez rallied from a set down to defeat Adrian Mannarino 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Sekou Bangoura and Vahid Mirzadeh of the United States upset No. 2 seed Eric Butorac and Raven Klaasen 7-5, 3-6, 10-5 after learning only the day before that they were in the tournament as an alternate. Bob and Mike Bryan, the No. 1 doubles seed, breezed to a 6-1, 6-3 first-round victory against Mannarino and Michael Russell.

FOOTBALL Riggs to Notre Dame

Defensive back Cody Riggs, who started all 12 games for Floridalast season, is transferring to Notre Dame for his final year of eligibility. Riggs can play immediately because he is scheduled to graduate from Florida this spring. Riggs, 5-9, 190, ranked fourth for the Gators last season with 51 tackles playing safety after previously playing cornerback. He also had three pass breakups and 11/2 sacks. He played in 40 games over three seasons, totaling 107 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 interception and 8 pass breakups. The Irish lose starting cornerback Bennett Jackson to graduation and started five players at safety last season. Riggs is the son of former Atlanta Falcons standout running back Gerald Riggs Sr. and the nephew of former Notre Dame wide receiver Bobby Brown.

Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis said his latest NFL suspension resulted from taking a supplement that contained a banned substance. Davis was suspended indefinitely without pay Wednesday for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. It’s the second substance-abuse suspension for Davis. He was also sanctioned for the final four games of the 2011 season after testing positive for marijuana. He said this suspension is unrelated to the first one. He also said he will be permitted to apply for reinstatement in the fall. Davis is set to become a free agent next month. He caught only seven passes for the Redskins last season and was passed on the depth chart by rookie Jordan Reed.

BASKETBALL Jacobs takes leave

Alabama forward Nick Jacobs is taking a leave of absence from the team. Crimson Tide Coach Anthony Grant said Wednesday that Jacobs requested the leave starting with today’s game at Texas A&M. Grant said in a news release that he met with Jacobs this week “regarding a pattern of behavior and inconsistencies with his responsibilities as a student athlete.” He didn’t give a timetable for Jacobs’ return. Jacobs, 6-8, is third on the Tide in scoring, averaging 8.4 points a game. Jacobs has started 10 games.

GOLF McDowell comes back from 4 down

MARANA, Ariz. - Graeme McDowell pulled off the biggest surprise Wednesday in an opening round of comebacks in the Match Play Championship.

McDowell was 4 down through seven holes and still three holes behind with three to play when he staged an improbable rally against Florida neighbor Gary Woodland. McDowell seized on Woodland’s mistakes to win the next three holes, then put him away with a 6-foot birdie putt on the 19th hole.

“I’m sure he’s extremely disappointed right now, and I’m extremely elated,” McDowell said. “I’m surprised to be sitting here, having won. Yeah, I hit a couple of quality shots down the last couple of holes, but he had mistakes as well. It’s a brutal format.”

It’s certainly brutal for 32 players that were headed home, a list that included Zach Johnson (3), Dustin Johnson (6) and Steve Stricker (9) among the top 10 seeds.

PGA champion Jason Dufner also rallied with some help. He was three down with five holes to play when Scott Stallings chopped up two holes, Dufnermade a key birdie, and Dufner won on the first extra hole with a par.

Seven players trailed with six holes remaining and went on to win. That included Henrik Stenson, who avoided becoming the third consecutive No. 1 seed to lose in the opening round of golf’s most unpredictable tournament.

Second-seeded Justin Rose held off Scott Piercy, and No. 4 seed Rory McIlroy had little trouble against Boo Weekley to advance to the round of 32 on Thursday.

Rickie Fowler, coming off three consecutive missed cuts, caught Ian Poulter on a bad day and sent the Ryder Cup star packing with a 2-and-1 victory.

Jordan Spieth made back-to back birdies and then put away Pablo Larrazabal on the 18th hole when both drove into the same bunker. Larrazabal’s shot went 5 yards further and was blocked by the lip.

Bubba Watson was giving holes away early before winning three consecutive holes on the back nine in a 2-and-1 victory over Mikko Ilonen of Finland.

• Complete scores, Page 7C