WIRE SERVICES

A group of antsy drivers got their wish Thursday, with a dry track allowing them to finally get some work done at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

After rain the previous day washed out all but about an hour of the opening day of the second week of practice for the May 25 Indianapolis 500, 35 drivers took advantage of the cool, dry afternoon to get on track. Despite sometimes gusty wind, they turned a total of 2,628 incident-free laps on the 21/2-mile oval.

Eleven drivers who qualified Saturday spent Thursday working on their race-day setups. Everyone else tried to find the right combination of speed and balance to be ready to qualify Saturday -- the first of two remaining days of qualifications.

Already qualified drivers, led by Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves, at 223.708 mph and 223.284, respectively, were in the top five spots on Thursday's speed chart, followed by non-qualified drivers Will Power and John Andretti.

Pole-winner Scott Dixon, third fastest Thursday, wasn't surprised by the nearly constant traffic throughout the six-hour session.

"Everybody has a lot of work to do," Dixon said.

TENNIS

Maria Sharapova rallied from a four-game deficit in the second set to beat Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 7-6 (3), advancing to the Italian Open quarterfinals along with Serena and Venus Williams. Venus Williams won the first three games of each set in a 7-5, 6-2 win over Vera Zvonareva on the clay courts in Rome.

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Serena Williams ousted wild-card Sara Errani 6-4, 6-3. Sharapova, who improved to 25-2 this year, will regain the No. 1 ranking Monday because of Justine Henin's retirement. She committed 35 unforced errors to Wozniacki's 22 but led 37-16 in winners.

  • Rafael Nadal had no birthday gift for Andy Murray, winning in straight sets to join defending champion Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the clay-court Hamburg (Germany) Masters. Nadal won 6-3, 6-2 against Murray, who turned 21. Federer beat Robin Soderling 6-3, 6-2, and Djokovic ousted Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (3), 6-3.

  • Three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten was given a wild-card entry into this year's clay-court tournament by the French federation. The event begins May 25 in Paris. Kuerten is retiring after the French Open due to a chronic hip injury.

    SWIMMING

    Reigning world champion Kate Ziegler had the fastest qualifying time in the women's 800-meter freestyle at the Santa Clara Grand Prix, easily advancing to the finals. She finished in 8 minutes, 30.29 seconds to kick off the four-day meet, a final tuneup before the Olympic trials start July 29 in Omaha, Neb.

    SHOOTING

    Libby Callahan qualified for her fourth U.S. Olympic team at age 56, finishing second in the sport pistol competition at the U.S. trials. The oldest known American woman to have competed in the Summer Games is Kyra Downton at age 55, according to the USOC. Downton was in the equestrian competition in 1968. Beki Snyder also earned a spot in Beijing by winning the sport pistol event in Fort Bening, Ga.

    HORSE RACING

    Vote, a 6-year-old gelding overlooked in the wagering at odds of 14-to-1, led from start to finish in the $26,900 feature at Golden Gate Fields. Ridden by Joey Castro and trained by Bob Hess Sr., Vote beat Like a Tiger by a half-length in one-mile turf race.

    MLS

    Omar Cummings scored in the 65th minute and Christian Gomez added a goal on a penalty kick in Colorado's 2-0 victory over Real Salt Lake (2-4-2). The Rapids (4-4) improved to 3-1 at home and broke a tie with FC Dallas for the top spot in the Western Conference.

    ICE HOCKEY

    Cammie Granato, Geraldine Heaney and Angela James became the first female players inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in Quebec City, along with Mario Lemieux, Russian great Igor Larionov and the first French player ever to skate in the NHL, Philippe Bozon.