Spain's Nadal Slips on Grass, Falls Short at Queen's Club

Rafael Nadal falls to the ground during his match against Nicolas Mahut during The Queen's tennis tournament in West London. Mahut won the match in straight sets. (Carl De Souza - Getty)

French Open champion Rafael Nadal was eliminated from the Queen's Club grass-court championships yesterday in London, losing, 7-5, 7-6 (6-0), to 106th-ranked Nicolas Mahut of France.

Second-seeded Andy Roddick advanced to the semifinals after defeating Marin Cilic, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).

Nadal, looking sluggish throughout the match, was broken in the last game of the first set and then failed to win a single point in the tiebreaker.

"It was tough," the Spaniard said. "I didn't really play very well. But anyway, I am happy with my tournament."

Nadal got to the same stage in this tournament last year and went on to reach the Wimbledon final, where he lost to Roger Federer.

Mahut will face Arnaud Clement, who defeated Ivo Karlovic, 7-5, 6-4, in another quarterfinal.

Roddick, who is aiming for his fourth title at Queen's, will face Dmitry Tursunov, who rallied from 2-4 in the final set to upset third-seeded Fernando Gonzalez, 6-3, 6-7 (7-5), 6-4.

· HOCKEY: Dave Lewis was fired as head coach of the Boston Bruins and will be reassigned to another position in the organization. Associate coach Marc Habscheid also will be reassigned. Lewis was 35-41-6 in his lone season with the Bruins.

· COLLEGE BASEBALL: Danny Lehmann doubled in the go-ahead run in Rice's six-run eighth inning, and the team that set a College World Series record for offensive futility last year rallied to beat Louisville, 15-10, in the tournament opener in Omaha. The Owls will face North Carolina tomorrow. The Tar Heels defeated Mississippi State, 8-5, in the late game. Mississippi State will face Louisville tomorrow in an elimination game.

· PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL: The New Orleans Saints cut wide receiver-kick returner Michael Lewis and defensive end Willie Whitehead. Lewis was known as "Beer Man" because he drove a beer truck before getting a tryout with his hometown team and making the roster in 2001 at age 29. Lewis injured his left knee in the 2005 season and missed much of 2006. . . . San Francisco 49ers cornerback B.J. Tucker will miss the season after tearing his pectoral muscle during offseason workouts. . . .