Sports briefs 5/12/06

Football

• Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Jimmy Smith, a five-time Pro Bowl selection who overcame health problems and a drug addiction during his 13 seasons, abruptly retired Thursday.

The 37-year-old receiver led the Jaguars with 70 catches for 1,023 yards and six touchdowns last season. It was his ninth season with at least 70 receptions and 1,000 yards.

Although overshadowed because he played most of his career in small-market Jacksonville, Smith ranks seventh in NFL history with 862 receptions and 11th with 12,287 yards receiving. He has more receptions than every receiver in the Hall of Fame, and only Marvin Harrison has more catches and yards receiving than Smith since 1996.

Tennis

• Rafael Nadal won his 50th straight match on clay Thursday, staying on track for another final showdown with Roger Federer. Nadal beat British veteran Tim Henman 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters and top-ranked Federer eliminated 14th-seeded Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-4.

Nadal has handed Federer his only two losses this year, in finals at Dubai and the Monte Carlo Masters last month.

Nadal can match Guillermo Vilas' record 53-match winning streak on clay if he successfully defends his title here.

Third-ranked David Nalbandian and No. 5 Andy Roddick also advanced.

* Top-ranked Amelie Mauresmo defeated Anna Chakvetadze of Russia 6-4, 6-2 Thursday and will face unseeded Martina Hingis in the quarterfinals of the German Open.

Hingis beat fifth-seeded Elena Dementieva 6-3, 6-2 and joined defending champion Justine Henin Hardenne and second-seeded Nadia Petrova in the next round.

Henin-Hardenne routed 15th-seeded Maria Kirilenko 6-1, 6-0 and Petrova beat Zheng Jie of China 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4.

-- The Associated Press