Associated Press
MELBOURNE, Australia ó Vera Zvonareva ran off 11 straight games in a 6-3, 6-0 win over Marion Bartoli at the Australian Open to reach the semifinals for the first time in 25 majors.
Defending champ Novak Djokovic faced No. 7 Andy Roddick in the first men’s quarterfinal. Djokovic won the first set 7-6 (7-3) and Roddick claimed the next one 6-4; the match was not completed at press time. Roger Federer later played No. 8 Juan Martin del Potro.
Touted by British bookmakers as a favorite, Andy Murray lost 2-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 to No. 14 Fernando Verdasco in the fourth round.
No. 1 Rafael Nadal had a far easier time, downing 2007 runner-up Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. He has yet to drop a set ahead of his quarterfinal against sixth-seeded Gilles Simon.
Verdasco will meet fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who defeated No. 9 James Blake 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). Of the top eight seeded players, Murray will be the only one missing from the quarterfinals.
BASEBALL
NEW YORK ó Andy Pettitte and the Yankees agreed to a $5.5 million, one-year contract that brings the left-hander back to New York. He can make an additional $6.5 million on performance bonuses and bonuses based on time on the active roster.
“There was never another team brought up,” Pettitte said during a conference call. “I wanted to come back to the Yankees.”
He joins a starting rotation that already includes CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain. The deal raised the Yankees’ projected opening-day payroll to $196.8 million for 17 players with agreements.
– NEW YORK ó Brian Cashman thinks the Yankees should rally around Alex Rodriguez following a book in which former manager Joe Torre portrayed A-Rod as a divisive figure in the New York clubhouse.
“I think we’ve gone through so much of the Alex stuff that, you know, if anything, maybe this brings people closer together,” Cashman said.
In “The Yankee Years,” scheduled for publication Feb. 3, Torre says “Alex monopolized all the attention” and that “he needs people to make a fuss over him.”
“We never really had anybody who craved the attention. I think when Alex came over, he certainly changed the feel of the club,” Torre said.
The book, by Torre and Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci, details how some teammates referred to A-Rod as “A-Fraud” after he joined the team.
“I have never one time heard of the term ‘A-Fraud’ until I saw that rolling on the TV, I guess this morning or whenever they started reporting it,” Pettitte said. “If it did go on, it went on before I was there.”
– LINCOLN, Neb. ó Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain’s arraignment on drunken-driving charges faces another delay. The 23-year-old former Nebraska standout was to appear in court Monday, but his lawyer asked to have the hearing postponed.
– WOODLAND, Calif. ó The older brother of Dustin Pedroia is facing child molestation charges.
Woodland police say Brett Pedroia, 30, was booked Jan. 9 on two counts of oral copulation and lewd acts with a child under age 14.
– KANSAS CITY, Mo. ó Zack Greinke and the Royals agreed to a $38 million, four-year contract that avoided a salary arbitration hearing next month.
Greinke went 13-10 last season, setting career highs in strikeouts (183) and innings (2021/3). His 3.47 ERA was the best by a Royals starter in 11 years.
– OAKLAND, Calif. ó The Athletics were close to finalizing a one-year contract with 40-year-old reliever Russ Springer.
– TORONTO ó Outfielder Jason Lane and infielder Brandon Fahey agreed to minor league contracts with the Blue Jays.
– DETROIT ó Timo Perez and the Tigers agreed to a minor league contract.
– LOS ANGELES ó Veteran catcher Brad Ausmus and the Dodgers finalized a one-year, $1 million deal.
– NEW YORK ó Versatile outfielder Rob Mackowiak and the Mets finalized a minor league contract. They also reached minor league deals with right-hander Kyle Snyder and lefty Jon Switzer.
– PITTSBURGH ó The Pirates claimed right-hander Virgil Vasquez off waivers from San Diego.
– HOUSTON ó The Astros have agreed to one-year contracts with their last two players in salary arbitration, giving Wandy Rodriguez $2.6 million and Geoff Geary $1.7 million.
– MILWAUKEE ó Craig Counsell and the Brewers completed a $1 million, one-year contract.

FOOTBALL
– LOS ANGELES ó Chuck Bullough was promoted to UCLA’s defensive coordinator.
– SEATTLE ó Aaron Roderick returned to Utah a little more than a week after he left to be the receivers coach at Washington. He cited family-related reasons.
HOCKEY
PITTSBURGH ó Sidney Crosby practiced after staying off the ice for five days to rest his ailing left knee, but his status for Wednesday’s game against the New York Rangers is questionable.
GOLF
MILWAUKEE ó U.S. Bank will drop its sponsorship of Milwaukee’s PGA stop after this year instead of picking up a three-year option starting in 2010.
Bill Bertha, president of U.S. Bank’s Wisconsin market, said officials of the Minneapolis-based bank were disappointed with poor ratings and sparse attendance.