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BANGKOK, Thailand - Andy Roddick needed seven match points before finally putting away Jeff Morrison 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-4 Thursday to reach the Thailand Open quarterfinals.

Roddick, seeded second, eventually closed it with a forehand winner.

"I missed easy shots and missed easy points," Roddick said.

His next opponent is 2002 Australian Open champ Thomas Johansson, who beat Chile's Adrian Garcia 6-3, 6-3.

"He's a former top-10 player and he's won a Grand Slam," Roddick said, referring to Johansson. "It will be tough, but I'm hitting the balls well now."

Top-ranked Roger Federer also moved into the quarterfinals, defeating Ivo Heuberger 6-1, 6-3. Federer finished the first set in just 20 minutes, but he needed four match points to end it.

"He hung in there, and after 5-1, it was the toughest game in the match," said Federer, who won three of the year's four Grand Slam titles. "I was happy with my serves and returns today."

In other action, defending champion Taylor Dent was eliminated 6-0, 6-4 by Dennis Van Scheppingen in just 42 minutes, and Marat Safin got to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Jiri Vanek.

Pro basketball

FOX RETIRES: Rick Fox retired Thursday, ending a 13-year pro career during which he was part of three NBA championship teams with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Fox, beset by injuries last season, was traded by the Lakers to the Celtics on Aug. 6. It had been expected he would retire rather than report to Boston's training camp beginning Monday.

The Celtics, who were aware of Fox's injuries when they made the trade, waived him Thursday to facilitate his retirement.

MAVERICKS: Dallas signed Avery Johnson, technically as a backup point guard but realistically as another coach - possibly even the next head coach.

Johnson will spend the season on the injured list, unless a real injury to Jason Terry, rookie Devin Harris or swingman Marquis Daniels forces him onto the roster.

Instead of a jersey, Johnson will wear a suit and work closely with coach Don Nelson and his staff. Johnson did the same thing during the 2002 and 2003 postseasons, drawing rave reviews from players and coaches.

NUGGETS: Dennis Rodman, 43, continued his quest for a comeback when he participated in an informal workout with the Nuggets.

WNBA PLAYOFFS: The New York Liberty needed a last-second shot in the decisive game of their first-round series to earn a trip to the conference finals and now will try to advance to the WNBA Finals for an unprecedented fifth time.

Before getting another chance at their first title, the Liberty will have to get past a Connecticut Sun team that dominated conference play with a 14-6 record in the regular season. The East finals begin tonight at Madison Square Garden.

In the West, the Sacramento Monarchs will open at home against the Seattle Storm. Sacramento is in the conference finals for the second straight year.

Colleges

XAVIER: Women's basketball junior forward Tara Boothe has been honored as a preseason All-America selection by Street & Smith's magazine.

Boothe, a 2004 All-Atlantic 10 selection, led the Musketeers in scoring (18.1 ppg), rebounding (7.6 rpg), steals (1.7 spg) and blocks (0.9 bpg) during the 2003-04 campaign.

Last season, Boothe tied a Xavier record when she scored her 1,000th point in her 59th game as a Musketeer. She is 18th on Xavier's all-time scoring list with 1,021 points.