Injured Federer withdraws from Paris

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PARIS -- Top-ranked Rafael Nadal retired with a knee injury after losing the first set 6-1 against Nikolay Davydenko in the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters on Friday, just hours after Roger Federer pulled out because of a sore back.

Nadal received massage treatment on his right thigh at 4-1 down and was unable to start the second set.

"When I push with the right leg all the time, the knee wasn't there," Nadal said. "I felt a sharp, acute pain."

The Spaniard felt nagging knee pains earlier this week, he said.

Second-ranked Federer pulled out shortly before his quarter-final against James Blake because of a stiff back, but said it wasn't serious.

"This is the first time ever I've pulled out during a tournament, so it feels bad," said Federer, who apologized to the crowd at the Bercy indoor arena said. "I don't like to do it.

"Usually the back is something that takes a few days and it's better again. I'm confident and I'm positive that hopefully it's going to get better in the next few days."

The 11th-seeded Blake will face either No. 7 Andy Roddick or No. 13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who played later.

Defending champion David Nalbandian advanced to the semifinals by defeating fourth-seeded Andy Murray 7-6 (3), 6-3, and will next meet Davydenko, the 2006 champion.

"I played almost perfect," Nalbandian said. "I think I return really well and that's important in indoor (tennis)."

Murray's 14-match winning streak was snapped, and he failed in his bid to win a record third straight Masters title after victories at Madrid and Cincinnati.

"I'm obviously disappointed to lose, but I'm glad that I played against a guy as good as him," Murray said. "He probably returned better than me and created a few more chances."

Federer has still never reached the semifinals at the Paris Masters, losing in the 2002 and 2003 quarter-finals.

Federer said he first felt a surge of pain when serving during his second-round match against Robin Soderling on Wednesday. The pain subsided overnight but came back in the third round against Marin Cilic when he lunged to retrieve a shot.

"Usually overnight and maybe with painkillers you sort of get over it, but I just feel like I just can't play the way it is right now," Federer said. "I mean, you can hit balls but you can't play professional tennis against the best in the world."

Federer and Nadal said they hope to play in the season-ending Masters Cup that begins Nov. 9 in Shanghai.

Nadal, Federer roll into Paris quarters

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PARIS -- Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer rolled into the Paris Masters quarter-finals without the ousted Novak Djokovic on Thursday.

Fourth-ranked Andy Murray, Andy Roddick and defending champion David Nalbandian also made the last eight.

Roddick claimed the sixth spot in the eight-man Masters Cup in Shanghai next month, leaving Juan Martin del Potro and Gilles Simon waiting on Friday's results to see if they keep the last two berths.

Nadal beat Gael Monfils of France 6-3, 6-2, Federer defeated Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-3, 6-4, while Djokovic, the year's other major winner, lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

Nadal saved all nine break points he faced and broke Monfils three times, clinching victory on his first match point when the Frenchman hit a forehand wide.

Federer's fourth ace sealed a dominant win over the 20-year-old Cilic, and allowed him to cast an eye on his first semifinals at Bercy Indoor Arena.

"I prefer to come back to a place where I had success in the past. This is not the case here," Federer.

He'll have to go through James Blake, who defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-4, 6-4.

Federer is 8-1 against Blake, with the Swiss star's only loss in the quarter-finals at the Beijing Olympics in August.

"I'm not the revengeful type, but I would be pleased to beat him," Federer said.

Djokovic beat Tsonga in the Australian Open final for his first major title, but has lost to the Frenchman in successive matches since then. The latest defeat made the world No. 3 less of a fan of the indoor carpet.

"I just don't feel quite comfortable on the court," the Serb said. "When you play indoors, points get quicker. (Tsonga) was serving really well."

Tsonga will next meet Roddick for the first time in nearly two years.

"If I manage to stay in shape physically, I will go from strength to strength in this tournament," Tsonga said.

Seventh-seeded Roddick overcame 10th-seeded Simon 6-3, 7-5 on his fifth match point. Both have won three titles this year.

"It wasn't going to do me any good to play patty-cake back and forth with him today," Roddick said. "I'm not as quick as he is and I'm not as consistent as he is. It actually made for a pretty simple game plan."

Murray topped Fernando Verdasco of Spain 6-3, 7-6 (6) for his 14th straight win, staying on track for a third straight Masters title.

Murray will face Nalbandian in the quarter-finals, after the Argentine defeated countryman del Potro 6-4, 6-0.

"His results have been pretty special the last couple of years. Should be a great match," Murray said of Nalbandian. "He picks his schedule very well and is fresher than the other players toward the end of the year."

After victories at Cincinnati and Madrid, Murray hopes to become the only player to win three straight Masters titles.

The late match featured past champions Nikolay Davydenko and Tomas Berdych.

Federer, Nadal win at Paris Masters

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PARIS -- Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and defending champion David Nalbandian reached the third round of the Paris Masters on Wednesday without dropping a set. Nadal topped Florent Serra of France 6-2, 6-4, and eighth-seeded Nalbandian downed Nicolas Kiefer of Germany 7-6 (5), 6-3. Federer had the most trouble, saving two set points in the tiebreaker to beat Robin Soderling 6-4, 7-6 (7). Soderling won the Lyon Grand Prix on Sunday but lost for the eighth straight time to the Swiss star. Soderling had set point at 6-5 on serve but hit a forehand wide. He got another chance after the next point but didn't take it again and his long forehand gave Federer match point. Also second-round winners were sixth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko, 10th-seeded Gilles Simon, 11th-seeded James Blake and 13th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. No. 5 David Ferrer and No. 12 Stanislas Wawrinka were upset. Nadal was looking forward to facing No. 16 Gael Monfils of France for the first time in nearly 2 1/2 years. "(Monfils) is playing very well this year," Nadal said. "He can play aggressive, sometimes he plays defensive, two meters behind the baseline. He can do something different." Federer will play Marin Cilic of Croatia, and eighth-seeded Nalbandian will meet Juan Martin del Potro for the third time in three weeks. "That is a little bit strange," Nalbandian said of facing his fellow Argentine. "It's going to be a tough one, we both know each other very well." Nalbandian beat del Potro in the semifinals of the Swiss Indoors last week, after del Potro won in the Madrid Masters third round. Davydenko, the 2006 champion, advanced with a 7-6 (5), 7-5 win over Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia. He will play 2005 champ Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, who beat Wawrinka 6-3, 7-5. Tsonga rallied to beat 2004 runner-up Radek Stepanek 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 and faces No. 3 Novak Djokovic of Serbia. "(Stepanek's) difficult to play because he has a very special rhythm," Tsonga said. "Sometimes he plays fast, sometimes slow, sometimes he changes the pace, and sometimes he plays shots no one would play." Djokovic beat Tsonga in the Australian Open final, then Tsonga beat him in the Bangkok final. Also, 10th-seeded Simon defeated Igor Andreev of Russia 6-3, 7-5 to keep alive his chances of reaching the eight-man Masters Cup in Shanghai. The Frenchman faces seventh-seeded Andy Roddick of the United States, who was also vying for a Masters Cup spot. Their hopes improved when Ferrer lost 6-3, 6-2 to Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany. Kohlschreiber will play Blake, who kept alive his Masters Cup chance with a 6-7 (10), 6-3, 6-4 win over Simone Bolelli of Italy. Cilic won 6-4, 7-6 (2) over Marcel Granollers of Spain.

Roddick, del Potro move on in Paris

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PARIS -- Andy Roddick and Juan Martin del Potro boosted their chances of qualifying for next month's Masters Cup by winning their second-round matches in straight sets at the Paris Masters on Tuesday.

Third-seeded Novak Djokovic was leading 6-2, 4-3 against Dmitry Tursunov when the Russian retired with an injured right shoulder. The seventh-seeded Roddick beat Feliciano Lopez of Spain 6-3, 6-4, and No. 9 seed del Potro beat Mario Ancic of Croatia 6-0, 6-4.

Also, 15th-seeded Fernando Verdasco outlasted Spanish countryman Tommy Robredo 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-2, and 16th-seeded Gael Monfils topped Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-4, 6-4 to set up a possible match against top-ranked Rafael Nadal.

Tursunov retired against Djokovic after twice needing treatment on his shoulder. Djokovic, the Australian Open champion, hasn't won a title since his third of the year at the Rome Masters in May.

"Still trying to find my top form. Lately I've been struggling on the court," Djokovic said. "But still, I'm fighting. I know that I have to fight for every point and just find my best shape."

Djokovic has never moved past the third round at the Paris Masters and next plays either No. 13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or 2004 runner-up Radek Stepanek.

"This time I'm motivated to do well and I have nothing to lose," Djokovic said.

Roddick has reached the Paris semifinals twice in his last three appearances.

He and del Potro are chasing the last three spots for the season-ending, eight-man Masters Cup in Shanghai. Roddick was sixth in the standings and del Potro seventh heading into this week's indoor tournament at Bercy Indoor Arena.

"I'm trying not to think about it," del Potro said. "I always wake up thinking about Shanghai."

Del Potro next faces either eighth-seeded David Nalbandian of Argentina or Nicolas Kiefer of Germany. Del Potro has split two matches with Nalbandian in the last three weeks.

"I'm playing more aggressive now, I'm serving very well," del Potro said.

.Del Potro, Roddick and Gilles Simon are looking to gain enough points to hold their places in the top eight for Shanghai. Simon, in the eighth spot, will play Igor Andreev in the second round on Wednesday. If he wins, Simon will face Roddick in the third round.

"He's definitely improved," Roddick said of Simon. "To kind of have his career-best year and to make a run late in the year, he's been winning a lot of close matches, which shows his confidence level."

Monfils, meanwhile, was celebrating his first appearance in the tournament's third round.

"I wanted to do so well. Juan is a very good player, and he beat me twice already," Monfils said. "Thanks to my serve I was able to be more confident."

.In first-round action, Lyon Grand Prix champion Robin Soderling won his sixth straight match against Josselin Ouanna of France 6-3, 6-4 to set up an eighth career meeting with Roger Federer.

Soderling is 0-7 against Federer, who won his 57th career title at the Swiss Indoors on Sunday.

Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber beat Russia's Mikhail Youzhny 6-1, 6-4; 2005 runner-up Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia beat Viktor Troicki of Serbia 6-3, 6-4; Stepanek of the Czech Republic downed Marc Gicquel of France 6-4, 3-6, 6-4; and Florent Serra beat Guillermo Canas of Argentina 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. Serra will meet Nadal next.

.Ljubicic will play 2006 champion Nikolay Davydenko of Russia.

Kohlschreiber had to save eight break points, and next plays fifth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain.

Ferrer is just behind Simon in the race for Masters Cup berths, with James Blake, Stanislas Wawrinka and Australian Open finalist Tsonga all hoping a good showing will help them qualify.

Federer to play Davis Cup vs. U.S.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS GENEVA -- Roger Federer ended the speculation over his Davis Cup plans Tuesday, announcing he will play for Switzerland against the United States next March. It will be the first time in five years that the 13-time Grand Slam singles winner has broken up his early season schedule for the Davis Cup. "I am excited to once again join my fellow Swiss teammates, who I have a great friendship with," Federer said on his official website. "I look forward to what I am sure will be a tough weekend." The World Group first-round series will be played March 6-8 in the U.S. at a venue to be chosen by the United States Tennis Association in the next six weeks. Federer helped Switzerland rejoin the elite World Group when it beat Belgium last month. He beat Kristof Vliegen in straight sets, then teamed up with Stanislas Wawrinka, his Olympic doubles gold medal-winning partner in Beijing, to win their doubles match. Federer last played a Davis Cup first-round match in 2004, a victory over Romania in Bucharest. "We are obviously very pleased that he decided he will be joining the team," Swiss Tennis spokeswoman Sandra Perez said. "That increases our chances." Swiss officials were hopeful Federer would face the U.S. because his tournament schedule takes him to California immediately after the Davis Cup for the March 9-22 Indian Wells tournament. "Probably if we were playing the tie in Australia that would have been a little bit more difficult," Perez said. Switzerland and the U.S. have a 1-1 record in Davis Cup meetings. In 2001, Federer won three points -- including singles victories over Todd Martin and Jan-Michael Gambill -- when Switzerland beat the United States in the first round in his home city, Basel. The U.S. beat the Swiss in the 1992 final at Fort Worth, Texas, with Andre Agassi and Jim Courier playing singles and John McEnroe and Pete Sampras in doubles.

Study: Tennis reviewing wrong calls

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LOS ANGELES -- Two tennis players are locked in a furious baseline exchange. Eventually, a line judge calls the ball "out." Should the player who lost the point protest the ruling? Yes, a new study suggests. Researchers say professional tennis players could increase their chances of having a ruling reversed in their favour by an instant replay review if they challenge "out" calls more than "in" calls. A study of 57 randomly selected matches during the 2007 Wimbledon tournament found that officials were more likely to err by calling a shot "out" than "in." It's not a matter of bad refereeing, scientists say, but rather, it has to do with a bias in the way humans perceive moving objects. Current rules allow tennis players to make an unlimited number of correct challenges during matches that use replay technology, but up to three unsuccessful challenges per set (with an extra incorrect challenge allowed in a tiebreaker). "When a ball is called 'in,' a player should usually not challenge the call, even when she believes it to be an incorrect call," psychologist David Whitney of the University of California, Davis wrote in the study. "Players should concentrate their challenges on balls that are called 'out."' In 2006, the U.S. Open became the first Grand Slam tournament to use instant replay to challenge line calls. Wimbledon and the Australian Open later followed. The French Open is the only major event that doesn't use the video technology because officials can check ball marks left on the clay surface. Serena Williams' quarter-final loss to Jennifer Capriati during the 2004 U.S. Open is widely considered the match that led tournaments to use instant replay. In the opening game of the third set, the chair umpire's ruling on a backhand by Williams -- a ball called "out" that TV replays showed should have been called "in" -- awarded a point to Capriati, who went on to win the match 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. In the study, three scientists independently reviewed TV footage of 4,457 points from Wimbledon in 2007. Calls were spot on most of the time. Of the 83 wrong rulings, researchers found, 70 -- or 84 per cent -- were instances of a shot landing in but being called "out." Only in 13 cases was a ball that landed out ruled "in." Researchers attributed the errors to perceptual bias in which a moving target appears to be farther along its path than it really is -- a bias phenomenon also seen in the general population. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the results will appear in Tuesday's issue of the journal Current Biology. "It's an interesting concept, and if the research is accurate ... I'm sure players will take it under advisement as they see fit," said U.S. Open spokesman Chris Widmaier. "Any professional player at the upper levels of the game is looking for any type of fair, competitive advantage they can find."

Safin considering early retirement

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PARIS -- Two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin is considering retirement after a 6-0, 7-6 (4) loss to Juan Monaco in the first round of the Paris Masters on Monday.

Safin, a former top-ranked player and a three-time champion at the Paris tournament, wants a long break before making a decision.

"I don't know what happened. Just couldn't find my rhythm and couldn't find the game," the 28-year-old Russian said. "I need to think everything through. I have no pressure and I have nothing to prove or show. I just want to be comfortable with my decision, whatever I will take."

Safin managed only 12 points in the first set and trailed 2-0 in the second after just 24 minutes. In the first service game of the second set, Safin had four double faults before breaking back to 2-2.

"I need to sit down and relax and just enjoy my life without any tennis (for) a couple of months and then I will see," Safin said. "If I feel like I want to continue to play, I will. If not, it will be over."

Safin won the U.S. Open in 2000 and the Australian Open in 2005. He hasn't won a tour title since the victory in Australia.

"I've been struggling throughout my career with injuries left and right," said Safin, who is ranked 31st. "It's a little bit uncomfortable to find yourself in the top 10 for many years and to find yourself ranked 70 and 30 and 50 ... It's not really a comfortable position."

Also Monday, former champion Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, Marin Cilic of Croatia and Nicolas Kiefer of Germany all advanced to the second round in straight sets.

Berdych, the 2005 winner, eased past Robby Ginepri of the United States 6-4, 7-5, Cilic downed Andreas Seppi of Italy 7-6 (5), 6-2, and Kiefer beat big-serving Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 6-4, 7-5. Simone Bolelli beat Jarkko Nieminen 7-5, 6-4.

"He broke me twice, then he got a bit tired when he was serving for the set and I took advantage of that," Cilic said.

Sam Querrey of the United States advanced to a second-round match against fourth-seeded Andy Murray. The big-serving Querrey had secured a break in the third set and was leading 7-5, 6-7 (5), 3-2 when Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus retired.

.Baghdatis, a Paris semifinalist last year, quit after calling a trainer to massage his lower back. He had also pulled out during the second set against Karlovic at Metz on Sept. 30.

"I felt a sharp pain and I didn't want to take any risks," Baghdatis said. "I felt that if I continued, I would have had problems afterward. So I preferred to stop."

.There were also wins Monday for Mario Ancic of Croatia, Feliciano Lopez of Spain, and Igor Andreev of Russia.

Ancic beat Rainer Schuettler of Germany 6-4, 3-6, 6-1; Lopez beat Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 6-3, 6-4, and Andreev downed Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 7-6 (6), 6-3..

Mathieu was broken in the sixth game of the second set and never recovered. An ace brought up match point for Andreev and he wrapped up the match with a forehand pass that Mathieu returned into the net.

"This season ended very badly for me," Mathieu said. "I had a lot of hopes for the indoor season."

The three remaining spots for the season-ending Masters Cup will be decided this week, with Andy Roddick, Juan Martin del Potro and Gilles Simon each looking to gain enough points to hold their ranking in the top eight and reach Shanghai.

But David Ferrer is just behind Simon, with James Blake, Stanislas Wawrinka -- who next plays Berdych -- and Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga all hoping a good showing will help them qualify for the prestigious year-end championship.

Roger Federer, who won the Swiss Indoors at Basel for the third straight year on Sunday, confirmed Monday to tournament organizers that he will play at Bercy despite feeling tired after beating David Nalbandian for his 57th career title.

Federer to cut exhibition play in 2009

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BASEL, Switzerland -- Roger Federer will cut exhibition matches from his 2009 schedule as he pursues Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam singles titles, his agent said Sunday. Federer and Sampras played three exhibition matches across Asia last November and again in New York City last March. Such commitments won't be repeated in 2009, said agent Tony Godsick. "Roger will only play a schedule that works for him physically," Godsick said after Federer won his hometown tournament at the Swiss Indoors on Sunday. "The next couple years you will see him put his seatbelt on and focus for the big ones, the Grand Slams and the big tournaments." Federer is within sight of history with 13 Slams after a fifth straight U.S. Open victory last month. The win at Flushing Meadows was defined as a defiant comeback in a year when Federer fell sick with mononucleosis, suffered untypical losses to players outside the top 10 and lost his No. 1 ranking to Rafael Nadal after a record reign of 237 weeks. "It was tough for him when people were writing him off," said Godsick, who guides Federer's off-court activities for the IMG agency. "For him to do what he did (at the Open) was good for him, good for his confidence and I think really silenced the critics."

Murray retains St. Petersburg title

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- Top-seeded Andy Murray beat Andrey Golubev 6-1, 6-1 Sunday to win the St. Petersburg Open for the second straight year.

Murray, who also won at the Madrid Masters last Sunday, became the first British player to win back-to-back tour-level titles since Mark Cox won in London and Washington, D.C., in March 1975.

Murray did not drop a set on the way to his fifth title this season and his eighth career win.

The Briton dominated the match with solid play from the baseline, constantly trapping Golubev in the corners. Murray won five consecutive games in the first set and six more in the second to finish things off in 56 minutes.

"I played well today, I really enjoyed myself this week," Murray said. "At the start of both sets it was quite close, but once I got ahead I started to feel much more comfortable. In terms of the score it was easy, but it wasn't the easiest match I've played on the tour."

Golubev saved two match points while serving down 5-1 and 40-15 in the second set, but netted a return shot on a second deuce. A 150th-ranked qualifier from Kazakhstan, Golubev upset eighth-seeded Marat Safin in straight sets in the second round Thursday to reach his first ATP quarter-final.

Golubev said he was tired after playing eight matches in nine days, but he was happy with his performance.

"I'm a bit disappointed but not because I've lost today but because I couldn't challenge Murray the way I really could," Golubev said.

It was the 12th consecutive win for the fourth-ranked Murray, including two victories in Britain's Davis Cup World Group playoffs against Austria in September. His win-loss record this season is 53-14, making him the fourth player this year to win more than 50 matches.

Dementieva adds third title of year

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LUXEMBOURG -- Olympic champion Elena Dementieva won her third title of the year Sunday, outlasting Caroline Wozniacki 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the Fortis Championships.

The top-seeded Dementieva also won her last match against Wozniacki, beating the 18-year-old Dane en route to winning gold for Russia at the Beijing Olympics.

The 27-year-old Dementieva also won the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships in March. She is fifth in the world rankings.

Robredo, Tursunov advance in Paris

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PARIS -- Tommy Robredo and Dmitry Tursunov advanced Sunday to the second round of the Paris Masters, where three spots in the season-ending Masters Cup are up for grabs.

Andy Roddick, Juan Martin del Potro and Gilles Simon hope to earn enough points to hold their rankings in the top eight and reach the prestigious year-end championship in Shanghai.

But David Ferrer is just behind Simon, with James Blake, Stanislas Wawrinka and Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga all hoping a good showing at the Bercy indoor arena will help them qualify.

Robredo beat Jeremy Chardy 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) and Tursunov defeated Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-2. Robredo saved the only break point he faced in the first set, while Tursunov broke Mannarino's serve five times.

Tursunov next plays third-seeded Novak Djokovic, while Robredo faces No. 15 Fernando Verdasco.

Last year, Richard Gasquet jumped from 13th to eighth and took the final spot for the Masters Cup by reaching the semifinals in Paris.

Gasquet pulled out on Sunday because of an injury to his right elbow.

"I felt the injury during the Madrid (Masters) tournament," he said. "Of course I am very disappointed."

Roddick dented his chances of reaching Shanghai after losing to Robin Soderling in the quarter-finals of the Lyon Grand Prix on Friday. Simon picked up points there by reaching the semis, and Roddick could play Simon in the third round in Paris.

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal, 13-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer, Djokovic, Andy Murray and Nikolay Davydenko have already clinched their spots for Shanghai, but Davydenko is the only one among them to have won the Paris tournament, in 2006.

Nadal will hope to go one better than last year, when he was beaten 6-4, 6-0 by David Nalbandian in the final, while Federer will be hoping to put an end to his Paris jinx by reaching at least the semifinals for the first time.

Nadal, who already leads the ATP for titles this year, will go for his ninth trophy of the year.

The Spaniard could meet Frenchman Gael Monfils in the third round and Davydenko in the quarters, while Federer would open against either Josselin Ouanna or Robin Soderling -- against whom he is 7-0.

Federer wins hometown tourney again

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BASEL, Switzerland -- Roger Federer won his hometown tournament for the third straight year on Sunday, beating second-seeded David Nalbandian of Argentina 6-3, 6-4 in the Swiss Indoors final.

The top-seeded Federer hit eight aces and conceded just seven points on his serve all match.

The 27-year-old Swiss broke to lead 4-2 in the first set and again in the third game of the second set.

It was Federer's fourth title of the season after victories at the U.S. Open, in Estoril, Portugal; and Halle, Germany. He is 4-4 in finals this season and 57-21 overall.

Federer improved to 10-8 against the 26-year-old Nalbandian, who won in Basel in 2002 and is a three-time runner-up.

Soderling claims third career title

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LYON, France -- Robin Soderling of Sweden earned his third career title and first since 2005 with a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1 victory over Julien Benneteau at the Lyon Grand Prix on Sunday.

Soderling, who was playing in his fourth indoor final of the season, broke Benneteau four times in the match and dropped his serve only once to win the Lyon title for the second time, after also winning at the Gerland arena in 2004.

The 24-year-old Soderling's previous title came three years ago in Milan, Italy.

Benneteau briefly rallied when he broke Soderling in the eighth game of the second set to make it 4-4 but then faded quickly.

The Frenchman only converted one of the four chances he had to break Soderling in the second set.

Soderling, who had 10 aces in the match, had lost his previous three finals this season in Stockholm, Sweden; Memphis, Tennessee; and Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Benneteau was in his second career final -- both this year -- after losing to Gilles Simon on clay in Casablanca, Morocco, in May.

Jankovic to end season No. 1 in ranking

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Poll:Who is your No. 1? THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Jelena Jankovic of Serbia will end the season at No. 1, outlasting four other players who held the top ranking during the year.

Jankovic's 4,555 points give her a commanding lead over Russian Dinara Safina (3,782) and American Serena Williams (3,716). She will retain the top spot regardless of the outcome of the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, the WTA Tour announced Saturday.

"It has been a truly amazing year for me," Jankovic said. "I worked really hard this year, and to finish No. 1 is where I want to be and where I hope to stay."

The 23-year-old, who hasn't won a major, lost to Williams at the U.S. Open final in September. She won four titles and is 63-17 so far this year.

Jankovic secured the year-end ranking by winning 12 straight matches en route to three consecutive titles: the China Open in Beijing, the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, and the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

She first claimed the No. 1 ranking on Aug. 11, holding it for one week. She regained the top spot on Oct. 6 following her win in Stuttgart.

She also advanced to the semifinals of two other Grand Slams, losing to eventual champion Maria Sharapova of Russia at the Australian Open and eventual champion Ana Ivanovic of Serbia at the French Open.

The other players to hold the top ranking were the retired Belgian Justine Henin (20 weeks), Ivanovic (12), Sharapova (three) and Williams (four).

Federer moves on at Swiss Indoor semis

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BASEL, Switzerland -- Roger Federer beat Simone Bolelli of Italy 6-2, 6-3 Friday to reach the semifinals of the Swiss Indoors in his hometown.

The two-time defending champion delivered his most convincing performance of the week.

"I'm very satisfied by how it went," Federer said. "I tried to step up the pressure and so far that's worked well."

Federer will next play Saturday against Feliciano Lopez of Spain, who beat fourth-seeded James Blake of the United States 6-4, 7-6 (4).

Federer passed up three match points at 5-2 on Bolelli's serve, but served out a love game including two of his eight aces in the match.

Second-seeded David Nalbandian beat Benjamin Becker of Germany 7-6 (4), 6-4.

Nalbandian next plays fellow Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, who beat Russia's Igor Andreev 6-4, 7-5.

The 26-year-old Nalbandian, who won here in 2002, broke Becker to lead 3-2 in the second set.

"I think I played very well in the tiebreaker," Nalbandian said.

Nalbandian brushed aside suggestions that Saturday's match against Del Potro might be an opportunity to make up for last week's loss in Paris to his Davis Cup teammate.

Del Potro is currently ranked one point behind Nalbandian, but could overtake him if he wins the semifinal.

The 20-year-old Del Potro benefited from Andreev's many errors, breaking the Russian to go up 6-5 in the second set and then sealing the match with a backhand winner.

"Last week I beat him (Nalbandian) in a great match, and tomorrow I've got to be in good shape if I want to do it again," Del Potro said.

"My mind is good," he said. "I want to keep winning but my physique starts to feel tired. My tennis is going numb."

Lopez won the first set against Blake with an ace and took the second set tiebreaker with a backhand crosscourt shot.

"This one hurt," Blake said. "I had break points in three or four different games.

"I had a set point in the tiebreaker. If I expect to beat a lot of the guys out there I need to play well on those points and I didn't do it today."

Blake said he planned to "get right back on the horse and try to get ready" for Paris in order to reach the Masters Cup in Shanghai.

Murray advances to semis in Russia

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- Andy Murray advanced to his fifth straight ATP semifinal by beating Janko Tipsarevic 7-6 (5), 7-5 Friday in the St. Petersburg Open.

The players traded breaks early in the first set, and after exchanging breaks early in the second, Murray took a 6-5 lead on the Serb's serve and held on continue the defence of his title.

"It was a long match -- it was over two hours," Murray said. "I think he lost his concentration at the end, and I got a chance to win the match and I took it."

It was the eighth consecutive victory for the U.S. Open finalist, who improved to 51-14 this season.

In the semifinals, Murray will face third-seeded Fernando Verdasco, who beat German veteran Rainer Schuettler 7-5, 6-2. Murray beat Verdasco in last year's final.

Verdasco broke Schuettler in the 11th game of the first set and then twice in the second to reach his third straight semifinal at the tournament.

"I'm happy the way I played today," Verdasco said.

Also, Victor Hanescu of Romania defeated Russian qualifier Michail Elgin 6-1, 6-4 to qualify for his third semifinal this season. He will take on Andrey Golubev, a qualifier from Kazakhstan, who rallied to beat German qualifier Mischa Zverev 6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-6 (4).

Golubev, ranked 150th, upset two-time champion Marat Safin on the way to his first career ATP semifinal.

Top three seeds advance at Generali

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LINZ, Austria -- Ana Ivanovic led the top three seeds into the Generali Ladies semifinals on Friday with straight-set victories.

Ivanovic beat seventh-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy 6-4, 6-4, second-seeded Vera Zvonareva defeated eighth-seeded Alize Cornet of France 7-5, 6-1, and third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska stopped fifth-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia 6-3, 6-2.

They were joined by sixth-seeded Marion Bartoli, who beat the only unseeded player to make the last eight, Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1.

Ivanovic broke Pennetta, last week's runner-up in Zurich, at 4-4 and added three more breaks in the second set.

"It was a difficult match," Ivanovic said. "I was never sure if I did enough to beat her."

In Zurich, the Serb had reached her first semifinals since winning the French Open, and her second final-four effort in two weeks showed she was past her thigh and thumb injuries. Ivanovic will play Radwanska on Saturday.

Radwanska stayed on course for a fourth WTA Tour title this season by routing 2005 champion Petrova. The 10th-ranked Pole, who won only three games against Petrova in their previous meeting this season, broke the Russian four times.

Zvonareva used powerful serves and ground strokes against Cornet, who won her first WTA title in Budapest in July. The victory earned Zvonareva a berth in the season-ending WTA Championships for the third time, and first since 2005.

"It was a long road to Doha and I am very happy that I finally made it," Zvonareva said.

Her next opponent is Bartoli, who improved to 3-0 against Bondarenko.

Safin upset at St. Petersburg Open

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- Defending champion Andy Murray beat Ernests Gulbis 6-4, 6-2 Thursday to advance to the quarter-finals of the St. Petersburg Open, while eighth-seeded Marat Safin was beaten in a second-round upset. Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan beat Safin 6-4, 6-2 to advance to his first career quarter-final. Murray, fresh from winning the Madrid Masters on Sunday for his fourth title this season, won his first three games to love before saving a break point in the next game that he served. The fourth-ranked Briton broke Gulbis in the eighth game for a 5-3 lead but the Latvian broke back to love in the next game. Murray immediately broke again to take the set, and won four consecutive games in the second set to close out the match. "He (Gulbis) is very unpredictable in his game style," Murray said. "He had a couple of good shots to break me, but I broke him in the next game, so it wasn't a problem." It was the ninth consecutive win for the U.S. Open finalist, including two victories in Britain's Davis Cup World Group playoffs against Austria in September. Murray's win-loss record this season is 50-14, becoming the fifth player this year to win 50 matches. Murray advanced to his 10th quarter-final this season. "I'm going to try my best to win the tournament," Murray said. "When you keep winning, it gives you a lot of confidence." Murray, who also won titles in Doha, Marseille and Cincinnati, will next play Janko Tipsarevic, who beat Jeremy Chardy of France 6-4, 7-6 (3). Safin, the 31st-ranked Russian who has twice won the tournament, had trouble on his serve, winning only 15 of 51 returned points against the 150th-ranked Golubev. In the quarter-finals, Golubev will face German qualifier Mischa Zverev, who upset fourth-seeded Mikhail Youzny of Russia 7-5, 6-4. Victor Hanescu of Romania beat Kazakh qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 7-6 (7).

Federer and Nalbandian win indoors

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BASEL, Switzerland -- Two-time defending champion Roger Federer endured a shaky start before defeating Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 7-6 (6), 7-6 (1) in the Swiss Indoors second round on Thursday. Federer had his hometown crowd in a state of anxiety as he mistimed several forehands, lost his serve three times, and volleyed below his usual standards. "I'm still struggling with my co-ordination just a touch," Federer said. "I don't control the balls as (well) as I would like to and that then makes me doubt my footwork a little bit. It will only get better." He repeatedly got out of trouble with aces, including one of his 11 to save a first set point when trailing 5-3. Nieminen hadn't taken a set off Federer in nine previous matchups, including last year's final. He also was two points from claiming the first set at 5-4. "He made me work hard tonight," Federer said. "It definitely sends some shocks through you when you get broken back to back." Ultimately, he won the set on a wide forehand by the left-handed Finn. Federer squandered an early break in the second set but dominated the tiebreaker, finally winning when Nieminen netted an attempted pass after 96 minutes. In Friday's quarter-finals, the top-seeded Swiss will play Simone Bolelli of Italy, who beat Marcel Granollers of Spain 6-4, 6-2. Second-seeded David Nalbandian, the 2002 champion and two-time runner-up, beat Kristof Vliegen of Belgium 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (4) to also reach the quarter-finals. He and Argentine countryman Juan Martin del Potro are on course to meet for the second time in two weeks, in the semifinals. Third-seeded del Potro made just four unforced errors as he cruised past Switzerland's Stephane Bohli 6-3, 6-3. Fourth-seeded American James Blake hit 18 aces as he came from behind to beat Oscar Hernandez of Spain 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4 to reach the last eight for the first time in three visits. "I was serving well and that got me out of a lot of trouble," Blake said.

Ivanovic reaches Linz quarter-finals

LINZ, Austria -- Top-seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and No. 2 Vera Zvonareva of Russia eased into the Generali Ladies quarter-finals with straight-set wins on Thursday. Ivanovic downed Sybille Bammer of Austria 6-4, 6-2 in a second-round match, while Zvonareva routed Nuria Llagostera Vives of Spain 6-2, 6-0. Ivanovic dropped serve twice in the opening set before settling after breaking Bammer for a third time at 4-4. "I am happy with the way I played and beating her in straight sets is a good result," said Ivanovic, who improved to 2-1 against Bammer. "During the first set, I realized I had to take the ball earlier so I could put more pressure on her. That made things easier for me." Ivanovic will play seventh-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy, who defeated Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 6-3, 6-1. Pennetta reached the final of the Zurich Open last week. Zvonareva dropped serve in the opening set against Llagostera Vives and saved five more break points, but was in control afterward. The Russian will next play No. 8 Alize Cornet of France. Fifth-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia defeated Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia 6-4, 7-6 (7) to set up a quarter-final match against No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland. Petrova, who won the tournament in 2005, was broken twice while serving for the match at 5-4 and 6-5, and the Russian missed four match points in the tiebreaker before finally converting. Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine was the only unseeded player to make the quarter-finals by beating fourth-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 6-2, 2-6, 6-1. Bondarenko lost only three points on serve in the opening set, but had many errors from the baseline in the second. Schnyder, who reached the final last year, didn't win a service game in the decider. Bondarenko's next opponent was sixth-seeded Marion Bartoli of France, who beat Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-3.

Murray advances St. Petersburg Open

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- Defending champion Andy Murray beat Viktor Troicki of Serbia 6-3, 6-3 Wednesday to advance to the second round of the St. Petersburg Open, while Nikolay Davydenko pulled out with a wrist injury.

The sixth-ranked Russian sustained the injury on Tuesday and said he was unlikely to be able to play in Paris next week.

"Even if the inflammation and pain pass, I will have no time for preparation," Davydenko said.

Davydenko said that if there was no pain by the end of the next week he would have two weeks to prepare for the season-ending Masters event in Shanghai.

Murray, fresh from winning the Madrid Masters on Sunday for his fourth title this season, broke Troicki in the fifth and eighth games of the first set. The fourth-ranked Briton had an early break in the second set and saved the only break point he faced in the eighth game.

"He (Troicki) made a lot of mistakes on his forehand today," Murray said. "I haven't seen him play so much, so I didn't really have too may tactics, but for my game I tried to serve well and change the speed of the ball a lot."

It was the eighth consecutive win for the U.S. Open finalist, including two victories in Britain's Davis Cup World Group playoffs against Austria in September.

Murray, who also won titles in Doha, Marseille and Cincinnati, next plays Ernests Gulbis of Latvia.

Earlier, Kazakhstan qualifier Andrey Golubev served 19 aces in a 6-1, 6-4 win over Olivier Rochus of Belgium while Fernando Verdasco beat wild card Karlis Lejnieks 6-1, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.

The third-seeded Verdasco had little trouble against the 20-year-old Latvian, the lowest-ranked player in the field at No. 664 and playing in his first ATP event. The 15th-ranked Spaniard, a runner-up to Murray here last year, had two breaks in each set to close out the match in 65 minutes.

Verdasco will next face German veteran Rainer Schuettler, who defeated Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia 6-3, 6-3.

Radwanska reaches quarter-finals in Linz

LINZ, Austria -- Third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland and eighth-seeded Alize Cornet reached the quarter-finals of the Generali Ladies on Wednesday.

Radwanska beat Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-2, 6-4, and Cornet rallied to defeat Maria Kirilenko of Russia 1-6, 6-2, 6-1.

The 10th-ranked Radwanska has won three WTA Tour titles this season and is competing to qualify for the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships.

Radwanska, who had a bye in the first round, will next play either fifth-seeded former champion Nadia Petrova of Russia or Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia.

Cornet struggled with her serve in the opening set and was broken twice by Kirilenko, before holding serve throughout the last two sets.

Flavia Pennetta continued her recent run of good results by beating Agnes Szavay of Hungary 6-1, 6-2 in a first-round match.

The seventh-seeded Italian, who reached the final of the Zurich Open last week, dropped only three points on serve in the opening set and broke Szavay on six occasions.

Sybille Bammer of Austria also advanced after beating Francesca Schiavone of Italy 7-5, 6-3 to set up a second-round match against top-seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia.

Bammer was 5-4 down in the first set before winning five straight games. She added another break to close out the match.

Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic defeated Tamira Paszek of Austria 6-3, 6-3 to reach the second round.

Injury-hit Marcos Baghdatis loses at Swiss Indoors

BASEL, Switzerland -- Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus lost to Marcel Granollers of Spain 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in the first round of the Swiss Indoors on Wednesday.

Baghdatis, bothered all season by injuries, needed treatment to his back during the match.

The 23-year-old has also missed matches due to a wrist injury. He was ranked as high as No. 14 in April and went into the match against Granollers ranked 43rd, but will drop even lower after the loss.

"Maybe I am going to be out of the (top) 100," Baghdatis said, adding that he expects to climb in the rankings soon again. "I did it before and I can do it again."

The 22-year-old Granollers won his only tour title at Houston in April, beating American James Blake in the final.

The fourth-seeded Blake advanced to the second round Wednesday by defeating Germany's Nicolas Kiefer 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Also in the first round, Jarkko Nieminen of Finland defeated Argentina's Eduardo Schwank 6-2, 6-4, and Belgian qualifier Kristof Vliegen beat wild-card entry Philipp Petzschner of Germany 6-2, 6-3.

In second-round matches, sixth-seeded Russian Igor Andreev needed almost three hours to overcome Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6 (6), 6-7 (0), 7-5, while Benjamin Becker beat fellow German Andreas Beck 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Benneteau upsets Robredo at Lyon Grand Prix

LYON, France -- Julien Benneteau of France upset fifth-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the Lyon Grand Prix on Wednesday.

Benneteau will next play the winner of Thursday's match between second-seeded Richard Gasquet of France and Steve Darcis of Belgium.

In other first-round matches Wedneday, No. 7 Robin Soderling of Sweden and No. 8 Paul-Henri Mathieu of France were victorious.

Soderling beat Thierry Ascione of France 6-4, 6-1, while Mathieu defeated Guillermo Canas of Argentina 6-3, 6-4. Christophe Rochus of Belgium also moved on with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Gilles Muller.

Chakvetadze loses at Fortis Championships

LUXEMBOURG -- Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic beat second-seeded Anna Chakvetadze of Russia 6-2, 6-4 Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals of the Fortis Championships.

Benesova, ranked 42nd in the world, will next play Li Na of China, who beat Mariya Koryttseva of Ukraine 7-6 (6), 6-3.

Third-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia and fourth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark also advanced to the quarter-finals. Hantuchova beat Sabine Lisicki of Germany 6-0, 6-2 and will next face Sorana Cirstea of Romania, who beat Sara Errani of Italy 6-4, 6-2.

Wozniacki defeated Peng Shuai of China 6-4, 6-4.

Former top-ranked player Amelie Mauresmo of France beat Stephanie Gehrlein of Germany 6-2, 3-6, 6-0. She will next play Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany, who beat Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium 7-5, 6-4.

Hrbaty exploits Tursunov's serve

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- Veteran Dominik Hrbaty upset sixth-seeded Dmitry Tursunov 6-1, 6-1 in the first round of the St. Petersburg Open on Monday.

The 340th-ranked Slovak veteran capitalized on Tursunov's weak serve and poor return to wrap up the win in less than an hour.

The Russian won the opening game at love but Hrbaty then won six consecutive games to take the opening set. The 26th-ranked Tursunov had a break in the second game of the second set, but Hrbaty then won five games in a row to close out the match.

"I had a sore shoulder," said Tursunov. "I pulled out at the Kremlin Cup and had a good first set in Madrid last week but then ended the match with the same poor serve as here today."

In other first-round action, Victor Hanescu of Romania had 12 aces in a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Evgeny Korolev of Russia while German veteran Rainer Schuettler ousted Russian Igor Kunitsyn 6-2, 6-3.

Schuettler broke Kunitsyn two times in the first set and made a decisive break in the sixth game of the second for a 4-2 lead. He served the match out to love.

"I did all I could to stay in the match," said Kunitsyn. "'He gave me several chances but I failed to capitalize."

Kunitsyn won the Kremlin Cup for his maiden title a week ago.

Ouanna upsets Ljubicic at Lyon GP

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LYON, France -- French wild-card entry Josselin Ouanna rallied to beat Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-4 in an upset first-round win at the Lyon Grand Prix on Monday.

Ouanna, ranked 182nd and more accustomed to playing in challenger and other lower-tier events, secured his first career win on the ATP Tour by converting three of his four break point chances on Ljubicic's normally reliable serve at the indoor arena.

Ouanna lost all three of his previous first-round matches this year, all of them on clay, without taking even a set.

He lost twice to Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina -- at Kitzbuhel, Austria and at the French Open -- and once to Marin Cilic in Gstaad, Switzerland.

Ljubicic, who reached a career-high ranking of third in May 2006, is currently 46th.

Fifth-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain was scheduled to play Michael Llodra of France later Monday. Former French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero was to meet big-serving American Sam Querrey.

Murray outlasts favourites in Madrid

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MADRID, Spain -- Fourth-ranked Andy Murray beat Gilles Simon of France 6-4, 7-6 (6) Sunday to win the Madrid Masters.

The U.S. Open finalist became the first Briton to win four titles in a season. He will be the first Briton in the Open era since Fred Perry in 1936 to finish the year at No. 4.

Greg Rusedski and Tim Henman both reached No. 4 but never finished the year there and never won four titles and played in a Grand Slam final in one season.

Murray won in Doha, Marseille and Cincinnati. Mark Cox of Britain captured three titles in 1975.

"Gilles was hitting much better from behind the baseline, but I got a lot of free points from my serve," Murray said. "That was probably the key to my win today."

Murray never faced a breakpoint and converted one in the fifth game to take the first set when Simon hit wide.

The Briton saved two set points in the tiebreaker before closing the match out when Simon hit into the net for his 30th unforced error. Simon had previously won five straight three-set matches.

"I couldn't move like I'm used to and Andy knew it, so he tried to kill me by making me run" said Simon, barely able to walk the step up to the microphone. "Often I missed two easy shots, one after another. That's why I lost today, I couldn't focus on every point. It was too much effort for me."

Murray beat Roger Federer in the semifinals, while Simon defeated top-ranked Rafael Nadal to reach his fourth final this year. Their victories denied a fifth Nadal-Federer final of 2008.

"I know you guys would have liked to have seen a Roger-Rafa final but you brought a great atmosphere, so thanks for coming," Murray told the crowd at the Madrid Arena, which hosted the tournament for the final time as it moves to the newly built "Caja Magica" (Magic Box) next year.

The two finalists had both beaten Federer and Nadal this year, with Simon saving 17 breakpoint chances Saturday against Nadal.

The 16th-ranked Simon previously won at Bucharest, Casablanca and Indianapolis earlier this year and he is within reach of qualifying for next month's Masters Cup in Shanghai.

The 23-year-old Frenchman is ninth in the race to qualify for the season-ending tournament -- seven points behind No. 7 David Ferrer and six back from Juan Martin del Potro in eighth and the final qualifying spot.

"It won't be easy because there are one or two tournaments left. I don't know if I play in Lyon because right now I just want to rest," Simon said. "You can't make any mistakes, you have to win. It won't be easy."

Both players started tentatively with the match rarely venturing from lengthy groundstroke rallies on the baseline.

Murray led 15-40 in the fifth game. The Frenchman saved the first break chance but, after returning Murray's lob, his passing shot landed wide to leave him trailing 3-2.

Neither player looked anxious to up the tempo or come to the net unless necessary.

"I knew that he was going to be tired, but he plays so many matches like that you don't know how he is going to come out the next day," said Murray, who extended his winning streak over French opponents to 10. "When he was actually running he moved good and that was what was tough for me. I didn't expect him to chase as many balls down."

.Simon, who saved three break chances in the opening set, hit a winner down the far line to trail 4-3 but was missing often and Murray was rarely troubled on serve.

The 21-year-old Briton fired one of his 10 aces to clinch the first set.

"I didn't feel like I was on my game particularly, but I served great and came to the net a couple of times and took the ball on," Murray said.

The lethargic pace continued into the second set until the ninth game, when Murray volleyed at the net for one of 26 winners to set up a break opportunity. However, Simon saved it and a tiebreaker was required.

Simon repeatedly came to the net to reach Murray's drop shots. The rhythm picked up as Simon hit a crosscourt winner to complete a rally that put him ahead 6-4.

But Murray saved both set-point chances before setting up championship point when he forced Simon to lunge for another drop that the Frenchman couldn't return.

Nadal and Federer ousted in Madrid

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MADRID, Spain -- Rafael Nadal was knocked out of the Madrid Masters on Saturday, as Gilles Simon of France rallied to win 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (6) and advance to the final against Andy Murray. Simon saved 17 break point chances -- including seven in the final set -- to reach his fourth final of the year after a match lasting nearly 3 1/2 hours. The fourth-ranked Murray had earlier beaten Roger Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in a rematch of last month's U.S. Open final. That meant Nadal will become the first Spanish player in the Open era to end the year as No. 1.

Venus beats Ivanovic, reaches final

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ZURICH, Switzerland -- Venus Williams rallied from a set down to beat second-seeded Ana Ivanovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 Saturday in the Zurich Open semifinals.

"Obviously winning is fun but winning close matches (is) rewarding," Williams said.

Williams will face Flavia Pennetta in Sunday's final, after the Italian beat Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 7-6 (6) in an earlier match.

Pennetta is 3-1 against the 28-year-old American and beat her in Moscow last week.

Williams said her game plan Sunday will be to cut out mistakes.

"I made so many errors in Moscow," she said. "I think she has played well all the times we have played."

Pennetta said it did not matter that she beat Williams last time.

"Here it is another tournament," Pennetta said. "Last week I lost against (Jelena) Jankovic and this week I won so everything can happen."

The third-seeded Williams is looking for her second singles title of the year, after winning Wimbledon, as she tries to secure a place in the season-ending WTA Tour championship in Doha, Qatar, next month.

Williams said Ivanovic was an aggressive opponent.

"When she plays me she is going for everything," Williams said. "Sometimes it is tough to get a rhythm."

Williams struggled with her serve in the first set and double-faulted to give Ivanovic a break to go up 4-3.

In the decisive set, Williams broke to go up 4-3 when Ivanovic netted a forehand.

The American missed three match points during her opponent's next service game -- with Ivanovic's forehand volley rolling on the net cord before dropping in on the third.

Williams served out the match in the next game.

Pennetta, who upset the top-ranked Jankovic in the second round Thursday, reached her fourth final of the year.

She was trailing 3-1 in the first set, then won five straight games, including three breaks of serve, to take the set.

Medina Garrigues, ranked 30th, led 3-1 again in the second but Pennetta broke to even the set at 3-3.

Pennetta survived a set point in the tiebreaker and converted her first match point as Medina Garrigues hit a driving forehand volley long.

The 26-year-old Italian has won two tournaments this year, at Vina Del Mar, Chile, in February and Acapulco, Mexico, in March.

Nadal the new No. 1, ending Roger reign

RelatedEnd of year rankings:Nadal knocks of Federer
Spaniard Rafael Nadal is guaranteed to finish this season as the No. 1 player in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, ending Roger Federer's four-year reign.

After Federer’s semifinal loss to Andy Murray in the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid semifinals on Saturday, Nadal is guaranteed to claim the No. 1 year-end position. The 22-year-old Mallorca native is the first left-hander to finish No. 1 since John McEnroe in 1984 and the third lefty in the 36-year history of the ATP Rankings. McEnroe was No. 1 from 1981-84 and Jimmy Connors finished No. 1 from 1974-78.

Nadal is the 15th different year-end No. 1 and the first Spaniard to finish the season as the top player in the world. Prior to this season Nadal finished No. 2 the past three years. Nadal took over No. 1 on August 18 after ranking No. 2 for a record 160 consecutive weeks (since July 25, 2005). Federer held the top position for a record 237 straight weeks from Feb. 2, 2004 to Aug. 17, 2008.

Nadal said: "To become No. 1 during the year was one of my goals and it is important to have achieved it. Moreover, if you finish the year as No. 1 it is even more special. I am also very happy to bring something more to Spanish sport, something for Spanish history and for our great tennis tradition."

Nadal leads the ATP circuit with eight titles and an 80-10 match record in 2008. In July, he became the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win the Roland Garros and Wimbledon double after dethroning five-time champion Federer in a five-set epic at the All England Club. Nadal followed by clinching his 12th career ATP Masters Series title, and third of the season, at the Rogers Cup in Toronto. He won 32 consecutive matches before falling to World No. 3 Novak Djokovic in the Cincinnati semifinals. He also won a gold medal in singles at the Beijing Olympics.

Nadal is one of four players to have so far qualified for the circuit-ending Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai, beginning November 9. Federer, Djokovic and Murray are the other qualifiers. Four singles berths remain up for grabs with just over two weeks of the regular ATP season to play.

Jankovic winning streak ends at Zurich

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ZURICH, Switzerland -- Jelena Jankovic's 12-match winning streak was snapped Thursday by Flavia Pennetta, who beat the top-ranked Serb 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 in the second round of the Zurich Open.

Jankovic, who won three straight titles heading into the tournament, fell to the ground at 6-5 of the first set and appeared to hurt her left wrist. Still, she broke Pennetta when the Italian double-faulted soon after.

Jankovic again went down while getting broken in the third game of the second set, and she soon called for a trainer to treat her bleeding right knee.

The deciding set went with serve until Pennetta hit a backhand winner to lead 5-3. She had two match points in the next game and took the first of them with an ace.

Jankovic had been 5-0 against the 17th-ranked Pennetta, including a straight-set win in Moscow last week after the Italian had knocked out Venus Williams.

Jankovic, who has never made it past the second round at the Zurich Open, took over the No. 1 ranking this month after consecutive wins in Beijing, Stuttgart, Germany, and Moscow.

Also, 18th-ranked Victoria Azarenka of Belarus routed Monica Niculescu of Romania 6-0, 6-0. Niculescu, who upset seventh-seeded Anna Chakvetadze in the first round, failed to convert any of her six break-point chances.

In a match between two qualifiers, 18-year-old Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic beat Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden 6-2, 6-1.

Venus, Ana to face off in Zurich semis

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ZURICH, Switzerland -- American Venus Williams remained on course for a second Zurich Open title when she beat Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-3, 6-3 in the quarter-finals Friday.

Williams, the No. 3 seed and 1999 champion, next faces second-seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, who defeated Czech teenager Petra Kvitova 6-1, 6-4.

Flavia Pennetta of Italy and Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain also advanced and will meet in the semifinals Saturday.

Williams improved to 5-0 against Schiavone, who made it to the semifinals last year.

"She is a good competitor," Williams said. "She went for a lot out there today, sometimes maybe a little too much.

"I think I played more consistent than in my first match."

After trading five straight breaks, Williams served at 5-3 and held to love to win the first set.

When she faced three break points at 4-3 up in the second set, Williams reeled off two service winners, a forehand volley at the net and two aces to win the game and close out the match soon after.

Ivanovic was into her first semifinals since winning the French Open in June. Injuries have limited her to only seven wins since then. She has a 1-4 record against Williams, but beat the American in their last match in the Australian Open quarter-finals.

Pennetta followed her upset of top-ranked Jelena Jankovic by beating Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik 7-5, 6-2.

A two-time winner on tour this year, the Italian broke Srebotnik at 5-5 with a backhand service return, then converted her first set point with an ace.

She then broke Srebotnik to open the second set, again in the seventh game, and sealed the win with a backhand winner.

Medina Garrigues advanced when Victoria Azarenka of Belarus retired with a shoulder injury after they split the first two sets 4-6, 6-3.

Djokovic wants ATP tennis in Serbia

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MADRID, Spain -- Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic is hoping to bring an ATP tennis tournament to his home country.

The third-ranked Serb said Wednesday that Belgrade could be hosting an event as soon as May 2009 because his family has bought the licence to the ABM Amro Open.

"I've spoken to the board of directors and all the official people of the ATP and they said that if we have good enough court conditions and pass all the tests, it will be a formality from their side," Djokovic said from the Madrid Masters.

Belgrade has hosted challenger events in the past but never an ATP tournament. It hasn't hosted any type of tennis competition in more than a decade due to unrest in the region.

Djokovic said that he would aim to play the tournament between Masters Series events in Rome and Madrid next May.

Jankovic enjoying respect at No. 1

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ZURICH, Switzerland -- Jelena Jankovic is enjoying the respect she gets as the top-ranked player in women's tennis.

The 23-year-old Serb, who arrived in Switzerland on Tuesday looking for her fourth straight WTA title at the Zurich Open, is the topic of conversation for many of her rivals on tour.

"Maybe I have more intimidation," Jankovic said. "Because some of the players when I played in Moscow, they say it's impossible to beat her."

The performance that has others doubting themselves is her Kremlin Cup semifinal comeback Saturday against fifth-ranked Elena Dementieva of Russia. After losing the first set 6-0, Jankovic bounced back to take the next two sets 6-1, 6-0.

"One quality that I have is that I don't give up," Jankovic said. "You believe in yourself and feel that you can do anything because this is the confidence that you have from winning a lot of matches."

Jankovic has now won 12 matches in a row, collecting titles in Beijing, Stuttgart, Germany, and Moscow.

She admits the globe-trotting is tiring, but returning to the top ranking last week -- after a week as No. 1 in August -- can be inspirational.

"With a good, positive mind and attitude, I feel that I can do anything on the court, the feeling I have in this moment," said Jankovic, who has been training even harder since recovering from a knee injury after Wimbledon in July.

"I wasn't able to practise for three weeks and I got completely out of shape. I lost the muscle so quickly," Jankovic said. "That is my body type so I have to work very hard in the gym to keep my body strong."

While her performance level intimidates opponents, the five-foot-nine Jankovic believes her physique does not.

"The girls in the top 10 are all very tall, very strong, and I am one of the smallest and weakest ones," she said. "So I have to work harder than them to be up there."

Jankovic has long had a reputation for hard work. Her 72 wins in singles was a WTA Tour-best in 2007, and she has a 63-16 record heading into the Zurich Open, an indoor hard court event.

A year ago, she was exhausted by the time of the season-ending WTA Championships in Madrid, Spain. Not this time.

"I feel ready to finish the year and I feel very motivated," said Jankovic, who is almost certain to end 2008 as No. 1.

This year's WTA Championships, in Doha, Qatar, from Nov. 4-9, is Jankovic's next competitive stop after Switzerland.

"I would love to win," she said. "That would really be the crown."

Whether Venus Williams joins Jankovic among the elite eight players in Doha will depend on her results this week. The 28-year-old American is ninth in the standings after Vera Zvonareva reached the final in Moscow last week, losing to Jankovic in straight sets.

The Russian stepped up the pressure on Williams by securing a late wild-card entry to the Zurich tournament.

"I am not going to be entering any extra tournaments," Williams said. "If someone can enter more tournaments and play better than me then I'm going to wish them a lot of luck.

"If I play well enough to earn my place then I'll deserve to be there. You know, I'll probably get in."

Williams has a first-round bye and opens against Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine. Jankovic begins Thursday against either Nadia Petrova of Russia or Flavia Pennetta of Italy.

Mauresmo in and out of Zurich Open

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ZURICH, Switzerland -- Rising teenager Victoria Azarenka beat two-time Grand Slam winner Amelie Mauresmo 6-2, 6-1 in the first round of the Zurich Open on Monday.

Also, Maria Kirilenko of Russia upset eighth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova 7-5, 6-2, and Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine outlasted Alize Cornet of France 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the only other first-round matches indoors at Hallenstadion.

Azarenka, a 19-year-old from Belarus who cracked the top 20 this year and has stayed there, broke Mauresmo's serve twice in the first set and three times in the second in her first meeting with the French star.

Mauresmo, now 29, has suffered two injury-prone seasons since winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2006. She ranks No. 22 and hasn't won a title in almost two years.

Kirilenko, a winner of three titles this year, broke Hantuchova at 5-5 before serving out for the first set. She then broke serve three more times in the second to complete the victory against the struggling Slovak. Hantuchova was still trying to rebound from missing two months in the spring with a foot injury.

Kirilenko had won only once in five previous meetings with Hantuchova, including a three-seat loss at the Australian Open last January.

Bondarenko defeated 19th-ranked French teen Alize Cornet 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) to earn a second-round match with Venus Williams, who had a first-round bye with all the other top-eight seeds.

The list was headed by No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, who was on a 12-match win streak and seeking her fourth straight tournament win after collecting trophies in Beijing, Stuttgart and Moscow over the past three Sundays.

Jankovic faces the winner of a match scheduled on Wednesday between Russia's Nadia Petrova, whom she beat in the Stuttgart final, and Flavia Pennetta of Italy, who knocked out Williams in Moscow last week.

Williams was still in the running for a berth in the season-ending WTA Tour Championships. The American trailed Russia's Vera Zvonareva for the eighth and final spot.

Zvonareva was granted a late wild card in the Zurich draw as the fourth seed, and will face Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain or China's Li Na in round two.

Second seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia will open against the winner of Tuesday's first match on centre court between Marion Bartoli of France and Agnes Szavay of Hungary.

Nadal slips past Gulbis in Madrid

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MADRID, Spain -- Rafael Nadal moved within two wins of earning the year-end No. 1 ranking when he struggled past Ernests Gulbis 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the third round of the Madrid Masters on Tuesday.

Next up for Nadal, champion here in 2005, will be 15th-ranked Richard Gasquet after the Frenchman overcame 23 aces by American Mardy Fish to win 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-3.

"I'm probably playing with less pressure than usual so whatever happens, things are good," said Nadal, who has a slight nag in his right leg despite three weeks of rest coming in.

Nadal received a four-set test from Gulbis en route to the Wimbledon title, and Tuesday's match was similarly troubling for the Spaniard. But Gulbis often followed a crisp winner with an unforced error.

At 5-5, Gulbis responded to Nadal's double-break chance with an ace then double-faulted. In the next game Nadal saved a double-break chance on the run and closed out the first set when Gulbis volleyed into the net.

Nadal, who has never been a fan of the Spanish capital's high altitude and the extra speed it brings to the hard court, had trouble keeping up with the Latvian as he stuck his shots, including a backhand down the line to break for 2-0 in the second.

A ragged Nadal eventually netted to force a deciding set in the mainly baseline contest.

"He played very well in the second set but all the match was very tough because he played very aggressive," Nadal said.

Several crosscourt forehands gave Gulbis a break opportunity in the third game, but Nadal held and broke in the next game as Gulbis smashed a forehand long. Nadal served out and pumped his fists in relief at the end of his two-hour, 22-minute opening match.

He has a 5-0 record against Gasquet.

"My record is good against him but it's always a tough match with him," the Olympic champion said.

In other second-round matches, U.S. Open finalist Andy Murray advanced, but 11th-seeded James Blake and No. 13 Fernando Verdasco lost.

Murray moved on when Simone Bolelli of Italy retired with an apparent shoulder injury while trailing 6-0, 2-1.

"I've been playing really, really well in practice the last few weeks, better than I was playing throughout the summer," said Murray, who picked up his first Masters Series title in Cincinnati in August. "I'm probably mentally fresher now than the U.S. Open."

Murray will next play Marin Cilic of Croatia, who beat Verdasco 6-2, 6-3.

Gilles Simon of France won 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to keep Blake winless in five appearances at the tournament. Simon saved four break points in the second set and converted two of his own before dominating the final set.

Blake has only a few tournaments left to qualify for the Masters Cup. He's in ninth place in the standings for the top-eight event.

In first-round play, the winners included French Open semifinalist Gael Monfils, American qualifier Robby Ginepri, Spanish qualifier Marcel Granollers, Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, Victor Hanescu of Romania, Robin Soderling of Sweden, and Feliciano Lopez of Spain.

Nalbandian to play for Stockholm title

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Top-seeded David Nalbandian and Robin Soderling routed their opponents Saturday to reach the Stockholm Open final. Nalbandian cruised past Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, 6-1, and Soderling outplayed Japanese teenager Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-0. Soderling, who has one of the biggest serves in the game, ended the match with his 13th ace. He has 532 this year for fourth place on the ATP Tour. "I've played better and better in every match," Soderling said. "I held my serves easily and always had chances when he served." Nalbandian, who has reached two other finals this year, dominated the third-seeded Finn from the start. "I've played well all week," Nalbandian said. "I served very well. I played the big points well, break points and deuces." Nieminen, a two-time finalist at the Stockholm Open, broke back after losing the opening game but Nalbandian broke twice to take command. Serving for the set, Nalbandian fell behind 15-40, then scored four straight points. Despite leading 40-15, Nieminen dropped his serve again in the third game of the second set. Nalbandian broke for a 4-1 lead, Nieminen double-faulted on match point. Nalbandian is 1-1 in finals this year, winning in Buenos Aires in February and losing in Acapulco the next week.

Three straight tiles for No. 1 Jankovic

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MOSCOW -- Top-ranked Jelena Jankovic won her third title in three weeks Sunday, beating Russia's Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-4 in the final of the Kremlin Cup.

Igor Kunitsyn won the men's tournament, upsetting fellow Russian Marat Safin for his first ATP Tour title. Kunitsyn, who survived seventh-seeded Safin's 21 aces to win 7-6 (6), 6-7 (4), 6-3, said he had prepared a speech to congratulate his opponent on the victory.

"I was hoping to win a couple of games and that's it," Kunitsyn said. "I still don't know how I was able to outplay Marat, but I guess it happens. I still don't understand how I won."

Jankovic was coming off back-to-back wins at the China Open and the Porsche Grand Prix in Germany. She earned her fourth title of the season and eighth of her career.

The 23-year-old Serb also was runner-up twice this season, losing to Serena Williams in Miami and at the U.S. Open.

"I'm quite close to finishing the year as the No. 1 player in the world, so it's really a huge achievement for me," she said.

Jankovic broke the ninth-ranked Zvonareva twice in the first set. The two were tied at 4 in the second set when Jankovic earned another break.

Jankovic, who beat Zvonareva in her two previous events, said she knew she was going to have to work hard for every point.

"I was really expecting a tough match," Jankovic said. "I was really focused from the start of the match. I went out there aggressive and really played my game and I was really going after the shots.

"Especially the first set I played quite well. I was dominating. But then the second set my level of tennis went down a little bit and I let her come back into the match. At the end of the second set I focused a little bit and changed the match in my favour.".

Jankovic said she is committed to playing in Zurich next week but will then take two weeks off to prepare for the season-ending tournament in Doha.

Jankovic took the top ranking from Williams on Monday and will retain it next week because Williams, the runner-up in Moscow last year, pulled out with an injury.

The 71st-ranked Kunitsyn was playing in his first ATP Tour final.

Safin, who hasn't won a tournament since beating Lleyton Hewitt in the final of the Australian Open in January 2005, was playing in his first final since losing to Nikolay Davydenko in Moscow in 2006.

Kunitsyn was in control of the match and constantly kept Safin on the baseline. He prevailed in a first-set tiebreaker when Safin made two unforced errors and broke his racket in frustration.

"Had I won the first set it could have gone a different way," Safin said.

Safin won five consecutive points in the second-set tiebreaker to stay in the match.

In the third set, Kunitsyn got a break in the sixth game and served out the match at love, closing it with an ace.

"I was chasing him all the time," Safin said. "I could not capitalize on my chances. But he converted every time he had a chance and didn't make many mistakes. There's no surprise he won."

Jankovic to meet Dementieva in semis

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MOSCOW -- Top-ranked Jelena Jankovic beat Flavia Pennetta of Italy 7-6 (6), 6-3 Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Kremlin Cup, and Marat Safin upset defending men's champion Nikolay Davydenko 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4 in the quarter-finals.

Jankovic will face Olympic champion Elena Dementieva in the next round, while Dinara Safina will play Vera Zvonareva in the other semifinal match.

"Today she (Jankovic) is the strongest player in the world," Dementieva said. "She's playing terrific tennis and has just won back-to-back titles on different surfaces ... It won't be an easy match."

Dementieva beat Nadia Petrova 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6), while Zvonareva defeated Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 7-5, 6-4 and Safina ousted Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 7-5,

Jankovic took the top ranking from Serena Williams on Monday after winning back-to-back titles at the China Open and the Porsche Grand Prix in Germany. Jankovic will retain her top ranking next week regardless of this weekend's results because Williams, the runner-up in Moscow last year, pulled out with an injury.

After trading serves twice in the first set, Jankovic broke Pennetta for a 6-5 lead but the Italian broke back to force a tiebreaker. Pennetta was up 3-0, then trailed 5-3, but levelled to 6-6 before returning wide in the next two points.

The 18th-ranked Italian, up 3-2 after breaking Jankovic in the opening game of the second set, saved five break points in the sixth game before Jankovic finally broke her on the 12th deuce in a 30-point game to level 3-3.

"It was the decisive moment of the match," Jankovic said. "If I have lost the game, the match could have gone in her direction. It was very important for me to win that game and come back. I was able to stay strong and win that game."

Petrova went up 4-3 in the all-Russian match with a break in the seventh game of the first set, but Dementieva won three consecutive games to take the set. Dementieva was leading 4-1 in the second set but Petrova came back and won five consecutive games to level the match at one set each.

In the third, Dementieva again took a 4-1 lead but Petrova rallied back to 4-4 and then both players held their serves to force the tiebreaker, which Dementieva won on her third match point.

"It was not an easy match," Dementieva said. "There were many missed chances for me today."

Safin, in a rematch of the 2006 final when Davydenko won his second title in Moscow, made a decisive break in the fifth game of the third set. He closed the match on his second match point when Davydenko netted a forehand return.

It will be only the second semifinal appearance for the former top-ranked Russian, who lost to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon semifinals.

"Much depended on my serve in this match," Safin said. "I had few chances against him on the baseline. My only chance was to attack him, risk and hold my serve."

Safin had 17 aces.

"He (Safin) controlled the match," Davydenko said. "I was surprised that Marat has shown his tennis of the best quality."

Safin will next play Mischa Zverev of Germany, who saved two match points and rallied from 5-1 down in the third set to advance to his first career ATP tour semifinal match with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 victory over Viktor Troicki of Serbia.

"At 5-1 down I just relaxed and was almost at home in my thoughts," Zverev said. "He (Troicki) was so close to winning that I decided to take advantage of it and attack him. And it worked perfectly this time."

Fabrice Santoro won the first set 6-3 and was 2-0 up in the second when fourth-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu retired because of illness.

"The first set was my best performance here so far," Santoro said. "I was serving well while he (Mathieu) was obviously out of form and could not return at full strength."

Santoro, who will turn 36 in December, won his only title this season in Newport, Rhode Island, in July. He will next face Igor Kunitsyn of Russia, who beat Jeremy Chardy of France 6-4, 6-2.

Federer to end long layoff next week

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MADRID, Spain -- Roger Federer will play at next week's Madrid Masters, tournament organizers said Thursday. The second-ranked Federer, who won the tournament in 2006 and was runner-up last year, will return to the court after a layoff of more than three weeks. Federer skipped this week's Stockholm Open saying he needed to rest up as he continues to rebound from a bout of mononucleosis picked up at the start of the year. "Without a doubt it's a wonderful thing knowing we can count on Roger Federer being here for another year," tournament director Manolo Santana said. The tournament, which starts Monday, could pit Federer against Rafael Nadal for the first time since the Spaniard assumed the No. 1 ranking, which the Swiss star had held for a record 237 weeks. Federer was knocked out of the Olympic tournament in Beijing before a potential matchup with Nadal, who won the gold medal. The pair haven't met since Nadal ended Federer's bid for a sixth straight Wimbledon crown in June. "Madrid's conditions and the type of surface are ideal for Roger's game," said Santana, a former Wimbledon winner. "We hope he arrives refreshed and that he can allow us to enjoy his best tennis."

Davydenko advances at Kremlin Cup

HE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MOSCOW -- Top-ranked Jelena Jankovic rallied from a set down to beat qualifier Vera Dushevina 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-2 Thursday to advance to the quarter-finals of the Kremlin Cup.

In the men's draw, top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1, 6-1.

The 23-year-old Jankovic took the No. 1 ranking from Serena Williams on Monday after winning back-to-back titles in the China Open and the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany. Jankovic will retain her top ranking next week regardless of the results in Moscow because Williams, runner-up in Moscow last year, pulled out because of injury.

Jankovic next plays Flavia Pennetta of Italy, who beat Ekaterina Makarova 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Dushevina won the first set on a tiebreaker and was 2-0 ahead in the second before Jankovic recovered and made a decisive break in the eighth game. Despite 12 aces in the match, Dushevina could not challenge Jankovic in the third set.

The fifth-ranked Davydenko reached his first quarter-final in six events, since winning a third title this season in Warsaw in July.

The Russian will next face seventh-seeded Marat Safin, who beat Julien Benneteau 6-4, 0-6, 6-2.

Davydenko beat Safin in the final in 2006 for his second title in Moscow. He also won in 2004 and last season.

"I have no illusions," Safin said. "Judging from his today's match, he (Davydenko) plays and moves perfectly. I think I have little chances, but why not to try? I have nothing to loose."

The defending champion won four straight games in the first set and five straight in the second to close out the match in 56 minutes.

"The score speaks for itself," Davydenko said. "I played confidently and controlled the match."

Davydenko is looking for his fourth title this season.

Safin took a 5-2 lead in the decisive set and served the match out with an ace.

"It was a strange match," Safin said. "I should have played like I did in the first and the third set and it could have been finished in two sets. But there was something wrong with me in the second set."

In other second-round matches, Janko Tipsarevic lost to Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-4 in an all-Serbian match, and Igor Kunitsyn ousted American Robby Ginepri 6-4, 6-3.

In a later second-round match, fourth-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu of France beat Dudi Sela of Israel 6-7 (3), 7-5, 7-6 (0). Mathieu won the tournament in 2002.

Germany's Mischa Zverev beat Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 to advance to his fourth quarter-final final this season.

In the women's draw, seventh-seeded Vera Zvonareva of Russia routed Daniela Hantuchova 6-1, 6-0. The Slovak scored only five points on Zvonareva's serve.

"I did not make unforced mistakes and was serving and returning well," Zvonareva said. "But I know that one can only have one or two such easy matches in a season."

The ninth-ranked Zvonareva will be playing in her fifth quarter-final in her home event. She has never advanced.

Nadia Petrova of Russia was a set and 3-2 up when Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki retired with breathing problems.

In the quarter-finals, Petrova will face defending champion Elena Dementieva.

Wild-card Nishikori wins in Stockholm

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Wild card Kei Nishikori advanced to the quarter-finals of the Stockholm Open with a 6-1, 1-6, 7-5 victory over Dominik Hrbaty on Thursday. Nishikori will next face second-seeded Mario Ancic, who beat Steve Darcis 7-6 (4), 6-4. Nishikori, who has jumped 212 spots to No. 77 in the rankings since the beginning of the year, was bothered by a sore knee in his opening match against eighth-seeded Marcel Granollers on Monday. "It was better than the first match, he said. "I feel it is 80 per cent healed. I didn't feel much pain during the match." The 18-year-old Nishikori had three break points to 5-4 in the third set when Hrbaty fell behind 0-40, but the Slovak saved them all. In the next game, Hrbaty was only two points from the match at 30-30, but the Japanese teenager eventually held his serve. "I just concentrated on keeping my serve," he said. "I'm glad that I did not go down after failing to break his serve from 0-40. The next game was difficult." Nishikori broke to 6-5 with a forehand winner and then held to love to wrap up the match. "This is the first time I'm winning so constantly and it surprises me," Nishikori said. "Of course I haven't faced anyone from top 10, but it gives me confidence. Now I wish to advance to the semi." Darcis staved off two set points when trailing 15-40 and 5-6 in the opening set. Ancic won the ensuing tiebreaker when the Belgian missed a backhand passing shot attempt. Ancic broke for the first and only time in the match to lead 3-2 when Darcis missed two straight backhands at 30-all. Leading 5-4, the Croat held his serve to love to end the match. Roger Federer of Switzerland withdrew from the tournament last week, leaving seventh-ranked David Nalbandian of Argentina as the top-seeded player. Defending champion Ivo Karlovic of Croatia skipped the tournament.

Gonzalez advances at BA Tennis Trophy

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

VIENNA, Austria -- Fernando Gonzalez saved five match points before defeating Ernests Gulbis 4-6, 7-6 (11), 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the BA Tennis Trophy on Wednesday.

Fifth-seeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain, German qualifier Philipp Petzschner and Carlos Moya of Spain also reached the quarter-finals. No. 3 Juan Martin del Potro and No. 8 Gael Monfils won their opening matches.

Gulbis nearly ended Gonzalez's bid for at least a fourth straight appearance in the past eight in Vienna.

He broke Gonzalez in the 10th game for the first set, and had five match points on the second seed from Chile in the second-set tiebreaker. But he netted a volley and hit two returns long while Gonzalez produced two forehand winners. Gulbis double-faulted on set point for Gonzalez.

"It was difficult to get into the match because he was hitting the balls so hard," Gonzalez said. "I was too slow. He was in control of the match and hit winners all the time."

Gonzalez got an early break to go up 3-0 in the third set, and another break sealed the victory for the 2006 finalist.

"I didn't score a lot on my serve, so I had to fight for every single point," Gonzalez said. "I am not playing my best tennis, so it's great to have two wins."

Verdasco won the last six games to beat Guillermo Canas of Argentina 6-1, 6-2 and make his seventh quarter-final of the year.

Petzschner, who eliminated top-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka on Tuesday, defeated Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-4. Petzschner hit six aces and faced no break points.

In the quarter-finals, Petzschner will play Moya, who defeated Eduardo Schwank of Argentina 6-2, 6-3.

Moya hit nine aces and held off all five break points against his serve. He broke Schwank three times.

In first-round play, del Potro of Argentina defeated Martin Fischer of Austria 7-6 (7), 7-6 (5).

The 219th-ranked Fischer missed a set point in the first-set tiebreaker and went a break up in the second, but del Potro came back and converted his third match point.

"I was very tired but I am close to qualifying for (the Masters Cup in) Shanghai so that keeps me going," del Potro said. "He played well but had too many mistakes on the important points. That made the difference."

Del Potro, who won four tournaments in a row this season and lost the final of the Japan Open on Sunday, next plays Philipp Kohlschreiber for a place in the quarter-finals.

Monfils beat Alexander Peya of Austria 3-6, 6-1, 6-3. The Frenchman was 3-1 down in the opening set when he slipped behind the baseline and smacked the back of his head on the court. He was treated for a painful neck twice and lost the first set, but dominated the match afterward.