Briefs | Davydenko questioned by umpire amid loss

Tennis

Davydenko loses, draws warning: Top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko, interviewed in a suspicious match earlier this year, said he was warned for not playing hard enough by the chair umpire in his loss to Marian Cilic at the St. Petersburg Open in Russia.

Davydenko won the first set in 27 minutes, but drew a rebuke from chair umpire Jean-Philippe Dercq in the third set before succumbing 1-6, 7-5, 6-1.

"When I made a double fault, he gave me a notice for a wrong behavior on the court as if I was throwing the match," Davydenko said. "I was surprised. I've never heard anything like this before."

Federer advances to quarterfinals: Roger Federer beat Juan Martin Del Potro 6-1, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals at the Swiss Indoors in Basel, his home tournament.

Ivo Karlovic served 24 aces in beating James Blake 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 to also reach the quarterfinals.

Rochus beats Fish: Olivier Rochus of Belgium overcame Mardy Fish's 43 aces to beat the American 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (17-15) and reach the Lyon Grand Prix quarterfinals in France.

Soccer

Chicago beats D.C. United: Chris Rolfe scored in the 14th minute as the host Chicago Fire beat D.C. United 1-0 in the Major League Soccer playoffs. The final game of the aggregate-goal series is Nov. 1 at RFK Stadium.

FIFA backs Brazil in 2014: FIFA inspectors recommended Brazil's bid to host the 2014 World Cup, saying the country is capable of staging an "exceptional" tournament.

Bayern wins: Bayern Munich beat Red Star Belgrade 3-2 on the opening night of the UEFA Cup group stage.

Cabrera selected as U-17 men's coach: U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati selected Wilmer Cabrera, a two-time World Cup player from Colombia, to be the coach of the U.S. Under-17 men's national team.

Track and field

Arkansas loses two titles, placed on probation: The NCAA vacated two of Arkansas' national championships and placed the school on three years' probation after investigating violations involving sprint star Tyson Gay and former assistant coach Lance Brauman. The Razorbacks' men's outdoors titles in 2004 and 2005 were taken away.

Bulgarian banned: Bulgarian middle-distance runner Teodora Kolarova was banned for two years for doping.

Skiing

Injured Miller could miss season-opening race: Bode Miller could miss the season-opening World Cup race because of a back injury.

The 2005 overall World Cup champion, who split with the U.S. ski team and went independent this season, hurt his back skiing earlier this month, said Miller's coach, John McBride.

The World Cup season starts this weekend in Soelden, Austria, with a women's giant slalom Saturday and a men's giant slalom Sunday.

NHL

Hasek out: Detroit Red Wings goalie Dominik Hasek will be out indefinitely with a sore hip, meaning former Seattle Thunderbird Chris Osgood will start tonight against San Jose.

Olympics

IOC won't move Beijing events: The International Olympic Committee ruled out shifting events away from Beijing during next year's Olympics due to the city's foul air, though it cited pollution as a major concern.

Boxing

U.S. flyweight wins: U.S. flyweight Rau'shee Warren took another step toward returning to the Olympics when he easily defeated 2004 Olympian Tulashboy Doniyorov of Uzbekistan in a 20-8 decision at the World Boxing Championships in Chicago.

Colleges

Florida State AD leaving: Florida State athletic director David Hart Jr. is leaving the school after a dozen years. Florida State president T.K. Wetherell told Hart, 58, last summer that his contract would not be renewed after its January 2009 completion.

Seattle Times news services