Briefs | Williams sisters advance in Florida tournament

Tennis

Serena Williams to face top-ranked Henin: American Serena Williams often succeeds at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., where she has won four titles and is back in the quarterfinals. She beat Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-3, 6-3 Monday and today will play top-ranked Justine Henin of Belgium, renewing one of the better rivalries in the women's game.

Williams has lost in her last three meetings with Henin — last year at the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

"We definitely bring out some of the best tennis in each other," Williams said. "And she tends to play really well against me — probably better against me than other opponents."

It is a rematch of last year's Key Biscayne final, which Henin lost after Williams erased two championship points.

Today's winner might meet three-time champion Venus Williams in the semifinals. The American advanced by beating 17-year-old Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 6-3, 6-3 and will play Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals.

American Lindsay Davenport lost to Russian Dinara Safina 6-3, 6-4.

In men's play, top-ranked Roger Federer of Switzerland reached the fourth round when Robin Soderling of Sweden retired from the match because of illness while trailing 6-4, 3-0.

Love match for Roddick: Sixth-ranked Andy Roddick, 25, announced he is engaged to model Brooklyn Decker, 20. No wedding date has been set.

"I think I lost half my fan base today," Roddick said.

Soccer

Mexico manager Sanchez is fired: Hugo Sanchez was fired as Mexico's manager, two weeks after the country's under-23 men's team was eliminated from Olympic qualifying. Jesus Ramirez is the interim manager.

Solo on U.S. roster: Goalkeeper Hope Solo, a former Washington Huskies standout from Richland, is among 20 women on the U.S. roster chosen by coach Pia Sundhage for the Olympic qualifying tournament, which starts Friday in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

Olympics

USOC agrees to stay for next 25 years: The U.S. Olympic Committee will keep its headquarters and training center in Colorado Springs for the next 25 years.

The Colorado city and the governing body agreed to a $53 million deal. The USOC had been considering options to relocate because of aging facilities.

Golf

Lonard earns Masters berth: Peter Lonard of Australia was added to the Masters field after reaching the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He moved from 72nd to 46th by finishing second to Andres Romero on Sunday in the PGA Tour's Zurich Classic in Avondale, La.

The Masters starts April 10 in Augusta, Ga. At least 93 players are expected to compete.

Swimming

Australian D'Arcy charged with assault: Swimmer Nick D'Arcy was charged with assault in connection with a nightclub fight that happened several hours after he earned a berth on Australia's Olympic team. He was granted bail and is to appear in court April 21. Police said the charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Simon Cowley, a three-time gold medalist at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, suffered a broken jaw and broken nose in the incident.

Horse racing

Injury knocks Georgie Boy off Kentucky Derby trail: Georgie Boy is off the Kentucky Derby trail because he pulled a muscle in his back.

The gelding, who was to race in Saturday's $750,000 Santa Anita Derby in Arcadia, Calif., will not require surgery, trainer Kathy Walsh said.

Walsh, 68, won four training titles in the 1970s at Longacres in Renton.

NHL

Montreal's Koivu to miss rest of regular season: Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu has a broken bone in his left foot and will miss the team's last three regular-season games.

Figure skating

Hamill honored: Dorothy Hamill, 1976 Olympic gold medalist, skated across Wollman Rink in New York's Central Park — site of her first competition 42 years ago — and also was honored during a charity benefit for the Figure Skating in Harlem organization.

Hamill, 51, is undergoing treatment for breast cancer. She didn't go into detail about her illness but said, "I feel great."

Seattle Times news services