Briefs | Tennis: Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic withdraw from event

Tennis

Top-ranked Jankovic advances despite losing: Serena Williams and Ana Ivanovic withdrew from the WTA Tour's season-ending event Friday, and top-ranked Jelena Jankovic advanced despite losing 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Vera Zvonareva in Doha, Qatar.

Zvonareva and Jankovic each advanced to the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Championships because of winning records in the round-robin stage of the eight-player tournament.

Zvonareva plays Elena Dementieva and Jankovic faces Venus Williams today.

Serena Williams pulled out with a stomach injury before her match against Dementieva, handing the Russian a spot in the final four. Ivanovic withdrew from her match against Svetlana Kuznetsova because of a virus.

"I did feel pain last night," U.S. Open champion Williams said. "I was still in pain just getting out of bed."

Williams lost to her sister, Venus, 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 Thursday.

Serena Williams bristled and pointed a finger at a journalist who suggested she should have played Friday despite her injury.

"I should make you work out ... for, like, 22 years and make you have a severe stomach strain, and then tell you to play for the sponsors," she said. "You should try it."

Boxing

Garden party: American Roy Jones Jr. claims he has been seeing Joe Calzaghe punching in his sleep.

That shouldn't be a surprise. The undefeated champion from Wales is known for his tremendous work rate, often throwing more than 100 punches in a round. He is usually moving forward, pressuring his opponent.

"He started punching yesterday," Jones said. "I've been ducking and dodging in my sleep. I know he's punching already. I ain't tripping about that, because that's what he does.

"But we'll have to see Saturday night what we're going to do about that."

Their light-heavyweight fight tonight at Madison Square Garden in New York might be coming several years too late, but the 36-year-old Calzaghe (45-0) and the 39-year-old Jones (52-4), himself an eight-time world champion, insist their skills haven't dulled.

Each weighed in half a pound under the 175-pound limit. Tickets are reportedly selling slowly for the bout.

"I'm feeling better than ever," Jones said, "When you look in your mirror and see how cute you are still at almost age 40 and say, 'Wow, I still look good,' and then when you walk down the street and 19-year-old girls say, 'Hey, can I get your phone number?' Nah, I ain't lost it yet."

Warren intends to become three-time Olympian: Flyweight Rau'shee Warren of Cincinnati has decided to stay in the amateur ranks for four more years in an attempt to become the first three-time Olympian in U.S. history.

The 21-year-old Warren, a three-time national champion, was the first two-time Olympic fighter for the United States in 30 years; he lost his opening bout at the Beijing Games.

Soccer

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road ... and Watford: Music icon Elton John resigned as life president of Watford because he is unhappy with how the League Championship team is being run.

John confirmed his resignation in a letter to chairman Graham Simpson, under whose watch the team has slipped from the English Premier League to 21st in the second tier and lost promising young manager Adrian Boothroyd. Boothroyd is John's friend.

Hockey

Sweden beats Canada in Four Nations Cup: Elin Holmlov scored two power-play goals to help Sweden beat Canada for the first time in women's hockey, 2-1 in overtime, in the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Canada already had earned a spot in Sunday's final against the United States, which beat Finland 4-1.

Jenny Potter, Natalie Darwitz, Julie Chu and Meghan Duggan scored for the United States.

Ex-Thunderbird Parrish is a Star for Dallas: Mark Parrish, a former Seattle Thunderbird who played for the Minnesota Wild the past two seasons, made his first game for the Dallas Stars memorable. Parrish had a hat trick — the sixth of his NHL career — to lead Dallas to a 5-2 victory over host Anaheim.

Parrish, 31, signed a one-year deal with the Stars on Wednesday.

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