Briefs | Tennis: Rafael Nadal loses in Qatar; Roger Federer moves on

Tennis

Nadal loses, Federer advances: Top-ranked Rafael Nadal was eliminated from the Qatar Open in Doha on Thursday, while Roger Federer advanced to the semifinals of the tuneup for the Australian Open.

Nadal lost to Gael Monfils of France 6-4, 6-4, and Federer saved three set points to defeat Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-2, 7-6 (8-6). The Swiss star trailed 5-1 and 6-3 in the tiebreaker, reeling off five straight points to win.

Federer will face Andy Murray, who defeated Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine 6-4, 6-2.

Monfils will play Andy Roddick in the semifinals. The eighth-ranked American defeated unseeded Victor Hanescu of Romania 6-3, 6-2.

Williams beats Jankovic: Venus Williams showed no signs of rustiness after a four-week break, defeating No. 1 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-2, 6-2 at an exhibition tournament in Hong Kong.

Russia, Slovakia in final: The Russian brother and sister combination of Dinara Safina and Marat Safin won the mixed doubles match against France 6-4, 6-3 to secure a place in the final against Slovakia at the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia.

Mauresmo wins: Former No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo upset top-seeded Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 6-2 in the Brisbane International quarterfinals in Australia, Mauresmo's first win over a top-10 player in two years.

Moya goes down: Former No. 1 and two-time champion Carlos Moya was stunned in the second round of the Chennai Open in India by unheralded local player Somdev Devvarman 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.

Dementieva beats Peer: Russia's Elena Dementieva beat Shahar Peer of Israel 6-3, 6-1 to reach the semifinals of the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand.

NBA

Roy may return Saturday: Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy could return from his hamstring injury as early as Saturday, when Portland hosts the Golden State Warriors.

The Blazers have gone 2-2 while their All-Star guard from Garfield High School in Seattle and the University of Washington has been injured.

Soccer

Gibbs, Goodson dropped from U.S. roster: Defenders Cory Gibbs and Clarence Goodson were dropped from the U.S. roster for a Jan. 24 exhibition game against Sweden. The pair were replaced by Jason Hernandez of the San Jose Earthquakes and Ugo Ihemelu of the Colorado Rapids.

Crew defender Hendrickson retires: Veteran Columbus Crew defender Ezra Hendrickson retired, ending a 14-year professional career that included three MLS Cup titles.

Motor sports

Al Attiyah disqualified; De Villiers leads Dakar: Dakar Rally leader Nasser Al Attiyah was disqualified for skipping part of the sixth stage he won Thursday.

Rally officials said Al Attiyah missed more than three hidden check points during a difficult route through the Andes foothills between San Rafael and Mendoza in Argentina. With Al Attiyah out, Giniel De Villiers was declared the winner of his second successive stage in 2 hours, 12 minutes, 33 seconds, and moved into the overall lead.

Marc Coma of Spain continued to lead the motorbike class in his KTM, widening his lead over Jonah Street of Ellensburg to 40:29.

GEM has merger agreement with Petty: Richard Petty's famed No. 43 Dodge was rescued from near ruin when Gillett Evernham Motorsports agreed to merge with Petty's slumping organization to create a new team. GEM had been in exclusive negotiations with Petty Enterprises to combine the two teams into one four-car organization, and an agreement in principle was announced Thursday.

The name of the new team was not released, but it's believed the parties are leaning toward rebranding the organization Richard Petty Motorsports to capitalize on the seven-time NASCAR champ's name.

NHL

Luongo returns to practice: Vancouver Canucks star goalie Roberto Luongo returned to workouts with his teammates. Luongo, sidelined 22 games by a groin injury, hopes to return before the Jan. 21-27 All-Star break.

Penguins sign Staal: The Pittsburgh Penguins ended any debate about whether they should re-sign Jordan Staal, locking up the 20-year-old center with a $16 million, four-year contract.

Track and field

Arkansas vacates two national titles: Arkansas is vacating two national championships after the NCAA clarified how many points the Razorbacks needed to forfeit from the 2004 and 2005 men's outdoor meets for violations involving sprint star Tyson Gay.

Figure skating

Back injury forces Belbin-Agosto out of nationals: Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, the Turin ice-dance silver medalists and five-time U.S. champions, withdrew from the coming U.S. championships because Agosto hasn't had enough time to practice after recovering from a back injury.

WNBA

Fever re-signs Bevilaqua: The Indiana Fever have re-signed point guard Tully Bevilaqua to a multiyear contract. The 2009 season will be Bevilaqua's 11th in the WNBA and her fifth with Indiana. The native of Australia also played on Seattle's 2004 title team.

Skiing

Randall, Freeman claim wins: Local favorite Kikkan Randall won the women's 1.2-kilometer sprint to close out the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships in Anchorage, Alaska.

Kris Freeman took the men's competition in a championship event that featured four days of canceled races because of subzero temperatures.

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