My Sports News Digest

By MICHAEL CASEY, Sports Writer DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Top-ranked Novak Djokovic played hisfirst match since winning the Australian Open, shaking off the rust to beatCedrik-Marcel Stebe 6-4, 6-2 Monday in the first round of the Dubai TennisChampionships. Marko Djokovic- ranked 868 spots below his brother- had a less successfulday. The younger Djokovic, a wild-card entry into the tournament, was bounced inthe opening round with a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan. A few hours before his victory, Novak Djokovic was courtside for hisbrother’s match. < ![CDATA[ .can_ad_slug font-family:arial;font-size:11px;color:#999;text-decoration:none;background-image:url('http://l.yimg.com/d/lib/can_interstitial/icons/adchoice_1.4.png');background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:right;padding:0px 15px 0px 1px;margin:1px 0px 1px 0;cursor:hand;height:12px;display:block;line-height:12px;text-align:right; [...]

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By MICHAEL CASEY, Sports Writer DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Roger Federer suspects he knows why hehasn’t been able to add to his record 16 Grand Slam titles the last two years. The Swiss great last won a major championship at the 2010 Australian Open.He insists this has nothing to do with a declining game but “a bit ofconfidence not on my side and on my opponent’s side.” “I’ve had some tough losses over the past couple of years,” Federer said,without referring to any specific matches. Federer is ranked No. 3 and is joined in the field by No. 1 [...]

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By TERESA M. WALKER, Sports Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Canadian Milos Raonic needed only 75 minutes to beatBenjamin Becker of Germany 6-4, 6-4 Saturday in the semifinals of the RegionsMorgan Keegan Championships and reach his second final in as many weeks. Raonic won at San Jose last week and is 15-1 in match play this year. Ranked35th in the world, the ATP World Tour’s first multiple winner this season willtry to win his third title Sunday against Austrian Jurgen Melzer, a 6-4, 3-6,6-3 winner over No. 3 seed Radek Stepanek. “It’s a big thing, especially after the way I’ve been [...]

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Top-seeded David Ferrer of Spain beatFernando Gonzalez of Chile 6-2, 6-4 on Friday to advance to the Copa Clarosemifinals. Ferrer next plays David Nalbandian, who defeated fellow Argentine CarlosBerlocq 6-0, 6-3. Defending champion and second-seeded Nicolas Almagro of Spain also reachedthe final four with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Igor Andreev of Russia. Almagro’s semifinal opponent is No. 6 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, whodefeated No. 4 Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-4, 6-2. Ferrer broke Gonzalez in the ninth game of the second set, then served outto win the match. “It was a difficult match,” Ferrer said. [...]

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KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. – Venus Williams has received a wild card to playher first tournament since August at the Sony Ericsson Open next month. Williams hasn’t played singles since withdrawing after the opening round ofthe U.S. Open because of an autoimmune disease. She returned to competitivetennis earlier this month when she teamed with Liezel Huber for a doublesvictory that capped a Fed Cup shutout for the United States against Belarus. Williams won the Key Biscayne title in 1998, 1999 and 2001. She was afinalist in 2010 and missed the tournament last year. Fernando Gonzalez and David Nalbandian received men’s wild [...]

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By BARBARA SURK, Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Top-ranked Victoria Azarenka pulled out ofthe Dubai Tennis Championships on Wednesday because of a left ankle injury. The 22-year-old Azarenka said she will rest for two or three days, hopingthe ankle will heal. The Belarusian, who has won 17 straight matches so far thisseason, said she’ll take a break from tennis and go home to spend some time withher family. Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka… – Feb 19, 12:47 pm EST Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka… – Feb 19, 12:47 pm EST Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka… – Feb 19, 12:20 pm EST Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka… [...]

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MARSEILLE, France – Nikolay Davydenko had nine aces and didn’t face abreak point in a 6-1, 7-5 victory Tuesday over Andreas Beck of Germany to reachthe second round of the Open 13. Davydenko will face fourth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina for aplace in the quarterfinals. Fifth-seeded Richard Gasquet advanced with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Go Soeda.Gasquet next plays Russia’s Igor Kunitsyn, who beat Spain’s RobertoBautista-Agut 6-4, 6-4. In other first-round matches, France’s Nicolas Mahut and Albano Olivetti andRussia’s Igor Kunitsyn advanced in straight sets. David Goffin of Belgium led6-2, 1-0 against Adrian Mannarino when the Frenchman retired. [...]

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Two more players have pulled out theDubai Tennis Championships on the second day of the tournament that was hit by arush of withdrawals Monday. Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova withdrew due to illness. French Open winnerLi Na and Vera Zvonareva also pulled out Monday because of injury. On Tuesday, Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia retired with a hamstring injuryduring a match against Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic. Benesova wasleading 3-1 in the first set. Organizers say Maria Kirilenko of Russia pulled out of the tournament due toa neck injury. Kirilenko advanced to the second round Monday, [...]

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