Davydenko beats 5th-seeded Simon in Valencia

VALENCIA, Spain (AP) -Nikolay Davydenko beat fifth-seeded Gilles Simon 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 on Monday in the first round of the Valencia Open, denting the Frenchman's hopes of qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals. Davydenko mostly controlled the match at the City of Arts and Sciences despite dropping the second set, but the 36th-ranked Russian rallied in the decisive set with a forehand winner for a break point and 2-1 lead. Davydenko saved a break point through a drop shot in the sixth game before breaking Simon for the fourth time in the match to secure a second victory in seven meetings against the 12th-ranked Simon. Simon trails eighth-ranked American Mardy Fish by 720 points with only the Paris Masters to play before the season-ending tour finals in London. Only the top eight qualify for the Nov. 20-27 tournament in London. Davydenko will next face French player Nicolas Mahut, who ousted Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-6 (5), 6-2. In Monday's late match, Vasek Pospisil of Canada needed more than two hours to beat John Isner of the United States 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (9). Isner bounced back from a shaky first set to hit nine of his 19 aces in the second, but Pospisil outlasted the hard-serving American in the third-set tiebreaker. Italian player Fabio Fognini also advanced to the second round with a 6-4, 6-3 win over wild card Daniel Gimeno-Traver. Defending champion David Ferrer is seeded No. 1 in Valencia, and begins his defense on Tuesday against fellow Spanish player Fernando Verdasco. French players Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils are also in first-round action at the Agora complex on Tuesday.

Safin running for parliament

CHENGDU, China - Former top-ranked tennis player Marat Safin says he's running for the Russian parliament. The 31-year-old Safin is up for election to the State Duma on Dec. 4. He could join other Russian sports stars, including gold medal-winning gymnast Svetlana Khorkina, in the lower house of the parliament. Speaking at an ATP Champions Tour event in Chengdu, Safin says he has "a lot to bring and a lot of ideas about things and what to do. I am very committed to it." Safin adds he might be the "best-looking guy in the Duma, but that's only because all the other guys are over 60."

Top-seeds Tsonga, Del Potro into semis in Vienna

VIENNA (AP) -Top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga overcame an error-prone start to beat Xavier Malisse 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 on Friday and reach his eighth semifinal of the season at the Erste Bank Open. Tsonga will play qualifier Daniel Brands of Germany, while No. 2 Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina and No. 6 Kevin Anderson of South Africa will meet in the other semifinal. The ninth-ranked Tsonga, who is chasing a place at next month's ATP finals, was broken in the opening game and produced a string of unusual mistakes before the Frenchman finally found his rhythm toward the end of the second set. "I lost concentration but tried to stay calm," Tsonga said. "I tried my best and did what was most important - fighting and winning." Tsonga earned his first break points early in the third set and immediately used one for his only break of the Belgian's serve in the match. Earlier Friday, Anderson defeated two-time defending champion Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-3, 6-3. Anderson, who is ranked 32nd, served 11 aces and broke the third-seeded Melzer three times. "I have to admit that the better player won today," said Melzer, who did not get a break point. "I had no idea where he was going to serve. We had maybe five rallies in the whole match so I could not find any rhythm." Anderson, who won his maiden title in his native Johannesburg in February, will play his third semifinal of the season. The 15th-ranked Del Potro beat Tommy Haas of Germany 6-2, 6-4 to reach his first semifinal since winning his ninth career title in Estoril, Portugal, in April. "My form is slowly coming back, it's getting better every day," said Del Potro, who conceded just seven points on serve in the entire match. "I am serving better now than in 2009 but I am still working on my game." Del Potro said that beating the experienced Haas, who won the event in 2001, was "important for my confidence ... The Davis Cup (final against Spain) is on my mind every day but the important thing now is this tournament and the next match." Brands beat Belgium's Steve Darcis 6-3, 6-4 to reach his first semifinal of the season. The German double-faulted on match point and then was broken while leading 5-2 but closed out the match in his next service game.

Bogomolov Jr. advances at St. Petersburg Open

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) -Alex Bogomolov Jr. of the United States and Marin Cilic of Croatia both won three-set matches to advance to the quarterfinals of the St. Petersburg Open on Thursday, while eighth-seeded local favorite Dmitry Tursunov was eliminated in straight sets in the second round. The seventh-seeded Bogomolov Jr. beat Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, while fourth-seeded Cilic rallied to oust Somdev Devvarman of India 5-7, 6-1, 6-3. Tursunov lost to Potito Starace of Italy 6-2, 6-4. In his second consecutive quarterfinal appearance in two weeks, Bogomolov Jr. will play Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic, who recovered to beat Israeli wildcard Dudi Sela 2-6, 6-2, 6-1. Later, second-seeded Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia, who won his second career title in Moscow last Sunday, advanced to the quarterfinals of the event for the third time after Michael Berrer of Germany retired with an illness when trailing 6-3, 2-0. "I knew it was going to be a tricky match because Berrer is a very good indoor player," Tipsarevic said. "It's never nice to win this way but I feel that even though it was 6-3, I did a lot of running in the first set." Tipsarevic will next play Starace. The 53rd-ranked Starace broke Tursunov two times in the first set and in the fifth game of the second. Tursunov saved three match points at 5-4 before earning his only break point of the match, but the Italian served two winners and closed the match with a backhand volley. "He (Starace) served well today while I rarely hit (the ball) with the center of my racket," Tursunov said. "I started to play more or less only at the end of the match when I've realized that it was time to go out of the court. The way I've played today, I could have lost not only to him." The 84th-ranked Devvarman broke in the 11th game of the first set, but the 24th-ranked Cilic, who is looking for his first title this season, won five consecutive games in the second set and broke twice in the decider to advance. Cilic will next face Andreas Seppi of Italy who rallied to beat Igor Andreev of Russia 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. Bogomolov Jr. is making his debut at a second consecutive event in Russia after reaching the quarterfinals at the Kremlin Cup last week. He said earlier this week that he plans to represent Russia in the Davis Cup. Kohlschreiber won three games in a row and saved a match point as he fought back from 5-2 down to level at 5-all. But serving at 6-5 down and 30-all, the unseeded German returned wide and then double faulted on match point. "It was a good match," Bogomolov Jr. said. "He (Kohlschreiber) was playing much better by the end of the match. He received perfectly when I was serving for the match at 5-3 up and broke me. I was lucky when he double faulted on second match point. I'm happy that I will play in the next round."

Cibulkova wins first WTA title

MOSCOW - Top-seeded Janko Tipsarevic beat defending champion Viktor Troicki 6-4, 6-2 in the first all-Serb ATP final to win the Kremlin Cup on Sunday, and Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia won her first career WTA title, rallying to beat Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 3-6, 7-6 (1), 7-5 for the women's crown. Tipsarevic, who won his first career title in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, this season, broke Troicki twice in the second set and served for the match at love. Not waiting for Tipsarevic to come to the net to shake hands, Troicki jumped over the net and embraced his friend. Later they broke tradition and held a joint news conference. "This is like at the Davis Cup," Tipsarevic said. Both players said it was not easy to face each other in a final. "It was pretty strange at the beginning," Troicki said. "It was first all-Serb final on ATP or WTA tours. We both tried to play our best tennis, but Janko was much better today and he deserved to win. We were friends before and will stay friends after the match." Tipsarevic also struggled to find his focus against his countryman. "It was tough, especially at the beginning of the match," Tipsarevic said. "None of us was really hitting the ball — we were running and just pushing the ball back to the other guy. I was more mentally strong on important moments in the first set, which was really tight, and then I showed my real game in the second set." The eighth-seeded Cibulkova is the first women's player to win a maiden title in Moscow since the tournament started in 1994. The 20th-ranked Slovak had advanced to the final in three previous tournaments — including last week in Linz, Austria, where she lost to Petra Kvitova. "This is the first time I've won my title, this is kind of my premiere," Cibulkova said. "I've played great tennis through the whole of the week." Kanepi broke Cibulkova in the fourth game of the first set to go 4-1 up and was close to breaking her again at 5-all in the second to serve for the match, but she smashed a volley wide in front of an empty court. The Slovak then dominated the tiebreaker to stay in the match. She broke decisively in the 11th game of the third set and sealed the win on her first match point when Kanepi returned wide. "I was just playing too defensive in the first set," Cibulkova said. "In the second set I said, 'Hey, come on, you have nothing to lose.' And I started to go more on forehand and to be more aggressive and that's why I won." Cibulkova upset top-seeded local favorite Vera Zvonareva in the second round. The 43rd-ranked Kanepi was making her debut at the event and beat two seeded players — 2009 champion Francesca Schiavone and two-time Grand Slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova — to reach her first final this season. She won her first title in Palermo, Italy, last season. "Definitely I'm disappointed but I'm staying positive about my game," Kanepi said.

Azarenka wins Luxembourg Open

LUXEMBOURG (AP) -Top-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus won the Luxembourg Open on Sunday, beating unheralded Monica Niculescu of Romania 6-2, 6-2. The No. 3-ranked Azarenka won the tournament without losing a set all week, and had no problems against a player who was in her first WTA Tour final. It was the 22-year-old Azarenka's eighth career title. The 34th-ranked Niculescu has spent most of her career on the ITF circuit but is enjoying her best month ever.

WTA expresses condolences over Turkey quake

ISTANBUL (AP) -Players at the WTA Championships in Istanbul lent their support Monday to those affected by Turkey's devastating earthquake. Sunday's quake happened in eastern Turkey, far from the tournament location in the west. Women's Tennis Association officials briefed the eight elite players on the 7.2-magnitude quake near the border with Iran. About 270 people were confirmed dead by Monday afternoon, and the toll was expected to rise. Second-ranked Maria Sharapova said she was saddened by the news, adding that she has received many phone calls and e-mails expressing concern. "I think it gives us an opportunity to sit down and say, 'We're very, very lucky and fortunate to be doing what we're doing,"' Sharapova said. "These things that happen around the world, you just never know where it can happen. I mean, this was only a few hours from here." Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki arrived in Istanbul on Thursday and said she wanted to pass along condolences on behalf of all the players. "All our thoughts are with everyone affected, and of course it's never nice when something like this happens," said Wozniacki, whose profile in Turkey has risen since she signed a commercial deal with a Turkish airline last year. "I definitely got a few messages yesterday and just asking if everything was OK, and if we're all OK here." The season-ending WTA Championships is being held at the Sinan Erdem Arena in Istanbul, which will host the $5 million event through 2013. It starts on Tuesday and the final will be played on Sunday. Qatar hosted the tournament for the last three years. At the draw ceremony on Sunday, CEO Stacey Allaster spoke on behalf of players and tennis officials. "We will do whatever we can to support the people of Turkey in some small way through the power of sport," Allaster said.

Wozniacki, Sharapova headline WTA Championships

ISTANBUL - Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki and three-time major winner Maria Sharapova lead two round-robin groups for the WTA Championships this week as Turkey's biggest city hosts the event for the first time. Wozniacki is joined in the red group by Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, Vera Zvonareva and Agnieszka Radwanska. Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, French Open champion Li Na and U.S. Open winner Samantha Stosur are in the white group. Each player meets the other three players in their group, and the top two in each pool move into the semifinals. The final is on Sunday.

Falconi, McHale may be next American tennis stars

GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) - American tennis players Irina Falconi and Christina McHale will be playing for medals at the Pan American Games on Friday, and it might not be long before they'll be contending at a Grand Slam. The promising duo already made an impression at this year's U.S. Open, making it to the third round, and their game has been improving at such a pace that they might soon become the next stars in American tennis. "They are certainly part of the future of American women's tennis," U.S. coach Tom Gullikson said. "They've really had a breakout year. They've played a lot of matches and competed well. They really elevated their game." Falconi defeated 192nd-ranked Florencia Molinero of Argentina 6-3, 6-4 Thursday to reach the final in Guadalajara, while McHale was upset by 264th-ranked Monica Puig of Puerto Rico 7-6 (2), 6-4 in the semifinals and will play for the bronze. Both matches are Friday. McHale was the tournament's top seeded player, while Falconi was No. 2. The duo will also play for the gold in the doubles final. "I'm super thrilled to have an opportunity to get two gold medals for my country," Falconi said. "This is huge for me." Against Puig, McHale was angered with an apparent missed call that went against her when she was down 4-2 in the tiebreaker, but wasn't blaming the loss on that. "I definitely think it was an important call but I'm not going to say that's the reason why I lost," McHale said. "She served very well and I didn't serve very well." A couple of double-faults late in the game also were costly to McHale. "It happens. It's part of the game. Nothing I can do now," she said. "We have doubles now. We are going to get ready and hopefully we are going to get the gold." The 19-year-old McHale is ranked No. 42, the second-highest rank for an American behind No. 14 Serena Williams. The 21-year-old Falconi is fourth among U.S. players at No. 77. The youngsters are having the best year of their careers, and both are thrilled with their chances of continuing to improve and becoming top contenders next season. "We've gained a lot of experience," McHale said. "I think next year we can continue with that and hopefully the results will come. As long we keep working hard, it will happen." Falconi said this season has been a "huge step from last year," and she wants to keep her momentum going. "By this time next year, if I'm top 40 in the world, top 50 in the world, it means we defended all of our points that we got this year," Falconi said. "It would be really impressive." McHale defeated No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki in Cincinnati in August, and at the U.S. Open she beat ninth-ranked Marion Bartoli of France in the second round before losing to 29th-ranked Maria Kirilenko of Russia in the third. She said she feels she has what it takes to start contending for titles more often. "I don't set ranking goals, but obviously I want to continue doing well at the Grand Slams and the bigger tournaments," McHale said. "Playing more and more matches on the tour, getting the experience, will help a lot." Gullikson said McHale already knows what she needs to improve on to reach the next level. "One of the things she can probably do better is moving forward and maybe taking a few more balls on the rise," Gullikson said. "Maybe finishing a few more points at the net. "To win titles you have to win five, six matches in a row. Right now she is winning two or three matches a week, which is great, but every match you win, the next opponent is going to be a little bit tougher, ranked higher, more experienced, so it's hard to string five or six together in a row. It comes with time, with discipline." McHale is from Teaneck, N.J., but her family moved to Hong Kong when she was 3 years old because of her father's job. She stayed there until she was 8, and it's where she began playing tennis. Falconi, who lives in Georgia but was born in Portoviejo, Ecuador, moved from 1,054th in the world in 2006 to 217th at the end of last year. Her highest ranking was 73rd, earlier this year. In the second round of the U.S. Open, Falconi had her biggest career victory, rallying to beat 15th-ranked Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia on center court. She then lost to 18th-ranked Sabine Lisicki in the third round. It was only her second U.S. Open appearance. "She is never going to overpower anybody," Gullikson said. "So she's got to outplay, outcompete and outsmart everybody. She's done a great job getting to where she is right now, and she's done that relatively quickly. She just needs to play against the big players in the big venues like she did at the U.S. Open. "Against Cibulkova, on center court, a lot of players would just freeze up like a deer in the headlights, but she embraced the moment." Her goal for next year is to make the Olympic team for the 2012 London Games. In the long term, all she can think about is becoming the No. 1 player in the world. "Why not?" Falconi asked. --- Follow Tales Azzoni at http://twitter.com/tazzoni

Zvonareva upset, Bartoli withdraws at Kremlin Cup

MOSCOW (AP) -Dominika Cibulkova advanced to her second straight semifinal Friday, rallying to upset top-seeded Vera Zvonareva of Russia 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Kremlin Cup. In later quarterfinals, Kaia Kanepi upset sixth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-2 to set up a semifinal clash with Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic, who ousted another Russian, Vera Dushevina, 6-4, 6-4. Earlier, Marion Bartoli of France withdrew from the quarterfinals with an illness, handing Agnieszka Radwanska a spot in the season-ending WTA finals. In the men's quarterfinals, defending champion Viktor Troicki of Serbia rallied from 4-love down in the third set and prevailed in a tiebreaker to eliminate Alex Bogomolov Jr. of the United States 7-6 (6), 6-7 (1), 7-6 (1), while three-time winner here Nikolay Davydenko advanced to the semifinals with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Michael Berrer of Germany. Kanepi won four consecutive games to go a set up in the match. In the second set, the 43rd-ranked Estonian endured eight deuces on her serve in the sixth game, which lasted for 12 minutes. She then fought off five break points and went on to win. "I fought my best today, but I didn't attack her," said Kuznetsova. "This is not my game and I understood it but couldn't change it." Kanepi, who is making her debut at the event, agreed with the two-time Grand Slam winner. "Normally a player can play attacking tennis when the other allows him," Kanepi said. Safarova, at No. 8 the only seeded player to survive into the semis in the women's draw, broke Dushevina decisively in the third game of the second set. Cibulkova, who was runner-up in Linz, Austria, last week, played with her right leg bandaged after she aggravated a knee injury in the previous match. Both players took medical timeouts in the third set - Zvonareva to treat her shoulder and Cibulkova to have her leg massaged and retaped. The 20th-ranked Slovak rallied from 5-3 down in the second set to break the fifth-ranked Zvonareva in the 10th game and stay in the match. Cibulkova said she lost the first set because she was not aggressive enough on her second serve. "In the second set I just said, OK, come on, you have to play 100 percent and also to go for second serve. And you have nothing to lose. And it just paid off," Cibulkova said. Serving in the tenth game of the third set, the Russian raced to 40-love up but could not finish and finally returned wide and long to lose the game and the match. "You cannot go 50-50, you should decide at the right time," Zvonareva said. "Maybe I should have retired, because I'm to play next week in Istanbul and then be back here for the Fed Cup." Zvonareva said that she had played a good match but because of the pain in her shoulder caused by an old injury and concerns about her upcoming matches she could maintain concentration. The third-seeded Bartoli, who has not dropped a set in six matches, was scheduled to play Elena Vesnina of Russia in the first quarterfinal but pulled out because of a viral illness. "I think just my whole body needed a break," Bartoli said. "I really was trying till the end but yesterday during my match I already felt not very good. "I still have a bit of energy left, so it was enough (to play), but early this morning I had so much pain in my whole body, on my neck - I couldn't even warm up," she said. Vesnina said it was the first time she had advanced by a walkover at this stage of a tournament. "It's really sad when you are not feeling good, not very healthy," Vesnina said. "I saw her match yesterday, and she was playing really well." The 64th-ranked Russian will play Cibulkova in the semifinals. Bartoli won her seventh career title in Osaka last weekend and needed to win the title in Moscow to secure the last open spot for next week's WTA Championships in Istanbul. With Bartoli's withdrawal, Radwanska qualifies directly for the event for the first time, despite losing in the second round in Moscow. She was a substitute in 2008 and 2009. Bartoli will travel to Istanbul and will be the first alternate. In early men's quarterfinals, the 133rd-ranked Jeremy Chardy of France landed 11 aces to beat Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-4, 6-3 and make it to the semifinals for the first time since winning his maiden title in Stuttgart, Germany in July 2009.

Top tennis agent Meyerson dies at 48

Tennis agent Ken Meyerson, who represented Grand Slam winners Andy Roddick, Chris Evert and Justine Henin, has died. He was 48. Meyerson died Wednesday night at his home in Florida, according to a statement by his agency, Lagardere Unlimited. The cause of death was not immediately known. Meyerson had been president of Lagardere's tennis division since 2009. "Ken was a very hard worker and was always determined to do his best, both for his clients and for the company," agency chairman Arnaud Lagardere said in the statement. "His clients were his extended family and there was nothing he wouldn't, or couldn't, accomplish on their behalf. Ken is, and will remain, an inspiration to all of our agents." Before joining Lagardere, Meyerson was president of BEST Tennis from 2006-09. During a nearly 25-year career in tennis that began in 1987, Meyerson also worked with ProServ, one of the earliest sports management firms, and the SFX Sports Group. As news of his death spread, Meyerson was being honored by a number of agents and players, including American players Mardy Fish and John Isner. Roddick tweeted: "I love you and miss you. I will be forever grateful for your faith & loyalty. You will forever be my brother. As always `thanks Meyerson."' Meyerson is survived by his wife, Claudia, and daughters Charlotte and Emily. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Nalbandian advances at Swedish Open

STOCKHOLM (AP) -David Nalbandian dropped the first set before going on to beat Xavier Malisse of Belgium 4-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (3) in the first round of the Stockholm Open on Tuesday. The Argentine will next face Ivan Dodig of Croatia, who beat Adrian Mannarino of France 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5). South Africa's Kevin Anderson also needed tiebreakers to win against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-6 (1), 7-6 (4), and will face German veteran Tommy Haas in the second round. Jarkko Nieminen, who reached the final of the competition in 2009, beat Romania's Marcus Copil 6-3, 7-6 (4) to set up a second round match-up with Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland.

Kvitova beats Cibulkova to win Generali Ladies

LINZ, Austria - Top-seeded Petra Kvitova beat Dominika Cibulkova 6-4, 6-1 on Sunday to win the Generali Ladies for her first title since Wimbledon in June. The fourth-ranked Kvitova had struggled since winning her first major at the All England Club, but she found her form while denying the seventh-seeded Slovak her first WTA Tour title. Kvitova broke Cibulkova's serve six times to win her fifth title of the season — and sixth overall — in just under 90 minutes. "This was a great preparation for (the WTA Championships in) Istanbul," said Kvitova, who was a late entry into the Linz tournament. Only top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki's six wins this season tops Kvitova, who improved to 4-0 against Cibulkova. "I am just working on my tennis to get better and better," Kvitova said. Kvitova broke Cibulkova in the opening game and again with the first set tied at four games apiece. She eased through the second set to become the first Czech winner since Jana Novotna in 1998, who also won Wimbledon that same year. Cibulkova was appearing in her first final since Montreal in 2008 and dropped to 0-3 in WTA finals. "It was a great week for me," she said. "It feels good that I finally got into a final again." No. 23 Cibulkova and 16th-ranked Peng Shuai are the only players in the top 30 without a WTA title.

Djokovic to finish year at No. 1 after Nadal loss

LONDON - Novak Djokovic will finish the year as the top-ranked player in the world. The ATP says the Serb clinched the year-end top spot after No. 2 Rafael Nadal lost in the third round at the Shanghai Masters on Thursday. Nadal's loss to Florian Mayer ensured that Djokovic cannot be overtaken before the end of the year. The 24-year-old Djokovic becomes the first player other than Roger Federer or Nadal to finish a year as No. 1 since Andy Roddick of the United States in 2003. Djokovic has been No. 1 since winning Wimbledon in July. He's won 10 titles this year, including his second Australian Open and first U.S. Open.

Nadal to skip Queen's next year due to tax laws

SHANGHAI - Rafael Nadal says he will not play the traditional Wimbledon warmup event at Queen's Club next year, citing stringent British tax laws. Nadal says he can "lose money" when he plays at a tournament in Britain because of the tax laws. But the No. 2-ranked Spaniard says he will play Wimbledon and next month's ATP World Tour finals in London. Overseas athletes are taxed on prize money and appearance fees in Britain, and also on a proportion of their worldwide endorsement earnings. Instead of playing at Queen's next year, Nadal decided to accept an invitation to enter the grass-court tournament held the same week in Halle, Germany. Nadal has played at Queen's in five of the past six years, winning in 2008. He missed the 2009 tournament because of a knee injury.

Kvitova, Jankovic reach semifinals in Austria

LINZ, Austria - Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova eased past Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 6-2, 6-2 Friday to reach her seventh semifinal of the season at the Generali Ladies. The top-seeded Kvitova will play Jelena Jankovic for a place in Sunday's final. The third-seeded Serb defeated Russian qualifier Evgeniya Rodina 6-2, 6-4. Kvitova, a winner of four events this season and ranked a career-high fourth, took a 4-0 lead against Hantuchova. "I have enjoyed every match so far here and I am starting to play really well," Kvitova said. "That's important with (the WTA Championships in) Istanbul and the Fed Cup (final) coming up." Jankovic trailed 1-2 in the opening set against Rodina before winning seven straight games. Jankovic, seeking her first title of the season, lost serve once in the second set but broke again at 4-4 and closed out the victory with a love game. Also, Dominika Cibulkova rallied to beat Anastasia Rodionova 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-1 to reach her third WTA semifinal of the season. Cibulkova will play Lucie Safarova, who defeated Sorana Cirstea 7-5, 6-2.

Nadal falls to Mayer in Shanghai Masters

SHANGHAI (AP) -Rafael Nadal was ousted in the third round of the Shanghai Masters by Germany's Florian Mayer, 7-6 (5), 6-3. The 15th-seeded German ran down a drop shot and flicked it past Nadal at the net to break the top-seeded Spaniard for the second time and win the match. Nadal lost in the third round in Shanghai for the second straight year. Last year, he fell to Austria's Jurgen Melzer, just a few weeks after winning his first U.S. Open title. It's only the second time in 16 tournaments this year that Nadal has failed to make the quarterfinals. He fell in the second round of the Canadian Open to Croatia's Ivan Dodig in August.

Serena to open 2012 season at Brisbane

BRISBANE, Australia - Serena Williams will open her 2012 season for the first time at the Brisbane International tournament, a warmup for the Australian Open. Both U.S. Open finalists will be in the field for the event that begins Jan. 1. Samantha Stosur, who was already confirmed for the tournament, defeated Williams 6-2, 6-3 to earn her first Grand Slam title. "I've never been to Brisbane (but I've) heard great things about it," Williams said in a statement. The Brisbane International has been elevated to WTA Premier level tournament. Williams has five Australian Open titles among her 13 Grand Slam wins. "It's brand new so all that is going to be really exciting and it will help me with my seeding going into the Australian Open too, so that would be good," she said. Former top-ranked players Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters and Ana Ivanovic also are in the field. Clijsters, the reigning Australian Open champion, will be returning to the WTA Tour after being sidelined by a torn abdominal muscle that prevented her defending her U.S. Open title.

Players' meeting not imminent

SHANGHAI - Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal have cast doubt on whether the top men's tennis players will be able to sit down with each another this week, or perhaps anytime soon, to discuss their grievances with the ATP Tour. Murray and Nadal have been among the most vocal in advocating changes to the packed tennis calendar. Murray said last month the top players would meet during the Shanghai Masters this week to discuss the best way to present their concerns to tour officials, adding that a strike was not out of the question. On Tuesday, however, he said the players would try to get together by the end of the year, though he acknowledged that this may also be difficult to organize. Nadal also said "it's not the right time to talk about that."

Sampras wins CTCA Championships

SURPRISE, Ariz. - Pete Sampras won the CTCA Championships for his third Champions Series victory of the year, beating Jim Courier 8-7 (4) on Saturday night. Sampras increased his lead in the series standings to 300 points over Courier after six of 12 events. Sampras advanced to the final with a 6-3 victory over Michael Chang, while Courier topped Mats Wilander 6-3 in the first semifinal.

Top-ranked Djokovic pulls out of Shanghai Masters

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) -Top-ranked Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the Shanghai Masters because of a back muscle injury, further delaying his return to competition. Djokovic says he has not yet recovered from the injury he sustained in winning the U.S. Open and which he aggravated while playing for Serbia in the Davis Cup semifinals against Argentina. Djokovic says "I did another check this week and the results are not good. I need to continue my rehabilitation." The tournament in Shanghai starts Monday. Djokovic has already pulled out of the China Open in Beijing.

Berdych, Cilic in China Open final

BEIJING - Tomas Berdych upset top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 Saturday to set up a China Open final against Marin Cilic. In the women's draw, Agnieszka Radwanska will be seeking her second title in two weeks when she takes on Andrea Petkovic in Sunday's final. Tsonga had looked to reach consecutive finals, after winning the Moselle Open last month, but the Frenchman's baseline drives too often went long against Berdych. Despite taking the second set, he seemed to lose focus in the third as Berdych broke him twice to set up the win. "The chance was here. I'm happy to take this chance to be in the final," said the third-seeded Berdych, who progressed to his first final of the season. A win on Sunday would be a major boost toward the Czech's hopes of securing one of four remaining spots at the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London. "This match could really change my season from a good season to a really good season," Berdych said. Cilic for his part continued his recent run of good form with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Ivan Ljubicic. The two big-hitting Croats combined for 22 aces. Winning against the player who beat him in the first round at Wimbledon was a confidence boost, he said. "That means a lot, that I can beat those guys and my tennis is at a good level and on a level that's high enough to play against those guys and beat them," Cilic said. Radwanska, the winner of last week's Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, beat Flavia Pennetta 6-2, 6-4, to improve her career record against the Italian to 3-1. Petkovic downed Monica Niculescu 6-2, 6-0. The Polish player has won her four previous meetings with Petkovic, including twice this year. But Radwanska said she wasn't expecting an easy time on Sunday. "It's always very tough and very tight against Andrea," the 11th-seeded Radwanska said. "She's playing very well, very consistent. I think I'll have to play even better than today to beat her tomorrow." Petkovic said she drew confidence from her increasingly steady performances, having reached the quarterfinals at each of this year's Australian, French and U.S. Opens. The win marked her first victory in three meetings with Niculescu. "I was really satisfied with the intensity and the focus I managed to have with each and every point, and I think that made the difference today," she said.

Brother: Ex- No. 1 Dinara Safina retires

MOSCOW - Marat Safin says former top-ranked tennis player Dinara Safina, his younger sister, has retired from tennis. Safin told the Russian sports agency R-Sport that the 25-year-old Safina considers her decision "as a next step in her life." Safin is a two-time Grand Slam tournament winner now retired. Safina turned pro in 2001 and won 12 titles on the WTA Tour. She first became No. 1 on April 20, 2009, and spent 26 weeks at the top of the rankings. She injured her back early in 2010 and dropped out of top 20 by the end of the year. In May, Safina took an indefinite break from tennis in hopes of recovering from chronic back pain.

Tsonga, Wozniacki into quarterfinals at China Open

BEIJING (AP) -Top-seeded players Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Caroline Wozniacki both advanced to the quarterfinals at the China Open on Thursday. Tsonga beat Chinese qualifier Zheng Ze 6-3, 6-4 and Wozniacki defeated Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-3, 7-6 (3). "It was not easy today, and I'm happy to win, of course, even if I was supposed to win," Tsonga said. The Frenchman, who won a tournament at home in Metz last month, is competing for one of the four remaining spots at the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London. In the next round, he will face Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, who beat Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-4. "I think he's a great player," Ferrero said of Tsonga. "He's in a good shape. He's been playing very good tennis most of the season on the hard courts, and of course he's one of the favorites to win the tournament." Also in Friday's quarterfinals, Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic will face Fernando Verdasco of Spain, Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia will meet Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, and Kevin Anderson of South Africa will play Marin Cilic of Croatia. In the women's tournament, Wozniacki rebounded from last week's loss to Kanepi at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. "I knew it was going to be a tough match," the top-ranked Dane said. "I'm really happy to get this win and get my revenge." Wozniacki will next face Flavia Pennetta of Italy, who defeated Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Also, second-seeded Victoria Azarenka pulled out of the tournament because of a right foot injury, giving 13th-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia a walkover win. Azarenka, who lost in doubles on Wednesday, said her foot has been bothering her since Tokyo. "I'm not sure about recovery time but I will consult my doctor," the fourth-ranked Azarenka said. In other quarterfinal matches, Pavlyuchenkova will face Andrea Petkovic of Germany and Monica Niculescu of Romania will take on Maria Kirilenko of Russia.

Banned Serb tennis player denies match-fixing

BELGRADE, Serbia - The Serbian tennis player who received a life ban for attempting to fix matches denied the accusations and said Tuesday he will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The Tennis Integrity Unit found 659th-ranked David Savic guilty Saturday and fined him $100,000 for three violations of the sport's international anti-corruption program. The 26-year-old Savic said in a written statement that he was set up by a "current top player" who told the TIU that Savic asked him to fix a match in exchange for money. "That is an absolute lie," Savic said. In the statement, Savic said that he was friends with the unidentified top player during their junior days, and that he has not spoken or contacted him in the past 11 years. He said that he could not reveal the name of the player because a judge ordered the TIU ruling be kept confidential. "I was obviously chosen as a scapegoat," Savic said. "Without any concrete evidence, I became a drastic example for other players." Savic is the second tennis player to get a lifetime ban. In May, Austrian player Daniel Koellerer was banned for match-fixing. Savic reached a career best 363rd in the rankings in 2009 and never played above the challenger circuit. The anti-corruption hearing was held on Sept. 12 in London and details will not be made public, the TIU said. The TIU has been set up on behalf of the International Tennis Federation and the ATP and WTA Tours. Koellerer, a former Davis Cup player who once ranked 55th, is fighting his ban that resulted from violations between October 2009 and July 2010. Five Italians were among lower-ranked players sanctioned by the ATP in recent years for betting on matches — receiving suspensions ranging from six weeks to nine months between 2007-08. French player Mathieu Montcourt also was banned for two months in 2008. Russian player Nikolay Davydenko was cleared in 2008 of any wrongdoing following an investigation by the ATP into suspicious betting patterns surrounding his match against 87th-ranked Martin Vassallo Arguello the previous year.

Tsonga, Wozniacki advance at China Open in Beijing

BEIJING - Top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki advanced Tuesday at the China Open. Tsonga reached the second round by edging Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 7-6 (7), 7-5, and Wozniacki cruised past Jarmila Gajdosova of Australia 6-2, 6-3. Tsonga finished the match with nine aces and improved to 3-0 against Dimitrov. He will face Chinese qualifier Zhang Ze, who beat Li Zhe 6-1, 6-3. "I didn't move really well, didn't hit the ball really good, but I was on the court with my head," said the seventh-ranked Frenchman, who won his first career match in Beijing in 2004. "The China Open is the story of my life." Wozniacki was never threatened against Gajdosova, who committed eight double-faults and had 19 unforced errors. The Dane will meet Kaia Kanepi, who defeated Wozniacki last week in the third round of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. "The next match is a new match and we both start at zero-zero," Wozniacki said. "I go out there and find out what I have and hopefully it will be enough." Third-seeded Vera Zvonareva of Russia defeated Klara Zakopalova 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, and Maria Kirilenko of Russia stopped U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur 7-5, 1-6, 7-5. "I got more aggressive in the third set," said Zvonareva, who will face unseeded Ana Ivanovic. "I wasn't waiting for her to make mistakes any more and started playing my game." Also advancing were Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Flavia Pennetta, Virginie Razzano, Marion Bartoli and Carla Suarez Navarro. Other winners on the men's side included Albert Montanes, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Mikhail Youzhny, Fabio Fognini, Marcel Granollers, Ivan Ljubicic and Thomas Berdych.

Radwanska beats Zvonareva in Pan Pacific final

TOKYO - Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska overpowered Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday to win the Pan Pacific Open for her second title of the year. The ninth-seeded Radwanska was down 2-0 at Ariake Colosseum but stormed back to win the first set on the back of Zvonareva's 22 unforced errors. "I was a little bit nervous at first," Radwanska said. "Those first two games went by so fast, I was just trying to do my best. I'm just happy that I woke up quickly and won the first set." Zvonareva overcame a 5-1 deficit against Petra Kvitova on Friday in the semifinals, but couldn't stage another turnaround in the final. Radwanska broke Zvonareva twice to take a 5-2 lead. Zvonareva held to win the eighth game but Radwanska closed out the first set with a forehand to the corner that Zvonareva hit long. The fourth-seeded Russian struggled with her serve, double faulting five times. She broke Radwanska to win the sixth game of the second set to make it 4-2, but any chance of a comeback was dashed when Radwanska broke back in the next game. "I felt like I started out well and then something happened," Zvonareva said. "It was not me on the court anymore. I will think about it and try to figure out what happened but it's one of those things that can happen to anyone." Radwanska won her first singles title in three years when she beat Zvonareva in Carlsbad, Calif., in August. The Polish star also beat the Russian player in the third round at the Rogers Cup in Toronto the week after Carlsbad. With the tournament victory, Radwanska still has a chance to reach the WTA Championships in Turkey. "Before here, I didn't have really big chances because I was around 14th," Radwanska said. "I just knew that I had to play really well here and in Beijing just to have a chance. Now, for sure my chances are much bigger to go so I will fight to the end." The top eight singles players qualify for the WTA Championships. Radwanska is projected to move up to 12th in the rankings after her victory. In the doubles final, Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond of the United States beat Italy's Flavia Pennetta and Argentina's Gisela Dulko 7-6 (4), 0-6, 10-6.

Murray denies Young first title

BANGKOK - Fourth-ranked Andy Murray claimed his 19th career title in beating American Donald Young 6-2, 6-0 in the final of the Thailand Open on Sunday. The top-seeded Briton was in complete control throughout the 48-minute match, exploiting the lack of experience and unforced errors from his 55th-ranked opponent. Young was playing in his first tour final. Murray opened the match at Impact Arena by jumping out to a double break lead of 4-0. Young finally got on the board to make it 5-1 but lost the first set when Murray hit an overhead smash winner. The second set featured more one-way traffic with Murray extending his advantage, while his American opponent's game was marred by unforced errors, winning only three from 27 points in the set. "I just played really well," Murray said. "Towards the end of the first set, he started playing well. But after that I hardly made any mistakes. I felt like I was moving well. It was difficult for him to hit any clean winners. He had to work hard for a lot of points." Despite the one-sided score, Young was pleased to have reached the final. "I had been in the semi before or reached the fourth round in a Grand Slam but nothing was like being in the final. I beat some high-caliber players. I won four matches," Young said. The 22-year-old American credited Murray with setting the tempo of the match. "He played well as you saw. I couldn't do much. It showed in the score," Young said. "Great playing from him. I was unable to play my best. I couldn't play my game while he successfully did that. He took me out of my game." In the doubles final, Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan and Oliver Marach of Austria beat Germans Michael Kolhmann and Alexander Waske 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5).

Dokic reunites with father after 8 years

MELBOURNE, Australia - Australian tennis player Jelena Dokic says she has reconciled with her father and former coach, Damir, after an eight-year rift. Dokic, 28, who was ranked as high as No. 4 as a teenager during her peak, split with her father after a series of embarrassing public indiscretions. She went on to accuse him of years of humiliation and abuse as her coach. In a statement released Wednesday, Jelena Dokic visited Damir in Serbia "to finally put an end to our disagreement." She said her father was very receptive to the meeting and "I believe he has changed greatly. He understands that I am my own person who makes my own decisions."