Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — TENNIS

Murray, Federer advance

Roger Federer and Andy Murray easily secured spots in the semifinals of the ATP World TourFinals on Thursday with straight-sets victories in their last round-robin matches in London. Federer continued his dominance over Robin Soderling, beating the Swede 7-6 (5) 6-3 to earn top spot in Group B of the seasonending tournament. Murray followed up by recovering from a shaky start to beat David Ferrer 6-2, 6-2 to hand the Spaniard his third consecutive loss in the group phase. Their semifinal opponents will be decided today, when the last round-robin matches in Group A are played. Federer won his third consecutive group match and improved his career record against Soderling to 15-1, with his only loss to the Swede coming in this year’s French Open quarterfinals. Federer broke for a 5-3 lead in the second set, hitting a backhand passing shot that Soderling could only return into the net. The second-ranked Swiss then set up match point with a drop shot and converted it when Soderling hit his return into the net.The two traded breaks once in the first set before Federer took control of the tiebreaker by earning a minibreak with a forehand winner after a long rally, and followed it up with two consecutive aces for a 5-2 lead. He converted his second set point with a lunging onehanded backhand that Soderling let sail past him thinking it would be long, only to see it land in the far corner of the court. Federer’s victory meant Murray only had to win a set to clinch second place in the group. He took care of that in 31 minutes, recovering from going down 2-0 in the first set by playing nearly perfect tennis in winning the next seven games to take control of the match. His only stumble came after breaking Ferrer for the fourth consecutive time to go up 1-0 in the second set. He was broken atlove in the next game, shanking a forehand so badly on break point that the ball hit one of the big video boards hanging over the court. But Ferrer seemed unable to muster up much energy knowing that he had already been eliminated, and Murray broke twice more for a 5-2 lead. He sealed the victory with an easy forehand winner at the net on his first match point. In the doubles competition, top-ranked Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States reached the semifinals by beating Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic and Leander Paes of India 6-3, 6-4. They were joined by Polish duo Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski, who won Group A after beating Jurgen Melzer of Austria and Philipp Petzschner of Germany 6-3, 7-6 (7).

Two-time defending champion Serena Williams has withdrawn from the Australian Open because of a foot injury. Tournament director Craig Tiley released a statement Thursday saying Williams had pulled out of the Hopman Cup international mixed teams competition in Perth and the Australian Open in January. It is the second consecutive Grand Slam tournament Williams will miss, and the loss of 2,000 rankings points could cost the 29-year-old star her place in the top 10. Williams has played only one exhibition match since winning Wimbledon in July. She had surgery after cutting her foot on broken glass at a restaurant following her victory at the All England Club. She returned to practice in September, but twice put off her comeback, missing the U.S. Open, the season-ending WTA tournament, the Fed Cup and a handful of tour events. She said she had additional surgery last month and couldn’t risk returning before the injury had properly healed. Williams has won the Australian Openfive times.

GOLF Kaymer closer to title

Martin Kaymer got the best of Graeme McDowell in their battle for the European money title Thursday, shooting a 5-underpar 67 to take a five-shot lead overhis rival after the first round of the Dubai (Unitied Arab Emirates) World Championship. Kaymer was two strokes behind leader Robert Karlsson, whose 65 matches last year’s lowest opening round. The 41-year-old Swede held a one-shot lead over 19-year-old South Korean Noh Seung-yul. Several players, including No. 1 Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia, were at 3 under. The 25-year-old Kaymer’s only challenger for the Order of Merit title is Northern Ireland’s McDowell, who struggled for much of the day on his way to a 72. McDowell bogeyed the ninth, 11th and 12th holes before steadying his game with two late birdies. Kaymer can claim the money title and a $1.5 million bonus by finishing higher than McDowell. McDowell can overtake the German by winning the tournament or ending up alone in second, as long as Kaymer finishes no higher than a tie for third. If McDowell is tied for second, Kaymer could afford to finish as low as sixth.

HOCKEY Rypien on leave

The Vancouver Canucks have granted forward Rick Rypien an indefinite leave of absence. It’s the second time in three years the 26-year-old has left the team to deal with undisclosed personal matters. Earlier in the season, Rypien got a six-game suspension from the NHL after grabbing a fan on his way to the dressing room in Minnesota. Rypien has been a healthy scratch the last three games, and has one assist and 31 penalty minutes in nine games this season. Rypien, the cousin of former NFL quarterback Mark Rypien, also took a extended unexplained personal leave after a rash of injuries two years ago, missing 70 games during the 2008-09 season.

BASEBALL Matsui returns to Japan

Kazuo Matsui has returned to Japan and joined the Rakuten Eagles after spending seven seasons in the major leagues. The Eagles said Thursday they reached an agreement with the 35-year-old infielder,who played for the New York Mets, Colorado Rockies and Houston Astros from 2004-10. The switchhitting Matsui was waived by the Astros in May and finished the year in the minors. Matsui, who helped the Rockies reach the 2007 World Series, batted .267 with 615 hits and 102 stolen bases in the majors. He played in only 27 games for Houston this season, hitting .141.

BASKETBALL

Grizzlies center charged Police say Hamed Haddadi of the Memphis Grizzlies and his girlfriend have been charged with assault following an altercation between the two. Memphis police were called Thursday morning to a downtown apartment building and found Haddadi, a backup center from Iran, and his girlfriend with bruises and scratches. The arrest report says a disagreement turned physical, and both Haddadi and Goolnaz “Asal” Karbalaeinematmoeeney were taken to the Regional Medical Center for treatment. Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace said in astatement that the team is aware of the incident and withheld comment while it gathered facts. Haddadi has played in only four of the Grizzlies’ first 15 games.

HORSE RACING Endless Circle wins

Endless Circle rallied to beat Jack On the Rocks by 2 lengths Thursday in the $100,000 Fall Highweight Handicap at Aqueduct in New York. Fifth in the early stages, Endless Circle closed down the center of the track for his 11th win in 25 starts. A 6-year-old bred in New York, Endless Circle was ridden by Edgar Prado for trainer Rudy Rodriguez. The time was 1:09.79 for the 6 furlongs. Go Go Shoot, one of the early pace factors, stumbled and fell in midstretch. The horse quickly bounced up and galloped off, apparently unhurt. Jockey John Velazquez walked off the track. Endless Circle paid $11.60, $6.50 and $4.60. Jack On the Rocks returned $5.60 and $2.90. Wildcat Frankie paid $3.60 to show.