Federer, Nadal One Step Closer to Showdown in Dubai

Top-seeded Roger Federer moved into the semifinals of the Dubai (United Arab Emirates) Open with a 6-3, 6-2 win against Robin Vik yesterday.

A showdown between the top two players in the world became a possibility when second-seeded Rafael Nadal also advanced after ending wild-card Tim Henman 's run with a 7-6 (7-1), 6-1 victory.

Federer will meet Mikhail Youzhny in the semifinals after the Russian cruised to a 6-3, 6-1 win over Olivier Rochus of Belgium.

Nadal will be up against Rainer Schuettler of Germany, a 6-4, 6-1 winner over countryman Bjorn Phau , who knocked out Andre Agassi in the second round.

Federer, the three-time defending champion, looked rusty in the first two rounds after a one-month break from the game. He displayed better form against Vik, winning five of six break points.

The highlight of the match came early in the first set, with Federer facing two break points in the third game. But the seven-time Grand Slam champion served four aces in a row to lead 3-0.

"It is always nice to get your first serve going. I have done it [four aces in a row] once before against David Nalbandian in Australia in an even tighter situation as we were 5-5 and 15-40," Federer said. "I don't think I am still where I want to be, but it takes a few matches to get back the feel."

· MOTOR SPORTS: This time around, the cry "Caballeros arranquen sus motores," Spanish for "Gentlemen start your engines," might not sound so foreign.

A year after it held the first NASCAR race in Mexico City, the Busch Series is south of the border again, preparing for Sunday's second installment of the Telcel-Motorola 200 without many of the concerns about security and logistics some teams raised before taking on the 2.518-mile Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course here in 2005.

"We put a system in place for operations and logistics last year, when the task was on us to prove that this could work," said Robbie Weiss , NASCAR's managing director for international affairs. "Going into the second year, it's always easier after you've had a dry run and people have been through the race once."

Last year's winner in Mexico City, Martin Truex Jr. , isn't coming back, but 29 Busch Series regulars are expected to run, as are nine Mexican drivers, all of whom are familiar with Hermanos Rodriguez.

· SOCCER: German soccer fans are in shock 99 days before their nation hosts the World Cup, trying to comprehend a 4-1 exhibition loss to Italy. Ever-optimistic German Coach Juergen Klinsmann is not deterred by the stunning loss Wednesday in Florence. In fact, he says he'll make no roster changes for the next match -- a World Cup tuneup against the United States later this month.

"We fully believe in this team. All the players who were there last night will be called back for the match against the United States," Klinsmann told reporters in Frankfurt, Germany, after the team's return yesterday. "They will get the chance to make amends."

· BOXING: A former boxer who said he suffered permanent brain damage in a 2000 bout against Arturo Gatti is now suing, saying Gatti weighed too much for the fight.

Joey Gamache , 39, and his wife filed a lawsuit in federal court Feb. 21 alleging breach of contract over the Feb. 26, 2000 bout at Madison Square Garden. Gatti won the fight.

· CYCLING: Spain's Comunidad Valenciana cycling team won an invite to this year's Tour de France after being excluded from the past two races because of a drug scandal involving one of its riders.

-- From News Services