Nadal, Federer vie for jackpot again

Roger Federer and three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal will meet in the Monte Carlo Masters final for the third straight year. Federer advanced from his semifinal yesterday after third-seeded Novak Djokovic retired while trailing, 6-3, 3-2. Nadal beat Nikolay Davydenko, 6-3, 6-2, to reach his fourth straight final at the clay-court tournament. Nadal leads Federer, 8-6 overall and 6-1 on clay. Djokovic, who complained of dizziness and a sore throat, retired after losing his serve in the fifth game of the second . . . Two Russian stars easily won singles matches against a depleted United States team in Moscow to take a 2-0 lead in the Fed Cup semifinal. Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Ahsha Rolle, 6-2, 6-1, and Anna Chakvetadze defeated Vania King, 6-4, 7-5, on indoor clay. In the other semifinal, Spain took a 2-0 lead over China in Beijing.

Detroit Pistons forward Antonio McDyess returned to Detroit and had surgery to repair the broken nose he suffered in Game 3 of their playoff series with Philadelphia Friday night. Pistons coach Flip Saunders said McDyess's availability for tonight's Game 4 would depend on how he felt after surgery . . . The Washington Wizards expect to have Gilbert Arenas (bruised knee) in the starting lineup today for Game 4 against Cleveland . . . UCLA point guard Darren Collison, projected as a probable first-round pick in the NBA draft, will return to the Bruins for his senior season . . . North Carolina sixth man Danny Green declared for the NBA draft but will not hire an agent, leaving open the possibility of returning to the Tar Heels . . . Playing with only four or five players who are likely to return for the Olympics in August, the US women were upset by China, 84-81, in Beijing . . . The US men were drawn into Group B with China, Spain, and Angola at the Beijing Olympics. The two other teams to fill out the group will come from a qualifying tournament . . . International basketball will look more like the NBA after two major rule changes take effect. The 3-point line will move back and the three-second area will change shape starting in 2010, the sport's world governing body announced.

Johnny Dawkins, a longtime assistant at Duke, was hired as Stanford's men's coach. Dawkins replaces Pac-10 Coach of the Year Trent Johnson, who left for LSU earlier this month. The 44-year-old Dawkins was an All-American at Duke and has been on the coaching staff there since the 1997-98 season . . . University of Memphis coach John Calipari signed a contract extension through the 2012-13 season that includes an annual raise of $500,000 and a $5 million bonus if he stays through the end of the contract. Calipari's new contract will pay him $2.35 million per year . . . Tennessee filed more than 30 pages of documents with the Southeastern Conference in 2006 complaining of the recruiting practices of Connecticut's women's program.

After a series sweep of Manchester that required three overtime games, the Providence Bruins left nothing to chance in Game 1 of the AHL Atlantic Division finals against the visiting Portland Pirates. Pascal Pelletier's fourth goal of the playoffs gave Providence the lead, and Tuukka Rask stopped 28 shots as the P-Bruins rolled, 4-0.

Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Nomar Garciaparra, who returned last week from a broken hand, suffered a strained left calf against Colorado Friday and was placed on the disabled list for the second time this season . . . Cleveland Indians starter Jake Westbrook is expected to miss at least one month with a muscle strain in his lower back . . . Milwaukee Brewer Ben Sheets threw in the bullpen for the first time since leaving a game last week with tightness in his right triceps and might start Tuesday . . . In soccer, Michael Ballack scored twice as Chelsea beat Manchester United, 2-1, leaving the teams tied on points atop the Premier League with two games to go. United keeps the lead because of a much better goal difference . . . Less than a week after her historic first IndyCar victory, Danica Patrick qualified third for the IRL race at Kansas Speedway. She'll start behind Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon . . . Zsolt Erdei pounded out a one-sided decision against DeAndrey Abron in Dresden, Germany, to retain his World Boxing Organization light heavyweight title.

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