TENNIS

Out since September due to heart condition, Fish ready for return to tournament play

American tennis player Mardy Fish, a former top-10 player, hopes to put together a full tournament schedule after he ends a six-month absence brought on by a heart condition.

Fish wrote on his Twitter feed this week that the hard-court tournament at Indian Wells, Calif., in early March will be the first official event of his return. He hasn’t played a competitive match since September, when he withdrew from the U.S. Open on doctor’s advice.

DUBAI CHAMPIONSHIPS: Defending champion Roger Federer eased into the quarterfinals at Dubai, UAE, with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Marcel Granollers of Spain.

Federer, ranked No. 2, was joined by Juan Martin del Potro and Tomas Berdych, who also won in straight sets.

MALAYSIAN OPEN: Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki lost to 186th-ranked Wang Qiang 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-1 in the first round at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The former No. 1 player attributed the result to a loss of energy and focus in the second set.

DELRAY BEACH: Rain postponed most of the singles matches at the International Tennis Championships in Florida.

SOCCER

FRANCE: David Beckham made his first start for Paris Saint-Germain, which advanced to the French Cup quarterfinals with a 2-0 win over rival Marseille at Paris.

He played until the 86th minute in the match, leaving three minutes after receiving a yellow card for a confrontation and argument with Jordan Ayew.

ITALY: FIFA banned 74 more officials and players from world soccer for helping fix matches, this time in Italy and South Korea.

Prosecutors in Cremona, Bari and Napoli have pieced together a conspiracy they believe was organized from Singapore to bet on rigged Italian soccer games.

FIGURE SKATING

JUNIOR WORLDS: Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin’s perfect season is almost complete after the Russians won the short dance at the junior world figure skating championships at Milan.

U.S. junior champions Alexandra Aldridge and Daniel Eaton (56.89) are third heading into Friday’s free dance.

In pairs competition, Americans Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier are in third place.

BASKETBALL

WNBA: The New York Liberty traded center Kia Vaughn to the Washington Mystics in a deal for the seventh pick in the draft. The 6-foot-4 Vaughn, the eighth pick in 2009 out of Rutgers, averaged 5.9 points and 4.0 rebounds in 129 games over four seasons with the Liberty.

— From staff and news services