A return to form at Dubai

Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic succeeded where Roger Federer failed at the Dubai Tennis Championships in the United Arab Emirates.

They each advanced to the second round Tuesday, a day after the top-ranked Federer extended his losing streak to two in a row.

Roddick defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-2, 6-4. Nadal struggled to beat Philipp Kohlschreiber, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Djokovic, who defeated Federer at the Australian Open semifinals, defeated Marin Cilic, 6-4, 6-3.

Retired standout Martina Hingis will play exhibition matches in Liverpool in June, her first appearance on court since her two-year ban for a positive test for cocaine at last year’s Wimbledon.

Top-seeded Fernando Gonzalez evened his record against Dudi Sela with a 6-2, 7-6 (2) victory in the Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas.

Yan Zi of China knocked out eighth-seeded Maria Kirilenko, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, in the first round of the Bangalore Open in India.

PRO FOOTBALL

Duckett signs with the Seahawks

T.J. Duckett agreed to a five-year contract with the Seattle Seahawks. Duckett, who played for Detroit last season, has 2,642 career yards rushing and 36 touchdowns.

He previously played for the Redskins and Falcons, who selected him 18th in the 2002 draft after he ran for 3,379 yards at Michigan State.

Warren Sapp’s 13-year NFL career officially ended when his retirement was posted on the Oakland Raiders’ website. Sapp said immediately after last season that he was through playing but did not file the paperwork.

New England signed veteran cornerback Jason Webster. He has 393 tackles and 11 interceptions in 87 career games, 74 of them starts. He played in one game last season for Buffalo before injuring an arm.

Arizona bolstered its pass rush by signing defensive end Travis LaBoy to a five-year contract. LaBoy played four seasons with Tennessee.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Loyola, Pepperdine times announced

Loyola Marymount will play San Francisco at 6 p.m. and Pepperdine will play Portland at 8 p.m. Friday in the first round of the West Coast Conference men’s tournament at the University of San Diego.

Damin Lopez, a former Pepperdine guard, has been hired as an assistant by new Waves’ Coach Tom Asbury. Lopez, who was a point guard on Asbury-coached Pepperdine teams in the 1990s, has been associate head coach at St. Mary’s High in Phoenix.

Jeremy Pargo became the eighth consecutive Gonzaga player to receive West Coast Conference men’s player of the year honors, the league announced.

Gonzaga’s Mark Few and St. Mary’s Randy Bennett were co-coaches of the year.

MISCELLANY

Ban on boat launching at Casitas

The Casitas Municipal Water District voted 3-2 to impose a yearlong ban on the launching of private boats onto Lake Casitas in Ventura County, effective today.

The controversial decision, made despite pleas from anglers and area residents concerned about loss of tourism-related revenue, was made as an attempt to prevent the accidental introduction of invasive quagga mussels into the reservoir.

Lake Casitas, which supplies drinking water to Ventura, is one of the world’s premier largemouth fisheries. Rental boats on-site will remain available to anglers.

If the water district deems that appropriate safeguards have been made within a year, it will consider lifting the ban.

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-- Pete Thomas

Austrian skier Matthias Lanzinger’s lower left leg was amputated because of complications from two broken bones in a crash at a World Cup race. Lanzinger broke his shin and fibula Sunday during a super-G. The double fracture severely damaged blood vessels, hampering circulation in the 27-year-old skier’s leg.

Defending champion Lance Mackey was the first musher to leave the Nikolai checkpoint and took the lead in the Iditarod.

UCLA’s Tasha Schwikert will be inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame this summer.