Davydenko’s bid sidetracked by a foot injury

Perhaps complicating his bid to reach the season-ending Masters Cup, top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko retired because of a foot injury while leading, 6-2, 3-3, Wednesday against Weslie Moodie at the St. Petersburg Open in Russia.

Davydenko had called a trainer for treatment at 2-3 in the second set.

Davydenko, who leads a group of players seeking the last four spots in the eight-player tournament in Shanghai, will need to reach the quarterfinals at Paris next week to advance.

Fourth-seeded Tommy Haas defeated Nenad Zimonjic, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-2. Max Mirnyi upset sixth-seeded Dmitry Tursunov, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, and fifth-seeded Jarkko Nieminen retired because of a foot injury while trailing Potito Starace, 7-5, 3-2.

Third-ranked David Nalbandian moved closer to making the Masters Cup by beating Roko Karanusic, 6-2, 6-4, at the Swiss Indoors in Basel, Switzerland.

Nalbandian needs to reach the final this week to secure one of the last four berths in Shanghai. Last year, he upset Roger Federer at the event.

Defending champion Fernando Gonzalez, also vying for a spot in the Masters Cup, edged Simone Bolelli, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3).

Robby Ginepri needed five match points to overcome Gilles Simon, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5), in the first round of the Lyon Grand Prix in France.

Defending champion Nadia Petrova beat Shahar Peer, 6-1, 6-1, in the second round of the Generali Ladies tournament in Linz, Austria.

PRO BASKETBALL

Stern sets timetable for Brown ruling

NBA Commissioner David Stern said he expects to rule on coach Larry Brown’s grievance with the New York Knicks sometime during the second week of the regular season.

The Knicks refused to pay the remainder of Brown’s $50-million plus contract after firing him one year into a five-year deal.

The New Orleans Hornets picked up an option on point guard Chris Paul’s contract, keeping the reigning rookie of the year with the Hornets for at least two more seasons.

New Jersey Nets rookie guard Hassan Adams was acquitted of drunken driving in Tucson. Adams, who played at Arizona and was a second-round draft pick of the Nets, was arrested March 5.

CYCLING

Shorter races considered in fight against doping

Reducing the length of major races such as the Tour de France could be one way to help the fight against doping in cycling, said Alain Rumpf, manager of the Pro Tour, after meeting with members of the International Assn. of Professional Cycling Teams in Paris.

Critics suggest the torturous nature of the three-week race could encourage riders to use performance-enhancing drugs.

Tinkoff Credit Systems, a new Italian-Russian cycling team, said it has made a contract offer to rider Tyler Hamilton, 35, who recently completed a two-year doping ban.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Colorado coach abruptly announces departure

Colorado Coach Ricardo Patton, who had been pursuing a contract extension, announced that he is resigning as men’s coach after this season.

Patton said he informed his players but hadn’t told Athletic Director Mike Bohn before notifying reporters at media day.

“This came as a big surprise to me. I’m also disappointed, we’ve had weekly meetings that have been constructive and positive,” Bohn said.

Patton is 177-140 in 10 seasons at Colorado, including two NCAA tournament berths.

Bill Walker, a 6-foot-6 forward who teamed with O.J. Mayo to win two consecutive state championships at North College Hill High in Cincinnati, has been admitted to Kansas State, the school said.

Walker, a senior ruled ineligible for the 2006-07 high school season after completing the maximum eight semesters of eligibility, has close ties with Kansas State Coach Bob Huggins.

Freshman Hasheem Thabeet, a 7-foot-3 center from Tanzania, is expected to start for Connecticut this season after the NCAA declared him eligible.

Corey Brewer, Al Horford and Joakim Noah of national champion Florida and Arron Afflalo and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute of national runner-up UCLA are among the top 50 preseason candidates for the John R. Wooden All-American team.

MISCELLANY

Monarchs’ Whisenant quits as coach, still GM

John Whisenant resigned as coach of the Sacramento Monarchs, but will remain the WNBA franchise’s general manager.

Whisenant led the Monarchs to the 2005 title. He was 95-52 and never missed the playoffs.

Former Cavaliers forward Bobby “Bingo” Smith, 60, was arrested in Cleveland on a year-old felony warrant accusing him of owing $15,000 in child support.