Top-ranked Roger Federer cruised to a 6-3, 6-4 win over Benjamin Becker on Saturday to advance to his first Japan Open final. Federer barely broke a sweat in Saturday’s match and was never seriously challenged by the 14th-seeded German, who beat Andre Agassi at the U.S. Open last month to send the eight-time Grand Slam winner into retirement.

Top-ranked Amelie Mauresmo withdrew from the Porsche Grand Prix on Thursday because of a right shoulder injury. The Frenchwoman pulled out shortly before she was to play her first match of the tournament against Michaella Krajicek in the second round. Lisa Raymond has taken Mauresmo’s place in the draw as the highest-ranked loser in qualifying.

Top-ranked Roger Federer cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 win over defending champion Wesley Moodie on Thursday to advance to the Japan Open quarterfinals. Federer established control early, breaking Moodie to go up 4-2 in the first set and slamming five aces before beating the 13th-seeded South African in only 52 minutes.

Third-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia overcame cramps and unforced errors to beat Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 and reach the quarterfinals of the Porsche Grand Prix on Wednesday. Also gaining the quarterfinals was second-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, the former U.S. Open champion who swept past German wild-card Martina Muller 6-1, 6-4.

Marat Safin needed less than an hour to oust Mikhail Youzhny 6-1, 6-4 Wednesday in the first round of the Open de Moselle. Safin, who told French sports daily L’Equipe he will retire in 2010, gave Youzhny no break points. The pair led Russia into the Davis Cup final with a 3-2 win over the United States last month.

Maria Sharapova will play for Russia against Spain in the first round of next year’s Fed Cup, the first time she has played for her nation in the top team event of women’s tennis. Sharapova, who won the U.S. Open last month and Wimbledon in 2004, said on her Web site Tuesday she will be available for the matchup in Moscow on April 21-22.

Kim Clijsters hopes to return to the WTA Tour at the end of month because her injured wrist is healing faster than expected. The fifth-ranked Belgian initially planned to return at the Oct. 30-Nov. 5 Gaz de France tournament in her home city of Hasselt. Now Clijsters may play at the Generali Ladies Linz event in Austria a week earlier.

Patrick McEnroe received a two-year contract extension Monday to stay on as captain of the U.S. Davis Cup team, charged with ending the country’s longest title drought since the competition began in 1900. If McEnroe does remain in the job through 2008, he would tie Tom Gorman (1986-93) for the longest tenure as U.S.