Indian Wells, California  - On-fire American Andy Roddick dismissed Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-2 to send the defending champion out in the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Masters on Friday.

The 68-minute rout improved Roddick's best start of his career. He stands 23-3 after playing in his fifth quarter from as many events in 2009.

Djokovic, who won Dubai last month but crashed to a pair of Davis Cup defeats a week later in Spain, was humbled in a little over an hour. Roddick ended each set with a break as the Serb lost serve four times.

Miami  - Russians Maria Sharapova and Nikolay Davydenko both withdrew on Friday from next week's Miami Masters with injuries as the American hard court season moves to its second major event of the month.

Sharapova, who underwent shoulder surgery last October, tried and failed to test her shoulder with doubles last week at Indian Wells, California, losing in the first round with partner Elena Vesnina.

Her return to the WTA now looks to be put back to Rome on clay in May.

Indian Wells, California  - On-fire American Andy Roddick dismissed Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-2 to send the defending champion out in the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Masters on Friday.

The 68-minute rout improved Roddick's best start of his career. He stands 23-3 after playing in his fifth quarter from as many events in 2009.

Djokovic, who won Dubai last month but crashed to a pair of Davis Cup defeats a week later in Spain, was humbled in a little over an hour. Roddick ended each set with a break as the Serb lost serve four times.

Planica, Slovenia  - Gregor Schlierenzauer claimed a record 13th season victory and broke the 2,000-points barrier in the ski-jumping World Cup when he led the way on the world's largest flying hill.

The Austrian Schlierenzauer soared 203 metres in a wind-marred competition which saw only one round of jumping due to the difficult conditions, pipping Poland's Adam Malysz for first place.

Bremen - International Torsten Frings will miss Werder Bremen's Bundesliga match against Borussia Dortmund on the weekend and seems likely to have to withdraw from the Germany squad for the World Cup qualifiers on March 28 and April 1.

The midfielder has an ankle injury that will force him to miss the game against Dortmund and makes him doubtful for the games against Liechtenstein in Leipzig and in Cardiff against Wales.

Falun, Sweden - Claudia Nystad and Axel Teichmann won the prologue races for Germany at the cross-country skiing World Cup finals on Friday.

Nystad won the women's freestyle race over 2.5 kilometres in 7 minutes 12.5 seconds from Sweden's Charlotte Kalla (2.7 seconds behind) and two-time world champion Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland (3.0 seconds).