Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- No. 1-seeded Novak Djokovic dropped the first set Friday but rebounded and advanced to the finals of the $2.23 million Dubai Tennis Championships.

Djokovic survived a tight match with third-seeded Gilles Simon for a 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory in Friday's semifinals. Djokovic won 114 points in the match while Simon piled up 113.

Djokovic suffered just two broken service games in the match, the first of which
cost him the first set. He ended the match by breaking Simon's serve for the third time in the match, which took nearly three hours in the intense heat in the United Arab Emirates.

Fourth-seeded David Ferrer had an easier time in his semifinal, taking out Richard Gasquet, 6-2, 6-2, in 1 hour, 15 minutes. Ferrer took 57 percent of the points in the match and broke Gasquet's serve four times while holding each of his eight service games.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- Top-seeded Novak Djokovic used a strong start Thursday to roll to a straight-set win in the quarterfinals of the $2.23 million Dubai Tennis Championships.

Three of the top four seeds in the tournament advanced to Friday's semifinals.

Only second-seeded Andy Murray, who withdrew Thursday because of a viral illness, failed to move on, giving Richard Gasquet a walkover victory.

Djokovic, who wasn't very sharp in his first two Dubai matches, won the points on his first 14 serves en route to a 6-3, 6-4 win over fifth-seeded Marin Cilic.

Djokovic ended up winning 69 percent of his service points and didn't suffer a service break in the match.

Third-seeded Gilles Simon advanced with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 win over Fabrice Santoro and earned a semifinal berth against Djokovic. They have split their two previous ATP meetings, with both going three sets.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- Venus Williams won a third-set tiebreaker Friday, upsetting her top-ranked sister Serena in the semifinals of the $2 million Dubai Tennis Championships.

Venus Williams, ranked sixth in the world, dominated the first set but Serena was strong in the second before the match evened out in the third set. Venus was able to get an advantage early in the third-set tiebreaker and claim a 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3) win.

The match was the 19th time the Williams sisters played each other in WTA action, with the win giving Venus a 10-9 series advantage.

Venus didn't lose a point on serve in taking the first set but took just 52 percent of the points on serve in the second. The third set was tight throughout, with Venus winning four more total points in the set -- the difference in the tiebreaker -- to claim the win.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- An Islamic scholar in Saudi Arabia said using ethanol or other alcohol-derived fuels in vehicles may be a sin for Muslims.

Sheik Mohamed al-Najimi of the Saudi Islamic Jurisprudence Academy told Saudi newspaper Shams that the prophet Mohammed banned alcohol for all uses -- including buying, selling, carrying and manufacturing, Al-Arabiya reported Friday.

Najimi said Muslims who use biofuel, which is made from fermented plants, in their cars are violating the ban since the substance "is basically made up of alcohol."

The cleric, who said his statements represented only his personal opinion and not an official fatwa, called for further study of the issue by Islamic religious bodies.

Copyright 2009 by Unit

Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- Women's tennis officials say they're "deeply disappointed" over the United Arab Emirates' decision to bar an Israeli player from the country.

UAE officials refused to grant a visa to Shahar Peer, who was seeking to compete in the Sony Ericsson World Tennis Association Tour's stop in Dubai, which began Sunday, CNN reported.

"We are deeply disappointed by the decision of the United Arab Emirates denying Shahar Peer a visa that would permit her to enter the country to play in the Dubai Tennis Championships," said Larry Scott, chairman and chief executive of the tour. "Ms. Peer has earned the right to play in the tournament and it is regrettable that the UAE is denying her this right."
Had she been allowed in, Peer would have been the first Israeli athlete to participate in a professional sporting event in the UAE, CNN reported.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates) -- Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy won the Dubai Desert Classic, squandering a five-shot lead along the way to his first European Tour tournament crown.

During Sunday's final round at the fog-plagued event, the 19-year-old McIlroy shot 2-under-par 70 to finish with a 72-hole total of 19-under 269, one stroke better than South Africa native Justin Rose (67).

World No. 7 Henrik Stenson (67) of Sweden took third place at 17-under 271.
The third round was completed on Sunday morning, when McIlroy supplanted clubhouse leader Thomas Levet of France.

"You see guys coming down the stretch with a four-or-five-shot lead, and you think it's easy, but it's not," McIlroy told reporters after becoming the seventh-youngest winner in European Tour history. "You still have to hole the putts."

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia's oil minister Ali al-Naimi said the world's largest oil exporter would reduce production beyond its quota agreement to prop up prices.

Analysts expect the Saudis to cut production by 300,000 barrels per day below the reduction it agreed to as a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, The New York Times reported Monday.

OPEC production cuts appear to be influencing prices. After oil reached $147 per barrel in July, prices plummeted through the late summer and fall as the U.S. and European economies faltered and demand slowed.

Prices fell to $32 per barrel in December, but appear to be stabilizing lately, hovering between $35 and $45 per barrel.

In September, OPEC members agreed to trim production by 4.2 million barrels per day. Saudi Arabia, the largest producer, cut its daily production by approximately 2 million barrels.