Roger Federer is on a losing streak for the second time in four months.

The top-ranked Federer, who won three Grand Slam titles last year but has struggled since the U.S. Open, lost to Andy Murray, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-4, yesterday in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Murray has won two ATP titles this season, and he leads Federer 2-1 in his career.

Federer, who won the Dubai tournament four times in the last five years, had not lost in the first round of a tournament since his defeat to Dominik Hrbaty in the 2004 Cincinnati Masters. Last year, Federer lost his opening match at the Pacific Life Open to Guillermo Canas after getting a bye into the second round.

Fabrice Santoro of France also advanced, beating last year's finalist, Mikhail Youzhny, 6-3, 6-4. Fourth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain advanced by beating Tommy Haas of Germany 6-3, 6-0, and seventh-seeded Richard Gasquet of France defeated Dmitry Tursunov of Russia 6-4, 6-4.

Anna Kournikova will play for the St. Louis Aces during the 2008 World TeamTennis Pro League season. Other players participating this season include Serena Williams (Washington Kastles), Lindsay Davenport (Newport Beach Breakers) and Andy Roddick (St. Louis). Matches beginning July 3.

Janne Happonen of Finland won a World Cup ski jump on his home hill for his first victory this season in Kuopio, Finland. He was followed by Austria's Georg Schlierenzauer and Norway's Anders Jacobsen. The competition originally was scheduled for Sunday but was called off because of strong winds.

All-Star Rebekkah Brunson and fellow forward Nicole Powell signed four-year contracts with the Sacramento Monarchs. ... The Washington Mystics re-signed 3-point specialist Laurie Koehn, who has made 46 percent of her 3-point attempts since joining the Mystics as a free agent in 2005. ... The Seattle Storm signed former WNBA MVP Sheryl Swoopes, 37, to a contract for the 2008 season.

Senior left fielder Sean Conley of Pitt was named the Big East player of the week after going 6 for 12 with a home run and 10 RBIs in three games over the weekend.

Any athletes who have served suspensions for major doping offenses will not be invited to compete at major European meets, a top organizer said in Brussels, Belgium. The measure has been adopted by organizers of Europe's 51 major invitational meets, including all the Golden League and Grand Prix events, and applies to athletes who have been banned for two years

Mike Skinner will replace AJ Allmendinger at Red Bull Racing for this weekend's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. ... Pyro, winner of the Risen Star Stakes, was installed as the early favorite in a nine-horse field for Saturday's Louisiana Derby in New Orleans. ... Bert van Marwijk will succeed Marco van Basten as soccer coach of the Netherlands after the European Championship. ... Roger Gill, a sprinter who competed for Guyana at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, was killed in a Brooklyn car crash. He was 35.