Venus Williams successfully defended her Dubai Championships title Saturday, beating Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, 6-3, 7-5, in the final at United Arab Emirates.

Williams broke Azarenka a third time at 5-5 in the second set and served out for her 42nd singles title on the WTA Tour.

Unlike last year, Williams didn't lose a set, and in the final she lost her serve only once to Azarenka, ranked No. 6, one spot behind Williams.

Williams served well, hitting seven aces and winning 80 percent of her first serves.

Azarenka was looking for her fourth title in less than 12 months.

Sam Querrey advanced to his first final of the year with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Ernests Gulbis of Latvia in the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, Tenn. The eighth-seeded Querrey broke Gulbis at 1-1 of the second set, then held on for the win. Gulbis, No. 99 in the world ranking, erased three match points before he was long on a backhand.

Querrey, ranked 31st, will face sixth-seeded John Isner today in an All-American final. Isner advanced with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Philipp Petzschner of Germany.

• Juan Carlos Ferrero powered into his second final in a row when he downed former champion Juan Monaco, 6-2, 7-6 (7), at the Copa Telmex in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for his ninth consecutive win. The final today will be an all-Spanish affair, as top-seeded David Ferrer overpowered countryman Albert Montanes, 6-1, 6-1, in the other semifinal.

• Defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga lost to Julien Benneteau, 7-6 (11), 5-7, 7-6 (3), at the Open 13 in Marseille, France. Benneteau will try to win his first title in his fourth career final. He will play 2009 finalist Michael Llodra of France, who beat Mischa Zverev of Germany, 6-1, 7-6 (3).

• Serena Williams pulled out of an exhibition at Madison Square Garden in New York because of a left leg injury. Williams announced her withdrawal from the BNP Paribas Showdown Thursday for the Billie Jean King Cup. She will be replaced in the four-player field by former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic. The leg injury has forced Williams to miss tournaments in Paris and Dubai. Williams' sister, Venus, will play Svetlana Kuznetsova in the other semifinal at the one-night event.

Miami Dolphins cornerback Will Allen was charged with driving under the influence. Allen was arrested Saturday in Miami Beach and was being held at the Pretrial Detention Center in Miami on $1,000 bond.

Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, Deacon Jones and former Grambling coach Eddie Robinson were among the first set of honorees inducted into the Black College Hall of Fame in Atlanta. The Black College Hall was established last year by former Pro Bowl quarterback James Harris and Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams. The first class included eight players, two coaches and one contributor.

Pitt improved to 2-0 with a 7-3 win at Wofford in South Carolina, with one game remaining in the three-game series. Pitt's Danny Lopez and Joe Leonard each went 3 for 4 with Lopez scoring three times and Leonard driving in three runs.

Major League Soccer is willing to start the season under the rules of its expired labor contract. MLS president Mark Abbott decided to go public with comments about bargaining after seeing players start to speak out a day earlier.

"We've communicated that the league doesn't have an intention of commencing a lockout," he said.

Training camps have started, and the season opener is scheduled for March 25. MLS informed the union of its decision last month, putting the onus on players to decide whether to strike for the first time.

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