Mauresmo advances into Qatar final

Top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo of France defeated Martina Hingis 6-2, 6-2 Friday and will play second-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia in the final of the Qatar Open in Doha, Qatar.

Petrova topped Ai Sugiyama of Japan 6-1, 7-6 (2) in the earlier semifinal.

Mauresmo, who has won three titles this season, beat the Swiss former No. 1 and 2001 inaugural Qatar champion for the fifth time in six meetings.

•Top-ranked Roger Federer will play No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the Dubai Open final today in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, one day after both had straight-set semifinal wins.

Federer will aim for his third consecutive title after defeating Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 6-2, 6-3. The Swiss star, who won the Australian and Doha opens, is 16-0 this season.

Nadal advanced to the finals with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Rainer Schuettler of Germany.

Basketball

Barnes out at Ole Miss

Rod Barnes will not return as men’s coach at Mississippi next season.

Athletic director Pete Boone said Barnes will finish this season with the Rebels, but wouldn’t specify whether the coach resigned or was being fired.

Ole Miss (14-14, 4-11 Southeastern Conference) has lost four straight games and 11 of 12 since a 13-3 start – its best since 2001-02, the last time the Rebels reached the NCAA Tournament.

The Rebels have won five or fewer SEC games in each of the past four seasons.

•A former Indiana women’s coach, whom the school paid to settle a discrimination lawsuit four years ago, committed suicide at his Florida home Tuesday, a medical examiner said.

Jim Izard, 57, coached IU from 1989 to 2000, compiling a 188-159 record.

He died of a gunshot wound at his home in Rosemary Beach, Fla., said Donna Shank, spokeswoman for the Walton County sheriff’s office. The Pensacola Medical Examiners Office ruled the death a suicide.

Izard led Indiana to the NCAA Tournament in 1994 and 1995.

•Danny Nee resigned as Duquesne University’s men’s coach, one day before the Dukes will conclude the worst season in school history.

Duquesne is 3-23 going into today’s season finale against Saint Joseph’s, its third season of single-figure victories in Nee’s five seasons at the school.

Horse racing

Jockey improves

Jockey Sunny Ho showed signs of improvement while recovering from a serious brain injury caused by a fall at Golden Gate Fields.

Ho was hurt when his mount, Sport Boy Tommy, broke his right front leg on the backstretch of the seventh race Wednesday. Ho underwent surgery that night at a hospital in Oakland, Calif., to stop bleeding in his brain.

Ho will be in intensive care for at least another week, relying on a breathing machine and medication to prevent brain swelling and seizures.

•A hold order on a barn at Laurel (Md.) Park was lifted, allowing 34 horses that tested negative for the deadly equine herpes virus to return to normal activities, state agriculture officials announced.

Two horses that did not pass the testing process, but are not showing any signs of the disease, have been moved to an isolation barn.