Novak Djokovic joined Rafael Nadal in declaring he won't play again on the new blue-clay court at the Madrid Open after losing 7-6 (2), 6-3 to Janko Tipsarevic in an all-Serb quarterfinal on Friday.

It was Tipsarevic's second win in five matches against Djokovic, who last lost at this stage in November at the Paris Masters.

Nadal was beaten by Fernando Verdasco on Thursday. He later said he wouldn't return unless the tournament reverts to red clay.

Djokovic said the same.

"I want to forget this week as soon as possible and move on to the real clay courts," Djokovic said. "Here you can't predict the ball bounce or movement.

"They can do whatever they want, but I won't be here next year if this clay stays."

Tipsarevic will now play either Roger Federer or fifth-seeded David Ferrer.

While Djokovic had little trouble holding serve early on, Tipsarevic saved four break points to force the first-set tiebreaker. The seventh-seeded Tipsarevic broke the defending champion early in the second set, closing it out after Djokovic had saved three match points.

Also, Juan Martin del Potro served 10 aces in beating Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-3, 6-4. The Argentine will play Tomas Berdych in the semifinals.

The six-seeded Berdych won 6-1, 6-2 over Verdasco, who made 24 unforced errors and showed little of the flair on display against Nadal.

On the women's side, Serena Williams brushed aside second-seeded Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-3 to advance to the semifinals along with top-ranked Victoria Azarenka.

Williams opened strongly, serving six aces and earning two early breaks to take the first set.

Sharapova finally showed some fight and broke to love to level at 2-2 in the second set, but she quickly squandered her break with a costly sixth double fault to fall behind and ultimately lose to Williams for the seventh straight match.

"Playing Maria you have to be really ready because she does everything really well," said Williams. "I felt relaxed out there, and when I play relaxed I play better."

Williams, who improved to 11-0 on clay this year, will face Lucie Hradecka after the Czech upset U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur 7-6 (8), 7-6 (6).

Azarenka overcame a shaky start to beat French Open winner Li Na 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Azarenka struggled initially with her serve but broke her Chinese opponent's first two service games of the second set en route to leveling the match.

Azarenka, who has won four titles this season and was last year's runner-up in Madrid, used her powerful groundstrokes to jump out to a 4-0 lead in the decider before holding off Li's late charge.

"She was pretty unbelievable in the first set," said Azarenka. "I had to turn something around. I don't know if it was confidence or if it was self belief or just pushing myself to be better and really wanting to win the match."

Azarenka said she agreed with Nadal and Djokovic in their criticism of court's surface.

"You feel unstable sometimes. Actually, a lot of times," she said. "But right now there is no point on talking about it. After the tournament all the players can get together and discuss it."

The Belarusian will next face fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat Varvara Lepchenko 6-4, 6-4.

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LOS ANGELES - Now that they've saved the world on film, The Avengers are teaming up for a video game.

Ubisoft Entertainment announced a partnership today with Marvel Entertainment to create a motion-control game based on the popular Marvel superhero posse. The game will be titled Marvel Avengers: Battle For Earth and will be released for both the upcoming Wii U console from Nintendo and the camera-based Kinect system for the Xbox 360 from Microsoft.

"The idea that we're making a motion-control version of The Avengers is a unique proposition if you compare that to superhero games of the past," said Tony Key, Ubisoft's vice president of sales and marketing. "This is the perfect type of game for that because these characters are very action oriented. They're always fighting and throwing things."

Marvel Avengers: Battle For Earth will focus on such characters as Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk and Thor battling an invasion of the genetically altered Skrull alien race. The motion-control action game will feature more than 20 characters from the Marvel universe and would be based on the Secret Invasion comic series, not the recent film.

No release date was announced, but Key said the disc-based title is expected to launch after Nintendo debuts the Wii U later this year. The successor to Nintendo's Wii will feature high-definition graphics, increased online capabilities and a touch-pad controller. He said more details about the game would be unveiled at next month's Electronic Entertainment Expo.

In recent years, Ubisoft has extensively focused on motion-control games. Previous titles released by the Canadian publisher that rely on gesture-based technology include the artsy shooter Child Of Eden, street brawler Fighters Uncaged, superhero dueler PowerUp Heroes, the Your Shape fitness franchise and top-selling Just Dance series. AP

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Roy Hodgson was appointed England manager on a four-year contract on Tuesday, ending months of speculation over who would lead the national team at Euro 2012.

The English Football Association has been looking for a new manager since Italian Fabio Capello resigned in early February.

The 64-year-old Hodgson emerged as the FA's surprise top target on Sunday and his appointment was confirmed following talks on Monday at Wembley.

Hodgson has been in charge of West Bromwich Albion since February 2011 and will oversee the club's final two matches of the Premier League season before beginning preparations to lead England at the European Championships.

His first match as England manager is the June 2 friendly against Belgium at Wembley.

"It is a very proud day for me, I'm a very happy man to be offered the chance to manage my country," Hodgson said. "I'm looking forward to the task ahead. Everyone knows it is not an easy one but I'm hoping that everyone, fans and supporters will get behind the team."

Why did Capello quit England?

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp had been widely tipped as the favorite to replace Capello, and England's star striker Wayne Rooney tweeted on the day of Capello's resignation that the Spurs boss would be his first choice.

But the FA insisted Hodgson was the only candidate it spoke to. His broader resume and experience of international football seems to have tipped the balance in his favor.

"Over a period of time, Roy emerged as a stand-out candidate," FA chairman David Bernstein said. "The board was unanimous in choosing Roy. It's the first time the FA has appointed an English manager with international experience."

As well as spells at Inter Milan, Blackburn Rovers, Grasshoppers, FC Copenhagen, Fulham and Liverpool, Hodgson has coached the national sides of Switzerland, Finland and United Arab Emirates.

His time with Switzerland drew worldwide notice as the team qualified for the 1994 World Cup from a group including Italy and Portugal, and rose to third in the FIFA world rankings.

Hodgson's immediate task will be to negotiate Euro 2012.

England qualified for the tournament comfortably enough, but Capello quit when the FA removed John Terry as captain in light of a criminal charge of racist abuse against Anton Ferdinand hanging over him.

Euro 2012 interactive map

Terry, who will not stand trial until after the tournament, could be in the squad with Rio Ferdinand, Anton's brother.

"The important thing is to speak to as many players as possible, "Hodgson said. "John and Rio are two I need to speak to."

Hodgson must also cope without Rooney for the first two games of the tournament as the Manchester United striker sits out a ban for kicking out at an opponent.

Hodgson said there was no question of him leaving Rooney out of the squad.

"I'm looking forward to Wayne Rooney coming to the Euros with us and making a contribution even though he cannot play the first two games," he said.

Hodgson wouldn't be drawn on who he would appoint as captain in place of Terry. Steven Gerrard, who Hodgson worked with during an ill-fated 31-game spell at Liverpool, is one of the candidates.

The pressure on Hodgson, which was intense at Liverpool, will only increase as he takes on one what is notoriously one of the most difficult jobs in football. The 64-year-old says he is ready.

"I'm prepared. The fact is I took it at Liverpool and I'll take it here," he said. "Inter, I would submit, wasn't exactly too easy when it comes to scrutiny and size of club.

"The England manager's job is the pinnacle of success for every English manager and it certainly brings with it a lot of scrutiny and criticism and I have to be prepared for that."

England begin Euro 2012 against France on June 11. They will also play Sweden and co-hosts Ukraine.

Russia confirmed Tuesday that their Dutch coach Dick Advocaat had turned down an offer to extend his contract beyond the end of the tournament.

Advocaat told Russian newspaper Sport-Express that he is set to take over at Dutch club side PSV Eindhoven next season.

The Russian football federation said it was "confident it will not have a negative influence on Russia's performance at the European Championship."

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