Tuesday's sports briefs

Serbia's European Championship qualifier at Italy was called off after seven minutes of play Tuesday in Genoa because visiting fans threw flares and fireworks onto the pitch.

Serbia fans also clashed with police earlier in the day and delayed the start of the match for 45 minutes, and one flare hit a goalkeeper on the team bus, leading to his hospitalization. Once the match began, more flares and fireworks were thrown, and the referee stopped the match. There was more rioting after the match.

Italy security director Roberto Massucci was upset that the Serbian police didn't warn of the danger from the nation's supporters.

"Fans this dangerous shouldn't have arrived in Genoa," Massucci said. "Due to experience, we were prepared, but we never imagined such a high level of aggressiveness."

The Serbian team has been in turmoil since its first-round elimination at the World Cup.

Roddick pushing for top 10 Andy Roddick, playing to keep his spot in the world's top 10, advanced in the Shanghai Masters when Philipp Kohlschreiber retired in the second set because of illness.

Roddick, ranked 11th entering the tournament, has been in the year-end top 10 for eight seasons in a row. Most of the world's top players are in the tournament in Shanghai, including Roger Federer, who will play John Isner on Wednesday.

Dwyane Wade, recovering from a strained hamstring, didn't play for the Heat, but the other member of the Heat triumvirate, Chris Bosh, had 17 points and eight rebounds.

Figure skating: Olympic champion ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are likely to miss the entire Grand Prix season after Virtue had surgery to relieve pressure in both calves. Virtue has compartment syndrome, which causes pain and swelling in the calves and shins.

WNBA: Former Sacramento Monarchs coach and general manager John Whisenant was hired to fill those roles for the New York Liberty. The Monarchs folded in November.

Gymnastics: Former world champion Yuri van Gelder was pulled from the Dutch team for unspecified medical reasons for the world championships, which begin Saturday in Australia. The Dutch union cited "medical reasons of a personal nature" without elaborating. Van Gelder recently returned to competition after serving a one-year ban for cocaine use. He was certified as part of the team earlier in the day.

Marathons: Kenyan stars Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot and Martin Lel pulled out of next month's New York City Marathon because of leg injuries. Lel won in New York in 2003 and 2007 and is a three-time London Marathon champion. Cheruiyot has won the Boston Marathon four times.