Die Anpflanzler [DA] » Awoniyis strike hit the side of th

BRISBANE, Australia -- Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are set to renew their long and not-so-friendly rivalry in the semifinals at the Brisbane International, a key warm-up tournament for the Australian Open. The pair played back-to-back quarterfinals on centre court Thursday, with the third-seeded Sharapova beating 2012 Brisbane champion Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. She dropped three service games in the first set and another to open the second before finding her range and staging her comeback against the No. 30-ranked Kanepi. The top-ranked Williams, the defending champion, was next on court and didnt lose a point on serve in the first set en route to a 6-3, 6-3 win over ninth-seeded Diminika Cibulkova of Slovakia. Williams has a 14-2 record and 13-match winning streak against Sharapova dating back to the 2005 Australian Open semifinals, beating the Russian most recently in last years French Open final. Any friendship the pair had at that stage soured when they traded personal barbs relating to their romantic relationships ahead of Wimbledon, where Sharapova made an early exit. Sharapova only played one match after that in 2013 and spent the latter months of the season recovering from a right shoulder problem. Williams, meanwhile, had a spectacular year, winning 78 of her 82 matches and capturing 11 titles, including two majors. As far as any grudges go, Williams said Thursday: "Its very difficult I think for anyone to be best buddies when youre so competitive." Sharapova didnt back away from the comments she made about Williams at Wimbledon in a New York Times profile last month, giving the impression that the relationship between the pair was still cold. On Thursday, she said shed used the newspaper interview to "clear the air." Asked how shed describe their rivalry now, Sharapova replied: "Well, I think I got to win a few times in order to call it rivalry." "I havent had a lot of success against her," she added. "Its the first tournament of the year. I came here wanting to play as many matches as I could and obviously wanting to play the best." Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka had difficulty closing out her quarterfinal match before beating Stefanie Voegele 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-1. The second-seeded Azarenka failed to convert eight match points in the second set -- three serving at 5-4 and another five in the tiebreaker -- before Voegele rallied to force a third. Azarenka raced to a 4-0 lead in the deciding set, dropped serve and then finally finished it off on her 10th match point. "Yeah, I made it ... about 20 times harder than it should have been," Azarenka said. "I definitely should have closed it out a little earlier." Azarenka will next face fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic, who beat fifth-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-1. In mens second-round matches, Romanian qualifier Marius Copil beat third-seeded Gilles Simon 7-5, 6-3 and will next meet former No. 1-ranked Lleyton Hewitt, who ousted No. 6-seeded Feliciano Lopez 7-5, 6-3. No. 8-seeded Jeremy Chardy beat Nicolas Mahut 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-3 and fourth-seeded Kevin Anderson withdrew due to a stomach ailment before his scheduled second-round match against Australian wildcard entry Sam Groth. In other Australasian tournaments, Milos Raonic and Eugenie Bouchard combined to give Canada a 3-0 win over Italy at the Hopman Cup in Perth, and Venus Williams and Ana Ivanovic progressed to the semifinals at the WTA Tours ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. Canada (2-1) maintained a chance of qualifying for Saturdays Hopman Cup final from Group A when Raonic beat Andreas Seppi 6-2, 6-4 and Bouchard clinched it when Flavia Pennetta retired with a right wrist injury while trailing 4-0 in the first set. Poland also won, beating Australia 2-1. In Auckland, Venus Williams beat Garbine Muguruza of Spain 6-3, 6-3 and the second-seeded Ivanovic beat Kurumi Nara of Japan 6-2, 6-3. Ivanovic will play her doubles partner, third-seeded Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium, in Fridays semifinals while Williams will play Jamie Hampton. Flipkens beat Japanese qualifier Sachie Ishizu 6-4, 7-5 and the fifth-seeded Hampton beat Lauren Davis 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Keith Magnuson Jersey . Asdrubal Cabrera had four hits and three RBIs, Michael Brantley also homered and the Indians beat the injury-riddled Minnesota Twins 9-4 Thursday for their first three-game winning streak this season. Martin Havlat Jersey .com) - The Atlanta Hawks have stepped up to every challenge during their 14-game winning streak and will face another daunting task Friday with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder in town. http://www.officialblackhawksauthority.com/jeremy-roenick-blackhawks-jersey-c-19/ . The American secured his first back-to-back ATP match wins since June to leave Tsonga relying on his performance at next weeks Paris Masters to clinch one of the final three places for the season-ending event in London. Tsonga would have moved up one spot to No. 6 with a win over Querrey at the City of Arts and Sciences, but his serve deserted him in the second set as the 116th-ranked American broke twice to reach the quarter-finals. Denis Savard Jersey .com) - John Wall supplied 24 points and 11 assists in leading the Washington Wizards to a 102-91 win over the New York Knicks on Christmas Day. Steve Larmer Jersey . Which is to say, the top of this years draft class is not as dynamic or exciting as the 2013 class of Nate MacKinnon, Sasha Barkov, Jonathan Drouin and Seth Jones and its not as strikingly promising as the highly-anticipated 2015 slate of Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin. SAN FRANCISCO -- Dodgers manager Don Mattingly hasnt figured out his pitching rotation for the playoffs just yet. Its a good bet Hyun-Jin Ryu will be a part of it. The South Korean lefty had another stellar outing in his next-to-last bid to make an impression on Mattingly and his staff, combining with two relievers on a five-hitter that sent Los Angeles past the San Francisco Giants 2-1 on Tuesday night. In doing so, Ryu cemented himself as a viable NL Rookie of the Year contender. He just might have secured a start in the playoffs as well. "We havent made any decision on who its going to be, but Ive always been comfortable with Hyun-Jin, the way he pitches," Mattingly said. "We think hes been great all year long. We couldnt have asked for anything more than what hes given us." Matt Kemp hit a tiebreaking homer leading off the sixth inning for the Dodgers. Yasiel Puig also went deep after getting hit by a pitch from Giants starter Matt Cain earlier in the game. Carl Crawford added three hits for the NL West champions, who have won three straight. Ryu (14-7) struck out six and walked one to tie Shelby Miller of St. Louis for most wins by a rookie in the National League. He retired 13 of his first 15 batters until Tony Abreus home run in the fifth, then set down eight of the next 10 before giving way to Brian Wilson. Ryu is expected to make one more start in the Dodgers regular-season finale against Colorado on Sunday. He said he hasnt even begun to think about the playoffs. "My goal is to finish out the regular season," Ryu said. "Ill start thinking about the post-season once the regular season is done." The Giants got just one runner past first base and were held to no more than one run for the third time in four gamABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- Nigeria beat Mexico 3-0 in the Under-17 World Cup final on Friday to win the tournament for a record fourth time. Nigeria went ahead in the ninth minute through Erick Aguirres own goal before Kelechi Iheanacho doubled the lead in the 56th. Nigeria captain Musa Muhammed scored from a free kick in the 81st minute to complete the victory as the country surpassed Brazils three titles at the U17 level. In what was a rematch of Nigerias 6-1 win in the opening Group F match, Mexico had the better chances early. Alejandro Diazs close-range effort was just wide of the target and minutes later Nigeria goalkeeper Dele Alampasu tipped Ivan Ochoas header over the bar. However, Nigeria then went on a counterattack and Musa Yahahas shot deflected off Aguirre and past Mexico goalkeeper Raul Gudino. The remainder of the opening half was played at a frenetic pace and saw both sides squander opportunities. Alampasu made another good save in the 30th minute from Ulises Jaimes header after a lovely ball from Mexico captain Ulises Rivas. For Nigeria, Awoniyis strike hit the side of the net in the 37th minute, while Yahahas long-range effort struck the crossbar just before halftime. Both teams threatened in the opening stages of the second half, and Nigeria doubled its lead when Iheanacho took advantage of Gudinos poor attempt to clear the ball. Mexico continued to attack and could have scored when Aguirre found Ochoa in space. But his header from right in front of goal was wide of the target. The West Africans sealed the victory when Muhammed curled a free kick from the edge of the penalty box over the wall and past the outstretched arms of Gudino in the 81st minute. Earlier, Sweden clinched third place after beating Argentina 4-1, thanks to Valmir Berishas hat trick. Carlos Strandberg also scored for Sweden, while Lucio Campagnucci found the net for Argentina. "Theres a lot of feelings right now, Sweden coach Roland Larsson said. "This is my last game with this team, so this is the perfect present for me. "This is a sensation for Swedish football; no one would believe we could do this." Iheanacho was crowned Golden Ball winner for best player, while Swedens Berisha earned the Golden Shoe award for most goals with seven. Aaron Rodgers Jersey . Roma has a game in hand but now second place is even at risk for the capital side as Napoli moved to within three points with the win. "The result is not always fair," Roma coach Rudi Garcia said. "If we play like this until the end we will win many matches. Green Bay Packers Jerseys . Replay backed him up. Adeiny Hechavarria immediately followed the ruling with a go-ahead sacrifice fly for the Miami Marlins, who held on to beat the Seattle Mariners 3-2 on Sunday completing a three-game sweep. http://www.officialgreenbaypackerspro.com/Jaire-alexander-packers-jersey/ . The Toronto Maple Leafs forward and Nashville Predators goaltender highlighted Mondays waiver transactions, with Calgarys Chuck Kobasew and Edmontons Philip Larsen also being placed on waivers. Dave Robinson Jersey . That time around, the cage is as much a part of baseballs daily routine as a beer and a hotdog is to a fan in the stands. Coaches, scouts, broadcasters and other media hover, tossing verbal barbs, telling stories and sharing laughs. Occasionally, especially in spring when the atmosphere is relatively laid back, the list of invited guests expands and on this day, Gibbons welcomed two men strongly influential in his life. Ray Nitschke Jersey . Smith, an eighth overall pick, had two goals in only 276 minutes of playing time over 16 appearances last season. The left side midfielder played only 43 minutes in three games this season. PHILADELPHIA -- The NHL has suspended Philadelphia Flyers forward Zac Rinaldo for four games for an illegal check to the head. Rinaldo will miss the final four games of the regular season and will forfeit $15,384.60 in salary. He injured Buffalo Sabres defenceman Chad Ruhwedel in the third period of Sundays game. Ruhwedel will miss the remainder of the season after being diagnosed with a concussion. "Its uunfortunate its for the remainder of the season," Rinaldo said Monday night.dddddddddddd "Its just one of those hits that kind of slipped away from me. It was bad timing and a little vulnerability on his side of the puck, too. My bad and his bad at the same time." Rinaldo leads the Flyers with 153 penalty minutes. Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren called the suspension "harsh." 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"We just couldnt get much off them offensively," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. "Were cold right now. The pitching was there but we just couldnt get the runs on the board." Mattingly had Ryu warm up to begin the eighth before calling for Wilson. The bearded former Giants closer, who was so instrumental in the franchises World Series run in 2010, received a mixed response from the crowd at AT&T Park as he trotted in from the bullpen.dddddddddddd "It wasnt no dramatics there," Mattingly said of the move. "Just get three outs." Facing his former club for the third time this season, Wilson did just that. He retired all three batters he faced, striking out pinch-hitter Gregor Blanco and Juan Perez looking. Kenley Jansen worked the ninth for his career-high 28th save. He struck out Pablo Sandoval with the potential tying run at second to end it. Cain (8-10) pitched seven solid innings but took the loss after giving up the home runs to Kemp and Puig. Cain, who might still make one more start this season, struck out four and walked three. He didnt get much support from San Franciscos offence. Angel Pagan singled twice for the Giants, whose only other hits came on an infield single by Cain in the fifth and a single by Buster Posey in the ninth. The defending World Series champs, beginning their final homestand of the season, have scored only six runs in the last 49 innings. Cain pitched with runners on base in each of the first four innings but worked out of each jam. In the fourth he walked the bases loaded, then got Mark Ellis to strike out looking for the third out. Puigs towering home run to centre with one out in the fifth ended the shutout bid. Abreu, starting at second base after Bochy opted to shut down Marco Scutaro for the remainder of the season, tied it with his second homer in the bottom half. It was one of the few mistakes Ryu made. Ryu also singled leading off the seventh but strayed too far off first base and was picked off by Posey. Kemp bailed out his pitcher with a leadoff homer against Cain in the sixth. The centre fielder is batting .333 (8 for 24) since returning from the disabled list on Sept. 16. "(Cain has) been tough on him throughout the years, so it was good to see him get him," Mattingly said of Kemp. "He looks comfortable, for the most part." NOTES: The Dodgers bullpen has allowed two hits over 12 2-3 innings since Sept. 19. ... San Francisco minor league 3B Nathanael Javier (Dominican Summer League) was suspended 50 games for violating baseballs minor league drug program. 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