Allgemein » ets: It was Charlottes second road

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. - Maria Sharapova was happy to play an 11 a.m. match Monday, especially when her work day was already done by the time a mid-afternoon shower interrupted play. "Its nice to see all the players coming back in the locker room, and Im like, Ill see you later," she said. Sharapova started early but didnt start well. She won only five points in the first four games before settling down to reach the quarterfinals at the Sony Open by beating Kirsten Flipkens 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. The worlds top-ranked players had an easier time. Serena Williams eliminated fellow American CoCo Vandeweghe 6-3, 6-1. Rafael Nadal received a warning for slow play and still won in 59 minutes against Denis Istomin, 6-1, 6-0. Venus Williams lost her serve eight times and was beaten by No. 10 Dominika Cibulkova 6-1, 5-7, 6-3. Sharapova, meanwhile, endured her second successive ragged three-setter and found herself trailing 4-0 after only 15 minutes. "I usually like playing the first match, but I didnt start off the way I wanted to," she said. "Nothing was working." Seeded No. 4, Sharapova seemed thrown off by the lack of pace from Flipkens, a tour veteran who hits floating backhands and sometimes slices her forehand as well. "Shes a different type of opponent," Sharapova said. "There are not too many girls that hit a slice backhand 90 per cent of the time in the rallies. But I know what to expect from her game. It shouldnt be that much of a surprise." Sharapova finished with 36 unforced errors and only 13 winners. She also double-faulted 10 times. But she won — and was ready to leave Crandon Park before most matches had even begun. With the rest of the day free, what was on the schedule for one of the worlds most celebrated athletes? "Not much, actually," Sharapova said. "I like to have my afternoon tea around 5. Its like a Russian tradition. Ill see my dog, spend some time with him, then get treatment, dinner, and then the day is over." At the top of her to-do list for the rest of the week is winning her first Key Biscayne title. Sharapova has been the runner-up five times, including each of the past three years, but she downplays any frustration regarding her many near-misses. "Of course you want to be able to hold the winners trophy," she said. "But you also remember the matches that you got through to get in the position to get to the final stage. Its not like I didnt have my opportunities in those finals; I just didnt take them. Thats why you come back and hope for another chance." Williams seems to be gaining momentum as the tournament unfolds, as usual. She overcame sloppy patches in her first two matches and committed only one unforced error in the second set against Vandeweghe. But Williams was impressed with the 22-year-old American, and told her so when they met at the net after the match. "She said, Listen, you played so well. Weve got to play doubles. Wed do so well," Vandeweghe said. Williams next plays No. 5-seeded Angelique Kerber, who beat Ekaterina Makarova 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. No. 8 Petra Kvitova rallied past No. 12 Ana Ivanovic, who double-faulted nine times in the final two sets and lost 3-6, 6-0, 6-0. In mens third-round play, No. 10 seed John Isner, the only American to reach the mens third round, hit 17 aces and beat Nicolas Almagro 7-5, 6-3. No. 22-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov rallied from a break down in the final set to beat Dusan Lajovic 3-6, 6-0, 7-6 (5). Dolgopolov has gone 6-1 this month despite his worries about unrest in his native Ukraine, where his mother and other relatives still live. "For me it was important it has calmed down and no people are dying," said Dolgopolov, who was born in Kyiv. "But theres a little bit of chaos still going on, and no one knows who is the ruling party and who is controlling the country. Its a mess." Daryl Johnston Cowboys Jersey . The agreement comes a little more than one week after the video game manufacturer agreed to a $40 million settlement in a similar but separate case, bringing the total payout planned for athletes to $60 million, said Steve Berman, an attorney for the plaintiffs, and the NCAA. Michael Gallup Jersey . First-half goals by Will Bruin and Oscar Boniek Garcia sucked the life out of the Impact as the Houston Dynamo bounced them from Major League Soccers post-season with a 3-0 victory on Thursday. https://www.cowboyssportsgoods.com/Womens-Bob-Lilly-Inverted-Jersey/ .com) - Its fair to call Mike McCarthy one of the best coaches in the NFL but its also more than objective to point out that the veteran mentor bookended the Green Bay Packers season with two, truly awful game plans in Seattle. Connor McGovern Youth Jersey . -- The Guelph Storm are moving on to the Western Conference final after defeating the London Knights 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League playoff action. Connor Williams Cowboys Jersey . -- During Kansas shootaround on Wednesday before the Jayhawks faced Oklahoma, coach Bill Self told Wayne Selden Jr.PHILADELPHIA - What Kemba Walker started, Al Jefferson made sure to finish.Walker scored a season-high 30 points, Jefferson added 16 of his 20 in the second half, and the Charlotte Hornets snapped a four-game losing streak with a 109-91 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.I didnt start off well at all, Jefferson said. But Kemba led the way. I figured I had to be the one to end it.Tony Wroten and Robert Covington scored 19 apiece for the Sixers, who dropped to 0-14 at home this season. Theyre closing in on the NBA record for the most home losses to start a season, which is held by the 1993-94 Dallas Mavericks at 19.Philadelphia point guard Michael Carter-Williams had 14 points and 10 assists, but the Sixers committed 24 turnovers that led to 35 Charlotte pointsThey sniffed blood, 76ers coach Brett Brown said. They knew they wanted to come in here and get a win.The Hornets (7-19) had lost 14 of 16 coming into the game but dominated the rebuilding Sixers (2-23).Despite playing without starting guard Lance Stephenson, who missed his first game of the season because of a pelvic sprain, Charlotte jumped on the Sixers early, closing the first quarter on an 11-2 run to open an 11-point lead.Charlotte extended its lead to 17 midway through the second quarter before scoring the final nine points of the half to take a 66-46 advantage into the break.Walker made the final basket in both the first and second quarter, and finished 13 for 23 from the field and 3 of 4 from 3-point range. He added five assists and four rebounds.When hes going, he leads us and we follow him, Jefferson said. Hes the leader of this team. Hes got a heart of a giant.Walker acknowledged he tried to attack the Philadelphia defence and play more aggressively — but not because Jefferson struggled in the first half or Stephenson was out.Thats me, just being aggressive, Walker said. Thats what got me this far. Thats my game — always being in attack mode.Paying more attention to Walker after the break, the Sixers cut the Hornets lead to 13 midway through the third quarter. But thats when Jefferson took over, scoring a few quick inside buckets to stop Philadelphia from gaining any momentum.Jefferson finished with 12 rebounds and Philadelphia-area native Gerald Henderson added 11 points for the Hornets, who shot 43.9 per cent from the field and 41.7 per cent from 3-point range.ddddddddddddCharlotte got 35 points from its bench, with Gary Neal leading the way with 10 and Marvin Williams scoring nine, including back-to-back 3s in the first quarter.Most teams are going to double me or send help, Jefferson said. My teammates have to make them pay. Thats what we have to do.The win was a much-needed one for the slumping Hornets, who have a quick turnaround as they return home to face Utah on Saturday.We just needed to win, period, Walker said. Im glad we came in here and executed. Hopefully we can carry this momentum into the future.The Sixers wont get another chance to snap their home losing streak until Jan. 5 when they welcome LeBron James and the Cavaliers. Before then, they have a seven-game road swing while Disney on Ice moves into the Wells Fargo Center.While theyre on the road, Brown knows the 76ers cant continue to fall way behind from the opening tip the way they did against Charlotte.I thought the start of the game influenced the rest of it, the Sixers coach said. They scored freely. Some of it, we give them credit. Some of it is on us. Thats a physical team — a mans team that played in the playoffs last year.___TIP-INSHornets: It was Charlottes second road victory this season. The Hornets only other win away from home came in Phoenix on Nov. 14. ... The Hornets shot 7 for 12 from 3-point range in the first half — the same totals as Philadelphia. They also shot 50 per cent from the field and 90 per cent from the free throw line before the break.76ers: Four days after making his Sixers debut, Turkish forward Furkan Aldemir was sidelined because of right foot plantar fasciitis. ... The Sixers got 40 points from their bench and had 10 different players log at least 10 minutes.MID-GAME TRADEDuring the game, the Sixers announced that they acquired Houstons 2015 second-round draft pick, Ronny Turiaf and the rights to Sergei Lishouk in exchange for guard Alexey Shved.Shved, averaging 9.9 points this season, was not in uniform or listed on the roster for Fridays game.Afterward, Brown said losing someone that was part of the rotation without much notice simply comes with the territory.Its a challenge, he said. But its all part of the plan to navigate the future. Thats just the way it is.UP NEXTThe Hornets host Utah on Saturday.The 76ers play at Orlando on Sunday. ' ' '