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INDIAN WELLS, Calif. Julio Jones Womens Elite Black Jersey . - Novak Djokovic beat John Isner 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-1 on Saturday to reach the final of the BNP Paribas Open, where hell resume his longtime rivalry with Roger Federer. "Its always tense. Its always emotional. Its always close," Djokovic said of the looming match up. "I look forward to it." Federer had a much easier time in the semifinals, beating Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-3, 6-1 and putting himself in position to win a fifth career title at Indian Wells. Djokovic is a two-time winner here. Federer leads their rivalry 17-15, having beaten Djokovic two weeks ago in the semifinals at Dubai. Before that, Djokovic had won three straight times over the Swiss star. Second-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska will play Flavia Pennetta in the womens final Sunday before the mens title is decided. Djokovic struggled with the big-serving Isner, who beat him here in the semis two years ago before losing to Federer in the final. "With that serve, obviously, he can win against anybody on a good day," Djokovic said. "I thought I returned really well today and allowed myself to have a bunch of opportunities on his service games." Djokovic had a chance to win in two sets, breaking Isner to go up 5-4 and then again at 6-5. But the American broke back at love to level at 6-6, then and then dominated in the tiebreaker. Isner won four straight points and served his sixth ace to win it 7-2 and force the decisive third set. "When you get to the tiebreaker with John Isner, whoever you are, youre not a favourite," Djokovic said. "I just tried to hang in there, stay mentally tough when I lost the second set, and played a great third." Djokovic broke Isner for a 3-1 lead in the third. Djokovic survived a break point in the next game and held for a 4-1 lead. Isner called for the trainer a second time in the match to work on an area above his left knee before he got broken to trail 5-1, missing two straight forehands. Djokovic came up with his own big serve on match point that Isner couldnt return. "It prevented me from being able to go after my serve like I wanted to, but thats not the reason I lost," Isner said about having tightness in his knee. "I am disappointed, but at the same time, I had a good week here." Isner had eight aces to Djokovics seven, and the American managed 31 winners, just one more than Djokovic. While Djokovic had to sweat out his victory, Federer was coolly efficient on the hot day in the desert, firing seven aces and connecting on 72 per cent of his first serves in the match that lasted barely an hour. "Having the fire and wanting to win every single match and in the practice trying to improve as much as you can, Ive got the good balance right now, so its very encouraging," Federer said. Federer never faced a break point on his serve while breaking Dolgopolov four times, including a seven-deuce game to go up 4-1 in the second set. Dolgopolov had a chance to win that game four times, but each time his unforced error brought it back to deuce. Federer is aiming to make Indian Wells his second title of the year. Hes coming off a victory two weeks ago at Dubai, and has a 19-2 match record this year. He won titles here from 2004-06 and again in 2012. A year ago at Indian Wells, Federer injured his back during a match and took nearly a month to feel better. After Wimbledon, he re-injured his back and found himself questioning everything, leading to an uneven year for the sports once dominant player. Back here again, Federer feels like a new man. "Im just playing more freely overall and with more confidence because I can get to more balls without thinking," he said. "I can wake up without feeling sore. I can go to bed not feeling like I hope I feel better tomorrow. I dont have these thoughts going through my mind and Im not worried every single minute of the day." Devin Hester Jersey . Miamis two-year reign was over. And Bosh almost sounded relieved. The Heat got rolled in the NBA Finals by San Antonio, losing in five games, the last three of them lopsided, and for the first time since 2011 there would be no championship parade in Miami.Roddy White . A Los Angeles judge on Thursday said the case wont finish by Tuesday but will continue on July 21 because some lawyers for team owner Donald Sterling have personal plans. Sterling is suing to block his wifes unilateral deal to sell the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.PORTLAND, OREGON – Four second-half goals propelled Vancouver Whitecaps FC to a dominant 5-1 win over Portmore United in the first match of the Rose City Invitational Sunday at Providence Park. Defender Jordan Harvey bagged a second-half brace, while Nicolas Mezquida, Darren Mattocks, and Russell Teibert each scored their first goals of the preseason in a match that saw Whitecaps FC outshoot the 10-men Jamaican outfit by a 21-9 margin. Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson fielded a squad composed almost entirely of MLS players on Sunday, including the teams four most experienced defenders in Andy OBrien, Jay DeMerit, Harvey, and recently acquired right back Steven Beitashour. The only non-MLS player in the starting lineup was Residency goalkeeper Marco Carducci, who at 17 years old is the youngest player at camp. After a fairly uneventful start to the match, the action picked up around the 15-minute mark when Portmore goalkeeper Jacomeno Barrett was shown a straight red for handling the ball outside the box. The 6-foot-4 keeper was forced to come off his line after Sebastian Fernandez found an unmarked Mezquida with a great ball over the top down the middle of the park. On the ensuing free kick, a six-man Portmore wall blocked Fernandezs low strike from the edge of the box to keep the score level. The Caps had another great chance just a few minutes later, when Mattocks broke into the area only to see his attempt stymied by substitute Portmore keeper Gariece McPherson. Despite going down to 10-men early, Portmore opened the scoring in the 26th minute on what was their only real chance of the match. Against the run of play, Leaughn Williams broke in down the right flank and found a streaking Ricardo Morris inside the area. The midfielder then curled it first time just bbeyond the outstretched arms of Carducci to give Portmore a 1-0 lead. Jonathan Massaquoi. . From that point forward, the Caps took over. They controlled possession, looked dangerous in the final third, and didnt give their Jamaican opponents another sniff at goal. Two players instrumental in Whitecaps FCs dominance were Teibert, who again looked confident in a holding position, and Beitashour, who was active on the right flank. Eventually, a deflected Beitashour cross led to Vancouvers first goal in the 31st minute. The ball landed at Mezquidas feet just outside the six-yard box and the Uruguayan smashed it on a half-volley into the top left corner of the goal. Vancouver picked up where they left off in the second half, as Harvey banged in the eventual winner in the 49th minute after Erik Hurtado found him unmarked at the far post. The early second-half marker seemed to take the wind out of Portmores sails, as fatigue began to take its toll. After a handful of earlier chances, Mattocks finally found the back of the net in the 65th minute, finishing from in tight to give Whitecaps FC a 3-1 lead. Teibert set up the play with a header from midfield, just minutes after he moved up to the right wing to replace Hurtado. Then, after Harvey scored his second goal of the match with a cross that sailed into the top right corner of the goal, Mattocks returned the favour in the 87th minute. The Portmore native slipped an inviting pass into box before Teibert coolly finished to cap off a dominant 5-1 performance at Providence Park. Also of note, Kekuta Manneh and Kenny Miller made their first appearances of the preseason as second-half substitutes on Sunday. Both players made an immediate impact, as Manneh set up Harveys second goal and nearly had one of his own in the 76th minute. ' ' ' |
