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KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. Riley Cooper Eagles Jersey . -- The celebration began with a series of happy hops that propelled Serena Williams across the court. Soon she was twirling, waving, laughing and mugging for the cameras -- a familiar ritual by a perennial champion. Williams won a record seventh Key Biscayne title Saturday when she overcame a slow start and a set point to beat Li Na 7-5, 6-1 at the Sony Open. She surpassed the tournament record of six titles she shared with Andre Agassi. "I was actually super excited at the end," Williams said, "because I remember sitting here last year trying to get to six, thinking, OK, obviously I want seven, but I dont want to put the pressure on myself to get to seven. Obviously I wanted to have the most titles here." The No. 1-ranked Williams looked tense at the outset and served poorly, and she was broken twice to fall behind 5-2. "At that moment I felt like I had nothing to lose," Williams said. "I just was able to relax. Whenever I relax, I enjoy myself." Li held a set point serving at 5-4, but Williams erased it with a backhand winner. Williams needed another 21 minutes to pull out the set. The final game of the set went to deuce six times, but she finally won it with a booming backhand that Li couldnt handle. Williams ran to her chair with a satisfied scream, her left fist leading the way. She dominated from there, sweeping the final five games. The 17-time Grand Slam champion has more titles at Key Biscayne than at any other tournament. Shes the fourth woman in the Open era to win an event at least seven times. "I think were going to have to rename this tournament," former top-five player Mary Joe Fernandez said during the trophy ceremony. Both finalists are 32, and they shared lots of smiles while holding their trophies. Li explained: "We were talking about, For sure before the match they say, "Oh, two old women."" Theyre close in age, but its a commentary on the yawning gap between Williams and the rest of the womens tour that, even while at less than her best, she won in straight sets against the No. 2-ranked player. She made only 44 per cent of her first serves and converted just five of 17 break-point chances. Even so, Williams extended her winning streak against top-10 opponents to 15 matches. She beat Li for the 10th time in a row since 2009. "When youre going up against the top players, for me, I have to be ready because they are the best in the world, the whole planet," Williams said. "I enjoy playing people that are ranked like that, because I feel like I can eventually bring out the best in me." The top-ranked men will meet in Sundays final, when No. 1 Rafael Nadal tries for his first Key Biscayne title against No. 2 Novak Djokovic, a three-time champion. No. 1-ranked Mike and Bob Bryan won the mens doubles title for the first time since 2008 by beating Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 7-6 (8), 6-4. Williams lives 90 minutes up I-95 from Key Biscayne and considers it her home event. She said the fans provided a boost when she fell behind. "It was like, Oh my gosh, if I can just hang in here and just try to enjoy myself," she said. "Honestly the crowd pulled me through. I heard some fans go, Go Serena." Williams has played in the tournament 14 times and also won the final in 2002-04, 2007-08 and 2013. She has celebrated so many titles she couldnt remember the first one. "Who was it against?" she said. "Venus?" Actually, she lost finals to her sister Venus in 1999, and to Victoria Azarenka in 2009. She beat Jennifer Capiati for her first two Key Biscayne titles, and the others came against Elena Dementieva, Justine Henin, Jelena Jankovic and Maria Sharapova. Li, who won the Australian Open in January, was at the top of her game for most of the first set. Even so, she couldnt close it out. "Only one mistake: I think I should go party last night," Li said with a smile. Williams committed six unforced errors in the opening game, and it took her 16 minutes to win a game. She double-faulted to fall behind 5-2, but then won 11 of the final 12 games, a surge worthy of a champion. Mike Quick Authentic Jersey . -- Amid stories about Jeremy Lin and the upcoming all-star game, the Detroit Pistons have quietly become one of the hottest teams in the NBA. Brandon Graham Authentic Jersey . That will be 35 more holes than the first time they played together. Walker was a senior at Baylor when he used his parents credit card -- against their wishes because it was during finals -- to go through Monday qualifying for the Byron Nelson Championship.The Los Angeles Lakers hope to start the month of February on a good note when they open a three-game road trip tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center. The Lakers will also visit Cleveland and Philadelphia, have lost four in a row on the road and are 8-18 as the guest this season. They are 3-12 on the road against Western Conference opponents. Los Angeles is mired in a six-game slide overall and dropped a 110-100 decision to the Charlotte Bobcats the last time out on Friday, when Pau Gasol finished with 24 points and nine rebounds. Nick Young added 21 off the bench and Jodie Meeks scored 19 points for the Lakers, who are only 3-18 in the last 21 games and shot 38.7 percent from the floor. "They just werent ready to play for whatever reason," said Los Angeles head coach Mike DAntoni. "Whether its the end of January, who knows, but its inexcusable." As has been the case almost all season, injuries are the main story for the Lakers. Kobe Bryant (knee) wont travel with the team on this trip and it was announced Gasol (groin) would also stay in LA for rehab. However, there is some good news as all three injured point guards, Steve Nash, Steve Blake and Jordan Farmar, appear ready to return to the lineup. "Theyre all good," DAntoni said. "I think theyre all ready to go. Theres a possibility all three could play (at Minnesota)." Lakers center Chris&nbssp;Kaman is probable Tuesday because of a sore knee and he has missed the previous seven games. LeSean McCoy Jersey. He might get the starting call with Gasol shelved, although Kaman has basically fallen out of the rotation. Meanwhile, the Timberwolves have dropped two in a row and three of five games, including Saturdays 120-113 setback at Atlanta. Kevin Love pumped in 43 points and grabbed 19 rebounds, while Kevin Martin and J.J. Barea added 17 and 12 points, respectively, for the Timberwolves, who finished shooting 44 percent from the field. Barea was ejected with 6:43 left in the fourth quarter after receiving his second technical foul. "I didnt even know I had it (43 points) until I think Martin told me after the game. I was just trying to get us back in the game by any means," Love said. "Teammates set me up with a lot of good shots. A loss, especially right now, is tough." Love has posted three straight double-doubles and nine in the last 10 games, posting an average of 25.3 points and 13.3 rebounds in that time. Minnesota has dropped 11 straight in Atlanta and will visit Oklahoma City and New Orleans after hosting the Lakers. The TWolves, who are 13-9 in the Twin Cities, have split two meetings with Los Angeles this season and will host the Lakers on March 28. The Lakers have won 26 of the last 28 matchups with Minnesota and are unbeaten in 11 straight and 12 of 13 contests at the Target Center. ' ' ' |
