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KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. Daniel Murphy Mets Jersey . - 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." Chris Young Authentic Jersey . The Stars were up 3-1 in the third. Stars and Jets will meet at the MTS Centre Sunday night (TSN Jets, TSN 1290) in what is a must win for the Jets. The Jets and Stars will meet in Dallas later this month, the Stars have two games in hand. Ike Davis Authentic Jersey . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca! Kerry, I would like your opinion on the Joe Pavelski shootout goal. It appears that Pavelski comes to a stop, waits and then shoots. Should this goal have counted in the shootout? Unapologetic Ducks fan. Kerry, On Saturday night during the shootout, San Joses Joe Pavelski appeared to come to a complete stop while moving towards Jonas Hiller. Immediately after stopping he shot the puck and scored the only goal (for either team) during the shootout. I thought that the rules were that both the puck and the shooter had to keep up uninterrupted forward momentum for the goal to count? A little clarification would be great because Id hate to think that yet another game this season was decided by a refs blown call, there have been FAR too many of those already. Love the column, thanks for helping further everyones education and knowledge about the game that we all love. Greg Lykes Greg and our Unapologetic Ducks fan, Welcome to another shootout "razzle-dazzle" which should be redefined in the rule book as an NHL skills competition where anything goes. Its about time to change the wording in rule 24 to include, "any move that resembles a skilled hockey play." The lacrosse-like whip and spin-o-rama are approved for use as skilled moves and both involve continuous motion. It might be argued that Joe Pavelski maintained a semblance of forward motion when he slammed on the brakes resulting in a forward slide and then immediately turned his blades from that sliding stop to a continuation of his glide momentum towards Jonas Hiller. There was also an ever so slight forward rotation of the puck only detected by video replay as Pavelski exeecuted a stickhandle move in conjunction with his sliding stop. Zack Wheeler Mets Jersey. Pavelskis stick motion, from back to front, throughout this stickhandle maneuver is deemed legal puck possession as he teed the puck up for a shot. All this allows the execution of Pavelskis shootout move to be deemed "legal" by a technicality. Rule 24.2 presently reads, "However, should the puck come to a complete stop at any time during the shot attempt, the shot shall be stopped and no goal will be the result." To the naked eye in real-time, it appears that both the puck and Pavelski came to a complete stop. Slow-motion video review can provide a different picture; especially if the viewer desires all of these "hockey plays" to be deemed legal. My take is that an attacker is given a distinct and unfair advantage over the goalkeeper on most of these "stop and go" type maneuvers. While it might be entertaining for fans during an All-Star Game Skills Competition where there is little on the line except bragging rights, a regular season shootout is worth a point in the standings. Shootout wins can make a huge difference in the final standings for playoffs. The integrity of the final standings is being compromised by circumventing the spirit of Rule 24 through unfair advantages shooters are being given over the goalkeepers. Short of a rule change, the referees should be empowered to kill the play whenever they determine (with their naked eye) that the puck has not been kept in motion towards the goal as the current rule states. It would take a large measure of courage on the part of the refs to make that call, in addition to support offered from a Hockey Operations Dept. that has set the existing standard. Dont expect a change anytime soon unless the goalkeeper fraternity revolts en masse. wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
