Gäste-Forum » Grant has picked up where he left off

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. - Maria Sharapova needed nine match points before she finally closed out a win Saturday in the third round of the Sony Open, beating Lucie Safarova 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-2. No. 1-ranked Serena Williams won a marathon, too, taking 2 1/2 hours to eliminate Caroline Garcia 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Mens No. 1 Rafael Nadal began a bid for his first Key Biscayne title by beating Lleyton Hewitt 6-1, 6-3. Sharapova had two match points in the tiebreaker, and seven more in the final game. The No. 26-seeded Safarova stayed alive with a succession of vital winners. "She kept hitting unbelievable shots," Sharapova said. "One more. One more. I said, How many chances are you going to get?" With the capacity crowd in a frenzy, a long exchange on the final point ended with Safarova pushing a weary forehand into the net. She then shared a hug with Sharapova. The match took three hours and ended at 10 p.m. to conclude an 11-hour day session on the stadium court, with two night-session matches yet to come. "After a match like that, its tough to have only one winner," Sharapova said, "because both players give a lot and both want to win so much." Williams match was a thriller, too. A succession of long rallies left her grunting, stumbling, lunging, squealing, flailing her arms and scolding herself. Despite all the drama and trauma, she moved one round closer to a record seventh Key Biscayne title. Williams is playing in her first tournament after a monthlong layoff, and rustiness might explain her 41 unforced errors, including seven double-faults. And the 20-year-old Garcia kept Williams on her heels with deep groundstrokes and serves that topped out at 117 mph. "I can play a hundred times better," Williams said. "I really gave myself a tremendous amount of trouble out there. Granted she played great, but I made so many errors ... 40-something errors. Its not the way to play professional tennis. Maybe amateur." Three-time champion Novak Djokovic was off Saturday but advanced to the fourth round anyway when his next scheduled opponent, Florian Mayer, withdrew because of a groin injury. Djokovics next match will be Tuesday. Stanislas Wawrinka bounced back from his first loss of the year by beating Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-0, 3-6, 6-3. No. 7 Tomas Berdych joined Wawrinka in the third round by beating Stephane Robert 7-6 (5), 6-1. No. 10-seeded John Isner rallied to win an all-American matchup against Donald Young, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4. Isner is back in the top 10 this week for the first time in 18 months. Sam Querrey, Ryan Harrison and Jack Sock lost second-round matches. That left Isner as the lone remaining American in the mens draw, reflecting the state of U.S. tennis. Williams and Garcia engaged in a succession of side-to-side baseline exchanges that had the stadium crowd roaring. But she finished in a hurry, serving out the final game at love with the help of consecutive aces. Reigning Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has predicted that Garcia will someday climb to No. 1, but the Frenchwoman is now 0-3 against Williams. "Its always nice to play against a big player," Garcia said. "You are working and practicing to play this match, because its in this kind of match you can learn more. But next time I prefer to win." Williams is playing for the 14th time at Key Biscayne, an hour from her home in Palm Beach Gardens. She won the event for the first time in 2002 and tied Andre Agassis record of six titles last year. Cam Reddish Hawks Jersey .5 million. 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Ellis hit an RBI single in the ninth inning, Hanley Ramirez hit a tape-measure, three-run homer in the first against Cliff Lee and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 on Saturday night.Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - In the second half of the fourth-annual Crossroads Classic, the 21st-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish will clash with the Purdue Boilermakers at Banker Life Fieldhouse. The Crossroads Classic serves to highlight basketball in the state of Indiana and will open on Saturday with the 23rd-ranked Butler Bulldogs taking on the Indiana Hoosiers. Mike Breys Irish have suffered just one defeat on the season, that coming back on Nov. 23 by a single point on the road at Providence (75-74). Since then, Notre Dame has reeled off six straight victories and moved to 10-1 on the year with last weekends 83-63 rout of Florida State in ACC action. Matt Painters Boilermakers are off to a solid start to their season as well. Purdue enters this game with an 8-3 overall mark, although it has split its last four games. The Boilermakers have also been idle for a week after last weekends 81-71 road loss at Vanderbilt. Notre Dame holds a narrow 21-20 series lead thanks to wins in each of the last two meetings with Purdue. The Irish came out on top in Indianapolis two years ago, 81-68. Purdue fell behind by 11 points at the half and just couldnt do enough over the final 20 minutes to prevent Vanderbilt from earning a 10-point win. The Boilermakers shot the ball at an efficient rate overall (.473), but Vandy hit nine 3-pointers in the game compared to Purdues three. Raphael Davis led four Boilermakers in double digits with 15 points. Isaac Haas finished with 13, while Kendall Stephens Bryson Scott chhecked in with 11 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench.dddddddddddd Purdue has been solid at the offensive end this season, averaging a strong 76.7 ppg on .470 shooting. The team has also excelled on the glass, outrebounding foes by seven caroms per contest. Stephens isnt starting right now, but still leads the team in scoring at 12.3 ppg. Haas checks in at 11.5 ppg and is followed closely in the scoring column by Vince Edwards and his 10.7 ppg. The Boilermakers will need to stay sharp offensively on Saturday, as Notre Dame has shown plenty of firepower and efficiency at that end of the floor. The Irish are seventh nationally in scoring (84.9 ppg) and lead the nation in field-goal percentage (.557), including .409 from behind the arc. Scoring depth is apparent, as four of the teams five starters are averaging double figures, led by Jerian Grants 18.9 ppg. Grant has picked up where he left off after missing most of last season and is also the teams top facilitator, dishing out 6.0 apg. Zach Auguste can fill up the basket as well at 15.2 ppg, followed by Demetrius Jackson and Pat Connaughton with 13.3 and 12.7 ppg, respectively. Notre Dames 83 points against Florida State represented the teams most in an ACC contest since joining the league. The Irish were able to convert 51.7 percent from the floor and dominated down low with 46 points in the paint. Auguste was 11-of-15 from the floor and finished with a game-high 26 points. Grant and Jackson had big games as well, netting 18 points apiece. ' ' '