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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. Simon Mignolet Liverpool Jersey . As each game passes (each has played close with the exception of last night) it becomes clearer just how evenly matched these two teams are and how one mistake, or one bad inning, is likely to sway the result. Roberto Firmino Jersey . This is an exercise I have undertaken a few times, starting in 2009, and hope that Ive refined my approach a little bit in that time to help paint a better picture. http://www.liverpoolgear.us/ .Y. - Everyone expected Clayton Kershaw to pitch a shutout, and he did — a unanimous choice for the NL Cy Young Award. Loris Karius Jersey . Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter also scored for the Americans, who avoided a repeat of Finlands upset at the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November. Finnish goalie Noora Raty made 58 saves in that one, but the three-time Olympian could stop just 40 of 43 U. Loris Karius Liverpool Jersey . Maricopa County spokeswoman Cari Gerchick says thats the finding from an autopsy conducted Thursday by the county Medical Examiners Office. MONTREAL -- Montreals baseball fans will get a chance to applaud the 1994 Expos for their memorable, strike-shortened season. Former manager Felipe Alou has confirmed to The Canadian Press that he and other members of that dominant squad will be at an exhibition game next March at Olympic Stadium. Alou says he doesnt know exactly whats planned but hell be sure to make it up from the spring training camp of the San Francisco Giants, for whom hes a scout. He said the details still need to be ironed out with former Expos star Warren Cromartie, who is spearheading the event. "I know hes trying to reach other players from that team, but I dont know who he got. He told me hed be in touch after the season," Alou said in a phone interview. A news conference is scheduled for Tuesday when Cromarties Montreal Baseball Project will also introduce some results of a feasibility study on baseball in Montreal, commissioned by the local board of trade. The Expos were enjoying the best season in their history in 1994 -- with an outfield of Larry Walker, Moises Alou and Marquis Grissom, and a burgeoning Pedro Martinez who entered the season as the teams No. 4 starter. They had the best record in the major leagues, at 34 games over .500, when the season ended prematurely in mid-August. And for a number of key regulars, that was it. The Expos were dismantled before the next years Opening Day, in one of the periodic fire sales that crushed the spirits of the local fan base. The Expos played in a mostly empty stadium before moving to Washington a decade later. Major League Baseball will make a brief return next March, as Olympic Stadium hosts two exhibition games between the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets. The tickets have only been on sale for a few days but more than 40,000 total have already been sold for the games. That ensures a far better draw for the exhibition matches than what the Expos generally got for regular-season games in their final years. Alou, a forrmer National League manager of the year and a three-time all star during his playing days, maintains the city should have a big-league franchise.dddddddddddd "I always said Montreal would be a good city for Major League Baseball," Alou said. He added that there were whispers about minor-league baseball coming to Montreal, but he didnt buy it. "Montreal is a big-league city," Alou said. "Its a big-league city for hockey and I think it can be a big-league city for baseball." Theres one glaring prerequisite, though, for making baseball work there, Alou said: a downtown ballpark. The Olympic Stadium is located in the citys east end, away from central transport hubs. Its location required a lengthy night-time commute for fans who lived on the other side of the city core, or off the island. "I dont believe that any city that had Major League Baseball for 34 years went on without building a downtown major-league stadium," Alou said. Location wasnt the only problem, he said. He also suggested the cavernous concrete creation from the 1976 Olympics wasnt exactly propitious for baseball. "We never had a stadium in Montreal," Alou said. "Fans were fantastic to show up at Jarry Park and Olympic Stadium, but they never had the feeling to witness Major League Baseball in a Major League Baseball stadium." Alou remained popular with local fans throughout his time as Expos manager, as he compiled a record of 691 wins and 717 losses through various fire sales from 1992 to 2001. He later managed the Giants from 2003 to 2006, with a record of 342 wins to 304 losses. Baseball has crept into this falls municipal election campaign, with both main mayoral candidates speaking vaguely about the possibility of courting a new team. Alou said it wont work without a new ballpark. "If they get a team with no stadium, its going to fail," Alou said. "We cant go back and do the same mistakes." Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '