Johnson capped his big night with an eighth-inning single | Forum
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Nov 18 '19
Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork. Christian Yelich Jersey .com) - Five-time champion Serena Williams, fourth seed Petra Kvitova and former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki were among Tuesdays first-round winners at the Australian Open. The top-ranked Williams waltzed past Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck 6-0, 6-4 at Melbourne Park. The 18-time Grand Slam champion and reigning U.S. Open titlist is seeking her first title in Melbourne since 2010. One more Grand Slam title and she would pass Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova on the all-time list of champions. If I could get to 19 in Australia that would be amazing, Williams said. Up next for the American great will be former top-10 star Vera Zvonareva, who lost to Williams in the 2010 Wimbledon final. The reigning Wimbledon champion Kvitova recorded her 65th career Grand Slam victory with a 6-1, 6-4 decision over Belgiums Richel Hogenkamp, while the eighth-seeded U.S. Open runner-up Wozniacki topped American Taylor Townsend 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 on Day 2. Kvitova, fresh off her title in Sydney last week, will be opposed by German Mona Barthel in her next outing, while Wozniackis second-round opponent will be fellow former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka. The unseeded two-time Aussie champ from Belarus Azarenka got off to a fine start this week by pasting American Sloane Stephens 6-3, 6-2. Azarenka titled back-to-back here in 2012 and 2013 before being slowed by a foot injury last year. Azarenka will meet Wozniacki for an eighth time, with the Dane leading the Belarusian in their lifetime series, 4-3. Wozniacki got the better of Azarenka in the third round at the 2008 U.S. Open in their lone Grand Slam matchup. Meanwhile, sixth-seeded former Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska dispatched Japans Kurumi Nara 6-3, 6-0 and 11th-seeded 2014 Aussie Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova came from behind to best Belgian Kirsten Flipkens 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. Cibulkova lost to since-retired Li Na in last years finale in Oz. Venus Williams, the former No. 1 who is seeded 18th at this fortnight, took care of Spaniard Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor 6-2, 6-2. Venus, an Aussie runner-up to her younger sister Serena in 2003, opened her 2015 season with a title in Auckland two weeks ago, beating Wozniacki in the final. Venus second-round opponent will be fellow American Lauren Davis. Also, Camila Giorgi upended 12th-seeded fellow Italian Flavia Pennetta 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 and Swiss Timea Bacsinszky knocked out 15th-seeded former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 6-4. In other seeded action Tuesday, American Madison Brengle, last weeks runner- up in Hobart, ousted No. 13 Andrea Petkovic 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3; No. 19 Alize Cornet defeated Zhang Shuai 6-3, 6-2; No. 20 Aussie Samantha Stosur beat Monica Niculescu 6-4, 6-1; No. 24 Garbine Muguruza topped Marina Erakovic 7-5, 6-0; No. 25 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova dismissed Timea Babos 6-4, 6-4; No. 26 Elina Svitolina erased Jana Cepelova 6-3, 7-5; No. 29 Aussie Casey Dellacqua cruised past Yvonne Meusburger 6-4, 6-0, and No. 30 American Varvara Lepchenko vaulted past Vitalia Diatchenko 6-3, 6-3. Several other women advanced, including Americans Coco Vandeweghe, Irina Falconi and Madison Keys, who defeated Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko 6-3, 7-5. The second round will commence Wednesday, including matches for second-seeded former No. 1, former Aussie champ and two-time runner-up Maria Sharapova, third-seeded French Open finalist Simona Halep and seventh-seeded Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard. Sharapova will take on fellow Russian Alexandra Panova, while Halep will meet Aussie Jarmila Gajdosova and Bouchard will battle Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens. Chase Anderson Jersey . Patrik Bartosak turned away 50-of-52 shots for the Rebels (28-26-4), who halted their losing streak at seven games. Trailing 2-1 after 40 minutes of play, Feser forced overtime with his second goal of the game at 5:35 of the third period. Ben Gamel Brewers Jersey . The 27-year-old forward has informed the Leafs that he will be unable to play in Monday nights home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.ATLANTA - With a runner on second and first base open, the Cubs played it by the book and walked Justin Upton. Even before leaving the batters box, Upton flashed a grin to Freddie Freeman, who also grinned as he waited on-deck. They seemed to know what was coming. Freemans single up the middle drove in Jason Heyward from second base in the 10th inning and the Atlanta Braves recovered from Craig Kimbrels blown save to beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2 Friday night. Freeman said he savored the opportunity when the Cubs walked Upton. "It puts a smile on my face," Freeman said. "I dont know if you saw on TV, but after the second, third and fourth pitches Justin and I were kind of just laughing at each other. It kind of fires you up, if youre not fired up already. "When they walk someone intentionally to get to you, it definitely lights a fire under your butt." Chris Johnson, whose two-run single in the third inning gave Atlanta a 2-1 lead, said facing Freeman with the game on the line is a dangerous strategy. Freeman, who had three hits, is hitting .321. "I think Freddie is the best hitter in the National League," said Johnson, who had three hits. Kimbrel couldnt hold the 2-1 lead in the ninth after Julio Teheran allowed only one hit — Mike Olts homer — in eight innings. Wesley Wright (0-1) walked Heyward to lead off the 10th. Heyward stole second base, setting up Wrights intentional walk to Upton. Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said he knows Cubs manager Rick Renteria faced a tough decision. "Youve got to pick your poison," Gonzalez said. Freeman ended the game with his single. Heyward slid home with the winning run as Ryan Kalishs throw from centre field was off target. Luis Valbuena led off the 10th with a single to right field off Alex Wood (3-5), who then recorded three straight outs in his first relief appearance of the season. The Braves announced before the game Wood was moving to the bullpen for one week. The Braves eaarned only their second win in their last 10 games. Tyrone Taylor Jersey. The Cubs, last in the NL Central, have lost five of six but took some solace in the ninth-inning comeback off Kimbrel. "All in all, I take away we fought a pretty good battle, but we just fell a little short," Renteria said. Olt led off the third inning with his seventh homer to give Chicago a 1-0 lead. Teheran retired 17 consecutive batters after the homer. Chris Coghlan led off the ninth with a single off Kimbrel. Coghlan moved to second on Emilio Bonifacios groundout and scored on a single to left by Kalish, who advanced to second on Justin Uptons fielding error. Kalish moved to third on Anthony Rizzos grounder to first. Kimbrel walked Starlin Castro before ending the inning on another grounder by Nate Schierholtz. "Theres definitely a lot of fight in this team," Olt said. "As long as we keep fighting were going to find a way to come up with some wins." Teheran began the night fifth in the majors with a 1.80 ERA and he lowered the mark to 1.71. He had a season-high nine strikeouts with two walks. Kimbrel suffered his second blown save in 11 chances. Chicagos Jason Hammel allowed two runs on seven hits and one walk in seven innings. The Braves only runs against Hammel came on a string of three straight two-out hits in the third. Freeman and Evan Gattis singled, Gattis moved to second on a wild pitch and Johnson drove both runners in with a single to left field. NOTES: The start of the game was delayed 18 minutes by rain. ... Johnson capped his big night with an eighth-inning single before stealing second — his first stolen base since 2012 and only the 11th of his career. ... Wood had been scheduled to start Sunday against the Cubs. Instead, RHP Aaron Harang will make Sundays start. Gonzalez said Wood will be back in the rotation on May 17 against St. Louis. ... The series continues on Saturday night when Braves RHP Ervin Santana faces Cubs RHP Jeff Samardzija. ' ' '
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