miaowang123: Lafferty and Chris Kissock came on to shut the doo

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KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. Nationals Jerseys China . - 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. Custom Washington Nationals Jerseys . Mladenovics quick hands at the net made the difference while Bencics inexperience in doubles showed. "We took a lot of pleasure," Mladenovic told Sport Plus television. "Its extremely difficult to play in such conditions, but our doubles team showed a lot of quality. Austen Williams Jersey . The Philadelphia Eagles acquired running back Darren Sproles from the New Orleans Saints for a fifth-round draft pick on Tuesday.The Winnipeg Goldeyes just keep on winning. Casey Haerther hit his fifth homer of the year and starter Ethan Hollingsworth got his first win in front of the Shaw Park crowd, as the Goldeyes beat the Kansas City T-Bones 5-3 in front of 5,078 on a chilly Canada Day afternoon. With the victory, the Fish won their sixth straight (theyve won nine of 10), improved to 29-14 on the season and tightened their stranglehold on first place in the American Associations North Division. "This team is firing on all cylinders right now," said Haerther, who had two hits in four trips and raised his batting average to a league-leading .392. "Ive played on some good teams, but I dont remember many like this. Were pitching well, hitting well and guys are playing great defense. "And it doesnt feel streaky. It feels like were just going out there and playing and when the guys do what they do, we win." Kansas City opened the scoring with a run in the first, but the Goldeyes answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning. In fact, the first four GGoldeyes in the lineup hit safely. Frank Robinson Jersey. Tyler Kuhn led off with a single, Josh Mazzola followed with a single, Haerther drove home Kuhn with a single and Ray Sadler drove home Mazzola with another single. Haerther homered in the third to make it 3-1 and then, with two out in the sixth, a solo homer by Reggie Abercrombie made it 4-1 and an RBI double by Ryan Pineda drove home Brock Bond with the fifth Goldeyes run. Kansas City scored a pair in the seventh, but Brendan Lafferty and Chris Kissock came on to shut the door in the eighth and ninth innings and the Goldeyes opened this three-game series with Kansas City with a victory. Hollingsworth (2-0, 2.55 ERA) picked up the win for Winnipeg. Meanwhile, K.C. starter Andy Noga (0-3, 4.53 ERA) suffered the loss. Kissock picked up his team-leading ninth save. "I used my two seam and four seam fastballs and just got ahead of the hitters," said Hollingsworth. "I really didnt throw very many off-speed pitches. I just used the fastball and got some great defense behind me." ' ' '