Sydney, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - Petra Kvitova captured her first title of 2015 with a straight-set victory over fellow Czech Karolina Pliskova in Fridays final at the Sydney International. The second-seeded Kvitova gutted out a pair of tiebreaks to earn a 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (8-6) victory, claiming her 15th career title and third in Australia. Im glad I can stand here as the winner of this tournament, Kvitova said. For me, this week will always give me great memories in my mind. Kvitova previously won Australian Open tune-up crowns in 2009 at Hobart and 2011 at Brisbane. She has struggled somewhat in the opening Grand Slam event of the year, however, with four exits before the third round and a semifinal finish in 2012 her best result in six tries. The last two visits to Melbourne have been particularly rough, a second-round setback in 2013 and a stunning first-round loss last year against Luksika Kumkhum. She will face a qualifier in the first round next week. Pliskova fell to 3-4 all-time in WTA finals. She reached five title matches last year, winning twice, and is expected to move into the Top 20 for the first time when the new rankings are released next week. Congratulations to Petra, Pliskova said. She had an amazing week. She was playing very well today and was definitely the better player out there, so I wish her good luck in Melbourne next week. But it was a good week for me before Melbourne too. I hope to come back next year. A qualifier is also on the first-round schedule for Pliskova In Melbourne next week. Kvitova improved to 2-0 lifetime against Pliskova, also winning last year in Wuhan, China, and she earned a first prize of $124,000. . The agreement comes a little more than one week after the video game manufacturer agreed to a $40 million settlement in a similar but separate case, bringing the total payout planned for athletes to $60 million, said Steve Berman, an attorney for the plaintiffs, and the NCAA. . Both sides of the deal have formally announced acquisitions: TFC introduced Jozy Altidore as a designated player on Friday, while their counterparts announced a three-and-a-half-year deal with Jermain Defoe.
http://www.cheapbrewersjerseysauthentic ... ogt-jersey. Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley told local media in comments published Wednesday that John Tomic would not be allowed into Melbourne Park in any official capacity or as a spectator. . Bouchard went down to a 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 defeat at the hands of Svitolina in her opening match at the Sony Open on Friday. Bouchard got the rivalry going two years ago when she won the junior Wimbledon title over Svitolina. . 8 Sergio Parisse for its penultimate Six Nations match against Ireland at Lansdowne Road. DENVER -- This time, the Sacramento Kings enjoyed their trip to Denver. Isaiah Thomas scored 33 points, Rudy Gay had 32 and the Kings used 39 third-quarter points to race past the Nuggets 109-95 on Sunday night. DeMarcus Cousins added 27 points for the Kings, who snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. It was Sacramentos first win in Denver since a 118-115 victory on April 5, 2008. The Kings have won three of their last four games overall, including both ends of a back-to-back. "The third quarter kind of dictated the game," Thomas said. "We were getting stops and we got out and ran. Thats when were at our best, when were in transition. We were in attack mode. Rudy started it off, DeMarcus got easy buckets and I just got what they gave me. I was making open shots. We played a helluva third quarter." Randy Foye and Evan Fournier each scored 27 points for the slumping Nuggets, who lost for the seventh time in the last eight games. The Nuggets fell to 1-5 without leading scorer Ty Lawson, who missed a sixth game because of a fractured left rib. "We basically controlled the whole first half, did what we wanted to do, and then we came out and gave up 39 points in the third quarter. Thats unacceptable," Foye said after Denver managed just 18 points in the third. "Its tough, man. But weve got to stay together, weve got to keep fighting and keep believing; dont give in. Thats the main thing. Everybody goes through times like this during the season. Its important for us to continue to fight, to keep pushing." Down 58-51 after Foye hit a pair of 3-pointers in the third, the Kings responded with a 21-2 run that put them in front 72-60 with 4:55 left in the period. Gay scored nine points in the decisive stretch, including consecutive three-point plays.dddddddddddd Cousins hit a couple of jumpers and Thomas twice connected from 3-point range, with Kenneth Farieds mid-range jumper accounting for Denvers only points during Sacramentos surge. "I wouldnt say it was the best quarter we put together all year but it was pretty good," Gay said. "We got back defensively, Fournier was hurting us in the first half, we got out and guarded him. They still hit a couple of tough shots but for the most part we attacked, got to the foul line and found the open man." The Kings carried an 87-70 lead into the fourth quarter. A 3-pointer by Wilson Chandler pulled the Nuggets to 94-84 with 6:41 left, but the Kings scored the next nine points, including another three-point play by Gay. The Nuggets opened a 13-point lead midway through the second quarter. Fournier connected on two 3-pointers and Jan Vesely, making his home debut after being acquired Thursday from Washington, broke through for a pair of dunks. Sacramento pulled to 52-48 at halftime, outscoring the Nuggets 8-1 in the last 2:10 of the second quarter, with Gay driving for a dunk to close the spurt. NOTES: Nuggets F Darrell Arthur missed the game after he strained his left hip during Fridays loss at Chicago. ... The Kings announced that Jason Terry, who was acquired from Brooklyn with Reggie Evans in exchange for Marcus Thornton, will miss the rest of the season so he can continue rehabilitating a knee injury. ... Sacramento has scored 100 or more points in three of its last four games. ... Gay surpassed 20 points for the third time in four games. ... Fourniers 27 points were a career high, surpassing his previous best by two. ' ' '
