Wuhan, China - Venus Williams was a first-round loser Sunday in the inaugural Wuhan Tennis Open, while Victoria Azarenka withdrew from the event because of a foot injury that will also end her season. Azarenka, a wild card entry into this weeks tournament, made the announcement Sunday on her Facebook page, citing a foot injury. Unfortunately I will not be competing in any tournaments for the remainder of the season, she wrote. It has been a very tough year for me. I have been trying my best to improve day in and day out by pushing and pushing ... but that does not appear to be the best approach for me right now. I will use this time to work on making a full recovery and take care of my body to compete at my best next season. Azarenka did not win a tournament this year, reaching only one final -- a loss to Serena Williams in the season-opener at Brisbane. The two-time Australian Open champ missed seven of her first 16 scheduled events because of various injuries and will be replaced in this weeks draw by lucky loser Annika Beck of Germany. The eight top seeds in Wuhan, including world No. 1 Serena Williams, have first-round byes and Sundays action featured Caroline Garcias upset of Venus Williams. Garcia and Venus battled for more than 2 1/2 hours before the Frenchwoman finally emerged with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6) triumph. Shell next face fifth- seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland. Heat was a factor on Sunday in central China, as 16-year-old wild card Xu Shilin was forced to retire in the third set against American Alison Riske after nearly three hours on the court. The match was even after both players captured 6-4 wins in the first two sets and were tied at 6-6 in the third when Shilin was forced to call it quits because of the heat. Seeded winners Sunday included Russias Ekaterina Makarova and Germanys Andrea Petkovic. The 13th-seeded Makarova rolled to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Serbias Bojana Jovanovski, while the 16th-seeded Petkovic rallied for a 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Croatian qualifier Donna Vekic. A pair of former Grand Slam champions were also in action and came away with different results. Russias Svetlana Kuznetsova thumped Japans Kurumi Nara, 6-3, 6-2, while Italys Francesca Schiavone, who first had to make it through qualifying, lost to Belgian wild card Kirsten Flipkens in three sets. Other winners Sunday were Czech veteran Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine and qualifiers Karin Knapp of Italy and Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan. Knapp won the Tashkent Open last Sunday, but was a first-round loser this week in Guangzhou. With Azarenkas withdrawal, 19 of the top 20 players are entered this week. Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province and the most populous city in central China. Its also the hometown of two-time Grand Slam champion Li Na, who retired from the WTA last Friday. . -- Officials have approved a deal to build a new $672 million stadium for the Atlanta Braves away from the downtown Atlanta area that has traditionally been its home. . - Maynor Figueroa headed in a late goal to give Honduras a 1-1 draw with the United States in an international friendly Tuesday.
http://www.cheapcardinalsjerseysauthentic.com/. Carling Bassett-Seguso was a world No. 8 almost 30 years ago. Currently 13th, Bouchard is assured of equalling that when the next rankings are released Monday. . Costa Rica followed up its wins over Uruguay and Italy by holding England to a dour 0-0 draw on Tuesday, enough to finish first in Group D. . He had spent 16 days on the disabled list before being activated Thursday. He was batting just .203 when he came to bat in the 11th inning on Sunday.LOS ANGELES -- Justin Williams and the Los Angeles Kings know theyre one of the NHLs best teams whenever their streaky offence measures up to their ever-sturdy defence. After a dominant win over an Eastern Conference power, Williams is confident the Kings are headed back into balance. Williams had a power-play goal and an assist in his 800th career game, Jonathan Quick made 20 saves and the Kings slowed their recent slide with a 4-2 victory over Boston on Thursday night. Jeff Carter, Alec Martinez and captain Dustin Brown also scored for the Kings, who won for just the second time in eight games by thoroughly outplaying the Atlantic Division leaders. After a prolonged slump, Los Angeles goal-scorers might be waking up: Carter launched 10 shots and scored his 16th goal, while Browns third-period score gave the Kings more than three goals for the first time in nine games since Dec. 19. "Sometimes things have a way of evening out when youre not scoring," Williams said. "I thought we were very assertive tonight. ... We should be proud of the way we responded when they pushed us, and we should be proud we scored four goals on a stingy defensive team." Although the Kings have allowed the NHLs fewest goals, their meagreoffence has knocked them off the scorching pace set by the rival Anaheim Ducks atop the overall league standings. But their defence is still dominant, no matter whos in goal: Quick earned his second win since his return from a 24-game injury absence, allowing just four goals in three games. "Being out for seven weeks, it seems like he didnt even miss a game," Brown said. "Thats why hes the best goalie." Justin Florek scored his first career goal for the Bruins, who have lost on the first two stops of their three-game California road trip. Tuukka Rask gave up three goals on 18 shots before Chad Johnson replaced him. "Were just not getting it done right now," Johnson said. "We just need to regroup and take as many positives as we can from these games and realize what we need to do to have success and win games. I think it just comes down to intensity and that passion to want to win games. Thaats what were lacking.dddddddddddd When were sitting back, were not a good team." Matt Fraser also scored for Boston, which had another frustrating offensive performance in its fifth loss in six road games despite the landmark goal from Florek, who tipped home a shot in front of Quick on a power play with 2:13 to play. "We know we can play much better than we are right now," Boston captain Zdeno Chara said. "Thats whats frustrating. We need to get our game back. Its not going to happen overnight, and its not going to happen by trying to make some high-risk plays. Weve just got to stay patient and slowly gain our game back. Weve just got to grind it out." Carters opening goal was his sixth in nine games, highlighting a 10-shot performance by the Canadian Olympic team selection. The Bruins killed off a penalty to Dougie Hamilton spanning the first intermission, but Hamilton stuck his stick out of the penalty box to play the puck as his penalty expired, putting him right back in the box for interference. Williams beat Rask with a wrist shot moments later for his 14th goal. Just 1:01 later, Martinez scored his first goal in three weeks on a long, wobbly shot, chasing Rask. Hamilton forced a turnover midway through the period that led to Frasers goal on a setup from Carl Soderberg. But the Kings clamped down on defence again, and Brown scored his ninth goal in the third period on a well-placed wrist shot. "We didnt get much from our top two lines, and you need that if youre going to win some hockey games," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "They were pretty quiet tonight." NOTES: Bruins F Shawn Thornton served the final game of his 15-game suspension for attacking Pittsburghs Brooks Orpik on Dec. 7. The notorious fourth-liner is eligible to return Saturday in San Jose. ... The Bruins hadnt visited Los Angeles since March 2012. The teams meet again Jan. 20 in Boston. ... Florek was playing in his third career game. He scored his first point two nights earlier in Anaheim. ... Milan Lucic returned to the Bruins lineup after missing one game with an illness. ... Quick earned an assist on Williams goal. ' ' '
