Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - There may not be an all- Williams semifinal at the Australian Open, but two Americans will square off as Serena Williams and Madison Keys won their respective quarterfinal matches on Wednesday. The reigning U.S. Open champion Serena cruised past Dominika Cibulkova in 64 minutes, while Keys continued her impressive run with a three-set win over a her childhood idol Venus at Melbourne Park. Serena looks poised for her sixth Aussie title and 19th major overall after running through last years Aussie runner-up Cibulkova, 6-2, 6-2. The 11th-seeded Cibulkova stood no chance against the focused superstar, who fired 15 aces and 31 winners in the lopsided match. The world No. 1 Serena made her win look easy Wednesday despite suffering from a bad cold. Ive been sick the past few days, and its just getting worse and worse, but hopefully it will get better, she said. I heard theres a virus going around with a lot of the players, and I think I caught it. Meanwhile, the 19-year-old Keys, who had never traveled past the third round at a Grand Slam, battled through a thigh injury and overcame 45 unforced errors to pull out a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over her much-older countrymate Venus. The unseeded Keys cruised in the first set but struggled with the thigh in the second. Venus took that set with an ace, and the third fittingly went back-and-forth. The former top-ranked star Venus, who was seeded 18th and came into the match 9-0 on the year, twice went up a break, and Keys promptly answered with one of her own. Up 5-4 on Venus serve, Keys closed things out with four consecutive points at love. On match point, she caught Venus on her heels with a deep forehand that was returned into the net. Its amazing, you just have to embrace the moment, Keys said after the match. And I get to enjoy another moment next round. Skys the limit, Venus said of Keys. There is no limit on what you can achieve. No one can stop you. Sometimes you may not win every match, but theres a lot of them you can win, said the seven-time Grand Slam champ. Really, the skys the limit for her and anyone out there. At 34-years-old, Venus was trying to become the oldest woman to reach a Grand Slam semifinal in decades. She had her sights set on a potential eighth major and a Grand Slam matchup with her younger sister for the first time since the 2009 Wimbledon final. Venus lost to Serena in the 2003 all-sibling Aussie Open final. Serena and Keys have never met before, while the Thursdays other womens semifinal will pit second-seeded former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova against 10th-seeded fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova. Sharapova is 5-0 lifetime against the left-handed Makarova, including quarterfinal wins at the last two Aussie Opens. Sharapova owns five major titles, including last years French Open and the 2008 Aussie. Shes also a two-time runner-up in Melbourne. .The long-haired pivot, who joined the Alouettes midway through the CFL season and put up a 9-3 record as a starter, will be listed as the top quarterback in training camp next spring.With a full training camp under his belt, the Alouettes will see if he has what it takes to get them back to the Grey Cup game after a four-year absence. .com) - The Carolina Panthers won for the first time in seven games last week, were without Cam Newton due to a car accident this week, but somehow sit atop the much-maligned NFC South.
http://www.cheaphornetsjerseysauthentic ... ice-jersey. The 19-year-old from Westmount, Que., was edged 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-3 by third-seeded Alize Cornet of France. Cornet broke Bouchard twice in the last set and saved six break points in the three-hour match. . The Marlies centre set up three goals, including the game-winner, as Toronto cruised to a 4-1 victory over the Oklahoma City Barons in American Hockey League action. . Adding playoff teams. Monitoring instant replay from league headquarters. Possibly creating a set of guidelines to prevent locker-room bullying.Ronald Koeman was full of praise for his players after Southampton thrashed Manchester City 4-2 at St Marys on Sunday. Sadio Mane scored a hat-trick as the Saints netted four for the second Premier League game in a row, and Koeman was delighted with the performance of his side.Its very good to win against teams like City, Koeman told Sky Sports. You have to be at your best and the first 45 minutes was already more than our best. We played great football, created a lot of chances and scored two fantastic goals. Sadio Mane kisses the match-ball after scoring a hat-trick in Southamptons 4-2 win We were unlucky a little bit to be 2-1 at half-time, but in the second half we did everything you need to win against teams like City.I like a team who played from the start to win the game, and if we show that, Im enjoying football like today.Koeman was also full of praise for his attacking trio of Mane, Shane Long and Dusan Tadic, who caused City all kinds of problems at St Marys. Long scored the first before Manes hat-trick, while Tadic provided three assists for his team-mates. Jose Fonte felt Southamptons third goal made all the difference as Man City had made a strong start to the second half We have a lot of competition in our forwards and I think the three players up front did an amazing job today, said Koeman.dddddddddddd Sadio, Shane Long and Dusan Tadic... I think it was the key to make it very difficult for Citys defenders. Dusan is a type of player where if he gets some freedom, hes dangerous. He sees the options to give at the right moments, thats one of his big qualities.The result leaves Southampton in seventh place in the Premier League, and Koeman is hoping his side can go on to secure Europa League qualification. Its a very important win because it means were still fighting for Europe, said the Dutchman. Weve passed Liverpool and thats good.We know we need maybe two more wins, but I think weve shown in the last few months some great football and spirit, and if we show the belief we showed today, then maybe its possible.Its all about the final part of the season. Last year was fantastic - we had 60 points, now we have 57. Maybe we can do better than last season, and that will be incredible. Also See: Southampton 4-2 Man City Southampton fixtures As it happened Get a ￡10 free bet! ' ' '
