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DUNEDIN, New Zealand -- Flyhalf Lima Sopoaga kicked 25 points as the Highlanders beat the Hurricanes 35-31 in Super Rugby on Friday. Sopoaga hit the upright with his first shot at goal from 15 metres. He then kicked nine goals in succession -- two conversions and seven penalties -- before being replaced in the 62nd minute, three points short of the Highlanders record for most points in a match. All Blacks flyhalf Beauden Barrett scored 26 points for the Hurricanes, four shy of the Wellington teams points-scoring record. He had two late tries as his team rallied from 35-12 down with 19 unanswered points. Barrett also kicked two conversions and four penalties but his efforts were only good enough to earn the Hurricanes a consolation bonus point. The Hurricanes have just one win from five games, which should put even more pressure on embattled coach Mark Hammett now that the teams playoff hopes are almost gone with less than a third of the season completed. The Highlanders won their opening match against the Auckland-based Blues before dropping close games to the Chiefs and the Western Force. Fridays win was their second in four games, lifting them to second behind the Chiefs in the New Zealand conference at the start of the sixth round. "We played a good first half and we really put them under pressure," Highlanders captain Nasi Manu said. "But I think when we came out in the second half we were guilty of defending the lead and not playing much rugby and, like a dangerous Hurricanes side, they almost caught us." Sopoagas outstanding kicking performance helped give the Highlanders an 18-9 lead in the first half. Phil Burleigh and Patrick Osborne then scored second-half tries to give the Highlanders a 35-12 lead after 56 minutes. "It was a tricky first half in which penalties ruled the day and we couldnt get into it," Hurricanes captain Conrad Smith said. "But we felt pretty good and then we just got caught chasing the game again. We coughed up a try and there were a few 50-50 moments but good sides respond better than that." ------ Highlanders 35 (Phil Burleigh, Patrick Osborne tries; Lima Sopoaga 2 conversions, 7 penalties), Hurricanes 31 (Beauden Barrett 2, Ben Franks tries; Beauden Barrett 2 conversions, 4 penalties). Halftime: 18-9. . Hes the same player he always was, only now his efforts are being rewarded. The rookie manager has made a habit of heaping praise on others when things are going well, and accepting criticism when they arent. But in the case of Hurtado, its what the coach is NOT saying that may be the secret to a superb run of form. . 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. . Patton told The Baltimore Sun that he took an Adderall pill four days before the season finished, trying to improve his short-term focus. "I took one because I was stupid," Patton told The Sun. . - The Green Bay Packers got back to work on Friday without star quarterback Aaron Rodgers. . A wide-eyed 18-year-old visiting North America for only the second time in his young life, Caboclo immediately noticed the "big tower" his new home is best known for.MONACO -- Canadas Milos Raonic opened his clay-court season with a second-round victory over Taiwans Yen Lu-Hsun at the Monte Carlos Masters on Wednesday. The No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., rebounded nicely after dropping a first-set tiebreaker in the 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-1 victory. "I did a lot of things well today," Raonic said. "I had the discipline I needed when things were not going so well. "I played a clean match, on a lot of his service games I was creating opportunities for myself." Raonic, who had a first-round bye, fired 19 aces and completed the win in just under two hours in cool, windy conditions. He had three set point opportunities in the opening set but couldnt convert. "Even losing the first set, I still had chances in his service games," he said. "During the rest of the match on every game on his serve I was at least getting close. "I felt at ease despite the situation after the end of the first set." The Canadian rallied in the second set with an early break to lead for 2-0, eventually taking a 5-2 lead and serving it out to pull even. He ran away with the third set for the win. Raonic will next play No. 11 Tommy Robredo of Spain, who earned a 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 win over Julien Benneteau of France. "My goal is to do as well as I can this clay season and better than I did last year," said Raonic. "My main focus will be on the tournaments in Madrid and Paris." Also Wednesday, Roger Federer was happier than eight-time champion Rafael Nadal after their straight-sets wins to reach the third round. Federer took just 52 minutes to beat veteran Radek Stepanek 6-1, 6-2, while Nadal overcame a rusty start to put away Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-4, 6-1. The top-seeded Nadal, who lost the title to Novak Djokovic last year, dropped his opening service game and trailed 3-1 in the first set. But from 4-4, the Spaniard reeled off six straight games, then the Russian qualifier broke his serve again. "I think I started little bit slow," Nadal said. "But he was playing very, very aggressive, hitting very strong, with no mistakes." Nadals body language suggested he was far from happy with his performance. At times he looked glum-faced, other times annoyed with his shots.dddddddddddd His serve was vulnerable, too, as he conceded four break-point chances -- including in consecutive service games during the second set. He clinched victory with a crisp forehand winner. "I felt comfortable in the second set," Nadal said. "I think I was playing better. " Federer, returning to the tournament for the first time since 2011, was far more ruthless as he raced to 5-0 in 17 minutes. He improved his record against the 35-year-old Stepanek to 14-2. The Czech has not beaten Federer in six years. "A bit surprised how well it went. On clay, when you have the upper hand from the baseline, its kind of hard to get out of it," Federer said. "Thats kind of how it was for Radek. I had a good start to both sets, I was solid on my own service games. It was clearly a good match to start my clay-court campaign." The fourth-seeded Federer next plays another Czech, Lukas Rosol, who beat Frenchman Michael Llodra 6-4, 6-4, while Nadal plays Italian Andreas Seppi, who won 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-4 against Spaniard Pablo Andujar. Federer has never won Monte Carlo, losing in three straight finals to Nadal from 2006-08. They cant meet again until the final. Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka, seeded third, was slightly faster than Federer, needing only 46 minutes to thrash Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-0, 6-2. "I expected a more difficult first round against him. I felt good on the court," Wawrinka said. "I know that if I feel good physically, then I am able to put a lot of pressure on my opponent." No. 10 Fabio Fognini of Italy, No. 11 Tommy Robredo, No. 12 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria and No. 15 Nicolas Almagro -- both Spanish -- also advanced to the third round. Raonic rallied to beat Lu Yen-Hsun of Taiwan 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-1; Fognini downed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4; Robredo won 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 against Julien Benneteau of France; Dimitrov downed Spaniard Albert Ramos 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 and Almagro beat Nicolas Mahut, 7-6 (3), 6-3. Grand Prix Hassan II winner Guillermo Garcia-Lopez beat No. 17 Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-1, 7-5, and Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta next faces defending champion Novak Djokovic after winning 6-3, 7-6 (6) against Gael Monfils. ' ' '
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