Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - Four-time champion Novak Djokovic and reigning titlist Stan Wawrinka were a pair of easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. The world No. 1 Djokovic disposed of Slovenian Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, while the fourth-seeded Wawrinka moved on in similar fashion, topping Turk Marsel Ilhan 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. Djokovic appeared to be tired and still recovering from illness after his match, saying hed had a rough two weeks health-wise but Im getting up there. His mood changed suddenly when a court-side interview turned to reflections of 2014, when he won Wimbledon for the second time, married his long-time girlfriend, Jelena, and the couple had a son, Stefan. Well those two events are the two most beautiful events I experienced in my life, he said. Stefan, hes a blessing we received ... now I have even more motivation. Djokovic titled here in 2008, then won three straight from 2011-13 before Wawrinka took the crown last year, stunning Rafael Nadal in the final. Its great, bringing me a lot of memories from last year, Wawrinka said of his return. It was great to come back here feeling happy, happy with my game. Up next for Djokovic will be Russian Andrey Kuznetsov, while Wawrinka will meet Romanian Marius Copil. Fifth-seeded U.S. Open runner-up Kei Nishikori made a confident start by beating Nicolas Almagro 6-4, 7-6 (7-1), 6-2, eighth-seeded Milos Raonic was a 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 winner over Illya Marchenko and No. 9 David Ferrer overcame Thomaz Bellucci 6-7 (7-2), 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 at Melbourne Park. No. 12 Feliciano Lopez trailed two-sets-to-one before rallying past American Denis Kudla 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), while 13th-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut got past promising Austrian Dominic Thiem 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5). No. 16 Fabio Fognini was upset by Colombian Alejandro Gonzalez 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. Meanwhile, 17th-seeded Gael Monfils overcame fellow Frenchman Lucas Pouille 6-7 (3-7), 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4, 18th-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon handled Dutchman Robin Haase 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 and 19th-seeded American John Isner dismissed Taiwans Jimmy Wang 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 6-4. In other action involving seeds, Italian Paolo Lorenzi upended No. 21 Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4, 6-3, 6-2; German Benjamin Becker bounced No. 25 Frenchman Julien Benneteau 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4; German Matthias Bachinger vanquished No. 27 Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay 7-6 (7-1), 6-3, 6-1; No. 30 Colombian Santiago Giraldo subdued Czech Jan Hernych 6-3, 6-2, 6-2; and No. 31 Spaniard Fernando Verdasco came back to best Brit James Ward 2-6, 6-0, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3. Aussie favorite and former Melbourne runner-up Lleyton Hewitt moved on by beating Chinese Ze Zhang 6-3, 1-6, 6-0, 6-4. Several other men reached the second round, including tall Pole Jerzy Janowicz, Finn Jarkko Nieminen, Americans Donald Young and Steve Johnson, and Canadian Vasek Pospisil, who outlasted American Sam Querrey in five sets, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. Young should have his hands full with the aforementioned Raonic here on Thursday. Several stars will see second-round action on Wednesday, including four-time Aussie champion and former runner-up Roger Federer, the former titlist and two-time runner-up Nadal and three-time runner-up Andy Murray. The second- seeded former world No. 1 Federer will take on Italian Simone Bolelli, while the third-seeded former top-ranked great Nadal will meet American Tim Smyczek and the sixth-seeded Murray will tangle with Aussie Marinko Matosevic. Also on the Day 3 schedule are seventh-seeded former Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych and 10th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov. Berdych and his model girlfriend, Ester Satorova, announced their engagement on Tuesday. . His fellow Finn, 21 years his junior, had just arrived in Anaheim and was hoping to stick with the Ducks. . At this point, even he isnt sure when it is going to stop. The right-hander dropped his fourth straight decision in Los Angeles 6-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night, leaving his status very much in doubt as the Dodgers prepare for the stretch drive.
http://www.cheappenguinsjerseysauthenti ... chi-jersey. The Toronto Argonauts (11-7) look for an opportunity to repeat as CFL champions when they host the surging Hamilton Tiger-Cats (10-8) on Sunday. . -- The Seattle Seahawks and wide receiver Sidney Rice have agreed to terms on a deal. .J. -- Kevin Gilbride retired Thursday as offensive co-ordinator for the New York Giants.Almeria, Spain (SportsNetwork.com) - Barcelona snapped a two-game slide in La Liga play by rallying for a 2-1 victory over Almeria at the Estadio Mediterraneo on Saturday. The Catalans entered the contest in poor form after dropping back-to-back matches in league play to slip from their perch atop the table, and things appeared to heading further south after Thievy Bifouma handed Almeria a 37th- minute lead by slotting a shot past Claudio Bravo on the counter. The hosts held the advantage until the 73rd minute when Neymar got on the end of Luis Suarezs square pass and tucked home the equalizer with a nifty finish. Barcelona ultimately found a winner eight minutes from time and it was Suarez again playing the role of the architect. The Uruguayan delivered an inch- perfect cross to the back post where Jordi Alba was arriving to guide the pass into the back of the net with a first-time finish. It wasnt a vintage Barcelona performance, but it was enough for the fableed club to stop the rot and climb to 25 points on the season.dddddddddddd The Catalans climb to second place in the table after Real Madrid cruised to a 5-1 demolition of Rayo Vallecano at the Bernabeu later on Saturday. Gareth Bale and Sergio Ramos put the hosts in good stead with first-half goals, though Alberto Bueno managed to pull one back for Rayo before the intermission. The second half, though, belonged to Madrid as Toni Kroos, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo notched a goal apiece to put the club back atop the table on 27 points. Malaga claimed a 2-1 home win over Eibar on Saturday to improve to 21 points on the season. The visitors took the lead through Mikel Arruabarrenas opener in the 42nd minute, but Juanmi leveled the score in the 53rd before a 90th-minute penalty from Nordin Amrabat handed Malaga the vital victory. Also on Saturday, Celta Vigo was held to a 0-0 home draw by Granada while Elche claimed a point from a 0-0 draw at Getafe. ' ' '
