Kritik und Lob » After tossing 7 1/3 scoreless frames to beat

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Serena Williams capitalized on a critical double-fault by Yaroslava Shvedova to survive a 69-minute first set and win her opening match at the Sony Open 7-6 (7), 6-2 on Thursday. "It was an incredibly tough first set," Williams said. "I just needed to relax and yet keep up the intensity." The top-ranked Williams seeks a record seventh Key Biscayne title, and her second in a row. No. 4-seeded Maria Sharapova, a five-time runner-up in the tournament, joined Williams in the third round by beating Kurumi Nara 6-3, 6-4. Seeded players had first-round byes. In mens play, former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt became the third active man to win 600 matches when he rallied past Robin Haase of the Netherlands 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Fellow Australian Bernard Tomic lasted only 28 minutes in the shortest match since the ATP started keeping such records in 1991, losing to Jarkko Nieminen 6-0, 6-1. Tomic, who won just 13 points, is mounting a comeback from surgery on both hips and was playing for the first time since January. "I did the best as I could," he said. "Hopefully in a little bit of time I can get back to 100 per cent." Williams, who owns a small share of the NFLs Miami Dolphins, wore a dress in the teams orange and turquoise colours -- which may explain her slow start. Or maybe it was because she hadnt played since Feb. 21. Williams had to erase a 5-3 deficit in the first set, and then fell behind 6-3 in the tiebreaker. Shvedova pushed a forehand into the net, then the Kazakh hit a nervous double-fault that allowed Williams to exhale. She won the next two points with aces, then closed out the set with a backhand winner, a fist pump and a scream of "Yes!" Her game steadied in the second set, when she had 18 winners and only 10 unforced errors -- bad news perhaps for opponents to come in the tournament Williams considers her hometown event. She lives an hour north in Palm Beach Gardens. "I love playing here," she told the crowd. The 33-year-old Hewitt also staged a comeback. With the victory, he joined Roger Federer (942 wins) and Rafael Nadal (675) in reaching the 600 match milestone. "Not many people get the opportunity to get close to that, so it means I have been around for an awfully long time," Hewitt said. "Im getting old. A few years ago when I had the last couple of surgeries, I probably would have doubted Id get to this stage. Im grateful Im out there and able to compete with the best guys." In other womens play, No. 5-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany won her opening match, beating Peng Shuai of China 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (5). Kerber, a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist, matched her best showing at Key Biscayne by reaching the third round. Ana Ivanovic beat American Lauren Davis 6-1, 6-1, and No. 8 Petra Kvitova defeated Argentinas Paula Ormaechea 6-3, 6-4. Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2006 champion, lost to Croatian qualifier Donna Vekic 7-6 (5), 7-5. Fridays stadium court schedule features the winners of 34 Grand Slam titles in five matches. The parade of champions will include Federer, Novak Djokovic, Venus Williams, Andy Murray and Li Na playing their opening matches. NBA Jerseys Store . Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points, Shawn Marion had 22 and the Mavericks beat undermanned Philadelphia 124-112 Friday night, handing the 76ers their 10th straight loss. Wholesale NBA Jerseys . Forsman closed with a 3-under 69 in windy conditions Sunday for his third Champions Tour title. He beat Jay Don Blake by two shots. https://www.nbachinajerseys.us/ . Second-seeded Sloane Stephens of the United States made lighter work of her day as she beat 2009 champion and Swiss wild card Timea Bacsinszky 6-3, 6-3. Two seeds fell: No. 4 Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium lost to Katarzyna Piter of Poland 6-4, 6-2, and No. Discount NBA Jerseys . Got Jacks? Pulling off a comeback for the ages, feisty Stephen F. Austin became the latest No. 12 seed to pull off an upset, tying the game on Desmond Haymons did-that-just-happen four-point play with 3. Clearance NBA Jerseys . Next years tournament is also within sight for Bosnia-Herzegovina, which has never played in a World Cup, but Cristiano Ronaldo looks destined for the playoffs with Portugal after a night when the qualifying picture in the nine groups became much clearer.The Toronto Blue Jays will try to build on Mondays win over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim when they open up a series against the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday. The Blue Jays will start knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, who is unbeaten in his last four starts (2-0). Dickey topped Philadelphia on Thursday, as he held them to three runs (2 earned) and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings to run his record to 3-3 to go along with a 4.72 ERA. He also has 23 strikeouts and 10 walks over his last four starts in 24 2/3 innings. Dickey has faced the Indians 11 times (5 starts) and is 2-2 versus them with a 3.61 ERA. Toronto can only hope Dickey pitches as well as Mark Buehrle did on Monday. The veteran left-hander survived six hits and five walks to allow just a pair of runs in six-plus innings in Torontos 7-2 win over the LA Angels of Anaheim. Buehrles seven wins and 2.04 ERA are tops in the American League. "Losing three straight at home, after we did play four games in a row good against Philly, but we have to come out and battle," Buehrle said. "If we win seven in a row, or we lose seven in a row, we cant get up too high, or down too low. We have to concentrate on each game, one game at a time." Jose Bautista and Brett Lawrie both homered in the win for the Blue Jays, who snapped a three-game losing streak. "They havent been able to bury us yet," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said of the AL. "We havent put it all together, but they havent been able to bury us. We still keep hanging around, so that gives me optimism that when it all starts clicking." Cleveland enters this series playing the best baseball of its season, having won five of six after a series win over the Tampa Bay Rays this past weekend. The Indiaans won Sundays rubber match, as Nyjer Morgan went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, two RBI and his first homer since 2012 in a 6-5 triumph.dddddddddddd "We were looking for a way to get him in there today and Im glad we did," Indians manager Terry Francona said. Yan Gomes also homered for Cleveland, while Michael Bourn drove in a pair to help Josh Tomlin (2-0) pick up his second win in as many starts this season. Tomlin allowed two runs on six hits over six strong innings. Now, the Indians turn to right-handed sinkerballer Justin Masterson, who has won his last two starts. After tossing 7 1/3 scoreless frames to beat the Chicago White Sox, Masterson defeated the Minnesota Twins on Thursday, limiting them to two earned runs in 6 1/3 innings. He also struck out seven, but walked four and still improved to 2-1 to go along with a 3.86 ERA. Masterson will be going on regular rest tonight after having pitched with an extra day his last time out. In four starts on regular rest this season, Masterson has turned in a 2.96 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. In his other three starts, which have come with extra days off, he has posted a 7.36 ERA and 2.05 WHIP. "It just feels right. I dont know what it is or how it works, but it just seems to be right," Masterson said. "I dont really know. It just kind of works out well. Everything is kind of lined up and you can say, Hey, this is my day. This is when Im doing it and Im going to make it work no matter what. Theres no question marks or anything. You know its your day." Masterson did not get a decision against the Jays earlier this season, but is 4-1 lifetime against them with a 2.79 ERA in 15 games (7 starts). Toronto took two of three from the Tribe earlier in the year. ' ' '