Dein erstes Forum » xifen, Memphis was blown ou

STANFORD, Calif. - Venus Williams feels like the hometown girl when she plays at Stanford even though she grew up in Southern California and currently resides in Florida. She has enjoyed a lot of success here, made her professional debut at the event, and the crowd was clearly supporting her. "Its nice to have that support," Williams said after advancing to the Bank of the West quarterfinals Thursday night, beating fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 7-6 (1). "It was good to hear the oohs and aahs for both of us," the unseeded Williams said. "I dont want to let anybody down. This year has been a lot more relaxing than Southern California." Williams and Azarenka, both former world No. 1s, are working their way back to high level tennis following injuries and illness. Williams, who is 4-0 against the Belarusian, appears slightly ahead in her development. "Its always great to get a win against a player like Victoria, who is a champion," Williams said. "We played a high level and it got better as the match went on." After the 10th-ranked Azarenka, who celebrated her 25th birthday, saved three match points to tie it 6-6, Williams won the first five points in the tiebreaker. "The tiebreaker felt great," Williams said. "It brought out my best tennis. I needed the challenge." Azarenkas second serve was the biggest difference between the hard-hitting players. She won just 32 per cent of her second serves, handing Williams a significant advantage. "We both had good points," Azarenka said. "Venus was a little better on her execution on important points. I have to be realistic and look at the things that have to be done. Its not easy being patient but if I wanted easy, Id go sit on a couch." Despite losing, Azarenka was glad to be playing tennis on her birthday. "Losing is never satisfying," she said. "But I left the best part of my day on the court. I was able to do something I love on my birthday." Williams, who reached her third quarterfinal of the season, will face eighth-seeded Andrea Petkovic on Friday. Williams, in her 12th career appearance at Stanford, reached her 10th quarterfinal. She has won twice and finished second five times. Azarenka won the event in 2010 and has been eliminated in the second round in her last two appearances. "I was moving well and it was a good start," Azarenka said. "I know there is work to be done and that is what I want to do." Fifth-seeded Ana Ivanovic also advanced, beating qualifier Carol Zhao 6-1, 6-1. The 11th-ranked Serb, looking for her fourth title of the year, will face top-ranked Serena Williams on Friday. "It will be a tough challenge but a good test to see where I need to work," Ivanovic said. "Its a different part of the season and a different kind of tournament." Ivanovic will move into the top 10 next week for the first time in five years. "I cant think too much about the future," Ivanovic said. "I am looking to turn it around at the U.S. Open. After the match today I went back out on the court to get the rhythm back on my serve. Thats what I need to be doing." Zhao, a sophomore All-America at Stanford, appeared in her second WTA Tour event and gained her first career win at the level Tuesday when Yanina Wickmeyer retired because of a viral infection. Ivanovic, a former No. 1, had three aces and won 75 per cent of her first-serve points. In other matches, third-seeded Angelique Kerber beat Coco Vandeweghe, 7-6 (4), 0-6, 6-2, and Garbine Muguruza topped Daniela Hantuchova, 6-4, 6-4. Cheap Air Max Wholesale . Groves signed with Cleveland as an unrestricted free agent last year after a season with Arizona. He was in the linebacker rotation and had a sack in the season opener against Miami. Cheap Air Max Free Shipping . Lack replaced an injured Roberto Luongo late in the first period then watched defenceman Chris Tanev score the winning goal midway through the third as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Jets 2-1 in a tight NHL game. http://www.airmaxchinacheap.com/ . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Cheap Authentic Air Max . -- Thirty years ago, the Detroit Pistons beat the Denver Nuggets 186-184 in triple overtime, a game that remains the highest scoring in NBA history. Wholesale Air Max Shoes . Millsap will miss Wednesday nights game against the Chicago Bulls. The Hawks say Millsap also will be held out on Thursday at Boston.MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Memphis Grizzlies have parted with team CEO Jason Levien and director of player personnel Stu Lash in a front-office shake-up that follows the Grizzlies elimination in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The Grizzlies announced the moves Monday. General manager Chris Wallace assumes interim responsibility for basketball operations. Jason Wexler, the Grizzlies chief operating officer, remains responsible for business operations. Robert Pera, the Grizzlies controlling owner, thanked Levien for his hard work in a statement. "Rest assured that we remain as committed as ever to bringing a championship to this great city, and we are confident that when the new season begins our fans will be excited about both our roster and the direction of our organization," Pera said. Levien had been the Grizzlies CEO since Pera and his ownership group took control of the team in November 2012, and one of his biggest decisions was the hiring of Lash as director of player personnel and former ESPN writer John Hollinger as vice-president of basketball operations. The first season went well as the Grizzlies reached the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history. Then Grizzlies decided not to bring back coach Lionel Hollins, instead promotting Dave Joerger to head coach.dddddddddddd Under the first-year coach, the Grizzlies went 50-32 and reached the playoffs for the fourth straight season. But Memphis lost in seven games to Oklahoma City in the opening round of the playoffs. Under Joerger, the Grizzlies struggled at the start of the season going 10-15. He also lost centre Marc Gasol 23 games with a sprained left knee, and guards Mike Conley and Tony Allen also missed games with injuries. Joerger wound up using 17 different starting lineups with Levien and the front office making a variety of moves bringing in Courtney Lee, James Johnson from the D-League and Beno Udrih off waivers. The Grizzlies had to win the final five games of the regular season to earn the No. 7 seed. But guard Nick Calathes was suspended for 20 games for violating the leagues anti-drug policy by testing positive for tamoxifen, Memphis was blown out with a chance to close out the Thunder on its own court in Game 6 and then Zach Randolph was suspended for Game 7. Memphis has some big decisions to make this off-season. Randolph has a player option for next season at more than $16 million, and Gasol has two more seasons left on his contract. "Wow," Allen wrote on Twitter. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '