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lingzi
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Feb 6 2013, 02:55 AM
Post #1
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MONTREAL -- Winning the womens Rogers Cup was a breakthrough event for Petra Kvitova. Ed Dickson Jersey . Not only was it the 22-year-old Czechs first WTA Tour victory of the year, it was also the first of her eight career titles that was won on North American soil. "I hope it will continue," said Kvitova, who said this week she has had trouble winning in North America because the high humidity affects her asthma. "North America is always tough for me and Im so glad how I played here this week." Kvitova defeated Chinas Li Na 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 in two hours 17 minute final on Monday night before a less-than capacity crowd at Uniprix Stadium. The tournament is also at the start of the hardcourt season leading into the U.S. Open at the end of the month. "Its great," said Kvitova, who won six titles last year, including Wimbledon. "I finally won a title this year. It was a good final, a good fight from both sides." She won $360,000 while Li got $180,000. The win avenged a loss to Li at Sydney this year and evened their all-time matchup at two victories apiece. "It was a tough match, this was a tennis war," said 30-year-old Li. "Both players played good. "Shes very tough. She plays the ball so deep. I felt I was always on defence. The last two matches I felt I could be aggressive on the court, but this one I felt I was 70 per cent of the time on defence." The match pitted two grand slam champions from 2011, as Li took the French Open. Li is 0-3 in tournament finals this year. Kvitova, seeded fifth, struggled to start, hitting several balls long, and fell behind 3-1 before she found the range with her forehand and charged back to take the lead. Even then, she needed to save three break points to take a 6-5 lead, then won the set on her fifth break point against 10th-seeded Li. Spectators were stunned to see Li take the first 16 points of the second set to grab a 4-0 lead before Kvitova finally held serve. But Kvitova got her game back for the third, hammering shots deep in the hardcourt that Li could not return. Li didnt help herself by hitting two easy smashes into the net. Her service was broken at 3-2 when she doubled faulted, then had a return fly wide off the rim of her racket. "Between the second and third sets when I was in the locker room changing my clothes, I knew I had to attack the balls and play much faster than in the second set, and have a better first serve percentage," said Kvitova, who punctuated the win with an ace on match point. Kvitova, a southpaw who won on International Lefthanders Day, reached the final with a three-set victory over seventh-seeded Caroline Wozniacki. Li had a tougher route, getting past local prospect Eugenie Bouchard, eighth-seeded Sara Errani and second-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska just to reach the semifinals. There she roared back from a 5-1 third-set deficit to defeat another Czech lefty, Lucie Safarova. Under agreement with the WTA, organizers had a private jet waiting at the airport to take the finalists to the next Tour stop in Cincinnati. It was the first day of the week-long Rogers Cup with no rain delays, but the 11,659-seat centre court was still about 2,000 under capacity as fans stayed home. Most of it went up against the London Olympics as well, which also dampened the usual buzz around the event. Some star players also either skipped or withdrew from the tournament, including Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka. Haloti Ngata Black Jersey . Hudon scored three times in less than five minute in the third period Wednesday to lift Chicoutimi over the Victoriaville Tigres 4-3 in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Justin Tucker Super bowl Jersey . He took a line drive off his leg and had to be helped off the field. http://www.ravenssuperbowl47teamshop.com/torrey-smith-jerseys . Rory McIlroy Rory McIlroy had a great start to the season and then seemingly hit a wall in the middle of the year. He went from winning tournaments to missing cuts. Dennis Pitta Black Jersey . Mark Scheifele and Alexander Burmistrov were among the notable players given assignments at other levels. Drafted seventh overall by the Jets in 2011, Sheifele was assigned to the Barrie Colts of the OHL. Jacoby Jones Super bowl Jersey . Manager Dusty Baker plans to use Broxton as a set-up man for closer Aroldis Chapman, who has dominated while finishing games. Baker said Broxton could be used in save situations when Chapman has pitched several days in a row. The Reds surged into the NL Central lead by winning 10 in a row before their 11-5 loss to San Diego on Monday night. CALGARY -- Cape Breton was named host of the 2014 world under-17 Hockey Challenge on Friday. The weeklong tournament will begin Dec. 29, 2013. Several games will be played at the Centre 200 in Sydney, N.S., the home of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey Leagues Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. SSome games will also be played at other venues. Anquan Boldin Jersey. The event will have five Canadian entries (Atlantic, Ontario, Pacific, Quebec, West) and five international teams. The tournament was last played in Nova Scotia in 2001, when Truro and New Glasgow served as hosts. ' ' '
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