Spielzüge » Christina McHale of the United States next

MADRID - Serena Williams brushed aside Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 6-2, 6-1 to open her defence of the Madrid Open title on Sunday, while Maria Sharapova beat Klara Koukalova 6-1, 6-2 in the first round. In the mens tournament, Novak Djokovic withdrew before the start of the event because of a right wrist injury that had already affected his play at Monte Carlo last month. "I did everything possible in order to play in Madrid," Djokovic said. "But unfortunately my right arm injury has flared up again." The top-ranked Williams, who has won the clay-court tournament the past two years, hit 11 aces and broke Bencic five times to advance in less than an hour. Williams will play Peng Shuai of China in the second round. Sharapova, who lost to Williams in last years final, converted six of eight break points to take advantage of Koukalovas eight double-faults. The eighth-seeded Sharapova will play Christina McHale of the United States next. Also, Ana Ivanovic beat Madison Keys of the United States 6-1, 7-6 (4) to set up a meeting with fellow Serb Bojana Jovanovski. The 11th-seeded Ivanovic overcame her shaky serve by saving three of four break points. Hydro Flask Barn . The 30-year-old Moore played in 13 games for the Saints last season, catching 37 balls for 457 yards and two touchdowns. Hydro Flask Billig .J. -- Omar Cummings helped the Houston Dynamo advance to the MLS Eastern Conference finals. http://www.norgehydroflask.com/ . Five years ago, Nestor and Zimonjic beat the American twins to win the title. But the Bryans, the worlds top-ranked team, needed 74 minutes to earn the victory Saturday as both Nestor and Zimonjic lost serve in the second set. Hydro Flask i Butikk . Spencer Abbott and Trevor Smith scored third-period goals erasing a 2-1 deficit giving Toronto a late 3-2 lead. Hydro Flask Prisjakt .Gasol had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the Bulls beat the winless Orlando Magic 98-90 on Tuesday night.Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 21 points and Taj Gibson added 16 for Chicago, which finally pulled away in the final minutes of a game that was tied after three quarters.REGINA - Olympic gold-medal favourite Mark McMorris is in "great spirits," despite a fall that fractured a rib and nearly derailed his dream. Don McMorris, the snowboarders father, says Mark is moving around quite well after the incident during Saturdays slopestyle event at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colo. "When we left him (Sunday), he could bend over and touch his toes because of where (the injury) is at," Don McMorris told The Canadian Press on Monday. "You know a cracked rib in the front, you couldnt do that, but where its at (around the back), he could bend to his toes and could raise his knees up to kind of his chest. "He was really doing better than we all thought. Hes got five or six days before he has to worry about riding and hes got the best people around him." Mark McMorris caught his snowboard on the lip of a rail and went sliding down the bar on his right side before landing hard on the snow during the final. He stayed on the ground for a few minutes before riding down the hill under his own power. It seems the 20-year-old Regina native lost focus. "He probably hit that rail through the week, I dont know 50 times, and never had a problem with it or any of the rails because thats, I think, one of the strongest parts of his riding," said Don McMorris, who was in Aspen when his son fell. "But obviously he was focused on what he was going to do on the jump line because he was going to try something pretty major." Don McMorris says his son didnt hurt much at first, but the pain got worse as the afternoon wore on. Mark McMorrris finished with a silver medal at the event, but was "pretty down," said his father.dddddddddddd Mark McMorris had said being an Olympian is a dream come true. He was the two-time defending Winter X Games champion in slopestyle. When he was named to the Olympic team earlier this month, McMorris said hes been "preparing like a mad man." The fall raised questions as to whether he could compete in Sochi. "He was really scared, not necessarily about his own well-being, I dont think, but that he wouldnt get to go to the Olympics," said Don McMorris. "That was really playing on his mind and when he does that, he just gets really quiet and doesnt really talk or say much to anybody. "And you could just tell that he was really scared and worried about not getting to fulfil his dream." The elder McMorris says the tough part was waiting to hear what the team doctors had to say. He describes it as an agonizing wait of about three hours. They eventually decided Mark would go to Sochi, as planned. "I cant tell you what he said because that would not be printable," joked Don McMorris. "He was really relieved." A fractured rib usually takes six weeks to heal, so Mark McMorris wont have time to fully recover before the Games start Feb. 7. But his father is cautiously optimistic. "Yes, Im optimistic, (I) have to be," he said. "I mean maybe too optimistic because theres going to be a lot of pain and . . . you dont know how the body will react, but compared to what it could have been, were pretty happy." ' ' '