Die Macht » a world champion at three weight

Rome, Italy (Sports Network) - Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska was a second-round upset victim Tuesday at the Italian Open. Romanian qualifier Simona Halep upended the fourth-seeded Pole in 6-7 (2-7), 6-1, 6-2 fashion on the red clay at Foro Italico. Another second-round affair saw eighth-seeded former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova get past German slugger Sabine Lisicki, 6-4, 0-6, 7-5. Meanwhile, former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki went by way of a first-round upset, as Serb Bojana Jovanovski doused the 10th-seeded Dane 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5). Wozniacki blew a 5-2 lead in the deciding tiebreak. Wozniacki has been struggling on clay, losing in the first round at last weeks Madrid Open and in her first match in Stuttgart, Germany last month. Another opening-round upset of a former No. 1 came when Radwanskas younger sister, Urszula, took out 15th-seeded Serb Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 2-6, 6-2; and yet another seed was sent packing when Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro toppled No. 11 Nadia Petrova of Russia 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-1). Four other seeds avoided opening-round upsets, as No. 12 Russian Maria Kirilenko rolled past Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 6-3; No. 13 Italian favorite Roberta Vinci overcame Russian Elena Vesnina 6-7 (2-7), 7-5, 6-4; No. 14 Slovak Dominika Cibulkova fought back to beat Frances Kristina Mladenovic 1-6, 6-2, 6-2; and No. 16 American Sloane Stephens drubbed long-time Italian favorite Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 6-3. Medina Garrigues is the WTAs active leader in clay-court titles with 10. Additional first-round wins came for Chinese Zheng Jie, Swiss Romina Oprandi, German Julia Goerges, Belgian Yanina Wickmayer, and Americans Christina McHale and Varvara Lepchenko. McHale bested Italian Karin Knapp 7-5, 6-2, while Lepchenko leveled Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko 6-4, 6-2 on Day 2. Goerges is rewarded with a second-round match against former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka. The winner of this $2.4 million event will collect $445,000. Nike Air Max Womens Sale Yellow . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Nike Air Max Womens Sale Green . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that. http://www.nikeairmaxwomenssale.com/ . Thats not a comment on the suspension that banished the Portland Winterhawks general manager and coach from his Western Hockey League teams bench for most of the 2012-13 season. Nike Air Max Womens Sale 95 . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Nike Air Max Womens Sale Rose . With his new coach and six-time Grand Slam singles champion Boris Becker watching him during an official match for the first time, Djokovic appeared tentative early against the Slovakian player, who often appeared content to keep the ball in play. There was not one single complaint from the boxer, corner, promoter or crowd when Anthony Crolla dropped a tight decision and lost his WBA lightweight title to Jorge Linares in Manchester on Saturday night.Crolla fought the fight of his life and when the final bell sounded he could barely walk or talk, so total was his commitment and draining his exhaustion. It was an odd end, strangely muted considering the closeness of two of the three judges: all three voted in favour of Linares, one of boxings surest operators, and two separated the fighters by just one and two points respectively. It was close, but in many ways it was not even remotely close and that only happens when the best fight the best.It was mesmerising at times watching the brilliant Linares think his way out of corners, counter punch with such speed that trying to count the shots is nearly impossible to the human eye. Crolla, who was defending his WBA lightweight title, kept the first 10 rounds close with a bold performance aimed at breaking the spirit of Linares. It was a good plan but Linares was brilliant, the fighter with all the gifts in front of a sing-a-long crowd led in appreciation, and worship of Crolla from ringside, by Wayne Rooney and Ricky Hatton.There was talk of a rematch in February or March next by Eddie Hearn, the promoter who has guided Crolla from boxings obscure fringes to main attraction at the No. 1 fight venue, but that result is easily foretold: Linares would win again, sorry to report. Crollas chance of beating the Venezuelan was in this fight when he had momentum.Linares had been out of the ring for 11 long months with an injured hand and the home crowd would play their part. There was simply nothing more Crolla could hhave done and he can shake off his stiffness this week with pride.ddddddddddddThe fight with Linares, a world champion at three weights, was a huge risk for Crolla and its announcement put an end to all talk of a partial unification with WBO lightweight champion Terry Flanagan. The Flanagan fight was draped in plenty of cash -- there was an offer of ￡700,000 for Crolla from Flanagans promoter, Frank Warren -- and perhaps Crollas thinking was that beating Linares would increase his financial power at the negotiating table for a Flanagan fight in the future. That advantage has gone, but the fight remains.The defeat now means that in three consecutive September Saturdays five British boxers have lost in world title fights, three were stopped and two lost their world titles, which reduces the total number of British boxers currently holding a version of the world title to 11. The figure, still a record high, includes welterweight Kell Brook, who looks unlikely to ever make the limit again after his trip to middleweight to fight Gennady Golovkin.Hearn, however, was right when he added: It shows the world that British boxers are not afraid to take big fights; they have all dared to be great -- Kell (Brook), Liam (Smith) last week in Texas and Ant tonight. They all went for big fights.Before the end of November Anthony Joshua, Ricky Burns, Tony Bellew, Billy Joe Saunders, Flanagan and a couple of other British world champions will try and defend their titles and end the losing sequence. They will not all succeed, but it is doubtful if any will lose with as much dignity and pride as Crolla. ' ' '