Plauderecke » the first set and getting a look at another break

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Venus Williams was moving freely in her first-round match at the Australian Open, breezing through the first set and getting a look at another break in the second against a player who upset her sister here two years ago. Thats when things started to go wrong for her Monday, the first day of the season-opening major. The seven-time Grand Slam champion missed the break-point chance in the sixth game and then, after getting to 40-30 on serve in the ninth, inexplicably firing three consecutive double-faults to surrender a break and just about the set to No. 22-seeded Ekaterina Makarova. After a quick break and a change of her self-designed zebra print dress, she took a 3-0 lead in the third before her unforced error toll climbed to 56 and Makarova won six of the next seven games for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win. The 33-year-old Williams, the second-oldest player in the tournament, has struggled with injuries and illness in recent seasons but reached the final of the WTA event at Auckland to start 2014 and came to Melbourne saying she was feeling better than she had in years. "The last 12 months I have had issues," she said. "But this year I definitely am looking forward to having a good run and feeling well." That didnt happen Monday. "My level was a little bit too up and down. Obviously my error count was a little high," said Williams, the 2003 finalist who was playing in her 14th Australian Open. "I have to give her a lot of credit, though, she was very determined ... played hard." Makarova said because it was the first match of the tournament, it was probably more difficult to beat Venus than it was to upset Serena Williams in the fourth round here in 2012. Shell meet another American in the second round after qualifier Irina Falconi beat Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 6-3, 6-1. Two highly-ranked Italians lost in the first round, with 2012 French Open finalist Sara Errani, seeded 7th, beaten 6-3, 6-2 by Julia Gorges of Germany and No. 12 Roberta Vinci losing 6-4, 6-3 to Zheng Jie of China. Montreal native Eugenie Bouchard, who is seeded 30th, reached the second round with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Chen Tang Hao of China. Bouchard led the opening set 3-1, only to fall behind 5-3. Bouchard saved set points in the ensuing game on Tang errors before finally earning a 7-5 win on a break. The 19-year-old Bouchard was more in control in the second set and dominated to win the set 6-1. Vasek Pospisil, a 23-year-old Vancouver resident who grew up in Vernon, B.C., also won his opening match early Monday. The 28th seed, playing in a grand slam for the first time, defeated unseeded Sam Groth of Australia 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. Two-time finalist Li Na beat Ana Konjuh of Croatia -- the youngest player in the tournament -- 6-2, 6-0 in 61 minutes to set up a meeting with another 16-year-old in the next round after Belinda Bencic of Switzerland accounted for 43-year-old Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm in three sets. Date-Krumm was 27 years older than Bencic, the reigning French Open and Wimbledon junior champion. The 2011 French Open champion is in the same half of the draw as No. 1-ranked Serena Williams, who was scheduled to play a night match against Australian teenager Ashleigh Barty. Wimbledon semifinalist Kirsten Flipkens was the first woman into the second round when she beat Britains Laura Robson 6-3, 6-0. No. 9 Angelique Kerber, 2011 U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur, No. 14 Ana Ivanovic, No. 26 Lucie Safarova, No. 28 Flavia Pennetta, No. 30 Eugenie Bouchard of Canada and No. 31 Daniela Hantuchova also went through. American Madison Keys wasted five match points in the second set and another in the third before finally beating Patricia Mayr-Achleitner of Austria 6-2, 6-7 (8), 9-7. Eighth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka, who won the recent Chennai Open in India, was the first man into the next round, advancing after just 15 games when Andrey Golubev retired with an injured left leg. Wawrinka, who lost 12-10 in the fifth set to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the fourth round here last year in the longest Grand Slam match of 2013, was leading 6-4, 6-1 when his Kazakhstan rival quit. Two other players retired due to shoulder injuries, with Alex Bogomolov Jr., quitting after losing two sets to No. 15 Fabio Fognini and No. 12-seeded Tommy Haas pulling out when he was down a set and a break against Guilllermo Garcia-Lopez. Third-ranked David Ferrer opened with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over Colombias Alejandro Gonzalez on Rod Laver Arena and No. 7 Tomas Berdych beat Aleksandr Nedovyesov of Ukraine 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. Other men advancing included No. 9 Richard Gasquet, No. 14 Mikhail Youzhny, No. 19 Kevin Anderson, No. 23 Ernests Gulbis, No. 29 Jeremy Chardy, No. 32 Ivan Dodig, who beat fellow Croatian Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (8), 6-3, 7-6 (4), and American Sam Querrey, who defeated Santiago Giraldo of Colombia, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (3). Zach Collins Blazers Jersey . You can watch the game live on TSN2 and TSN Mobile TV at 9pm et/6pm pt. Jonathan Huberdeau and Quinton Howden are expected to make their debuts for Team Canada. C.J. McCollum Jersey . Dwyane Wade followed a few days later. http://www.blazersteamofficial.com/Terry-Porter-Blazers-Jersey/ . "I was so nervous," Hadley said Sunday after winning the Puerto Rico Open for his first PGA Tour victory. "I did not eat well last night. C.J. McCollum Blazers Jersey . -- Billy Andrade hasnt played much competitive golf over the past four years. Brandon Roy Jersey . The Islanders own the fifth pick in the 2014 draft but had until June 1 to decide whether to keep it or defer to 2015. The selection was packaged in the teams deal for Thomas Vanek on October 27, 2013.Phoenix, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Courtney Lee returned to the Memphis lineup after missing two games with a concussion and made an impact, scoring 22 points to help the Grizzlies take a 102-91 win over the Phoenix Suns and remain unbeaten on the season. Mike Conley scored a game-high 24 points with 11 assists for Memphis, as he and Lee both shot 9-of-14 from the field. Marc Gasol had 18 points and Memphis improved to 5-0 to build on the best start in franchise history. Eric Bledsoe netted 23 points for Phoenix, losers in two of three. Markieff Morris added 20 points and Isaiah Thomas gave 15 off the bench. The Suns led by six at halftime and went up by nine when Bledsoe opened the second half with a 3-pointer. The lead was eight when Lees layup ignited the Grizzlies, who outscored Phoenix by 13 the rest of the quarter. Lee and Conley combined for 17 in the third, nearly matching thhe 19 points that Phoenix scored as a team.dddddddddddd Gasol and Lee both scored four points to account for an 8-0 Grizzlies run early in the fourth. P.J. Tucker and Markieff Morris gave the Suns hope with back-to-back triples later in the stanza, but Lee countered with a 3-ball and the lead wouldnt dip under eight the rest of the way. Markieff Morris scored the games first four points and Marcus Morris dunked to make it 6-0. Memphis was forced to use an early timeout, but responded with a Conley jumper and Lee 3-pointer. Midway through the quarter, Conley tied it with a long two. Phoenix led 27-26 after one and extended their lead to 52-46 at halftime. Game Notes Memphis has won five straight against the Suns ... Memphis had 25 assists on its 40 baskets. Phoenix only assisted on 13 of its 32 field goals ... Both teams scored 15 fastbreak points. ' ' '