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KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. - Maria Sharapova needed nine match points before she finally closed out a win Saturday in the third round of the Sony Open, beating Lucie Safarova 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-2. No. 1-ranked Serena Williams won a marathon, too, taking 2 1/2 hours to eliminate Caroline Garcia 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Mens No. 1 Rafael Nadal began a bid for his first Key Biscayne title by beating Lleyton Hewitt 6-1, 6-3. Sharapova had two match points in the tiebreaker, and seven more in the final game. The No. 26-seeded Safarova stayed alive with a succession of vital winners. "She kept hitting unbelievable shots," Sharapova said. "One more. One more. I said, How many chances are you going to get?" With the capacity crowd in a frenzy, a long exchange on the final point ended with Safarova pushing a weary forehand into the net. She then shared a hug with Sharapova. The match took three hours and ended at 10 p.m. to conclude an 11-hour day session on the stadium court, with two night-session matches yet to come. "After a match like that, its tough to have only one winner," Sharapova said, "because both players give a lot and both want to win so much." Williams match was a thriller, too. A succession of long rallies left her grunting, stumbling, lunging, squealing, flailing her arms and scolding herself. Despite all the drama and trauma, she moved one round closer to a record seventh Key Biscayne title. Williams is playing in her first tournament after a monthlong layoff, and rustiness might explain her 41 unforced errors, including seven double-faults. And the 20-year-old Garcia kept Williams on her heels with deep groundstrokes and serves that topped out at 117 mph. "I can play a hundred times better," Williams said. "I really gave myself a tremendous amount of trouble out there. Granted she played great, but I made so many errors ... 40-something errors. Its not the way to play professional tennis. Maybe amateur." Three-time champion Novak Djokovic was off Saturday but advanced to the fourth round anyway when his next scheduled opponent, Florian Mayer, withdrew because of a groin injury. Djokovics next match will be Tuesday. Stanislas Wawrinka bounced back from his first loss of the year by beating Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-0, 3-6, 6-3. No. 7 Tomas Berdych joined Wawrinka in the third round by beating Stephane Robert 7-6 (5), 6-1. No. 10-seeded John Isner rallied to win an all-American matchup against Donald Young, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4. Isner is back in the top 10 this week for the first time in 18 months. Sam Querrey, Ryan Harrison and Jack Sock lost second-round matches. That left Isner as the lone remaining American in the mens draw, reflecting the state of U.S. tennis. Williams and Garcia engaged in a succession of side-to-side baseline exchanges that had the stadium crowd roaring. But she finished in a hurry, serving out the final game at love with the help of consecutive aces. Reigning Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has predicted that Garcia will someday climb to No. 1, but the Frenchwoman is now 0-3 against Williams. "Its always nice to play against a big player," Garcia said. "You are working and practicing to play this match, because its in this kind of match you can learn more. But next time I prefer to win." Williams is playing for the 14th time at Key Biscayne, an hour from her home in Palm Beach Gardens. She won the event for the first time in 2002 and tied Andre Agassis record of six titles last year. Replica Wholesale Shoes . The day began ominously for the Rangers when star pitcher Yu Darvish was scratched from his scheduled start with stiffness in his neck. Fill-in Scott Baker gave up three hits over six innings and Chris Gimenez hit a tiebreaking two-out RBI single in the sixth off Phil Hughes. Vapormax Sale . 28 with a Vancouver entry for the first time in 10 years and a novel new collective bargaining agreement. https://www.wholesaleshoesforcheap.com/sneakers-sale/. Hall joined Bengals teammates for a voluntary workout on Monday. Hes got his mobility back and is on schedule to be ready for the season. CINCINNATI - Bengals cornerback Leon Hall is happy with his recovery from a torn Achilles tendon and expects to be ready for the start of training camp in July. Vans Shoes Sale . -- Oakland Athletics starting pitchers Jarrod Parker and A. Air Jordan Sale .Two San Francisco radio stations say they wont play the song during the duration of the World Series. A Kansas City, Missouri, station responded with plans to play the Grammy-winning track every hour from 7 a. MADRID, Spain -- Real Sociedads hopes of returning to the Champions League next season took a hit on Monday after it fell 3-2 at home to bottom-of-the-table Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish league. Sociedad slipped eight points behind fourth-place Athletic Bilbao, which holds the final qualifying place for Europes top-tier event. Rayo, meanwhile, is only one point from salvation after Ruben Rochina smashed a rising shot while on the run into goal for the 67th-minute winner. Sociedad twice took the lead, in the opening instances through Inigo Martinez and then Ruben Pardo after the restart, but on both occasions the visitors equalized within minutes through Joaquin Larrivey and Alberto Bueno, respectively. Despite Reals constant pressing over the final 15 minutes, the Basque club couldnt string together a decent effort on goal as Carlos Vela was guilty of wasting a clear opportunity at the close. "This game has given us life, it could be a fundamental ressult," Rayo coach Paco Jemez said.dddddddddddd Rayo has 26 points alongside fellow relegation battlers Almeria and Valladolid, while Getafe is just one point better. Elsewhere, 10-man Malaga also enhanced its hopes of surviving the drop after securing a 2-0 win away to Osasuna, which is now just three points clear of relegation. Samuel Sanchez gave the visitors the lead a quarter of the way in before the visitors were reduced by a player when Jesus Gamez was shown a second yellow card in the 52nd. No matter, as Nordin Amrabat doubled the Andalucians lead in the 66th, Malaga also hung on thanks to stellar goalkeeping by Willy Caballero. Malaga joined Elche and Osasuna on 29 points with the victory. Real Madrid leads the standings with 67 points, three better than Atletico Madrid. Barcelona is third with 63 points, while Athletic has 51. Getafe fired coach Luis Garcia on Monday, with former player Cosmin Contra taking over the duties. ' ' '