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ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Top-ranked Serena Williams breezed past Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-1 to open her bid for a fourth ATP Championships title on Tuesday. Williams, the defending champion, had no trouble against Kerber, who also lost to the American 6-4, 6-1 in the round-robin at this event last year. Kerber was the only player to beat Williams last year - in Cincinnati - after the Americans first-round ouster at the French Open. "Today she was playing unbelievable, and I had actually no chance. I mean, she was serving great and also returning unbelievable," Kerber said. "So I was just giving all I could, but yeah, its tough to play against Serena like this." Williams was particularly effective with her backhand return, the shot she also used on her first match point. Kerber, who had two straight double-faults to surrender the first game of the second set, produced another to give Williams three match points. Although she is 32, considered a ripe age in tennis, Williams is enjoying the finest season in her career, having already won 10 titles. She added the French Open and U.S. Open titles to bring her Grand Slam record to 17 championships and is 74-4 for the year. Earlier, second-ranked Victoria Azarenka overcame an erratic performance to beat an ailing Sara Errani 7-6 (4), 6-2 in the opening match of tournament. "I was a little rusty at the beginning. I think its a little bit expected after a break, and playing right away against a top player always makes it a little bit difficult," Azarenka said. Williams, making her eighth appearance in the event, is looking to become the first player to successfully defend the title since Justine Henin in 2007. If she achieves the feat, she would equal Chris Evert for third most WTA Championships with her fourth. Henin was also the last to win 10 titles in a season, in 2007. Williams has clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking for the third time in her career after 2002 and 2009. Errani hurt her right calf in the third game of the second set and took a medical timeout to have it treated. Several times after that she seemed to be bothered by the injury and to favour her right leg, although she returned after the medical timeout to break Azarenkas serve to level at 2-2. She did not win another game though. "In the tiebreaker I felt a pain in my calf on serve," Errani said. "The first set was very tough, very long. I was running a lot." Errani served for the set three times -- and dropped serve each time as both players produced sloppy play with little rhythm. Azarenka, the Australian Open champion, managed to hold her serve only once through the first eight games but seized her chance when it came. She won four straight points in the tiebreaker to take a 5-3 lead, then faltered when she served her sixth double-fault. But an error by Errani gave Azarenka two set points. Errani then committed a double-fault and Azarenka had the set. "I think, overall was important to take that first set. It was a big turnaround point," Azarenka said. Azerenka, who was runner-up in the event in 2011 and a semifinalist last year, finished with eight double-faults but she also had 51 winners for Erranis 28. Azarenkas win was her first since losing the U.S. Open final to Serena Williams. Azarenka lost both of her opening matches in Tokyo and Beijing, where she had 15 double-faults. The tournament brings together the top eight players in the world. Third-ranked Maria Sharapova dropped out with a shoulder injury. The players are split onto two round-robin groups, with the top two finishers from each pool advancing to the semifinals. Stephen Curry Jersey . 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After deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league would consider pulling out of Sochi if something "significant" happens before players arrive, those set to participate are trying not to worry about that scenario.NEW YORK -- They were bloodied and eventually beaten, though not before delivering the type of effort Gregg Popovich always expects of his San Antonio Spurs. Even when his team is so banged-up that it had two guys in protective facemasks on the court at the same time -- and one of them broke his nose again, anyway. "I know we didnt look pretty," Popovich said. "Im more interested in results than how we look. So I thought they performed well." The short-handed Spurs hung in, but Alan Anderson scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 103-89 victory Thursday night. Despite playing without Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard, their top four scorers, the Spurs were still within five points early in the fourth quarter before the Nets pulled away for good. Deron Williams added 16 points and eight assists as Brooklyn ended a six-game losing streak to San Antonio with its first victory since March 29, 2010. The Spurs overcame all their challenges to pull out a 125-118 double-overtime victory at Washington on Wednesday, but didnt have enough to beat an improving Brooklyn team and fell to 2-1 on their nine-game rodeo trip. "Im disappointed we didnt win," Popovich said, shrugging off the injuries. "Im thinking we make a couple of 3s in the second half and we hang right in there, and thats the way youve got to look at it." Nando De Colo started for Parker, but had to rush off the court bleeding from the nose after he was whacked while trying to defend Andrei Kirilenko. He returned in the second half wearing a mask, as Matt Bonner already was. Bonner took another hit later and said he broke another bone in his nose. Cory Joseph scored 18 for the Spurs, Danny Green had 17 and Patty Mills 16. Paul Pierce had 12 points for the Nets, who have turned things around since the Spurs outclassed them 112-93 in San Antonio on New Years Eve, leaving Brooklyn at 10-21. They are 12-4 in 2014 and have won two straight since dropping three in a row, all against division leaders. "Weve got the pieces," Anderson said. "Were finally starting to turn the corner a lot more lately. I just want to win no matter how much Im pplaying.dddddddddddd" The Spurs trotted out Green, Marco Belinelli, Tiago Splitter, Joseph and De Colo to start, an unheralded lineup similar to the one Popovich used when he sent Duncan, Parker, Ginobili and Green home before another Thursday night nationally televised game at Miami early last season. That decision cost the Spurs a $250,000 fine from former Commissioner David Stern, but Popovich didnt have much of a choice who he played this time. Ginobili (left hamstring) and Leonard (broken bone in right hand) were already out, and Popovich noticed Parker labouring with a back injury during the first half Wednesday. Parker then sat the remainder of the game, and Duncan played a season-high 40 minutes, well more than Popovich prefers to use the 37-year-old forward and essentially mandating a night off Thursday. Making matters worse, Boris Diaw then was vomiting during the day at the team hotel because of food poisoning and couldnt play. "Really wishing that some of those guys were healthy right now," said Green, who played 35 minutes after logging 46 Wednesday. "Its always good to play a lot of minutes, but at the same time it would have been nice to have some of those guys healthy tonight." The guys that were left raced to a 20-8 lead and were ahead the whole first quarter, settling for a 24-17 advantage. The Nets took a 40-39 lead into halftime when Williams made a jumper with 38 seconds remaining. With the Nets leading by two late in the third, Anderson converted a three-point play, his first of seven straight Brooklyn points to end the quarter and give the Nets a 75-68 lead. He another three-point play with the Nets ahead by five in the fourth, and his 3-pointer made it 87-77 and the Nets were comfortably ahead from there. "I thought he was taking wide-open shots. He was also being aggressive, driving the ball knowing that they didnt have any shot blocking," Nets coach Jason Kidd said. Notes: The Nets Joe Johnson and the Belinelli were announced Thursday as competitors in the 3-point contest at All-Star Saturday night. ... Parker and Ginobili also missed the Nets previous victory in the series. The Nets havent beaten the Spurs when those two played since Nov. 13, 2002, according to STATS. Wholesale NFL Womens Jerseys Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Discount NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Stitched Jerseys ' ' '