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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. Cheap MLB Jerseys Online . Torres tells Spanish daily AS "in football you never know where you will be inside one month. Im going to work hard, thats all you can do with this last part of the season so important. Baseball Jerseys Authentic . -- Zach Johnson asked his short-iron approach on the par-4 18th to "Do something right, baby. http://www.cheapmlbjerseysfromchina.com/ . Malone will become an unrestricted free-agent and as per the collective bargaining agreement, the Lightning will be responsible for two-thirds of the remainder of his contract over twice the length of the rest of the deal. Cheap MLB Jerseys . Tristan Jackson returned a missed field goal 129 yards early in the fourth quarter as the Roughriders beat the B.C. Cheap MLB Jerseys From China .C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes used a strong third period to extend their winning streak to three games.LONDON - Canadian Milos Raonic was given a tough draw Monday for the upcoming Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., is in Group B with Switzerlands Roger Federer, Britains Andy Murray and Japanese newcomer Kei Nishikori.Raonic qualified for the London event after a strong performance at last weeks Paris Masters. Raonic defeated Federer for the first time in the quarter-finals before losing to top-ranked Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the final.Djokovic, a two-time defending champion, was handed a favourable draw in Group A. He was joined by slumping Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland, U.S. Open winner Marin Cilic of Croatia and Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.Djokovic, this years Wimbledon champion, is unbeaten onn indoor courts the past two years and is vying with Federer for the year-end No.dddddddddddd1 ranking.Third-ranked Rafael Nadal of Spain is skipping the tournament because of appendicitis.Raonic rose two spots to No. 8 in the latest ATP mens singles rankings.He improved to 1-6 lifetime against Federer with his victory last week in Paris. Raonic has a 1-4 mark against Nishikori and is 3-1 against Murray.In mens doubles, Torontos Daniel Nestor was fourth in the rankings behind Serbian partner Nenad Zimonjic. The 2008 and 2010 Tour Finals doubles champions are in the eight-team draw for this years competition.Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States share the top spot in the latest doubles rankings.The ATP Finals begin Sunday at the O2 Arena. ' ' '