MADRID, Spain -- Second-ranked Li Na started her Madrid Open campaign by overcoming a stubborn opponent just as third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska did to reach the second round on Monday. [url=http://www.officialflamesfanstore.com/authentic-miikka-kiprusoff-fl ames-jersey/]Miikka Kiprusoff Jersey[/url]

MADRID, Spain -- Second-ranked Li Na started her Madrid Open campaign by overcoming a stubborn opponent just as third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska did to reach the second round on Monday. Miikka Kiprusoff Jersey . Lis clay debut began with an encouraging 6-1, 7-6 (7) victory over Belgiums Kirsten Flipkens before Radwanska also advanced thanks to a 7-6 (3), 6-2 win over Canadas Eugenie Bouchard. Li, the Australian Open champion, survived two set points by Flipkens, and eventually took the tiebreaker to avoid another surprise first-round exit like last year. Li goes up against fellow Chinese player Zheng Jie next. Bouchard came out on the losing end of a tough match against third-ranked Radwanska, as the Polish player earned her 25th match win of the season. "The tiebreak was the biggest key," said Radwanska, who goes on to play Svetlana Kuznetsova. "I did a couple of good shots in the tiebreak and managed to win that, and that gave me more confidence in the second set." Kuznetsova held off Alize Cornet of France 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 as the Russian continued her good run, including reaching the final in Portugal on Saturday. Also, Caroline Wozniacki was a 6-2, 6-2 victor over Ekaterina Makarova while Spanish player Carla Suarez Navarro followed up from winning her first career title in Portugal with a 7-6 (6), 6-4 win over Yvonne Meusburger of Austria. Ninth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia was bounced 6-4, 6-0 by Samantha Stosur of Australia. A minutes silence was scheduled to be held at the Magic Boxs Manolo Santana centre court before the evening match in remembrance of Elena Baltacha, a former top-50 British womens player who died of liver cancer on Sunday. In mens first-round play, ninth-seeded John Isner beat Russian qualifier Teymuraz Gabashvili 7-6 (8), 6-4, with the American securing the only break in a match heavy on baseline groundstrokes. Kei Nishikori followed up his Barcelona Open triumph with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Ivan Dodig of Croatia. Nishikori said working with former French Open champion Michael Chang boosted his confidence on this surface as he won his first career clay title in Barcelona. "I did well last week in Barcelona and Im getting better on clay, so hopefully I can go further this week," the 12th-ranked Japanese player said. "There was just one bad game, on my serve at 3-2 in the second set. Otherwise, it was an almost perfect match." Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, while Gilles Simon emerged from another all-French matchup, after Benoit Paire retired, to play Roger Federer next. Stanislas Wawrinka, who is looking to follow-up his Monte Carlos Masters triumph, opens in the Spanish capital against Dominic Thiem after the Austrian beat Dmitry Tursunov of Russia 6-4, 6-2. Other winners were Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, and Spanish players Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez. Tyler Graovac Jersey . "Canada," Bolland said with a smile. "Is that a question?" One day earlier, though, fellow Toronto Maple Leafs centre Nazem Kadri wasnt so sure his home and native land could pull off the win against the United States in the semi-finals of the Olympic hockey tournament. Sean Monahan Jersey . Lisicki beat South African Chanelle Scheepers by a 7-5, 7-6 (7-1) margin. Next up for the Wimbledon runner-up will be Slovenian Polona Hercog, who outlasted Czech Petra Cetkovska 6-4, 5-7, 6-1. http://www.officialflamesfanstore.com/authentic-james-neal-flames-jersey/ . And theyre pointing to the NHLs biggest market: Toronto. With Gretzky paid out for what is believed to be $7 to 8 million, Gretzky may be eager to get back into the NHL and TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports that the Maple Leafs are very much interested in The Great Ones services. SOCHI, Russia -- IOC President Thomas Bach accused world leaders Tuesday of using the Sochi Olympics as a political platform "on the backs of the athletes," and of snubbing the games without even being invited. Three days before the opening of Russias first Winter Games, Bach used a hard-hitting speech to call out politicians for using the Olympics to make an "ostentatious gesture" serving their own agendas. Without naming any individuals, Bachs comments appeared directed at President Barack Obama and European politicians who have taken stands against Russias law banning gay "propaganda" among minors. The Olympics, Bach said, should not be "used as a stage for political dissent or for trying to score points in internal or external political contests." "Have the courage to address your disagreements in a peaceful direct political dialogue and not on the backs of the athletes," he said at a ceremony attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin. "People have a very good understanding of what it really means to single out the Olympic Games to make an ostentatious gesture which allegedly costs nothing but produces international headlines. "In the extreme, we had to see a few politicians whose contributions to the fight for a good cause consisted of publicly declining invitations they had not even received." The buildup to the Olympics has been overshadowed by Western criticism of the anti-gay law and Russias record on human rights and other issues, making Sochi among the most politically charged games in years. Obama and key European leaders are shunning the Olympics. Obama, in a clear message against the anti-gay laws, has sent a delegation to Sochi made up of three openly gay athletes -- tennis great Billie Jean King, 2006 Olympic hockey medallist Caitlin Cahow and figure skater Brian Boitano. For the first time since 2000, the U.S. delegation to an Olympics will not include a president, vice-president or first lady. Former Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano leads the delegation. German President Joachim GGauck and French President Francois Hollande are also not coming to Sochi. Derek Ryan Jersey. Neither is British Prime Minister David Cameron. Bach reiterated again that Putin had given the IOC assurances that the Olympic Charter would be upheld during the games and that homosexuals would not be discriminated against. Bach said Olympic values stand against any form of discrimination, including on grounds of sexual orientation. But he stressed the IOC must be "politically neutral without being apolitical" and that athletes must not use the Olympic Village and venues for "political demonstrations." The IOC has come under criticism for not doing more to fight the anti-gay law, but Bach said the committee was a sports organization with limited responsibilities. "We are not a supra-national government," he said. "We are not a superior world-parliament. We do not have a mandate to impose measures on sovereign states." Bachs speech was delivered at a ceremony marking the opening of the IOCs three-day session, or general assembly, ahead of the games. The Germans sharp comments marked a strong contrast with the relatively anodyne, diplomatic speeches of his predecessor, Jacques Rogge. Bach, winner of a fencing gold medal at the 1972 Olympics, was elected in September to succeed Rogge, who served for 12 years. Bach acknowledged there had been "a lot of skepticism in and outside the IOC" when Sochi was awarded the Olympics in 2007. "Now, seven years later, we can see that Sochi, that Russia has delivered," he said. Putin lauded the IOCs decision to bring the games to the Black Sea resort. "We realize what a difficult decision this was to hold the games in a city that barely had 10 to 15 per cent of the necessary infrastructure," he said. "You believed in us, you believed in the Russian character which can overcome all difficulties." 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