Svitolina knocks out Puig in straight sets at Brisbane International

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Monica Puig didn’t have a golden start to her 2017 season. The 2016 Olympic champion lost in her opening round match to Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-3 at the Brisbane International tennis tournament.

The two have split their last two meetings but haven’t met in two years. Both ladies have had improvements to their game near the tail end of the season. The Olympic gold medalist from Puerto Rico handled the competition in Rio but obviously put enough energy in that to suffer losses in late tournaments. With the new year in hand, Puig has every opportunity to make things happen and rise in the ranks. The same went for the 22-year-old who earned a massive victory at the Olympics despite not medaling. Her victories over the season have her sitting as the 14^th best in the world with her first match in place to show her strengths.

She began with a strong open service that was followed by a response from Puig. When it came time for Svitolina to gain control, she blew through the third game and never let go. The Ukrainian earned her first break and picked up a second straight that gave her a 4-1 hold. Puig struck back when the sixth seed double faulted opening the door for the Puerto Rican. A break in the seventh put her within reach of a tie when Svitolina committed her third double fault.

The 22-year-old recovered well with a triple break in the eighth before fighting to capture the set in the ninth. It took her some time to get the job done but after four breaks, she took the set 6-3 in 36 minutes. Svitolina had five double faults in the victory but had her first serve to thank landing 13 of 16 and over 60 percent service points won.

She carried her run from the first to break Puig who opened service to begin the second set. The Ukrainian fired off big hits to the Puerto Rican who had moments where she couldn’t keep up with the pace. It led to Svitolina jumping to a sizable lead. Puig got on the board after losing the first three and got within reach of a tie through six. It was at that point that the sixth seed rushed toward the win giving up one last game before closing out her first round in 1 hour and 16 minutes.

Svitolina committed just one double fault while improving the second service scoring on six of nine. With a strong finish, the Ukrainian could follow on the path to the round of 16 where she’ll face Shelby Rogers on Wednesday.

Matthews wins Centennial Classic in overtime

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The Maple Leafs started another new year with victory at home outdoors. Auston Matthews was the key reason for their 5-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings scoring two on the night including the game winner in overtime. It was Toronto’s second outdoor win against the Red Wings and first to occur at the sold-out BMO Field in downtown Toronto.

Detroit plays in their fourth outdoor game with the Centennial Classic taking precedence over all of them. In the 100^th year of the National Hockey League and the longstanding rivalry between the Red Wings and the Maple Leafs, it leaves the two division rivals with plenty to fight for. Two years ago, Toronto made a statement during a shootout at the Winter Classic with Tyler Bozak winning it at Michigan Stadium. Their hosting in Toronto gives them an advantage but face a team that has won two of their last three.

Detroit’s overtime winner against Ottawa on Thursday gave them some energy to play party crasher for a second straight time. Toronto sat on a four-game winning streak getting the best of both Florida and Tampa on the road. Their strong response gave them a solid chance at winning on their home turf.

Toronto gave it a good start against the Red Wings that energized the crowd in the stands. They remained out front taking a massive lead on Detroit with a 9-2 shots on goal. It wasn’t until the late stages of the second half that the Red Wings picked up the pace keeping the Maple Leafs from producing more shots. Detroit goaltender Jared Coreau who played in his first outdoor game had plenty to be happy about stopping all ten of Toronto’s chances on net. Detroit picked up seven more allowing them to have a better run at making good things happen in the second.

Anthony Mantha once gain made things happen with captain Henrik Zetterberg on his wing. The Red Wings leader made the pass down to Mantha who faked a shot giving time to open the shooting line. The 22-year-old right winger fired high on the corner slot gaining his eighth of the season.

Detroit spent a majority of the period trying to improve their power play which ranked 30^th in the league. Toronto gave them two chances to increase the lead, but no conversions arrived on their shot attempts. Despite their troubles, their plays on defense help them keep the lead on Toronto. They also outshot them 9-7 making the third period a very important 20 minutes for both teams.

Toronto leveled the playing field 1:23 into the third with Jake Gardiner making a pass from behind the net. It was there he found Leo Komarov who took his attempt between the legs of Detroit’s Nick Jensen to score his sixth. Before the halfway point could complete, the Leafs gained the lead on a Mitchell Marner power play goal that was supported by Morgan Reilly. Reilly’s pass to Marner allowed the forward to work around Mantha and notch his ninth with a rifled shot.

Toronto clearly began to surge in the Detroit zone hunting heavily for another one. Connor Brown scored the Maple Leafs second power play goal in 71 seconds. The pace was in a full grip for Toronto who watched the Red Wings struggle to catch up during the rush. It was proven strongly during a 3 on 1 rush where Matthews added another to his year making his mark on the outdoor game.

Detroit had to answer fast being down three goals with six to go. A full line play ended with Jonathan Ericsson scoring on a one timer for his first of the season. It was still a long way for the Red Wings who were still down a pair with five minutes on the clock.

Getting a solid play beyond the neutral zone proved difficult for Detroit who were running out of time. Toronto played the clock to their advantage expecting the Red Wings to get desperate. Coreau was pulled from the net giving them six men to put one behind Frederik Andersen. A turnover by James van Riemsdyk got into the possession of Zetterberg who went for the wraparound attempt. Dylan Larkin came in for the second chance and scored for his team adding his 11^th.

Coreau was pulled again with 90 seconds left as the Red Wings hoped to get the game pushed into overtime. They nearly got close with a shot at an open part of the net but was stopped just in time by Andersen. The need for a tying goal was imperative for Detroit and little time to do it. By some chance with much traffic in front of the Toronto crease, Mantha went for a loose puck and shot it into the net before time ran out.

Officials went to the video to not only review whether the shot went in on time but if there was goaltender interference. Referee Dan O’Rourke called it a good goal giving Mantha his second of the night to send the game to overtime.

Play for control of the puck was huge during the 3 on 3 action during the five-minute period. Toronto created many chances with times occurring in 3 on 1 and a breakaway. Coreau was there to make big saves but a fast play caught him off guard. The quick moves of Matthews aloud his line to set up the 19-year-old with a one in a million shot that got behind the Red Wings netminder to end play after 3:37.

“I tried to make a play through the middle on the puck bounce and just laying there and just sneak one in there,” Matthews said to NBC’s Pierre McGuire. “For us to get this win was huge.”

Toronto sits higher in the Atlantic Division standings than Detroit who heads out west to continue their road trip. It would begin Wednesday when they face the Anaheim Ducks next.  

Cornet drops Vesnina in opening round of Brisbane International

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Alize Cornet’s strong response in the final set allowed her to get into the second round for a third time. The world number 41 dispatched seventh seeded Elena Vesnina 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) on Show Court 1 at the Brisbane International Sunday.

The two played their seventh match since meeting back in 2008. The soon to be 27-year-old Frenchwoman led the Russian 4-2 in their series with one another. Cornet finished 2016 with a semifinals loss at Limoges to Ekaterina Alexandrova in three sets. Despite coming so close to a tournament win to close out the season, she assured herself to start 2017 strong with a third appearance hoping to be a charm.

She and Vesnina got into a neck and neck race to start the set. The Russian opened service that was followed by Cornet’s success on serve. It went on through six games until the seventh where Vesnina’s game increased in success. She went on to take the next three with struggles coming from her opponents second service. By the time she won the set 6-3, Cornet had only landed 2 of 12 on the second serve and 4 of 19 on the return. The heat also played a role in her breakdown of the first hoping to regroup in the second.

It didn’t look to go that way early on as Vesnina took a sizable lead to start off the set. With the need for a reset, Cornet got hold of one and returned fire to her best potential. The Frenchwoman attacked the level back with the Russian at four all giving the crowd plenty of action on court. It was there that Cornet overtook her opponent and ran away with the set winning 6-4 sending the match to its distance.

It remained a tight race to the finish with Cornet trying to the edge over Vesnina while the same mission played out across court. The pace remained dead even all the way to the end where it was the Frenchwoman who had to answer in order to save the set. She pushed the Russian into a thrilling tiebreaker that saw its conclusion come over the horizon. Cornet edged Vesnina on points in the break to win the set 5-3. The match took 2 hours and 37 minutes to complete with Cornet getting the best of her opponent.

The victory gives her a fighting chance to make better in the second round taking on American Christina McHale who took down Italian powerhouse Sara Errani. Their second-round match takes place Tuesday afternoon.