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KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Serena Williams capitalized on a critical double-fault by Yaroslava Shvedova to survive a 69-minute first set and win her opening match at the Sony Open 7-6 (7), 6-2 on Thursday. "It was an incredibly tough first set," Williams said. "I just needed to relax and yet keep up the intensity." The top-ranked Williams seeks a record seventh Key Biscayne title, and her second in a row. No. 4-seeded Maria Sharapova, a five-time runner-up in the tournament, joined Williams in the third round by beating Kurumi Nara 6-3, 6-4. Seeded players had first-round byes. In mens play, former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt became the third active man to win 600 matches when he rallied past Robin Haase of the Netherlands 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Fellow Australian Bernard Tomic lasted only 28 minutes in the shortest match since the ATP started keeping such records in 1991, losing to Jarkko Nieminen 6-0, 6-1. Tomic, who won just 13 points, is mounting a comeback from surgery on both hips and was playing for the first time since January. "I did the best as I could," he said. "Hopefully in a little bit of time I can get back to 100 per cent." Williams, who owns a small share of the NFLs Miami Dolphins, wore a dress in the teams orange and turquoise colours -- which may explain her slow start. Or maybe it was because she hadnt played since Feb. 21. Williams had to erase a 5-3 deficit in the first set, and then fell behind 6-3 in the tiebreaker. Shvedova pushed a forehand into the net, then the Kazakh hit a nervous double-fault that allowed Williams to exhale. She won the next two points with aces, then closed out the set with a backhand winner, a fist pump and a scream of "Yes!" Her game steadied in the second set, when she had 18 winners and only 10 unforced errors -- bad news perhaps for opponents to come in the tournament Williams considers her hometown event. She lives an hour north in Palm Beach Gardens. "I love playing here," she told the crowd. The 33-year-old Hewitt also staged a comeback. With the victory, he joined Roger Federer (942 wins) and Rafael Nadal (675) in reaching the 600 match milestone. "Not many people get the opportunity to get close to that, so it means I have been around for an awfully long time," Hewitt said. "Im getting old. A few years ago when I had the last couple of surgeries, I probably would have doubted Id get to this stage. Im grateful Im out there and able to compete with the best guys." In other womens play, No. 5-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany won her opening match, beating Peng Shuai of China 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (5). Kerber, a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist, matched her best showing at Key Biscayne by reaching the third round. Ana Ivanovic beat American Lauren Davis 6-1, 6-1, and No. 8 Petra Kvitova defeated Argentinas Paula Ormaechea 6-3, 6-4. Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2006 champion, lost to Croatian qualifier Donna Vekic 7-6 (5), 7-5. Fridays stadium court schedule features the winners of 34 Grand Slam titles in five matches. The parade of champions will include Federer, Novak Djokovic, Venus Williams, Andy Murray and Li Na playing their opening matches. Puma Shoes Uk . - The fiancee of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez is set to ask a judge to throw out allegations that she lied to a grand jury. Cheap Authentic Puma Shoes . With the results, North America claimed 2.5 of the three available points, opening up a 17.5-12.5 lead in the overall standings. A total of 60 points are available, meaning the first team to 30.5 points will win the Continental Cup. http://www.cheappumauk.com/ .J. -- Rampage Jackson scowled, howled, then bellowed to the crowd: "Im back! Im back!" With rebuilt knees and a new promotion, Jackson might have one more act left in MMA. Puma Shoes Uk Sale .C., won gold in the womens 200-metre backstroke, and Dominique Bouchard of North Bay, Ont. Cheap Puma Shoes Uk .J. Barea during a three-game shooting slump that was getting him booed off his home court with regularity.Shanghai, China (SportsNetwork.com) - Top-seeded reigning two-time champion Novak Djokovic and former world No. 1 Roger Federer reached the third round, while former top-ranked great Rafael Nadal was sent packing Wednesday at the $4 million Shanghai Masters tennis event. Playing with a bout of appendicitis this week, the second-seeded Nadal lost his second straight match, this time in 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) fashion at the hands of fellow Spanish left-hander Feliciano Lopez. Nadal also came up a quarterfinal loser last week at the China Open, his first tournament back after missing three months of action with a right wrist injury. For sure [I dont feel] perfect, said Nadal. Its the same way that I felt before. A little bit more dizzy now. But thats it. Nothing that I have to worry about. When you lose a match, it is not the moment to talk about obvious things. I lost. Feli played better than me. Nadal, who has been taking antibiotics for the appendicitis, began feeling pain in his abdomen on Saturday, and the next day went to a hospital where he learned he had the early stages of the condition. Nadal said he opted for antibiotics rather than undergo surgery right away. The French Open champion said the risk of his condition getting any worse after a few days of steady improvement is always very, very low. The 2009 Shanghai runner-up said he will talk with his doctors when he returns to Spain about whether hell need to have the appendix removed. Meanwhile, the current world No. 1 Djokovic handled Austrian Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4 and the third-seeded Federer barely survived against Argentine Leonardo Mayer, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), in 2 hours, 42 minutes, as Mayer led 5-2 in the third-set tiebreak before the Swiss legend fought back to advance at Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena. The 2010 Shanghai runner-up Federer saved five match points on Wednesday. It was the second-most match points he has saved in his career. Federer saved seven match points in a first-round win over Scott Draper in Cincinnati in 2003. Djokovic is undefeated in his last 11 matches in Shanghai and is looking tto lift the trophy here for the third year in a row.dddddddddddd Already a Masters winner in Indian Wells, Miami and Rome this season, the 27-year-old star is chasing his 20th Masters title. He dismantled Tomas Berdych for the China Open championship last week. Djokovic beat Juan Martin del Potro in last years Shanghai finale. Another top-five upset came when former top-10 Frenchman Gilles Simon foiled fourth-seeded Australian Open champ Stan Wawrinka, 5-7, 7-5, 6-4, on Day 4. And American Jack Sock posted a big upset by tackling seventh-seeded U.S. Open runner-up Kei Nishikori 7-6 (7-5), 6-4. The Japanese star Nishikori was fresh off his titles in Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur and had won 15 of his previous 16 matches on tour. Eleventh-seeded former world No. 1 Andy Murray continued his recent run of fine play by besting 6-foot-8 Pole Jerzy Janowicz 7-5, 6-2. Murray captured his first title in 15 months on Shenzhen, China, two weeks ago and was a semifinalist in Beijing last week. Murray titled here in Shanghai in 2010 and 2011 and was the runner-up in 2012. In other action involving top-10 seeds, No. 5 David Ferrer overcame Slovak Martin Klizan 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4; a No. 6 Berdych drubbed Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-1; Argentine wild card Juan Monaco doused No. 8 Canadian Milos Raonic 5-2, retired; and Frenchman Julien Benneteau upended No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 6-3. Raonic was last weeks Tokyo runner-up to Nishikori. Also on Wednesday, 13th-seeded John Isner edged out fellow American Steve Johnson 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (9-7); 14th-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut outlasted Canadian Vasek Pospisil 7-6 (7-1), 3-6, 6-4; Tunisian qualifier Malek Jaziri beat Chinese wild card Chuhan Wang 6-0, 6-4; and Russian Mikhail Youzhny snuck past Croat Ivan Dodig 7-6 (9-7), 6-7 (4-7), 6-3. The third round will be staged on Thursday, as Djokovic will face Kazakhstans Mikhail Kukushkin, Federer will meet Bautista Agut, and the 2011 Shanghai runner-up Ferrer will tangle with the resurgent Murray in some featured matches. This weeks big winner will collect $798,450. ' ' '