News, Tratsch und Spieleecke » ville net, Jiri Hudler carried the puck

BRISBANE, Australia -- With the Fanatics in bright yellow and raucously chanting for Lleyton Hewitt to stay on top of Roger Federer, the Brisbane International final had the surreal feel of a journey back in time. It wouldnt have seemed out of context a decade ago, when Hewitt spent 80 weeks atop the tennis rankings and Federer was yet to win a Grand Slam title. But Hewitts 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 win Sunday over his longest-standing rival on tour was clearly an upset, and delivered him his first title since 2010. The 32-year-old former No. 1s have met 27 times dating back to 1999, and Hewitt has now improved his record to nine wins against the 17-time Grand Slam champion. Federer was broken three times and committed 22 unforced errors in the first set, making some uncharacteristically basic mistakes including an air swing and two shanked forehands. He recovered in the second set and then had break-point chances in Hewitts first three service games in the deciding set, but couldnt get the vital breakthrough when he needed it most. "The way you tough it out ... congratulations," Federer said in a court-side interview. He added later that Hewitt did "a good job hanging around," "But I should have taken advantage already earlier, so I have some regrets," he said. "Its unfortunately one of those matches that got away from me." In the mens doubles event, Torontos Daniel Nestor and partner Mariusz Fyrstenberg came back from a set down to defeat Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Colombia 6-7(4), 6-4, 10-7. The victory gives Nestor his 82nd career ATP World Tour trophy, and marks the 21st consecutive season in which the 41-year-old has captured at least one title. It also brings his record in finals to 82-53. Hewitt received the trophy from Australian great Rod Laver, a regular at the Australian Open final presentations involving Federer over the years. "Its been a while since I won a trophy. For me to get it from you really means a lot," Hewitt said. "I dont need to congratulate Roger, he gets congratulated every week when hes up here for finals!" Hewitt had not won a title since he beat Federer in the final at Halle in 2010 and his most recent tournament victory on home soil was the 2005 Sydney International; the same year he lost the Australian Open decider to Marat Safin. That result at Halle ended a 15-match losing streak to Federer. Now he has won two of their past three matches in the twilight of an injury-affected career that peaked when he won the 2001 U.S. Open and 2002 Wimbledon titles. Federer won the first of his four Australian Open titles in 2004, and ascended to the No. 1 ranking soon after. He remained in top spot for 4 1/2 years. Hewitts ranking was projected to reach the low 40s with the win. He finished last season at No. 61 in another disrupted season after toe, foot, hand, hip and back injuries kept him off the tour for long periods between 2007 and the start of 2013. "Weve been through a rough four or five years, five different surgeries, its been tough," Hewitt said. Hewitt was the youngest qualifier ever for the Australian Open, aged 15 when he made the main draw in 1997, and won his first ATP title in Adelaide the following year at 16 -- the youngest winner in a decade on the ATP tour. He said coming back at double that age to win another Australian tournament was almost on par. "Obviously (the Adelaide title) is where it all started for me. I was 16. I was in my home town ... its hard to beat that," he said. "But then winning here at a new tournament ... Ive won nearly every tournament there is to win in Australia. "Yeah, to beat possibly the greatest player in the final means a lot. So its very hard to split them." Of his remote chance of being the first Australian since 1976 to win his home Open, Hewitt said the win over Federer "just gives me a lot more confidence going out there believing in how well Im hitting the ball at the moment and that I can matchup with the best guys." Federer, who didnt make a Grand Slam final last year for the first time since 2002 and is now ranked No. 6, said the Brisbane tournament gave him a good idea of how his preparations are going for the Australian Open. "I have a clear idea what I need to work on, and I have a clear idea where my mind and body is at," he said. "Im very hungry and eager to attack the Australian Open next week." Serena Williams retained her title in Brisbane on Saturday with a win over Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka. Venus Williams lost the Auckland final to Ana Ivanovic, and then withdrew from her scheduled appearance at the Hobart International this week. Sloane Stephens, who withdrew from the Hopman Cup with a left wrist problem, confirmed Sunday she was pulling out of the Sydney tournament in a bid to be ready for the seasons first major. And the Sydney tournament had its first upset Sunday when American Madison Keys beat seventh-seeded Simona Halep of Romania 6-1, 6-4. Third-seeded Sara Errani beat fellow Italian Roberta Vinci 6-4 6-2 in another first-round match. Discount Dolphins Jerseys Online . QUARTERBACKS Carson Palmer (vs Colts)Last week: 30/42, 419 yards, 2 TDsWinners of their last three and now tied for the final wild card spot in the NFC, the Cardinals are worth keeping an eye on. Cheap Dolphins Jerseys .com) - Jimmy Butler made four key free throws down the stretch to lift the Chicago Bulls over the Boston Celtics, 109-102, on Friday. http://www.dolphinscheapjerseys.com/?tag...deiter-jersey.C. -- Cam Newton wasnt flawless on Sunday. Cheap Dolphins Jerseys China .ca has you covered for whos in, whos out and what to expect from all 30 teams. Wholesale Dolphins Jerseys Authentic . The Heat centre scored 10 of his 30 points early in the first quarter to silence the Toronto fans as Miami defeated the Raptors 113-101 on Friday night.NASHVILLE -- Undeterred by his scoring drought, Ryan Ellis just kept shooting and it paid off Tuesday night. Ellis ended a 42-game scoring drought by notching the first of Nashvilles three third-period goals and added an assist to lead the Predators to a 4-2 victory over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night. Shea Weber scored in the first period, Craig Smith and Viktor Stalberg followed Ellis with goals in the third, and David Legwand had three assists to help Nashville snap a three-game losing streak. Lee Stempniak and Mikael Backlund scored for Calgary, which has lost four of its last five. Weber opened the scoring at 15:52 of the first period. With Nashville on a power play, Roman Josi sent a pass from above the right faceoff circle to Weber above the left, where he blasted a one-timer over the glove of Flames goaltender Karri Ramo. The Predators outshot Calgary 15-10 in the first. "We turned the puck over in the first period," Calgary coach Bob Hartley said. "We kind of gave them the first period that we didnt want to give them. We had no intensity. If its not for Karri Ramo, we could have gone on the plane after the first period." The Predators entered Tuesday with the leagues seventh-ranked power play, but had not scored a goal on the man advantage in their last four games. A night after recording his first-career NHL shutout in Carolina, Ramo got the start Tuesday and made 30 saves. The Flames drew even with 1:04 remaining in the first. From behind the Nashville net, Jiri Hudler carried the puck just above the goal line on the left side and slid a pass to an unchecked Stempniak in the lower part of the right faceoff circle. His shot beat Nashville goaltender Carter Hutton for his seventh goal of the season. Stempniaks goal was his first since Dec. 7, a span of 17 games. "I thought I did a good job tonight of handling the puck and keeping the forecheck at bay," Hutton said. "I thought we had the edge in the first. I thought (Ramo) made a lot of good saves and for me, I wwas able to make a couple of saves and handle the puck and get in the game.dddddddddddd" Hutton saw his first game action since a disappointing effort in Carolina on Jan. 5 that drew some criticism from Nashville coach Barry Trotz. He recovered nicely Tuesday night, making 22 saves. "That was a good bounce-back game for him," Trotz said. "I thought we did a really good job of containing Calgary for the most part, especially in the first two periods." Nashville went in front for good at 55 seconds of the third when Ellis carried the puck in on the left side, cut to the high slot and beat Ramo with a slap shot for his second goal of the season. "You just keep shooting, I think thats the biggest thing," Ellis said. "Our forwards did a good job of driving the net, and luckily it went in." Less than two minutes later, Smith gave Nashville a 3-1 lead on another Predators power play. Seth Jones slap shot from the centre of the blue line hit traffic in front of the Calgary net, and Smith dug the puck out and beat Ramo with a wrist shot to the glove side. Calgary though they had cut the Nashville lead at 4:17 of the third, but the officials ruled that Mark Giordano had played the puck to a teammate with a high stick. Stalberg put Nashville ahead 4-1 at 10:52 of the third when his redirection of Ellis shot got by Ramo, but Backlund made it a two-goal game at 13:07 with a nice move off the right half wall before beating Hutton on the stick side with a wrist shot. Backlund has a goal in each of his last three games. "Its nice for personal confidence," Backlund said. "Thats what everybody wants to do, and everybody tries to do. Im happy about it, but at the same time, if we dont win games, Im not satisfied." NOTES: Hudler had two assists in the game. He has assists in three consecutive games. ... Nashville is 17-2-4 when scoring first this season. ... The Predators concluded a five game home stand 2-2-1. . It was the first three-assist game for Legwand this season and the fourth of his career. 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