Milton Keynes

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MELBOURNE, Australia - Serena Williams lost two of four singles matches in her preparations for the Australian Open, while Maria Sharapova won the Brisbane International.Despite those contrasting results for the top two women in tennis, neither player was reading too much into their form lines a few days from Mondays start of the first Grand Slam of the year.Williams wasnt pleased with her two singles losses at the Hopman Cup team event in Perth, including in straight sets to Canadian Eugenie Bouchard, but said Saturday there is a little light at the end of the tunnel.Im never really happy about my practice or preparation, the top-seeded Williams said Saturday. So maybe thats a good sign. I definitely feel better now than I did a couple weeks ago. But every day I can see something coming through.Second-seeded Sharapova said although she played well at Brisbane and had a tough final against Ana Ivanovic, every weeks a surprise.You cant be overly negative; you cant be overly positive, Sharapova said Saturday. I wanted to start off well. I thought I did many things well. But Im not going into next week throwing flowers at myself or anything. Im starting from scratch. Im hungry. Im determined to do better.Sharapova, last years French Open winner and the 2008 champion at Melbourne Park, lost in the fourth round here to Dominika Cibulkova last year, saying she was affected by a hip injury.Williams also exited last year in the fourth round, losing to Ivanovic.Last year I felt really good, was playing well ... feeling amazing on the court, Williams said. This year I feel a little off. But I feel off in every Grand Slam. Last year, that didnt work out for me, so maybe this is different.Williams will play Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium in the first round — I heard her first name was Alison, Williams said, preferring not to try to pronounce her opponents last name.Sharapova has drawn an as-yet undetermined qualifier, as has Ivanovic. The two could meet in the semifinals of their half of the draw, while Williams could meet Cibulkova or close friend Caroline Wozniacki en route to a semifinal possibly against Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova or sixth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska.Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open winner who won four singles titles last year to move back into the top five, said shes confident coming into Melbourne Park. She and Sharapova will play their first matches Monday.I really felt I made big steps towards winning more matches, beating top players, Ivanovic said of her 2014 season. These kinds of things you sort of have to have in place in order to do well at the big events. I feel like Im ready for the next step. Hydro Flask Canada . After all, the No. 8 seed is chasing far loftier goals. Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., defeated American Jack Sock 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in Wimbledons second round on Thursday. Hydro Flask 18 OZ Canada .The team had a meeting prior to facing Russia at the world junior hockey championship and got the effort theyve been looking for by defeating the Russians 4-1 to advance to the quarter-finals. http://www.hydroflaskombrecanada.com/ . The same for both the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers. Hydro Flask 32 Oz Canada .4 seconds left and dribbled up court, weaving through Pitts defence. Hydro Flask Coffee Mug Canada .Patterson marked his anniversary by proving his worth — once again.Lou Williams poured in 26 points, and Patterson drained two huge three-pointers late in the fourth quarter, as the Raptors topped the Denver Nuggets 112-107 in overtime Monday.Thomas Vanek broke out of his scoring slump with the Montreal Canadiens in a big way. The Habs hope their recently-acquired winger can stay hot on Thursday night in a home matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Catch the action on TSN Habs starting at 7:30pm et/ 4:30pm pt. The Canadiens acquired Vanek from the New York Islanders prior to the trade deadline in an effort to upgrade their offense for a playoff push. However, Vanek failed to score a goal in his first five games with Montreal, held to just a single assist. The two-time 40-goal scorer finally broke out in Tuesdays big 6-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche, netting a hat trick to spoil Patrick Roys return to Montreal. Roy made his first appearance in Montreal as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche and received a warm reception early in the game before Vanek stole the show. "It was unbelievable," Vanek said of his three-goal night. "This place is electric." Brandon Prust had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens, who have won three in a row. Travis Moen and Dale Weise also lit the lamp, while Carey Price made 25 saves. Prust will sit out tonights contest with an upper-body injury after skating for only 10 minutes at Thursdays morning skate. Ryan White draws into the lineup in his place. Montreals current win streak has it tied for second place with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division with 83 points. That is three ahead of the fourth-place Toronto Maple Leafs. Columbus is also pushing for a plaayoff bid as it sits two points behind the New York Rangers for third place in the Metropolitan Division.dddddddddddd The Blue Jackets are also even with the Washington Capitals with 76 points, but have two games in hand to hold the current tiebreaker for the second wild card position in the Eastern Conference. The Blue Jackets were riding a seven-game point streak going into Tuesdays home matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes and fell in defeat 3-1. Columbus was nearly shut out before Boone Jenner lit the lamp with 50 seconds to go, deflecting Ryan Johansens shot past Carolina goaltender Anton Khudobin. Still, the Blue Jackets fell to 6-1-1 in their last eight games. Sergei Bobrovsky gave up three goals on 20 shots through two periods, while Curtis McElhinney did not face a shot in the third period during his relief appearance. Columbus outshot Carolina 19-0 in the third period. "We attempted 79 (shots) -- 47 were on net," said Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards. "It seemed like we had some quality chances. We hit a couple posts. We had our opportunities." The Blue Jackets activated forward Jared Boll from injured reserve on Wednesday. He had missed the past 45 games due to a torn ankle tendon suffered in late November. The 27-year-old scored one goal and racked up 38 penalty minutes in 21 games before suffering the injury. The Blue Jackets have lost both of their previous meetings with the Canadiens this season, including a 5-3 loss in Montreal on Oct. 17. ' ' '

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