High Noon » omorrow or the next day and try and build off that

NEW YORK -- Serena Williams big lead in the U.S. Open final suddenly was gone. Her serve was shaky. Her hard-hitting opponent, Victoria Azarenka, was presenting problems, and so was the gusting wind. A couple of foot-fault calls added to the angst. As a jittery Williams headed to the sideline after dropping a set for the first time in the tournament, she chucked her racket, which ricocheted onto the court. When play resumed, in the crucible of a third set, Williams put aside everything and did what she does best: She came through in the clutch to win a major match. Facing her only test of the past two weeks, the No. 1-seeded Williams overcame No. 2 Azarenka 7-5, 6-7 (6), 6-1 on Sunday for her 17th Grand Slam championship. "When youre always trying to write history, or join history in my case, maybe you just get a little more nervous than you should. I also think its kind of cool, because it means that it means a lot to you. It means a lot to me, this trophy," Williams said, pointing her right hand at her fifth silver cup from the U.S. Open, "and every single trophy that I have." That collection keeps growing. Williams has won twice in a row at Flushing Meadows -- beating Azarenka in three sets each time -- and four of the past six major tournaments overall. Her 17 titles are the sixth-most in history for a woman, only one behind Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, and the same total as the mens record-holder, Roger Federer. "It feels really good to be in that same league as him," said Williams, who earned $3.6 million in prize money. This one did not come easily, even though it appeared to be nearly over when Williams went ahead by two breaks at 4-1 in the second set. She served for the match at 5-4 and 6-5 -- only to have the gutsy Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open winner, break each time. Williams is 67-4 with a career-high nine titles in 2013, but two of those losses came against Azarenka. A year ago, they played the first three-set womens final in New York since 1995. This time, they went the distance again, a total of 2 hours, 45 minutes, because Azarenka was superior in the tiebreaker. "I got a little uptight, which probably wasnt the best thing at that moment," Williams said. "I wasnt playing very smart tennis then, so I just had to relax and not do that again." So after the second set, Williams gave herself a pep talk. She regrouped and regained control. "In the third set, Serena really found a way to calm down and restart from zero and quickly erase what happened," said her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou. Azarenka helped a bit, with two of her seven double-faults coming when she got broken to trail 3-1 in the third. That pretty much sealed it, because Williams was not about to falter again. "Shes a champion, and she knows how to repeat that. She knows what it takes to get there. I know that feeling, too. And when two people who want that feeling so bad meet, its like a clash," Azarenka said, pounding her fists together. At the outset, though, the 15 mph wind that swirled in Arthur Ashe Stadium bothered Williams as much as Azarenka did. "It wasnt pleasant," Azarenka said. Williams caught service tosses. She grabbed at her skirt to keep it from flying up. Most troubling, she was thrown off by balls that danced oddly. Six of the first 16 points ended with unforced errors by Williams, which allowed Azarenka to go ahead 2-1. Looking hesitant at times, Williams did not show the same dominance she had while dropping only 16 games during six victories through the semifinals. "The wind was unbelievable today," Williams said. "It just got worse and worse. It just never let up." She needed to adjust, and she did. Her serve, as usual, made a big difference: Williams hit nine aces, one at 126 mph. Still, four times, Azarenka was only two points from taking the opening set. At one such moment, with Williams serving at deuce after a double-fault, she was called for a foot fault, erasing what would have been a 121 mph ace. There was another foot-fault call in the second set, too. They brought back memories of the Americans loss to Kim Clijsters in the 2009 semifinals, when Williams was docked a point, and later fined, for a tirade against a line judge over a foot-fault call. There was no such outburst directed at officials this time, although there was that racket toss. After the call in the matchs 10th game, Williams simply put a hand to her face, composed herself, and won the point with a down-the-line backhand she celebrated with a fist pump, some foot stomping and a yell of "Come on!" Williams wound up holding there with a 104 mph ace, part of what seemed to be a match-altering stretch. She won five consecutive games and 16 of 18 points to take the first set and go up a break in the second. "You could see she clicked," Mouratoglou said. "She realized she was not aggressive enough. She was letting Vika dictate too much, and all of a sudden, things completely changed." Well, at least for a while. Azarenka did manage to make competitive again, which shouldnt surprise anyone. She was, after all, 31-1 on hard courts entering Sunday, including a victory over Williams last month at Mason, Ohio. But when it came time to close the deal yet again, Williams shined. She delivered six of the third sets eight winners and forced Azarenka into 15 miscues. Soon enough, Williams was hopping up and down after finishing with a service winner. She kept pumping her fist afterward, even while sipping from a water bottle. "She really made it happen," Azarenka said. "In that particular moment, she was tougher today. She was more consistent, and she deserved to win." Williams became the first woman to surpass $9 million in prize money in a single season, while topping $50 million for her career. She also equaled Steffi Graf with five U.S. Open titles, one behind Everts record of six in the Open era, which began in 1968. Williams never had won two consecutive U.S. Opens, but now she has, adding to the trophies she earned in New York in 1999 -- at age 17 -- then 2002 and 2008. Those go alongside five from Wimbledon, five from the Australian Open, and two from the French Open, which she won this year. "Being older, its always awesome and such a great honour, because I dont know if Ill ever win another Grand Slam. Obviously I hope so," said Williams, who turns 32 on Sept. 26. "Its different now, because when I won earlier, it was just one or two or three or four. Now its like 16, 17. It has more meaning (for) history, as opposed to just winning a few." Bill Mazeroski Jersey .ca. Mr. Fraser, It looks like Martin Brodeur is coming back to play for the Blues. I was wondering if you have any great stories or fond memories of your time on the ice with Brodeur - in the NHL, or maybe even the Olympics. Kent Tekulve Jersey .The Williams siblings, with 25 Grand Slam titles between them, will have a couple of Madisons joining them, too.Madison Keys had a 6-4, 7-5 upset win over two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova on Saturday night, and Madison Brengle beat Coco Vandeweghe 6-3, 6-2 in an all-U. http://www.pittsburghpiratesprostore.us/Customized/. Chile applied pressure in midfield right from the beginning, challenging aggressively and continually surging forward. Eduardo Vargas beat the offside trap and fired home a stinging shot for Chiles opening goal in the fifth minute. Roberto Clemente Jersey .J. Fair didnt have many chances to be the main option for Syracuse last season. Starling Marte Jersey . Team officials travelled to Los Angeles on Thursday night to meet with the free agent, a person with knowledge of the plans said. CHICAGO -- As openers go, this one was promising for the Chicago White Sox. Now, all they have to do is build on it. Alejandro De Aza hit two homers, and Jose Abreu had two hits in his major league debut to back Chris Sale and lead the White Sox to a 5-3 season-opening victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday. "Its a big deal because of what last year was," manager Robin Ventura said. Last year was a 99-loss nightmare, a collapse after they finished second in the AL Central in 2012. This year, they insist, will be better. They are off to a good start, even if they beat a team that is trying to stop a losing cycle. Sale got the win, pitching five-hit ball into the eighth. Paul Konerko got a loud ovation before what was likely his final opener, although he didnt play. The White Sox got clutch hits, hustled on the bases, and played error-free ball to start the season on a winning note. Abreu doubled on the first pitch he saw leading off the second inning against Ricky Nolasco and scored on De Azas two-run homer to give Chicago a 2-0 lead. He also drove in the go-ahead run with a single during a two-run third after Minnesotas Kurt Suzuki tied it with a two-run single in the top half. It was a good start for Abreu, who insisted he didnt feel any real first-game jitters. That line drive double to right, on a ball that Oswaldo Arcia appeared to misjudge, didnt hurt. "You wanted to get that first one out of the way," Abreu, who signed a six-year, $68 million deal in the off-season, said through an interpreter. "Once you get it, its a very happy moment. The first thing I thought of was my mother." Abreus family is expected to join him at some point this season. He wouldnt say where his mom is, other than "somewhere close, but we cant really comment on that." De Aza made it 5-2 with a solo shot just over the right-field wall in the sixth inning for his first career multihomer game. It was also the first for Chicago on opening day since Jim Thome at Cleveland in 2008, and the first by a White Sox player iin a season opener at home since 1960, when Minnie Minoso hit two against the Kansas City Athletics.dddddddddddd That was enough for Sale, who allowed three runs and struck out eight and walked one. The two-time All-Star came out with a 5-2 lead with one out and a runner on second in the eighth. Ronald Belisario allowed a two-out RBI single to Suzuki before Donnie Veal retired Joe Mauer on a grounder. Matt Lindstrom came on in the ninth after being announced as the closer by Ventura before the game. The right-hander gave up a one-out double to Chris Colabello before striking out Trevor Plouffe and retiring Arcia on a grounder to the mound for his first save since April 2011 when he was with Colorado. Nolasco took the loss in a shaky debut with Minnesota. One of the top free agent pitchers last winter, he gave up five runs and 10 hits in six innings. "I thought we played good, we battled all game," Nolasco said. "Put up some runs, gave a good fight to Chris Sale and made it interesting late. Come back tomorrow or the next day and try and build off that." The Twins are trying to pick themselves up after back-to-back 96-loss seasons and dropping a staggering 291 games the past three years. There was a glitch before the game with the Twins replay system as two blown fuses disabled a pair of monitors in the Minnesota clubhouse. That was fixed in time for the first pitch, but things didnt get much better for the Twins. That is because the White Sox got the big hits from Abreu and De Aza to back Sale. Notes: Konerko had started the previous 15 openers for the White Sox and 16 straight overall. He is in a reduced role after re-signing for one year. ... Minnesota LHP Brian Duensing was placed on the paternity list before Mondays game. RHP Michael Tonkin was recalled from Triple-A Rochester to replace Duensing, whose wife Lisa gave birth to a boy named Boston Matthew Duensing. . Twins general manager Terry Ryan didnt travel with the team to Chicago. Ryan was undergoing radiation to treat cancer. 20:29ET 31-03-14 ' ' '