Sharapova rallies back, triumphs over Watson

World No. 2 Maria Sharapova held off British qualifier Heather Watson in a three-set thriller to reach the third round of the Pan Pacific Open on Tuesday.

Sharapova, the second seed who had a bye into the second round, came back from a set down to beat the 78th-ranked Watson 6-7 (7-9), 6-3, 6-4.

Sharapova, winner of the Tokyo meet in 2005 and 2009, struggled early when she lost the first-set tiebreaker before rebounding on center court at Ariake Tennis Forest Park against the 20-year-old Watson, who was making her debut here.

The career Grand Slam titleholder beat Watson in three sets in the first round at the 2011 U.S. Open in their only other meeting.

Watson, who has three quarterfinal finishes but no WTA singles titles, showed great resolve to break Sharapova twice in the third set, but the Russian overpowered her diminutive opponent with nine aces to just one for the Brit.

Sharapova won a challenge with the chair umpire on an ace that just stayed inbounds of the centerline to gain match-point at 40-15, and Watson thumped her racket on the court three times after hitting a forehand long to end the match after 3 hours, 9 minutes.

Earlier, wildcard Ayumi Morita put up a valiant fight against No. 5 seed Angelique Kerber but lost 6-3, 6-4, failing to advance out of the second round for the second year in a row and leaving no Japanese players left in the singles' draw.

Germany's Kerber, currently ranked sixth in the world, broke the 79th-ranked Morita at 3-1 en route to claiming the first set and twice more in the second. Morita fought off match-point at 40-15 in the eighth game and broke her opponent for the first time.

"The whole match was very close. I just tried to be focused on my own game," said Kerber. "She is very hard to play against, especially here in Tokyo. This is a big win for me."

Morita, who had held a 2-1 career record against Kerber, was unable to rally on her opponent's serve in the 10th game and the match ended after 1 hour, 26 minutes when she hit her backhand volley wide.

"I was determined not to give up until the end. Whether I'm facing match-point or not, I am always trying for points," said Morita. "Today I played close to an ideal match. I just needed a little more push. I was charging the net and trying to create as many chances on my own as possible."

In other key matches, Croatia's Petra Martic upset fourth-seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-4 while seventh-seeded Li Na of China defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 7-5, 4-6, 6-2.

"It was a difficult match today. I practiced very well. I was feeling healthy and things were going well, but it didn't show in the match," said Kvitova.

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Morita rallies for Miyagi victory

RIFU, Miyagi Pref. — Rikako Morita edged out overnight leader Hiromi Mogi to claim her first win of the season at the Miyagi TV Cup Dunlop Ladies Open on Sunday.

Teeing off one shot back in a tie for second, the 22-year-old Morita reeled off six birdies and a bogey in a 67 to finish two strokes ahead of Mogi at 14-under 202.

Morita, who won her first career title at the 2010 Hisako Higuchi Ladies, pocketed ?12.6 million in prize money.

"All I can say is I'm delighted," said Morita. "The key was that I kept my cool and didn't panic. There are still more tournaments to be played and I will keep on doing my best."

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Vick rallies Eagles late to beat Ravens

PHILADELPHIA — With the game on the line, Michael Vick made all the right decisions — again.

Take the high road: Eagles tight end Brent Celek hurdles Ravens safety Ed Reed during their game on Sunday in Philadelphia. The Eagles won 24-23. AP

Vick scored on a 1-yard TD run with 1:55 left, helping the Philadelphia Eagles overcome a slew of turnovers to beat the Baltimore Ravens 24-23 on Sunday for their second straight comeback win.

The Eagles are 2-0 for the first time since Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens led them to the Super Bowl in 2004.

"In the moment, you have to be at your best," Vick said. "It's got to be an any-means-necessary mentality."

Rookie kicker Justin Tucker made field goals of 56, 51 and 48 yards for the Ravens, but Joe Flacco couldn't get Baltimore (1-1) in his range in the final minute.

Flacco overthrew Ray Rice on fourth-and-1 from the Ravens 46, and the Eagles ran out the clock.

Vick threw four interceptions at Cleveland last week, but rallied the Eagles to a 17-16 win.

He did it again, though the replacement officials almost made a costly mistake.

Down 23-17, the Eagles started at their 20 with 4:43 left. Vick threw passes of 24 and 13 yards to Brent Celek. A 19-yard pass to Clay Harbor coupled with a roughing-the-passer penalty put the ball at the 3.

Vick then threw incomplete as he was being hit by Haloti Ngata, but the play was ruled a fumble and it was recovered by the Ravens. A replay overturned the call and Vick scored on the next play.

"There's some serious calls the refs missed," Baltimore's Ray Lewis said. "It's just the way it is, man, all around the league. We have to correct that. These games are critical. Guys are giving everything they've got all across the league. But these are calls, with the regular refs, if they were here, we know the way the calls would be made."

The Eagles committed three turnovers in the red zone in the first half and lost two starting offensive linemen in the second. They have nine turnovers in two games, a major reason why they only have 41 points despite totaling 942 yards of offense.

"We have to get better at it," coach Andy Reid said. "You have to take care of the football. You have to throw the football to the right person. This isn't something we planned on having."

Vick finished 23 of 32 for 371 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Celek had eight catches for 157 yards and DeSean Jackson had seven receptions for 114 yards.

Giants 41, Buccaneers 34: In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Eli Manning came up with a near-record performance in throwing for 510 yards, and Andre Brown scored on a 2-yard run with 31 seconds left.

Manning's yardage total was the second most for a Giants quarterback, and tied for the eighth highest in NFL history.

Cardinals 20, Patriots 18: In Foxborough, Massachusetts, backup quarterback Kevin Kolb threw for one touchdown and ran for another, Stephen Gostkowski missed a potential winning field goal in the final seconds, and Arizona moved to 2-0.

Panthers 35, Saints 27: In Charlotte, North Carolina, Cam Newton threw for 253 yards and ran for a career-high 71 yards to hand New Orleans its first 0-2 start since 2007.

One week after tying a franchise low with 10 yards rushing in a loss to Tampa Bay, the Panthers ran for 219 yards and Newton, DeAngelo Williams and Mike Tolbert all scored on short touchdown runs.

Colts 23, Vikings 20: In Indianapolis, Adam Vinatieri made a 53-yard field goal with 8 seconds left to give Andrew Luck his first NFL victory.

Minnesota (1-1) rallied from a two-touchdown deficit in the final 5? minutes and tied the score on a 6-yard TD pass from Christian Ponder to Kyle Rudolph with 31 seconds left.

Dolphins 35, Raiders 13: In Miami, Reggie Bush ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns, and the Dolphins won a home opener for the first time since 2005.

Ryan Tannehill threw his first NFL touchdown pass, ran for another and avoided any turnovers after tossing three interceptions in his pro debut a week earlier.

Texans 27, Jaguars 7: In Jacksonville, Arian Foster ran for 110 yards and a touchdown, Ben Tate added 74 yards and two scores, and Houston dominated from the start.

The Texans improved to 2-0 for the third consecutive season by winning their fourth in a row against the AFC South rival Jaguars, who started 0-2 for the third time in the last five years.

Bills 35, Chiefs 17: In Orchard Park, New York, C.J. Spiller scored twice and had 123 yards rushing in sparking Buffalo.

Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two touchdown passes, including a 49-yarder to Stevie Johnson, and Leodis McKelvin scored on an 88-yard punt return — the second longest in team history — in the Bills' home opener.

Bengals 34, Browns 27: In Cincinnati, Adam "Pacman" Jones returned Cleveland's first punt 81 yards for a touchdown, and Andy Dalton matched his career high with three touchdown passes.

Steelers 27, Jets 10: In Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger passed for 275 yards and two touchdowns, and the Steelers smothered the Jets in the second half.

Roethlisberger completed 24 of 31 passes. He hit Heath Miller for a 1-yard score to give the Steelers (1-1) the lead late in the first half, then found Mike Wallace for a 37-yard strike early in the third quarter to break the game open.

Rams 31, Redskins 28: In St. Louis, Sam Bradford threw for 310 yards and three touchdowns and Danny Amendola caught 15 passes for 160 yards in rallying the Rams.

Seahawks 27, Cowboys 7: In Seattle, Marshawn Lynch ran for 122 yards and a 3-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, and the Seahawks' special teams came up with two huge first-quarter plays that led to 10 points.

Rookie Russell Wilson threw for 151 yards and directed a 90-yard scoring drive in the third quarter capped by a 22-yard touchdown strike to Anthony McCoy to give Seattle a 20-7 lead.

Chargers 38, Titans 10: In San Diego, tight end Dante Rosario had three touchdown catches for the first time in his NFL career and the Chargers' defense harassed Jake Locker all day.

Before the game, the Chargers (2-0) retired Junior Seau's No. 55. Seau, the hard-hitting, fist-pumping leader of the Chargers for 13 seasons, committed suicide May 2.

49ers 27, Lions 19: In San Francisco, the 49ers' stingy defense denied Matthew Stafford another milestone and Vernon Davis caught touchdown passes of 21 and 23 yards from Alex Smith.

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Williams rallies to defeat Azarenka in U.S. Open final

NEW YORK — Finally tested, even trailing, at the U.S. Open, Serena Williams turned things around just in time.

Two points from defeat, Williams suddenly regained her composure and her strokes, coming back to win the last four games and beat Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 on Sunday night for her fourth championship at Flushing Meadows and 15th Grand Slam title overall.

"I honestly can't believe I won. I really was preparing my runnerup speech, because I thought, 'Man, she's playing so great,' " Williams said during the trophy presentation after the 2-hour, 18-minute match, adding: "I'm really shocked."

Might be the only one.

After all, what really was stunning was that the top-ranked Azarenka made things as interesting as they were, given that she came into the day 1-9 against Williams.

Add in that Williams hadn't dropped a set in the tournament, losing only 19 games through six matches before Sunday. All part of a tremendous run she is putting together in reaction to her loss at the French Open in late May, the American's only first-round exit in 49 career major tournaments. Since then, she is 26-1, winning Wimbledon and the London Olympics.

There hadn't been a three-set women's final in New York since 1995, and Williams came through with a late charge to become the first woman to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in the same season since a decade ago, when — yes, that's right — she did it.

"She never gives up," said Azarenka, who managed only 13 winners, 31 fewer than Williams. "She's definitely the toughest player, mentally, there is and she's got the power."

While Azarenka, a 23-year-old from Belarus, doesn't have the name recognition or bona fides of Williams, she did win the Australian Open in January, and was 32-2 (a .941 winning percentage) on hard courts in 2012. She also hadn't dropped a three-setter all season until Sunday, going 12-0 in matches that went the distance, including victories over defending U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur in the quarterfinals and 2006 champion Maria Sharapova in the semifinals.

As Sunday's third set commenced, Williams' mother, Oracene Price, told her from the stands, "Settle down."

Didn't happen right away.

"Well, she's a human being, you know, who has two feet, two legs, two hands," Azarenka said. "It's understandable."

When Williams double-faulted, slapped a bad backhand into the net and pushed a forehand long, Azarenka broke at love for a 4-3 edge, then followed that up by holding for 5-3.

One game from the title.

Azarenka was two points away at 30-all with the fourth-seeded Williams serving in the next game, but couldn't convert. And when Azarenka served for the victory at 5-4, she showed the jitters that probably are understandable given that this was only her second career Grand Slam final.

"Feels like there is no room for a mistake," is the way Azarenka described trying to deal with Williams' game. "There is no room for a wrong decision."

Azarenka slumped in her changeover chair, a white towel covering her head, as Williams kept saying, "Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" while scurrying over to share the joy with her mother and big sister.

"Being so close, it hurts deeply," Azarenka said. "To know you don't have it. You're close; you didn't get it."

In the men's final, scheduled Monday, defending champion Novak Djokovic will face Olympic gold medalist Andy Murray. It's the fifth consecutive year the tournament will conclude on Monday instead of the scheduled Sunday because of bad weather.

Djokovic beat David Ferrer of Spain 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in a semifinal that was halted in the first set because of impending rain Saturday and wrapped up Sunday.

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Kim rallies to win Fujisankei crown

FUJIKAWAGUCHIKO, Yamanashi Pref. — Kim Kyung Tae celebrated his 26th birthday in style with his first title of the season on Sunday, the South Korean rallying to beat Yuta Ikeda by one shot with an 18th-hole birdie at the Fujisankei Classic.

Kim trailed overnight leader Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand by three strokes but a second consecutive 68 that featured five birdies and a two bogeys at the par-71 Fujizakura Country Club was good enough to give him victory at 8-under 276.

Kim's fifth title in Japan and first since last year's Shigeo Nagashima Invitational earned him a check for ?22 million and moved him into seventh on the money rankings.

"It's like I have treated myself to a present. It's perfect," said Kim, top earner on the Japanese tour in 2010.

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Seattle rallies for win in 9th

SEATTLE — After handing out some punishment on a few prior occasions, Seattle Mariners designated hitter John Jaso was happy to take a beating Monday night.

Happy hour: Ichiro Suzuki and his Seattle teammates celebrate after pinch runner Munenori Kawasaki scores the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning of their 3-2 win over Detroit on Monday night. AP

Jaso hit a sacrifice fly to score pinch runner Munenori Kawasaki and cap a three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 3-2 win over the Detroit Tigers.

Jaso and the Mariners won their third straight game — with a lot of help from Tigers veteran reliever Octavio Dotel.

Detroit manager Jim Leyland knew pregame that closer Jose Valverde would not be at his disposal, so he turned to Dotel with a 2-0 lead in the ninth — and he lacked any control from the start.

Dotel walked Brendan Ryan after nearly hitting him twice. A walk to Ichiro Suzuki followed, then a wild pitch, which advanced both runners. A visit from catcher Alex Avila along with a separate visit from pitching coach Jeff Jones during the inning could not settle Dotel down.

Seattle starter Blake Beavan left after being hit on the right elbow by a line drive in the third inning.

Beavan's replacement, Hisashi Iwakuma, pitched three innings, allowing one run and three hits. He struck out five batters and did not issue a walk.

Ichiro was 1-for-3, with a walk.

Rangers 14, Orioles 3

In Baltimore, Brandon Snyder homered and had a career-high six RBIs against his former team, and Texas beat the O's.

Indians 8, White Sox 6 (1st)

Indians 3, White Sox 2 (2nd)

In Cleveland, Shelley Duncan's RBI double in the eighth gave the Indians a soggy win over Chicago and a sweep of their day-night doubleheader.

Zach McAllister pitched six innings for his first major league win as Cleveland roughed up Philip Humber (1-2) in the first game.

White Sox outfielder Kosuke Fukudome went 1-for-6 in the doubleheader and drove in a run.

Angels 8, Twins 3

In Minneapolis, Jered Weaver allowed three hits over six innings in his first start since no-hitting the Twins last week to lead the Angels to a win over Minnesota.

Red Sox 11, Royals 5

In Kansas City, Will Middlebrooks homered down each of the lines, David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia also each went deep, and Boston pounded the Royals to snap a five-game losing streak.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Marlins 4, Astros 0

In Houston, Carlos Zambrano pitched a three-hitter for his first win of the season and Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer, leading Miami to its seventh straight win.

Dodgers 9, Giants 1

In Los Angeles, Ted Lilly outpitched Barry Zito through six innings and the Dodgers beat San Francisco.

Cubs 5, Braves 1

In Chicago, Jeff Samardzija allowed five hits and a run over seven strong innings, and Bryan LaHair, Ian Stewart and Geovany Soto each homered to lead the Cubs past Atlanta.

Mets 5, Phillies 2

In Philadelphia, New York pinch hitter Jordany Valdespin hit a three-run homer off Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth for his first major league hit.

Cardinals 9, Diamondbacks 6

In Phoenix, Lance Lynn gave up three hits through five scoreless innings to become the majors' first six-game winner at 6-0 and St. Louis held on to beat Arizona.

Reds 6, Brewers 1

In Milwaukee, Jay Bruce hit a three-run homer as Cincinnati defeated the hosts.

Brewers leadoff hitter Norichika Aoki was 0-for-4.

Padres 3, Rockies 2

In San Diego, Yonder Alonso drove in two runs to help Edinson Volquez get his first victory with the Padres with a win over Colorado.

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Masterful Ligety rallies to capture World Cup giant slalom win

BEAVER CREEK, Colorado — The way Ted Ligety carved into turns looked so easy. The way he glided in between sections of the steep course appeared so elegant.

Even when he's skiing on edge in a giant slalom race, pushing to the brink of his ability — as he insisted he was doing Tuesday — it hardly seemed that way.

No wonder some of his rivals have taken to calling him, "Mr. GS."

Ligety turned in a blazing second run in frigid conditions to capture a World Cup giant slalom race on a demanding Birds of Prey course. The three-time overall GS champion flew down the hill in a combined time of 2 minutes, 40.01 seconds to hold off Marcel Hirscher of Austria by 0.69 seconds. Kjetil Jansrud of Norway was third.

"I tried to do my best. I had no chance," Hirscher said. "Ted was unbreakable."

It was Hirscher who lit a fire under Ligety.

On Sunday, Hirscher knocked off Ligety in a giant slalom race on this course, finding superior speed where many others, including Ligety, couldn't.

So, Ligety went to the video and studied Hirscher's amazing run from the weekend and used it against him.

"I'm glad to come down and get some redemption," Ligety said. "(Hirscher) crushed me by quite a bit and a lot of other guys Sunday."

This time, it was Ligety's turn. He entered the final run trailing France's Alexis Pinturault by 0.14 seconds. But Ligety easily made up the time to win his 10th World Cup race. Pinturault made an early mistake and never recovered, settling for fourth.

"I was pushing super hard," Ligety said. "If I did that run several times, I don't know if I'd make it to the finish line with a high percentage."

At 27, Ligety is the undisputed king of the GS. But he has a couple of youngsters hot on his heels in Hirscher (22 years old) and Pinturault (20). They keep getting better with age, especially Pinturault, who Ligety said is bound to break through for his first win very soon, possibly even this season.

"It's just a matter of time," Ligety said. "That's definitely a good motivator for me, knowing there's somebody 7 years younger than me that probably has more raw speed than I do. That's something that's going to make me push hard in the future. I'm hoping (Pinturault) doesn't get that mental ability and race speed too soon."

Hirscher is already there.

His performance this week is evidence of that. Second after the first run, Hirscher may have even charged toward another win Tuesday, but he banged his hand on a gate and wasn't the same in his final trip through the course.

"I was a bit not that aggressive like in the first run," Hirscher said. "I'm pretty happy with my second place. For me, it's perfect to be here.

"It's an amazing feeling because (Ligety) is Mr. GS. Hopefully it's going on the whole season."

Just then, Jansrud playfully interrupted as the three sat at a table for a post-race news conference.

Something was lost in translation.

"You hope (Ligety) wins all races the whole season?" Jansrud asked.

Wide-eyed, Hirscher quickly amended his statement.

"Not that," he said. "Hopefully, I can beat him."

Maybe next season the field will have an even better chance to close the gap on Ligety. That's when the new rules over the shape of the GS skis take effect. Ligety has been frustrated with the International Ski Federation's decision to alter the hourglass shape.

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Johnson rallies past Woods behind unexpected eagle

THOUSAND OAKS, California — Tiger Woods lost his three-stroke margin with every shot that looked good until the wind decided otherwise. He lost his lead in the Chevron World Challenge because of something that was really out of his control.

On the prowl: Zach Johnson tees off on the first hole Saturday at the Chevron World Challenge. Johnson shot a 68 to rally past Tiger Woods and take a one-shot lead. AP

Zach Johnson was 163 yards away in the 18th fairway on Saturday, one shot behind and hopeful of getting his 7-iron onto the top shelf to make par as easy as possible. Imagine his surprise when it landed near the hole and hopped back into the cup for an eagle that put him atop the leaderboard.

"I would have been happy with a 4, let alone a 3," Johnson said. "A 2 is a steal."

That eagle gave him a 4-under 68, allowing him to make up a four-shot deficit to Woods and take a one-shot lead into the final round of the final official PGA Tour event this year in America.

Woods had three bogeys on the par 5s and didn't feel as though he did much wrong.

On two of them, he hit wedges that looked good until the cool, gusting wind shifted directions and sent the ball much farther than he imagined. On the other par 5, his fairway metal hit a gust and dropped into a hazard.

The result was a 1-over 73. The prognosis wasn't nearly as bad.

"Even though I made three bogeys on par 5s, I had two three-putts, but I played well," Woods said. "I hit a lot of good shots that ended up in bad spots because I had bad gusts. So be it. That's the way it goes.

"I'm right there with a chance going into tomorrow."

Johnson was at 8-under 208 and will be in the final group with Woods. K.J. Choi, who overcame a double bogey on the par-5 second hole for a 72 and was three shots out of the lead. No one else was closer than five.

Woods had the 36-hole lead for the second straight tournament, and for the second straight time failed to break par in the third round.

He felt differently Saturday than he did at the Australian Open in Sydney, where he opened with three straight bogeys and finished the day six shots out of the lead.

"Most of the time today, it wasn't me," Woods said. "I hit a lot of good shots today."

The wind was strong and chilly from the start, and rarely stayed the same direction very long. With a wedge in his hand, Woods went some 40 feet long on the second hole that led to a three-putt bogey. Another wedge on the par-5 13th sailed over the green and left a pitch he had no chance to get close.

Both players ran into trouble on the par-5 16th.

Johnson was playing in the group ahead of Woods, felt the breeze in his face and tried to hammer a driver that went left of the grass and into the gallery. He tried to clear a creek and went into the trees to the right before pitching out and taking a bogey.

Woods was in the fairway, but a gust took his fairway metal too far right and into a hazard. He said he thought about trying to hit out behind a pair of rocks before choosing to take a penalty drop, and he also made bogey.

The difference was how they finished.

Johnson three-putted the 17th for another bogey, then drilled his 7-iron at the flag on the 18th for the most unlikely finish to his round. Woods had to settle for pars.

Johnson didn't realize his eagle on the final hole was for the lead. And even though he has a one-shot advantage, he doesn't think he's in contention until the final hour of any tournament.

What about being in the last group with Woods, who has gone 26 starts since his last win?

"He's never going to shock me on the golf course because he's certainly the best player I've ever played with," Johnson said after his round. "I'm glad I'm playing this week and I have the opportunity to go into Sunday with at least a chance."

Johnson, a former Masters champion, saw his streak of four straight seasons winning on the PGA Tour end this year.

The Chevron World Challenge counts toward the world ranking, but is not official for the tour. He still wouldn't mind using it as a springboard for the next season, much like Tom Lehman did in the early days of this event, and Jim Furyk did in 2009.

Woods was not too disappointed about going from a three-shot lead to a one-shot deficit.

He felt as though he played as well as he had the first two days, without having much luck with the wind. And for a guy who has gone two years without winning, the hardest part of hoisting a trophy is getting a chance.

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