ROME -- Novak Djokovic cant seem to find any consistency on clay courts. Alonzo Mourning Heat Jersey . And with the French Open less than 10 days away, he will enter Roland Garros on the back of two early defeats. The top-ranked Serb wasted a chance to serve out the match and was beaten 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 by sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych in the Italian Open quarterfinals Friday. In the semifinals, Berdych will face six-time Rome champion Rafael Nadal, who defeated fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. While he struggled at times, Nadal appeared sharper than in his three-set win over Latvian qualifier Ernests Gulbis a day earlier. In the other half of the draw, Roger Federer overcame an early break in the second set to edge rising Polish player Jerzy Janowicz 6-4, 7-6 (2) in a night match at the Foro Italico. Attempting to win this tournament for the first time, Federers next opponent will be Benoit Paire. The 36th-ranked Frenchman routed Marcel Granollers of Spain 6-1, 6-0 to reach his first Masters series semifinal. In the womens tournament, top-ranked Serena Williams rolled past Spanish opponent Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-0 to extend her winning run to a career-best 22 matches. Williams will next face Romanian qualifier Simona Halep, who rallied past two-time Rome champion Jelena Jankovic 4-6, 6-0, 7-5. Meanwhile, two-time defending champion Maria Sharapova withdrew before her quarterfinal against seventh-seeded Sara Errani due to illness. Errani, the first Italian semifinalist in this tournament since Raffaella Reggi won the 1985 event in Taranto, will face third-seeded Victoria Azarenka, who held off ninth-seeded Sam Stosur 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. Its the second consecutive week that Djokovic has struggled, having also lost to Grigor Dimitrov in the second round of the Madrid Open after being bothered by a right ankle injury. Djokovic said he had been playing pain free this week. Still, he will need to get his game in shape in a hurry with the French Open, the years second Grand Slam, starting May 26. "I know I can play well on clay and so I shouldnt allow myself to have these drops, and lets hope it wont happen for Roland Garros," Djokovic said of the only major he hasnt won. "Im fine. I just lost my rhythm." Djokovic served for the match at 5-3 in the second set, but Berdych ripped a backhand winner that landed on the line on his first break point and won the final four games of the set. "Its a very strange situation," Djokovic said. "I played very well and was two points from winning. Then the entire match changed and I was a different player." Its the first time Berdych has reached the semifinals in eight appearances in Rome, having been eliminated four times in the quarters. The tall Czech took control of the match with his big first serve, and by coming forward to angle shots into the corners to set up easy volleys. Djokovic had trouble returning Berdychs first serve and also complained about the courts surface early on. In the third set, Berdych went ahead with an early break and then shook off some nerves to close the match out on his fourth match point with a big serve out wide that Djokovic could barely get his racket on. As overcast skies gave way to sunshine, the court dried out, favouring Berdychs power game. "I lost the concentration," Djokovic said. "I started playing more defensively. ... He started playing more confidently, stepping into the court and taking advantage of his opportunities." It was only Berdychs second win in 15 career meetings with Djokovic, with his only previous victory coming in the 2010 Wimbledon semifinals. It was also only Berdychs fourth win versus a top-ranked player in 20 attempts, with all three previous wins coming against Federer. "He has been for quite a few years just behind the top four," Djokovic said. "Hes able to play big matches. He has proven that. So (he) is definitely a very dangerous player on any surface with a serve like that." Djokovic was 148-4 when winning the first set since 2011, according to the ATP. Williams had twice won 21 in a row before, although both of those runs came a decade ago, in 2002 and 2003. "Ive been pretty consistent, and pretty healthy -- knock on wood," Williams said. "I feel great -- never felt better." Martina Navratilova established the longest womens win run in the Open Era at 74 matches in 1984. Williams only title here came in 2002, when she beat Justine Henin in the final. That was also the year she won her only French Open title. Last year in Paris, Williams lost in the opening round of a major for the first time, falling to 111th-ranked Virginie Razzano of France. Sharapova said he was struggling with an illness she first contracted last week, when she was runner-up to Williams in Madrid, although she showed no problems Thursday as she beat 16th-seeded Sloane Stephens 6-2, 6-1. "I was already a bit off in Madrid and played though it and it came back last night and I got sick again and its not smart to compete again," said Sharapova, adding that she had a fever after beating Stephens. "Obviously with the French Open coming up it is important to make smart decisions." Justise Winslow Heat Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Tim Hardaway Jersey . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary. http://www.officialheatstore.us/gerald-green-heat-jersey/ . Marincin has played in two NHL games so far this season with two penalty minutes. The 21-year-old has three goals, four assists and a plus-5 rating in 24 games with the American Hockey Leagues Oklahoma City Barons this season. LAHAINA, Hawaii -- Oregon opened the Maui Invitational with a disappointing loss, won in overtime and closed with a click-on-all-cylinders win.Winning the tournament was the goal, but getting better with each game wasnt a bad consolation.Chris Boucher scored 21 points, Tyler Dorsey added 19 and No. 13 Oregon beat Connecticut 79-69 on Wednesday in the fifth-place game of the Maui Invitational.Obviously, we still have a lot of stuff we need to work on offensively and defensively, but I think we took a step, said Oregon forward Jordan Bell, who had 12 points. I think every game we got a little better.Oregon (4-2) lost its opener to Georgetown, but bounced back with an overtime victory over Tennessee on Dillon Brooks long 3-pointer. The Ducks wanted to get off to a fast start in their Maui finale and did just that, racing to a 15-point lead in the opening 4 1/2 minutes.UConn (2-4) chipped into the lead by halftime, but the Ducks started flying again, building the lead back up to 17.Dylan Ennis added 15 points for Oregon, which shot 54 percent and made 9 of 21 from 3-point range.Jalen Adams led the Huskies with 27 points and Rodney Purvis added 13.Comes down to fundamentals: play defense and execute on offense, UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. I dont know what else to say. Energy and youve got to play defense. They made shots and we didnt make shots. Simple game. Theres no secret to it.The Ducks attacked the Huskies from the opening tip, scoring the games first 10 points, racing out to an 18-point lead.Ollie called a timeout 41 seconds into the game and Adams, the Huskies leading scorer, headed to the bench at 17:03 after picking up his second foul.I dont think we were just playing with the intensity we should have, Adams said. We didnt match their intensity or their energy and I think we have to work on that. Weve got to build on that.Oregon pushed the lead to 21, but the Huskies came roaring back.UConn started hitting shots it was missing earlier, while the Ducks went more than 8 minutes without a field goal, trimming the lead to 339-28 by halftime. Chris Bosh Jersey. Oregon revved up again to start the second half, hitting 5 of its first 7 shots to push the lead to 53-34.UConn had one more run. The Huskies whittled away at the lead and got it down to eight with 3 minutes left, but couldnt make up any more ground.I just thought our energy level today was much better because of the ball movement and getting some shots down, Oregon coach Dana Altman said.BIG PICTUREOregon finished the Maui Invitational with a flourish after a dud of a start. The Ducks should get better as Brooks, their leader, builds up stamina in his return from offseason foot surgery.UConns young team is still trying to gel. The Huskies struggled against Oklahoma States pressure in the opener, Chaminades perimeter shooting the next game and the Ducks flock of athletes in the finale.BROOKS PROGRESSIONBrooks was limited to eight points in 13 minutes in Oregons opener against Georgetown, his first game back since offseason foot surgery.The preseason All-America was back to his Duck-leading role against Tennessee in the second round, scoring 17 points and hitting the game-winning 3-pointer with 22 seconds left in overtime.Brooks was limited to nine points in 18 minutes Wednesday, but did all the little things the Ducks need, like playing defense, distributing the ball -- five assists -- and providing leadership.LARRIER OUTUConn announced Wednesday that sophomore forward Terry Larrier will miss the rest of the season with a torn left ACL.Larrier was injured Monday night against Oklahoma State while driving to the basket. Hes expected to be out eight months.UConn was expecting a big contribution from the 6-foot-8 Larrier, who sat out last season after transferring from Virginia Commonwealth.UP NEXTUConn hosts Boston University on Nov. 30.Oregon hosts Boise State on Monday.---More AP college basketball at http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25 Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
