d were up by as many as 10 in the second quarter before taking a

MADRID - Serena Williams brushed aside Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 6-2, 6-1 to open her defence of the Madrid Open title on Sunday, while Maria Sharapova beat Klara Koukalova 6-1, 6-2 in the first round. In the mens tournament, Novak Djokovic withdrew before the start of the event because of a right wrist injury that had already affected his play at Monte Carlo last month. "I did everything possible in order to play in Madrid," Djokovic said. "But unfortunately my right arm injury has flared up again." The top-ranked Williams, who has won the clay-court tournament the past two years, hit 11 aces and broke Bencic five times to advance in less than an hour. Williams will play Peng Shuai of China in the second round. Sharapova, who lost to Williams in last years final, converted six of eight break points to take advantage of Koukalovas eight double-faults. The eighth-seeded Sharapova will play Christina McHale of the United States next. Also, Ana Ivanovic beat Madison Keys of the United States 6-1, 7-6 (4) to set up a meeting with fellow Serb Bojana Jovanovski. The 11th-seeded Ivanovic overcame her shaky serve by saving three of four break points. NMD R2 Canada . On Tuesday, the star questioned whether that was still the case. Speaking to reporters at a charity event, Johnson said: "I just kind of wonder sometimes: Is this still the place for me?" Johnsons comments came after he was asked why he recently skipped a voluntary minicamp. NMD Shoes Canada . Tensions rose in the first period when Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik hit Bruins forward Loui Eriksson with what appeared to be a clean hit. http://www.nmdshoescanada.com/ultra-boost-cheap-canada/uncaged.html .7 million, one-year contract.The deal, announced Friday, includes a $50,000 performance bonus if the left-hander appears in 60 games. NMD R1 Canada . The Toronto Argonauts running back hurt his left ankle during the teams practice Friday afternoon at Rogers Centre. NMD R2 Sale Canada . Malone will become an unrestricted free-agent and as per the collective bargaining agreement, the Lightning will be responsible for two-thirds of the remainder of his contract over twice the length of the rest of the deal.Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - Avery Bradley hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:24 left in regulation and Boston slipped out of Denver with a 100-99 victory at Pepsi Center. He missed one last night that he thought he should have made. He made up for it tonight, said Celtics head coach Brad Stevens. Bradley finished with a team-best 18 points for the Celtics, with Brandon Bass picking up 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists and Jared Sullinger had 14 and eight boards. Jameer Nelson poured in a game-high 23 points on 9-of-20 shooting for the Nuggets, who dropped their fifth straight contest. Arron Aflalo picked up 20 points and J.J. Hickson totaled 15 with 14 rebounds. The Celtics were behind 61-49 with 7:32 remaining in the third quarter but eventually took a 70-69 lead on a Marcus Smart free throw with 2:06 left. Marcus Thorntons jumper gave them a 75-74 edge after three. Bass later hit two from the line and Boston was ahead 86-80 with 7:34 left in regulation, but Hickson, Afflalo and Nelson hit shots -- the last one a triple by the former Saint Josephs star who was acquired by the Nuggets from the Celtics 10 days ago -- and Denver was back on top 87-86. Each side traded turns with the lead until Bradleys shot from beyond the arc made it 98-96. Wilson Chandler then missed the second of two from the line and Nelson missed a jumper before Bradley connected on a two-pointer for a three- point Boston edge. Hickson made a layup with 14.7 on the clock, and thouugh Evan Turner missed both free-throw tries, Nelson couldnt get a step-back jumper to go with 1.dddddddddddd4 remaining. Were trying to find a way, Faried said. Were trying to fight and claw, but we didnt claw enough. We didnt have enough fight in us. We had the last shot. When Jameer put it up, we thought it was going to go in. We even tried to get the rebound to put it in, but too little too late. Nelson scored 11 points and the Nuggets led 28-20 after one quarter, and were up by as many as 10 in the second quarter before taking a 48-42 edge to the break. Hickson and Kenneth Faried converted dunks in the first two minutes of the third and Denver was ahead 52-42. They maintained that comfortable margin for several minutes before Boston began its comeback. Its great from a progress standpoint and you hope you can build off of it, Stevens said of winning back-to-back nights on the road. Bostons six-game west coast swing continues Sunday in Oakland against red-hot Golden State. Game Notes Boston had lost five straight in Denver, since claiming a 114-76 decision on Feb. 23, 2009 ... The Celtics also snapped a losing clip of 28 straight defeats when trailing by 12-or-more points at any juncture in a game ... Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds in defeat ... Turner scored 10 points and dished out six assists for Boston ... The contest featured nine ties and 17 lead changes. ' ' '