TOKYO -- Venus Williams overpowered Mona Barthel of Germany 6-3, 6-1 on Sunday to advance to the second round of the Pan Pacific Open. Williams needed just 1 hour, 4 minutes at Ariake Colosseum to dispatch Barthel and set up a second-round matchup with top-seeded Victoria Azarenka, who has a first-round bye. Williams is 2-0 in head-to-head matches against Azarenka. They last met three years ago in the Dubai Duty Free final. "Ive watched many of her matches," Williams said. "Especially the big matches against Serena. Watching them at the U.S. Open was awesome, and hopefully that will help me." Top-ranked Serena Williams, who won her 17th Grand Slam singles title with a three-set win over Azarenka at the U.S. Open, pulled out of the $2.3 million tournament, saying she needed time to recover from a busy summer playing schedule. No. 3-ranked Maria Sharapova also pulled out of the Tokyo tournament because of a right-shoulder injury that kept her out of the U.S. Open. In other matches, ninth-seeded Sloane Stephens of the United States beat Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland 6-3, 6-2 while 12th-seeded Samantha Stosur of Australia came from a set down for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over Alize Cornet of France. Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium, seeded fourteenth, defeated Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic, 7-6 (4), 7-5. Sorana Cirstea of Romania beat Julia Goerges of Germany, 6-4, 6-4. . Pedro scored from a pass by Lionel Messi in the 33rd minute and added two more goals in the 47th and 72nd after Valdes saved his second penalty in four days following his stop in Wednesdays 4-0 over Ajax in the Champions League. [url=http://www.wholesalejerseysauthentic.us.com/devils-24-bryce-salvador-white-... #24 Bryce Salvador White Stitched NHL Jersey . Ashley Youngs cross was inadvertently headed by Chester into his own net in the 66th minute, allowing United to claim a third straight league win. "We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said. . -- Jimmie Johnson held off a teammate, passed a pair of Hall of Famers, and dominated once more at Dover. [url=http://www.wholesalejerseysauthentic.us.com/dodgers-31-joc-pederson-light-b... #31 Joc Pederson Light Blue Cooperstown Stitched MLB Jersey . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human.DENVER -- Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov surrendered to Denver police on an arrest warrant on charges of kidnapping and third-degree assault in what authorities are calling a domestic violence incident. Police released few details about the case Wednesday night during a brief news conference and declined to elaborate, other than to say it involved someone who Varlamov was in an intimate relationship with. Sgt. Steve Warneke said the 25-year-old Russian goalie went to police Wednesday at about 6 p.m. Warneke didnt know if Varlamov had an attorney. An email was left by The Associated Press with Varlamovs agent. The Avalanche said in a statement they were aware of the allegations but wouldnt comment further until the conclusion of the investigation. Varlamov practiced with the team earlier in the day. Varlamov was still in custody Wednesday night, and was due in court for his first court appearance at 10 a.m. Thursday, according to the Denver County sheriffs website. Asked if Varlamov will be treated any differently in custody because of his celebrity status, Warneke said: "I dont know what happens once they get to Denver Sheriffs, if they do any particulars for high profile, in regards to keeping them safe. "I do know we consider every criminal prosecution equally important," Warneke said. "Were concerned about the riights of the victim, the rights of everybody involved.dddddddddddd Our goal every time is to provide everybody with a fair and balanced opportunity to go through the judicial system without corrupting that through releasing things that could jeopardize any sort of criminal case." Acquired from Washington in a 2011 trade, Varlamov is 7-1 this season with a 1.76 goals-against average. On Sunday night, he made 24 saves in a 3-2 home victory over Winnipeg. The Avalanche play at Dallas on Friday night and Varlamov was scheduled to start. His backup, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, has been just as good in net, recording two shutouts. Varlamov is in the midst of a resurgent season under new coach Patrick Roy and a staff that includes goalie guru Francois Allaire, who once mentored Roy and Giguere. Between Roy and Allaire, theyve restored Varlamovs confidence a year after he allowed three goals a game. Varlamov said he credits his improvement to Allaire altering his form in goal. Just minor tweaks, he said, but wouldnt elaborate on the specifics of what they were. Whatever was changed, it has been paying off as hes among the NHL leaders in goals-against, wins and save percentage (.945). After practice Wednesday, Avalanche defenceman Erik Johnson said it was "pretty cool to see Varly transition into an elite NHL goalie." NFL Jerseys Cheap China Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Jerseys NFL Cheap ' ' '