Serena Williams beat Flavia Pennetta in straight sets Wednesday night to reach the semifinals of the U.S. Open. The top-seeded Williams, playing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal of the year, overcame a slow start to post a 6-3, 6-2 victory over the 11th-seeded Italian at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Williams stormed back to take the first set, winning six straight games after Pennetta earned two breaks while jumping out to a 3-0 lead. The 32-year-old American star broke Pennettas serve twice in the second set and won when Pennetta netted a return on match point. Williams kept her hopes alive for a third straight Flushing Meadows title and sixth overall. She is the first player to advance to the semifinals at the U.S. Open aged 32 or older since Martina Navratilova in 1991. Pennetta, who was bidding to reach her second career Grand Slam semifinal, fell to 0-6 against Williams and 2-8 against world No. 1s. Williams next plays Russian Ekaterina Makarova. The 17th-seeded Makarova secured a berth in her first-ever Grand Slam semifinal with a mild upset over two-time runner-up Victoria Azarenka. Makarova doused Azarenka 6-4, 6-2 in 1 hour, 27 minutes at Ashe Stadium. The Belarusian star Azarenka piled up six double faults and was broken four times on Day 10 of the fortnight. Unusually low-key for most of the match, Azarenka smashed her racquet after a crucial unforced error gave Makarova a break and a 4-2 lead in the second set. The left-handed Makarova is now 3-3 lifetime against Azarenka, including 1-1 at the majors. The former world No. 1 Azarenka is having trouble re-locating her once- formidable game after returning to action in June after being sidelined with a foot injury for three months. The 26-year-old Moscow native Makarova has played in at least the quarterfinals at four of the last eight and five of the last 12 Grand Slam events. She has yet to drop a set at the 2014 U.S. Open. Azarenka had won 16 of her previous 18 matches in Flushing and by failing to reach the semifinals this week, she will now drop out of the top 20. She lost to Williams in the U.S. Open final the past two years. JaVale McGee Jersey . Richard Jefferson scored 17 points and Diante Garrett had a career-high 15 points as the Jazz had seven players with 10 points or more in Utahs largest margin of victory this season. LeBron James Jersey .J. - Percy Harvin is ready to go, and theres no question in his mind hell be playing Sunday. http://www.cheaplakersjerseyschina.com/. Pospisil, whose season-ending goal is to improve his ATP Tour ranking enough to qualify for one of the 32 seedings at Januarys Australian Open, dominated Karlovic in 59 minutes. The world No. 40 never faced a break point and limited the big mans threatening ace count to a mere eight, while striking five key aces of his own. Youth Lakers Jerseys . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork. Wholesale Lakers Jerseys .Brothers B.J. and Justin Upton each homered and had an outfield assist, and the Braves held on for a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night.MONTREAL -- No matter how they got there, the Montreal Impact are relieved just to be part of the Major League Soccer playoffs. After losing their regular season finale in Toronto on Saturday, the Impact could only sit and watch as other teams decided their playoff fate. Finally, a 5-2 win by the New York Red Bulls over the Chicago Fire gave them fifth place and the final Eastern Conference post-season berth. Montreal (14-13-7) will face the fourth-place Dynamo (14-11-9) in Houston on Thursday night in a one-game playoff. "In the end, were still alive. Thats very positive," coach Marco Schallibaum said Monday. "We were on life support. "We were very frustrated on Saturday. But were still alive and we have another chance." If the Impact win, they will play host to the first-place Red Bulls in the first leg of their semifinal at Saputo Stadium on Sunday, with the second leg later in the week in New York. It was a shocking way to end the season for Montreal, which dominated the first four months while building a 9-3-2 record but went flat with a 5-10-5 record after that. They were 1-6-1 in their final eight games. Even Impact defender Matteo Ferrari wonders if they deserved to make it. "I was sure that New York was going to win the game but still, even if they won, we dont merit (it)," the Italian centreback said. "I want to be honest because everyone knows, we dont merit right now. "We merit before, for sure, because we played almost perfect at the beginning of the season. Now we have to get back to where we were." Captain Davy Arnaud was having none of that. He was hosting his daughters birthday party on Sunday, but couldnt resist putting MLS games on the television to see what his teams fate would be. Depending on the results, they could have ended the day anywhere from third to sixth place. He said that even if the team played badly down the stretch, they did enough to continue for at least another day. "We got into the playoffs off our performance over a 34-game season," he said. "Our form hasnt been the best of late and our results at the end of the season werent what we wanted, but everyone plays 34 games and you finish where you deserve, regardless of what other people do. "We needed some help after our result in Toronto, but I look at whatt weve done (all season).dddddddddddd" The club made progress by reaching the playoffs in only its second season in MLS. They finished seventh with a 12-16-6 record as an expansion team in 2012. They also won the Amway Canadian Championship and set a record for a Canadian MLS club with 49 points. If they beat Houston, the Impact will be the first Canadian team to reach a conference semifinal. Vancouver was beaten in a playoff knockout game last year. "Its a big step," said Arnaud. "We should be proud of the fact that, in the second season of this group being together, we got into the playoffs because its not easy. "To be honest, with the way we started the season, we were a little disappointed that were finishing fifth because we know we can be a good team. But we still have a chance to be playing on the last day, and thats important." They should have some help against Houston. While centreback Alessandro Nesta wont be able to return from a calf injury, midfielder Patrice Bernier said he will be back from a hip injury and Schallibaum said central defender Nelson Rivas, who hasnt played this season due to chronic bad knees, should be able to play at least the final 20 minutes. Left back Jeb Brovsky, who has been out two weeks with a broken toe, is back training at full speed as well. Montreal beat the Dynamo twice at home this season by 2-0 and 5-0, but lost 1-0 in Houston on Oct. 4. They are 0-2-1 in Houston over two seasons. The Dynamo are tough at home. The orange-clad side led by Giles Barnes and Will Bruin reached the final last season. "Theyre very good and experienced," said Arnaud. "They had to win on the last day to get in, but if theres one team in the league that knows how to get the job done in the playoffs its Houston. "They find a way to step up and play at a different level and we have to be prepared for that." Houston may not want any part of the Red Bulls. New York went 3-0 against the Dynamo and outscored them 9-1 this season. Montreal beat the Red Bulls at home 1-0 early in the season, then lost by 2-1 and 4-0 in New York. They havent met since July 13. The Seattle Sounders play host to the Colorado Rapids in a Western Conference playoff game on Thursday, with the winner advancing to a semifinal against the Portland Timbers. 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