KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. - Maria Sharapova needed nine match points before she finally closed out a win Saturday in the third round of the Sony Open, beating Lucie Safarova 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-2. No. 1-ranked Serena Williams won a marathon, too, taking 2 1/2 hours to eliminate Caroline Garcia 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Mens No. 1 Rafael Nadal began a bid for his first Key Biscayne title by beating Lleyton Hewitt 6-1, 6-3. Sharapova had two match points in the tiebreaker, and seven more in the final game. The No. 26-seeded Safarova stayed alive with a succession of vital winners. "She kept hitting unbelievable shots," Sharapova said. "One more. One more. I said, How many chances are you going to get?" With the capacity crowd in a frenzy, a long exchange on the final point ended with Safarova pushing a weary forehand into the net. She then shared a hug with Sharapova. The match took three hours and ended at 10 p.m. to conclude an 11-hour day session on the stadium court, with two night-session matches yet to come. "After a match like that, its tough to have only one winner," Sharapova said, "because both players give a lot and both want to win so much." Williams match was a thriller, too. A succession of long rallies left her grunting, stumbling, lunging, squealing, flailing her arms and scolding herself. Despite all the drama and trauma, she moved one round closer to a record seventh Key Biscayne title. Williams is playing in her first tournament after a monthlong layoff, and rustiness might explain her 41 unforced errors, including seven double-faults. And the 20-year-old Garcia kept Williams on her heels with deep groundstrokes and serves that topped out at 117 mph. "I can play a hundred times better," Williams said. "I really gave myself a tremendous amount of trouble out there. Granted she played great, but I made so many errors ... 40-something errors. Its not the way to play professional tennis. Maybe amateur." Three-time champion Novak Djokovic was off Saturday but advanced to the fourth round anyway when his next scheduled opponent, Florian Mayer, withdrew because of a groin injury. Djokovics next match will be Tuesday. Stanislas Wawrinka bounced back from his first loss of the year by beating Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-0, 3-6, 6-3. No. 7 Tomas Berdych joined Wawrinka in the third round by beating Stephane Robert 7-6 (5), 6-1. No. 10-seeded John Isner rallied to win an all-American matchup against Donald Young, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4. Isner is back in the top 10 this week for the first time in 18 months. Sam Querrey, Ryan Harrison and Jack Sock lost second-round matches. That left Isner as the lone remaining American in the mens draw, reflecting the state of U.S. tennis. Williams and Garcia engaged in a succession of side-to-side baseline exchanges that had the stadium crowd roaring. But she finished in a hurry, serving out the final game at love with the help of consecutive aces. Reigning Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has predicted that Garcia will someday climb to No. 1, but the Frenchwoman is now 0-3 against Williams. "Its always nice to play against a big player," Garcia said. "You are working and practicing to play this match, because its in this kind of match you can learn more. But next time I prefer to win." Williams is playing for the 14th time at Key Biscayne, an hour from her home in Palm Beach Gardens. She won the event for the first time in 2002 and tied Andre Agassis record of six titles last year. Air Max 270 Mens Discount . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. 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TORONTO -- It took until he stepped onto the ice at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton at the 1986 world junior championship for Joe Nieuwendyk to appreciate what it meant to wear a Team Canada jersey. "I didnt really understand the magnitude of what it meant until that moment: skating out there in front of 19-20,000 people, flags flying everywhere," Nieuwendyk said. "It was a special feeling." On Tuesday morning, he got to pass that feeling on to about a dozen teenage players chosen to model Hockey Canadas 2014 Olympic jerseys at the official unveiling at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. Hockey Canada told them theyd be doing some promotional things, but the players didnt learn exactly why they were at the arena until just before the event. "Their mouths dropped, a little awestruck," Nieuwendyk said. "They didnt realize what they were here for. When they saw the jersey for the first time, it hit them like it hits any NHL guy thats going to don that jersey." For many hockey fans it wasnt the first glimpse of the red, white and alternate black jerseys that the mens, womens and sledge hockey teams will wear at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi. Pictures of the uniforms have leaked out over the last month. But that didnt damper the enthusiasm for the teenagers who stepped onto the ice amid club music and laser lights and skated around to show off the uniforms. "First to ever try on the Team Canada Olympic Jersey and unveil it to everyone. Speechless," Paul Coffeys son, Blake, wrote on Twitter afterward. "Honoured to get the opportunity to unveil the 2014 Team Canada Olympic Jersey Launch." Hockey Canadas reveal was another opportunity for fans to give their opinions about the jerseys. Some said it looked like Petro-Canadas logo, while others wanted to go back to the jerseys used when Canada won gold in Vancouver in 2010. "People talking about how they feel about a jersey thats close to their heart and represents their country is a great thing," Nike creative director Ken Black said. The red and white jerseys feature a Maple Leaf logo with a stripe across the chest, while the black jersey has "CANADA" written across it in white letters on a gold stripe. All three include 12 gold maple leaves inside the collar to commemorate the eight mens, three womens and one sledge hockey gold medal the country has won at the Olympics. Black said the jerseys were inspired by the 1920 team that won gold at the Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, with touches from the 1972 national team uniform. "The best resource that we have in our country are our players and our people," Hockey Canada president and CEO Bob Nicholson said. "This really respects where it all started back in 1920." Back then there were fewer avenues for fans to express their feelings about jerseys. This time around criticism began in early September when a photo of Jonathan Toews wearing Canadas red jersey surfaced online. "Thats the great thing about the game of hockey: Everyones passionate," Nicholson said.dddddddddddd "The key is the players will be proud to put it on, and know when the players are on the ice, whether its our womens team, our mens team or our sledge team, Canadian fans will support the jersey and the team." Montreals Caroline Ouellette, a forward on the womens team and a three-time Olympian, offered a very positive review. "I think theyre lighter and they seem very comfortable," she said. "I think every time change happens, theres some people that resist it. I know weve heard some negative comments on it so far, but for me the jersey becomes the memories we make with that jersey." International Olympic Committee regulations prohibit sports federations from putting their logo on uniforms. Canada is the only team that will have a third jersey in Sochi. Nicholson said he wasnt sure how many times it would be worn at the Olympics but mentioned it was added because fans and players like black. Of course, Nicholson said, Canadas "real colours" are red and white. Thats why those jerseys got praise from Nieuwendyk for their simplicity. "The most important thing is the Maple Leaf," he said. "You follow a little bit of Canadian hockey history, this follows some of the history and captures that. Its just such a clean look: red, white and a Maple Leaf." The process of getting to the final products was far from simple. Phil Pritchard from the Hockey Hall of Fame took some historic Team Canada jerseys to Nike, where designers got to see and feel what former players wore. The jerseys are 15 per cent lighter than anything previously worn by Team Canada. The uniform fabric contains material from recycled water bottles. "Even this design is much lighter than what we wore in Nagano or Salt Lake," Nieuwendyk said. "Its getting lighter. They look faster. But the athletes are getting bigger and faster too." Tuesdays event at the Mattamy Athletic Complex, located on the former site of Maple Leaf Gardens, didnt have much to do with the construction of the Olympic teams. But Nicholson said that "seeing the jersey is a key stepping point for all three teams." "We are launching a symbol that truly serves to unify our great nation," Canadian Olympic Committee president Marcel Aubut said. "In Canada the concept of (a) jersey is an integral part of our DNA." The next step is for the teams to be named. "Theres a lot of work going on behind the scenes," Nicholson said. "(General manager) Steve Yzerman and his whole crew are out now every night watching NHL games to select the mens side." The provisional mens roster of 22 skaters and three goalies must be submitted to the International Ice Hockey Federation no later than Dec. 31. The womens team has until later in January to submit a roster to the Canadian Olympic Committee. The Games will be held Feb. 7-23, and the Paralympic Games are set for March 7-16. ' ' '