The third-seeded Belarusian is yet to drop a set at the tournament and will next meet eighth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat Julia Goerges of Germany 6-1, 6-1.
Notre Dame upsets Orange
Associated Press
WACO, Texas — Jack Cooley had 17 points and 10 rebounds to help Notre Dame upset No. 1 Syracuse 67-58 on Saturday.
Fans stormed the court after the Irish’s rousing victory. It was the eighth time Notre Dame has beaten a No. 1 team, tied for fourth-most all-time.
The Orange (20-1, 7-1) played without Fab Melo, who did not make the trip and will not play Monday against Cincinnati.
Without Melo in the middle, the 6-foot-9, 248-pound Cooley was a major force for Notre Dame (12-8, 4-3) and the Irish won the rebound battle 38-25. School officials gave no explanation why the talented center did not make the trip. C.J. Fair started for the Orange.
James Southerland scored 15 points for Syracuse, which shot just 34 percent and had its lowest scoring game of the season.
Scott Martin added 13 for Notre Dame, which hit 50 percent of its field-goal attempts.
NO. 2 KENTUCKY 77,
ALABAMA 71
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Darius Miller hit four free throws in the final minute and freshmen Marquis Teague and Anthony Davis each added two more as Kentucky earned its nation’s best 47th straight home victory.
NO. 5 MISSOURI 89,
NO. 3 BAYLOR 88
WACO, TeXas —Ricardo Ratliffe scored a career-high 27 points and Missouri held on for the big road win.
Ratliffe had a big two-handed slam dunk midway through the second half when he scored six points in an 8-0 spurt that put the Tigers (18-1, 5-1 Big 12) up 68-58. Missouri still had a 10-point lead with 3:07 left but didn’t score again until Ratliffe’s two free throws with a minute left.
Missouri had to make 10 of 12 free throws in the final minute for the victory. Marcus Denmon’s free throw with 4 seconds left made it 89-85 before Brady Heslip hit a 3-pointer for Baylor (17-2, 4-2), which has lost two in a row after a 17-0 start.
FLORIDA STATE 76,
NO. 4 DUKE 73
DURHAM, N.C. — Michael Snaer hit a 3-pointer as time expired, and Florida State snapped Duke’s 45-game home-court winning streak.
With the game tied, Luke Loucks sprinted up the middle of the court before zipping a pass over to Snaer on the right side in front of the FSU bench. Snaer quickly launched a shot that dropped cleanly through the net, stunning the once-rowdy crowd at Cameron Indoor Stadium and sending the Seminoles’ bench spilling onto the court in celebration.
NO. 6 OHIO STATE 79, NEBRASKA 45
LINCOLN, Neb. — William Buford scored 15 points, Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas had 14 apiece, and Ohio State blew out Nebraska for the second time this month.
NO. 7 KANSAS 69,
TEXAS 66
AUSTIN, Texas — Jeff Withey made a layup and free throw with 37 seconds left to give Kansas the lead, and the Jayhawks survived another tough fight with Texas.
NO. 9 MICHIGAN ST. 83, PURDUE 58
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Freshman Branden Dawson scored 14 points to help Michigan State pull away for the easy victory.
NO. 10 GEORGETOWN 52, RUTGERS 50
WASHINGTON — Otto Porter scored the final six points, including two free throws with 8.5 seconds left, lifting Georgetown to the win.
NO. 12 MURRAY ST. 82, SIU-EDWARDSVILLE 65
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — Isaiah Canaan scored 21 points, Jewuan Long added a season-high 17 and Murray State became the only unbeaten team in Division I.
TENNESSEE 60,
NO. 13 CONNECTICUT 57
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Jarnell Stokes had 16 points and 12 rebounds in his first start, and Tennessee hit 7 of 10 free-throw attempts in the final minute to secure the win.
NO. 14 UNLV 80,
NEW MEXICO 63
LAS VEGAS — Mike Moser scored 14 points and UNLV’s reserves combined for 28 points to fend off preseason Mountain West favorite New Mexico.
NO. 16 SAN DIEGO ST. 57, AIR FORCE 44
SAN DIEGO — Chase Tapley scored 16 points, and Jamaal Franklin had 14 points and 10 rebounds to help San Diego State beat Air Force for its 10th straight win.
NO. 17 FLORIDA 76,
LSU 64
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Erik Murphy scored 15 points and Florida extended its home win streak to 16 games.
NO. 18 MISS. ST. 78,
VANDERBILT 77, OT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Dee Bost scored on a layup with 51.8 seconds left in overtime and Mississippi State snapped Vanderbilt’s eight-game winning streak.
NO. 19 CREIGHTON 75, INDIANA STATE 49
OMAHA, Neb. — Doug McDermott had 12 points and Creighton cruised to its eighth consecutive victory.
ARKANSAS 66,
NO. 20 MICHIGAN 64
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — BJ Young scored 15 points and Arkansas hit its first 11 shots while remaining undefeated in Bud Walton Arena.
NO. 21 MARQUETTE 79, PROVIDENCE 72
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Jae Crowder scored 18 points and reserve Jamil Wilson had a career-best 16 to power Marquette to its first conference road victory.
NO. 23 LOUISVILLE 73, PITTSBURGH 62
PITTSBURGH — Kyle Kuric scored 21 points in his return from an ankle injury.
NO. 24 SAINT MARY’S 93, SANTA CLARA 77
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Matthew Dellavedova had 26 points and seven assists, and Rob Jones added 14 points and 15 rebounds to help Saint Mary’s hold off Santa Clara.
NO. 25 KANSAS ST. 66, OKLAHOMA STATE 58
STILLWATER, Okla. — Freshman Angel Rodriguez scored 14 points in his second start, Jamar Samuels added 12 points and 12 rebounds and Kansas State snapped an 11-game losing streak at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Clijsters beats Li in three sets
MELBOURNE, Australia — Down four match points and hobbling with an ankle injury, defending champion Kim Clijsters somehow rallied for a dramatic 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4 victory over Li Na in the Australian Open today.
Clijsters was in pain from the left ankle she twisted in the seventh game. Li was just a bundle of nerves. The French Open champion failed to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set, but then led 6-2 in the tiebreaker.
On Li’s fourth match point, Clijsters played a poor drop shot, the Chinese player tentatively returned the ball almost straight back to her opponent, and was lobbed.
Clijsters won six straight points to take the tiebreaker and the first four games of the deciding set. She then overcame a wobble of her own, losing her serve at 5-2, before finally closing out the fourth-round match on her second match point.
His right knee and left ankle taped, Rafael Nadal didn’t look to be in any pain as he gave friend Feliciano Lopez the runaround, winning 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 quarterfinals.
Nadal, who bizarrely hurt his knee while sitting in a chair the day before the tournament began, is one win away from a possible semifinal against old rival Roger Federer after beating his fellow Spaniard for the ninth time in 11 matches.
Federer was up against 19-year-old Australian Bernard Tomic in the first match of the night session later today. The 16-time Grand Slam champion hasn’t been beaten by a teenager since 2006, when he lost to Andy Murray at the Cincinnati Masters.
Victoria Azarenka was the first player to reach the quarterfinals when she beat Iveta Benesova 6-2, 6-2.
The third-seeded Belarusian is yet to drop a set at the tournament and will next meet eighth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat Julia Goerges of Germany 6-1, 6-1.