Off the wire

Serena Williams celebrates after scoring a point during her 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Caroline Garcia of France on Saturday at the Sony Open in Key Biscayne, Fla.
Serena Williams celebrates after scoring a point during her 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Caroline Garcia of France on Saturday at the Sony Open in Key Biscayne, Fla.

TENNIS

Serena advances at Sony

Serena Williams overcame some sloppy play Saturday to reach the fourth round at the Sony Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., by beating Caroline Garcia 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Bidding for a record seventh Key Biscayne title, Williams had 41 unforced errors but finished strong. She served out the final game at love with the help of consecutive aces. Williams is playing in her first tournament after a month-long layoff, and rustiness was evident at times. She had seven double-faults and needed 2 ½ hours to complete the victory. Stanislas Wawrinka bounced back from his first loss of the year by beating Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-0, 3-6, 6-3. Wawrinka, who won the Australian Open in January, improved to 14-1 this year. His lone defeat came last week in the fourth round at Indian Wells. No. 7 Tomas Berdych joined Wawrinka in the third round by beating Stephane Robert 7-6 (5), 6-1. No. 12 Ana Ivanovic advanced to the fourth round by beating No. 20 Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 6-3. Ivanovic improved to 5-1 this year against top-20 players. Angelique Kerber, seeded No. 5, defeated Tsvetana Pironkova 6-0, 6-2, and No. 8 Petra Kvitova beat qualifier Donna Vekic 6-3, 6-4. No. 14 Sabine Lisicki withdrew because of the flu, giving No. 19 Kirsten Flipkens a walkover. No. 23 Ekaterina Makarova beat No. 9 Sara Errani 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. Seeded men eliminated included No. 19 Jerzy Janowicz, No. 23 Gael Monfils and No. 25 Marin Cilic.

SKIING

Chodounsky claims slalom

David Chodounsky of Crested Butte, Colo., won his second U.S. Alpine Championships slalom title Saturday. Chodounsky, who also won the slalom at nationals in 2009, finished with a two-run time of 1 minute, 35.82 seconds. He was in third place after the opening leg, but made up the deficit in the second leg. “I was on the limit at a couple spots, but it worked out,” said Chodounsky, who failed to finish the slalom at the Sochi Olympics and finished 19th in the World Cup discipline standings. First-run leader Tim Kelley of Starksboro, Vt., was next in 1:36.24. Will Brandenburg of Spokane, Wash., was third. “This national title keeps eluding me, and I’m not happy about it,” Brandenburg said.

Olympic gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin failed to finish the first leg of the slalom at the U.S. Alpine Championships, and Marie-Michele Gagnon of Canada won the title by a hundredth of a second Saturday. Shiffrin, of Eagle-Vail, Colo., became the youngest slalom champion in Winter Games history last month in Russia, then wrapped up a second consecutive World Cup title in that event. She also won the U.S. nationals giant slalom Thursday, but she made a mistake late in Saturday’s opening run. “I felt like I just got going a little bit too fast andI didn’t move my feet quick enough. In inspection, I saw this section of the course, and I’m like, ‘Oh, you can let it rip there. The finish is in sight.’ So I let it go. I just let it go a little bit too much and got a little bit out of balance,” said Shiffrin, who turned 19 on March 13. “I’m bummed that I don’t get a second run.”

FOOTBALL Tennessee DE arrested

Tennessee Titans defensive end Adewale Ojomo has been arrested in a prostitution sting. A Miami police report stated the 25-year-old South Florida native was booked into jail Friday morning on a charge of soliciting a prostitute. He was being held on $500 bail. According to the arrest report, an undercover detective was working in an area known for prostitution Thursday night when Ojomo pulled up ina white 2013 Lexus. After a brief conversation, police said Ojomo offered the undercover detective $100 for sex. The report said Ojomo was planning to go to a nearby store for condoms, but he was arrested before he could drive away. He signed with Tennessee last year. The Titans said they’re aware of the arrest but had no other comment. Ojomo signed with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He did shorts stints with the Seattle and Buffalo practice squads last fall before joining Tennessee’s practice squad in December. While at the University of Miami, Ojomo had 79 tackles and 9 ½ sacks.

BASKETBALL Hickson out for season

Denver Nuggets forward J.J.Hickson has a torn ligament in his right knee, General Manager Tim Connelly said Saturday. A date for surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament hasn’t been set. Hickson is the fourth Denver player lost for the season to injury. Danilo Gallinari, JaVale McGee and Nate Robinson have all undergone season-ending operations. Hickson was injured early in the fourth quarter of Denver’s 122-106 loss at Dallas on Friday night. The 25-yearold Hickson went down along the baseline, got up and went right to the locker room with 8:10 remaining in the game. Hickson was leading the Nuggets with 18 points and eight rebounds. Hickson joined the Nuggets as a free agent last summer. He averaged 11.8 points and a team-best 9.2 rebounds in 69 games.

Ohio State Coach Thad Matta has announced that sophomore guard Amedeo Della Valle is leaving the team to play professional basketball in Europe. Della Valle, from Alba, Italy, notified the Buckeyes staff of his decision Saturday. Beloved by fans for his scraggly mop of curly hair, Della Valle was expected to be a valuable reserve next season. Della Valle averaged 3.6 points a game over two seasons at Ohio State. He appeared in 48 career games, 33 in 2013-2014 as the Buckeyes went 25-10, losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Dayton.

Sports, Pages 24 on 03/23/2014

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