will next play the winner of Fridays

SYDNEY, Australia -- Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova reached her first WTA final by beating second-seeded Petra Kvitova 6-4, 6-3 in the semifinals of the Sydney International on Thursday. Gary Roenicke Jersey . Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champion, was broken twice in the first set and four times in the second against Pironkova, who finished last season ranked No. 108. "First time into a WTA final -- its an amazing feeling," said the 26-year-old Pironkova. "Ive been waiting for this for a long time." Pironkova lost to Kvitova in the 2011 quarterfinals at Wimbledon after losing in the semis the year before at the All-England Club. With qualifiers and main draw, she has now won seven consecutive matches in Sydney and is aiming for No. 8 in the final, where shell meet fifth-seeded Angelique Kerber, who beat American Madison Keys 6-4, 6-2 in the other semifinal Thursday. In the mens tournament, top-seeded Juan Martin del Potro beat Czech veteran Radek Stepanek 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to set up a semifinal against Russias Dmitry Tursunov. Del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion who finished last season ranked No. 5, relied on his strong serve, with 14 aces to three, and saved seven of 10 break points. Tursunov earned a 7-6 (5), 6-2 win over Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan. Defending champion Bernard Tomic beat Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-4, 6-3 in a night quarterfinal. John Isner reached the semifinals of the ATPs Heineken Open in Auckland, New Zealand after a 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) win over fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber in a match between former champions. The quarterfinal match between third-seeded Isner, the 2010 Auckland champion, and No. 22-ranked Kohlschreiber, the 2008 winner and beaten finalist last year, lasted 2 hours, 24 minutes and contained no breaks of serve. Playing on an injured ankle, Isner finally clinched the match with a vital point against serve in the third-set tiebreak. "I played against a gutsy opponent so I knew I had to give everything I had," Isner said. "It wasnt that pretty for either of us and a lot of times, when Im playing guys as good as him, the match comes down to a point here or there. I got a little bit lucky today." Isner served 18 aces, put 83 per cent of first serves in play and won 82 per cent of first serve points. Isner will next play Spains Roberto Bautista Agut, who beat American wildcard entry Jack Sock 6-1, 6-3 in a rain-interupted match. David Ferrer moved closer to his fifth singles title in Auckland when he beat Spanish compatriot Guillermo Garcia Lopez 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in a night match. In the WTA event at Hobart, top-seeded Sam Stosur reached the semifinals with a 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 34-ranked Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia. "Everythings moving in the right direction, thats for sure, but theres still room for improvement," Stosur said. The 2011 U.S. Open champion next faces seventh-seeded Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic, who beat American Alison Riske 6-4, 7-5. In the exhibition tournament at Kooyong, the former Australian Open venue in Melbourne, No. 7-ranked Tomas Berdych advanced to the final with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Kei Nishikori of Japan. Berdych, who opened the tournament with a straight sets win over Fernando Verdasco, will next play the winner of Fridays all-French semifinal between Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon. No. 8-ranked Stanislas Wawrinka withdrew from the eight-man invitational tournament earlier Thursday citing fatigue following his title win at Chennai last week. He was replaced in the draw by Russias Mikhail Youznhy. No. 8-ranked Stanislas Wawrinka withdrew from the eight-man invitational tournament earlier Thursday citing fatigue following his title win at Chennai last week. He was replaced in the draw by Russias Mikhail Youznhy. In the exhibition tournament at Kooyong, the former Australian Open venue in Melbourne, No. 7-ranked Tomas Berdych advanced to the final with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Kei Nishikori of Japan. Berdych, who opened the tournament with a straight sets win over Fernando Verdasco, will next play the winner of Fridays all-French semifinal between Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon. Mark Belanger Jersey . The (35-35-10) Jets have 80 points and are also playing .500 hockey on home ice this season with a 17-17-6 record. Michael Hutchinson will start his second straight game in goal. Billy Ripken Jersey . - The Pittsburgh Pirates plan on keeping promising left fielder Starling Marte playing alongside National League MVP Andrew McCutchen for years to come. https://www.cheaporioles.com/1288i-rick-dempsey-jersey-orioles.html . Right-hander Ricky Nolasco and the Twins agreed to terms on a free-agent contract Wednesday, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Ohio States chances at reaching the College Football Playoff seemingly took a hit Saturday even though the Buckeyes upended rival Michigan. Starting quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate J.T. Barrett was carted off the field early in the fourth quarter, and it was revealed after the game he will miss the rest of the season with a broken right ankle. Ohio State came into rivalry weekend ranked sixth in the CFP poll and faces either Minnesota or Wisconsin in next weeks Big Ten title game. I think its all going to be how we play next week, OSU head coaach Urban Meyer said when asked if Barretts injury will affect the Buckeyes playoff chances. Branden Kline Jersey. Were going to have Cardale (Jones) ready to go. Jones, a sophomore, has thrown just 19 passes in his collegiate career. Barretts leg got caught underneath him as he was being tackled at the end of a run. The redshirt freshman completed 13-of-21 passes for 176 yards with one touchdown and rushed for 89 yards and two scores before exiting. Barrett established a new Big Ten single-season record for total touchdowns with 45. He broke Drew Brees previous mark of 42 set in 1998. ' ' '