Federer is taking the rest of the year off to rebuild a surgica

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- John Collins doesnt need to stay on the court long to put up big numbers for Wake Forest.The 6-foot-10 sophomore had 22 points and 15 rebounds to help the Demon Deacons beat Charlotte 91-74 on Tuesday night, posting his fourth straight double-double.Collins has had foul trouble limiting his work, and his team-leading averages of 17.6 points and 10 rebounds had come with him averaging about 23 minutes per game.Sometimes I put myself in that situation, Collins said. Yeah I do wonder (what he could do with more minutes) but then again, I have to keep myself grounded and realize coach (Danny Manning) isnt just taking me out to take me out. Its me getting in foul trouble and something Ive got to work on.He had just one first-half foul as the Demon Deacons (7-2) ran out to an early double-digit lead and never looked back.This is one of the first games in a while that John has played defensively and done a good job of staying out of harms way in the first half, Manning said.Collins finished 7 of 11 from the field and 8 of 10 from the foul line to go with three blocks in 21 minutes, finishing two points and a rebound shy of matching career-high totals.Collins was a handful, we knew he was going to be for us, just with his size and athleticism, 49ers coach Mark Price said. We really didnt have an answer for him.Keyshawn Woods added 12 points against his former team for the Demon Deacons, who ran off 17 unanswered points in the first half to take control. Wake Forest led 45-27 by halftime and never let that margin slide to fewer than 15, earning the programs 11th straight win against instate nonconference opponents.Braxton Ogbueze had 20 points and made six 3-pointers for the 49ers (6-3), who shot just 10 of 30 (33 percent) in the opening half to fall behind big.BIG PICTURECharlotte: The 49ers werent able to string together consecutive wins against power-5 conference opponents. They were coming off a 66-63 home win against Oregon State of the Pac-12 in which they scored 25 points off turnovers, but they didnt have nearly as much success against their Atlantic Coast Conference opponent Tuesday.You go on the road against a good team like this, Price said, you cant dig yourself a hole.Wake Forest: While Collins is off to a terrific start in establishing himself as the Demon Deacons top player, Wake Forest did a better job protecting a big lead than it did when it let a 25-point margin slip all the way to four in a win against Coastal Carolina on Nov. 23. The Demon Deacons are getting plenty of practice, too, considering this was their sixth win by double-digit margins compared to just two a year ago.REUNIONWoods transferred after one season from Charlotte amid the coaching change that led to Prices arrival after the 2014-15 season and heard several boos from 49ers fans attending Tuesdays game.I dont think I was nervous, Woods said. I just played with the flow of the game, played with my teammates and got a win.ALL-STAR NAMESManning and Price played against each other in the NBA all-star games in 1993 and 1994, making this the third meeting of college head coaches who had played in the same NBA all-star game.UP NEXTCharlotte: The 49ers get an extended break before heading south to face No. 21 Florida on Dec. 17 in the Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise, Florida.Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons make a roughly 30-mile drive east on Interstate 40 to face UNC Greensboro on Friday.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap---More AP college basketball at http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25 Shareef Miller Jersey . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. Mike Quick Eagles Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. https://www.eaglessportsgoods.com/Womens-Seth-Joyner-Inverted-Jersey/ . Dukurs winning time was 1 minute, 45.76 seconds, a quarter-second better than Russias Alexander Tretiakov. Lativas Tomass Dukurs was third, 1.41 seconds off the pace. Jon Montgomery of Eckville, Alta. Brian Westbrook Womens Jersey . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. Mike Quick Youth Jersey . Takahashi, who had a 10-point lead after the short program, received 268.31 points after the free skate to finish 15 points ahead of second-place Nobunari Oda. MASON, Ohio -- Defending champion Serena Williams initially opted to skip Cincinnati, figuring shed be just finishing up in Rio de Janeiro. An early upset changed her plans and got her back in the Western & Southern Open with more than just another trophy at stake.Her No. 1 ranking is on the line, too.Williams attempt to hold onto the top spot will be one of the main intrigues in the tournament that opened on Sunday with a couple of matches scheduled in the mens bracket. The mens draw is missing its two most notable plots -- Roger Federer trying for an unprecedented eighth Cincinnati title, and Novak Djokovic trying to finally win his first. Both are sidelined by injuries and will have to wait another year for the Masters event.Meanwhile, Williams wants to get over her loss to 21-year-old Elina Svitolina in the third round at the Olympics. She accepted a wild-card berth to get some matches in Cincinnati, where she has won the title each of the last two years.Williams heads into the tournament ranked No. 1 for the 306th week overall in her career and her 183rd in a row. Its the second-longest streak in WTA history, trailing Steffi Grafs 186 consecutive weeks. She first topped the rankings in July 2002 and, at age 34, is the oldest woman to hold the top spot since the computer rankings were introduced in 1975.Second-ranked Angelique Kerber will take over the top spot if she wins the tournament and Williams loses before the quarterfinals. Williams has a first-round bye and could get a second-round rematch with Svitolina, who opens the tournament against Christina McHale.The mens bracket is wide open because of a couple of injuries and travel challenges from the Olympics.ddddddddddddCincinnati has become Djokovics annual quest. Its the only one he needs to win in order to become the first get all nine current ATP Masters championships, something hed love to accomplish. He reached the finals last year and lost to Federer, who is 7-0 in title matches. By contrast, Djokovic is 0-5 in Cincinnati finals, never winning even a set.Djokovic dropped out because of a sore left wrist after he lost at the Olympics. Federer is taking the rest of the year off to rebuild a surgically repaired knee.Andy Murray enters the tournament as its top seed -- hes won it twice -- after winning the gold medal in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday night. He beat Juan Martin del Potro in a four-hour final that left him drained. He has little time to recover for Cincinnati.Emotionally, it was tough, Murray said of the four-hour set. Physically, it was hard.Rafael Nadal also will be making the trek after losing the bronze medal match on Sunday to Japans Kei Nishikori.Djokovic, Federer, Murray and Nadal have won 54 of the last 58 Masters events. Djokovic has won four of them this season, with Nadal and Murray winning one apiece. The injuries and the overlapping tournament schedules will open the way for someone else to reach the finals.Rain jumbled the last two days of qualifying, pushing many qualifying matches over to Sunday. They were again delayed by rain the morning and afternoon.---AP Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich in Rio de Janeiro contributed to this report.---Follow Joe Kay on Twitter: http://twitter.com/apjoekay ' ' '