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DELRAY BEACH, Fla. -- John Isner held off an upset bid by Dudi Sela of Israel on Thursday night to advance to the quarterfinals of the Delray Beach Open after No. 3 seed Kei Nishikori of Japan exited the tournament because of a left hip injury. The second-seeded Isner squandered four match points in the third set after leading 4-1, but the 6-foot-10 American rallied from a 5-2 deficit to prevail in the tiebreaker for a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5) victory that earned him a spot in the quarterfinals for the third consecutive year. "More times than not, when Im up 4-1, I close it out," said Isner, who is 5-0 in his three-set matches this season but is playing in his first tournament since exiting the Australian Open with an ankle injury last month. "It definitely didnt need to go to 5-5 when I was up 4-1. I put a lot of stress on myself when I do that." The world No. 13 will face American qualifier Rhyne Williams on Friday night. Williams ousted wild-card Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-2 in Thursdays nightcap to reach his second ATP quarterfinal. Nishikoris bid to win his second consecutive ATP title came to an abrupt halt Thursday afternoon when the top-ranked Asian was forced to retire during the first set of his second-round match because of a left hip flexor injury. Nishikori was trailing Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia 4-2 when he decided to stop the match. He said that he experienced discomfort for the first time during his first-round win Tuesday in which he stretched his win-loss record this season to 12-2. "I tried to play, but if youre not 100 per cent, its tough," said Nishikori, who is ranked No. 15 in the world and was coming off a win in Memphis last week. "I couldnt do anything today. Its going to take some time to recover. Its shocking this happened, especially since Ive been playing well." Gabashvili advanced to the quarterfinals on Friday and will face No. 7 seed Marin Cilic of Croatia, who defeated American wild-card Ryan Harrison 6-3, 6-4. Samuel Groth and Max Mirnyi advanced to the doubles semifinals with a 7-6 (5), 6-4 win against Americans Sekou Bangoura and Vahid Mirzadeh. Harrison and fellow American Jack Sock filled out the final spot in the doubles semifinals with a 6-4, 7-5 win against Santiago Gonzalez and Scott Lipsky. Don Larsen Jersey . Certainly not Monday night. George Hill took care of the early work, scoring a season-high 26 points, and Paul George closed it out by scoring 11 of his 26 points during a decisive second-half stretch that finally allowed Indiana to pull away from Minnesota 98-84 for yet another win. Masahiro Tanaka Jersey . A groundswell for raising the number of playoff qualifiers to seven in each conference figures to get plenty of support from the 32 owners. Most notably, Arizonas Bill Bidwill, who saw his Cardinals go 10-6 and not get in, while Green Bay (8-7-1) qualified by winning the NFC North. http://www.yankeesrookiestore.com/Yankee...on-Kids-Jersey/. Burris threw for 247 yards in one half of a game -- on pace for a nearly 500-yard outing -- as the Redblacks downed the woeful Montreal Alouettes 26-10 in CFL pre-season play Friday night at Percival Molson Stadium. Miguel Andujar Jersey . Jets head coach Paul Maurice made the announcement Saturday following the morning skate and confirmed Al Montoya will start in goal against the Dallas Stars on Sunday. Greg Bird Jersey . But the young forward is more than willing to shed a little blood if thats what it takes to make the team this season. "It caught me pretty good, dazed me for that shift, but I didnt want to be off the ice for too long," he said after practice, his lip still bleeding a little despite the plastic stitches holding it together.SEATTLE -- Jermain Defoe gave Toronto FC its moneys worth on Saturday. Defoe, one of Torontos marquee off-season signings, scored both of his teams goals in a 2-1 win against the Seattle Sounders to start TFCs Major League Soccer season. It was Torontos first win to open a season since 2009, and only the second in its seven-year existence. "I thought the guys were magnificent in the first half when it came to their football and magnificent in the second half when it came to their desire and their character," said Toronto head coach Ryan Nelsen. Defoe, who hadnt scored since Jan. 11 for former club Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League, needed just 24 minutes to secure the win for his new team. He spoke earlier this week about his desire to perform well in case England coach Roy Hodgson was watching. With his two-goal performance on Saturday, Defoe has renewed hope for inclusion in Englands squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil this summer. "To score two goals on your debut, its a dream," Defoe said. "The England thing is obviously going to be at the back of my mind." After early pressure from the Sounders, Defoe made a run between two Seattle defenders in the 17th minute. Jonathan Osorio, on the ball in midfield, slipped a perfectly weighted pass through the gap, and Defoe nestled the ball into the goal. Seven minutes later, Defoe picked up a loose ball after a Sounders giveaway near their own penalty area. He found space to cut to the right and fire another shot past goalkeeper Stefan Frei. "The first goal was a great ball, and you just have to finish it off," Defoe said. "The second half, we showed great character because they put us under a lot of pressure. Youve got to do that sometimes away from home." Seattle began the second half as it did the first, pressuring Torontos goal. Another big-name signing, Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar, made his first important intervention in the 53rd minute. He fell tto his right and stuck out his left leg, deflecting a close-range shot from Obafemi Martins out for a corner kick.dddddddddddd However, the Sounders pressure would eventually pay off. Seattles own Designated Players, Martins and Clint Dempsey, combined down the right flank in the 68th minute, putting Dempsey in space on top of the penalty area. The U.S. international took a settling touch with his left foot before slamming a right-footed shot low and to Cesars left. The CenturyLink Field crowd of 38,441 came to life, and the Seattle attack continued to press. Torontos back line held, helped by several foul calls by referee Ioannis Stavrides close to its goal, despite dropping into a defensive shell for the last 15 minutes of the game. Notably, Seattle substitute Kenny Cooper got behind the defence with five minutes remaining, but his central pass went wayward under pressure from Cesar rushing out of his goal. Osorio headed clear a tame Sounders corner kick in stoppage time, which effectively closed out the match. "Theres no doubt in my mind that as the season goes on, well continue to improve, and our football will be good," said Toronto midfielder Michael Bradley, another one of the clubs big off-season signings . "Tonight was different. Tonight was about the spirit, the mentality and doing whatever it took to come away with three points." Nelsen downplayed the result throughout his post-game talk with media, choosing instead to expound his desire for consistency over a long MLS season. "Weve got so much to improve on. Were not stupid," he said. "What I like about this team is their heart, their character, their desire -- that they want to win. Thats what you hope for. You build your house on that type of foundation." Toronto (1-0) plays its first home game of the season on March 22 when it hosts D.C. United at BMO Field. Seattle (1-1) takes to the road for the first time the same day, playing the Montreal Impact. ' ' '