MOSCOW -- Former Grand Slam champions Ana Ivanovic and Samantha Stosur made the Kremlin Cup quarterfinals with straight-sets victories on Thursday to set up a rematch of last years semifinal. Chandler Jones Patriots Jersey . The former top-ranked Ivanovic beat Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-1, while 2011 U.S. Open winner Stosur extended her winning streak to seven matches by beating Alize Cornet of France 6-4, 6-1 in the second round. Meanwhile, mens top seed Richard Gasquet, making his debut in Moscow, advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 victory over Evgeny Donskoy of Russia. The fourth-seeded Ivanovic led 5-0 in the first set, traded early breaks in the second and rolled the rest of the way. "It wasnt an easy match for me," Ivanovic said. "I really started well. But shes a tough player and the second set was much tougher that the scoreline indicates. But I added power in the important moments and was very pleased to win." On Sunday, former French Open champion Ivanovic lost to Angelique Kerber of Germany in the final in Linz -- her first appearance in a final since winning her 11th title in Bali in 2011. Stosur, who won her second title of the season last Sunday in Osaka, won five consecutive games to win the first set and go 2-0 up in the second. "I did what I had to do," Stosur said. "I made her play more balls when I had a chance to attack deep, so overall it was a pretty solid match." Stosur rallied to beat Ivanovic in the semifinals last year before falling to Caroline Wozniacki in the final. "It was a very tough match. She plays differently than lots of other girls. She has lot of kick, a lot of power," Ivanovic said of that match and Stosur. "This year we are meeting a little bit earlier and I really hope I can avenge that loss." Gasquet, who suffered an early exit at Shanghai last week and dropped to 10th in the rankings, hampering his chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals in London next month, was pushed hard by the unheralded Russian. Gasquet broke twice in the first set, but Donskoy won the second with a break midway through. Gasquet won five consecutive games in the decider and closed the match on his second match point. "I wasnt playing good enough in the second set," Gasquet said. "But I have experience. I just added power in the beginning of the third and I managed to break him for a 3-0 lead and that made the difference. I began to play with confidence. It was a good win." Gasquet is chasing fellow Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the eighth and final spot in London. Earlier, veteran Ivo Karlovic landed 16 aces to eliminate fifth-seeded Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-3, 6-7 (10), 7-6 (6), while qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan defeated fourth-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-4, 6-4. Jordan Devey Patriots Jersey . The Texans sunk to a new low on Sunday with a 13-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars to extend their franchise-record skid to nine games. Kyle Arrington Youth Jersey . Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans ended up with the bigger problem.Julius Peppers has his birthday coming up real soon.This is one most NFL players dont get to celebrate while theyre actually still players.The same day the Green Bay Packers take on the Seattle Seahawks for the NFC championship, this Sunday, Peppers will turn 35. Not even to the midpoint of the average American lifespan, this is a relatively ancient milestone in a game where the typical player is, oh, 26.Peppers, though, has hardly been showing his age. There are a few others wholl be in action this weekend, too, from Kevin Williams to Reggie Wayne to Vince Wilfork, still making meaningful contributions to their teams heading into the conference championship games.Peppers was one of the most dominant players on the field last week in Green Bays win over Dallas, matching the team high with six tackles, drawing a holding penalty and forcing two fumbles.One came during a sack, which the Cowboys recovered. The other might have been the most pivotal play of the game, including the replay reversal of Dez Bryants fourth-down grab near the goal line.DeMarco Murray burst through a big hole that Peppers was being pushed away from, but the eight-time Pro Bowl defensive end escaped his block and knocked the ball out just as Murray approached the secondary with plenty of room to run.The Packers fell on the ball near midfield and drove the other way for a field goal to pull within 14-13. Until that point early in the third quarter, the Cowboys were beginning to pull away.You need all hands on deck right now and everybody making these plays at crucial times, Peppers said.The soft-spoken Peppers, who has played the outside linebacker position this season for the first time in his career, has been just as valuable as an adviser for his younger teammates.Coach Mike McCarthy recently mentioned a one-on-one conversation between Peppers and teammate David Bakhtiari that gave the 23-year-old left tackle some valuable insight about his strengths and weaknesses after the two faced each the previous season when Peppers played for the Chicago Bears.I know David was thankful for that, McCarthy said.The Seahawks have been grateful they took a chance with Williams, who considered retirement after Minnesota let himm become a free agent following 11 years with the Vikings. Julian Edelman Patriots Jersey. The long-time 3-technique defensive tackle was moved to the nose tackle spot after Brandon Mebane suffered a season-ending injury, and the 34-year-old has been stellar since then. Williams, like Peppers with the Packers, is the oldest player on the team.Hes such a savvy player that it just made sense to him because hes been around so long, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said.Thats the great advantage these guys have, of course, that first-hand experience and those tricks of the trade accumulated over the years. Despite the natural decline in strength and speed, age can still give an edge in this sport.Indianapolis, which plays New England this Sunday for the AFC championship, has one-third of the 30-plus-year-old players scattered among the four teams still alive.The Colts have the oldest team in the NFL, with an active roster sporting an average player age of 27 years and 256 days based on the most recent game played by each club, according to STATS research.The Patriots are 14th at 26 years and 303 days, the Seahawks are 22nd at 26 years and 236 days and the Packers are 28th and 26 years and 148 days. Thats the fifth-youngest team in the league.Wayne, who has been picked for six Pro Bowls and tallied six seasons of 1,200 yards receiving or more, has been relatively quiet at age 36 with T.Y. Hilton taking over as Andrew Lucks top option. Wayne has been playing with a torn left triceps.But, like 42-year-old kicker Adam Vinatieri and 34-year-old defensive end Cory Redding, Wayne still has a useful role. Maybe its a key block downfield. Or a first-down catch in the fourth quarter to help the Colts drain the clock, as in the wild-card round game against the Cincinnati Bengals.This is the 12th time in 14 seasons Wayne has been in the playoffs.Lets live in this moment. Lets not worry about what goes on afterward, he said.On the other side of the ball for the Patriots will be Wilfork, the 33-year-old five-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle who recovered well from an injury-filled season.I worked my tail off just to get back and play football like I know how to play, he said, and I never take nothing for granted. wholesale nfl jerseyscheap jerseys from china ' ' '
