ROME - Local favourite Francesca Schiavone eliminated Canadian Eugenie Bouchard from the Italian Open on Monday. Schiavone defeated the Westmount, Que., native, who was the 17th seed, 6-4, 6-2 in the first round. Meanwhile, Grigor Dimitrov overcame a slow start and sweaty hands to beat 45th-ranked Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the Italian Open on Monday. The 14th-ranked Dimitrov, a Bulgarian who at 22 is the youngest player in the top 20, did not take well to the red-and-white towels at the Foro Italico. "Theyre new and they dont absorb any sweat," he said. "Three or four times I was about to lose my racket. I asked several times (for all-white towels) but they told me, We dont have it." Dimitrov will next face big-serving Ivo Karlovic, who beat Spanish qualifier Pablo Carreno Busta 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4). In an upset, 13th-seeded Fabio Fognini, the top Italian hope, was handily beaten by 56th-ranked Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-2. Also, 11th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga saved two set points in the second set before eliminating Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-3, 7-6 (5). In womens play, Sam Stosur beat Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki 6-3, 6-3; 11th-seeded Ana Ivanovic defeated Italian wild-card entry Karin Knapp 6-1, 6-1; 12th-seeded Flavia Pennetta got past Yvonne Meusburger of Austria, 6-2, 6-3; and 16th-seeded American Sloane Stephens rallied past Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Also, 1999 champion Venus Williams cruised past Annika Beck of Germany 6-3, 6-1. The eight top-seeded players have first-round byes. Second-ranked Novak Djokovic is back after withdrawing from last weeks Madrid Open with a right wrist injury and Roger Federer was out on the practice courts after also taking last week off to welcome the birth of his second set of twins. Top-ranked and defending champion Serena Williams, however, wouldnt commit to playing as she waits to see how her injured left thigh feels. "Im taking it a day at a time. Well see as the week goes on. I have the rest of the day off and Ill see how I feel tomorrow," Serena said. "I hit some balls today a little bit so Im going to see later tonight how it feels." Serena withdrew before her quarterfinal match in Madrid, where she had her thigh heavily bandaged and said the injury occurred during a first-round victory over Belinda Bencic. One of the only top players not in Rome was Kei Nishikori of Japan, who retired midway through Sundays Madrid final against Rafael Nadal citing a lower back and hip injury. Rome is the last key clay-court warmup before the French Open starts in two weeks. Salomon Shoes Uk . Ferrer will play Mikhail Youzhny on Sunday after he defeated Dmitry Tursunov 6-2, 6-4 in an all-Russian semifinal. "Youzhny is a good player," Ferrer said. Salomon Outlet Uk .com) - Jahlil Okafor erupted for 25 points and 20 rebounds as No. http://www.cheapsalomonuk.com/ . The Oilers have been shut out in three straight home games and are in last place in the Western Conference with a 4-14-2 record. "Things have obviously not gone as well as I would have thought probable. Salomon Clearance Uk . The whole deflation of New England Patriots footballs is like a murder mystery without the violence or significance. On one side, this is a ridiculous issue. Cheap Salomon Shoes Uk . -- Chris Crawford hit a 3-pointer with 1:36 left to put Memphis ahead to stay, and the 21st-ranked Tigers beat seventh-ranked Louisville 72-66 Saturday, sweeping the season series from the Cardinals.BOSTON -- The Fourth of July game between the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles was postponed because of the impending storm. The game will be made up on Saturday as part of a day-night doubleheader. The Red Sox made the announcemeent more than three hours before the first pitch.dddddddddddd. Hurricane Arthur was expected to sweep through the area on Friday afternoon and deliver heavy rain and flash flooding. The forecast for Saturday was clear. ' ' 'time lead. Carroll had 17 points for the Hawks, who hit six 3s in the first half — three by Korver — to keep it close. Teague scored 10 points in the third quarter, and Boston took an 81-79 lead into the final period. Boston entered the game with the fourth-worst record in the NBA. The Hawks, even with their recent woes, still own the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. NOTES: Korver extended his NBA-record streak to 126 games with at least one 3-pointer. ... Olympic giant slalom gold medallist Ted Ligety was in attendance. ' ' '