Dein erstes Forum » al bracket with a 7-5, 6-0 win over Mikhail Youzh

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- From the moment Phil Mickelson set foot at TPC Scottsdale early Thursday morning, it was clear that the back pain that sidelined him last weekend was gone. It also was quickly evident that his game was a little off. "My back is fine. My game was a little rusty," Mickelson said after opening his Phoenix Open title defence with an even-par 71. After effortlessly hitting his opening drive 300 yards down the middle on the par-4 10th, Mickelson dumped a 90-yard wedge shot into the left greenside bunker. He blasted 10 feet past the hole and sighed in relief when his par putt slid in. A few minutes later on the par-3 12th, Mickelson found the water hazard along the right side of the green. His chip from the fringe stopped about 15 feet short and he two-putted for a double bogey. He three-putted twice, once for par and another for bogey. "I threw away a lot of shots," Mickelson said. "I made some careless swings. Hitting it in the water on 12 was just pathetic." He was seven strokes behind leaders Bubba Watson and Y.E. Yang. "I got off to a poor start, played a couple over, and finished poorly," Mickelson said. "In the middle of the round, though, I hit a lot of good shots and had a good little run, but it just wasnt quite sharp. I wasnt quite focused on every shot the way I need to be and let way too many shots slide." Mickelson first felt soreness in his back two weeks ago in Abu Dhabi, and pulled out of his hometown event in San Diego after making the 36-hole cut at Torrey Pines. He flew to Georgia to see back specialist Tom Boers and was told his facet joints locked up. "Its fine. Honestly, its no big deal," Mickelson said. "It was a five-minute fix. I just have to be careful for a week or two as it heals up. Its fine. Mobility is back. Its just not a big deal. ... It happens every now and then. Last time was about four years ago." After the double bogey on 12, he rebounded with 20-foot birdie putts on the next two holes, but three-putted for par on the par-5 15th after hitting a hybrid pin-high from 245 yards. "Fifteen really stung," Mickelson said. "It was only a 12- or 15-footer, and I am thinking eagle. I roll it 6 feet by and I miss it coming back. That was costly. Mickelson got to 3 under with birdies on Nos. 17, 1 and 4, then bogeyed three of his last five holes. He three-putted the par-4 fifth -- missing from 5 1/2 and 3 1/2 feet -- and failed to get-up-down for par after finding greenside bunkers on Nos. 7 and 9. "Playing the last five holes at 3 over ... that was really bad," Mickelson said. He hit five of 14 fairways, 11 greens in regulation and had 30 putts. "I wasnt as sharp as I need to be, for sure," Mickelson said. In his victory last year, he opened with a 60 -- lipping out a birdie putt on the final hole -- and matched the tournament record at 28-under 256. The 43-year-old former Arizona State star is making his 25th appearance in the event that he also won in 1996 and 2005. "Its fun to be back here," Mickelson said. "I love playing here." Watson and Yang shot 64. Watson birdied four of the final six holes. The 2012 Masters champion had eight birdies and a bogey in the afternoon session. "This golf course, if your ball-striking is good, you can shoot some good numbers here," Watson said after hitting 17 greens in regulation. "Hit a lot of greens, didnt make too many mistakes, didnt miss too many fairways. Just played solid." Yang birdied the final two holes. The 2009 PGA winner also had eight birdies and a bogey, playing the back nine in 6-under 30 in his morning round. "I think you have to be aggressive," the South Korean player said through a translator. "At the same time, you cant be too aggressive. ... You have to really balance it out, but you still have to be a little bit more aggressive than other tournaments." Scottsdale residents Pat Perez, Kevin Stadler and Matt Jones were a stroke back at 65 along with Harris English, William McGirt, Greg Chalmers and Chris Kirk. English birdied Nos. 12-15 to top the leaderboard at 8 under, but bogeyed the par-3 16th -- the rowdy stadium hole -- and the par-4 18th. He hit an 8-iron over the green on the 178-yard 16th. "I guess I was a little juiced up on that tee," English said. "I left myself with an impossible up-and-down." Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., fired a 4-under 67. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., is another shot back at 68. Amateur Ki Taek Lee of Vancouver shot a 2-over 74. Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., carded a 75, and Calgarys Stephen Ames had a 76.. The crowd was estimated at 88,113, a record for the first round. Max Pacioretty Jersey . Got Jacks? Pulling off a comeback for the ages, feisty Stephen F. 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Cunningham had already been charged with felony domestic assault for allegedly choking the woman last week. Vegas Golden Knights Jerseys . Bjoergen pulled away from Swedens Charlotte Kalla on the final straight to win in 38 minutes, 33.6 seconds and defend her title from the 2010 Vancouver Games. Kalla was 1.8 seconds back. Heidi Weng of Norway took bronze.MASON, Ohio -- Top-ranked Novak Djokovic tumbled out of the Western & Southern Open on Thursday, while second-seeded Roger Federer narrowly avoided an upset in the round of 16. Tommy Robredo beat Djokovic, 7-6 (6), 7-5 before Federer escaped with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Gael Monfils in the night session. Andy Murray also came close to elimination but saved two match points in a 6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-6 (2) win over 11th-seeded John Isner to reach the quarterfinals. Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., and Fabio Fognini also advanced. On the womens side, top-seeded Serena Williams continued her pursuit of her first title in the Cincinnati-area tournament with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Flavia Pennetta. Simona Halep also reached the quarterfinals, where she will meet Maria Sharapova. Agnieszka Radwanska, Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic also progressed. Robredos victory was the second time in his career he had beaten the worlds top-ranked player. The first occasion was way back in 2003 when he defeated Lleyton Hewitt in the 2003 French Open. "When I finish my career, and when I will be sitting at home and talking with friends, I will remember days like this," Robredo said. Djokovic, who has never won the Cincinnati-area event, dropped the first set after fighting back from a 6-3 deficit in the tiebreaker. Robredo took the set with an ace that Djokovic challenged. The replay showed the ball caught the slimmest sliver of the line. Robredo was denied on two match points before completing the victory with a smash on Djokovics short lob. "Its disappointing that Im finishing Cincinnati again with a tough loss, but its the sport," said Djokovic, who lost in the third round at Toronto last week. "I didnt play well in Toronto, didnt play well here. Hopefully, its going to be different in New York (at the U.S. Open)." Federer had trouble shaking off a persistent Monfils in his 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory. "There was some frustration, but thats what Gael does to you," Federer said. "I felt like I missed some opportunities in the second set to close him out, but thats a credit to him. He hung in there." Murray, who is coming off an injury-interrupted season, would have been expecting a long match against the towering Isner because the American is rarely broken on service and won before a standing-room-only crowd.dddddddddddd "I had lost a few close matches -- matches like that -- over the last few months, so it was important for me to come through," Murray said, a two-time W&S champion. "It was completely packed crowd from the first point right until the end, as well. So it was a really good atmosphere to get ready for the rest of the tournament, but also the U.S. Open, as well." Isner, who lost to Rafael Nadal in last years final, had two chances to win the match with a 6-5 lead in the third set, but Murray salvaged both points before taking control with a mini-break for a 3-1 lead in the tiebreaker. Stan Wawrinka shook off losing the first set to roll through the next two and advance with a 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 win over Marin Cilic. Wawrinka, the Australian Open champion, will meet unseeded Julien Benneteau in the quarterfinals. Benneteau eliminated Jerzy Janowicz 7-5, 6-1. Fabio Fognini also needed three sets to get past Yen-hsun Lu, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, and Milos Ranoic held off wild-card Steve Johnson 6-7 (6), 6-3, 7-6 (4). David Ferrer completed the quarterfinal bracket with a 7-5, 6-0 win over Mikhail Youzhny. In womens play, top-seeded Williams broke serve in the opening game and went on to comfortably beat Pennetta 6-2, 6-2. "I got the early break, and I didnt let go," she said. "Thats what I wanted to do. She tried to come back, I wanted to stay focused." Halep also reached the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Lucie Safarova, but 15th-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro was upset by unseeded Elina Svitolina, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Halep and Sharapova will meet in the quarterfinals -- a reprise of the French Open final won by Sharapova. The fifth seed advanced with a 6-4, 7-6 (2) win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Jankovic also moved on with a 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory over Sloane Stephens, and Ivanovic advanced with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 win over Svetlana Kuznetsova. Agnieszka Radwanska routed Sabine Lisicki 6-1, 6-1. Caroline Wozniacki reached the quarterfinals for the second straight time and third overall with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Angelique Kerber. ' ' '