freshman Alvin Ellis scored a season-high 12 points

MADRID, Spain -- Rafael Nadal finally won another clay-court title, although not in a manner that alleviated any concerns about his recent form on his favourite surface. The top-ranked Spaniard won his fourth Madrid Open on Sunday after Kei Nishikori was forced to withdraw with a hip injury when trailing 2-6, 6-4, 3-0 in the final. And Nadal, who is coming off to uncharacteristic quarterfinal losses on clay, said his mental strength is still lacking just two weeks ahead of the French Open. "I was blocked. There were some moments where, I dont know, I couldnt find myself," said Nadal, whose victory guarantees he will stay No. 1 in the rankings heading into Roland Garros. "It wasnt that I didnt want to play or I was missing intensity, I was just mentally blocked." Earlier, Maria Sharapova bounced back from a poor start to defeat Simona Halep 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 to win the womens title. Nadal became the first repeat winner in Madrid but it was only his second clay-court title of the year, and third overall in 2014. Nishikoris aggressive start allowed him to jump out to a 5-1 lead as his powerful groundstrokes overwhelmed Nadal, who struggled to find an answer against his Japanese opponent. "We dont deserve the victory, (Nishikori) deserves it, he played better than us the whole time," Nadals uncle and coach Toni Nadal told Antenna 3 TV. "We had a lot of luck today. We didnt really come back, he was hurt." Nishikori broke Nadal again to start the second set to leave the Magic Box centre crowd, which included Queen Sofia, dumbfounded to find Nadal struggling so badly. Nishikori first experienced discomfort while leading 4-2 and Nadal took advantage to break back. Nishikori soon needed a medical timeout for treatment on his back and hip, and his energy then looked sapped as he hit a shot long to concede the set. Nishikori, who withdrew from next weeks tournament in Rome to recover in time for the French Open, visibly struggled in the third before eventually retiring. "It was very sad, especially (since) I was winning, playing almost best tennis in my life," said Nishikori, who will become the first Japanese player in the top-10 when the new rankings are released. "It was very tough mentally for me. But I get a lot of confidence from this tournament. "You never know what happens today if Im not hurt. I may have chance to win." Sharapova, who lost to Serena Williams in last years final, crumbled in the opening set when she held her serve just once. But Haleps serve dipped in the second set, and Sharapova started hitting pinpoint ground strokes that kept the fifth-ranked Romanian running. The ninth-ranked Russian converted both her break points in the set to even the match. Sharapova then pulled away in the deciding set with an early break to follow up her triumph in Stuttgart with a maiden title in Madrid. Since the 2011 French Open, Sharapova has a 47-3 record on clay -- with all three defeats coming to Williams. The top-ranked American was the two-time defending champion in Madrid but withdrew with a leg injury on Friday. "I dont know how I pulled it off," Sharapova said after winning her 32nd career title. "I came close last year, and I didnt have a great first set today, but I knew it wasnt over until the last point was played." Sharapova planned to continue her centre court celebration on the plane ride to the Rome Masters. "They better have some champagne for me," Sharapova said. "I need a drink." Bryce Love Redskins Jersey . Sami Salo scored two goals as the Canucks overcame a hat-trick from Edmonton Oiler rookie sensation Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to win 4-3 in NHL action Saturday. Darrell Green Redskins Jersey .What they got was a bevy of players chipping in to pick up the slack.Josh Smith scored 18 points and James Harden added 17 as the Rockets used a balanced scoring effort to outlast the Mavericks for a 99-94 victory. https://www.redskinssportsgoods.com/Womens-Bryce-Love-Inverted-Jersey/ . Its a blessing and a burden for nine sons of former NHL players who are all expected to be taken in the first four rounds of the draft this weekend. Charles Mann Jersey . Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter also scored for the Americans, who avoided a repeat of Finlands upset at the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November. Finnish goalie Noora Raty made 58 saves in that one, but the three-time Olympian could stop just 40 of 43 U. Custom Washington Redskins Jerseys .She struggled with a hacking cough, she was sick, and she twice celebrated too early, but she held her composure in a 6-3, 7-6 (5) victory on Saturday.On her third match point, she let her racket go before hearing a let call to what she thought was an ace.EAST LANSING, Mich. -- With some swagger and a sweet stroke, Nik Stauskas lifted Michigan to a rare win at Michigan State. Stauskas made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3:12 left and finished with 19 points to lead the 21st-ranked Wolverines to an 80-75 win over the third-ranked Spartans on Saturday night to remain the only Big Ten team without a conference loss. The sophomore shooting guard had four assists and unofficially had another one, separating coach John Beilein from a face-to-face argument with an official with 4:01 remaining. "He was about to get a technical," Stauskas said. Stauskas helped the usually mild-mannered Beilein from saying or doing something that might cost his team points just before the Wolverines (15-4, 7-0 Big Ten) went on a 10-0 run late in the game to take control. "Thats a great step in his leadership," Beilein said with a grin. The Wolverines won for just the second time in 15 games at the Breslin Center. Michigan is the first team since at least the 1996-97 season to win three straight games against top-10 teams in the regular season, according to STATS. The Wolverines, who had never pulled off that feat in school history, were coming off a win against No. 10 Iowa at home after beating then-No. 3 Wisconsin on the road. "This is a great win for us because of who we were just able to beat," Beilein said. "Its one of the classiest, best programs in the country." Freshman Derrick Walton Jr. scored a season-high 19 and Caris LeVert scored 17 for the Wolverines, who have won nine straight without standout centre Mitch McGary. The Spartans (18-2, 7-1) had won 11 straight since losing to North Carolina at home, but the streak was snapped by their rival soon after another injury-related setback. "The better team won," coach Tom Izzo ackknowledged.dddddddddddd Adreian Payne missed a fifth straight game with a sprained right foot and Branden Dawson was out for the first time since the junior forward said he broke his right hand hitting a table. Michigan, though, didnt have any sympathy. The Wolverines, who lost Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. early to the NBA, have been playing without McGary because he needed back surgery since losing to No. 1 Arizona in a closely contested game. Michigan States Gary Harris scored a career-high 27 points and didnt get much help offensively from his team that was without two of its best players. Freshman Alvin Ellis scored a season-high 12 points, surpassing his scoring total from his first seven Big Ten games. Keith Appling was held to 10 points on 3 of 11 shooting, playing with a wrist injury and bad back. "He just cant shoot right now with that wrist," Izzo said. Michigan turned 11 offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points as it outrebounded the Spartans 34-30. The Wolverines have won five of seven in the series after losing 18 of 21, and Appling took the latest loss hard because he will not play them again at home. "I feel like I lost a close family member," he said softly. "Thats how bad it hurts." Michigan got off to a great start with Stauskas making jumpers, pumping his fist and shouting as he ran back to play defence. The Wolverines started 4 of 4 from the field and led 10-2 before losing the lead midway through the first half as Michigan States defensive intensity picked up and its crowd began to roar. Michigan made shots when it needed them most in the second half, scoring 50 points after halftime, including 5 of 8 on 3-pointers and 23 of 27 at the line. "Youre not going to beat too many teams when they shoot that way," Harris said. ' ' '