nd the final point was for more than the 24-year-old Swede. She stuck her approach on the 435-yard 18th hole into 4 feet for a birdie that gave her a 1-up

LONDON -- Serena Williams came to Wimbledon this year in need of replenishment among all those hydrangeas, Pimms sipping swells and ivy-covered walls. She hoped that the legend-friendly ambiance of the All England Club and the soothing, lime-green lawns that are so welcoming to her explosive serve would help her overcome torments that have been plaguing her.It isnt working out quite that way, as Williams second-round clash with Christina McHale on Friday demonstrated.In yet another volatile episode in her quest to win Grand Slam singles title No. 22 and equal Steffi Grafs career record, Williams fell behind spirited challenger Christina McHale and was lucky to escape 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-4 in two hours and 29 minutes.I was out there playing for my life at that point, Williams said of the close third set. I felt like I was definitely in warrior mode. Trying to play to stay in the tournament.The sunny skies under which Williams smoothly opened her title defense on Tuesday against qualifier Amra Sadikovic were gone by the time the WTA No. 1 met the No. 65 McHale. Also gone was the easy command and composure Williams had shown throughout that first match.McHale is a few classes above Sadikovic and was at (or close to) her best on Friday. McHale is quick around the court. Her consistency is the product of great technique, and shes a fighter. All the parts were moving in unison, and it rattled Williams. McHale bolted to a quick 4-2 lead, and it was touch-and-go the rest of the way, with a few stomach-churning episodes for both women.Williams had a set point with McHale serving at 4-5 in the first set, but McHale challenged an out call at the baseline and won the overrule to remain alive. She went on to hold. Williams lost the ensuing tiebreaker after leading it 3-1, partly because she threw in two double faults. As she sank to her chair, she repeatedly smashed her racket on the turf and then tossed it over her shoulder.The racket landed in the lap of a cameraman. Williams landed a big fine.Its definitely a fine [up to $20,000], she said later. She tried to make light of the incident. Ive gotten fined a number of times for cracking racquets. In fact, I look at it like I didnt crack one at the French Open or Rome, so I was doing really good. I try to crack a certain amount a year. Im a little behind this year, so it was good.It was a facetious remark, but there was nothing funny about the struggle that created the incident. The defending champion has become a profligate player. Prodigious winners and errors pour off her racket, often at unpredictable times. Often in equal measure. Shes tugged by invisible forces, prey to mystifying pressures that have become her omnipresent companions.After the match, when a reporter began to ask about Williams moth-to-flame dance with Grafs record, she abruptly cut him off: That is another thing Im not talking about anymore.Williams deserves plenty of sympathy. Shes so obviously struggling. But shes also yielding valuable psychological turf in almost every match with her body language and by communicating her frustrations so vividly. And that must make her life tougher. When she makes a fist, doubles over and screams, Come on, she might as well be yelling across the net, telling her opponent that if she just keeps her cool and hits some shots she has an excellent chance to win.But it would be naive to assume Williams doesnt know this. Its more likely shes aware of it but couldnt care less. A career spent dominating, expressing herself however she pleases, must be a hard habit to break.Besides, players do have trouble keeping their cool and hitting shots. McHale did. After her second-set lapse, McHale jumped to a 2-0, 40-15 third-set lead. Curtains for Williams -- until McHale whacked a double fault and made a forehand error, eventually losing the game and her advantage.It was good for me to get through that, Williams said. There were times where I was down and out. I just kept fighting. Thats what I know I can do best. I knew that I could count on that, rely on that. I think my form, obviously it has to be better. I hope to play more matches to get better. Im ready for it. Im ready for any challenge.Williams finished her match just slightly later than her sister Venus, who also had a seesaw battle, with No. 29 seed Daria Kasatkina. Venus won in two hours and 42 minutes, 10-8 in the third set, and might have been speaking for both Williamses when she said: Well, at the end, the goal is to be at the net shaking hands, the winner. So however you get that done is usually how you get it done. Nike Air Max Plus Cheap Australia . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. Air Max Plus Australia . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary. http://www.airmaxplusaustraliacheap.com/ . -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. Wholesale Air Max Plus Australia . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. Air Max Plus Australia Cheap . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants.PARKER, Colo. -- Even with six rookies on her team, captain Liselotte Neumann told the Europeans this was their time to make history in the Solheim Cup. All she wanted was for them to prove they could win in America. They gave her so much more. Caroline Hedwall became the first player in Solheim Cup history to win five matches, and the final point was for more than the 24-year-old Swede. She stuck her approach on the 435-yard 18th hole into 4 feet for a birdie that gave her a 1-up win over Michelle Wie and assured Europe of keeping the cup. "Im still shaking," Hedwall said. "Its just amazing." Moments later, Catriona Matthew holed a 5-foot par putt to halve her match and give Europe the outright win on the seventh try in America. And it only got better. Even as the celebration played out across Colorado Golf Club, tears rushing over the European stickers on their cheeks, Neumanns crew kept battling for half-points until the very end. The Solheim Cup ended when Cristie Kerr and Karine Icher reached the 18th green -- the scene of this great outdoor party -- and conceding each other birdies to get on with the celebration. That final half-point put Europe in the record books again -- 18-10, the biggest blowout since this competition began in 1990. "It was really fun to see Caroline get her fifth point this week, making some history on the team," Neumann said. "Winning here for the first time, making more history. ... Im sure well go have a drink or two and do some dancing and singing tonight." The Americans have an 8-5 lead in the series, though this is the first time they have lost back-to-back in the Solheim Cup. The Americans are without the Solheim Cup, the Ryder Cup, the Walker Cup and the Curtis Cup, the four biggest team events between both sides of the Atlantic. U.S. captain Meg Mallon, gracious to the end, could only point to a poor performances on the slick greens -- and her teams inability to close. Over the final three-hole stretch, Europe had a 17-10 advantage in holes won. "The way we played 16, 17 and 18 I think is what really made the difference," Mallon said. "It wasnt for lack of preparation because we played this golf course quite a bit. So it wasnt like a surprise for us. It was just a matter of who dropped the putts on those holes. And unfortunately, it was the Europeans." And she didnt get much help from her best players. Stacy Lewis, the highest-ranked American coming off a Womens British Open title at St. Andrews, went 1-2-1 for the week. Paula Creamer was 1-3 and was blown out by a 17-year-old Charley Hull in Sunday singles. Angela Stanford was the other player without a point this week, going 0-4. Cristie Kerr, the most experienced American on the team, went 1-2-1. Europes rookies were 12-5-2, with Hull stealing the show. The English teenager showed no fear, at one point asking Neumann, "When am I supposed to be nervous?" "I didnt really feel that nervous, to be honest," Hull said.dddddddddddd "Because this is how I always look at golf -- Im not going to die if I miss it. Just hit it, and find it, and hit it again." It really was that simple. "Its a fantastic feeling right now," Neumann said. "Im so proud of them. They played such good golf this week. They just played tremendous golf." Hull, the youngest player in Solheim Cup history, capped off her amazing week by demolishing Creamer in a match that set the tone for Europe. Another rookie, Carlota Ciganda, handed Morgan Pressel her first lost in singles in four appearances to go 3-0 for the week. Not even a one-hour delay due to lightning in the area could damper this European celebration. Suzann Pettersen was lining up her putt on the 16th hole when she heard the cheers from the 18th, got the news that Hedwall won her match and began pumping her fist. Matthew holed the winning the putt, but the Europeans really won Saturday afternoon when they swept the fourballs matches to build a 10 1/2-5 1/2 lead, matching the largest margin going into Sunday. Raucous cheering on the first tee raised American hopes of the greatest comeback in Solheim Cup history. Once they got on the golf course, it was a hopeless cause. Mallon stacked some of her best players at the top of the lineup with hopes of filling the leaderboard with red scores and building momentum. Europe was ahead early four of the opening five matches. Brittany Lang delivered a point, though she had a tussle with Azahara Munoz until winning on the 17th. Lewis, in the opening match, didnt take her first lead against Anna Nordqvist until driving the green on the par-4 14th for a birdie. But the closing stretch belonged to Europe, as it had all week. Lewis missed an 8-foot birdie on the 16th for a chance to go 2 up, and the Swede found more magic on the 17th. One day after her hole-in-one, she holed a 20-foot birdie putt to square the match, and Lewis had to make a 7-foot par to get a half-point. Ciganda, the Spanish rookie who couldnt break 80 in her opening fourballs match, finished with five straight birdies to pull away from Pressel. Europes biggest boost came from its youngest star. Hull, playing as if she had been here many times before, dropped in a 45-foot birdie putt on No. 6 to take her first lead, and she demoralized Creamer from there, 5 and 4. Creamer has not made it beyond the 14th hole in singles losses the last two Solheim Cups. Hull only showed her age at the end. She took a marker from her bag and asked Creamer if she could sign a golf ball for a friend back home. "Hes a big fan, so I thought I might as well get one," Hull said. By the end of the week, the Americans had reasons to ask for the autographs. ' ' '