front-runners for Tanaka, since their deep pockets would allow them to

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Defending champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic advanced to the semifinals of the New Haven Open, beating Russias Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 on Thursday. Romanias Simona Halep also advanced, topping Russias Ekaterina Makarova 6-1, 7-6 (6). Rain delayed the start of play in both matches by more than an hour and a half, and each included hour-long rain delays during play. It was the third three-set match of the tournament for Kvitova, who leads the WTA Tours top 100 players with 29 this season. She improved to 18-11 in those contests. Pavlyuchenkova started strong, breaking Kvitova in the first game of the match and three times in the first set. But the former Wimbledon champion bounced back as she has throughout the tournament. She broke serve four times in the second set, and twice in the third. "I know Im playing a lot of three set matches, thats why I probably know if I lose the first set, still I can go to the third," Kvitova said. "I dont feel like without energy in the third set, so thats good sign, too." Pavlyuchenkova was able to save one match point in the 10th game, but double-faulted on the second. Halep and Makarova were forced to the grandstand court by the rain. Fewer than 20 fans watched as Halep jumped out early, taking the first 6-1 while breaking Makarovas serve four times. The second rain delay came with the players tied at 1-1 in the second, and when play resumed Makarova made a run, winning the next two games. "I was a little bit nervous after (the rain)," Halep said. "I played really slow after. But I came back from 4-2 again and I did well." The Romanian broke serve in the eighth game, and won the tiebreaker 8-6. She is looking for her fourth tournament title this summer and said she likes where her game is heading into next weeks U.S. Open. "Im a bit tired right now," she said. "But I want to play tomorrow, to try my best. After that I will see what will happen." This is the first quarterfinal in the tournaments history that didnt include either of the top two seeds. Sara Errani and Angelique Kerber both lost earlier in the week in the second round. Kvitova, Wozniacki and Stephens were the only seeded players to make it past round two. Halep will play the winner of Thursday nights marquee quarterfinal match between four-time New Haven champion Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and rising American star Sloane Stephens. Kvitova will face Russias Elena Vesnina or the Czech Republics Klara Zakopalova. The players got a little excitement before play began Thursday. A fire alarm, caused by smoke from someone cooking in the players lounge, forced the evacuation of the Connecticut Tennis Center for about 15 minutes. "It was OK, when we were waiting for the match, some fun," Kvitova said. "I wasnt cooking, so thats good." Cheap Nike Free Shoes Wholesale . 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Ferguson told Uniteds in-house TV channel on Saturday that he has no immediate plans to walk away from the game, and that he still hungers for more trophies even after 25 years in charge of the club.The way Major League Baseball does business with Japans top professional baseball league may be about to change. According to Fox Sports analyst Ken Rosenthals sources, MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball are "very close" on a new posting system. Rosenthal posted the details of the expected deal on Twitter Thursday morning. To acquire negotiating rights to an eligible Japanese player, MLB teams will still submit a posting bid, but unlike in the past, the new maximum posting fee will be $20 million per player. In the event multiple teams post $20 million, the player would then be allowed to choose his destination amongst those teams that submitted maximum bids. Only the team chosen by the player being posted would then be required to pay the fee to his respective NPB club. If no team posts a maximum bid, the player would go to the highest bidder. Under the current system, teams submit their top bids in secret with the highest bidder getting an exclusive negotiating window to sign the player. The deal comes as MLB teams wait to start bidding on the latest Japanese phenom pitcher, Masahiro Tanaka. The New York Yankees werre believed to be the front-runners for Tanaka, since their deep pockets would allow them to submit a high posting bid, while only having Tanakas salary count towards luxury tax.dddddddddddd However, under the new system that advantage would no longer play in the Yankees favour. Since only the posting fee is luxury tax-exempt. The change levels the playing field, giving players like Tanaka the ability to choose between whichever clubs deem his services worthy of a maximum bid. MLB expects that once the deal gets completed, Tanaka and others will still be posted. Otherwise, Rosenthal believes, Japanese players might demand earlier free agency. Japanese players are currently eligible for free agency after nine years of NPB service. The highest bid ever submitted by an MLB club for a Japanese free agent came in January of 2012 when the Texas Rangers paid a reported $51.7 million for the right to negotiate with pitcher Yu Darvish. The Rangers and Darvish took almost the full allotted month to reach an agreement, with Darvish settling for a six-year, $60 million contract on the final day of the negotiating window. ' ' '