Williams through to Australian semis
MELBOURNE, Australia, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Unseeded Serena Williams outlasted Shahar Peer in a three-set match Tuesday, earning a berth in the semifinals of the 2007 Australian Open.
Williams, who won the Australian Open in 2003 and 2005, will face 10th-seeded Nicole Vaidisova in the tournament semifinals.
Williams wasn't exactly sharp in beating Peer, the tournament's No. 16 seed. She had to come back from losing the first set and battled through 49 unforced errors and 13 situations in which she could have had her serve broken before winning 3-6, 6-2, 8-6 in more than 2 1/2 hours.
On the other hand, Peer didn't make the most of her chances, going 3-of-13 in break opportunities, including 2-for-10 in the final set.
Vaidisova had an easier time defeating Lucia Safarova 6-1, 6-4. It will be the second Grand Slam semifinal in the 17-year-old's career.
The other quarterfinals in the Australian Open's women's draw are set for Wednesday with top-seeded Maria Sharapova going against No. 12 Anna Chakvetadze and fourth-seeded Kim Clijsters playing No. 6 Martina Hingis.
Timberwolves fire head coach
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Minnesota Timberwolves Head Coach Dwane Casey was fired Tuesday as the club remained bogged down in the standings.
Assistant Coach Randy Wittman was handed the reins for the time being while a permanent replacement is sought.
The T-wolves have been spinning their wheels this winter with a 20-20 record good enough for third place in the Northwest Division, seven games behind front-running Utah. The team was stuck in a four-game losing streak when Casey was cut loose.
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Habs to host 2009 NHL All-Star Game
DALLAS, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Hockey bastion Montreal will be the site of the 2009 National Hockey League All-Star Game, the league announced Tuesday.
Commissioner Gary Bettman said the event would be part of the Canadiens' centennial and "what will be a yearlong celebration."
The announcement came as the NHL took a break for the All-Star Game to be played Wednesday in Dallas. Atlanta will host next year's mid-season contest.
Bettman also told the assembled hockey writers that he hoped the standoff in Pittsburgh over a new arena would end and that the Penguins would stay in Steel City.
The NHL also will stick with its current balanced scheduling system, which leans toward games among division opponents with teams from opposite coasts playing only once.
Legwand, Turco, Malkin are NHL honorees
NEW YORK, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Nashville forward David Legwand, Dallas goal-tender Marty Turco and Pittsburgh rookie center Evgeni Malkin were this past week's NHL standouts.
The three were named Monday as the NHL's Three Stars of the Week.
Legwand led all NHL players with five goals and nine points. He scored the game-winning goal in three games last week for the Predators. He picked up his first career hat trick in a Jan. 20 victory over Chicago.
Turco was selected after backstopping the Stars to three wins last week. He had a 1.30 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage. For the week, he blocked 63 of 67 shots.
Malkin was second in league scoring for the week with eight points on two goals and six assists. He had five assists Jan. 20 against Toronto.
