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Clijsters, Venus reach third round

NEW YORK, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Defending champion Kim Clijsters and two-time winner Venus Williams overcame searing conditions Wednesday to reach the third round of the U.S. Open.

The heat at the U.S. Tennis Center caused No. 10 seed Victoria Azarenka to collapse and she eventually had to be taken off the court in a wheelchair. Gisela Dulko won the match by forfeit and Azarenka was eventually diagnosed as having a slight concussion.

Clijsters, the No. 2 seed, spent only 56 minutes on the court while defeating Sally Peers 6-2, 6-1.

The third-seeded Williams, who has been out of action since Wimbledon due to a knee injury, eliminated Rebecca Marino 7-6 (7-3), 6-3. In the third round, Williams will meet Mandy Minella, who prevented an anticipated rematch between Williams and Tsvetana Pironkova.

Pironkova, who shocked Williams in this year's Wimbledon quarterfinals, lost to Minella 6-4, 6-0.

Azarenka said she fell and bumped her head while running sprints in a nearby gymnasium prior to her match and after being checked out by the medical staff was cleared to play. She was overcome by the heat while trailing 5-1 in the first set.

In other second-round action Wednesday, Samantha Stosur was a 6-1, 6-4 winner over Anastasia Rodionova and sixth-seeded Francesca Schiavone, this year's French Open champ, breezed by Maria Elena Camerin 6-2, 6-1.

Elena Dementieva reached the third round with a 6-3, 6-4 decision over Sybille Bammer and Shahar Peer defeated Pauline Parmentier 6-2, 6-3. No. 13 seed Marion Bartoli was surprised by Virginie Razzano 7-5, 6-4.

Mich., OSU separated in Big Ten alignment

CHICAGO, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- The Big Ten Conference Wednesday revealed its post-expansion divisional alignment for football, which separates rivals Ohio State and Michigan.

The split into two divisions is a first for the conference, which grew to 12 teams following the acceptance of Nebraska into its ranks this year.

League officials Wednesday unveiled two divisions of six teams each, starting with the 2011 season, with longtime rivals Michigan and OSU finding themselves in separate lineups.

The winners of the two divisions will meet in the inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game, scheduled for Dec. 3, 2011, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. As before, the Big Ten champ will then participate in either the Rose Bowl or BCS National Championship Game.

Michigan, Nebraska, Michigan State, Iowa, Northwestern and Minnesota will make up one division while Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana and Illinois will be in the other.

Although the Wolverines and Buckeyes will be separated, their annual game is among the match-ups protected under the new plan, Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney said.

Atlanta winning streak reaches five games

ATLANTA, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Tommy Hanson allowed only one hit over seven shutout innings Wednesday and the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets 4-1 for their fifth straight victory.

The Mets managed just two base runners against Hanson -- Chris Carter on a leadoff walk in the second and David Wright on a one-out double in the fourth.

Hanson struck out three, threw 96 pitches and was relieved in the eighth by Jonny Venters, who surrendered New York's only run on a two-out RBI single by Luis Hernandez. It was the second and final hit of the game for the Mets.

Billy Wagner pitched a perfect ninth for his 31st save.

Atlanta remained 2 1/2 games in front of Philadelphia for the top spot in the National League East. The Phillies defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier in the day for their third straight win.

The Braves scored all their runs in the opening two innings. Martin Prado had a two-run double in the first and Omar Infante had an RBI single in the second, when he also scored on a throwing error by shortstop Ruben Tejada.

The loss went to Mike Pelfrey (13-8), who lasted five innings while giving up four runs on nine hits. New York has dropped three in a row.

Manny gets hit in White Sox debut

CLEVELAND, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Paul Konerko smashed a go-ahead, three-run homer in the eighth inning Wednesday, giving the Chicago White Sox a 6-4 victory over Cleveland.

Trailing 4-1 entering the frame, the Chisox stunned Cleveland with five runs in the late going to complete a three-game sweep of the Indians and log a crucial comeback victory as they chase the Minnesota Twins for the American League Central title.

Alexi Ramirez pulled Chicago to within two runs with a one-out solo shot off Indians starter Carlos Carrasco, who was lifted after then walking Juan Pierre.

One out later, reliever Justin Germano (0-1) walked Alex Rios and Konerko followed with a long blast to left to put Chicago up 5-4.

The Chisox added an insurance run in the top of the ninth and Chris Sale collected his first major league save despite walking a pair of Indians in the bottom of the frame.

The victory went to Tony Pena (4-2), who allowed one run in three innings of work.

Manny Ramirez went 1-for-3 in his debut for the Chisox, who entered the game trailing Minnesota by four games in the AL Central.

Shin-Soo Choo and Jayson Nix each had three hits for the Indians.