Protection » OLIS - Adrian Petersons hearing for the appeal of his sus

MONTREAL - Venus Williams recalls the first time she played against younger sister Serena in a top-level match. They were still teenagers. It was the second round of the 1999 Australian Open, and Venus won in two sets. "I totally remember," Venus Williams said Friday at the US$2.44 million Rogers Cup. "We had a tough match back then. "Thats the trend that started and it hasnt changed. I suspect this will be another tough match." The 34-year-old Venus and the 32-year-old Serena have their 26th career meeting in the semifinals of the hardcourt event at Uniprix Stadium on Saturday. Serena, ranked first in the world, is 15-10 against her 26th-ranked sister, although one was a walkover when her sister withdrew. She has won the last five head-to-head matches. "I have to play well," added Venus Williams, whose last win over Serena was at Dubai in 2009. "Theres no secret or science to it. "I think anyone who has got any wins against her, theyve pretty much played the match of their life. Granted, Id like to imagine that I wont have to play the match of my life. Thats tough to do. But I know I need to play well." Both rallied from one-set deficits to win their quarter-final matches. Serena Williams defeated Denmarks Caroline Wozniacki 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 while Venus Williams dispatched 14th-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. "I definitely dont like playing her," Serena Williams said of her sister. "I think Ive lost to her more than anyone on the tour, so its definitely not a fun match. "Shes tough. She has a great serve. She runs every ball down. She has a great backhand. She hits winners off the forehand. She does everything well so its not an ideal matchup for anyone, to be honest." In another quarter-final, Ekaterina Makarova ended the Cinderella run of American qualifier Coco Vanderweghe with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 victory. Vanderweghe had knocked off two former world No. 1s en route to the quarter-finals. Makarova will play the winner of a later quarter-final between Victoria Azarenka and Agnieszka Radwanska. The sisters will meet for the first time since Serena Williams cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 win on clay at Charleston, S.C., in 2003. Between them, the Williams sisters have won 24 grand slam tournaments, with Serena taking 17 and Venus seven. They have also been credited with introducing more of a power game to womens tennis, and of inspiring players from minority communities to take up the sport. "Weve had such a great impact," said Serena Williams. "I think having been pretty much one of the first African-Americans to do well, then to see all the African-Americans, even some Canadians here playing really well, it makes me feel really good. "Im really excited to see that. We just had an opportunity to do something really special. Sometimes I get chill bumps when I think about it because were just so normal and so down-to-earth. We just feel like we want to help everyone to do the best that they can." Serena Williams, the defending champion, extended her Rogers Cup win streak to 14 matches after victories at the 2011 and 2013 events in Toronto. She skipped the 2012 tournament. Wozniacki, coming off a win at Istanbul, ended an eight-match streak. The match that lasted two hours 41 minutes saw Wozniacki take control in the first set and build a 2-0 lead in the second before Williams started hitting the lines. "I was making a lot of unforced errors in general," said Williams. "But I just thought: Just keep fighting. Hopefully I can just hold on and hold on, try to break, keep going for each shot. " She broke service for a 3-2 first-set lead and fought off two break points to close the set. The third set featured five service breaks, the last giving Williams the win on her third match point. Williams is now 7-1 all-time against Wozniacki. Williams won at Stanford last week and has won seven straight matches. But she knew beating Wozniacki wouldnt be easy. "Especially when you play someone like Caroline or other opponents, you know your match might be a little longer than normal," said Williams. "You go in there thinking: This is not going to be routine. Youre ready." Wozniacki was happy with her tournament despite the defeat. "It was really small things that did it out there today," she said. "She came up with quite a few big serves when she needed to. "It could have gone both ways. I had a break in the second set. Didnt manage to hold on. But I gave it everything I had. It just wasnt quite enough." Venus also needed time to find a rhythm against 14th-seeded Suarez Navarro. She has gone three sets in three of her four matches, including her third-round upset of sixth-seeded Angelique Kerber. "Whats happening well for me is just competing," said Venus Williams. "I think my movement has been very helpful to me, as well, covering a lot of court. 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Tonight, Michigans Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ontario.MINNEAPOLIS - Adrian Petersons hearing for the appeal of his suspension will be held on Dec. 2. And it will not be in front of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.The NFL announced Friday that longtime hearing officer Harold Henderson will preside over the proceedings involving the Minnesota Vikings star running back. Goodell has the authority to decide whether to hear the appeal himself or appoint someone else.Peterson has not played since the opening week of the season while dealing with child abuse allegations in Texas. He was placed on paid leave while the legal process played out, and he pleaded no contest on Nov. 4 to misdemeanour reckless assault for injuring his 4-year-old son with a wooden switch.Goodell suspended Peterson earlier this week for the rest of the season and told Peterson that he will not be considered for reinstatement before April 15 for his violation of the NFLs personal conduct policy. Peterson is appealing the punishment, which the NFL Players Association called unprecedented, arbitrary, and unlawful.The union had been seeking a neutral arbitrator to oversee the appeal, saying the league is making up the process and punishment as it goes.Henderson worked for the league as chairman of its powerful Management Councils executive committee for 16 years. He also was a league vice-president of labour relations.He led the leagues negotiation team, which settled several lawsuits by NFL players and ultimately entered into a new collective bargaining agreement which included expanded free agency and a salary cap. That agreement has been extended several times, most recently through 2021. He regularly deals with NFL team ownerss, team executives, players, players union, player agents and attorneys on a variety of matters.ddddddddddddHendersons long history of working for the league did little to assuage the unions concerns about the process.The NFL should stop attempting to position a former NFL executive as neutral and independent, the union said. It is disappointing the league office made a decision to ignore the players request for fairness.The NFL argued that Goodells right to preside over appeals or choose an official has been part of the collective bargaining agreement since 1993. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said criticism of Henderson is unwarranted given his current position as president of the NFL Player Care Foundation, which is funded jointly by the union and the league; and his experience in hearing 87 appeals, including one from receiver Brandon Marshall that ended with his three-game suspension for a domestic violence incident being reduced to one game.Goodells punishment of Peterson comes under the new player conduct policy he unveiled in August. That came in the wake of criticism he received for his initial light treatment of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, who was caught on camera punching his then-fiancee in the face in an Atlantic City casino elevator. Rice was later suspended indefinitely, cut by the Ravens, and recently had his appeal heard by an arbitrator.The new, tougher guidelines call for a six-game suspension for the first assault, battery or domestic violence offence.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL___AP Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner, in New York, contributed to this report. ' ' '