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    January 10, 2020 8:09 PM EST

    VIERA, Fla. Mike Muscala Jersey . - The Detroit Tigers will start the season without Jose Iglesias, though just how long the injured shortstop is sidelined will not be known until after he sees a foot and ankle specialist on Tuesday. General manager Dave Dombrowski announced Sunday that Iglesias will start the season on the disabled list because of painful condition in both shins that affects him when he tries to decelerate. Iglesias will see Dr. Thomas Clanton of the Steadman Clinic in Colorado on Tuesday, and could possibly see another doctor after that, though Dombrowski did not say who that may be. "Weve done a lot of different tests, hes seen a lot of different doctors," Dombrowski said. "Weve sent his information to a lot of doctors. A lot of times, the analysis changed. However, the pain has not disappeared from him." Iglesias, acquired from Boston in a three-team trade, is considered a potential Gold Glove defensive infielder. Dombrowski said the 24-year-old Iglesias dealt with the same injury last season, but it did not get better over the off-season and it has bothered him more this spring. Both Dombrowski and manager Brad Ausmus said they had neither heard of, nor seen, a player experience this type of injury. What makes it so frustrating is that Iglesias can do a lot of physical activity without pain. "If you asked him to go take batting practice right now, or take infield, you would not even be able to really tell there is a problem," Dombrowski said. "But it hurts him when he starts to stop running." Ausmus said he noticed there was something wrong with Iglesias during the teams spring opener against Atlanta on Feb. 26. Iglesias hasnt played since. "I could tell when he ran something was bothering him," Ausmus said. ". Almost like he was running on glass." There has been speculation Iglesias could miss significant time, but Dombrowski said there is simply no way to tell how long the shortstop will be out until the true nature of the injury is diagnosed. Dombrowski did not completely rule out the possibility of making a move. He said he had already heard from two teams once word about the potential seriousness of Iglesias injury broke but plans to look at three internal candidates to fill the shortstop spot: Eugenio Suarez, Hernan Perez and Danny Worth. Defensive ability will be a key factor. "Ive watched them enough to have a pecking order, but I havent watched them enough to have a final decision," Ausmus said. Marvin Webster Jersey . A rainy day saw the former champion Djokovic handle 14th-seeded Frenchman Jo- Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) under the roof on the famed Centre Court. Abdel Nader Jersey .com Tours season-opening Colombia Championship on Sunday, breaking the course record with an 8-under 63 in the completion of the third round before rain washed out play.NEW YORK -- For years and years, a first-round victory by Venus Williams at a major tournament would hardly merit a mention. She is, after all, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion. Shes been the runner-up another seven times. She was ranked No. 1, owns Olympic gold medals, and is second to her younger sister Serena among active women in several key categories, including Grand Slam match wins, with 215. And yet nowadays, at age 33, two years removed from being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that saps energy, hampered much of this season by a bad lower back, and her ranking down to 60th, Williams entered Day 1 at the 2013 U.S. Open having won a total of three matches over the past five Grand Slam tournaments. Plus, she was facing 12th-seeded Kirsten Flipkens, who was a semifinalist at Wimbledon last month and beat Williams on a hard court this month. Looking very much like the player she used to be, Williams smacked serves at up to 120 mph, returned superbly, covered the court well enough to hit a handful of swinging volley winners, and beat Flipkens 6-1, 6-2 Monday to reach the second round at Flushing Meadows. Flipkens, for one, was not surprised in the least to see Williams play that way. To Flipkens, this was not an upset -- no matter what the rankings indicate. "If Venus is there -- if shes fit, if shes focused -- shes a top-10 player," Flipkens said. "Everybody who knows a little bit of the game of tennis can see that. Today, she was like a top-10 player." Williams, who topped the WTA rankings in 2002, hasnt cracked the top 10 since she was No. 9 in March 2011. She hasnt been past the third round at a Grand Slam tournament since a fourth-round exit at Wimbledon later that year. Indeed, Williams lost in the first round in two of her previous four appearances at majors, including at the French Open in May; she sat out Wimbledon for the only time in her career in June. "I stay positive because I know I can play great tennis. Sometimes you just have to go through more than what you want to go through," the American said after winning the first four games and the last four games against Belgiums Flipkens. "Sometimes you have to have losses." Their match was the days second in Arthur Ashe Stadium, and owing perhaps to the early hour -- or the stricter security measures, including new metal detectors, that led to long delays for spectators entering the grounds -- there were thousands of empty blue seats in the 23,000-capacity arena. The place was full for the night session, when Serena Williams began her title defence with a 6-0, 6-1 victory, a performance so thoroughly impressive that her opponent, 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone, was prompted in a brief moment of levity to seek comfort by hugging a ball boy. "I dont need a hug in that moment, I need a game," joked Schiavone, who was trailing 6-0, 2-0 at the time. Asked which meant more on this day, her own victory or her sisters, Serena replied: "Theyre equal. I definitely was happy to see Venus win. I really was happy for her. I know shes been working hard. I know she had a tough opponent. For her to come through was just awesome. Obviously, I want to do well, too." The victory over Schiavone lasted exactly an hour, and light rain began falling right after it ended. Eventually, play was called off for the day, postponing 17-time major champion Roger Federers match against 62nd-ranked Grega Zemlja of Slovenia until Tuesday. Rain also ended Canadian Vasek Pospisils match against Brazilian qualifier Rogerio Dutra Silva early. Pospisil left the court leading 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (9), 0-4. Earlier on Ashe, 12-time major champion Rafael Nadal delivered a straightforward, straight-set victory over 21-year-old American Ryan Harrison, part of a series of smooth performances by top players. Flipkens was one of two seeded women to lose, along with No. 29 Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakiaa. Steven Adams Jersey. Three seeded men exited during Mondays afternoon session: No. 11 Kei Nishikori, No. 27 Fernando Verdasco and No. 30 Ernests Gulbis. Sloane Stephens, a 20-year-old American seeded 15th, very nearly was on the list of losers, dropping the opening set, then trailing 4-2 in the third and 3-1 in the closing tiebreaker, before coming back to edge 110th-ranked Mandy Minella of Luxembourg 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5). Stephens heard plenty of support from the crowd, of course. She also picked out one particular voice in the stands that tried to remind her of at least one reason to be motivated. "Someone yelled to me, If you dont get it together, this lady is going to take your second round prize money! I was like, Oh, God," Stephens recounted. Shes one of a crop of young women from the U.S. seen as potential successors to the Williams sisters as tennis standard-bearers for the country; the 19 Americans in the main draw are the most at a Grand Slam tournament in seven years. By reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open in January, then the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, Stephens only increased expectations -- particularly when competing on home turf. "Theres more eyes on me," said Stephens, who is based in Coral Springs, Fla. "Just the whole being here at the U.S. Open is a bit overwhelming. Literally everywhere you go, every single person knows who you are, as opposed to when youre at the French Open or when youre at Wimbledon." Venus Williams has spent 1 1/2 decades in the spotlight, from the moment she showed up at Flushing Meadows in 1997 as a 17-year-old with white beads clackety-clacking in her braids and made it all the way to the title match. She won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2000 and 2001, then added three more titles at the All England Club in 2005, 2007 and 2008. The only other time Flipkens played Williams came during that stretch, in the 2007 Fed Cup, and the Belgian lost in straight sets then. "Today, I didnt feel a lot of difference between this match and that match," Flipkens said. She was particularly troubled by Williams serving and returning. As is her wont, Williams stepped inside the baseline to receive second serves, putting pressure on Flipkens, who double-faulted six times. Wearing a black dress with a colorful flower print, and fuchsia-colored braids tied in a bun, Williams needed all of 13 minutes to wrest control, taking 16 of the opening 21 points. Williams power-based game was only occasionally bothered by Flipkens slices. There were bumpy patches early in the second set, when Williams faced a total of eight break points, but she saved seven. At 2-all, Williams faced the last significant test, a 16-point, 12-minute game with three break chances for Flipkens that were erased this way: 113 mph ace, 115 mph service winner, 116 mph serve that set up an errant forehand. As that shot from Flipkens sailed long, Williams shouted, "Come on!" Williams won the next point, a 15-stroke exchange, with a volley winner and shook her left fist. On a day that began with a retirement announcement by James Blake -- a former top-five player who also is 33 -- Williams showed shes still capable of big shots at big moments. "I realize that I havent had a lot of chances to play this year or a lot of chances to play healthy this year, have had injuries and what have you, so Im just going to have to keep working my way into it, maybe more than some of the other players," she said. "But I know I can do that." Montreals Eugenie Bouchard and Frank Dancevic of Niagara Falls, Ont., won their matches to advance to the second round. Bouchard downed Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 to win in her U.S. Open main draw debut. Dancevic, meanwhile, defeated Robin Haase of the Netherlands 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7). Earlier in the day, Torontos Sharon Fichman lost to Romanias Sorana Cirstea 7-5, 5-7, 6-1. ' ' '