NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova moved into the semifinals of the Connecticut Open with a 6-4, 6-1 win Thursday over fellow Czech player Barbora Zahlavova Strycova. Kvitova went down by a service break in the third game of the match, but avoided the upset bug that has sent every other seeded player in the tournament packing. Trailing 4-3, the second seed called her coach onto the court, and he told her to stop trying to win every point and be more patient. "So I was trying to play a little bit longer rallies, just wait for the good point that I can really attack her, going forward for the final volleys, for example," she said. It worked. She broke back to tie it at 4, and then broke Zahlavova Strycova again to take the set. She cruised in the second, taking the final five games of the match. Kvitova, who won here in 2012 and lost in the finals last year to Simona Halep, said shes not treating this tournament as a glorified practice for next weeks U.S. Open Slam— something other big names have been known to do. "I want to play my best tennis and have the great result I can," she said. "Every match I step on the court, I want to win." She will play the winner of Thursdays late match between Kirsten Flipkins of Belgium and Australian Samantha Stosur. On the other side of the bracket, Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia ousted American Alison Riske in three sets, 7-5, 0-6, 6-4. Rybarikova, who beat the top-seeded Halep in the second round, broke Riskes serve six times. But she failed to hold her own serve seven times, and said she felt lucky to escape with the win. "I was really fighting, trying to somehow make her play worse, to make her to make more mistakes than me," she said. "It kind of works." Riske, who was the last remaining American in the draw, said she made too many errors in the third set. Three double faults in one game put her down 4-2 and she was not able to climb all the way back. "Obviously at this level, that cant happen," she said. "That was a huge problem." Rybarikova will face hard-serving Italian Camila Giorgi in the semifinals. Giorgi, who upset Caroline Wozniacki in the second round, got by Garbine Muguruza of Spain, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-2. Daniel Jones Jersey . Ellis had a season-high 37 points and two key assists late, Dirk Nowitzki led a fourth-quarter rally with 14 of his 35 points, and the Mavericks spoiled Howards best offensive night in Houston with a 123-120 victory over the Rockets on Wednesday night. Evan Engram Giants Jersey . 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Daniel Jones Youth Jersey . -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have released veteran guard Davin Joseph, a mainstay on their offensive line over the past eight seasons.Steve Nash says theres a big difference between playing basketball and swinging a golf club.The Canadian NBA star posted a letter on Facebook on Friday night, to explain the extent of his back injury and to answer fans who are angry over a video of him swinging a golf club. The 40-year-old from Victoria will miss what would have been his 19th — and surely last — season in the NBA with nerve damage in his back. He recently posted a video on Instagram, which has since been deleted, of him hitting balls at a driving range, sparking outrage from some fans.. . . there is an incredible difference between this game and swinging a golf club, hiking, even hitting a tennis ball or playing basketball at the park, Nash wrote. Fortunately those other activities arent debilitating, but playing an NBA game usually puts me out a couple of weeks. Once youre asked to accelerate and decelerate with Steph Curry and Kyrie Irving it is a completely different demand.Nashs injuries have limited him to just 65 games in two seasons in L.A.I definitely dont wantt to be a distraction, but I felt it best everyone heard from me in my own words, the two-time NBA MVP wrote.ddddddddddddI have a ton of miles on my back, Nash continued. Three bulging disks (a tear in one), stenosis of the nerve route and spondylolisthesis. I suffer from sciatica and after games I often cant sit in the car on the drive home, which has made for some interesting rides. Most nights Im bothered by severe cramping in both calves while I sleep, a result of the same damn nerve routes, and the list goes on somewhat comically.Thats what you deserve for playing over 1,300 NBA games. By no means do I tell you this for sympathy — especially since I see these ailments as badges of honor — but maybe I can bring some clarity.The Lakers are 0-5 and last in the Western Conference.Nash wrote that hes always been one of the hardest workers in the game, and that for the past two years hes worked like a dog to both overcome the setbacks and to find the form that could inspire Lakers fans in what he called my last chapter. ' ' '