head coach Rob Kelly will take charge of the team fo

TOKYO -- Second-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga needed four match points to beat Gael Monfils 6-3, 7-6 (8) on Monday to advance to the second round of the Japan Open. Tsonga fired 11 aces and didnt drop a service game in the match to improve his record to four wins in five tour-level matches against his French compatriot. After Tsonga got the decisive break of the first set in the second game, the second set went with serve until the tiebreaker. Monfils rallied from a 5-1 deficit to level the tiebreaker at 5-5, then fought off three match points before Tsonga sealed the victory. "I started well and played offensively," Tsonga said. "I know this is the only way for me to beat Gael." Tsonga began the year strongly, reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and the semifinals at the French Open. After finishing runnerup to Andy Murray at Queens, however, Tsonga was forced to retire with a knee injury in the second round at Wimbledon and did not enter the U.S. Open as a result. "I have not played much in the last two or three months, so it will take me time to adjust," said Tsonga, adding that was cramping near the end of the match. In other first-round action, sixth-seeded Nicolas Almagro of Spain beat German qualifier Benjamin Becker 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) and Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine defeated Daniel Brands of Germany 6-3, 6-1. Top-seeded Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina was scheduled to play Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus in a first-round match on Tuesday, when defending champion Kei Nishikori was due to meet Jurgen Melzer of Austria. Vans Australia Sale . Off-Season Game Plan looks at a Wild team that has a nice mix of proven veterans along with young, inexpensive talent on the rise. When the Wild signed Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, making a big splash in the summer of 2012, it set the franchise on a path to being more competitive, but a big reason that they have been so competitive is the contributions of young players who still have more to give. Old Skool Australia Cheap . Locke overcame a shaky start to pitch seven innings and Josh Harrison had three hits to extend his hot streak as the Pirates beat the Miami Marlins 7-3 on Wednesday night. http://www.cheapoldskoolaustralia.com/ . The 2014 edition will be the ninth meeting between the Caps and Vikes in a tradition that dates back to 2005. "Since the original Whitecaps, the club has enjoyed fantastic support from fans in Victoria and all across Vancouver Island," said Whitecaps FC president Bob Lenarduzzi. Vans Old Skool Australia Sale . Viewers in the Jets region can watch the game on TSN Jets at 6:30pm ct/7:30pm et. The game is also avialable on TSN Radio 1290 in Winnipeg at 7pm ct. Vans Old Skool Sale . With Washington teammate Nene drawing double-teams coming off his big game against the Lakers, Gortat scored 25 points on 11-of-12 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Wizards to a 100-92 win in overtime over Milwaukee on Wednesday night.BIRMINGHAM, England - Premier League club West Bromwich Albion fired head coach Alan Irvine on Monday after winning just one of its last nine games, saying a change is necessary to boost its hopes of avoiding relegation.The club said in a statement late Monday that Irvine leaves the club with immediate effect, and that assistant head coach Rob Kelly will take charge of the team for Thursdays game against West Ham. West Brom said it hopes to name a permanent successor this weekend, with former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood tipped by British media to be among the leading candidates.West Broms Technical Director Terry Burton said the decision to fire Irvine was a matter of regret but necessity because of the teams continuing poor results.West Broom has won just four of 19 league games and is 16th at the halfway point, one point clear of the relegation zone after losing seven of its last nine.ddddddddddddWe appointed Alan in the summer convinced that we had taken on one of the foremost coaches in the U.K. and nothing that has happened since then has altered our view, Burton said. But sadly that simply has not translated into results and they remain the ultimate currency of Alans position. Securing a sixth season in the Premier League is the over-riding target and sometimes unpleasant decisions have to be taken to serve that imperative.Irvine becomes the second Premier League manager to be sacked this season, just two days after Neil Warnock was let go by Crystal Palace. ' ' '