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1B Sports Djokovic, Serena Williams win at Australian Open MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A rusty Novak Djokovic began his bid for a fourth consecutive Australian Open title on Monday with a win over Lukas Lacko while Serena Williams looked as polished as ever beating Australian teenager Ashleigh Barty. With his new coach and six-time Grand Slam singles champion Boris Becker watching him during an official match for the first time, Djokovic appeared tentative early against the Slovakian player, who often appeared content to keep the ball in play. But as the second-seeded Djokovic's patience level began to drop, his skill level stepped up. He stayed on course for a fifth Australian title with a 6-5, 7-6 (2), 6-1 win, hoping to be the first man to achieve that feat since the Open Era began in 1968. Top-ranked Williams won her 23rd consecutive match — including 18 at the end of last season and four last week in winning the Brisbane International — after beating Barty 62, 6-1 in 57 minutes. ''You have to be ready,'' Williams said. ''She had nothing to lose.'' Williams continues to be in rarified territory. Her Brisbane title was the 58th of her career — she won 11 last year, including the French Open and U.S. Open. A five-time winner of the Australian Open, she's trying to end Victoria Azarenka's two-year run as women's champion at Melbourne Park. Williams won 10 of 11 points at the net during the Barty match, but tried to dowse expectations that she'll vacate her usual place at the baseline. ''In my mind I've been at the net (previously), but now I'm physically going there a little more,'' Williams said. ''No pressure. My next match I might stay at the baseline the whole time. It's nothing I'm permanently working on. I'm just trying to have fun and do what I want to do out there.'' Djokovic also had a strong finish to 2013, entering the tournament on a 24-match winning streak, which followed his loss to Rafael Nadal in last year's U.S. Open final. He's now also on a 22-match winning streak at Melbourne Park. ''It is the first competitive match I've had this season, I haven't played for five or six weeks,'' Djokovic said. ''I was a bit rusty on the court the first two sets. Afterwards it was all working well.'' Serena's sister, Venus Williams, started well earlier Monday but unforced errors in two key periods in her match sent the seven-time major winner out of the tournament. The elder Williams missed a break-point chance in the sixth game and then, after getting to 40-30 on serve in the ninth, inexplicably fired three consecutive double-faults to surrender a break and just about the set to No. 22-seeded Ekaterina Makarova. She took a 3-0 lead in the third before her unforced error toll climbed to 56 and Makarova won six of the next seven games for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win. The 33-year-old Venus Williams, the second-oldest player in the tournament, has struggled with injuries and illness in recent seasons but reached the final of the WTA event at Auckland to start 2014 and came to Melbourne saying she was feeling better than she had in years. ''The last 12 months I have had issues,'' she said. ''But this year I definitely am looking forward to having a good run and feeling well.'' Three-highly-ranked players were beaten in the first round, including 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and two Italians, No. 7 Sara Errani and No. 12 Roberta Vinci. Sixth-seeded Kvitova lost 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 to No. 88-ranked Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand, who was playing in just her second Grand Slam tournament. Women's winners included two-time Australian Open finalist Li Na, Wimbledon semifinalist Kirsten Flipkens, No. 9 Angelique Kerber, 2011 U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur, No. 14 Ana Ivanovic, No. 26 Lucie Safarova, No. 28 Flavia Pennetta, No. 30 Eugenie Bouchard and No. 31 Daniela Hantuchova. Eighth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka, who won the recent Chennai Open, was the first man into the next round, advancing after just 15 games when Andrey Golubev retired with an injured left leg. Cristiano Ronaldo wins FIFA best player award ZURICH (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo has won the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for 2013, ending Lionel Messi's fouryear run as the world's best player. Ronaldo scored 69 goals for Real Madrid and Portugal last year, and his stunning hat trick against Sweden in a decisive World Cup playoff was perhaps the defining individual performance. ''There are no words to describe this moment,'' said Ronaldo, who was sobbing in tears after he accepting the trophy with his young son, also named Cristiano, beside him on stage. He beat out Barcelona's Messi and France winger Franck Ribery, who helped Bayern Munich to a sweep of major titles. Germany dominated the other major trophies, with goalkeeper Nadine Angerer getting the women's award ahead of United States forward Abby Wambach, last year's winner, and Marta of Brazil. Tehama Tracker Today's schedule BOYS BASKETBALL Red Bluff at Central Valley, 7:30 p.m. Mercy at Chester, 7:30 p.m. GIRLS BASKETBALL Chico at Red Bluff, 7:30 p.m. Mercy at Chester, 6 p.m. BOYS SOCCER Corning at University Prep, 3:15 p.m. Los Molinos at Williams, 3:15 p.m. GIRLS SOCCER Corning at University Prep, 3:15 p.m. NBA Sacramento at Indiana, 4 p.m. NHL San Jose at Washington, 4 p.m. Sports on TV MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL • 4 p.m., ESPN — Wisconsin at Indiana • 4 p.m., ESPN2 — Oklahoma at Kansas St. • 4 p.m., FS1 — St. John's at DePaul • 6 p.m., ESPN — Kentucky at Arkansas • 6 p.m., FS1 — Butler at Creighton NBA • 4 p.m., CSNC — Sacramento at Indiana NHL • 4 p.m., CSNC — San Jose at Washington • 4:30 p.m., NBCSN — Philadelphia at Buffalo TENNIS • 6 p.m., ESPN2 — Australian Open, second round, at Melbourne, Australia • Midnight, ESPN2 — Australian Open, second round, at Melbourne, Australia Tuesday January 14, 2014 49ers gear up for tough return trip to Seattle AP photo The San Francisco 49ers will visit CenturyLink Field in Seattle for the NFC Championship. SANTA CLARA (AP) — Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers have conquered the bitter cold of Green Bay and the travails of a cross-country flight to Carolina. Now they face their toughest test yet to get back to the Super Bowl: the deafening noise of Seattle's 12th man home crowd and that swarming Seahawks defense that thoroughly shut down the reigning NFC champion Niners in Week 2. ''Our team has been in a lot of good primers, been through a lot of situations, been through tough environments, whether it be weather or opposing stadiums,'' coach Jim Harbaugh said Monday. ''This team has been in a lot of situations. Been everywhere, man. Just like something from a Johnny Cash song, 'We've been everywhere man.''' In what has emerged as arguably the NFL's best rivalry, San Francisco is on an impressive roll riding an eight-game winning streak as it returns to the Pacific Northwest for Sunday's NFC title game — the 49ers' third in as many years. It's the trip everyone has envisioned for months now since it became clear Seattle would win the NFC West and secure the No. 1 seed. ''Long story short: They know us, we know them,'' linebacker NaVorro Bowman said. ''We got to go there. We all know the history. But this is the Super Bowl. Everything is on the ''This team has been in a lot of situations. Been everywhere, man. Just like something from a Johnny Cash song, 'We've been everywhere man.''' — San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh line. That says it all. We're ready. That's all it comes down to.'' The 49ers (14-4) have committed seven turnovers and been outscored 71-16 in their last two trips to Seattle, including an embarrassing 29-3 defeat in September. The memory of those visits stings. Yet a lot has changed in four months since San Francisco last traveled some 800 miles up the Pacific Coast to face its archrival, such as the 49ers' 19-17 victory against the Seahawks last month at Candlestick Park. That game showed this team it can go back to Seattle this time and leave with a different result even if it thunders and rains all afternoon. ''Oh, man, this is everything. We've worked hard,'' linebacker Ahmad Brooks said. ''Now we need to capitalize on what we've been doing all year.'' Be prepared from some high-octane trash talking from both sides — and even from that raucous, tremorcausing home crowd. Seattle's secondary loves to chirp, and 49ers wideout Anquan Boldin has been talking after the play at any chance in recent weeks. ''It's playoff football. It gets chippy between two great teams,'' right guard Alex Boone said. ''I wouldn't expect anything less.'' Kaepernick improved to 4-1 in the postseason — 3-0 on the road — with Sunday's 23-10 victory at Carolina, while Harbaugh became the first coach since the NFL's 1970 merger to lead his team to the NFC title game in each of his first three years. Kaepernick will look to bounce back from a forgettable September performance at CenturyLink Field. San Francisco lost two fumbles and Kaepernick threw three interceptions in Week 2. On Dec. 23, 2012, a 42-13 Seattle home win, Kaepernick had an interception and the Niners lost a fumble. ''We're a different team than we were the first time we played them up there,'' Kaepernick said. ''We have a lot of key playmakers back and we're ready to go.'' Three of those are Boldin, Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis. The addition of Crabtree to the mix since his Dec. 1 return from a six-month recovery from Achilles tendon surgery has changed San Francisco's offense and passing game. Frank Gore's ability to run the 49ers right back to a second straight Super Bowl will play a big part in the outcome Sunday, too. He rushed for 84 yards on 17 carries facing a Carolina front seven among the best in football Sunday, but was held to 16 yards on nine carries at Seattle on Sept. 15. Safety Donte Whitner speaks of the need to ''take it away from them'' in Seattle, where the Seahawks opened as 3-point favorites and the line moved to 3 1/2 points Monday. ''We don't want it to end for us. We understand that we have to go up there in a hostile environment with a really good football team and do what a lot of people probably aren't going to pick us to do,'' Whitner said. ''That's OK with us. We understand what we have to do.'' Notes: Harbaugh said the medical staff was reviewing the MRI results on FB Will Tukuafu's injured left knee, but didn't have an update. ''I'm encouraged how he's moving around,'' Harbaugh said. ''We'll have more information on that.''... Harbaugh's grandfather, Joe Cipiti, died Sunday morning in Ohio. Harbaugh won't make the memorial service Friday, saying that's ''a bit of a crushing blow there.'' PREP ROUNDUP BOYS BASKETBALL Corning The Cardinals fell 42-39 to Orland in the title game of their own Corning Shootout tournament Saturday. Corning led 31-26 after the third period, but couldn't hold off the Trojans, who got 28 points from Kavi Ram. Corning beat Willows 63-40 in the semifinals Friday The Cardinals opened the tournament with a 64-31 win over Durham. Red Bluff The Spartans took third place at the Dennis Burnam Classic in Oroville. Red Bluff beat Paradise 59-32 in the opening round before falling to Casa Roble (Orangevale) 47-46 in the semifinals. The Spartans bounced back by beating Mesa Verde (Citrus Heights) 68-59 on Saturday. Los Molinos Cheater beat the Bulldogs 65-55 Friday night. GIRLS BASKETBALL Hannah Rogers made six steals and scored seven points. Vanessa Cota had five steals and two points. BOYS SOCCER Red Bluff West Valley crushed Red Bluff 71 Friday. Kason Strickland had a hat trick for West Valley and David Iniquez Red Bluff The Lady Spartans lost in the title game of the New Year's Hoops Tournament to hosts West Valley 59-50 Saturday. Red Bluff beat University Prep 5025 in the opening round then defeated Anderson 65-48 in the semifinals. Los Molinos The Lady Bulldogs beat Chester 4320 Friday night. Clarivel Castillo had 23 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks and four steals to lead Los Molinos. The Bulldogs outscored Chester 212 in the second quarter. Crystal Sanchez collected 12 rebounds to go along with four steals, three assists and five points. scored twice. GIRLS SOCCER Corning The Lady Cardinals beat Anderson 2-0 Thursday. Patricia Ibarra had both the goals for Corning. Kaitlyn Huntley made six saves for the shutout. Red Bluff Kaylyn Stirton scored in the first half and West Valley held on for a 1-0 win over Red Bluff Friday.