The best possible storyline for the fall segment of the WTA was ruined when Serena Williams, citing a sore shoulder, pulled out of two tournaments leading up to the season-ending WTA Tour Championships.However, the plot that developed over the past few weeks in Asia isnt a bad substitute. Its coming to a head this week at the China Open, one of just four elite Premier Mandatory WTA events this year.Angelique Kerber towers at No. 1 with a massive lead in the rankings; shes undoubtedly queen of all she surveys. But palace intrigue is percolating in the halls surrounding her chambers. And the plotters are all gathered around her in Beijing.Petra Kvitova, who came within a whiff of earning the No. 1 ranking (including the year-end No. 1) way back in 2011, is a two-time Wimbledon champion who has a habit of popping up at the least convenient times for her rivals. Garbine Muguruza, the French Open champion, is looking to reprise her 2015 role as an October terror. Agnieszka Radwanska surprised everyone when her sly game kicked in once again last fall and carried her to the best win of her career in the WTA Finals in Singapore. Her victim? Kvitova.All the women mentioned above are seasoned, accomplished pros who have either failed or been denied the prize Kerber holds in the top ranking. Only Kvitova has as many Grand Slam titles, but even she did not earn them with the same degree of fanfare as the 28-year-old German.Kerber didnt leapfrog over her peers to great acclaim because of the things she won, but because of how and when she won them. Kerber had to meet Williams at the summit of two Grand Slam events this year (Australian Open and Wimbledon) in order to be in position to tear the No. 1 ranking from her grip. They split those matches, which was good enough. When Karolina Pliskova upset Williams at the US Open, Kerber took full advantage. She won the tournament and became No. 1.Kerbers three Grand Slam final appearances and her heroics inadvertently dimmed the luster of the other contenders accomplishments. Can you blame any of them for wanting a little payback or at least to bring Kerber down a peg or two? After all, shes doing damage to the theory of WTA parity, and the cozy idea that there really isnt any woman ready to step in and rule anything like Williams did.The most dangerous threat to Kerber might be Kvitova, who bested her in one of the best WTA matches of 2016 less than a week ago in Wuhan, China. Kvitova, who had been a disappointment all year, won that high-quality three-set, 3-hour-and-20-minute clash because she found a precision and consistency she often lacks. The win leveled their head-to-head at five wins apiece.I really didnt think I played the best against Angie, Kvitova said to the press afterward. I did play two matches before and three matches afterwards much better than against Angie.As far as bulletin-board material goes, thats pretty good stuff. But its unlikely Kerber would get distracted by it. She was cool in the aftermath of the loss, telling the press: We played on a really high level for the whole three hours. There are no losers today. Of course, she won the last point, but I think the match was just decided in one, two points, and thats it.Muguruza might also like to get a crack at Kerber, and not only because of the shade the new German hero has thrown on Muguruzas French Open win. Last year at this time, the 22-year-old Spanish power baseliner came off a loss in the Wuhan final and then won Beijing. It capped a fall resurgence that left Muguruza, the Wimbledon finalist, with her status restored. Her ranking shot to No. 3 for the start of 2016.Theres a special urgency to Beijing for Muguruza this week, because she hasnt gotten comparable traction this fall. She won just one match after the US Open before she opened her defense in Beijing over the weekend. A win in Beijing and the final Premier grade event in Moscow could save her fall. But its a big ask.Radwanska bears watching. Shes beaten Kerber six times in 11 matches, but they havent played since Radwanska knocked her out of Beijing in last years quarterfinals. Muguruza stopped Radwanskas run that week, but the 27-year-old Pole, now ranked No. 4, avenged herself in the knockout semifinals in Singapore a few weeks later.Turning the tables, late surges and October surprises -- all of them feature in the fall scenario, especially with Williams out of action. Shes not merely absent now, shes deposed. Kerber, her successor, may soon learn it isnt easy being queen. Cheap Air Max Online . Fernandez, coached in Toronto by former two-time Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser, scored 267.11 points and is the first champion to successfully defend since Russias Evgeny Plushenko in 2005 and 2006. 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Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. CHICAGO -- Theo Riddick had nowhere to run, all day long. Marvin Jones Jr. was bottled up for most of the afternoon. Golden Tate had a costly mistake.The Detroit Lions have seen what their offense can do when its clicking. They also have struggled with inconsistency, like Sunday against the Chicago Bears.Detroit had just 66 yards rushing, and quarterback Matthew Stafford had the longest run of the day with a 15-yard scramble in the third quarter. Jones was held to 74 yards on five catches after beginning the week with an NFL-best 408 yards receiving. Tate missed a signal late in the first half, leading to an interception that cost the Lions three points.Yeah, we just did not play well, Stafford said after Detroits 17-14 loss at Soldier Field . Too many mistakes, myself included -- we got to get it right.Detroit began the season with a wild 39-35 victory at Indianapolis, with Stafford throwing for three touchdowns while directing the Lions to 448 yards on offense. But it has been mostly downhill since the successful opener.The Lions scored three points in the second half of a 16-15 loss to Tennessee in their home debut Sept. 18. They managed just 50 yards rushing in a 34-27 loss at Green Bay last weekend, and then came the lackluster effort at Chicago.We have to be a better team running the football, coach Jim Caldwell said. We had our spurts, a couple of games we did very well, and our last two were poor. We have to get better there.Detroit gained 33 yards on the ground on its first drive of the third quarter against the Bears, but that was pretty much the extent of its rushing attack. And that drive ended with a field goal when Zach Zenner was stuffed for a 2-yard loss on third-and-goal from the 1.Its not as if the Lions were facing a stout rushing defense, either. The Bears allowed 199 yards ruushing in a 31-17 loss at Dallas last weekend and were ranked 30th against the run.dddddddddddde just got to come out and execute in the beginning and well be all right, said Riddick, who finished with a team-high 31 yards on 11 carries.The Lions lost running back Dwayne Washington to an ankle injury in the first half, but Caldwell brushed off the impact on the rushing attack.I would probably say it was more so that we were just ineffective, regardless of who we had back there, Caldwell said.The Lions also hurt themselves in the passing game. They looked as if they were driving for another score late in the first half when Tate headed upfield and Stafford threw as if he expected the veteran receiver to break off his route, leading to an easy interception for Jacoby Glenn.Just a silly mistake on my part, Tate said. Ill own up to that. Just missed a signal. That cost us three points. Its tough. Its tough. That cant happen in this offense and this team expects more out of me, so I got to be on point. But I just, I missed a signal.Stafford threw another interception deep in Chicago territory in the second half.The good news for the Lions is they begin a three-game homestand next Sunday against Philadelphia, and five of their next seven games are at Ford Field. But Tate said they have to cut down on the mistakes to get back on track offensively.One mistake here by one guy and another there is too many, Tate said. We arent in sync right now. But we know were good. We know were good and we just got to all click at the same time every single play.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap ' ' '