THOMAS GODOJ & BAND AKTUELL » Giorgi had 48 unforced errors

CHICAGO -- Pau Gasol talked to Joakim Noah when the Chicago Bulls travelled to Los Angeles to recruit the free-agent centre. He spoke with Derrick Rose over the phone, and Mike Dunleavy also reached out to the 7-foot veteran. What Gasol found was a hungry team in search of a championship, and it was enough to convince the skilled Spaniard to trade the warmth of Southern California for the cold winters of the Windy City. Gasol and newcomer Nikola Mirotic were at the United Center on Friday for a pair of press conferences announcing their new contracts. The 34-year-old Gasol begins his 14th NBA season with career averages of 18.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists, and the 6-10 Mirotic joins the Bulls after a successful final season with Real Madrid. "It was a gut feeling. I thought Chicago was going to be the best fit for me," Gasol said. "Its a great challenge, but Im driven by challenge. I look forward to it." Gasol began his career with Memphis and was traded to Los Angeles in February 2008. He formed a strong bond with Kobe Bryant while helping the Lakers to three consecutive NBA Finals from 2008-10, winning the title the last two of those years. Weighing interest from NBA champion San Antonio and Oklahoma City among other teams, Gasol said his conversations with Noah and Rose helped sway him to Chicago. Noah was the leagues defensive player of the year last season, and Rose is coming back from a pair of knee injuries which kept the 2011 MVP out for much of the last two seasons. "How humble they were, I think thats real important to be able to not have big egos, that makes things a lot easier," Gasol said. "Their passion, their hunger as well. Theyre hungry. Theyre hungry to win, thats something that I wanted to also come into, to be a part of a hungry team." Rose played only 10 games last season before he was shelved for the year by a torn meniscus in his right knee. Chicago still managed to win 48 games and make the playoffs, where it lost to Washington in the first round. Rose is expected to return this season, and the addition of Gasol and Mirotic should give Chicago one of the deepest frontcourts in the league. Noah set career highs with 12.6 points, 11.3 and 5.4 assists per game last year, and Taj Gibson blossomed into one of the leagues top reserves. The Bulls used the amnesty clause to cut Carlos Boozer on Tuesday, leaving an opening in the starting lineup. But coach Tom Thibodeau isnt sure what the lineup is going to look like just yet. "I dont know how its going to unfold," he said, "you know, who will be the starter, whos finishing? Maybe we change as we go. Were going to see once we get everyone out there together. Were always going to do whats best for the team." Gasol, a Barcelona native, also should be able to help with Mirotics transition to the NBA. The 23-year-old Mirotic, who was acquired in a 2011 draft-night deal with Minnesota, averaged 12.4 points while shooting 46 per cent from 3-point range last season with Real Madrid. Mirotic, a stretch power forward who has drawn comparisons to sharpshooters Hedo Turkoglu and Ryan Anderson, was believed to be one of the top players in the world outside of the NBA. "I strongly believe that I am ready for this challenge," Mirotic said through an interpreter. Gasol, Mirotic and first-round draft pick Doug McDermott address one of Chicagos biggest problems from a year ago. The Bulls had the NBAs top defence last season, allowing 91.8 points per game, but they also averaged a league-low 93.7 points. "I think weve added shooting. Of course, getting Derrick back is a huge piece," Thibodeau said. "So it depends how it all fits together. We wont know until we get out there." Cheap Air Max 1 Online Australia . 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Air Max 1 Outlet Australia . -- Two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana agreed Tuesday to a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles as he tries to come back from the second major operation on his left shoulder. INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Defending champions Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova were upset in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open on Monday. First, Sharapova went down to qualifier Camila Giorgi, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, giving the young Italian her first victory over a top-five player. Then, Nadal followed on the main stadium court, losing 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) to Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine. Nadal staged a furious rally in the third. He won three straight games, including a break of Dolgopolov, to tie it at 5. Both players held serve to send the match into the tiebreaker. They slugged it out from the baseline accompanied by a noisy soundtrack, with fans yelling and cheering. Los Angeles Lakers star Pau Gasol watched nervously from Nadals box. Nadal led 4-2 before Dolgopolov won three straight points to take a 5-4 lead. The Ukrainian hit two forehand winners and came up with a big service winner. "I had enough breaks to win the match, but I didnt play enough well from the baseline then to be solid with my serve," Nadal said. "I didnt go for the points. I played with too many mistakes." Nadal evened it at 5-all, but he hit the ball long to set up match point. Dolgopolov served what he thought was an ace, but it was called out. He challenged the call and it showed the ball barely missed tagging the T. Dolgopolov put his second serve into play and produced a cross-court forehand that the worlds top-ranked player couldnt return. "Its a moment for the people to be proud a little bit for someone from their country," Dolgopolov said, referring to the political upheaval going on between Ukraine and Russia. "Its good to make some results and make the people forget a little bit and have some happy moments in the news." Dolgopolov had more errors (49) than winners (36). Last month, Nadal defeated Dolgopolov to win the Rio de Janeiro title. The Ukrainian has risen quickly in the ATP Tour rankings, going from No. 57 to 31st after a strong February, posting three wins against top-20 players in Rio and made the semifinals in Acapulco. Before Nadal was sent packing, Sharapova committed 58 errors in her first loss to a player ranked ouutside the top 30 since Wimbledon last year.dddddddddddd "Shes someone that doesnt give you much rhythm," Sharapova said. "Shes quite aggressive, but some shots she hits incredible for a long period of time. Sometimes they go off a bit. If Im speaking about my level, it was nowhere near where it should have been." Ranked 79th in the world, Giorgi made it through qualifying to play Indian Wells for the first time. She improved to 3-2 against top-10 opponents. The 22-year-old led 4-2 in the final set, but Sharapova broke Giorgi twice to tie it at 5. "I was trying to just play my game, and maybe I accelerate more than the other set," Giorgi said. "I just play more aggressive." Giorgi then broke Sharapova at love before serving out the match, overcoming her 11th double fault to set up match point. Giorgi had 48 unforced errors and 24 winners. Awaiting Giorgi in the fourth round will be fellow Italian Flavia Pennetta, who beat No. 16 seed Sam Stosur 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. American Sloane Stephens was to play Ana Ivanovic, and Tommy Haas took on Kei Nishikori of Japan in night matches. Tied 4-all in the third, Sharapova was broken when her forehand was called long and Sharapova raised her arms. The chair umpire took the gesture to mean Sharapova was challenging the call, and the call showed the ball was out. Sharapova argued she was only throwing her arms up as if to ask, "Who made the call?" But the umpire disagreed, and Sharapova retreated to her sideline chair trailing 5-4. Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka routed 29th-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-0, 6-2. Andy Murray outlasted Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-4 in his second straight three-set match, and four-time tourney champion Roger Federer defeated 27th-seeded Dmitry Tursunov of Russia 7-6 (7), 7-6 (2) with an ace on match point. Murray had 47 of the 99 unforced errors during the nearly three-hour match in the 80-plus-degree heat of the Southern California desert. The third set featured six service breaks, with Murray taking the last two. Top-seeded Li Na defeated Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-4. ' ' '