BRISBANE, Australia -- American Serena Williams injured her left ankle Wednesday at the Brisbane International in what looms as a major setback for her Australian Open preparations. Ahmad Brooks Black Jersey . Williams is making her first trip Down Under since winning the 2010 Australian Open and playing a tournament for the first time since losing last years U.S. Open final. She was serving for the match with a 6-2, 5-3 lead against Serbias Bojana Jovanovski when she twisted her ankle and crashed heavily to the court. The 13-time Grand Slam winner needed treatment as she lay near the baseline for several minutes and then had the ankle re-taped before resuming the match and losing the next point to surrender a service break. Williams limped through the next game, wincing in pain after at least two points, before securing a 6-2, 6-4 win to advance to the quarter-finals. She left the court without commenting and tournament officials said she was being examined by a doctor. Williams has been troubled by injuries for much of the past two seasons and spent long periods on the sidelines. Sam Stosur, who beat Williams in the U.S. Open final last September, lost 6-4, 6-2 to Iveta Benesova in the preceding match on centre court. Stosur has never advanced beyond the second round at her home tournament. It was the 28-year-old Benesovas fourth win over a top-10 player. The No. 54-ranked Czech player had never taken a set off Stosur in four previous matches but now finds herself in a quarter-final against Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters of Belgium. "Hopefully it was just a bad day and I will bounce back next week and the week after," Stosur said of her Australian Open preparations. "I dont want to dwell on it. "Its not the ideal start but I am not going to panic and think its all lost." Estonias Kaia Kanepi beat seventh-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 6-0, 6-3 in another womens match. On the mens side, second-seeded Gilles Simon of France beat Australian teenager James Duckworth 6-3, 7-5, and sixth-seeded Radek Stepanek of Czech Republic had a 7-6 (3), 6-2 win over Finlands Jarkko Nieminen. Dan Skuta Black Jersey . Bryan Murray made an announcement after the GMs meetings - and as was reported by Pierre LeBrun a couple of weeks ago - that Jason Spezza wants a trade out of Ottawa. Whats the latest on that? Pierre LeBrun: Yes, he made it public. Perrish Cox 49ers Jersey . Louis Blues remain at the top spot of the TSN.The Winnipeg Jets have agreed to terms with forward Scott Kosmachuk on a three-year, two-way, entry level contract. The 19-year-old will earn an average annual salary of $925,000. Kosmachuk played in 34 games with the OHLs Guelph Storm this season, recording 25 goals and 23 assists with 56 penalty minutes. The Torontto, ON, native currently sits second among his teammates in points and first overall in goals. Deion Sanders Jersey. He has played in 237 career games with the Storm over four seasons for 96 goals and 97 assists. He was originally drafted by the Jets in the third round, 70th overall, in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. ' ' '