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23.09.2019 15:29
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NEW YORK -- Not many people had Stan Wawrinka and Angelique Kerber down to win the mens and womens titles at the US Open.Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams were both toppled in what was an eventful fortnight in Queens, to say the least.Here are the 10 biggest takeaways from Flushing Meadows:Time for a Big Five?As Wawrinka showed off his new trinket, John McEnroe said on the ESPN telecast that perhaps now it is time we expanded the Big Four to the Big Five.The Swiss has now matched Andy Murray by winning his third major title, and he looks far more likely to win another one sooner than the injured, aging Roger Federer and the dwindling Rafael Nadal.Wawrinka is now just a Wimbledon title away from completing the career Grand Slam, too -- he proved at Flushing Meadows that he deserves to be included in the conversation when talking about the games active greats.Time to change treatment rules?ESPN commentator Patrick McEnroe was not happy with what he perceived to be gamesmanship from Djokovic. The Serb looked to be struggling with leg cramps but took a medical timeout at 3-1 down in the fourth set for what he said was a foot injury, just before Wawrinka was due to serve.Sorry man, Djokovic said to a complaining Wawrinka. I couldnt stand. The world No. 1 took off both of his shoes and had his toes taped by the trainer.But McEnroe was not buying it. Complete abuse of the rules, he said on the broadcast. Its up to the officials to do something about it. They just dont have the guts to do it. Thats the bottom line.Trainers are not allowed to be called on court to treat cramps alone, according to ATP rules, and can only be summoned to provide treatment for an acute medical conditionon changeovers.Wawrinka had to save a break point when play resumed, but he was able to close out the 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 win after 3 hours, 55 minutes.Clock ticking for SerenaSo, Serena is human, after all.Losing to Kerber in the Australian Open final and Garbine Muguruza in the French Open final seemed like mere blips when she claimed her seventh Wimbledon title.But what once seemed unthinkable finally came true when she limped out in the semifinals to Karolina Pliskova here, surrendering her No. 1 ranking to Kerber, the eventual champion.Had she made it to the final and beaten Kerber, Williams would have broken two of Steffi Grafs records. The American would have overtaken the Germans previously unbeaten 186 consecutive weeks at the top of the rankings, and her Open-era best of 22 Grand Slam titles.Williams will turn 35 later this month and is seemingly finding it harder to recover between matches, having appeared to struggle after a quick turnaround from her quarterfinal Wednesday night.I wasnt tired from yesterdays match, she said after her defeat to Pliskova. Im a professional player; been playing for over 20 years. If I cant turn around after 24 hours and play again then I shouldnt be on tour.Missing out on the calendar Grand Slam last year may had a bigger effect on her mentally than first thought, too -- she may not get another shot at it, with her air of invincibility now fading.Kerber can be the new queenWith Williams absent, Kerber and Pliskova put on a thrilling final in Arthur Ashe Stadium and suggested they could be the two big faces of the womens game going forward.Kerber also became the first female player since Serena to win multiple majors in a single year with her three-set victory.Serena, for me, is one of the best players in the world. She is a great person and a great champion, said the German.What she did for the sport, its just incredible. Im trying to go my own way and trying to enjoy now every single moment with my second Grand Slam. Its one of my best years, so I will just try to continue this and just trying, as well, to improving my game and my personality, as well.Just taking the next steps in the next tournaments.Throw in Muguruza, the French Open champion who endured early exits at Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows, and Serena has a huge challenge on her hands to re-establish her dominance.Murray must learn from his mistakesMurray was the man in form arriving at the US Open, with 22 wins from his previous 23 matches, a Wimbledon title and a second straight Olympic gold medal.But those efforts took their toll on the 29-year-olds body.After a few days away, I would imagine Id be very happy with how I have done and learn from this match and the summer as a whole, Murray said after his shocking quarterfinal defeat to Kei Nishikori.Its been tough. Its been a hard summer. Im happy with how its gone. Theres just a few things I could do differently next time.Murrays biggest mistake was agreeing to play in Cincinnati on the heels of his triumphant run in Rio. Perhaps he was just not expecting to make it all the way to the final in the Masters event, where he lost to Marin Cilic.I pushed myself as hard as I could over the last few months, and Im very proud of how I have done, he added. If someone had offered me the summer Ive had before Wimbledon, I probably wouldve signed for that.Rafa has work to doRafael Nadal must keep improving to get back to where his game was.It was unlikely he would challenge for the title, here, given the wrist injury that caused him to withdraw from the French Open after his second-round match and miss Wimbledon. But the 14-time major champion was expected to go further than the round of 16, where he lost a five-set thriller to No. 25 Lucas Pouille.I have the motivation to keep working, he said. Took a long time, a lot of hours, a lot of spirit of sacrifice to be back where I was before the injury this year. Was tough. And now I need to come back there. I dont start from zero. Thats a positive thing. I am closer than last year to be where I want to be.Currently ranked sixth in the ATP Race to London, Nadal must finish the season strong and ensure qualification for the World Tour Finals.That will be a good effort if I make that happen after two months and a half without competition, he added. I going to fight for it.Del Potro can be a threat againAfter three wrist surgeries in the past two and a half years, Juan Martin del Potro began his latest comeback in February ranked 1045 in the world.Today the 2009 US Open champion will be confirmed as the new No. 63 after his stunning fairy-tale run as a wild card to the quarterfinals was ended by Wawrinka.Moving forward, the 6-foot-6 Argentine will not just be a feel-good story but a threat at the Grand Slams. He will use his excellent summer as a springboard for the 2017 season, when a return to the top 10 seems inevitable providing he stays healthy.Never will ask for wild card anymore, he said, smiling. I need to just to stay healthy and wait for the preseason to get 100 percent for next year. Im already top 100, so thats good. And everything here is positive for me. Im so glad for that.Federers absence feltA US Open without five-time champion Roger Federer just feels a little less special.The 17-time major winner missed his first Grand Slam for 17 years after a back injury ruled him out at Roland Garros. His misfortune continued with a knee issue keeping him from competing at Flushing Meadows, and the rest of the season.He has spent his time hiking in the Swiss Alps to take his mind off the pain.Of course it hurts, he told the ATP Tour website during the tournament. I would love to play on Arthur Ashe. I would love to hear the roars of the crowd. Just being in the city would be amazing, being there with all the other players.But he couldnt switch off completely,Im doing fine. Im healthy, and Im enjoying a great time with my family, he added. And I catch myself, very often, checking scores of whats going on.The 35-year-olds time on the tennis court may be coming to an end quicker than we thought, but it bodes well for the game to see that he is still so engaged with it despite his absence -- tennis without Federer at all in some capacity is a dejecting prospect.Kyrgios can hit great heights if he heeds adviceNick Kyrgios showed glimpses in New York that he can be one of the best players in the world if he puts his mind to it.But he also found himself on the receiving end of some criticism from ESPN commentator John McEnroe, after retiring with a hip injury in his third-round match.Nick Kyrgios, if you dont want to be a professional tennis player, do something else, the seven-time Grand Slam champion said. Hes hurt because hes not training enough.It may have just been McEnroes way of getting through to Kyrgios, from one hothead to another.The Australian appeared to take the advice on. John McEnroe takes a stab, I understand, he tweeted, having pledged after his defeat to unseeded Illya Marchenko to be more diligent with his physical work in the gym going forward.Quiet, pleaseThe new $150 million roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium was both a hit and a miss. While it has an obvious upside, the roof seemed to trap every single noise inside the stadium and magnify it, causing a big distraction to the players.The USTA may have to take a look at how it can solve the problem.Murray was the first player affected by it, when the roof was closed for his second-round match.Im sure if the feedback is that, you know, the TV or the spectators arent enjoying the match as much then they will look into it and try and change it, Murray said afterward. But if its fine on TV, which from what I have heard it is fine on TV -- I dont know what the fans have said about it yet, but the players will adjust. Fake NBA Jerseys 2019 .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Discount Fake NBA Jerseys . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. http://www.fakenbajerseys.com/ . The Croatian served 21 aces and hit 42 winners against Sijsling, who double-faulted to give Cilic a 4-3 lead in the deciding set. "All the players, they know me and they were really happy to see me and they were really happy that this is over for me," Cilic said. Fake Nike NBA Jerseys . Barcelona also left injured defenders Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba out of its squad for the trip to Glasgow. That means that Marc Bartra will probably start again in the centre of the defence alongside Gerard Pique. Fake NBA Jerseys Sale . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- They are four fighting brothers, each proudly bearing a version of their fathers name. They strategize and train and compete together out of their Maryland gym, relentlessly applying teamwork to a profoundly individual sport.We believe in dynasty, said Gary Russell Jr., the oldest member of this fighting fraternity.And eight years after Gary Jr. left the Beijing Olympics without throwing a punch, felled by an unsuccessful weight cut, youngest brother Gary Antuanne Russell is headed to Rio de Janeiro to make it right.The U.S. teams light welterweight has coveted a medal since he watched his brothers failed attempt in 2008. He wants the Russell name to be associated with Olympic greatness before he joins Gary Jr., the WBC featherweight champion, in the pros.Gary Jr. wants Antuanne, who often goes by his middle name for obvious reasons, to fight in Brazil for himself, not his family.Antuanne doesnt really see a difference.I got the luxury to see what he did bad and what he did correct on this journey that were on, Antuanne said. I see the mistakes he made, and I see it in all of my older brothers. I get to make corrections. I should be more pure at the end of everything. I believe that theyve given me a certain desire, a certain integrity and higher morals. Its made me a stronger person.These Russells make no small plans and no minor pronouncements.While Gary Jr. fashioned a 27-1 professional career and won his title belt last year, he closely monitored the development of 20-year-old Antuanne, now a year removed from being the valedictorian of his high school.He has the ability to be better than every last one of us, Gary Jr. said recently while his brother worked out at the Olympic Training Center. Hes the youngest. He gets to see. I was the first prototype, and you see the outcome of what we do. My younger brother under me, of course were going to give him everything it is that I have, and then build on top of that. I feel as though he has much more to offer than we did.Gary Jr. spent two weeks in Colorado with Antuanne before the U.S. teams departure for Rio last week, putting his brother through hours of extra workouts beyond his daily grind with the American coaches. Both Russell brothers still rely on Gary Sr., who also went to Colorado Springs for extra work before Antuannes departure..dddddddddddd.Gary Jr. collapsed the night before his Olympic weigh-in eight years ago, unable to cut the final ounces necessary to compete at the 119-pound limit.I was definitely one of the favorites, but it wasnt my calling to compete in the Olympic Games, Gary Jr. said. My younger brother, of course he feels that hes living through me to a certain extent by avenging everything that happened, but I dont want him to do that. I want him to live for him. When he wins, we all win.The brothers followed strikingly similar paths to reach the games. Both lost their first bouts at the Olympic trials and had to fight their way back in the difficult challengers bracket to claim their berths. They attribute that mental toughness to the years spent together in training along with Gary Antonio, a 7-0 pro, and Gary Allan, who now corners Gary Jr.Were competing, but its an unspoken thing, Antuanne said. Not on a negative tip, but just wanting to be better, wanting to improve ourselves, and I think thats amazing, how that works. Its weird, but it works.While the similarities between the oldest and youngest fighting Russells are striking, the differences are clear. Antuanne, thicker and more imposing than his speedy, leonine brother, fights at 141 pounds, 15 more than his older brothers current featherweight limit.But their cerebral, comprehensive approach to boxing is similar, and Gary Jr. thinks that Antuannes ring smarts arent completely due to training.Thats a genetic thing, Gary Jr. said. Thats something thats inherited. And its not just the boxing information thats inherited and being passed down. Boxing is something that we do. Its not who we are. Its a big difference.Antuanne expects to turn pro shortly after the Olympics, and the brothers already anticipate fighting on the same cards. Antuannes style will translate well to the pro game because his big brother has already refined it for challenges ahead far beyond Rio.But first, Antuanne has to finish the fight that his brother started.I want to be a hero, like hes been to me, Antuanne said. He set the bar. I could have won a Golden Gloves tournament and just been content, but Im not fine with that. I want to reach all of these high expectations. ' ' ' |
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