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to a second successive final.But whe
in Out of Line 13.04.2018 14:23von dasg234 • | 2.253 Beiträge
LONDON -- No matter how Wimbledon turns out, both Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro will always have their spot in one of the most memorable matches in the storied history of the All England Club. Slugging back and forth over 4 hours, 43 minutes of withering, backbreaking tennis, the top-seeded Djokovic emerged with a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (8), 6-3 victory over del Potro on Friday to move one victory away from his seventh major title. "One of the best matches Ive been a part of," Djokovic said. "One of the most exciting definitely. It was so close. You couldnt separate us. Exciting." On Sunday, Djokovic will play second-seeded Andy Murray, who defeated No. 24 Jerzy Janowicz 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 to make his second straight Wimbledon final and move one win away from becoming the first British man in 77 years to capture his countrys home tournament. This will be their third meeting in the last four Grand Slam finals. Murray won at the U.S. Open last year and Djokovic won in Australia this year. On Murrays mind every bit as much, however, will be his 7-5, 7-5 win on Centre Court last year in the Olympic semifinals. "Ill take that thought to my head when we play on Sunday," Murray said. With skies starting to darken, the Murray match was interrupted for a half-hour while the roof was closed over Centre Court. Murray protested the delay, saying there was still sunlight left. He had other reasons, too. He had just rolled off five straight games to close out the third set after falling behind 4-1. "Its a tough situation," Murray said. "There were probably 45 minutes of light left. Id like to think this is an outdoor event and you try to play as much as you can outdoors. But I managed to regain focus. I took a shower, talked to the guys a little bit and got back to it." The late finish came courtesy of what had been billed as the undercard, but turned into something much better. Del Potro and Djokovic played the longest semifinal in Wimbledon history. The match came up only five minutes short of the 2008 five-set final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal thats generally considered the greatest match played on Centre Court -- and perhaps anywhere. Djokovic and del Potro spent the entire, sundrenched afternoon exchanging huge groundstrokes, long rallies and even a few laughs during their marathon, which covered five sets, 55 games, two tiebreakers and 368 points. "I think this match is going to be memory for a few years," del Potro said. "We play for four hours and a half on a very high level. We didnt make too many errors. I dont know if the rest of the players can play like us today." Del Potro, back in a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time since winning the 2009 U.S. Open, saved two match points in the fourth-set tiebreaker, then won the final four points to take it 8-6. Shortly after, the match hit the 4-hour mark, guaranteeing it would surpass the 1989 match between Boris Becker and Ivan Lendl -- a 4:01 affair -- as the longest semifinal in Wimbledons long history. Its not the first time Djokovic has been involved in one of these. His 2012 Australian Open victory over Nadal lasted 5:53. Only a month ago, Nadal outlasted Djokovic at Roland Garros in a semifinal that went 4:37. "When you feel good physically, when you know youre fit and you dont feel a huge fatigue, that gives you mental confidence, obviously," Djokovic said. Sliding on the grass-turned-dirt behind the baseline, doing the occasional splits and, at one point, diving for a shot, then laying on the ground, face-down in despair, Djokovic put on a stellar show, filled with 80 winners but also lots of counterpunching, always making his opponent hit one more shot. Despite the pressure of the match, both players took it for what it was: sports entertainment at its finest. Del Potro played to the crowd and also exchanged a few fun back-and-forths with his opponent. In the sixth game of the fourth set, the Argentine chased down a drop volley and flicked a forehand down the line. His momentum carried him to the other side of the court and the shot was called out. Should he challenge? "He asked me, Whats going on? I said, Listen, if I was you, I would challenge," Djokovic recounted. "He said, No, but you know its out and dont waste my challenge. I said, OK, you decide whatever you want. But truly, Im not lying to you." All this was done with smiles on their faces. Del Potro opted against the challenge but won the fourth set anyway, putting his 4-6 lifetime record in five-setters against Djokovics mark of 18-7. Djokovics fitness played a big role in landing him the decisive break in the fifth set. It came with del Potro serving behind 4-3. With the score 15-all, Djokovic hit a drop shot-lob combo to close out a breathtaking 22-shot rally. Del Potro dropped his hands onto his knees and clearly hadnt regained his wind on the next point, when he sliced an easy backhand into the net. Two points later, Djokovic had the break, and the 5-3 lead. He saved a break point in the final game by hitting an off-balance drop shot winner off a del Potro serve return that clipped the net cord. Two points later, Djokovic had his 53rd career win on grass -- 24 more than del Potro. "You can see I played my best tennis ever on grass court," del Potro said, "but was not enough to beat the No. 1 in the world. I was so close." It was quite a taxing stay at Wimbledon for del Potro, who came into the semifinal with his left knee heavily taped, a victim of two nasty slips that sent him tumbling earlier in the tournament. The second fall came two days earlier, on the fifth point of his quarterfinal win over David Ferrer. Del Potro said the trainer gave him a couple of "magic pills" -- anti-inflammatories -- and that kept him going. Against Djokovic, del Potro showed few signs of an aftereffect. Tested throughout the match by a variety of Djokovic drop shots, del Potro got to most. More than once, the Argentine chased the ball from wide of the court on the forehand side to wide of the court on the backhand side. After going wide in the third set to hit one of his 48 winners, del Potro stood on the ledge separating the court from the stands, waiting for a high-5 from one of the fans at courtside. The fans soaked in the del Potro experience, cheering on the underdog as he pushed the worlds best player to the limit. "They help me a lot for fight, to keep trying, keep going," del Potro said. "Of course Im sad now, but in a couple of days, I will see how big the match was." He may also relive some moments hed like to have back. Del Potro had three break points in the third set and couldnt convert any, screaming in frustration when he framed a backhand wide on the third try. Then, trailing 3-2 in the third-set tiebreaker, del Potro failed to put an overhead away and Djokovic slipped and fell on the dirt behind the baseline while throwing up a weak lob. Backpedaling, del Potro couldnt handle the overhead and dropped it in the net. He lost the rest of the points to fall behind by a set. A bit later, Del Potro lost his serve to fall behind 4-3 in the fourth set, but broke right back, finishing the game with a big backhand winner, a guttural grunt and a fist pump. They held serve until the tiebreaker, and when del Potro won that one, he looked like the del Potro of 2009, the man who broke the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic stranglehold on the majors by overcoming a 2-1 deficit against Federer in the U.S. Open final. If he stays healthy, hell certainly be someone to contend with two months from now in New York. But this week, its Djokovic playing for a title after putting on one heck of a show. "I know that I have been pushed to the limit today, as my opponent was also," Djokovic said. "It was one of the most thrilling matches that I have ever played, especially here in Wimbledon." Cheap Josh Manson Jersey . The visitors took a deserved lead in the 16th minute with midfielder Yohan Cabaye curling the ball beyond Adrian from inside the penalty area. Cheap Jean-Sebastien Giguere Jersey . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less. http://www.wholesaleducksjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-antoine-vermette-jersey .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at Boston Strong - a citys recovery from tragedy. Cheap Ryan Miller Jersey . Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months. Cheap Nick Ritchie Jersey . Now, with Game 6 set for Fenway Park and an 8:07 p.m. ET first pitch, the Detroit Tigers face the unenviable task of having to beat the Boston Red Sox twice, on the road, to advance to the World Series. Need a gentle reminder of how Great Britains Davis Cup team hasnt always been touched by greatness? Or a nudge, ahead of this weekends semifinal against Argentina in Glasgow, about how the British public havent always been so heavily invested in the competition?Then you ought to take a moment or two, however distressing this might be, to recall Britains last encounter with Argentina. Played on the red clay of Buenos Aires, that first-round tie in February 2008 at Estadio Parque Roca was one of the most awkward and excruciating episodes in the history of British tennis -- and thats saying something, with no shortage of horrors to pick from.That awkwardness was felt most acutely within the Murray family, with an emotional?Jamie?highly critical of?Andy?for withdrawing from the tie -- which was Britains first in the?elite?World Group for five years -- to avoid a possible injury: It kind of affects the way I feel about him.As their mother Judy observed in the first of Andys memoirs, Jamie was livid.All brothers argue, but not many end up with newspaper headlines exposing the fact splashed all over the world. I felt for both of them; for Andy as all he was trying to do was protect himself from unnecessary injury, and for Jamie as he was thrown into the deep end of a news conference without being properly informed.No doubt, some wont appreciate those memories intruding on this golden age for Britains Davis Cup team, with last years triumph the first since 1936, and then another run this season, too. Even so, its a useful exercise to compare then and now, and to consider how the Murray familys relationship with this competition has changed in the intervening eight years, as well as to appreciate how the British public now think very differently about this competition.If the younger of the Murray brothers had travelled to Buenos Aires, Britain could possibly have beaten Argentina. Without him, captain John Lloyds team had no chance whatsoever, and that defeat provoked some dark thoughts about Britains future in the competition. Never mind whether the British team were capable of winning the tournament for the first time since the 1930s -- when would one of the founding nations ever win another World Group tie, as at that moment in time they hadnt done so since 1986?The era of Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski had been a barren time for Britain in the Davis Cup -- they never accomplished anything in the competition proper -- so why would it be any different with Murray as the front-man, especially when he wasnt always making himself available for the big occasion?In the aftermath of skipping the tie in Buenos Aires, Murray faced accusations from some quarters -- his brother wasnt the only one saying this -- of not caring enough about his countrys fortunes. And some of that criticism hurt. From todays viewpoint, how ridiculous those accusations look now.dddddddddddd Murray could hardly have done more for Britains cause last season -- he contributed 11 of the 12 points required to win the tournament, with eight in singles and three in doubles.That enthusiasm for the tournament hadnt dimmed this year either, as although he didnt feature in the quarterfinal victory over Serbia, which was played the weekend after he won Wimbledon, he still travelled there to support his teammates. Most Wimbledon champions go to the beach; Murray took a trip to Belgrade, where he supplied encouragement, tactical and technical points. Private jet or not, that was an impressive display of commitment and togetherness.Add in Murrays two Olympics gold medals, and this hardly looks like the behaviour of someone lacking in patriotic fervour.Also note how Murrays off-court and on-court bond with Jamie was instrumental in last years run to the title, with that discord and disaffection a thing of the past, and the brothers now a formidable pairing. In the last eight years, Jamie has become a force -- and a multiple Grand Slam champion -- in doubles. Together, the Murrays won three rubbers last year, including in the final against Belgium, and already this season they have a victory to their names, which came in the first round in Japan.But the greatest transformation since 2008 has been in the publics appetite for the Davis Cup. For too many years, when Britain was scuffling around the lower tiers, this was a competition that passed most of the general sporting public by. The worst was when Britain lost to a team of Lithuanian teenagers in 2010, which sent them down to a playoff against Turkey. Defeat would have brought relegation to the lowest level of the Davis Cup, where they would have been alongside countries such as Andorra, San Marino and Iceland.But they overcame Turkey, with that tie Leon Smiths first as captain. From that low base, he took them all the way into the history books -- and a hangar outside Ghent, where last years final was played.And if theres one part of the Britain that has appreciated the Davis Cup adventures more than anywhere else, its Scotland, with the ties providing the rare opportunity -- in fact, the only opportunity -- for Scottish fans to watch the Murray brothers play competitive tennis live. If last years two ties at Glasgow are to be your guide -- the first round against the United States and the semifinal against Australia -- it will be extremely loud inside the Emirates Arena this weekend, especially if Britain progress into a second successive final.But when the Glaswegians turn the dial, take a couple of minutes to quietly reflect on that tie in Buenos Aires, and how far British tennis has come. Discount NFL Jerseys Discount NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale Jerseys 2019 NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys Wholesale ' ' '
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