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Another clash between these two great foes, another epic, another England win. Eddie Jones’s youngsters have managed what only one other England rugby team have managed, a 2-0 series win in Argentina. A late try and even later audacious drop goal by George Ford pulled England clear in a game that had, once again, been locked up in the final quarter. With 19 wins in his first 20 Tests in charge, Jones has plenty to be proud of in his tenure as England boss, but this series win in a hostile land with 30 players missing and 11 new caps blooded must rank as impressive an achievement as any. “Those see-saw games are terrible,” he said with a great grin on his face. “It was only once George Ford kicked a field goal to put us 10 ahead that we had breathing space. I was really pleased at how we stuck at the game. It is a great achievement. I’m very pleased for the team, for the young players. We have to try to fit 61 players into a 45-man Elite Player Squad now. That’s the next big thing I need to do.” It will be a formidable challenge. More players have stepped forward, not least Sam Underhill, the 11th new cap on this tour, but so too Will Collier, the replacement tighthead, who scored the try that earned England the lead for the fifth and final time. Just as impressively, he anchored the Keith Tkachuk Authentic Jersey scrum that stood firm in the dying minutes as Argentina tried frantically to overcome the 10-point lead by which England won, the first time in this exhilarating series that either side had managed to engineer a lead of more than seven points. That they could enjoy such a buffer was thanks to Ford, who has looked more confident than ever on this tour. He landed an audacious drop goal from 40 metres with six minutes to go. “He had to find a way,” said Jones. “Kicking that field goal at the end was tactically brilliant.” Chris Robshaw, on his return from injury, was a titan at close quarters, stymying Argentina in some of their fondest areas, and his fellow Quin Mike Brown had a much better game this week, setting up two of England’s four tries. Around points of reference such as these, the youngsters were able to express themselves, holding off another ferocious assault of pace and physicality from their hosts and pouncing with deadly accuracy when they had the chance. Some place this was for youngsters. They call it the Elephant Graveyard, on account of the local football team’s appetite for a giantkilling. High fences, razor wire and a moat around the field ensure the crowd are kept at bay – or perhaps that the opposition cannot escape. England beat Argentina http://www.officialsstlouisblues.com/Adidas-Brian-Sutter-Jersey 35-25 to win second Test and series – as it happened Mike Brown set up tries for Piers Francis and Danny Care with dazzling breaks as England edged another high-scoring contest with Argentina to win the series 2-0 Read more But perhaps the biggest success of the tour, in his quiet way, has been the 21-year-old Charlie Ewels. The big lock forward capped his series with the opening try in only the fifth minute. Argentina, though, have been fearless themselves. Immediately they came back at the tourists, first pounding hard at close quarters, to the delight of the rocking crowd, then sweetly working Joaquín Tuculet into position to step and dummy past Marland Yarde for a swift reply. It looked already as if we had another epic on our hands. Advertisement So it proved. Piers Francis, making his first start, thought he had danced his way through for a try straight from the restart, but Joe Launchbury’s pass was forward, so Ford slotted a penalty instead, the first of http://www.officialdallasstars.com/Adidas-Brian-Bellows-Jersey his 15 points. Of course, the lead was short-lived. Two penalties from Nicolás Sánchez had the Pumas ahead by the end of the first quarter, but Robshaw won the penalty with which Ford drew England level again on the half-hour, at which point Francis finally claimed that first Test try. And it was a beauty. Brown snatched a cross-kick from out of the hands of Emiliano Boffelli to streak clear and combine with Francis on the Argentina 22. His support run on the switch was exquisite and he cantered over for the try. Alas, shortly after the break, Francis’s attempted chip yielded Argentina a try to level the scores yet again. It cannoned off Pablo Matera’s legs, and the flanker dribbled the loose ball to the line – 18-18, then seven minutes later 25-25. Again, England pulled ahead, Danny Care on hand for Brown’s inside pass; again Argentina replied, a series of robust carries creating the space for Jerónimo de la Fuente to beat Dylan Hartley on the outside and send Boffelli clear. Over to England, then, to reclaim the lead a fifth and final time with that Collier try and to extend it with Ford’s drop goal. The job was all but done, but there was just about time for two scores, and nothing in this extraordinary series could be ruled out. England women on top of rugby world after triumph over New Zealand Read more Sure enough, Argentina’s runners cut up England one last time to earn their fabled scrummagers a late shot. The five-metre scrum formed, the Pumas relishing the prospect of their very favourite pastime, but Collier and his mates stood firm. England, so young but bold, had prevailed in a Amos Youth Jersey riveting Test series. Argentina Tuculet; Moyano, Orlando, De la Fuente, Boffelli (Moroni 74); Sánchez (Hernández 61), Landajo (Bertranou 74); Noguera Paz (Tetaz Chaparro 47), Creevy (capt; Montoya 61), Pieretto (Herrera 51), Alemanno (Petti 47), Lavanini, Matera (Lezana 55), Ortega Desio, Leguizamón
England’s women have taken over as the world’s top-ranked team following a convincing and fully deserved triumph over the Black Ferns. The Red Rose forwards laid the foundations of a famous win, England’s second over their Lance Lynn Jersey opponents on Kiwi soil, which bodes well for the forthcoming women’s World Cup to be held in Ireland in August. England’s haul of five tries on a damp, murky evening at the same venue as the Lions’ fixture against the Maori was a fitting reward for a dominant effort up front. Three of the scores were the product of rolling mauls to which the hosts had no real answer. At least one touring team has cracked the secret of winning a major Test match in New Zealand. It was the Red Roses who seized the early initiative with a well-taken try from the centre Emily Scarratt in the left corner with barely two minutes gone. The captain, Sarah Hunter, was a constant energising force from No8 and the home side found it hard throughout to establish any kind of territorial pressure. England’s depleted juniors scent another world title against New Zealand Read more Given the opportunity to attack from long range, however, the Black Ferns are frequently as deadly as their male counterparts. A gloriously skilful chip-and-chase score from their talented scrum-half Kendra Cocksedge levelled the scores before the pacy Portia Woodman intercepted an attempted pass from Scarratt to outsprint the retreating cover from 60 metres. Remarkably, New Zealand could not score any further points until the 78th minute as England took increasing control, thanks partly to their shrewd kicking game. Abbie Scott was duly credited with the first of England’s close-range tries but, with the scores level at 14-14 at half-time, it was a contest still awaiting a decisive intervention. A key moment arrived within three minutes of the restart when a well-worked lineout move resulted in Katy McLean putting Lydia Thompson over in the right corner. The all-action Marlie Packer soon claimed a fourth score before http://www.officialcardinalsbaseball.com/authentic-20-lou-brock-jersey.html replacement Vicky Fleetwood touched down beneath a heap of bodies to record England’s fifth try. Advertisement New Zealand did claim a late consolation but could not prevent England securing their first victory in this fixture since 2012. A delighted Hunter revealed the forwards had talked before the game about emulating England’s men, who beat the All Blacks in New Zealand in 2003 before lifting the World Cup later that year. “We’re by no means the finished article but it does send a statement and we’ll take confidence from coming to such a tough place and winning,” she said. “Everyone did their job from numbers one to 23.” Hunter’s own performance drew particular praise from England’s head coach, Simon Middleton, whose side have also defeated Australia and Canada in this month’s international series as they prepare to defend their World Cup title. “She’s a fantastic captain and a fantastic player,” he said. “That’s why she’s world player of the year. We’re really happy and very proudScotland consigned the Wallabies to a humbling 24-19 Test defeat in Sydney in front of a stunned crowd of 30,721 fans at Allianz Stadium who watched the visitors avenge two heartbreaking one-point losses to Australia in the past two years with a stirring victory. Israel Folau’s second tryscoring double in as many weeks couldn’t save the Wallabies, as Scotland confirmed their status as world rugby’s big improvers. Up to fifth in the rankings, the Scots cashed in on a disjointed display from Michael Cheika’s men. Lightning crowned Mark McGwire Womens Jersey Super Netball champions, Wallabies fall to Scotland – as it happened Rolling report: the Lightning beat the Giants to win the Super Netball title after the Wallabies disappointed and the Swans pulled off a miracle Read more As playmaker Bernard Foley admitted, the Wallabies were their own worst enemies during a dreadful first half. They trailed 17-12 at the break, gifting the Scots all of their points through an early penalty goal, then an intercept try to centre Duncan Taylor and a charge-down effort from goalkicking five-eighth Finn Russell. Only Folau’s two strikes kept the Wallabies in the contest. Foley set both of them up for his NSW Waratahs team-mate either side of a stint in the sin bin for a late hit on Russell when Scotland’s inspirational No10 broke free with some innovative counter-attack from his own quarter. First, Foley found Folau with a long ball in one of the Wallabies’ rare forays deep in Scotland territory. Then, on the stroke of half-time, Folau soared high above Scotland’s Gordon Reid to reel in Foley’s pinpoint crossfield kick to give the Wallabies momentum heading into the second section. But despite being a man down with No8 Ryan Wilson yellow-carded a minute before half-time, the Scots refused to yield until Australia briefly snatched the lead in the 57th minute. Foley’s successful conversion of a desperate dive-over try from Will Genia earned the Wallabies a 19-17 advantage. But, a 50-metre try three minutes later to flanker Hamish Watson restored http://www.authenticsandiegopadres.com/Tony-Gwynn-Jersey the visitors’ five-point lead and, despite several opportunities, the Wallabies were unable to find a reply to give Foley another chance to break Scottish hearts. Last-gasp penalty goals from Foley had denied the Scots at the 2015 Rugby World Cup at Twickenham and again on the Wallabies’ spring tour last November
Steve Hansen told Warren Gatland the British & Irish Lions are running out of time after New Zealand sent a daunting message to the tourists with a 78-0 victory over Samoa in Auckland on Friday. The All Blacks coach watched his team score 12 tries in a dominant display of attacking rugby, then renewed his war of words with his Lions counterpart, teasing him over the latter’s promise that the Lions are not yet the finished product. New Zealand sound Lions warning with 78-0 thrashing of Samoa Read more The Lions face Maori All Blacks in Rotorua on Saturday but, with only a week to go until the first Test, there are still question marks over style and selection and Hansen said Gatland would need to show his hand against the Maori. “Like them we have a style we like to play and we use the ball a lot,” said Hansen. “We have some skilful people when we do that. Do I expect them to do something tomorrow [against the Maori]? Well, he keeps telling us he’s got something up his sleeve other than his arm. We will wait and see, won’t we? “He’s starting to run out of time to get it practised but I’ve always said Davon House Womens Jersey once you have a style as a coach and it works for you, you usually stick with it. So it’s going to be a big move if he changes. We will wait and see.” The style of play Hansen expects from the Lions may be a far cry from the scintillating skills the All Blacks showed as they ran in 12 tries against Samoa but Hansen appears to think that is all the Lions have got and he took great delight in making that clear. Lions call on six replacements to provide cover for midweek games Read more “We’re sitting here, we’ve finished for the weekend, we’ve come out with no injuries, so we get to sit down and get really excited about what’s ahead of us. You wait 12 years for the Lions to come around so you don’t want to miss it. “We get to watch them play the New Zealand Maori side, who will throw the kitchen sink at them, so it will be a big game for the Lions again. Then all the banter is out of the way. I can’t wait.” Most expect the Lions to try for a set-piece tussle with the All Blacks. They will look to scrum and drive them into submission, hoping to strangle the life out of an attack that boasts some of the best runners with the ball in the game, many of them forwards. Hansen was happy to use that to bait Gatland further. “I’ve been here since 2004 and every year we get told we’re going to be targeted at the set piece. We will look forward to it, we’ll get ourselves ready for it and hopefully we will match them or be better.” Hansen was adamant the All Blacks would be better in the first Test and claimed both their skills and defence can be improved on. “It doesn’t matter who http://www.greenbaypackersauthorizedstore.com/demetri-goodson-jersey-elite you play, if you can keep them to zero that’s pretty good. Same with the attack, it was a good start. “We have a critical few skill sets that we work to. They are the things we know if we do them well we have a chance of winning. If we get the critical things right, then we are in with a chanceTen new caps last weekend for England – but only the one this. Sam Underhill has been picked by Eddie Jones to start the second Test against Argentina at the Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao López. His inexperience, however, is counterbalanced by a rather more familiar proposition on the other flank of England’s scrum, where Chris Robshaw returns from injury to play his first Test in six months. “It’s great to welcome back Robshaw into the squad,” Jones said. “He has been one of England’s best players over the last two years and he will add a lot of experience and work rate into our back row. It will also be exciting to see Sam make his debut.” Owen Farrell ruled out of Lions match against Maori with thigh injury Read more The selections are harsh on the men who make way, Mark Wilson and Tom Curry, two of the new caps last weekend, who defied their inexperience to produce outstanding performances in the 38?34 victory in the first Test. Wilson retires to the bench while Curry, who turned 19 on Thursday, the day his non-selection was announced, will have to wait for another opportunity to further his case. Underhill is not much older – 21 next month – so the battle for England’s No7 shirt, recently a question of who did not get the No6, looks set to become intense, all the more so with Curry’s twin brother, Ben, also on this tour. “He [Underhill] is a good defensive player and reads the game well,” Jones said. “Attack-wise, the Ospreys use him as a ball runner but I have seen him play a more natural No7 role. He is put together. He obviously decided from an early age he wanted to be a No7 and he has got the body.” Another making his first start is Piers Francis at inside centre, who impressed last weekend off the bench, whither Alex Lozowski is demoted. Francis, a 26?year?old from Kent, plays his rugby in New Zealand with the Blues, where he will return next week to finish the Super Rugby season before joining Northampton in the summer. In his case England have proved flexible with their selection policy, which renders ineligible those who play outside the country. Underhill, too, has been unavailable because of that policy, having played in Wales for the past two seasons while he studied economics at Cardiff University, but he http://www.atlantafalconsauthorizedstore.com/derrick-coleman-jersey-elite is joining Bath after the tour. Notwithstanding, England have been investing in his future, deploying Richard Hill, England’s great flanker and now the team manager, to provide him with further seminars, these in the art of the back row. Advertisement Robshaw’s return helps improve England’s tally of caps in the starting team from the 345 of last week to 413. Dylan Hartley brings 86 of those to the party and will move clear of Lawrence Dallaglio and Rory Underwood into third place on England’s chart of cap-winners, nestled behind Jason Leonard and Jonny Wilkinson. At the other end of the experience spectrum, Jack Singleton, Hartley’s understudy, may yet become the second new cap of the day, having been the only player not to come on last Saturday. His chances of winning that cap will no doubt turn on the nature of the match. If the scores are tied with 15 minutes to go, like last time, Jones may be reluctant to replace 86 of his team’s caps with zero, all the more so if, as he expects, the game tightens up after the sun-kissed pyrotechnics of San Juan. “It’s going to be warm and humid, the ball might get slippery, so it may place more importance on the exiting and kicking game. We are prepared for both types of game. Argentina have lost 10 of their last 12 games, so they are going to be desperate. I am sure they are going to come out with Derrick Shelby Authentic Jersey enormous physicality. It will be another high-quality, high?pressure game and that’s what we need to keep developing towards the World Cup
Andy Murray is in the semi?finals of the French Open for the fourth year in a row, exploding the http://www.authenticchicagoblackhawks.com/authentic-andrew-desjardins-jersey?gender=Youth myth, surely, that clay is his weakest surface. He is now consistent on all surfaces – certainly in big tournaments – and has a fighting chance of finally adding the title to those he has won at Flushing Meadows and Wimbledon. However, the world No1 – who arrived in Paris in ordinary form and unable to train properly because of a lingering cold – was briefly in danger of following the defending champion, Novak Djokovic, out of the tournament before defeating Kei Nishikori in a four?set match that he began poorly and finished in style on Court Philippe Chatrier on a warm, still Wednesday afternoon. Murray, who lost against Djokovic in the Roland Garros final last year, won 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-0), 6-1 in 2hr 39min to book a place in the semi-finals on Friday against Stan Wawrinka, who breezed past Marin Cilic in 1hr 40min. Murray said courtside: “I needed to put a little bit more pace on my shots. He was dictating all the points in the first set. Once I got a better rhythm, I was able to keep him away from the baseline and that made a big difference.” Of his semi-final opponent, Murray said: “Stan has played fantastic this tournament. I don’t think he’s dropped a set. I had to play one of my best matches on clay to beat him last year.” Novak Djokovic crashes out of French Open to Dominic Thiem Read more Nishikori Amos Youth Jersey broke twice in the first half?hour, serving out the set without bother, and Murray needed to regroup quickly in perfect conditions once the wind dropped. At the US Open last year, it was Nishikori who came from 1-2 down to beat Murray in the quarter-finals but, after his uneven win against Fernando Verdasco in the third round, it was still a surprise to see him start so fast here. The match, predictably, was not without incident. The chair umpire, Carlos Ramos, gave Murray a time violation in the first set and he dropped serve, descending thereafter into a rolling rant that lasted all the way to the fourth set. At deuce and 1-1 on Murray’s serve in the second set, Ramos interrupted him during his ball toss for a second time violation, penalising him the point, but this time the Scot was motivated to hold – not before letting the umpire know what he thought: “I’ve been on Tour so long and I’ve http://www.authenticchicagoblackhawks.com/authentic-artemi-panarin-jersey?gender=Youth never seen that. Why did you do it when I was throwing the ball up?” The umpire replied: “Every single point, you are over the time.” It was the spark that Murray needed – and Nishikori suffered. He handed him two break points with a dreadful smash and Murray was up 3-1. Within minutes, he had to save two break points – the second given up with his fourth double fault – to hold and went on to level at a set apiece. Murray was coasting, a break up in the third set, when he dropped serve and Nishikori held to love. They worked their way to the tie-break – probably one of the worst shootouts either of them has played. Andy Murray beats Kei Nishikori in four sets, Thiem beats Djokovic at French Open – as it happened Rolling report: Andy Murray set up a semi-final with Stan Wawrinka after a gritty 2-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-1 win, Dominic Thiem will play Rafael Nadal after destroying Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep fought back from the brink to reach the last four Read more They swapped breaks again at the start of the fourth, and a worryingly familiar pattern reinstated itself. Coming into this tournament, Murray has handed back the break to his opponents 18 out of 80 times this year. Last year, he held on to his break 255 of 302 times (84%), similar to his strike rate in 2015. That Murray managed to forge on to the finish line without blemish probably surprised him as much as everyone else. Earlier, the erratic and tempestuous world No4, Simona Halep, who wondered before Amos Youth Jersey the tournament if she would even play because of a twisted ankle, defeated the fifth seed Elina Svitolina, 3-6, 7-6, 6-0, having come back from a set and 5-1 down. In the semi?finals, she plays the second seed Karolina Pliskova, who defeated the home favourite, Caroline Garcia, 7-6, 6-4. Pliskova will become the first player from the Czech Republic to be ranked No1 in the world if she reaches the final
Andy Murray leaves Roland Garros in much better shape than when he arrived, even if losing in the semi-finals to Stan Wawrinka over five sets in four and a half hours on Friday afternoon was not the way he would have chosen to bid adieu to one of his favourite tournaments and cities. He heads immediately for home to prepare to defend his titles at Queen’s and Wimbledon, as well as the points that leave him unchallenged for a little while yet at the top of the world rankings. If he can reset his grass game to draw on the form that lifted him to within one match of reaching the final here for the second year in a row, he will be more dangerous on grass, still his surface of choice. The world No1 arrived here spluttering and sweating and could not train properly for a couple of days with his AJ McCarron Womens Jersey coach, Ivan Lendl, who flew in from Florida three weeks ago to be reunited with the Scot. Some thought this odd, although it did not bother the player or the coach. Murray was hardly burdened by expectations after an indifferent clay season. Many experts, including former players, gave him little chance of getting out of the first week, but here he was on a sun-warmed and windy Court Philippe-Chatrier on the 13th day of the tournament, trading blows with a rampant Wawrinka all the way to the end. Rafael Nadal overwhelms Dominic Thiem to reach French Open final Read more After winning 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1, Wawrinka, at 32 years and 75 days, becomes the oldest men’s finalist here since 33-year-old Niki Pilic lost to Ilie Nastase in a three-set final in 1973, an occasion that could hardly have been further removed in quality and time from the performance Friday’s antagonists provided for us. It was Pilic who inspired the creation of the Association of Tennis Professionals, incidentally, and who would briefly mentor Novak Djokovic. That is the past out of the way. Now for the future. Murray emerged from what might best be described as a bit of a mauling upbeat and surprisingly confident. Years ago, he would have been in a deep funk. But, at 30, he treats triumph and disaster with measured intelligence. Had he just been evicted from 10 Downing Street, say, he would no doubt have kept walking rather than clinging to the doorknob. Advertisement “How close that is to http://www.nflbengalsofficialshop.com/Nike-Andrew-Billings-Jersey.html my tennis from last year, I don’t know. It’s very difficult to say. Hopefully it gives me a good base to go into the grass-court season. I played pretty well these last few matches. Even when you’re playing well, you’re not going to win every match you play, but I put myself in a position to reach a slam final. “Often when I have done well on the clay [as last year, when he reached the French final and then won Wimbledon for the second time], I feel like that’s helped me on the grass. Certainly the matches are not as physical. Going through matches like I did today is a good step for me. “But it’s impossible to say how close you are to your best level at any stage. Things change on a daily basis. I played better today than I did in the last match [to beat Kei Nishikori in four sets] and lost. I was one tie-break away from getting to the final when I came in really struggling. I have to be proud of that. “Maybe the lack of matches hurt me a bit in the end. That was a very high intensity match, a lot of long points. When you haven’t been playing loads, over four, four and a half hours, that can catch up to you. I only have myself to blame for that, the way I played coming into the tournament. But I turned my form around really, really well and ended up having a good tournament, all things considered.” There were moments when he might have shut Wawrinka down – especially after riding out a rough patch in mid-match to go 2-1 up in sets against the run of play – but the strongest man on the Tour would not stay down. Wawrinka played with a ferocity rarely seen in others, whether leading or trailing. Nearly every groundstroke was loaded with venom. He hit 87 winners and 77 unforced errors. Murray’s numbers were 36 apiece, which Bobby Hebert Womens Jersey reflects considerably greater caution. At the end, though, there was little he could do against a player at the peak of his powers. He observed of the closing struggle that might have turned into a mugging, “When you’re 5-0 down and three breaks behind in the fifth set you’re not that optimistic. But I tried to keep fighting. The 3-0 game, we were at love-30 in that game. Had I managed to get a break there, it might have been a little bit different. I didn’t.” Simona Halep focused on stifling Jelena Ostapenko’s attack force in Paris final Read more Wawrinka, whose own season has been less than brilliant (eight losses in 34 matches) found his 2015 form again – the year he beat Djokovic in the final – and dropped only 54 games to reach the semi-finals, the same as then. He served with more potency than Murray, seven aces to one, and his defensive game has improved markedly, too. Out but not down in Paris, and London calling? Murray would have settled for that a fortnight ago. Indeed, while still hurting in defeat, he seemed to take a deal of satisfaction from proving a lot of people wrong. It was the manner of his leaving that should be remembered, too. There are not many players at any level who would have retained even a sliver of hope at 0-5 down in the fifth set of a slam semi-final against http://www.officialauthenticsaintsstore.com/Nike-Brandon-Coleman-Jersey.html Wawrinka. But Murray made his opponent sweat until the final point, which drew a trademark single-handed backhand winner from the Swiss. Advertisement Their embrace at the net was their 18th, and the eighth time Wawrinka has headed for the locker room a winner. They have had a long and often glorious rivalry. This was probably the best of their six encounters at a slam, and they now stand three apiece in those. There never has been a lot between them. In the closeness of their struggles, we can witness tennis at its very best and in every way. Wawrinka expects a tougher match in the final against Rafael Nadal, however, and told French reporters he sensed a weakening in Murray’s game from their match here a year ago. “Last year he was much more aggressive,” he said. “When I play Andy, I always want to dictate the game, be aggressive, play in the court, go up to the net. But last year he was stronger. He was very aggressive, and he never really let me install my game. Today, I think he’s less confident. He played a bit less fast. He was a little more hesitant
Things like this are not supposed to happen. In just her eighth grand slam event, the unseeded, fearless Jelena Ostapenko produced a stunning fightback to win the French Open title here. Her 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Simona Halep, the pre-tournament favourite, who would have been world No1 had she won the title, made her the first unseeded woman to win here in the open era. At 20, she is the youngest woman to win here since Iva Majoli of Croatia in 1997, the first Latvian to win a grand slam singles title and the first person to win their first tour title at a grand slam since the Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten lifted the first of http://www.officialwinnipegjets.com/Adidas-Kyle-Connor-Jersey his three titles here in 1997, something he achieved on the day Ostapenko was born. French Open: Ostapenko stuns Halep with remarkable fightback to win title – as it happened Jelena Ostapenko won her first ever title after beating world No4 Simona Halep 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 after Halep had charged into a first-set lead at Roland Garros Read more Halep will wonder how she failed to clinch victory, having led by a set and 3-0 and having three break-point chances in a long fourth game of the second set that would have put her two breaks up. The Romanian also led 3-1 in the third set but, in truth, nothing about Saturday’s final was in her hands against Ostapenko, whose outrageous ball-striking sent the ball flying past her outstretched racket time and time again as her hopes of a first grand slam title were dashed in the dirt. It was a stunning victory for a woman who went into the French Open as the world No47, a 100-1 shot and not even spoken about as a contender. The junior Wimbledon champion three years ago, Ostapenko had never even been beyond the third round of a grand slam until this fortnight but the way she played here suggests that she will be here for many years to come. It was also fitting, on a sultry day at Roland Garros, that she should finish it off with yet another backhand return down the line, one of 54 clean winners she struck in the final. “I still cannot believe I am the Roland Garros champion and I’m only 20,” said Derrick Shelby Womens Jersey Ostapenko, who showed no nerves and never deviated from her simple, devastating gameplan of attack, attack, attack. “I know Simona is a great player and she was playing great but I kept trying, stayed aggressive and I’m very happy things turned around for me. I have no words,” she added. Advertisement In the absence of Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka, all missing for a variety of reasons, this year’s French Open had been considered one of the most open of all time. Halep, most people’s favourite after winning in Madrid and reaching the final in Rome, was expected to be able to tame Ostapenko and when she withstood an early barrage of groundstrokes from the Latvian to take the first set, the 25-year-old was on track. Knowing Ostapenko was capable of reeling off winners seemingly at will, Halep was well aware she needed to stay patient, accept when she was outhit and wait for the mistakes, while taking any chance she had to be aggressive. She must have hoped that Ostapenko would freeze on the big occasion but instead the Latvian looked relatively relaxed. The simplicity of her game means she does not second-guess herself, as she proved in beating players such as Sam Stosur and Caroline Wozniacki en route. She had also come from a set http://www.greenbaypackersauthorizedstore.com/demetri-goodson-jersey-elite down three times on her way to the final and when Halep failed to take any of her three break points at 3-0 in the second set, she had hope. That translated into belief when she cracked several winners on her way to levelling at 3-3 and when she broke for 4-3, she whipped up a crowd who were already willing her on, gasping at times at the ferocity of her flatly-struck groundstrokes. Though Halep broke back for 4-4, Ostapenko broke again and served out to force a decider. British teenager Alfie Hewett fights back to win French Open wheelchair final Read more At the start of the third, Halep saved two break points and then broke on her way to a 3-1 lead as Ostapenko’s radar went astray as she sprayed the ball long and wide, her focus dipping for a moment. However, from 3-1 down she broke back for 3-3 and then, thanks to a bit of outrageous fortune when she got a dead net cord on a backhand that had been heading way wide, the 20-year-old broke to lead 4-3. Finally in front in the match for the first time, Ostapenko might have blinked but she held serve brilliantly for 5-3. At 30-40 on the Halep serve, Ostapenko had match point and she rifled an unstoppable backhand down the line to clinch victory, leaping in the air and turning in delight in the direction of her two coaches, her mother and the former Spanish player, Anabel Medina, who had been on the edge of their courtside seats throughout. Both players struggled on second serve and though Halep may chastise herself for not attacking more, she rarely had the chance. Ostapenko defended well when she needed to and as soon as she got in position, or even sometimes when she was not, she slapped the ball at break-neck speed. Halep will be world No2 when the women’s rankings are updated on Monday and she was gracious in defeat. “All the credit for what you have done,” she said. “It’s an amazing thing. Enjoy it be happy and keep it going Authentic Dwight Lowery Womens Jersey because you’re like a kid.” She may be a kid but the kid is a grand slam champion and if she can continue to play without a semblance of fear for as long as possible, then this may be the first of many
Rafael Nadal made an observation in Paris about his philosophy on life that sounded innocuous enough to dip below the radar of those who were correctly more concerned with the history he had just created but it describes perfectly why he is playing some of the best tennis of his career. His words reveal, too, that the 31-year-old Spaniard, who has suffered more injuries than is good for his long-term health, is not done just http://www.jetsofficialsonline.com/Bruce_Carter_Jersey_Cheapyet. “Very organised people, very proactive people, know exactly what they’re going to do next,” Nadal said after looking about as organised as is possible on a tennis court in demolishing Stan Wawrinka in three sets to win his 10th French Open. “I do things as they come. Right now, I don’t really know. I’m just going to keep on playing as long as it makes me happy. If one day I get up in the morning and I’m no longer motivated to go train, well, I guess that day I will put an end to my career. You know what? I’m not worried. I’m a happy person.” Like his oldest rival, Roger Federer, he is playing with the sort of freedom known only to the very young and those who have seen it all. It is a joy that might carry Nadal to his first Wimbledon final in seven years. He might even win for the third time there. Or, as he admits, he could just as easily fall early if his unreliable knees do not adapt quickly to the peculiar demands of grass, as they did when he lost to the world No100, Lukas Rosol, in the second round in 2012. Nadal, more than most players, has endured extended periods of struggle, when his love for the game has been tested. He almost expects them to return. In 2005 his emotions were dragged in all directions. He met his long-time girlfriend, Maria Francisca Perello, and won the first of the 10 French championships that set him on his journey to La Decima on Sunday, as well as an unprecedented decade of winning at least one slam every year. Advertisement However, 2005 was also the year that structural weaknesses surfaced in his feet and http://www.broncosfootballprosshop.com/Brian_Dawkins_Jersey_Cheap knees and they have plagued him, to a great or lesser degree, ever since. He has been struck down in 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2014. In 2013 he came back from nearly eight months out to heal ruptured patellar tendons and won two majors among 10 titles and posted 75 match victories. It was an astonishing achievement. Bjorn Borg, no slouch on the dirt, was moved to call him “the greatest clay-court player to ever play”. Carlos Moyá, who has since joined him as eventual coaching successor to uncle Toni, described him as “a warrior”. Jimmy Connors remarked at the time: “His passion and the way he grinds is really something special.” Because he can play no other way it is easy to take this commitment for granted, without wondering about the price he pays. Last year he had to quit the French Open after two quick wins because of a wrist injury. Only this season has he begun to resemble the old Nadal. If he looks commanding and fierce on court – so deep in “the zone” Nadal rarely reacts to extraneous activity – he sometimes appears uncertain of himself. Eight times in one answer on Sunday evening, he used the word “doubts”. For a long time he had pronounced it “doobts”. He knows how to say it now and he has a proper grasp of its essence. The Recap: sign up for the best of the Guardian's sport coverage Read more “I have been very http://www.footballpanthershop.com/Cameron_Artispayne_Jersey_Cheap honest with you all the time,” he said. “I have doubts every day. If you have no doubts, probably [it] is because you are too arrogant. I don’t consider myself arrogant.” What might surprise Nadal, however, is that there is a groundswell of worthwhile opinion saying he can win Wimbledon again. It would be on a par with Federer’s win in Melbourne this year, when he beat Nadal in the final. Even so, nobody – not even uncle Toni or his understudy Moyá – would previously have suggested Nadal could conquer the All England Club’s grass again. He told the English-speaking press on Sunday: “I love grass, everybody knows, and it’s a surface that I really enjoyed a lot playing there.” However, he said to Spanish reporters later: “Grass is not my speciality, but I’m very motivated.” Advertisement He nonetheless reminded everyone when beating Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 that clay fits the script for a natural clay-courter who has rediscovered his killing top-spun forehand and now owns a backhand that is nearly as lethal. If he stays fit and healthy, he could win another two or three titles in Paris, putting him beyond reach in the record books. That might also haul him alongside Federer on 18 majors – although there is no sign the Swiss has finished collecting big silverware. If Nadal rules clay again, Federer likewise is ready to retake his Wimbledon crown. What a story it would be if the draw kept them apart until the last Sunday. It is nine years since Nadal won possibly the best final in the history of grand slam tennis, when, over five sets of almost unbearable intensity, he deconstructed Federer’s elegance with the sheer power of his will, it seemed. Before they arrived at that 2008 Wimbledon they played in the final at Roland Garros. Nadal won 6–1, 6–3, 6–0. It was one of the most humiliating Brett Favre Youth Jersey experiences of Federer’s career. Now Wawrinka has felt the French heat of Nadal before Wimbledon. It would be foolish to predict the Spanish master could not do that double again
Rafael Nadal on Tuesday night withdrew from the Aegon Championships at Queen’s, which starts Rollie Fingers Authentic Jersey next Monday, on doctor’s advice, but insists he will be fit for Wimbledon early next month. Rafael Nadal reveals freewheeling philosophy directed at Wimbledon Read more Nadal, who won his 10th French Open on Sunday said: “I am very sorry to say that I am not going to be able play Queen’s next week. I was hoping to take some days off and then be ready. But, at 31, and after a long clay-court season with all of the emotions of Roland Garros, and after speaking to my team and doctor, I have decided my body needs to rest if I am going to be ready to play Wimbledon. “I am sad to make this decision because I love Queen’s. I won the tournament in 2008 and every time I reached the Wimbledon final it was after playing Queen’s.” The announcement nevertheless comes as a surprise and throws into doubt Nadal’s chances of winning a third Wimbledon title. He has been in phenomenal form on his favourite clay and breezed through the French Open in near-record time, thrashing Stan Wawrinka for the loss of six games in three quick http://www.officialmagicstoreonline.com/Evan_Fournier_Jerseysets and showed no obvious physical distress. He did hint in his victory press conference that the grass season made extra demands on his knees, which have let him down several times during his long career. If he is not confident of getting through the warm-up tournament, he might be more vulnerable at Wimbledon than previously thought. The integrity of Queen’s remains intact however, with the world No 1 Andy Murray committed to defending his title. Wawrinka, the reigning US Open champion, the 2014 winner Grigor Dimitrov, and last year’s runner-up Milos Raonic will join Juan Martín del Potro, Nick Kyrgios, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Marin Cilic and Tomas Berdych in a quality field. Britain’s Kyle Edmund, the world No44, has been added to the draw for the first time, after the withdrawal of the world No35 Diego Schwartzman through injury. Roger Federer, meanwhile, returns from a 10-week break during the clay season in Europe refreshed for Wimbledon, and told the ATP on Tuesday he was Dennis Johnson Womens Jersey committed to a full schedule for the rest of the season. “I’ve had enough breaks,” he said. “I’m a practice world champion now, and that’s not who I want to be. I want to be a champ on the match courts, so I’m going to be playing a regular schedule for the second part of the season.” New LTA chief Lloyd will focus on Murray success Advertisement Scott Lloyd, a former teenage prodigy, has been named the new chief executive of the Lawn Tennis Association. The 41-year-old leisure industry magnate starts work in January but set out his broad aims after his appointment yesterday. “The current success of Andy and Jamie Murray, Johanna Konta, Gordon Reid and others is helping inspire a whole new generation to give this great sport a go,” Lloyd said. He was a good junior but chose to make his career in business rather than sport. He certainly had the pedigree. His father, David, was an accomplished Davis Cup player and later Great Britain team captain and his uncle, John, was an Australian Open finalist. Konta, meanwhile, chalked up her 300th career win when Tara Moore retired in the second set of http://www.rangersteamonline.com/Chris_Kreider_Jersey their first-round match at the Aegon Open in Nottingham, leading 6-4, 3-0 when her compatriot called it a day due to a foot injury. Heather Watson lost 6-2, 6-3 against the fourth seed Alison Riske
The notion that Andy Murray had entered the autumn of his career after accepting a knighthood Jansen Harkins Authentic Jersey and turning 30 was always one open to the loosest interpretation, and Nick Kyrgios, for one, thinks the Scot is bluffing. Murray, who reached the semi-finals of the French Open last week despite injury, ill-health and a poor run on clay, told the BBC: “Maybe the next couple of years are the last few where I have a chance to compete for the majors and the biggest tournaments.” Johanna Konta beats Rybarikova to reach Nottingham Open final Read more However, Kyrgios, the world No20, who values the friendship and support of the world No1 as he comes to terms with his own volatile development, said after the draw for the Aegon Championships at Queen’s on Saturday: “I think he’s got more than two years left at the top. He’s in unbelievable shape. The only thing I can see stopping him from playing is him actually not wanting to play any more, if he’s had enough of it. He doesn’t strike me as a guy who is going to stop playing. I think he’s bluffing.” Murray, the five-time and defending champion as well as the reigning Wimbledon titlist, has drawn the British No4, Aljaz Bedene, in the first round here on Tuesday. Thereafter he probably has to work his way past Sam Querrey, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and either Kyrgios or Marin Cilic to get to the final again – where he could play the second seed, Stan Wawrinka, who http://www.officialwinnipegjets.com/Adidas-Keith-Tkachuk-Jersey put him out of Roland Garros before losing to Rafael Nadal in the final. Kyrgios was due to play Steve Johnson before the Australian’s friend Jack Sock withdrew injured, and, after a rejig of the draw, plays the third American in the field, Donald Young. “I’m happy with that,” Kyrgios said. “But at the same time, he’s a tricky player, a lefty, and on the grass he can play some sneaky tennis. I’m not going to take him lightly at all.” If Kyrgios has ever been accused of that in the past it has much to do with his languid, freewheeling approach to tennis and life. It has landed him in bother but he has been true to himself and arrives here for the short grass season looking and sounding back to the form he showed in beating Novak Djokovic back to back on the American hard court swing after the Australian Open. Advertisement Although injury and the recent death of his grandfather have interrupted his summer, Kyrgios is upbeat. “I’m in really good shape now, I got an injection in my hip and my shoulder, and I’ve been doing a lot of rehab. I took a week off after the French Open and I’m able to move without any pain in my hip. It has been a while since I have been able to do that. “My body is in way better nick than it was a couple of months ago. I was having hip pain for the last seven months so I have done everything now, rehabbing every day, and the injection really settled everything down in my hip. I have been practising two hours a day.” He admits, however, that http://www.officialsstlouisblues.com/Adidas-Brett-Hull-Jersey yearning to be back with his mates 12,000 miles away in Canberra is still an issue he struggles with on Tour. “It still affects me. I feel like when I am in Europe or on clay the homesick just kicks in pretty much instantly. But, when I am in London, it feels like home. London or America feels like a bit of Australia. When I have my mum [and girlfriend] here, and we are living in a house with her cooking for me, I have that home feeling. It is good.” Tennis pro Isaac Frost charged with match fixing after 'suspicious bets' Read more Kyrgios is dangerous in any tournament on any surface, and he has for company as one of the game’s major threats from the early rounds all the way through to the final weekend the exciting German Alexander Zverev, who blew Djokovic away in Rome, and Dominic Thiem, who did the same to the former world No1 at Roland Garros. Feisty as ever, Kyrgios respects both of his young rivals but will fancy his chances. “I’ve never lost to [Zverev]. He’s a great player. He does everything right, he’s very professional. I played juniors with him. His consistency every week seems to be pretty good. He’s always getting deep through tournaments. He’s playing more consistent level tennis. He’s so young, he has amazing potential, he’s going to be contending for a grand slam. But has he made the quarter-final of a grand slam yet?” As for his own immediate rise, he said: “I’m not thinking about top five, or whatever. I’m just trying to get through every day, day by day, trying to play, trying to put as much effort in as I can. I know that, when I start thinking ahead, about how much time I have left on the road or goals and http://www.officialdallasstars.com/Adidas-Bobby-Smith-Jersey stuff, I’ll start losing motivation, I won’t try.” And he knows that Murray is a long way from thinking like that, as wel
That it would take a Salford fan of a certain age to recall the last time their club http://www.officialmarinershop.com/Luis_Sardinas_Jersey walked out at Wembley in the Challenge Cup final perhaps best underlines the extraordinary journey one of Super League’s traditional strugglers currently find themselves on. Eight months removed from that dramatic day in Hull when they preserved their Super League status in the Million Pound Game, Ian Watson’s side, who sit second in Super League, now find themselves within one victory of a first Wembley appearance since 1969 after this serene progression through the quarter-finals. It will be Salford’s first semi-final appearance since 1998. That day they lost 22-18 to the eventual winners, Sheffield Eagles. On this form, few would fancy facing them in the last four when the draw is made on Sunday afternoon. Back-to-back defeats, including one to Wakefield a fortnight ago, had seen some wondering whether the wheels were beginning to come off following their impressive start to the season – this was as emphatic a response as Watson could have hoped for. RFL contemplates moving Challenge Cup final away from Wembley Stadium Read more “We were watching on from the stand and thinking: ‘Wow, they’re nailing this,’” he said. “We’re on a real journey here and getting to Wembley would be massive. I couldn’t tell you the last time we won silverware so it’d obviously be huge.” That Watson, a proud Nelson Cruz Womens Jersey Salfordian, struggles to recall their limited honour roll emphasises how few and far between major successes have been. When they lost to Castleford in 1969 – what a treat it would be to see them meet again come August– it was their sole post-war appearance in the final. Furthermore, Salford are two victories away from a second Challenge Cup crown, the first coming way back in 1938. They were far too good for an injury-hit and below-par Wakefield. Like Salford, Trinity have been one of the surprise packages this season but with more than half a dozen key players missing they, perhaps unsurprisingly, looked jaded and below their best. After departing the cup at the semi-final stage last year, Trinity’s form collapsed. An already assured place in the top eight come the split next month is success within itself, but Chris Chester must now pick up his side and regroup. Advertisement “From minute one to minute 80 we were dominated in every aspect of the game,” he said. It is hard to argue. By half-time Trinity had collapsed, as tries from Authentic Dylan Bundy Youth Jersey Ryan Lannon, Ben Murdoch-Masila and Niall Evalds opened up a 20-0 half-time lead that the Red Devils completely deserved. They would not relent after the interval either, with tries from Greg Johnson and Craig Kopczak ensuring Salford would put the result beyond doubt before the hour mark had passed. By then, their fans had begun celebrating and dreaming of a first trip to Wembley in 48 years. Not even Liam Finn’s late try could prevent that. Salford Red Devils: Evalds; Bibby, Welham, Sa’u, Johnson; Lui, Dobson; Tasi, Tomkins, Kopczak, Murdoch-Masila, Lannon, Flanagan. Interchange: Griffin, Brinning, Carney, Hauraki. Tries Lannon, Murdoch-Masila, Evalds, Johnson http://www.officialcelticsproshop.com/Isaiah_Thomas_JerseyKopczak. Goals Dobson 5 Wakefield: Grix; B Tupou, Lyne, Arundel; Caton-Brown; Williams, Finn; England, Wood, A Walker, Hadley, Ashurst, Sio. Interchange: Crowther, Annakin, Hirst, Huby. Try Finn. Goal Finn. Referee: R Hicks