ERA in nine starts at Coors Field.In Grays past seven | Forum

LONDON -- Instead of the ninth all-Williams final at a Grand Slam tournament, there will be a rematch of another sort to determine the title at Wimbledon. Solomon Hill Jersey .And so as Serena Williams again stands one victory from her record-tying 22nd major title, she will need to beat a woman who already stopped her once this year in that pursuit, Angelique Kerber.After Williams needed all of 48 minutes to overwhelm Elena Vesnina 6-2, 6-0 at the All England Club, older sister Venus failed to join in the family fun, losing to Kerber 6-4, 6-4 in Thursdays second semifinal.Since winning her sixth Wimbledon trophy a year ago to raise her career count at Grand Slam events to 21, Serena has come quite close to pulling even with Steffi Graf at 22 -- the most in the Open era, which began in 1968 (Margaret Courts all-time mark is 24). But the American lost to?Roberta Vinci in the US Open semifinals last September, then to Kerber in the Australian Open final in January and Garbine Muguruza in the French Open final last month.Reaching the final at each of a years first three major tournaments might sound good to other players.Not to this one.For anyone else in this whole planet, it would be a wonderful accomplishment, Serena said. For me, its about, obviously, holding the trophy and winning, which would make it a better accomplishment for me. For me, its not enough. But I think thats what makes me different. Thats what makes me Serena.Yes, she is one of a kind.When a reporter asked what she makes of it when others talk about her as one of historys greatest female athletes, this was the reply: I prefer the word, one of the greatest athletes of all time.Hard to argue.And the case will be even stronger if she can do what she couldnt in Melbourne: solve Kerbers left-handed game.I know, Kerber said, she will go out and try everything to beat me right now.That Australian Open victory gave Kerber her first Grand Slam title in her first Grand Slam final.She insisted Thursday shes more relaxed and more confident on court, thanks to that big moment.She didnt necessarily look that way at the outset against Venus, who at 36 was the oldest major semifinalist since Martina Navratilova was 37 at the All England Club in 1994.Venus is a five-time Wimbledon champion but hadnt been to the semifinals since she was the runner-up to Serena seven years ago.Steps away from making it to the end, Venus said. Thats the position I want to be in, is playing in the semifinals, playing for a space in the final.Against Kerber, Venus was broken the first four times she served and never recovered.A very shaky match from her. She was fighting hard, but she was frustrated. I could tell, said Venus coach, David Witt. Her concentration was up and down. The focus was up and down. That made her game up and down.Perhaps the accumulated court time during this fortnight simply took a toll on Venus, who revealed in 2011 that she had Sjongrens syndrome, which can cause fatigue and joint pain.She was a half-step slow to some balls, was breathing heavily after longer points and wound up with 21 unforced errors, 10 more than Kerber.I was trying to [move] her, as well, the fourth-seeded Kerber said. That was the plan.After a running cross-court forehand winner capped the 19-stroke exchange that ended her victory, Kerber tossed aside her racket and dropped to her knees at the baseline.That match managed to be more competitive than what transpired earlier, which more closely resembled a training session for the No. 1-ranked Serena -- except she probably gets more of a workout when she practices.I couldnt do anything today, Vesnina said.Serenas serve was in fine form, reaching 123 mph and producing 11 aces against the 50th-ranked Vesnina, who was making her major semifinal debut. Serena won 28 of 31 points she served, including the last 17.An almost perfect match, said Serenas coach, Patrick Mouratoglou.Serena had Vesnina looking defeated after all of 12 points. Thats when, after sprinting for a forehand that landed in the net, the Russian leaned over, sighed and slumped her shoulders.There would be plenty more of that sort of body language from Vesnina, a two-time Wimbledon runner-up in doubles who later Thursday went out in the quarterfinals of that event and lost to Serena a second time.The Williams-Williams pairing beat Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-2.That means Venus still has a chance to leave Wimbledon with a trophy, just like her sister. Charles Cooke Jersey . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. Ian Clark Jersey . In taking its goal tally to 99 in all competitions already this season, City delivered another demonstration of its lethal firepower at Etihad Stadium to set up a fourth-round match at home to another second-tier team -- Watford. http://www.cheappelicansjerseys.com/ . -- The goal posts lying flat on the field, Arizonas fans lingered on the field, congregating around the locker room entrance nearly 30 minutes after rushing out of the stands. DENVER -- The Colorado Rockies and Miami Marlins meet in the rubber game of their series Sunday against the backdrop of history.Ichiro Suzuki is one hit shy of becoming the 30th player in major league history to reach 3,000 hits. He got No. 2,999 with a pinch-single in the eighth inning on Saturday night, stayed in the game and narrowly missing No. 3,000 in the ninth when pitcher Scott Oberg bobbled Suzukis high-bouncer, slipped to one knee while retrieving the ball and narrowly threw him out.After the Marlins 12-6 loss, manager Don Mattingly would not say whether he plans to start Suzuki on Sunday afternoon against Rockies right-hander Jon Gray.Ichiro declined to speak Saturday night, saying through a Marlins public relations official that after a loss he had no desire to talk about his personal accomplishment or anything upbeat.Regardless, the baseball world will be watching Sunday, waiting and hoping that Suzuki makes history. One of those with more than passing interest in his quest is Ken Griffey Jr., who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in July and was Suzukis teammate in Seattle. The Mariners provided the following remarks by Griffey.I got a first row (seat) to watch one of the greatest ballplayers to (ever) play ... to watch what hes done, day in and day out, Griffey said. Its pretty impressive ... for him to go out there and roll out the hits that he has, its pretty incredible.Its a tribute to his work ethhic and everything that he believes in. Cheap Pelicans Jerseys. ... It is something special, not just for the guys who played with him but for all of baseball and all the people in Japan. This is something thats huge. I know that he doesnt take it lightly. He works hs butt off day in and day out.Opposing Gray for the Marlins will be Adam Conley, who is 7-6 with a 3.41 ERA in 22 starts. Right-handed hitters have hit 10 homers against Conley but are batting just .225 (78-for-347). Left-handed hitters havent homered against Conley but are batting .306 (33-for-108) against him.He has been much more effective against right-handed hitters.Conley is 3-3 with a 3.92 ERA on the road, including his last start on Monday in Chicago where he lost 5-0 to the Cubs and gave up two runs, five hits and six walks with four strikeouts in four innings.Gray, a rookie in his first full season in the majors, is 8-4 with a 3.77 ERA overall in 19 starts and 5-0 with a 3.83 ERA in nine starts at Coors Field.In Grays past seven outings, he is 4-1 with a 2.18 ERA, and hes 3-0 with an 0.69 ERA (26 innings, two earned runs) in four starts since the All-Star break with eight walks and 25 strikeouts. Not surprisingly, Gray is brimming with confidence.Even when Im not on my game, I know I can keep us in the game, just by competing, Gray said. ' ' '