ocked over.We put pressure on their bowlers and we | Forum

NEW YORK -- Between her strong serve and how rested she was compared to her opponent, a perfect storm of factors propelled 10th-seeded Karolina Pliskova into her first Grand Slam final thanks to a 6-2, 7-6 (5) win over top-seeded Serena Williams at Arthur Ashe Stadium on a humid Thursday evening. Authentic Soccer Jerseys .The lean 24-year-old from the Czech Republic had been tempered for the task of meeting Williams before the partisan New York crowd by a harrowing but ultimately triumphant clash with Williams sister, Venus. Serena, meanwhile, had been run ragged less than 24 hours earlier in a grueling 2-hour, 14-minute clash with jackrabbit-quick Simona Halep.Williams, 34, has been in 33 Grand Slam semis. Pliskova was playing her first. Williams visage throughout the match was that of a weary, careworn veteran. Pliskovas eyes were sunken in dark sockets but they burned with ambition. Williams was hampered by an undefined left knee injury that only seemed to become a factor as the match wore on. Pliskova, by contrast, moved swiftly and economically.Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Williams had finally come face to face with a rival who had the tools and intent to outduel her from the service notch.Pliskova smacked seven aces to just five by Williams, whose serve is considered the most potent weapon ever produced in the womens game. The 6-foot-1 Pliskova, also the WTAs ace leader, put a higher percentage of first serves into play (56 to 53 percent) and won more of those vital first-serve points (84 to 66 percent). She put 65 percent of her returns into play compared to Williams 54 percent.My serve is my biggest weapon, Pliskova said. It doesnt matter if I am playing [the] No. 1 or No. 10 player. I can hit any serve I want.Pliskova did to Williams what the 22-time Grand Slam champion usually does to her opponents. The double-fault Williams hit to end the match provided a sad and surprising coda to a match that once again reminded us that those who live by the sword are often fated to die by it as well, usually at the hand of a younger rival.Because shes so tall, [the serve] bounces high, Williams said. Im shorter, so my serve goes through the court. Hers goes a little higher. So I think thats the difference.The result raises an obvious question: How did Pliskova do it?Certainly, her tactical decision to skip the Olympic Games in favor of training for the big summer tournaments played a part. But Milos Raonic did the same thing and we saw where it got him. Unlike Raonic, Pliskova made the most of her choice. She banked wins over No. 3 Garbine Muguruza and new No. 1 Angelique Kerber to win the major US Open tune-up in Cincinnati. The confidence dividend launched her run here.Its all about those last two, three weeks here in States, Pliskova said. I won good matches. If you believe in yourself, you can beat anyone. Its not only about a game and tennis, but its more about the mental things sometimes.Ironically, the mental thing that helped Pliskova the most against Williams was the preview provided by No. 6 seed Venus. Their fourth-round battle was Pliskovas first appearance at Arthur Ashe Stadium.Obviously after I knew what it was [like] to play one of the sisters [and] against all the people there [on Ashe], so I was prepared for it, Pliskova said. I was prepared for a fast game, for great serving. Thats why maybe I won the match today.Venus is either a great teacher or Pliskova is a quick study despite passing the third round at a major for the first time in 18 opportunities. But you can cram a lot of learning into a wild and wooly three-setter decided by a third-set tiebreaker. Pliskova survived a match point in that match, which is partly why she said, Maybe it was a little bit tougher to play Venus.That earlier match also conditioned Pliskovas nerves. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach before the match, but once it started she said she felt no anxiety at all. She avoided the common temptation of trying hard to enjoy her first Grand Slam semifinal, the way some Slam whisperers counsel.[I wanted to] not just enjoy, she insisted, but to win.Williams didnt win, nor did she enjoy. That was evident from the start, and the reason why is something of a mystery. When some suggested that scheduling her matches on successive days was unfair, especially in light of her knock-down, drag-out tussle with Halep in the quarterfinals, she snapped.OK, Im not going to repeat myself. I wasnt tired from yesterdays match, Williams said. 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.Admire her for taking full ownership of the loss, but the answer left many questions hanging. The knee certainly was a factor. As she said, When youre hampered youre thinking of other things. I was missing simple, simple shots that at other times I would make.Its hard to know or say exactly how much of an impact that injury had, but it was clear from the very start that Williams game and mood were flat. She seemed to be lost somewhere within herself, her facial expression sometimes stony, sometimes distraught, sometimes anguished; many things, but never fiery, alert or eager.Theres a price to play when youre 34 and have been walking around with a giant bulls-eye on your back for two decades. It becomes hard to meet every challenge with burning intensity when theres nothing left to prove. It becomes hard to keep fending provocations off when theres so much to defend: titles, rankings, streaks, records.Sometimes, that sword just gets too heavy to lift. Fake Soccer Jerseys . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Authentic .Y. -- Marcell Dareus and the Buffalo Bills defence made life miserable for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. https://www.fakesoccerjerseys.com/ . -- Lou Brocks shoulder-to-shoulder collision with Bill Freehan during the 1968 World Series and Pete Roses bruising hit on Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game could become relics of baseball history, like the dead-ball era. Worcestershire 306 (Mitchell 75, Cox 69*, Magoffin 5-38) and 194 (Fell 85, Magoffin 5-32) beat Sussex 229 (Jordan 57*, Cummins 7-84) and 260 (Wiese 70*, Cummins 5-82) by 11 runs Scorecard Miguel Cummins bowled Worcestershire to a thrilling victory by 11 runs over Sussex at Hove after claiming 12 wickets in the match.The Barbadian followed up his 7 for 84 in the first innings by taking 5 for 82 in the second, including the last four, just when it appeared that Sussex were heading to victory.Chris Jordan (50) and David Wiese, who finished unbeaten on 70, put on 114 in 23 overs for the seventh wicket to get Sussex to within 45 runs of their target.Even when Jordan was squared up by Cummins and caught behind, one ball after reaching his second half-century of the match, Wiese and Jofra Archer added 19 runs to get the target down to 26.But Archer (16) then showed his inexperience, chasing a ball well outside off stump and edging to second slip after Cummins switched back to bowling down the slope.Wiese cracked two boundaries as Sussex took 13 off the next over from Joe Leach to get the target down to 13 but the contest was ended by Cummins in spectacular style.Brett DOliveira produced a wonderful catch at square leg to intercept Danny Briggs leg-side flick and with the next ball Cummins sent Steve Magoffins middle stump flying with a yorker before setting off on a celebratory run around the outfield, with his delighted team-mates in hot pursuit.Victory has improved Worcestershires chances of finishing behind champions Essex in the second division with a home game against Derbyshire to end their season.They had started the final day needing nine wickets with Sussex requiring 259 runs and they made the perfect start when Leach bowled Craig Cachopa through the gate with the second ball of the day, condemning Cachopa to a pair.Sussex were soon 42 for 4 as Cummins bowled Ben Brown with a nip-backer which kept a touch low and Leach collected his 60th wicket of the season when Fynn Hudson-Prentice (20) was bowled.But the green shoots of a Sussex recovery began to sprout in a fifth-wicket stand of 54 between Ollie Robinson and Phil Salt, who had started to look at ease until he drove a slower balll from Charlie Morris to mid-off for 17. Fake Soccer Jerseys For Sale. Worcestershire looked to have more or less wrapped things up on the stroke of lunch when DOliveira plucked out Robinsons middle stump with a direct hit from backward point after confusion between him and Jordan over a single. Robinson made 42 but after lunch Jordan and Wiese took the attack back to their opponents.Their first 50 runs came from just 41 balls and luck seemed to be running Sussexs way when Jordans mis-timed pull off the indefatigable Cummins dropped just short of DOliveira at midwicket.Jordan made 50 off 84 balls while Wiese finished from 70 off 80 deliveries with eight fours and a six, off DOliveira but it was Cummins, whose match figures of 12 for 166 were the best of his career, who had the final say.Its a shame one side had to lose and I genuinely mean that, said Steve Rhodes, Worcestershires head coach. It was a great game and a fantastic advert for Championship cricket.The wicket was strange. A lot of batsmen got out early but if you could get in and form partnerships it could be hard to take wickets. I was pleased with the way we stuck at it because when Chris Jordan and David Wiese were batting together I thought that might be it for us - it looked like being the crucial stand - but Miguel Cummins has come back and won it for us.To take 12 wickets and keep running in hard as he did was a mighty fine effort. He is a hard trier and it was an amazing way to finish it with those two wickets at the end.Wiese, whose efforts had taken Sussex so close, said: CJ (Jordan) and I decided there was no point going into our shells, we wanted to be positive because if you hung about on that wicket you would eventually get knocked over.We put pressure on their bowlers and we went through stages when we could score quickly. We complemented each other well and it was such a good wicket that all of a sudden it looked like we might win the game.But they took two really good catches and Miguel Cummins kept coming in hard at the end. It was a terrific game and its just a shame we couldnt get over the line. ' ' '