LONDON -- Andy Murray may have had a smooth run at these championships so far,
but he is preparing for more of an adrenaline rush when he lines up against
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga?in Wednesdays quarterfinal.
Rod Brind Amour Jersey .The world No. 2 hasnt
dropped a set or looked troubled at all. Even Nick Kyrgios, the player most
likely to give him a fight in his draw so far, turned out to be a pushover on
Monday.Tsonga, ranked No. 12 in the world and a two-time Wimbledon semifinalist,
should be a different prospect, in theory; at 31 years old he is certainly more
experienced than the young and emotional Kyrgios.Big matches against the best
players turn on fleeting chances, and if you want to win Wimbledon, you have to
relish those moments, Murray said in his BBC column.Adrenaline will kick in, and
thats a good thing -- it helps you concentrate harder, move quicker and react
faster.When youre feeling good out on court, its as though youre not going to
miss and the other guy is going to have to find something special. Thats what
the best players do; they make you play those extra balls.I like those moments,
they help me focus better.Murray claimed Tsonga was one of the best grass-court
players in the world, but his record against the tournament favourite on that
surface hasnt been great.This will be their third meeting at Wimbledon; Murray
won both their 2010 quarterfinal and 2012 semifinal. He has also trumped Tsonga
twice at Queens and in a Davis Cup rubber at the same club last July.In fact,
only once before has the Frenchman succeeded in their duels on grass, and that
was 12 years ago at a second-tier Challenger tournament in Nottingham.Murrays
wish for a real challenge is perhaps to avoid him going a little stale. If he
reaches the semifinal he will play either Lucas Pouille, whom he has played and
beaten once,?or Tomas Berdych, and their head-to-head record is 8-6 in Murrays
favour.It may well have crossed the mind of Murrays coach Ivan Lendl -- the
player himself insists he only concentrates on his next match -- that he might
not be seriously tested until the final. With Roger Federer looming, the danger
of some real ring rust cannot be discounted.When nothings really going on in the
match, like in the middle of the second set against Nick [Kyrgios], its much
harder to concentrate than at 6-5, 0-30, Murray said.Ive played Tsonga a couple
of times at Wimbledon and they both came down to a few points at key moments, so
lets hope the adrenaline pulls me through again on Wednesday.Tsongas fitness
might work in Murrays favour in terms of his progression, although probably not
in his hope for an adrenaline charge.Tsonga has had injury problems, retiring in
tears from a third-round match against Latvias Ernests Gulbis at the French Open
after hurting his thigh.Tsonga also played a gargantuan third round against
Americas John Isner?here which lasted for more than four hours. It was spread
over Saturday and Sunday and culminated with a 19-17 final set, during which he
had to save a match point.Luckily for him, he was extended for just 24 minutes
on Monday against Richard Gasquet, who retired hurt with a back problem.John
McEnroe suggested Tsonga should be primed for Murray as a result. This was just
what the doctor ordered, the winner of three Wimbledon singles titles said on
the BBC.He would have been extremely happy that he won like that. After the
match against Isner, he wouldnt have had a lot left in the tank.
Custom
Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys . This should be celebrated because it
will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their
clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to
continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team
in the middle of their season.
Justin Faulk Jersey . -- Hunter Smith scored
the winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the third period as the Oshawa
Generals edged the host Sarnia Sting 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League
action.
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29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full
backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last
off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the
club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings
"maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch"
and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. India 455
(Kohli 167, Pujara 119) and 204 (Kohli 81, Broad 4-33) beat England 255 (Stokes
70, Bairstow 53, Ashwin 5-67) and 158 (Cook 54) by 246 runsScorecard and
ball-by-ball detailsIndias bowlers required just 38.1 overs to wrap up a 246-run
victory on the final day of the second Test in Visakhapatnam, as Englands
resolve - fatally weakened by the loss of two wickets late on the fourth evening
- was finally cracked with nothing but pride left to play for. The damage had
been done in a frantic morning session in which they slumped from 87 for 2 to
142 for 7, and the tail succumbed meekly after lunch, with only Jonny Bairstow
showing any real resistance with 34 not out.The margin of victory perhaps
overstated the gulf between the sides - the key difference, in every sense, was
Indias captain and Man of the Match Virat Kohli, whose aggregate of 248 runs
single-handedly accounted for the deficit in Englands balance. But, having
fought so hard for so long, especially in the second half of the contest, the
speed of their final-day demise was dispiriting for England, with the third Test
in Mohali looming large next week.Contrary to all pre-match predictions, the
pitch still wasnt spinning dramatically by the final day, but it was skidding
through at a hustling pace to match Indias turbo-charged over-rate - they bowled
33.4 in the morning session, including an extraordinary ten in the first
half-hour alone as Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin tied England in knots at a rate
of knots.The devastating dismissal of Alastair Cook, in the last over of the
fourth day, had left England fearing the worst when play resumed, and there was
an inevitability about the identity of the first victim of the morning. Ben
Ducketts rich strokeplay and inventive attitude will doubtless serve him well as
his England career progresses, but in this situation - and particularly against
his nemesis, Ashwin - those attributes had roughly the same value as an INR 500
note.Sure enough, having withstood 15 deliveries without opening his account,
Duckett dropped to one knee in a bid to hit his way out of a corner, but
succeeded only in gloving a sweep onto his thigh pad and into the gloves of the
wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha. As he trooped disconsolately off the pitch,
Duckett might as well have walked straight onto the England bench. His record
against Ashwin alone in this series made grim reading - 40 balls, 15 runs, three
wickets. Hell be back, but perhaps not in Mohali next week. Moeen Ali was the
nnext to go, his technique against the spinners looking solid right up until the
moment Jadeja got one to grip in the rough outside off, and accelerate onto his
inside edge for Kohli to complete a lobbed catch at leg gully.dddddddddddd From
75 for 0 after 50 overs, England were now in freefall at 101 for 4 after 74 -
the flip-side of their siege mentality being that India were now camping as many
as five close catchers under every new batsmans nose.Such close attention didnt
bother Ben Stokes at first. He had been so solid in defence in the first
innings, and continued his tried-and-trusted methods in a 33-ball stay. But,
when India turned to the second new ball - and in the process, gave Jadejas
fingers a rest after 25 overs on the trot had left him with the outstanding
figures of 34-14-35-2 - the lankier offspin of Jayant Yadav conjured the ball of
the match.A faster, flatter offbreak from around the wicket drifted as Stokes
played back, then spat past his edge to clip the outside of his off stump.
Stokes nodded his appreciation as the bowler hurtled past in celebration, and
when Root was nailed by Mohammed Shami nine balls later, the teams might as well
have shaken hands there and then.Root had once again been Englands most
accomplished technician on the day. But, having survived an early reprieve when
Kohli spilled a sharp chance at leg slip, he was pinned on the crease by a zippy
nipbacker from Shami and sent on his way for 25 from 107 balls.There was time
for one more breakthrough before lunch, as Adil Rashid top-edged an attempted
ramp over the slips, to give Shami his second wicket of the innings, and the
denouement came in a resigned procession after the resumption.Zafar Ansari
completed a match every bit as ignominious as Ducketts when Ashwin skidded a
flat offbreak into his off stump for a duck, before Jayant produced a carbon
copy of Englands demise in the first innings, trapping Stuart Broad and James
Anderson with consecutive lbws. Anderson completed his comeback Test with a king
pair, remarkably the first by an England batsman for 110 years.That wasnt the
sort of history that Cooks men had targeted at the start of the tour, but with
three matches to come and some clear signs of life amid the ruins of todays
effort, there will be chances to atone in the coming weeks. But a few correct
calls at the toss would be a start. ' ' '