Group Info
During the Thursday night loss to Cleveland, h
PARIS -- Andy Murray headed out on court with an opportunity to reach the French Open final for the first time. Melvin Ingram Womens Jersey . Rafael Nadal, however, didnt give him a chance. Murray, who missed the tournament at Roland Garros last year because of a back injury, reached the semifinals for the second time in four years. But for the second time in four years, he was beaten by Nadal in straight sets. "It was a tough day for me," said Murray, who lost 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 Friday. "It was a bad, bad day." Murrays serve was broken six times, the same number of break-point chances Nadal had. On the other end, Murray failed to even earn a break chance. "He missed hardly any balls," Murray said. "I mean, his forehand -- especially with the conditions the way they were today -- was incredibly hard to control the ball." Murray is now 7-7 in Grand Slam semifinals. He has won two major titles, including at Wimbledon last year where he became the first British man to win the grass-court tournament in southwest London since Fred Perry in 1936. But clay is a tougher surface for a player who likes the speedier courts. And playing on clay against Nadal, an eight-time French Open champion with a 65-1 record at Roland Garros, is tougher still. "Today, I was mis-hitting a lot of balls. It was incredibly frustrating," Murray said. "In some ways you start trying too hard, and it doesnt always appear that way. But you want to do stuff too badly, and you end up making more mistakes and things get worse." The weather didnt help. After nearly two weeks of overcast skies and cool weather, the sun was out and the temperature soared to 28 degrees C (82 degrees F). Perfect conditions for Nadal on his favourite court in the world. "He served well and I didnt return well. Simple," Murray said. "Ball was coming through the court quicker today." Murray won his first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open in 2012. That was after losing his first four major finals, and it was also after hiring Ivan Lendl as coach. The Czech great helped Murray finally become a major champion, and a Wimbledon champion a year later, but the pair split in March and Murray has been without a coach since. With another Wimbledon coming up, the defending champion said there was a 50-50 chance he would have a new coach in place by the time the tournament starts on June 23. But he wasnt even too sure about that. "I dont know. I dont know," Murray said, shaking off a reporters question as he tried to shake off the defeat. "I would hope to have someone in place. I dont know." Dan Fouts Chargers Jersey .A. Dickey, even though he was coming off a Cy Young Award in 2012. Many felt the Jays would regret giving up righthanded pitcher prospect Noah Syndergaard and catcher Travis DArnaud over the long haul. Doug Flutie Youth Jersey . - This is just the warm-up act for 18-year-old William Nylander.CINCINNATI - Two big goals are still out there for the Cincinnati Bengals: Shine in prime time, win in the playoffs.The AFC North leaders have a chance to put a dent in the first one on Monday night when they host Denver (11-3), which has already clinched the AFC West. Throughout their history, the Bengals (9-4-1) have been at their worst at nighttime.Cincinnati is 18-41 all-time in prime time, including 10-20 on Monday night. The Bengals have been beaten badly by New England and Cleveland in their two night games this season, reinforcing their reputation as a team that withers under the brightest lights.Its a label theyd love to eliminate.Its annoying and its our job to make it unannoying, safety George Iloka said on Thursday. If we lose this game, the talk will come back again.And if we want to silence the critics, so to say, weve got to put up or shut up. Thats how it goes. It might be annoying, but thats on us.For now, thats how theyre known.A loss at home to San Diego in the first round of the playoffs last season cemented their reputation as a team that cant handle the toughest pressure. Cincinnati has lost in the opening round each of the last three postseasons and hasnt won a playoff game since the 1990 season.And then there are those high-profile games at night.The Bengals went to New England determined to shake their reputation in a Sunday night game, but got pushed around throughout a 43-17 loss. Their next chance in prime time came in a Thursday night game at home against Cleveland, a 24-3 loss that only made matters worse.Defensive end Wallace Gilberry said he has no idea why playing in prime time bothers the teeam. Derwin James Jersey. I guess were afraid of the dark. I have no idea, he said. But I can tell you this: Were going to come out Monday and were going to put our best foot forward.That would be a first. And in order for it to happen, Andy Dalton is going to have to play well.The fourth-year quarterback is 0-3 in the playoffs and 2-6 in prime time games. During the Thursday night loss to Cleveland, he completed only 10 passes, threw three interceptions and finished with a career-low passer rating of 2.0.A lot of it is on the quarterback.Its well documented whatever the record is, 2-6. Ive heard all kinds of stuff. Trust me, I get enough emails, letters, cards, advice, all kinds of stuff, offensive co-ordinator Hue Jackson said. I do understand whats at stake, and I think he does, too.In the big games, Dalton has made the biggest mistakes, losing the ball on fumbles and interceptions. That has to change.We cant make mistakes, we cant turn the ball over, weve got to be sound in our execution, Dalton said. And if we do that, well put ourselves in a lot better position than we did in the other ones.Notes: Receiver A.J. Green did his conference call with media in Denver on Thursday, then was excused from practice because he was sick. ... Cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick (Achilles tendon) and defensive end Carlos Dunlap (calf) were held out of practice as well. ... Tight end Jermaine Gresham missed a victory over Cleveland on Sunday with a sore toe, but practiced fully on Thursday. So did defensive end Margus Hunt (ankle) and cornerback Terence Newman (ankle).___Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '
- Created: Jul 25 '19
- Admin: miaowang123
Users
Newsfeed
- No items
