Subject :LONDON -- Novak Djokovics large lead in the rollicking Wimbledon final was slipping away, due in no
LONDON -- Novak Djokovics large lead in the rollicking Wimbledon final was slipping away, due in no small part to Roger Federers regal presence and resurgent play. [url=http://www.cheaphornetsjerseys.com/]Wholesale Hornets Jerseys[/url] . No man has won tennis oldest major tournament more often than Federer, and he was not about to let it go easily. Djokovic went from being a point from victory in the fourth set to suddenly caught in the crucible of a fifth, and knew all too well that he had come up short in recent Grand Slam title matches. Steeling himself when he so desperately needed to, Serbias Djokovic held on for a 6-7 (7), 6-4, 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-4 victory after nearly four hours of momentum shifts Sunday to win Wimbledon for the second time -- and deny Switzerlands Federer what would have been a record eighth championship at the All England Club. "I could have easily lost my concentration in the fifth and just handed him the win. But I didnt, and thats why this win has a special importance to me, mentally," Djokovic said. "I managed to not just win against my opponent, but win against myself, as well, and find that inner strength." Cradling his trophy during the post-match ceremony, Djokovic addressed Federer directly, saying: "I respect your career and everything you have done. And thank you for letting me win today." Even Federer had to smile at that line. Truth is, Djokovic deserved plenty of credit for figuring out a way to raise his Grand Slam total to seven titles and allows him to overtake Rafael Nadal at No. 1 in the rankings. "Novak deserved it at the end, clearly," said Federer, who hadnt been to a Grand Slam final since winning his 17th major at Wimbledon in 2012, "but it was extremely close." Federer, who turns 33 next month, won 88 of 89 service games through the semifinals and produced 29 aces in the final, but Djokovic broke him four times. Federer went to the net aggressively, only to see Djokovic zoom more than a dozen passing shots past him. And with most of the Centre Court crowd of about 15,000 raucously cheering for Federer, the 27-year-old Djokovic kept believing in himself. That part might have been the most difficult, given that Djokovic lost his past three major finals, and five of his past six, including against Andy Murray at Wimbledon last year, and against Nadal at the French Open last month. "Started doubting, of course, a little bit," Djokovic said. "I needed this win a lot." Boris Becker, the three-time Wimbledon champion who began coaching Djokovic this season, called the new champion "the biggest competitor" and praised "his sense of not giving up, giving it always another try." "It couldve gone either way in the fifth set," said Becker, whose former rival as a player, Stefan Edberg, coaches Federer. "Novak finds another way. He digs deep and finds another way." Djokovic built a 5-2 lead in the fourth set and served for the championship at 5-3. But Federer broke there for the first time all afternoon, smacking a forehand winner as Djokovic slipped and fell on a patch of brown dirt. Djokovic took a nastier tumble in the second set, hurting his left leg and prompting the first of two medical timeouts; he got his right calf massaged by a trainer in the fifth. With Federer serving at 5-4 in the fourth, he double-faulted to 30-all, then netted a backhand for 30-40 -- handing Djokovic a match point. Federer hit a 118 mph (190 kph) serve that was called out, but he challenged the ruling, and the replay showed the ball touched a line for an ace. That was part of Federers five-game run to force a fifth set. It would be another 42 minutes until Djokovic again stood so close to triumph. "Cant believe I made it to five," Federer said. "Wasnt looking good there for a while." In truth, after so much drama, the ending was anticlimactic. Trailing 5-4 but serving, Federer missed four groundstrokes, pushing a backhand into the net on Djokovics second match point. Victory his, Djokovic knelt on the most hallowed tennis court in the world, plucked a blade of grass and shoved it in his mouth, just as he did after his 2011 Wimbledon title. He dedicated this victory to his pregnant fiancee "and our future baby," and to Jelena Gencic, his first tennis coach, who died last year. "This is the best tournament in the world, the most valuable one," Djokovic said. "The first tennis match that I ever (saw) in my life, when I was 5 years old, was Wimbledon, and that image stuck (in) my mind." [url=http://www.cheaphornetsjerseys.com/]Cheap Hornets Jerseys Authentic[/url] . The thunderous cheers quickly changed to an appreciative chant: "Ma-son! Ma-son! Ma-son! Headed to New York with new life, Mason sure earned this curtain call. [url=http://www.cheaphornetsjerseys.com/]Cheap Swingman Hornets Jerseys[/url] . Cincinnati has lost back-to-back games in overtime, wasting a chance to take a commanding lead in their division. [url=http://www.cheaphornetsjerseys.com/]http://www.cheaphornetsjerseys.com/[/url] .com) - Edmonton Oilers forward Taylor Hall left Saturdays game against the Senators in the second period with a left knee injury.ANGELHOLM, SWEDEN – Team Canada head coach Brent Sutter blasted his players following an uninspired 3-0 loss to Sweden in an exhibition game Sunday night. "Theyre a team that plays hard, they skate, they play with emotion and skill and we had guys who didnt tonight and it just shows that skills overrated unless you have a work ethic and a compete level that you have to have out there. We lost a lot of one-on-one battles. Outside of one guy, we lost a lot of face-offs ... We didnt have the puck, especially in the first period. We were just very passive and on our heels and basically we let them dictate the game and they did and we never seemed to get any momentum or control of it back," said Sutter. "I think its a good lesson for us." Bob McKenzie takes a closer look at why Canada struggled against Sweden. It was an assessment shared by his players. "Theyre a big challenge, obviously, they showed it tonight," said defenceman Derrick Pouliot, "luckily for us its still exhibition [season] so we got some time to improve and well see them down the road for sure." Canada will need to play a lot better if theyre going to beat the Swedes in the tournament, which starts on Boxing Day. The host nation is returning half of their players from last years silver-medal squad and Carolinas Elias Lindholm and Nashvilles Filip Forsberg, who were not in the lineup Sunday, will be on the ice by the time the round robin begins. Canada and Sweden are in different pools in the opening round and can only meet in the playoffs. "We didnt work, starting from myself," said left winger Jonathan Drouin, who sat out the first pre-tournament game on Friday. "I think the key guys have to produce offence and we didnt. We have to work harder against a skilled team like that." "Its not a lot of things that really went wrong," said defenceman Aaron Ekblad. "We just have to work harder as a team. That team outworked us and thats about all you can say about it." DROUIN RUSTY IN RETURN Drouin will be a key factor in whether Canada ends a four-year gold drought. Sunday marked the 18-year-olds first game since sustaining a concussion on Dec. 6 while playing with the Halifax Mooseheads in the QMJHL. Head injuries can be tough to come back from at first and rust was evident. "I thought he was average at best," Sutter stated bluntly. "He didnt play very good at all, but its his first game. It was a feel-out process for him tonight. I guess Im not surprised the way it was. He hasnt played in a while and obviously were playing a top, top team." "Obviously, a little slow start," Drouin acknowledged. "Its been three weeks so first game is going to be a little harder. It was getting better and better as the game went on."t; Canada wraps-up its pre-tournament schedule with a game against Switzerland on Monday. [url=http://www.cheaphornetsjerseys.com/]Cheap Charlotte Hornets Jerseys[/url]. Drouin believes that one more game should be enough for him to be ready for the tournament opener on Thursday against Germany. "Im sure Ill be fine, like I said, it just took some time and as the game went on I felt better and better," said Drouin, who was picked third overall in last Junes NHL draft by Tampa Bay. "Theres one more game and Im sure Ill be better." DUMBA EJECTED; SUSPENSION LOOMING? A lack of discipline also haunted Canada on Sunday as defenceman Mathew Dumba, named an alternate captain by Sutter on Thursday, was ejected in the second period for kneeing Erik Karlsson. The Swedes scored with one second left in the major penalty. Two of Swedens three goals came on the man advantage. Its possible that Dumba, loaned to Hockey Canada by the Minnesota Wild for the world juniors, may face a suspension for the hit. Canadian defenceman Griffin Reinhart will already miss the first three games of the tournament as he serves out a suspension picked up at last years event. And Sutter made it perfectly clear that going into the championships first game with fewer than six blueliners is not acceptable. "No, its not OK to go into the tournament with five D," he said. "I think youre grasping right now, reaching, thinking its a possible suspension. I couldnt even answer that. He got ejected from the game, but whether theres a suspension label to it? I couldnt tell you." Dumba was cut by Team Canada the last two years and has spoken about how much it means to him to be on the squad this time around. Bob McKenzie breaks down the Dumba situation and how a suspension would put Sutter in a tricky situation LONE BRIGHT SPOT The one player that escaped Sutters wrath was Jake Paterson. The Saginaw goalie kept the game scoreless in the first period as Canada was outshot 16-5. Jamie McLennan takes a closer look at Patersons performance "He played great," said Sutter. "He played outstanding. From the first shot that was taken on him, he was really, really solid for us. He kept it close for us, especially in the first period, but we never responded in the way we wanted to and you have to score goals to win games. We just never generated enough offensively. He gave us chance and I thought he played extremely well." Paterson is competing with Zach Fucale for the starting job. Fucale stopped 31 of 33 shots in Fridays 4-2 win against Finland. "Obviously Im looking, hopefully, to be the starter, but I have no idea what the coaches are thinking right now so I just got to be ready if they call upon me," said Paterson, who stopped 31 of 34 shots against Sweden. Sutter hasnt announced who will start on Monday against the Swiss. [url=http://www.jerseysv.com/]Cheap NFL Jerseys[/url] [url=http://www.wholesalejerseysbests.com/]Wholesale Jerseys[/url] [url=http://www.cheapnikenfljerseyschina.com/]Wholesale NFL Jerseys[/url] [url=http://www.cheapjerseysali.com/]Jerseys From China[/url] [url=http://www.cheapnfljerseysclub.com/]Wholesale NFL Jerseys[/url] [url=http://www.cheapjerseysfastshipping.com/]Cheap NFL Jerseys[/url] [url=http://www.cheapjerseysgoodquality.com/]Cheap Jerseys[/url] [url=http://www.cheapjerseysquality.us.com/]Cheap NFL Jerseys[/url] ' ' '
|