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| play the game," Casey said. " |
| Paris, France - Former champion Maria Sharapova fought her way into the semifinals at the French Open on Tuesday. The seventh-seeded former world No. 1 star Sharapova came from behind to beat rising 20-year-old Venezuelan-born Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, 1-6, 7-5, 6-1, on Court Chatrier. Muguruza, who displays easy power and a beautiful forehand and serve, shocked defending champion Serena Williams in the second round here last week. Sharapova trailed 6-1, 5-4 against Muguruza before suddenly catching fire and winning nine of the last 10 games on Day 10. The Russian also posted a comeback victory against Sam Stosur in the fourth round, winning nine straight games after trailing that one, 6-3, 4-3, against her fellow former U.S. Open champ. The 27-year-old Sharapova saved five break points while serving at 2-1 in the third set on Tuesday and then won the next game for a double-break lead, at 4-1, and cruised from there versus Muguruza to reach her fifth career French Open semi, including four straight. Sharapova avoided becoming the latest upset victim in the womens draw, which has lost seven of the top-10 seeds. The veteran Sharapova improved to 18-3 in major quarterfinals and won her 48th match at Roland Garros (against 10 losses), breaking a tie with Williams for the most among active female players. Sharapova completed a career Grand Slam with a French Open title in 2012 and lost to Williams in last years marquee finale at Roland Garros. The Russians semifinal opponent will be the 18th-seeded Eugenie Bouchard, who upended 14th-seeded Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro, 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 7-5, on Court Lenglen. Bouchard came back from a break down in the final set. The 20-year-old Bouchard will appear in her second Grand Slam semi in as many tries this year, as she was a surprise Australian Open semifinalist back in January. Shes 0-2 lifetime against Sharapova, including a straight-set second-round French Open loss last year. Two more quarterfinals will be staged on Wednesday, when fourth-seeded Romanian Simona Halep takes on 27th-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova and 10th-seeded Italian Sara Errani battles 28th-seeded German Andrea Petkovic. The former world No. 2 and former U.S. Open champion Kuznetsova titled here in 2009 and was the Roland Garros runner-up in 2006. Errani was the 2012 French Open runner-up to Sharapova. Danny McCray Jersey .com) - The Toronto Raptors set their sights on a second straight victory with the Oklahoma City Thunder visiting the Air Canada Centre tonight riding a two game streak of their own. James Hanna Youth Jersey . Right-hander Ricky Nolasco and the Twins agreed to terms on a free-agent contract Wednesday, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. http://www.jerseycowboyshopofficial.com/black-friday-robert-newhouse-jersey/. Recently, though, theyve felt right at home against the Washington Capitals regardless of where they play. Marc-Andre Fleury made 32 saves for his fifth shutout of the season, leading Pittsburgh to a 2-0 victory over Washington on Tuesday night. Gavin Escobar Cowboys Jersey . Chelsea earned its biggest league victory under Jose Mourinho after the leaders raced into a 2-0 lead in just seven minutes through goals from Samuel Etoo and Andre Schuerrle. "You come to kill and in 10 minutes we destroyed," Mourinho said. Charles Haley Jersey . Rosenthal, the St. Louis Cardinals closer, got into a major ninth-inning jam, allowed the Pittsburgh Pirates to draw within a run and then load the bases with none out.TORONTO -- Kyle Lowry addressed his teammates after the Toronto Raptors concluded the regular-season Wednesday night. While Torontos point guard wouldnt repeat his speech for reporters -- "Thats for me and my guys to know" -- any words of wisdom are much appreciated by this young Raptors playoff team. "I think theyre going to lean on us (veterans) a lot," Lowry said of his less experienced teammates. "But were all going to help. Were all going to be in this together. "Were 15 deep so weve got guys who are very experienced, inexperienced, weve got a coach who has a ring. So everyone is going to lean on everybody." Experience is the early theme of the Raptors opening-round playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets. Toronto hosts the Nets in Game 1 on Saturday and Game 2 on Tuesday before the series shifts to Brooklyn. The Nets expected starting five -- Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Andrei Kirilenko, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett -- have 417 post-season starts between them. The Raptors starters -- Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross, Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas -- have none. Lowry and Johnson at least have some post-season experience -- Lowry played 13 playoff games as a backup point guard for Houston in 2009 while Johnson played in 11 post-season games with Detroit in 2008 and 09. As for the rest of the starters, they dont know quite what to expect. But theyre about to find out. "Well figure it out Saturday," the 23-year-old Ross said. Ross said hes been told the big difference is intensity. "The one thing that stuck out to me the most is the seasons all about repetition," Ross said. "When you get to the playoffs, its all about its your chance to prove what youve been doing the whole season. "The seasons about repetition but when you get to the playoffs, its either win or go home." DeRozan said its important to remain calm. "Dont overhype anything, go out there and take it one game at a time," DeRozan said. "Thats how weve all got to treat it. "Weve got to treat it like its another big game but we understand whats at stake." Johnson said the mood in the locker-room has taken on a decidedly more serious tone. "(Im) juust telling everybody its a brand new season," the forward said.dddddddddddd"Weve just got to pay attention to detail. "Were doing that in practice, were going through a lot of film. Its a very serious approach." The 26-year-old said the team is making a conscious effort to not become swept up in the playoff excitement thats gripping Raptors fans. "Theres a lot of stuff coming at us. Family, fans, media," Johnson said. "Its basically just us as a team and we have to stick together and stay focused and just look at the bigger picture." Raptors coach Dwane Casey, whose defensive expertise helped the Dallas Mavericks beat the Miami Heat for the 2011 NBA title, has been preparing his players for the more intense post-season game. "Theres a higher level of being specific on each play, attention to detail. Youve got to challenge the shot, youve got to box out and rebound -- second shots are a no-no. Physicality, no layups," Casey said. "A lot of different things change in the playoffs that weve talked about." Asked if his young players will adapt quickly to the post-season style of play, the coach said "Well, we better. "We better in a couple possessions. Again, its basketball. I dont want to say its day and night. Youre still putting the ball through the hole and keeping your guy from scoring, as basic as you can get. I dont want to overhype it to scare our guys. Its still basketball. "Again, guys will see the difference and theyll feel it. . . the pace of the game, theyll feel that as soon as they walk on the court." Still, Casey said there can be too much emphasis placed on playoff experience. "Its important, but its not the only thing, youve still got to play the game," Casey said. "I go back to Dallas, we were an underdog in every series. We had experience, but we were still an underdog. Its important, but its not the only thing you measure it by." Coaching is where the Raptors do win the experience game. Brooklyns Jason Kidd is in his rookie season as a coach. Kidd was the point guard for that Mavs team that beat LeBron James and the Heat back in 2011. "Jason, Im sure hes prepared himself pretty well to handle the situation," Casey said. wholesale jerseys authentic wholesale jerseys store cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys china wholesale jerseys ' ' ' |
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posted on: 10/30/2015 08:19:39 AM
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