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| Author: | Cl11234566 [ Sat Jan 11, 2020 2:55 pm ] |
| Post subject: | from the bench |
MELBOURNE, Australia - Andy Murray now has another burden to bear, and its not in Britain.The 27-year-old Scottish player earned the dubious distinction Sunday of becoming the only man in the Open Era to lose the Australian Open final four times.For years, Murray lived under the pressure of intense expectations in Britain until he finally won Wimbledon in 2013 and ended a 77-year drought for British men. He had to beat Novak Djokovic to clinch that title.Djokovic is now making Murrays life very difficult in Australia.On Sunday, the No. 1-ranked Djokovic beat Murray 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-0 to win his fifth Australian Open title and once again relegated Murray to the role of runner-up. Murray lost twice before to Djokovic at Melbourne Park in 2011 and 2013, and to Roger Federer in 2010.Murray stood stone-faced at the trophy ceremony beside an exuberant Djokovic inside Rod Laver Arena, with the 76-year-old Rod Laver himself sitting in the stands, and again hoisted the runner-ups silver plate.Ill try and come back next year and hopefully have a slightly different outcome in the final, Murray told the crowd, which had spent much of the match jumping to its feet and exploding in cheers at the end of intensely athletic rallies.On a bright note for Murray, who entered the tournament ranked sixth, he will return to the No. 4 ranking and rejoin the so-called Big Four of mens tennis alongside Djokovic, No. 2 Roger Federer and No. 3 Rafael Nadal.His performance showed that he is in excellent physical shape, as was Djokovic — most of the time.The reason I lost the match was not a physical thing, Murray said.At times in the first half of the match, Djokovic stumbled on the court and appeared to be limping. He also received treatment on his right thumb. In the third set, Djokovic appeared to be cramping, Murray said.The third set was frustrating because I got a bit distracted when he, like fell on the ground after a couple of shots, Murray said.After struggling with apparent injury, Djokovic came back to win 12 of the last 13 games.He was moving unbelievable at the end of the third set, sliding and chasing everything down, Murray said. If someone is cramping in the final of a Slam, with such a long way to go, youre feeling pretty good about yourself. Maybe I dropped off for 10, 15 minutes there, and he got back into it.At Murrays post-match news conference, he was repeatedly asked if he thought his opponents stumbling was a deliberate tactic.I dont know, Murray paused. I dont know... I would hope that wouldnt be the case.Djokovic later said he wasnt cramping but went through a roughly 20-minute crisis after too many long, exhausting rallies.I was just weak. I went through a physical crisis, Djokovic said, finding himself on the defensive after winning his fifth Australian Open title.Djokovic shrugged when asked about Murrays loss of focus. In a match like this a lot of emotions go through, a lot of tension. Its not easy to keep the concentration 100 per cent all the way through.Despite the loss, Murray said he felt upbeat about his physical condition and a new level of confidence and calm during matches.Obviously I would have liked to have won today, but you cant win all of them, unfortunately, Murray said. Novak has won five times here now. Theres no disgrace obviously in losing to him. So yeah, a lot of positives for me to take from it. .J. -- Freshman Eli Carter scored a career-high 31 points and hit the go-ahead basket in the second overtime as Rutgers rallied to stun No. . The Suns termed Fridays surgery by team doctor Thomas Carter a success. No timetable was given for Bledsoes return but the team said in a news release that he "will pursue a possible return to action during the second half" of the season. http://www.airmaxpaschervente.fr/destoc ... rance.html. A top pitching prospect, one who the ball club is pinning some of its future hopes, takes the spot of a veteran who once was viewed as a future ace but who, to this point, hasnt realized his potential and may never. . The Opening Day starter played 53 games this season hitting .192 with nine home runs and 25 RBI. Red Sox manager John Farrell has decided to start Jose Iglesias at third base as of late instead of Middlebrooks. . Patrick Sharp scored twice and Patrick Kane, Bryan Bickell and Nick Leddy also connected to lead Chicago to a 5-2 win over the Devils on Monday night.The Montreal Canadiens will look to stave off elimination from the Stanley Cup playoffs tonight when they host the Boston Bruins in Game 6 of their second-round Eastern Conference Series. The Bruins lead the series 3-2 and are trying to advance to the Conference Final for the second consecutive year. The action can be heard on TSN Radio 690 and TSN.ca/Montreal at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Canadiens find themselves facing elimination for the first time in these playoffs thanks to a 4-2 loss in Boston on Saturday. Reilly Smith and Jarome Iginla both scored power play goals while Carl Soderberg and Loui Eriksson added even strength markers for the Bruins, who moved a step closer to defending their Eastern Conference crown with the victory. The power play goals broke an 0-for-10 stretch the Bruins were on in the series that also dated back to an 0-for-39 post-season stretch against the Canadiens since Game 2 of their 2009 first-round series. "We expect that we are going to have to play our best game yet," said Iginla. "We know that they are going to try to use their crowd, and we are most likely going to need our best game of the series." Canadiens goaltender Carey Price, who made 26 saves in the Game 5 loss, believes his team will be ready to play in front of their home crowd. "You back any animal into a corner, its going to be desperaate," said Price.dddddddddddd "I think were going to be a desperate hockey club coming into next game and I think were excited for the challenge." The Bruins also did their best to get under the Canadiens skin in Game 5. Forward Shawn Thornton was fined $2,820.52 by the league for skirting water on Canadiens defenceman P.K. Subban from the bench. The fine is the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement. For his part, Bruins head coach Claude Julien said that he did not approve of Thorntons actions while Subban on the other hand was not interested in being drawn into any controversy on the matter. "I dont need you guys to make it a big deal out of it," said Subban. "It is one of those irritating things when youre down 4-2. They beat us, thats not the reason why we lost. Its just one of those things that frustrates you even more towards the end of the game." The Canadiens are 3-1 at the Bell Centre after winning both games against the Tampa Bay Lightning and taking Game 3 in this series. Their only home defeat so far in these playoffs is a 1-0 overtime loss in Game 4 to the Bruins. Defenceman Nathan Beaulieu took part in practice this morning and later left with the regulars. He will be in thelineup this evening. Forward Daniel Briere, who was scratched on Saturday night, will also be back. ' ' ' |
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