05-28-2019, 12:47 AM
PARIS -- The closest thing to intrigue or drama involving Rafael Nadal on Saturday came after his 31st consecutive French Open victory concluded. Thats when the eight-time champion revealed that a painful back is slowing his serves -- and, all in all, giving him more trouble than his opponents so far. For now, leave the on-court theatrics to others. Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, for example, was clutching at aching hamstrings while being taken to 7-all in the fifth set by No. 28 Philipp Kohlschreiber before their third-round match was suspended for fading light. No. 23 Gael Monfils acknowledged tanking a set en route to a 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 victory over No. 14 Fabio Fognini, who was docked a point for chucking his racket near a ball boy. "They make a good show for the crowd," Nadal said. "Long match. Crowd involved. Good for tennis." Well, aside from the fact that Monfils and Fognini combined for more than twice as many unforced errors, 137, as winners, 66. Nadals play was much, much cleaner: During the entire course of his 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 win against 65th-ranked Leonardo Mayer of Argentina, the No. 1-seeded Spaniard made 10 unforced errors -- two in the first set, three in the second, five in the third. Hes dropped a total of 19 games through three matches. More worrisome would be his back, which also acted up in January during a loss to Stan Wawrinka in the Australian Open final. "During my career, I had (a) few problems. ... Hopefully will not be (the) case" the rest of the way in Paris, Nadal said. Against Mayer, Nadal averaged only 102 mph (165 kph) on first serves, with a top speed of 114 mph (184 kph). That was down from an average of 111 mph (179 kph) and top of 122 mph (197 kph) in the first round last Monday. Through two matches, Nadal faced five break points and lost serve twice. He dealt with eight break points Saturday, losing two. The last time Nadal won 31 matches in a row in Paris, he failed to get No. 32, losing in the fourth round in 2009 to Robin Soderling -- a defeat that later was blamed, in part, on injured knees. That remains the Spaniards lone setback in 63 matches at the tournament. Next for Nadal is 83rd-ranked Dusan Lajovic of Serbia, who beat Jack Sock of the United States 6-4, 7-5, 6-3. Another American, Donald Young, lost in five sets to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain, leaving No. 10 John Isner as the last U.S. man. Before this French Open, Lajovic had a 10-21 career record in tour-level matches, never winning two in a row. "I saw him play a few times on TV. Sure, its great to have new players on tour, young players on the tour that are coming strong. Hopefully not too strong," Nadal said with a smile. "Well see on Monday. I hope to be ready." Asked whether he would seek advice from another Serbian, No. 2 Novak Djokovic, before facing Nadal, Lajovic joked: "Yeah, I will try to ask everybody (for) some tips." That wont help if Nadal produces shots of the sort he did when Mayer served at 5-all in the second set -- a stretching, scooping backhand lob to break. As Mayer watched the shot sail overhead, he waved his left hand to signal to the ball to go out, then rolled his eyes when it curled in. Nadal pumped his fist, ahead 6-5 and on his way to reaching the fourth round for the 10th time in 10 French Opens. Monfils will take on Garcia-Lopez for a quarterfinal berth. Whoever emerges from Murray-Kohlschreiber meets the winner of another suspended match scheduled to resume Sunday: No. 24 Fernando Verdasco led No. 12 Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-2, 2-2. Womens fourth-round matchups set up Saturday were No. 4 Simona Halep against No. 15 Sloane Stephens, 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova against Lucie Safavora, 2012 runner-up Sara Errani against Jelena Jankovic, and Andrea Petkovic against 148th-ranked qualifier Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands. As the sun came out and the temperature topped 70 degrees (20 Celsius) after several days of overcast skies and occasional rain, Stephens eliminated No. 22 Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 6-3, 6-4, while Halep beat 55th-ranked Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor of Spain 6-3, 6-0. Halep is the highest seeded woman left, following losses by No. 1 Serena Williams, No. 2 Li Na and No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska. Said Halep: "Thats a surprise for everyone." Authentic Los Angeles Rams Jerseys . Rosbergs time of 1 minute, 33.185 seconds at the Bahrain International Circuit was a quarter of a second faster than Hamilton, who had to abandon his final flying lap after running wide at the first corner. Los Angeles Rams Jerseys China .2 million deal for the upcoming season with right-hander Garrett Richards.The person spoke on condition of anonymity Saturday because the announcement hadnt been made. http://www.ramscheap.com/. The Gatineau Olympiques head coach will lead Canada in its quest to end its gold medal drought at the 2015 world junior hockey championship held in Montreal and Toronto at the end of this year. Discount Los Angeles Rams Jerseys . A steady downpour and low temperatures were predicted for much of the night. No makeup date was immediately announced, although it was determined that the game will not be part of a doubleheader on Wednesday. Los Angeles Rams Jerseys Outlet . Picard had a goal and two assists to help Canada improve to 2-0 at the tournament. Seven different players scored for the two-time defending champions. "Today all four lines played excellent," said head coach Laura Schuler.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Ramon Foster never stopped believing. Not after the embarrassing meltdown against Tampa Bay. Not after the debacle in Cleveland. Not after the New York Jets pushed the Pittsburgh Steelers around six weeks ago.The Steelers were a playoff team. Foster was sure of it. The self-assured guard figured it would simply take a little time for things to come together, particularly on a roster thats undergone a sizable makeover since its last post-season appearance in 2011.Ive said it since the beginning of camp, we have the tools capable of doing it, Foster said. It starts up front with the O-line and D-line. We have a quarterback. We have a running back. We have receivers. We have a defence that is getting hot.So hot that Foster sees no problem with taking the feeling he had since camp opened in July a step further.A lot of press look at me weird when I say it, but I think were a team thats capable of playing in Arizona, Foster said.Thats Arizona as in the host of the Super Bowl.Foster wasnt bragging or making a prediction, necessarily, but giving voice to a confidence that has slowly been building throughout the fall. Pittsburghs momentum crested in Sundays 20-12 win over Kansas City that secured a playoff spot and set up a showdown with Cincinnati this weekend for the AFC North title and the home playoff game that goes along with it.While quarterback Ben Roethlisberger stresses the Steelers (10-5) remain a work in progress, they also look less uneven than the group that slouched through a 3-3 start. Pittsburgh is 7-2 since getting crushed by the Browns on Oct. 12. Roethlisberger is in the midst of the finest season of his career. Antonio Brown is obliterating every significant team single-season receiving record and LeVeon Bell is entering the conversation as the most versatile running back in the league.Heck, even the defence has shown up. That really was 36-year-old James Harrison spending a good portion of Sunday afternoon in the Kansas City backfield. The team that gave up big plays with alarming regularity earlier in the year kept the Chiefs out of the end zone. Pittsburgh is no longer just jumpinng to the lead, the Steelers are keeping it.ddddddddddddPittsburgh has trailed for only 5 minutes since a 25-point fourth quarter outburst against Cincinnati on Dec. 7. The finishing instinct the Steelers lacked during treadmill-spinning 8-8 seasons in 2012 and 2013 has suddenly reappeared. In each of the last two weeks, the Steelers have held the ball early in the fourth quarter nursing a one-score lead. Twice they responded with lengthy scoring drives that sealed the outcome.We knew we had the talent, and that it was just a case of us being consistent and putting it together, Bell said. It might not have looked like we were making progress, but we knew that if we kept doing what we were supposed to be doing, wed be alright.The Steelers certainly look like it. The impact plays against the Chiefs were made by franchise fixtures who multiple Super Bowl rings at home like Roethlisberger and Harrison to newcomers like Bell and rookie defensive tackle Stephon Tuitt who are in the midst of a playoff push for the first time.Pittsburgh doesnt have the swagger that accompanied the franchise during its dominant run from 2005-10 where it won two Vince Lombardi trophies and played for a third. Thats fine by coach Mike Tomlin, who would prefer his team get by on its play, not its reputation. The Steelers have spent the last four months bucking tradition, riding one of the NFLs most potent offences back to prominence and sticking with a youthful core that is growing up in front of its coachs eyes.Same guys, but theyve matured through the process, Tomlin said. That maturation process is sometimes not easy.But its effective. The growing pains of September and October — and 2012 and 2013 for that matter — are now firmly in the rearview mirror. Following a two-year absence, the Steelers are back in the playoffs and have no plans on going home anytime soon.We had some up and downs but we just kept pounding the pavement and its been paying off for us, linebacker Lawrence Timmons said. Weve seen that if we believe, we can win. 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