07-02-2019, 01:03 AM
Novak Djokovic takes on talented teenager Borna Coric at the Madrid Open on Wednesday, aiming to improve his clay-court season. Danielle Hunter Jersey . 2016 ATP Masters 1000 winners Indian Wells Novak Djokovic Miami Novak Djokovic Monte Carlo Rafa Nadal The world No 1 is bidding to bounce back from his shock second-round defeat at the hands of Jiri Vesely at the Monte Carlo Masters last month and will face 19-year-old Coric, who saw off Nicolas Almagro on Tuesday.Djokovic has won the Madrid Masters crown on one previous occasion, back in 2011 and he will want to up his clay-court preparations as he bids to win the one Grand Slam crown that has so far evaded him - the French Open. Roland-Garros gets underway on May 22 and despite his wobble in Monte Carlo, the Serb has already claimed two of the three Masters titles this year as well as the Australian Open.Djokovic is meeting Coric for the first time but the Croatian teenager already has two finals under his belt this season, including one on clay in Marrakech.Coverage on Sky Sports 1 gets underway at 11am on Wednesday and there is an all-Spanish affair to kick off proceedings on the show courts with Feliciano Lopez up against Roberto Bautista-Agut, while Jo-Wilfried Tsonga takes on Albert Ramos-Vinolas.David Ferrer is up against American qualifier Denis Kudla, Juan Martin Del Potro will look to continue his return to form when he meets Jack Sock while eighth seed Tomas Berdych faces Denis Istomin. Masters of their Trade Nadal and Djokovic at the top of the tree One to WatchFourth seed Stan Wawrinka has been woefully out of sorts since winning the Dubai Open in February and Australias Nick Kyrgios is a very obvious threat - the pair also have previous after a verbal altercation in Montreal revolving around Wawrinkas girlfriend Donna Vekic.Already this season, the 21-year-old from Canberra has claimed his maiden ATP title with a win in Marseille and made no fewer than three semi-finals, one of which ended in him retiring injured against Wawrinka in Dubai while the Aussie produced a career best Masters effort in reaching the last four in Miami Masters. Stan Wawrinka and Nick Kyrgios have not always seen eye-to-eye Wawrinka, a double Grand Slam champion, has suffered defeats to David Goffin and Andrey Kuznetsov in Masters events this year and despite a run to the semi-final in Monte Carlo, he was outgunned by Rafa Nadal and could be an early casualty in Spain this week.Surprise in StoreThe clay is always capable of throwing up an upset or two and already this week weve had 12th seed David Goffin and 14th seed Dominic Thiem fall by the wayside as well as Grigor Dimitrov, Philipp Kohlschreiber and Bernard Tomic falling to players ranked below them. Fabio Fognini , the maverick Italian capable of stunning the worlds best Wednesday could be a similar tale with Italian maverick and clay-court specialist Fabio Fognini more than capable of surprising number six seed Kei Nishikori.Fognini beat Tomic on Tuesday in their first round encounter and while he has been below his best for much of the season with several early exits, but coupled with his favourite surface, a top-ten player and a high-profile event that is usually when the mercurial Italian is at his best.The pair have met on one previous occasion with Nishikori victorious in four sets at the 2011 Australian Open, and Fognini is a very different threat on the red dirt with all three of his career titles coming on clay. In Case You Missed ItBernard Tomic was a first round casualty on Tuesday and effectively handed his opponent victory at match point in Madrid. Novak Djokovic is out to make amends for an early exit in Monte Carlo Rafa Nadal moved into the the last 16 with a routine win over Andrey Kuznetsov and Andy Murray saw of a resiliant and at times inspired Radek Stepanek to advance. Murrays Masters route Who could Andy Murray face in Madrid? You can follow all the action from Madrid on Wednesday with the action getting underway on Sky Sports 1 from 11am. Also See: Barry Cowans Madrid questions Murrays Masters route Latest scores Sign in to watch on Sky Sports 1 Roc Thomas Jersey . While the pair of Spain internationals return, midfielder Xavi Hernandez will not be included in the squad after failing to recover from a muscle strain to his left leg. Armon Watts Jersey . New York secured second place in the Metropolitan Division when the Philadelphia Flyers lost at Tampa Bay later Thursday. The Rangers will face either the Flyers or Columbus in the opening round of the post-season. The Rangers struggled throughout against the lowly Sabres and goalie Matt Hackett, who played in just his seventh NHL game of the season. http://www.cheapvikingsjerseyselite.com/...ion-jersey . He looked very comfortable Wednesday night. Konerko had a big three-run double and Gordon Beckham homered for the second straight game, leading the Chicago White Sox to an 8-3 victory over the sliding Chicago Cubs.PARIS -- Centre Wesley Fofana scored one try and helped create another as France beat Italy 30-10 on Sunday to further boost its chances of winning the Six Nations title following last weekends dramatic victory against England. Last years wooden spoon is now just a bad memory for France, with Sundays convincing win following the 26-24 success against England -- further raising hopes ahead of a crunch match against title-holder Wales. A turgid first half riddled with poor kicking ended 9-3. But France scored three tries inside the first 15 minutes of the second half through burly No. 8 Louis Picamoles, Fofana and a debut try from left-winger Hugo Bonneval, whose father Eric Bonneval helped France win three Five Nations titles. "We havent won two matches in a row since 2012, so thats important," France coach Philippe Saint-Andre said. "We wore the Italians out a lot in the first half, even though we didnt vary our play enough. In the second half we played very, very good rugby. We went from 9-3 to 30-3 in no time at all." Right-winger Tommaso Iannone got a late converted try for Italy, which has lost twice and next hosts winless Scotland at home. The loser of that match is set for the wooden spoon, while a victory in Cardiff will have the French dreaming of an unexpected Grand Slam. After losing on its last two visits to Rome, they were determined to make amends at Stade de France. But in chilly, somewhat windy conditions, only the sharp bite of the weather prevented the fans from falling asleep in a scrappy opening half bereft of attacking rugby, and where four out of 10 kicking opportunities were taken. Scrumhalf Jean-Marc Doussain missed two penalties and flyhalf Jules Plisson was wide with a dropped goal attempt. Italy got its first chance when lock Pascal Pape was penalized for an offside and centre Gonzalo Garcias penalty from just over the halfway line fell short. With the forwards battle pretty even, Italy had anotheer chance to take the lead midway through the first half, but this time Garcias kick from nearly the same distance sailed wide. Everson Griffen Jersey. . After fullback Brice Dulin was held up near the line, Doussain slotted over from just in front of the posts, but Italy levelled through flyhalf Tommaso Allans three-pointer from 20 metres out, but he then missed a similar chance. After Italy collapsed the scrum, Doussains kick cannoned over off the right post and he landed a better effort to put France 9-3 up. Then, the tries came thick and fast. "Its a strange feeling, because for 60 or 70 minutes we were close to Frances level and at times even got on top," Italy coach Jacques Brunel said. "But those 10 minutes or so (in the second half) totally changed the game." Picamoles burst out of a rolling maul and was brilliantly tackled by left-winger Leonardo Sarto close to the line. He then hauled himself up before planting the ball on the line, and the try was awarded following a video replay, with Doussain getting the extras. Fofana showed once again why he is one of the most promising centres in world rugby. Picking up a loose ball following a ruck, he broke two tackles with brute strength before sprinting down the blindside for a converted score. "Hes an exceptional player. He scored an incredible try and he has the ability to break tackles," Saint-Andre said. "We ask Wesley to talk a lot on the field, and we have a young generation who are starting to assert themselves." The third try was well worked. Fofanas scorching pace took him clear from midfield, and he fed right-winger Yoann Huget, who in turn popped a simple pass to give Bonneval a try in the left corner. Doussain landed a tricky conversion to make it 30-3. As tempers frayed, props Rabah Slimani and Michele Rizzo were sent off after butting heads in a maul. Italys persistence finally paid off when Iannone scurried into the left corner. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Cheap NBA Jerseys Wholesale NHL Jerseys Wholesale MLB Jerseys Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Wholesale NCAA Jerseys Wholesale Football Jerseys Wholesale Basketball Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys ' ' '