h epitomized the wild nature of this format than McDowells win over Woodland. They live down the street from each other at Lake from zgr123's blog
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. Tyus Bowser Youth Jersey . 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." Chris Wormley Ravens Jersey . Chris Heisey followed with a two-run triple and Billy Hamilton added an RBI double, all but sealing Cincinnatis fourth straight victory and seventh in eight games. Brandon Phillips, celebrating his 33rd birthday, hit a go-ahead homer in the ninth for the Reds before pinch-hitter Buster Posey tied it with an RBI double off hard-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman in the bottom half. Tyus Bowser Ravens Jersey .com) - Cincinnati Reds pitcher Mat Latos had an arthroscopic procedure performed on his right elbow last week, the teams official site reported Wednesday.MARANA, Ariz. -- Graeme McDowell rarely felt as hopeless in match play as he did Wednesday at Dove Mountain. Overpowered and outplayed for much of the first round, he was 3 down with three holes to play as he watched the majestic flight of Gary Woodlands tee shot cover the flag on the 16th hole. McDowell figured it was a matter of time before he climbed into a courtesy car to be driven back to the clubhouse. "The Cadillacs were circling," he said. They must have looked like buzzards. In an opening round of comebacks in the Match Play Championship, none was more stunning than McDowell surviving to see another day of this most unpredictable event. Woodlands shot took a hard bounce and landed between two corporate suites. Bogey. With a wedge in hand, Woodland pulled it on the wrong side of the 17th green, and McDowell capitalized by making a 12-foot birdie. Woodland blasted out of the left bunker, over the 18th green and into the right bunker to lose a third straight hole. McDowell completed his improbable rally with a 6-foot birdie on the 19th hole to win. "Im sure hes extremely disappointed right now -- and Im extremely elated," McDowell said. "Im surprised to be sitting here, having won. Yeah, I hit a couple of quality shots down the last couple of holes, but he had mistakes, as well. Its a brutal format." It certainly was brutal for the 32 players headed for the airport. Such is the nature of this World Golf Championship, as cut-throat as it comes. "It feels like a Sunday afternoon on Wednesday," McDowell said, realizing that Thursday wont be much different. McDowell was among eight players who trailed with six holes remaining and somehow survived. Brandt Snedeker had to make two tough par saves just to stay alive on the 18th and 19th holes of his match against David Lynn of England. He won with an 8-foot birdie on the next hole. It was the only time all day he had the lead. Jason Dufner was 3 down with five holes remaining when Scott Stallings made too many mistakes, Dufner made one clutch birdie, and the PGA champion advanced in 19 holes with a simple par. Six matches went the distance. Five matches went overtime. The last one was Ernie Els, vexed by this format so many times that some years he didnt bother showing up. He was 2 down with three to play and outlasted Stephen Gallacher in 19 holes. "I feel for him," Els said, perhaps because he has been there himself. After a wild day, there was a small degree of normalcy on Dove Mountain. Only three of the top 10 seeds were eliminated -- Zach Johnson (3), Dustin Johnson (6) and Steve Stricker (9), who wasnt even sure he would play until his brother had liver transplant surgery last weekend. The better seed -- its really just a number -- won 23 of the 32 matches. "Seeds dont matter. Who you play doesnt matter," said Jordan Spieth, sounding wiser than his 20 years after a tough 2-upp victory over Pablo Larrazabal of Spain. Tim Williams Ravens Jersey. Henrik Stenson, awarded the top seed because Tiger Woods and Masters champion Adam Scott chose not to play, trailed Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand with five holes to play. The big Thai struggled with his putter, however, missing a 4-footer for par on the 14th to lose the hole, and an 8-footer for birdie on the 15th that would have given him the lead. Stenson made a 20-foot birdie putt on the 16th, and won the match when Aphibarnrat failed to match his birdie on the 17th by missing from 5 feet. "Im still in shock," Stenson said. "It was a tough match." Second-seeded Justin Rose held off Scott Piercy, and No. 4 seed Rory McIlroy had little trouble against Boo Weekley to advance to the round of 32 on Thursday. Zach Johnson, the No. 3 seed, went out in the opening round for the fourth straight year, this time to Richard Sterne of South Africa, 5 and 4. Dustin Johnson now has lost in the first round five times in six appearances. He never led in a 4-and-3 loss to Peter Hanson. The longest day belonged to Sergio Garcia, who missed a 6-foot putt on the 18th hole for the win over Marc Leishman of Australia. They went 22 holes before Garcia made a 6-foot birdie putt to advance. In other matches: -- Patrick Reed defeated Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., 1-up -- Harris English made his Match Play Championship debut with a 5-and-3 win over Lee Westwood. -- Billy Horschel made six birdies in 13 holes to beat Jamie Donaldson of Wales, 6 and 5, in the shortest match of the day. -- Rickie Fowler, coming off three straight missed cuts, caught Ian Poulter on a bad day and sent the Ryder Cup star packing with a 2-and-1 victory. "It feels like a big win after those missed cuts," Fowler said. "It was nice to be the underdog. I had nothing to lose." -- Bubba Watson was giving holes away early before winning three straight holes on the back nine in a 2-and-1 win over Mikko Ilonen of Finland. Still, no match epitomized the wild nature of this format than McDowells win over Woodland. They live down the street from each other at Lake Nona. They practiced together last week. They flew out to Arizona together. And they had to play each other in the first round on a course where Woodland figured to have a big advantage with his length. McDowell played a practice round with Brooks Koepka, the first alternate, to get used to being outdriven by some 50 yards. His worst fears were realized, especially standing on the 16th tee. He saw his agent on the phone, hopeful he could find him a good flight back to Florida. "I thought it was over," McDowell said. "Youre not coming back from 3 down against a guy thats playing as well as him. Yeah, Im still going to try to hit my shots. But it required a mistake from him to give me half a sniff, even." Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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