Dein erstes Forum » I think he told you all that this would be a time

NEW YORK -- It was on a US Open practice court where, if you were especially intuitive, there were signs last year that Serena Williams was headed for an unhappy ending to her quest of completing the seventh calendar-year Grand Slam in the history of the game.It wasnt necessarily what she did that day, tossing and serving for well over an hour -- first from the deuce court, then from the ad and over to a different court for more of the same.It was more of what drove her there and the purposefulness with which she marched over directly after her match. Williams would later admit to being nervous during her eventual second-round victory against the 110th-ranked player in the world, a match in which she would squeak out a first-set tiebreaker 7-5, after committing eight double faults and 26 unforced errors in the opening set.She would close the match out 6-3 in the second; the match point was not accompanied by anything close to the shrieks heard that afternoon but rather utter silence, a disgusted look and an eye roll. She later characterized it as not one of my happiest moments.At that point, Williams was already tired of the questions and seemingly tired of the grind. Tired of being tired. She even all but demanded that any inquiries with the words Grand Slam in them cease. And when she lost in a semifinal shocker to Roberta Vinci, the 43rd-ranked player in the world playing her first career Slam semi, Serena blew through a four-minute news conference and left the grounds.You could hardly blame her. But back in the second round here Thursday against 27-year-old American Vania King, Williams mood was decidedly different.I think Im more relaxed, for sure, Williams said this earlier this week.While not exactly operating under the proverbial radar, Serena is trying to win just her second Slam in a row after prevailing at Wimbledon and only trying to surpass Steffi Grafs record of 22 career majors.And while King is an 87th-ranked wildcard who succumbed to Serena in their only previous meeting, 6-1, 6-0 in 56 minutes in the 2014 US Open, you suspect Williams opponent, as always, has very little to do with the outcome.While Serena is still dealing with a shoulder issue that had her going for placement rather than speed on her serves in her 6-3, 6-3 first-round win over Ekaterina Makarova, there is considerably less emotional weight on both shoulders this year.In 2015, Williams played 17 three-setters going into the Open in 10 tournaments, plus two rounds of Fed Cup; she won 16 of those three-set matches. This year, there have been five three-setters in seven tournaments, including the Olympics. She lost that third-round encounter to 20th-ranked Elina Svitolina in straight sets on Aug. 9, her last match before New York.Even with the shoulder concerns, Williams was asked, is this US Open already a more pleasant experience?I was going for something that no one has done in a really long time, she said of last year. Yeah, it didnt end wonderful for me or the way I wanted it to end. But it was all I could do. Thats all I could do.While the three-set victories were a testament to her competitive toughness, the off-court battle turned out to be a considerably tougher one. After the 2015 Open, she cited a broken heart from her loss to Vinci in addition to other injuries and subsequently announced she was withdrawing from three tournaments, including the WTA Finals.Williams coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, said the motivation just wasnt there, and it was the only sensible decision. And this year, while Serena, who is weeks short of her 35th birthday, said she would have preferred to play more coming into the final Grand Slam of the year, she is trying to be optimistic.There is nothing we can do about it, she said. You just have to make the best of every single opportunity. Thats all I can do now.Usually, thats more than enough. Custom Dallas Mavericks Jerseys Cheap . Jeff Green scored 13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point, second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. Garnett was dealt -- along with Paul Pierce -- to Brooklyn during the off-season. Custom Milwaukee Bucks Jerseys Cheap . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. http://www.basketballcustomjerseys.com/custom-brooklyn-nets-jerseys-cheap-258q . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off. Custom Los Angeles Lakers Jerseys Cheap . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rookie outfielder in the starting lineup. Custom Cleveland Cavaliers Jerseys Cheap . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. ARLINGTON, Texas -- Now the Texas Rangers wait to find out their playoff opponent.After wrapping up a 95-win regular season on Sunday with a 6-4 loss in 10 innings to Tampa Bay, the AL West champion Rangers will open the AL Division Series at home on Thursday against the wild card winner -- Baltimore or Toronto.That means a possible ALDS rematch against the Blue Jays, who last October overcame a 2-0 series deficit and won the deciding Game 5 at home after the Rangers had a three-error inning and Jose Bautistas emphatic bat flip after he hit the go-ahead homer.When asked if it mattered if the Rangers (95-67) get another shot against the Blue Jays, shortstop Elvis Andrus responded, Not really, because our final prize is not beating one team. We know we have to beat three teams to win it all.In the last regular-season game between the Rangers and Blue Jays in Texas on May 15, second baseman Rougned Odor punched Bautista, igniting a bench-clearing brawl that led to several suspensions.Texas manager Jeff Banister said he isnt concerned about who the Rangers play, or the situation that would surround any opponent.I think that our focus supersedes anything that we might encounter in any location. We dont get to choose whom we play, we dont get to choose where we play, Banister said. We just have earned the opportunity to play someone, somewhere. ... Well stay focused, dedicated to what we need to do, and Ill leave it at that.In the regular-season finale Sunday, Alexei Ramirez had four hits, including a 10th-inning double before scoring for the Rays after Texas had tied the game in the ninth against closer Alex Colome.The Rays then opened the 10th with three consecutive hits off Tanner Scheppers (1-1). Richie Shaffer led off with a single before going to third on Ramirezs double and scoring on a wild pitch. Curt Casali then had an RBI double.While the Rangers fell one win shy of matching the franchise record for victories, they had already clinched home-field advantage through the postseason.The Rays (68-94) finished with their worst record since going 66-96 in 2007, the year before going to their only World Series.Good win on the last day, Rays manager Kevin Cash said. Long game, back and forth, but a nice win.ddddddddddddAndrus went 0 for 3 and had two strikeouts but finished the regular season with a .302 batting average. It is the first .300 season for the Rangers longest-tenured position player in his eighth year -- and the player who had two errors in that decisive seventh inning last October.Ive got to pound the table for a guy that at the end of the year last year, just where he was to where his determination, I think he told you all that this would be a time for him that would be an incredible moment and he was going to come back focused, rededicated and have a significant year, Banister said.Jonathan Lucroy homered for Texas, his 24th this season and 11th for the Rangers since being acquired in a trade Aug. 1 from Milwaukee.Jared Hoying, Robinson Chirinos and Hanser Alberto, hitting in the Nos. 2-4 spots after not being in the starting lineup, had consecutive singles to start the Texas ninth and tie the game 4-4 against Colome (2-4), who had only his third blown save in 40 chances this season.HITTING .300Adrian Beltre went 1 for 2 in the finale, to finish at exactly .300, along with 32 homers and 104 RBI. It is the sixth time in his career to hit .300, and the fourth time in six year with Texas. ... The Rangers had two .300 hitters in the regular season for the first time since 2012 with Beltre and David Murphy.FIRST RUN IN A WHILERamirez had an RBI single in the seventh off reliever Jake Diekman that made it 4-2 and ended the Rangers franchise-record stretch of 35 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings by their bullpen.SHORT HOPSThe game last exactly 4 hours, the second-longest game in length of time for Texas this season. ... Erasmo Ramirez, the seventh Rays pitcher and 14th in the game, worked the 10th for his second save.TRAINERS ROOMRays: CF Kevin Kiermaier missed the finale with a bruised left calf after getting hit by a pitch in Saturday nights game.Rangers: RF Shin-Soo Choo, playing for the third time after missing 39 games because of a broken left forearm, was 1 for 4 while playing seven innings. ' ' '