Gold standard: Novak Djokovic captured three of the four Grand Slam titles this season. APThe 24-year-old Serb won three of the four Grand Slams titles, lifted seven other trophies and wrested the No. 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal. His 70-6 record included a staggering 41-match winning streak to begin the season."It was incredible," Djokovic said. "I made so many wins in a row that I really didn't count any more. I was just trying to play one match at the time and trying to think how long the streak will go on, not when it will end."Djokovic eventually fell one short of matching John McEnroe's record of 42 straight wins to begin the 1985 season. Despite that, the American great said the tougher competition and greater athleticism in today's game made the Serb's feat "more impressive."The run also included four wins over Nadal, all in finals. Two of them came on the Spaniard's favorite clay surface.Djokovic, who won the Australian Open early in the season, finally lost in June when Roger Federer prevailed in the French Open semifinals. But the Serb quickly picked himself up and swept the Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles.In New York, Federer seemed certain to repeat his Roland Garros success. He held two match points on serve in the fifth set of their semifinal match, but Djokovic saved both — the first with a blistering forehand return winner that was one of the year's most memorable moments.It was also the perfect demonstration of the belief that Djokovic says was the key to his dramatic improvement in 2011 after a three-year gap since his first Grand Slam title in 2008."The truth is that this year, mentally I am more mature and a stronger player," he said. "I believe on the court more in my qualities, more that I can win against Federer and Nadal and all the top players."While Djokovic's confidence soared, Nadal's seemed to drain away a little more with each loss.Spain's Davis Cup win — its fifth since 2000 — at least provided a silver lining to a difficult season, but Nadal said dropping the team competition from his schedule in 2012 would be part of his mission to turn around his fortunes."My goal is always the same, be a better player in 2012 than I was in 2011," Nadal said.The 10-time Grand Slam champion went through a season without a major for the first time since 2002. The failure of women's No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki to capture one of the big four tournaments was another of the season's talking points.The 21-year-old Dane, whose boyfriend Rory McIlroy won his first golf major in 2011, finished the year as the top-ranked player thanks to six WTA Tour titles even though she didn't even reach a single Grand Slam final.Kim Clijsters won her fourth Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, while Li Na of China won her first at the French Open to become Asia's first major singles champion.For Serena Williams, a 13-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1, being on court at all was an achievement in itself after life-threatening blood clots on her lungs.She returned after nearly a year away in June with what she called a "new perspective on life," but the 30-year-old American showed she had lost none of her fierce competitive spirit when she clashed with the umpire during the U.S. Open final, calling her "a hater" and "unattractive inside."
Showing posts with label mastery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mastery. Show all posts
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Djokovic's mastery top story of 2011 in tennis
LONDON — Novak Djokovic is about to find out what it takes to follow up on a nearly unbeatable season.Gold standard: Novak Djokovic captured three of the four Grand Slam titles this season. APThe 24-year-old Serb won three of the four Grand Slams titles, lifted seven other trophies and wrested the No. 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal. His 70-6 record included a staggering 41-match winning streak to begin the season."It was incredible," Djokovic said. "I made so many wins in a row that I really didn't count any more. I was just trying to play one match at the time and trying to think how long the streak will go on, not when it will end."Djokovic eventually fell one short of matching John McEnroe's record of 42 straight wins to begin the 1985 season. Despite that, the American great said the tougher competition and greater athleticism in today's game made the Serb's feat "more impressive."The run also included four wins over Nadal, all in finals. Two of them came on the Spaniard's favorite clay surface.Djokovic, who won the Australian Open early in the season, finally lost in June when Roger Federer prevailed in the French Open semifinals. But the Serb quickly picked himself up and swept the Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles.In New York, Federer seemed certain to repeat his Roland Garros success. He held two match points on serve in the fifth set of their semifinal match, but Djokovic saved both — the first with a blistering forehand return winner that was one of the year's most memorable moments.It was also the perfect demonstration of the belief that Djokovic says was the key to his dramatic improvement in 2011 after a three-year gap since his first Grand Slam title in 2008."The truth is that this year, mentally I am more mature and a stronger player," he said. "I believe on the court more in my qualities, more that I can win against Federer and Nadal and all the top players."While Djokovic's confidence soared, Nadal's seemed to drain away a little more with each loss.Spain's Davis Cup win — its fifth since 2000 — at least provided a silver lining to a difficult season, but Nadal said dropping the team competition from his schedule in 2012 would be part of his mission to turn around his fortunes."My goal is always the same, be a better player in 2012 than I was in 2011," Nadal said.The 10-time Grand Slam champion went through a season without a major for the first time since 2002. The failure of women's No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki to capture one of the big four tournaments was another of the season's talking points.The 21-year-old Dane, whose boyfriend Rory McIlroy won his first golf major in 2011, finished the year as the top-ranked player thanks to six WTA Tour titles even though she didn't even reach a single Grand Slam final.Kim Clijsters won her fourth Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, while Li Na of China won her first at the French Open to become Asia's first major singles champion.For Serena Williams, a 13-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1, being on court at all was an achievement in itself after life-threatening blood clots on her lungs.She returned after nearly a year away in June with what she called a "new perspective on life," but the 30-year-old American showed she had lost none of her fierce competitive spirit when she clashed with the umpire during the U.S. Open final, calling her "a hater" and "unattractive inside."
Gold standard: Novak Djokovic captured three of the four Grand Slam titles this season. APThe 24-year-old Serb won three of the four Grand Slams titles, lifted seven other trophies and wrested the No. 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal. His 70-6 record included a staggering 41-match winning streak to begin the season."It was incredible," Djokovic said. "I made so many wins in a row that I really didn't count any more. I was just trying to play one match at the time and trying to think how long the streak will go on, not when it will end."Djokovic eventually fell one short of matching John McEnroe's record of 42 straight wins to begin the 1985 season. Despite that, the American great said the tougher competition and greater athleticism in today's game made the Serb's feat "more impressive."The run also included four wins over Nadal, all in finals. Two of them came on the Spaniard's favorite clay surface.Djokovic, who won the Australian Open early in the season, finally lost in June when Roger Federer prevailed in the French Open semifinals. But the Serb quickly picked himself up and swept the Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles.In New York, Federer seemed certain to repeat his Roland Garros success. He held two match points on serve in the fifth set of their semifinal match, but Djokovic saved both — the first with a blistering forehand return winner that was one of the year's most memorable moments.It was also the perfect demonstration of the belief that Djokovic says was the key to his dramatic improvement in 2011 after a three-year gap since his first Grand Slam title in 2008."The truth is that this year, mentally I am more mature and a stronger player," he said. "I believe on the court more in my qualities, more that I can win against Federer and Nadal and all the top players."While Djokovic's confidence soared, Nadal's seemed to drain away a little more with each loss.Spain's Davis Cup win — its fifth since 2000 — at least provided a silver lining to a difficult season, but Nadal said dropping the team competition from his schedule in 2012 would be part of his mission to turn around his fortunes."My goal is always the same, be a better player in 2012 than I was in 2011," Nadal said.The 10-time Grand Slam champion went through a season without a major for the first time since 2002. The failure of women's No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki to capture one of the big four tournaments was another of the season's talking points.The 21-year-old Dane, whose boyfriend Rory McIlroy won his first golf major in 2011, finished the year as the top-ranked player thanks to six WTA Tour titles even though she didn't even reach a single Grand Slam final.Kim Clijsters won her fourth Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, while Li Na of China won her first at the French Open to become Asia's first major singles champion.For Serena Williams, a 13-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1, being on court at all was an achievement in itself after life-threatening blood clots on her lungs.She returned after nearly a year away in June with what she called a "new perspective on life," but the 30-year-old American showed she had lost none of her fierce competitive spirit when she clashed with the umpire during the U.S. Open final, calling her "a hater" and "unattractive inside."
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Red Wings continue mastery over Coyotes
PHOENIX — The 17,000 fans in white T-shirts made the inside of Jobing.com Arena look like the inside of a popcorn popper. Fueled by the energy, the Phoenix Coyotes issued a series of board-rattling hits on the Red Wings.Detroit's response?A shrug and two spirit-crushing goals.Ruslan Salei and Drew Miller had goals 44 seconds apart in the first period to squelch Phoenix's initial flurry, and the Red Wings scored early in each period to push the Coyotes to the brink of elimination with a 4-2 win Monday night."We came out and weathered their storm," Miller said. "They came out hitting and we got two big goals quick. From there, we just kept going. Every time they came hard, we found a way to push back and keep going."Detroit leveled the Coyotes in its last playoff game in the desert, eliminating them with a 6-1 win in Game 7 of last year's first round. The Red Wings put the lights out on Phoenix's whiteout this time with the two goals in the opening 2:41, another by Valtteri Filppula nearly as quickly in the second period and Johan Franzen's score 45 seconds into the third.Jimmy Howard made it stand with some spectacular saves, giving Detroit a chance to complete the sweep Wednesday in Phoenix.Flyers 4, Sabres 2In Buffalo, Brian Boucher stopped 35 shots as the Flyers' new starting goalie in helping Philadelphia grab a first-round playoff series lead with a win over the Sabres.Danny Briere and Nikolay Zherdev keyed the victory by scoring second-period goals as the Flyers bounced back with two straight wins after a 1-0 series-opening loss Thursday. Bruins 4, Canadiens 2In Montreal, David Krejci and Nathan Horton scored first-period goals to lead Boston over the Canadiens as the Bruins won on the road after dropping the first two games of their first-round series at home.Tim Thomas stopped 34 shots for Boston and Rich Peverley scored in the second. Penguins 3, Lightning 2In Tampa, Tyler Kennedy put Pittsburgh ahead early in the third period and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 25 shots, helping the Penguins edge the Lightning.Maxime Talbot and Arron Asham also scored for Pittsburgh, which took a 2-1 lead in their first-round Eastern Conference best-of-seven playoff series and regained home-ice advantage.
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