| Author |
shushu
Joined: 26 Feb 2019
Posts: 197
12 Mar 2019 04:10 |
|
| Message |
|
|
|
MELBOURNE, Australia - Victoria Azarenka is in an unfamiliar position as the Australian Open gets underway: unseeded after a long injury layoff and no longer a heavy favourite to capture a title shes already won two times.While much as changed for the Belarussian, one thing has remained the same — her opponent on the other side of the net Tuesday. For the third consecutive year, Azarenka knocked American Sloane Stephens out of the Australian Open.Their matches at Melbourne Park have all been one-sided — Azarenka has won all three in straight sets — but they havent lacked drama.Two years ago, the two women faced off in the semifinals when Azarenka was the defending champion and Stephens a fresh-faced 19-year-old who had just upset No. 1-ranked Serena Williams in the quarters.Azarenka was comfortably ahead for much of the match, but the momentum began to shift in the second set. Azarenka, appearing flustered, called for an extended injury time-out that was considered by many to be strategic. Azarenka went on to win the match and her second title at Melbourne Park.Last year, the tension between the players was evident when Stephens icily described their relationship as nonexistent before they met in the fourth round. Despite her pre-match confidence, though, the result was the same: another Azarenka victory.When the Australian Open draw came out this year, Stephens said she had a funny feeling.I knew I was going to play her. Of course, Im not seeded, shes not seeded and were going to play each other, she said, before joking, The draws rigged, I swear. I need to go talk to (tournament director) Craig Tiley because this is ridiculous.Both Azarenka and Stephens came into 2015 on the mend — and hoping for a good result in Australia to build on.Azarenka played in just nine tournaments last year due to a left foot injury, causing her ranking to slip to No. 44 and for her to be unseeded at a major for the first time since the 2007 U.S. Open.She said she still needs more matches to feel comfortable on court again, though she looked sharp in her 6-3, 6-2 win over Stephens as she guided backhand winners down the line and volleyed with crisp precision.She even sounded like the Vika of old, pumping herself up with emphatic Come ons! and punctuating her shots with high-pitched hoots.Can she hoist the trophy again this year?The dreams are always big, and I think thats kind of the light in the end of the tunnel, Azarenka said. I dont know if its going to happen here or whenever, I just want to work and have that mentality that thats what I want to achieve.Stephens game, on the other hand, remains a work in progress. She is coming back from a wrist injury and is now on her third coach in the past year, Nick Saviano, who previously coached her when she was a rising junior.She believes shes due for a turnaround soon, particularly against Azarenka.Im going to do my best and hopefully, she said before stopping herself, No not hopefully. I will beat her one day. Nike Air Jordan 1 Cheap . Luke Wileman and I stood in the corridor outside of the Vancouver Whitecaps dressing room at BC Place in Vancouver. Air Jordan 1 Clearance . "Ive still got it," Seattles ace said with a sly grin. Riding that fastball carrying a little more zip, Hernandez took a shutout bid into the ninth inning as the Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-1 on Wednesday night. On the verge of a brilliant shutout and first complete game since Aug. http://www.airjordan1cheapaustralia.com/ . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Air Jordan 1 Retro Australia . Now the Minnesota Vikings have set their sights on soccer. Air Jordan 1 Australia . The trade deadline is Monday, Mar. 2 at 3pm et/Noon pt. TRADES COMPLETED SINCE OCT. 1, 2014: Feb. 15, 2015 Toronto Maple Leafs acquire: F Olli Jokinen, F Brendan Leipsic, 1st Round Pick (2015) Nashville Predators acquire: D Cody Franson, F Mike Santorelli Feb.Hero worship is unbecoming for a man of 56 years. But until December 2, 2014, Jean Beliveau was my idol. The last icon from a childhood in Montreal. Now he is gone and so is a connection to 1950s and 1960s Quebec, where Beliveau ruled hockey with a dignity and elegance never before seen and never seen since. It wasnt that he seemed larger than life. He was. Monsieur Beliveau - that is what he was called, never by the familiar Jean, by those in the Canadiens family - was without flaw. He was Le Gros Bill, a man of mythical stature. Of course, he could not have been perfect but we believed he was. As The Hockey News wrote: Regal on the ice, humble and diplomatic away from the rink, Beliveau made red, white and blue the colours of hockey royalty. At 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, Beliveau was among the first magnificent big men in the game during an 18-season NHL career. He was an unparalleled puckhandler, blasted bullets with his Victoriaville and had few peers as a playmaker. Beliveau placed among the top 10 in scoring nine times in a 10-season span, earned two Hart Trophies, won the first Conn Smythe Trophy and was a 10-time NHL all-star. Wayne Gretzky is the only centre to have more first or second all-star berths. And, of course, one of hockeys all-time team-first players won 10 Stanley Cups, the last in 1971 when he raised the Cup above his head … retired and took his place in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Beliveau was voted the seventh best player in NHL history when The Hockey News conducted a poll of 50 hockey experts in 1997. Beliveau, like all his contemporaries, has been surpassed statistically. His numbers have been dwarfed. He stands No. 39 in all-time goals (507), No. 49 in assists (712) and No. 39 in points (1,219). But it is worth remembering Beliveau ranked second (only to Gordie Howe) in all-time scoring when he retired. Even more significant to remember is that he ranks No. 1 to this day in another category. It is not hyperbole to call gentlemanly Jean the most respected player in the history of the game. He was the consummate captain, a natural leader of five Cup championship teams. But when his country came calling in 1994, offering the honorific Governor Gennerals position, family concerns kept Beliveau from accepting.dddddddddddd It was the ultimate act of leadership. When I was 11 and living in Toronto, Beliveau made a promotional appearance at a local car dealership. My best friend and I took the bus across town to meet him. He signed all my hockey cards and answered all my questions. Before we left, another fan asked a question of Beliveau that tested his memory. When Beliveau hesitated, I provided the answer. Beliveau turned to me and said, You know more about me than I do. Beliveau was the yin to the legendary Rocket Richards yang on the only team to win five consecutive Cups. They were Gretzky and Messier. The Canadiens (and Beliveau) of the 1950s were so good the NHL had to change the rules of the game. At the time, penalties were served in their entirety - regardless of how many goals were scored with the man advantage. In a November, 1955, game vs. Boston, Beliveau scored three power play goals in a record 44 seconds. The following season, a player serving a minor penalty was allowed to leave the box when a goal was scored. Beliveau, himself, was no stranger to the penalty box. He collected 341 penalty minutes (with purpose) over a three-season period in the mid-1950s to carve out his own space during an era when stars were expected to stand up for themselves. Eventually, the Canadiens groomed John Ferguson to provide protection for their most precious asset. Beliveaus No. 4 was not immortalized in literature like Richards No. 9, but it had a power and magic all its own. Guy Lafleur, Beliveaus successor in the pantheon of Canadiens legends, wore 4 for the Quebec Remparts in the Quebec Colisee, dubbed The House that Beliveau Built, so great was Beliveaus popularity there in the early 1950s. Vincent Lecavalier, wearing No. 4, channeled Beliveau in style with Tampa Bay - and on celluloid when he portrayed Beliveau in the Rocket Richard film. But Beliveaus influence extends far beyond the best hockey league in the world. To this day, doubtlessly like hundreds of others of my vintage, I instinctively reach for No. 4 when the sweaters are hung at seasons start on my team. I will do it again next year. ' ' '
|
|
Search
