Dein erstes Forum » k.It is a hard time for m

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. Akiem Hicks Womens Jersey Jim McMahon Womens Jersey . I cant pinpoint a date, but I do remember a player from my youth. Brian Downing was with the Chicago White Sox at a time when I listened to every game I possibly could on the radio. That particular season the late great Harry Caray was calling the White Sox games. http://www.bearsfootballpro.com/Authentic_David_Montgomery_Bears_Jersey/ . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. Khalil Mack Bears Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. 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Sally Pearson says she would have risked the end of her athletics career by trying to overcome a hamstring injury and compete at the Rio Olympics.The Olympic 100m hurdles champion says shes gutted at being forced to withdraw from the Rio Games after injuring a hamstring tendon at training on Monday.I could have gone to the Olympics and still competed but competing and going out to the Olympics, it means different things to me, she told the Nine Network on Wednesday.I go there for 100 per cent effort and I wouldnt be able to give that effort that I would like to bring ... and the risk of re-injuring and causing a lot more damage and probably not coming back was very, very high.And I still have Gold Coast 2018 (Commonwealth Games) on my mind ... if I want to be able to come back for that stronger, fitter and faster than ever, then I need to take this time to make sure my body has healed.Pearson had returned to her Gold Coast base to find fitness and form after struggling in three comeback races in Europe earlier this month.The races were her first competitive outings after a year-long absence because of a broken wrist and a torn calf muscle suffered in a fall during a race in June last year.Her comeback was stalled by Achilles and separate hamstring issues before Mondays setback.It is a hard time for me ... Im disappointed and Im gutteed, she said.ddddddddddddEveryone knows Im a competitor and Im a fierce competitor and I like to represent my country proudly at any competition that I go into.Unfortunately it is the biggest sporting event in the world that I am going to be missing out on and I cant be a part of. Its upsetting.Pearson said she was finally feeling near her best until her fresh injury on Monday, My body finally was starting to feel normal again, it was starting to feel the speed, the strength - it was all coming together, she said.Unfortunately on Monday, my body just didnt agree with me this time.It couldnt push that little extra bit to the edge, I just tumbled over the edge unfortunately this time, and I tore my hamstring.The 29-year-old said the injury was to her biceps femoris tendon in a hamstring.Its not so much just like a tear (sic) hamstring and youll be right in a couple of weeks, it is a tendon injury, Pearson said.The biceps femoris has two heads and I split those two heads.Doing something like that in a tendon injury, it takes a long, long time to get better ... and unfortunately seven weeks out (from the Rio Games) I have done a tendon injury and its not going to allow me to get back in time for the Olympics. ' ' '