| 2070 Beiträge - Forenlegende
|
|
|
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Montreals Eugenie Bouchard has been preparing for the Australian Open semifinal her entire life. Bouchard became the first Canadian woman to reach a Grand Slam semi in three decades with her 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 quarter-final win over former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic on Monday. She faces Chinas Li Na on Thursday in the Australian Opens final four. "This is something Ive been doing since I was five years old and working my whole life for and sacrificing a lot of things for," said Bouchard. "So its not exactly a surprise. I always expect myself to do well. Im just happy to have gone through this step. Im not done. I have a match on Thursday. Im just looking forward to that." The semifinal pairing of the 19-year-old Bouchard versus the 31-year-old Li, who won the 2011 French Open, has captured the attention of tennis fans around the world. Li has played two of the last three finals at Melbourne Park. That kind of WTA rep does not bother the confident Bouchard, whose ad-hoc Genie Army of a dozen or so Aussie fans will surely be out in full force for the showcase event. "Lis a great champion, shes won a Slam, as well, its going to be really tough," said Bouchard, playing in the main draw of a major for only the fourth time. "I played her once in Montreal two years ago. We had a close match, one of my first bigger matches. "It will be interesting to play her. I know shes very solid, very good from the back. Its going to be hard, but Im looking forward to it." Beside her tennis, its Bouchards bubbly personality that has captured fan fancy, with commentators already labelling her the next breakout womens star. The Canadian extrovert, who confesses to possessing a Type A, get-it-done personality -- especially on the court -- is dealing with the expectations well. "Im a really focused person, really driven. Off the court Im almost impatient in a way," said Bouchard. "On the court Im the same way. I really just want to play my game, be aggressive, take it to my opponent, and not just wait around and wait for opportunities. "I think its a good thing to take my chances when Im on the court." Bouchards not intimidated by the big stage of a Grand Slam tournament, either. "The matches I had last year on the big courts, like (Maria) Sharapova at the French Open, Ivanovic at Wimbledon, just being on those big stages gave me a lot of experience," she said. "Now walking out on centre court in Australia, I feel like Ive been here before. Ive been able to perform on big stages as well. It gives me that extra confidence." While she wont make any predictions about her match with Li, Bouchard is fairly certain that her supporters will be tossing another stuffed Aussie animal onto the court after the match, bringing her tournament total to five. The bulky mementos have a special place in her heart, with Bouchard bringing each new one to post-match media availability and sitting it proudly next to the microphone. Getting the growing menagerie back to Quebec should not be a problem for the resourceful Bouchard. "I have a koala, and kangaroo, a kookaburra, and a wombat," she said. "I will create luggage space. Its worth it to take my wombat home." Zach Randolph Jersey . Takahashi, who had a 10-point lead after the short program, received 268.31 points after the free skate to finish 15 points ahead of second-place Nobunari Oda. Swingman Tony Allen Jersey . What general manager Dave Nonis called "short and productive" negotiations ended with Kessel signing a US$64-million, eight-year contract on Tuesday. http://www.thegrizzliesofficial.com/Authentic-Brya...es-Jers ey/ .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Custom Grizzlies Jersey . - Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings was speaking to a group of local high school students earlier this week when the conversation turned to the importance of being prepared when opportunities in life arise. Mike Conley Jersey . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. TORONTO -- The Maple Leafs are winning sloppy so far this season. "Coaches arent here to cut up wins. Lets not over-analyse," Toronto coach Randy Carlyle said after a 5-4 shootout win Saturday over Ottawa in the Leafs home opener. "We didnt play to the level were capable of playing. It was more a hockey game, I think, we played in parts and we were sloppy throughout it but we still found a way to get two points. "So well take that and move on. Toronto (3-0-0) will likely move forward with Jonathan Bernier in goal after the former Los Angeles King was rock-solid in relief of James Reimer. Bernier, who came on midway through the second period with Toronto down 4-2, stopped Milan Michalek -- whose shot hit the crossbar and bounced out -- and Jason Spezza in the shootout. Mason Raymond, on an nifty turnaround backhand, and Tyler Bozak, through Craig Andersons legs, scored in the shootout to give Toronto the win. Carlyle had started Reimer, the incumbent, in the season opener in Montreal and then switched to Bernier the next night in Philadelphia. Reimer got the nod against Ottawa for his 8-1-1 career record against the Senators. But on Saturday he had a difficult night with little help from his defence. "It was a tough one," said Reimer. "I felt that I was hanging in there, making some good saves. But a couple of pucks slipped by somehow. Some bad luck maybe. But at the same time as a goaltender, youre the last line of defence so youve got to be there and youve got to find a way to keep the puck out of the net." The Leafs were an adventure in defence with Reimer. But Bernier added instant stability and looked imperious in stopping all 15 shots he faced plus another two more in the shootout. "There wasnt a lot of extra rebounds hanging around," Carlyle said of Bernier. "When he made the save, the puck was either in his glove or he was able to freeze it. He controlled the puck, which allowed us to box out. There wasnt so many wild scrambles around the net. Hats off to him." Bernier said he just wanted to "make that first save and feel the puck a little bit and get into the game." He also took time to praise Reimer, saying he had fallen victim to some unlucky bounces. On Friday, Carlyle said his decision on who to start against Ottawa was "made a long time ago." Its probably safe to say his decision on Tuesdays starter against Colorado was made Saturday night. "It makes it easier," he said of the goalies performances against the Senators. Raymond, Nazem Kadri, Joffrey Lupul and James van Riemsdyk scored for Toronto, which combined a fluid offence with a leaky defence. Kyle Turris, Cory Conacher, Jared Cowen and Spezza scored for the Senators (1-0-1), who got another big night in goal from Anderson, and probably deserved a better fate. "We come on the road and get three of a possible four points, had the lead at 4-2 halfway through the game so, yeah, we can take that out of the game," said Ottawa coach Paul MacLean. "The way we played over the course of the 60 minutes, much like last night, we can take the good, thhrow out the bad and get on with our season.dddddddddddd" The Senators were playing their second game in as many nights, having spoiled the Buffalo Sabres home opener with a 1-0 win on Friday. The start of the schedule has not been kind to Ottawa, which plays its first six games away from home. Toronto outshot Ottawa 42-36 through overtime in continuing its unlikely unbeaten start. The Leafs are doing it without the suspended David Clarkson and with injuries to Nikolai Kulemin and Mark Fraser. Both teams had chances to win late in regulation, with the Leafs either unable to beat Anderson or find the target. Toronto had a 42-second power play to finish overtime after Dave Bolland was hauled down by Cowen. But Toronto failed to take advantage. The Leafs went 2-for-6 on the power play while Ottawa was 0-for-1. The Senators got good value from their second line of Turris, Conacher and ex-Leaf Clarke MacArthur on the night. They combined for two goals and three assists and together were plus-eight. Toronto had the first goal but Ottawa scored four of the next five before the Leafs pulled one back on each side of the second-period intermission. Toronto cut the lead to 4-3 on a slick wrist shot by Lupul on the power play at 19:43 of the second. Van Riemsdyk then tied it up at 2:52 of the third after a speeding Phil Kessel found him with a laser-like pass at the side of the crease. Carlyles carefully considered goalie rotation strategy went by the boards midway through the second period when Bernier replaced Reimer with the Leafs down 4-2 after giving up two goals in 15 seconds. Reimer had gotten the nod over Bernier by virtue of his stellar career record against the Senators: with three shutouts in 10 games, a 1.69 goals-against average and .949 save percentage. Bernier had never faced Ottawa before. The crowd of 19,552 was chanting Bernier in the third after Sens forward Bobby Ryan toppled over the net from behind and landed on top of him. It was also a tough regular-season debut night for Leafs rookie Morgan Rielly, who along with defensive partner Cody Franson, was on the ice for the Senators first three goals. For the 19-year-old Rielly, it was a bumpy, high-profile beginning -- under the Hockey Night in Canada spotlight after being a healthy scratch the first two games. "As the game went on, he got better," said Carlyle. "We got to see more of what hes about." He and Franson were each minus-3. The 48th Highlanders Pipe and Drum Band kicked off the night, a Maple Leaf tradition that is old-school as they come. The rest of the opening ceremonies for the franchises 96th home opener was decidedly more modern with fans wielding free glo-sticks and Leafs players skating onto the ice to pounding music through a giant Maple Leaf flashing their names. Outside Air Canada Centre, fans watched on a big screen from Maple Leaf Square in a scene reminiscent of the teams playoff run against Boston last season. The game was tied 2-2 after 20 minutes, following a loose Leafs defensive performance that ended with Carlyle looking up at the clock and clenching his arms in front of him like he had a bad stomach ache. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '
|
