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Oregon-ASU games tops TV ratings The University of Oregon’s win Saturday night against Arizona State University topped television ratings. feeds.bizjournals.com |
Murray cautious over Stepanek rematch • Czech beat Murray a year ago in Paris• 1,000 points available in race to World Tour FinalsAndy Murray is nervous. Not only has he yet to qualify for the World Tour Finals in London next month (even though missing out is an unlikely if catastrophic scenario), but his first opponent in the Shanghai Masters on Wednesdaygave him nightmares the last time they played each other.Radek Stepanek, ranked No30 in the world, 26 places below Murray, might not always send a chill through the upper echelons of tennis, but the 23-year-old Scot has good reason to be wary of the 31-year-old Czech. On a converted ice rink at Bercy in the Paris Masters a year ago Murray slipped up badly 14 hours after seeing off James Blake in a long, tough match that finished way past midnight.He did not get to bed until 4am after the marathon with the American. By early evening he was back on court, sweeping Stepanek aside 6‑1 in the first set only to grow weary by the shot and lose the concluding sets 6‑3, 6‑4. Whether it was mood or muscle that gave up on Murray, defeat only briefly fazed him as he had already qualified for the game's end-of-season party on the banks of the Thames.Murray missed Shanghai last year with an injured wrist that had kept him out for nine weeks. Then he embarked on a run of form that took him all the way to the final of the Australian Open – via that hiccup in Paris.This year it has been much tougher and he dreads missing out on sharing the grand stage with seven of his close rivals. Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are through, but Murray's game has gone seriously off the boil as he tries to nail down one of the five remaining places."Murray will have to at least reach the quarter-finals in Shanghai [to qualify] and maybe better depending on how the others do," the ATP statistics expert Greg Sharko said. "There are still many players involved in the race and until some of them start losing, it's very difficult to [work out] exact scenarios."Murray then has to defend points in Valencia, where he won last year, and come through Bercy.Yesterday the Scot said he felt "a bit better than I was" after collapsing in straight sets against the world No 17, Ivan Ljubicic, in the quarter-finals of the China Open in Beijing last Friday.The smog in the capital, officially designated "hazardous" five days in a row, cannot have helped the unspecified illness that struck Murray down on his arrival in the country. Even though a light-grey covering hangs over Shanghai much of the time, pollution is not such a pressing issue in the coastal port, where offshore winds can budge the smog.The venue, an hour from the centre of the city, also has a retractable roof, and it came into use today when rain interrupted JĂĽrgen Melzer's match against Tsung-Hua Yang of Taipei. The Austrian was taken to a tie-break before winning 6-4, 7-6.Stepanek should have no such struggle in the first round against the 21-year-old Chinese qualifier Yan Bai, who is coming off two minor domestic wins and is ranked No465 in the world.With 1,000 points on offer for the winner, Murray has all the incentive he needs to shrug off his China blues. He is back in Shanghai for the first time since beating Roger Federer in a terrific performance to reach the semi-finals of the Masters Cup two years ago, since when he has hit the heights and the pits.Murray said of his form: "I have to see when I play my first match. I feel OK. I would like to win some matches here. It would be nice. But, you know, I've got a pretty tough first-round match against Stepanek."It was not rhetoric to inspire a symphony but, inside, he could well be dancing a jig; trying to divine Murray's psyche is as much a challenge for the media as it can be for opponents. Nevertheless, as his mixed season hurtles towards a conclusion, the player who has the luxury of a first-round bye is hoping it does not turn into bye-bye, Shanghai.TennisAndy MurrayKevin Mitchellguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Penguins notch first win at Consol Energy Center in OT over Islanders Alex Goligoski's power-play goal at 1:51 of overtime gave the Pittsburgh Penguins their first win at Consol Energy Center, 3-2 over the New York ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Zvonareva edges past Azarenka at WTA Championships Vera Zvonareva overcame Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (4), 6-4 to claim her second win at the WTA Championships and move closer to the semifinals. The ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |