Theres something there about finishing stronger

Politics has no lock on the expression, October surprise. The month in tennis is chock-full of them. Things go topsy-turvy on the ATP Tour, as accumulated fatigue, an opportunistic push to bolster rankings or the decision to just tread water until the end of the season affects weekly results.The main storyline in mens tennis at the moment is that the most consistent player this fall has been the once reliably inconsistent Andy Murray. Currently ranked No. 2, hes in the midst of a hard sprint to catch No. 1 Novak Djokovic. Beyond that, the narrative is once again a colorful, unpredictable one.Its a fall brawl. Every day in late October seems like Halloween.The Kremlin Cup featured two qualifiers in the quarterfinals. Then Pablo Carreno Busta, who hadnt won an ATP title until this year, crushed Italian bad boy Fabio Fognini in the title match. Fognini hadnt won two consecutive matches this year since the Olympic Games.In Antwerp the same week, No. 77 Diego Schwartzman made the first final of his career on indoor hard courts. In the semis, he brushed aside two match points and upset top-seeded David Goffin. Schwartzman was up a break on No. 3 seed Richard Gasquet (remember when Gasquet was dubbed Baby Federer?) in the first set, but ultimately the No. 16 ranked Frenchman prevailed.I was the favorite to win, Gasquet acknowledged in his news conference afterward. So its important for me.Not everyone has taken the obligations of his station to heart this month. Dominic Thiem, ranked No. 9, has won exactly one match since Sept. 26. No. 5 Kei Nishikori, currently playing in Basel, has won just two more. Nick Kyrgios won Tokyo and inflamed hopes that hes matured and is prepared to embrace his professional obligations. Just days later, he self-immolated in Shanghai and got himself kicked out of the game.Rafael Nadal pulled the plug on his year with persistent pain in his wrist, and Djokovic was last seen smashing a racket, tearing apart his shirt and howling in outrage while being methodically beaten in the Shanghai semifinals by Roberto Bautista Agut.And say, whatever happened to Tomas Berdych?But in tennis, one mans misfortune is another mans jackpot. Never is it more true than in October. Grigor Dimitrov has made the most of the fall brawl to continue rebuilding a flagging reputation. The Baby Federer thing didnt work out any better for Dimitrov than it had for Gasquet. But Dimitrov is still just 25 and back up to No. 18 thanks partly to having made the final in Beijing and the semifinals in Stockholm.Goffin may have fumbled away an opportunity in Antwerp against Schwartzman, but the Belgian is fully aware of the opportunities offered in October. Hes gorging on fall tennis, with six events (and counting), excluding Davis Cup, since the US Open. Hes 12-6 since he was upset in the first round at Flushing Meadows by American upstart Jared Donaldson.The guy who has really cashed in this fall, though, is the big man everyone loves, hard-luck Juan Martin del Potro. October started on a bummer for him when he was beaten (as a wild card ranked No. 63) in the first-round of Shanghai by Goffin. But since then, del Potro has been on a tear. Still recovering from multiple wrist surgeries, his career all but destroyed, the 28-year-old from Argentina took a giant stride in his latest comeback with a tournament win, beating No. 23 Jack Sock in the Stockholm final last week. It was del Potros first title in 33 months and a wonderful ranking and morale-booster.After the win, he told the media, Ive been trying to fix my problems for the past two years, and I didnt expect to win a title at this moment in my career. I am so happy to get the trophy here. Its motivation for looking forward to the future.As October surprises go, that one was a beauty. And he might not be done yet. At a hulking 6-foot-6 and blessed with easy power, Delpo is built for the fall brawl. Off-White x Nike VAPORMAX Black White . The 43-year-old closer, in his 19th and final big league season, has said hed like to play the outfield. Yankees manager Joe Girardi says hes thinking about allowing Rivera to do it this weekend, when the Yankees finish their season with a three-game series at the Houston Astros. Cheap Vapormax Womens . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. http://www.clearancevapormax.com/cheap-vapormax-3-clearance.html . The Olympic champion curler and TSN curling analyst immediately went online to look at the Halls long list of honoured members. Thats when the enormity of the honour sunk in. Cheap Vapormax 2019 China . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. Fake Vapormax 2020 . 1, meaning problems for the doping controls at both major international sports events next year. The World Anti-Doping Agency provisionally suspended the Moscow Antidoping Center on Sunday, saying its operations must improve or a six-month ban on the facilitys accreditation will be imposed.TORONTO -- Teenage defender Kadeisha Buchanan was a revelation in Canadas 3-0 loss to the United States last Sunday, one of the bright spots on an otherwise dreary afternoon for this countrys womens soccer team. With exactly two years to go until Canada hosts the FIFA womens World Cup, coach John Herdman is hoping to unearth more talented youngsters like Buchanan. "Were looking everywhere at the minute," Herdman said. "We are genuinely looking anywhere." The coach who led the Canadian women to Olympic bronze last summer in London addressed the media on a conference call Thursday, two years to the day Canada will kick off the womens World Cup in Edmonton, the site for Canadas group play. On the top of his to-do list: bring in good young players to bolster a lineup lacking in depth. Buchanan, a 17-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., has been a solid addition to Canadas back line since Herdman recently brought her into camp. But shes only one player. "I was speaking to Tommy Sermanni, the U.S. coach, and he said he could put two first 11s out there that could potentially go out and win a World Cup. Hes got such (an) amount of depth in that squad," Herdman said. "You think, he brings (Sydney) Leroux in off the bench (who scored the third goal for the U.S. last Sunday). (Megan) Rapinoe wasnt there to bring in off the bench. You can bring Christen Press, whos got an unbelievable goalscoring record for them. "And you look at that and go Wow. And you look at our bench, and you go You know, hopefully one of these players or two of these players will rise up over the next two years if we support them in the right way." On the heels of its bronze medal in London, Herdman has pleaded patience with Canadian soccer fans as he rebuilds his roster ahead of the 2015 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. The average age of his team, if it remained status quo, would be 31 years old in Rio, whereas the average age of a World Cup or Olympic champion is 27 or 28. Herdman didnt have time to look through Canadas talent pool last season, as he was hired barely a year before the Olympics. "We were literally operating with the group we had and couldnt put any attention to talent identification," he said. He and his staff have since looked at some 60 young women, and then narrowed that down to a small group that he hopes will graduate to the womens senior side. He has yet to find another player as good as Buchanan, who helped keep the score respectable last week in Canadas friendly against the U.S. at Torontos BMO Field. "In terms of finding another (Christine) Sinclair, we found Kadeisha Buchanan, whos pretty much moving down that track," Herdman said. "Its an absolute rarity seeing a 17-year-old playing at this level. Weve got to see if theres any more. Thats all Ive got to say, weve got to keep looking across the bench and see wwhat else is out there, and give some kids an opportunity over the next two years.dddddddddddd "Over the last nine games that weve played weve given a lot of opportunity, but outside of Kadeisha theres no one whos really said, Im here, heres my shirt. The others have still got work to do, but the work isnt insurmountable in a two-and-a-half hear period." Herdman said the biggest gaps are in Canadas attacking side. Canada has few offensive threats who can break down tight defensive units outside Sinclair, Melissa Tancredi, Diana Matheson and Sophie Schmidt. "While were giving several players opportunities to break through, weve got to hope those players keep breaking through quickly," he said. "Anyone out there in Canada, that play up front, theres definitely a few shirts available at this point." Despite the lopsided score against the world No. 1-ranked United States last week, Herdman said there was reason for optimism. "For 65 minutes we limited them to seven shots and five crosses, which is unheard of in our history of playing the U.S.," he said. "Theres something there about finishing stronger." At the London Olympics, the Americans produced over 38 attacking acts -- crosses and shots -- he said, in their semifinal versus the Canadians. Canada managed to cut that number down to 22 on Sunday, "so there was a major shift there." Still, Herdman said player-for-player, Canada has a tough time matching up with the best teams in the world such as the U.S. and Germany, and has to figure out how to beat them tactically. "We wouldnt have too many Canadians who could get into starting lineups (in the U.S. or Germany), so tactically we have to be very clear and with our clarity hopefully we get that energy and commitment that can produce results like we did in London," he said. The coach was pleased that his players didnt wilt in front of the capacity crowd of 22,453 fans -- a record crowd for a soccer game at BMO Field -- last Sunday. Herdman said Canada could easily have hosted a weaker team for their first game back home since the London Games, and sent the fans home happy with a victory. But he wants the women to get used to playing tough matches in front of packed crowds before the World Cup. "And we want the home crowd to see how tough its going to be and that we need their support," he said. "From that we learned a lot. I was absolutely impressed by my players, I thought they handled the week fantastically. And on game day, there wasnt one of them that choked in front of that massive massive crowd. You can say a slight underperformance from one or two players, but nobody choked. And thats a great sign." The seventh-ranked Canadians will play No. 2 Germany in Paderborn, Germany, on June 19. Canada will host South Korea in a friendly in Edmonton on Oct. 30. ' ' '