miaowang123: closer to the end of spectacular careers than

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Andy Murray has been seeded second for this weeks Monte Carlo Masters and cannot face Novak Djokovic until the final - but his route looks anything but straightforward. Stitched Phillies Jerseys . Murray begins his clay court season in the principality and will be looking to return to the form that saw him reach the Australian Open final rather than the form of the US hard-court Masters swing.Murray has suffered shock defeats in recent weeks, losing to Federico Delbonis at Indian Wells, and labouring in defeat to Grigor Dimitrov in Miami. Next up for the world No 2 is Monte Carlo, a venue he has not played at since a third round exit in 2013, and he will be hoping to replicate the form which guided him to the semi-finals in 2009 and 2011.However, he has it all to do if he is to claim a first Masters title in Monte Carlo.... Second Round beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-2 4-6 6-3 Last 16 beat Benoit Paire 2-6 7-5 7-5 Quarter-Final - Milos Raonic Milos Raonic has been one of the form players on tour this season Plenty of danger lurks in Murrays quarter with Pablo Cuevas, a two-time clay-court winner this season, posing a very real threat to the big serving of Tomas Berdych (runner-up in 2015) and Milos Raonic, but its the Canadian who is arguably the form man on the tour this year behind Novak Djokovic.A run to the semi-final at the Australian Open, where he was beaten in five sets by Murray, was followed by a lay-off before a return at Indian Wells where he made the final before losing to Djokovic. Raonic has reached at least the last eight in all four of his events this year, but Murray leads the head-to-head and won the pairs last meeting on clay - a straight sets success on his way to the Madrid Masters title last year.Semi-final - Rafa Nadal Rafael Nadal has won eight Monte Carlo titles - but none since 2012 Rafa Nadal or Stan Wawrinka are the big hitters likely to provide the semi-final opposition with Dimitrov and Dominic Thiem the danger-men lurking in that quarter.Wawrinka was champion in the principality in 2014 but by virtue of his reputation as the king of clay we will take Nadal, with eight successive Monte Carlo crowns under his belt to come through and provide Murrays semi-final challenge.The 29-year-old may be a fading force but his run to the semi-finals at Indian Wells hinted at a return to form before that shock second-round defeat to Damir Dzumhur in Miami.Nadal holds a dominant head-to-head record between the pair including their last meeting at the World Tour Finals in London last year - however Murray won the last meeting on clay.Murray claimed the Madrid Masters title last year with a dominant 6-3 6-2 victory over Nadal in the final and will hope for more of the same should the pair make it as far as the last four.Final - Roger Federer Master of his trade Novak Djokovic blazing a Masters trail Can it really be anyone other than the formidable world No 1 who faces Murray in the final? Djokovic has claimed the first two Masters events of the year (Indian Wells and Miami) which took his career tally to a record 28.He is the defending Monte Carlo champion, has reached the final of every Masters event he has entered since Shanghai in 2014 and has lost just once this year to go alongside his four titles (although that was an enforced withdrawal against Lopez following an eye problem).Well yes actually it can, Roger Federer has made serene progress in Monte Carlo and is chasing a first win in the principality having lost four finals. Gael Monfils is the most likely alternative, reveling in front of his home fans.You can watch the action from the Monte Carlo Masters on Sky Sports from 9.30am on Monday on Sky Sports 1 Federers Monte Carlo retrurn Details on the draw in Monte Carlo Also See: Federers Monte Carlo return Sky Live: Monte Carlo Masters Master of his trade Djokovic wins in Miami Adam Morgan Jersey . Unfortunately for Toronto, that surge was too much to handle as the Stars scored six straight goals and ended the Marlies season with a 6-2 victory on Tuesday. Toronto had built a 2-0 lead on goals by Frazer McLaren and Peter Holland, but Texas charged back with a wild rally late in the second period to spark its trip to the Calder Cup final. Jim Thome Jersey . Lowry and the Raptors officially announced a four-year US$48 million dollar deal Thursday. The deal was reported last week but couldnt be made official until Thursday, when the moratorium on signings was lifted. "They were real factors. I did my homework.(SportsNetwork.com) - In his more reflective moments you can bet Phil Emery looks in the mirror and realizes that he made a mistake by plucking Marc Trestman out of the CFL to be the head coach of the Chicago Bears. By admitting that, though, the Bears general manager would be highlighting his own failings and placing a rather sizeable bulls-eye on his own back when it comes to any future employment prospects in the Windy City. For that reason and that reason alone, Trestman will likely get a third opportunity to try to resuscitate the Bears in an NFC North that is seemingly now the Green Bay Packers birthright. I dont think it ever has changed here. By all the key parties that youre thinking about, Trestman said after his teams latest loss, a 41-28 drubbing at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night. It has been tremendously supportive, during the good weeks and bad weeks. And it has been extremely consistent by everybody here. The only thing that people ask me here is what can they do to help, Trestman continued. And that comes from all areas of this building. What can we do to help you along? And that support has been very heartfelt. Things arent so heartfelt for defensive coordinator Mel Tucker, however. In the its-so-obvious-why-do-you-need-to-report-it department, NFL Media leaked the upcoming Bears narrative Sunday when they reported Tucker will likely be the one paying for the sins of those higher up on the food chain. The NFL Networks Ian Rapoport was the one claiming that the Bears will be terminating Tuckers deal at seasons end which is comparable to breaking the news that the sun will rise Monday. There are a number of issues with the Bears, who will be missing the postseason for the seventh time and eight years, but they start at the top where its always been about signing high-profile names in free agency and cost-cutting where you dont have a salary cap and can really make inroads, the coaching staff. That flawed philosophy is only magnified because the Packers, CChicagos most- heated rival, do things the opposite way, largely eschewing free agency in favor of the draft, while possessing one of the leagues most highly-regarded coaching staffs. J. C. Romero Jersey. Its not like you should feel sorry for Tucker or that he has done a good job in Chicago, however. The Bears are 26th in total defense, allowing 377.8 yards per game and the team has given up more than 50 points on two different occasions. Theyve also been blown out five different times, the latest of which was Thursday in Soldier Field when the Cowboys blew into town. Whats unfair is the illogical belief in the Second City that the Bears are a talented but underachieving team because of all the high-profile names that dot the roster. Offensively you can at least make that argument because players like Brandon Marshall (before his injury on Thursday) and Jay Cutler can still perform at a high level, at least on occasion. Even thats nonsense of course because Cutler is orchestrating things and he is this generations Jeff George, a signal caller with elite arm talent but no leaderships skill to speak of and the body language of a pre-teen who hasnt gotten his way. Yet, Emery still signed him to a seven-year, $126.7 million extension this past offseason, with $54 million of that guaranteed. In Tuckers domain, observers who dont understand look at names like Jared Allen, Lance Briggs and Charles Tillman and assume they will always be the players they once were. In truth they were all descending talents coming into the 2014 season, far closer to the end of spectacular careers than the beginning. And when Tillman and then Briggs were lost to injury for yet another campaign, the floor fell out because depth is a major issue, something that again points toward Emery far more than Tucker or even Trestman. Moving forward by jettisoning Tucker is like putting a Band-Aid on a broken leg. Its simply not addressing the real problem for Chicago. And when Emery looks in that mirror, he knows it. ' ' '