andere Teams » “They have a great defence behind them. Just come out

Rafael Nadal must win the Rio Open to rebuild his fragile confidence, says Barry Cowan. The world No 5 suffered another setback at the weekend, losing 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-4) to Dominic Thiem in the semi-finals of the Argentina Open.This latest loss for Nadal, which came on his favourite clay surface, was greeted with genuine concern by Sky Sports expert Cowan. Nadal will switch his attention to the Rio Open, starting tonight live on Sky Sports 3, and Cowan believes the 29-year-old is now preparing for a massive week as he tries to rediscover his Grand Slam winning form.He told Sky Sports News HQ: When you lose in the manner that Rafa lost a few days ago, lost his nerve at important stages, which was something which was happening with regularity in the beginning of last year. A massive week for Nadal and I almost go to say: I think hes got to win this week, I really do. Barry Cowan But crucially he lost to someone in Dominic Thiem who is going to be a very good player, who is young, who doesnt have the same mental baggage as a lot of players who are currently on tour and have lost to Nadal, three, four times.A massive week for Nadal and I almost go to say: I think hes got to win this week, I really do.I think it will really be a blow to his confidence and self-belief going forward if he has a poor week. Its five massive matches for him. Dominic Thiem will target another title in Rio after winning the Argentina Open Nadal must negotiate a tough field, which includes his conquerer Thiem, world No 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and clay court specialists David Ferrer and Fabio Fognini.Cowan said: Well they are all good players, but if you go back to what Nadal has done on clay. Heres a guy who is the best clay court player we have ever seen. Has won nine French Opens, who used to take the rest of the field to the cleaners.Normally Nadal at his best, you say: Well those players arent going to trouble him. But now you go yes, and I felt that against Thiem last week. Tie-break in the third, Im not so sure hes going to handle the pressure. Sky Live: Rio Open Rafael Nadal returns to Sky Sports as the top seed at the Rio Open He starts off with a double fault and if Im thinking it, Nadal for sure is thinking it and as soon as any top tennis player has doubts - and Rafa has got doubts at the moment - you dont play your best tennis. He needs to get back to winning titles. Watch day one of the Rio Open, starting tonight at 7pm on Sky Sports 3. Or watch from £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV Also See: Sky Live: Rio Open Thiem triumphs in Buenos Aire ATP schedule Tennis on Sky NFL Jerseys China . The lawyers filed a 33-page amended complaint Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, expanding on the suit originally filed Oct. 3 in New York Supreme Court. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz last week refused to compel Selig to testify in the grievance, and Rodriguez then walked out of the hearing without testifying. China Jerseys . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. http://www.jerseyscheapauthentic.com/ . Arsenal failed to take full advantage of its main rivals stumbles on Saturday as substitute Gerard Deulofeu levelled with a hard shot from a tight angle in the 84th minute to give Everton a deserved point. Ahead of a crucial fortnight that will see them play against Napoli in the Champions League, Manchester City and Chelsea, Arsenal leads by five points ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea. Stitched Cheap Jerseys . Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon. Discount Jerseys . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005.Counting last years six-game playoff sweep, the Winnipeg Goldeyes have now won eight straight. Saturday night in Grand Prairie, Tex., the Goldeyes got a great start from Canadian Mark Hardy, two hits and a homer from Casey Haerther, and another terrific effort from the bullpen, as the Goldeyes won their second straight game to start the 2013 American Association season with a 5-0 shutout of the Grand Prairie AirHogs. This was an almost perfect performance. The Goldeyes picked up a run in the first on a dropped third strike, two more runs in the fourth on RBIs by Tim Smith and Nate Samson, a run in the sixth on Haerthers homer and a run in the ninth on an RBI by Ryan Scoma. While the Goldeyes put up five runs, Hardy pitched six shutout innings to start the game. He allowed only one hit and struck out seven. Meanwhile, for the second straight night, the bullpen was superb. Chris Allen pitched a scoreless seventh, Chris Kissock struck out the side in the eighth and with a man on first, Aaron Correa came on and shut down the AirHogs in the ninth. In total, four Goldeyes pitchers allowed only two hits and struck out 13 AirHogs. Goldeyes first-year pitching coach Jamie Vermilyea had every right to be proud. “Once again the guys are coming out throwing strikes and making the oppositionn put the ball in play,” Vermilyea said on the TSN 1290 post-game show.dddddddddddd“They have a great defence behind them. Just come out, throw strikes and youll be rewarded. “Mark Hardy was great from the get-go. He was throwing the fastball over for strikes and was getting the breaking ball across the plate. He gave us six strong innings. That was a quality start.” Hardy (1-0) got the win for Winnipeg. There was no save. The Goldeyes scored five runs on eight hits and made no errors. “Chris Allen came out throwing gas and gave us a great inning and then Chris Kissock threw 13 pitches and only missed the plate twice,” said Vermilyea. “Correa was great in the ninth. We had a five-run lead so we had a chance to give the closer (Patrick Keating) a rest and we were able to use Aaron. He did a great job with two strikeouts and then got the final batter to ground out. It was a nice effort.” Grand Prairie starter Josh Strawn (0-1), who allowed four runs on four hits over six complete innings, suffered the loss for Grand Prairie. The Goldeyes and AirHogs go at it again Sunday night in Grand Prairie. The game can be heard live with Paul Edmonds on TSN 1290 beginning with the pre-game show at 5:30 p.m. (Note time change from 11 a.m.) ' ' '