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NEW YORK, N. Reggie Nelson Jersey .Y. - Novak Djokovic beat Andy Murray 6-3, 7-6 (2) in an one-off match at Madison Square Garden on Monday, with the pair mixed the usual exhibition hijinks with some long rallies reminiscent of their epic Grand Slam meetings. A born showman, Djokovic always has fun with the New York crowd at the U.S. Open. When on a game point Monday he shanked an overhead into the net, the Serb did push-ups in penance. It was the first time playing at the Garden for both. "I was amazed by the size of it," Djokovic said. "With the history in the world of sports and entertainment and music, its probably the most impressive and most important indoor facility in the world." Murray grimaced more than once after an unforced error as if he were a few miles away at Flushing Meadows. But he also high-fived a fan after hooking in a winner down the line. And the Brit provides plenty of entertainment value simply with his ability to run down nearly every ball. Chasing a drop shot in the first set, Murray wound up all the way on Djokovics side of the court, bumping into a TV camera along the way. Djokovic went over and jokingly massaged Murrays quad, lest he need a medical timeout. During one changeover, they pulled their phones out of their bags and met at the net to take a couple of selfies. Both tweeted them during the next break. "We might never get the chance to play here again," Murray said. "Wanted to enjoy it. Hope everyone who came along had a good time as well. That was the whole point today." And hes in a good mood after his surgically repaired back held up well following four matches in four days in Acapulco last week. There were the obligatory exhibition shenanigans: between-the-legs shots, pulling a kid from the crowd to play a point. In a bit of a twist, Djokovic invited reigning Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli, who has since retired, from the stands to briefly take his place. Murray welcomed her by launching a serve as hard as he could that had the Frenchwoman ducking. Bartoli then ably exchanged groundstrokes with Murray in high-top canvas sneakers that were more fashion than function. The BNP Paribas Showdown opened with the Bryan brothers beating the McEnroe brothers 8-3 in doubles. John McEnroe added a little sizzle to the meeting a few months ago when he made some harsh comments about the current state of doubles, suggesting that top players today are the guys who werent athletic enough to make it in singles. While Bob and Mike Bryan insisted there were no hard feelings, they respectfully disagree with his opinion, and they played Monday with the seriousness of an ATP Tour match. There was no aiming any slams toward Johns head. Instead, they picked on Patrick McEnroes volleys — he doesnt play as much these days as his more-successful older brother. The twins needed 44 minutes to win the single pro set. Wallace Gilberry Bengals Jersey . Now its going to cost him -- four games and four paychecks. The Colts career sacks leader was suspended Friday by the NFL after violating the leagues ban on performance-enhancing substances. Carlos Dunlap Authentic Jersey . Lee doubled and scored in his debut, Buerhle struck out a season-best eight over 7 2-3 innings and Miami beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-0 Thursday to split the four-game series.NEW ORLEANS - The New Orleans Saints and right tackle Zach Strief have agreed to a five-year contract extension. Strief, who has spent his entire eight-year career in New Orleans and became a starter in 2011, had entered free agency last week but had expressed an interest in working out a deal to remain with the Saints if the club could field a competitive offer. Financial terms of the deal, announced Monday by general manager Mickey Loomis, have not been disclosed. Last season, Strief started 15 regular season games and both playoff games, giving him 45 regular season starts and four playoff starts in his career. He also was a regular reserve on playoff teams in 2009 and 2010. "We are excited to announce that Zach will stay with us into the future," Loomis said. "Not only has he done an excellent job at the right tackle pposition, but he has served us well as an offensive team captain for the past two seasons and has always been a great asset in the community since he first came here in 2006. A.J. Green Jersey. " Strief, who played in college at Northwestern, was one of two seventh-round picks by the Saints in the 2006 NFL draft, the other being receiver Marques Colston. Strief has appeared in 109 career regular season games and has been one of the veteran leaders of one of the top ranking offences in the NFL the past three seasons, duing which the club has ranked first, second and fourth in net yards per game. He has also taken part in numerous community service endeavours, highlighted by his work with a restaurant which trains at-risk New Orleans youth the skills needed to work at various positions in the citys renowned restaurant industry. ' ' ' |
