LONDON -- Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal -- and sometimes both -- appeared in all 10 Wimbledon finals from 2003-12, combining to claim nine of those titles. Yeezy Boost 380 Saldi . Neither made it that far in 2013. Not even close. Federer lost his second match at the All England Club. Nadal exited in the first round, a year after bowing out in the second. With play at Wimbledon starting Monday, Federer and Nadal are eager to return to the heights they once reached with regularity at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament. They sound certain that they are prepared to fare better than 12 months ago -- and, as might be expected from a seven-time champion, Federer came right out and called himself "a contender." "I feel like, yeah, if things click here, I should be able to win the tournament," Federer said Saturday. "I feel I have a very good chance again this year. I hope to utilize my fitness, the amount of matches Ive played this year," he added. "So Im really coming in with a much better feeling." Federer tuned up for Wimbledon, where he is seeded fourth, by winning a title on grass at Halle, Germany, last weekend. That showing gave Federer all the assurance he needed that his game is in prime form at the moment, especially on the slick surface he dominated for a decade. Last season, Federer explained, there were "certain things I wanted to do, but I couldnt figure out or couldnt do it." "This year," he continued, "I feel all the options are there. Return, serve, serve and volley, come in, my backhand -- everything is working to my liking. For that reason, I feel Im a bit more relaxed mentally, because I know it is there. I clearly want to do better than last year, theres no doubt about it." So does the second-seeded Nadal, of course. He reached five Wimbledon finals and earned a pair of trophies, including by edging Federer 9-7 in the fifth set in 2008. They met in three consecutive title matches at the All England Club from 2006-08, and could meet in the semifinals this year. First things first, though. Nadal has a test in the first round against big-hitting Martin Klizan, then could face Lukas Rosol, the man who stunned the Spaniard in 2012s second round. The third round could bring a challenge from tough server Ivo Karlovic. For now, Nadal is most pleased with the state of his left knee, which acted up during his 7-6 (4), 7-6 (8), 6-4 loss in 2013 to 135th-ranked Steve Darcis, saying it "hurts less this year than last year." Thats allowed Nadal to put in longer hours than usual on the practice courts this week, a key as the nine-time French Open champion transitions from clay to grass, on which he has lost three matches in a row. A year ago at Wimbledon, a 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5) loss to 116th-ranked Sergiy Stakhovsky ended Federers streak of getting at least to the quarterfinals at 36 consecutive major tournaments. It was Federers earliest Grand Slam defeat since May 2003. Somber that day, at least Federer can joke about it now. He said that when he ran into Stakhovsky on Friday, they kidded around about how they could only meet in the final this year, because they were drawn into opposite sides of the bracket. "So its all good for both of us," Federer said, then paused before delivering the punch line: "For me, at least." Air Vapormax 97 Scontate .com) - Coming off a pair of tough losses last week, the Syracuse Orange will try to put an end to their first losing skid of the season when they pay a visit to the Maryland Terrapins at the Comcast Center on Monday night in Atlantic Coast Conference action. Air Force 1 Saldi . Bouchard went down to a 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 defeat at the hands of Svitolina in her opening match at the Sony Open on Friday. Bouchard got the rivalry going two years ago when she won the junior Wimbledon title over Svitolina.DETROIT -- On a day full of bad news on the injury front, at least the Texas Rangers could enjoy a victory. Shin-Soo Choo homered, Chris Gimenez had four hits and the Rangers rolled to a 9-2 victory over the slumping Detroit Tigers on Thursday. This was supposed to be Prince Fielders first game back in Detroit after the Tigers traded him in the off-season, but the big first baseman didnt make the trip because of a herniated disk in his neck that could keep him out the rest of the season. Fielder is expected to have surgery Tuesday. General manager Jon Daniels announced that after the game. Manager Ron Washington had already finished talking to reporters by then. "You just want to go out there and give yourself a chance, hope your pitching staff gives you a chance," Washington said. "We understand not every day were going to be able to put nine runs up, especially against this team." Yu Darvish (4-2) allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings, striking out six and walking three. The Rangers broke through quickly against Detroit rookie Robbie Ray (1-1), who lasted only 3 1-3 innings. Ray allowed seven runs, nine hits and four walks, and the AL Central-leading Tigers lost their fourth straight. Ian Kinsler, who was traded to Detroit for Fielder in an off-season blockbuster, went 1 for 3 in his first game against the Rangers. The Tigers breezed to a 27-12 start before being swept in a three-game series at Cleveland. Star right-handers Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer were both knocked around in that series, and a 13-inning finale against the Indians taxed the bullpen. Rays start Thursday made the situation even worse, and infielder Danny Worth ended up pitching the ninth inning for Detroit. Worth, throwing a knuckleball, actually struck out two in a scoreless frame. "That was a lot of fun," Worth said. "Obviously, you dont ever want to be needed in that spot, but once I got out there, I enjoyed it." Alex Rios opened the scoring with an RBI double off Ray in the second, and Gimenez drove him home with a single. Adrian&nnbsp;Beltre added a two-run double the following inning and later scored to make it 5-0. Vapormax Italia. In half of Darvishs first eight starts, the Rangers failed to provide a single run of support. That wasnt a problem Thursday. Choos two-run homer in the fourth chased Ray, and Michael Choices two-run single later that inning gave the Rangers a nine-run lead. Gimenez had never even had a three-hit game before Thursday. Not only did he contribute offensively, but he also had little trouble behind the plate. It was his first time catching Darvish and his tricky array of pitches. "He let me do whatever I wanted to do," Darvish said through a translator. "So I felt really good." Texas has won back-to-back games for only the second time this month, but the Rangers injury woes remain a major concern. It looks like they will be without Fielder for a while, and in the third inning, centre fielder Daniel Robertson hurt himself in an outfield collision. Robertson came diving in headfirst to try to make a catch, at the same time Rios came sliding in from right. Replays showed a wad of gum popping out of Robertsons mouth when the two players collided. X-ray and concussion tests were negative. "Its a hard play, its a hustle play," Robertson said. "If we were to do it 10 times again, Id make the same play." The Tigers lead second-place Minnesota by 4 1/2 games in the division, but theyve allowed 31 runs in their past four games, an uncharacteristic spell for what might be baseballs best starting rotation. Detroits starters have allowed 19 earned runs over a three-game span, the first time thats happened since May 24-27, 2011, according to STATS. The last time a position player pitched for the Tigers was also in 2011, when Don Kelly did it. NOTES: Detroits extra-inning loss to Cleveland on Wednesday took 5 hours, 16 minutes. Thursdays game looked as if it might stretch past 4 hours for a while, but it sped up toward the end and was over in 3:30. ... Detroit RHP Anibal Sanchez (1-2) takes the mound against Texas RHP Scott Baker (0-0) on Friday night. ' ' '
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