Gästebuch » Open quarterfinalist since Jimmy Connors in 1991

STORRS, Conn. -- Geno Auriemma mightve felt like he had developed multiple personalities this season, and his Connecticut Huskies hadnt even played their home opener yet.The Huskies kept their massive winning streak alive but looked mortal in a two-point win at Florida State on Monday. So as the Huskies raised their latest championship banner high to the rafters of Gampel Pavilion on Thursday, Auriemma and likely the entire state of Connecticut were curious about this latest edition of UConn basketball.After losing perhaps the greatest -- if not the most decorated -- big three that womens college basketball has ever seen in Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck, UConn paid homage to championship No. 11 with perhaps more questions than it has banners entering a showdown with No. 2 Baylor.Im really struggling with what the expectations should be for this team, Auriemma wondered aloud. It has kind of been a real headache-inducing kind of thing for me because I cant figure out what should the expectations be. Should the expectations be, This is Connecticut basketball. Of course you should be in the Final Four and play in the national championship game. And right after I think that, I think, You got to be out of your mind, why would you expect that from this particular group? And then right after I say, Why are you disrespecting these guys?[Then I think] are you going to be like everybody else and expect these guys to not miss a beat? So every day for me has been up and down, up and down, up and down.Auriemma sounds as if hes got as many voices in his head as the tortured Gollum. But college basketballs Lord of the Rings might have his latest freshman gem in Crystal Dangerfield.The 5-foot-5 Dangerfield might have been the smallest player on the court, but no one played bigger as the freshman scored 9 of her 19 points in the second half to lead UConn to a 72-61 victory over Baylor.The third-ranked Huskies (2-0) extended their winning streak to 77 by breaking open a 54-54 tie with 7:27 remaining with a 16-2 run. The surge didnt just finish the Lady Bears (2-1), but it seemed to silence -- for now -- some of the questions about whether this Huskies team can carry on their elite tradition.And Dangerfield did her best to calm some of Auriemmas doubts. The espnW HoopGurlz third-rated recruit in the country buried 8 of 14 shots, including 3 of 5 from behind the arc. She shot her jumper with confidence and spoke afterward the way she shot the ball.She reminded reporters that she has played in big games for USA Basketball, won Tennessee state championships in high school and plenty of other big games in a prolific high school career that included a scoring record of 2,186 points at Blackman High School.A game like that didnt faze me, Dangerfield said after beating Baylor. Big stage. Big game. I love games like this.When UConn struggled in the first half and headed into the locker room at intermission looking vulnerable with a 32-29 lead, Dangerfield was one of the bright spots for the Huskies with 10 points.Baylor, which returned four starters from a 36-2 squad the season before, began to flex its muscle in the paint with a 9-2 run to open the third quarter as Kalani Brown and Beatrice Mompremier set an aggressive tone early out of the break. Baylor, which was led by senior guard Alexis Jones game-high 23 points, led 38-34 and the Gampel Gang grew quiet wondering if the Huskies were in trouble.But Kia Nurse scored on a layup and Dangerfield drilled a jumper to tie the score at 38. A couple of minutes later, Dangerfield assisted Katie Lou Samuelson on a 3-pointer and Gabby Williams on a layup. Then she knocked down a 3 of her own and assisted on two more UConn baskets to give the Huskies a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.Baylor was within four midway through the fourth, but Dangerfield responded with two steals as UConn picked up its defense. Dangerfield added a layup and then pretty much sealed the game with a jumper with 1:10 remaining to push the Huskies up 10.With Baylor touting what some believe is the best recruiting class in the country with three top-40 recruits, including espnW HoopGurlz No. 1 recruit Lauren Cox and No. 8 prospect Natalie Chou, Dangerfield was the best freshman on the floor Thursday.I dont want to say shes as good as any point guard that we have ever had, Auriemma said. That is saying too much too soon. But I think any other freshman in the country right now -- she is as good a guard as there is in the country coming in.Jefferson remains the measuring stick.The last time we saw Moriah, she was the best guard in the country, he said. Crystal coming in, out of high school, was a little further ahead than Moriah coming out of high school. ... Will she be further ahead three years from now? I just hope she catches up.On the night UConn unfurled its latest banner -- so new it still has creases in it -- Auriemma unwrapped what could be his next great talent. Perhaps Dangerfield is the recruiting prize that comes from the first class to ever win four straight national championships, led by a legendary trio that went 1-2-3 in the WNBA draft.Who knows if Dangerfield will reach the same heights as so many other stars in this storied program.One thing seems certain: The freshman doesnt lack any confidence in her game. What did she show Auriemma on Thursday?I wont disappear in big games, Dangerfield said. I just want to attack and be in those situations. I am not going to shy away from it. I feel like I have the experience to do it, so Ill be there.I know there are a lot of people that dont believe in us this year. We want to send a message every night we step on the floor. Rodney Hood Jersey . 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Wesley Matthews Jersey . Jordan Lynch, the all-purpose Heisman Trophy finalist from Northern Illinois, failed to make it into that exclusive club. NEW YORK -- The Latest on the U.S. Open (all times local):11:15 p.m.Croatian teenager Ana Konjuh reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal by upsetting No. 4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-4 at the U.S. Open on Monday night.Konjuh, who is 18 and ranked only 92nd, had never been past the third round at a major until this tournament. She was the junior champion at Flushing Meadows in 2013.As she was serving for the victory in the final game, Konjuh was startled -- right along with the spectators in Arthur Ashe Stadium -- when a piercing noise was heard from the arenas sound system as she tossed a ball. She recoiled, let the ball drop, and put her left hand to her chest. Once Konjuh realized nothing bad was going on, she smiled, then finished off the biggest win of her career.In Wednesdays quarterfinals, Konjuh will face 10th-seeded Karolina Pliskova, who eliminated Venus Williams earlier Monday.---9:25 p.m.Andy Murray won 9 of the first 10 games and overwhelmed Grigor Dimitrov 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 at the U.S. Open on Monday night to reach the quarterfinals for the 22nd time in his past 23 Grand Slam tournaments.During the changeover right before the last game, it suddenly began to rain, and play was delayed only slightly before the shower passed. The new retractable roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium was not closed.The No. 2-seeded Murray played well, certainly, but he also faced little resistance from No. 22 Dimitrov, who accumulated 23 unforced errors and only two winners by the time he trailed 3-0 in the second set.Murray has won 26 of his past 27 matches, including a title at Wimbledon and a second consecutive singles gold medal at the Olympics.The 2012 U.S. Open champion will face No. 6 Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinals Wednesday.---6:40 p.m.Kei Nishikori returned to the U.S. Open quarterfinals with a straight-set victory over No. 21-seeded Ivo Karlovic.The 2014 runner-up won 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on Monday in the last singles match at the current Louis Armstrong Stadium. It will be torn down after the tournament, with a new venue to be built to replace it.The 37-year-old Karlovic was the oldest man to reach a Grand Slam round of 16 since Jimmy Connors at the 1991 U.S. Open. At 6-foot-11, he set a tournament record with 61 aces in a five-set win in the first round.But in windy conditions Monday, the sixth-seeded Nishikori was the player with the more effective serve. Karlovic had 21 aces, but he won 77 percent of his first serves compared with 84 percent for Nishikori. More importantly, Nishikori won on 70 percent of his second serves to just 47 percent for Karlovic.Nishikori also successfully hit passing shots and even lobs against the towering Karlovic, who won only 23 of 56 points at the net.It was a nearly flawless day for Nishikori, who had a mere three unforced errors through two sets. He needed to save two set points in the third before racing to a 6-0 lead in the final tiebreaker.---5:40 p.m.After overtaking Roger Federer for most Grand Slam match wins in the Open era with 308, Serena Williams was asked wholl wind up retiring with more.Federer has 307 and cant increase that total until next season, because he is sitting out the U.S. Open and the rest of 2016 because of problems with his surgically repaired left knee.I dont know. Well see, Williams said during an on-court interview after reaching the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows on Monday. Hopefully well both keep going. I know I plan on it. I know he does. So well see.Federer turned 35 on Aug. 8. Williams turns 35 on Sept. 26.---5:25 p.m.Serena Williams surpassed Roger Federer for most Grand Slam match victories in tennis Open era with No. 308, a 6-2, 6-3 win over Yaroslava Shvedova on Monday to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals.Williams hit a tournament-leading 126 mph serve, pounded 11 aces, won 28 of 30 points when a first serve landed in, and didnt face a break point against the 52nd-ranked Shvedova.The top-seeded Williams is 308-42 at major tournaments, an .880 winning percentage, and is now three more wins from her 23rd Grand Slam singles title, which would break a tie with Steffi Graf for the most in the Open era, which started in 1968.Williams has made it to the quarterfinals in each of her past nine appearances at Flushing Meadows. Last year, a loss to Roberta Vinci in the semifinals ended Williams bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam.Williams next faces No. 5 Simona Halep, the 2014 Frencch Open runner-up.dddddddddddd---4 p.m.Two-time major champion Stan Wawrinka blew a lead, smashed a racket and eventually pulled out a four-set victory to reach his fourth straight U.S. Open quarterfinal.After saving a match point in a five-set win in his last outing, Wawrinka was cruising against 63rd-ranked Illya Marchenko, who was playing in his first Grand Slam round of 16. Serving for the match in the third set, the third-seeded Wawrinka was broken and went on to lose a tiebreaker.After going down a break early in the fourth, Wawrinka took his frustrations out on his racket. He proceeded to win the next four games to regain control on the way to a 6-4, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3 victory Monday.Marchenko had dropped the first set of his third-round match against 14th-seeded Nick Kyrgios but won the next two as the Australian struggled with a hip injury that eventually forced him to retire.Wawrinka next faces 2009 U.S. Open champ Juan Martin del Potro, who beat him at Wimbledon this year.---3:40 p.m.Venus Williams failed to convert a match point and lost in the fourth round of the U.S. Open to a player a dozen years younger than her, 10th-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic.Pliskova reached the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of her career by coming back to edge seven-time major champion Williams 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Monday in Arthur Ashe Stadium.The 24-year-old Pliskova had never been past the third round in 17 previous appearances at majors.At 36, Williams was trying to become the oldest Grand Slam quarterfinalist since Martina Navratilova was 37 at Wimbledon in 1994.---1:05 p.m.Simona Halep made the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open for the second straight year, beating Carla Suarez Navarro in straight sets.The fifth-seeded Romanian won 6-2, 7-5 on Monday. She could face No. 1 Serena Williams next. The 22-time major champ plays Yaroslava Shvedova later in the day.Suarez Navarro, seeded 11th, was seeking the sixth Grand Slam quarterfinal of her career.Halep had a chance to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set but got broken. She then broke Suarez Navarros serve in the next game and successfully served it out in her second opportunity.---1 p.m.Juan Martin del Potro is back in the U.S. Open quarterfinals after Dominic Thiem retired in the second set of their match.The eighth-seeded Thiem took a medical timeout to have trainers look at his right knee after the sets fifth game. He returned to the court for one point before deciding he couldnt go on.Del Potro had won the first set 6-3 and was up a break in the second.Thiem, who turned 23 on Saturday, has had a breakthrough year, reaching the French Open semifinals and cracking the top 10. But the long season was starting to wear on his body.Del Potro knows all about that. The 2009 U.S. Open champ missed the tournament the last two years after surgeries on his left wrist.But his stunning run to the Olympic silver medal signaled hes a contender again.Del Potro got a huge break Monday when he spent only 72 minutes on court. Hes played just 10-plus sets through four rounds.At No. 142, del Potro is the lowest-ranked U.S. Open quarterfinalist since Jimmy Connors in 1991.---11 a.m.Juan Martin del Potro, Andy Murray and the Williams sisters are among those seeking to book their spots in the quarterfinals on Labor Day Monday at the U.S. Open.Del Potro, the 2009 champ who has won over fans with his comeback from left wrist surgeries, takes on eighth-seeded Dominic Thiem, who broke into the top 10 this year after reaching the French Open semifinals.The No. 2-seeded Murray, who is hoping to add Flushing Meadows to his Wimbledon and Olympic titles this year, takes on 22-seeded Grigor Dimitrov. And third-seeded Stan Wawrinka, who saved a match point in a five-set win Saturday, faces Illya Marchenko.Among the womens highlights are back-to-back afternoon matches on Ashe with the Williams sisters. Sixth-seeded Venus is on first against 10th-seeded Karolina Pliskova, who is in the round of 16 at a major for the first time. Then top-seeded Serena meets 52nd-ranked Yaroslava Shvedova.Fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska is in the nightcap on Ashe, taking on 92nd-ranked Ana Konjuh.---This version corrects the 5:25 p.m. item about Williams victory to correct her winning percentage to .880 ' ' '