Dein erstes Forum » his head in disappointment after each one

For Leander Paes, the second round exit from the mens doubles at Wimbledon on Sunday is the latest installment of an extended run of underwhelming results. Paes, the owner of eight mens doubles Grand Slam titles and 54 doubles titles over the course of his decorated career, appears now to be a shadow of the formidable player he once was. A reading of the bare numbers itself paints a stark picture.Since the start of 2015, Paes has won just one mens doubles tournament and reached only two other finals on the ATP World tour - the tournament win came in Auckland as far back as January 2015; the two final appearances were in Chennai in the same month, and in Delray Beach in February 2015.His win-loss record over this period is a dismal 34-33. In seven Grand Slam tournaments since the start of 2015, Paes best result was reaching the quarterfinals at the French Open last month. In the other six slams, he has failed to get past the third round. His ranking has plummeted to 55. In fact, Paes performance chart dipped visibly in 2014 itself, when he won just one title all year, though he did reach the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and semifinals at Wimbledon.Quite clearly, after two-and-a-half decades on a fiercely competitive international circuit, most of which have been spent as an elite doubles specialist, Paes is falling behind dramatically.Although doubles players tend to play longer than their singles counterparts, at 43, Paes is now a veteran even by those standards. He is in fact one of only four players - Canadas Daniel Nestor, Serbias Nenad Zimonjic and Austrias Julian Knowle being the other three - who are over the age of 40 in the top-100 of the world doubles rankings.Astute observers of the game point out that a player such as Paes, who does not possess a big serve, cannot afford to be even half a step slower because as he gets older, younger and faster players will exploit any drop in agility.Next month, Paes will accomplish a long-standing ambition by competing in his seventh Olympic games at Rio de Janerio. Rohan Bopanna, Indias highest ranked doubles player currently, has reluctantly accepted the All India Tennis Associations (AITA) decision to partner him with Paes for the games, making it known that he preferred Saketh Myneni instead. Before Rio, Bopanna and Paes will join forces for the Davis Cup tie against South Korea in Chandigarh from July 15-17, hoping the match practice will give them the impetus to make a strong run at the Olympics.One of Paes biggest concerns over the last couple of years has been his inability to find a consistent partner. In 2015, Paes combined with 11 different players and has already had four different partners in the first half of 2016, including Marcin Matkowski of Poland, with whom he played at the French Open and Wimbledon.Paes last Grand Slam mens doubles title, at the US Open in 2013, came in the company of Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic, with whom he also won the Australian Open in 2012. Since that partnership ended after the 2014 US Open, Paes has searched in vain for a reliable partner, unsuccessfully experimenting combinations with several doubles specialists including South Africas Raven Klaasen and multiple Grand Slam winner Daniel Nestor.With his ranking taking a nosedive and a string of early exits from tournaments in the first two months of this year, Paes was forced to take the unusual step of playing on the ATP Challenger tour, the level immediately below the ATP World tour where the elite players of the game ply their trade.He featured in five such events from March to May, winning one in Busan, South Korea with Australias Sam Groth and reaching a final in Leon, Mexico, also with Groth. Since then, Paes has only played at the two Grand Slams - French Open and now Wimbledon, failing to carry forward the momentum he sought to build on the Challenger tour.Ironically, while his results on the mens doubles circuit have been steadfastly unimpressive, Paes has been in scorching form in the mixed doubles. With Martina Hingis, Paes has won four Grand Slam tournaments since the start of 2015 and the pair will attempt to defend their title at Wimbledon over the coming week.However, mixed doubles is only played at the Grand Slams and offers no ranking points, so even spectacular results such as the ones achieved by Paes, do not count for much in the week in-week out routine of the circuit.It is unclear what lies beyond Rio for Paes. His future has been the subject of intense speculation for a number of years but Paes has soldiered on gamely, shutting up doubters often with sparkling performances. But now, at the back of this prolonged spell of disappointing outcomes, there can be no denying that he finds himself at the crossroads of his professional career. Fake Shoes Discount .S. -- Nikolaj Ehlers registered a hat trick for the third straight game and Jonathan Drouin had a goal and five assists as the Halifax Mooseheads hammered the host Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 10-1 on Tuesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Fake Shoes Free Shipping .Y. -- Injured Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno did not practice with the team Monday and head coach Ron Rolston said its unlikely hell play in Wednesdays season opener in Detroit. https://www.fakeshoesonline.com/ . Its an influence in football and a big part of the game. Fake Yeezy . Radwanska, making her debut in the Seoul tournament, hit eight aces in a match that lasted 1 hour, 4 minutes at Olympic Park tennis stadium. "It was definitely a very good match -- I was playing really good tennis," Radwanska said. China Shoes For Sale . All of the scoring came in the final 20:04. Lucic scored on a power play at 15:46 of the third period, when he tipped a shot over Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen for a 3-1 lead. Everybody has a favorite Arnold Palmer memory.Maybe its that time you followed him at a tournament. At one point, he was seemingly in trouble behind a mammoth oak tree, only to hitch up his slacks, take a mighty lash with a 5-iron and land his ball on the green. To this day, you swear he looked right at you afterward and offered a knowing wink.Or maybe its when you ran into him at a restaurant. You didnt want to interrupt, but the man had always been your hero. So you nervously approached and asked for an autograph, only to have that chance encounter turn into him regaling you with a 15-minute story about the good ol days.Or maybe youre not even much into golf. Maybe you only know him because a family member was cared for at the hospital bearing his name. Or because he contributed to your favorite charity. Or just because those old black-and-white pictures make him look like the coolest guy who ever lived.Everybody has a favorite Arnold Palmer memory, because he impacted every single one of us.And now, after hearing of his death at the age of 87, these memories come rushing back.He wasnt just a brilliant golfer; he was the man who ushered the game into the television era. He wasnt just an icon of the sport; he grew to become one of the worlds most recognizable figures.The word legend is thrown around too often these days, but Palmer epitomized the very definition. He founded his own hospital, flew his own plane and concocted his own drink -- and that was just in his spare time.Most of the favorite memories about the man fondly known as The King are personal interactions. People meeting him, speaking with him, taking photos with him, receiving his meticulously penned signature on a hat or ticket stub. And of course, being a member of Arnies Army.My favorite memory is a private one. So private that it includes only him, alone.It was two years ago. Id played Palmers beloved Bay Hill course with some buddies, even stopping at the turn to get a photo with him, like so many thousands of others had done before. After the round, we had lunch and I wasnt in a rush to leave, so I headed back out to the practice green.Within a few minutes, some 50 yards away, a cart pulled up to the far right side of the driving range, two bags of clubs strapped into the back, as always.This wasnt the range where hed developed his game as a youngster. No, that was some 1,000 miles north at Latrobe Country Club, where his father had been the head professional and superintendent and where Arnold, even recently, would sometimes sneak his lunch down to the locker room and eat on a bench near the showers while swapping stories with his old buddies.He came to Bay Hill later in life, once he was already a champion and an icon. He didnt just hit golf balls on that range. He taught -- and yes, he might have even learned a little.ddddddddddddust six months ago, while playing in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, his grandson, Sam Saunders, recalled a time when a lesson on that range turned into so much more. When a few people stopped by to say hello, Palmer took the opportunity to needle him a bit.He was going to try and embarrass me, Saunders recalled. He wanted to toughen me up; he wanted to make me feel uncomfortable. So he said, If this boy will just listen to me, hell be all right. Otherwise hes going to end up driving a tractor. Then he puts that big giant fist right in my face and said, What are you gonna do, boy, if I pop you in the nose? I got right back in his face and said, Ill knock you out, old man. And he got tears in his eyes. I knew thats exactly what he wanted. He was testing me.This wasnt the range where he honed his game; it was the range where hed tried to hold onto it for as long as he could.On that day two years ago, just before his 85th birthday, I watched as the familiar figure pulled up in his cart. Using a club as a cane, he ambled over to a spot on the range and moved a single ball from a pile closer to him. He took a few practice swings, then settled in to his stance, reached back and swung through it.Id love to tell you that the ball soared high into the mid-afternoon sky, his mighty lash no different than a half-century earlier. It didnt. It traveled no more than 100 yards or so. Palmer watched it, and shook his head. He checked his grip. He moved another ball closer. He swung again. Same result.Again and again, maybe 20 times, he hit shots with that club, shaking his head in disappointment after each one. This was a man years removed from tournament golf. He wasnt preparing for any big competition, didnt need to get his game in shape for anything coming up.There he was, though. Still trying. Still digging for secrets in the dirt. Still hoping that somehow, on the precipice of turning 85, the magic would return and hed start hitting towering shots down the range once again, reliving the glory days of his youth.The coolest man in the room. The champion, the icon. The philanthropist and pilot and drink inventor. The man who accomplished so much in his life, still wanted more. He wanted to hit that little white ball the way hed once done.When he was finished, Palmer used the club as a cane, easing himself into the drivers seat of the cart. He sat there for a few minutes, every once in a while looking back toward the range and shaking his head again. Finally, he drove away, unsatisfied with his game. Unsatisfied with himself.That will always be my favorite Arnold Palmer memory. Everybody has one. ' ' '