Nette Wortgeplänkel » fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis

PARIS -- Used to be the French Open was the scene for clay-court specialists and surprise champions. Scan the list of past winners and runners-up. Theres Gaston Gaudio and Albert Costa, Guillermo Coria and Martin Verkerk, Andres Gomez and Mariano Puerta. Not so much a "Whos Who." More like a "Whos He?" The womens list features fewer out-of-nowhere names, yet does include those such as Iva Majoli, Anastasia Myskina and Francesca Schiavone, who all won the French Open while never making it past the quarterfinals at any other major championship. With the years second Grand Slam tournament set to begin Sunday at Roland Garros, there is little thought being given to that sort of stunning outcome, thanks to Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams. As seven-time major champion John McEnroe put it: "Its pretty obvious who the favourite is." He meant, of course, Nadal, who won his record seventh French Open title last year and is 52-1 for his career at the place. Consider, too, the nearly perfect way the Spaniard has played after seven months off the tour because of a left knee injury: Since returning in February, Nadal is 36-2, reaching the finals at all eight tournaments hes entered, winning six. "I am enjoying every moment, and eight finals in a row is wonderful," Nadal said. "Four, five months ago, it was impossible to think about this." He wore a wrap of white tape below that troublesome knee while practicing Thursday afternoon on Court Philippe Chatrier with the temperature in the 40s (below 10 degrees Celsius) for about an hour before heavy rain fell; the forecast is for more wet weather in the coming days. Nadal has cut down on the amount of time he spends training on court, one concession to recurring knee problems, which also forced him to pull out of Wimbledon in 2009, when he would have been the defending champion. "Im really happy for him, and impressed that hes come back," said McEnroe, now a TV analyst. "It seems like hes barely lost anything, if at all. Right now, he seems to be finally, he says, playing the best hes been playing the whole year, which is sort of frightening for the other players." And yet Nadal will not be seeded No. 1 when the draw is held Friday. Thats because the French Open decided to strictly follow the rankings, and Nadals time away deducted enough points that he is currently No. 4 (hell move up one spot to No. 3 in the seedings, because No. 2 Andy Murray, the reigning U.S. Open champion, withdrew because of a bad back. Tournament director Gilbert Ysern explained that while he could have opted to ignore the rankings -- and even contemplated doing so, because Nadal is "the best player on clay" and Roland Garros "is a bit like his garden" -- there wasnt a consensus it was the proper thing to do. "You can understand the argument that those who are higher than him in the rankings in a certain way deserve their ranking," Ysern said, "and to move these players back to move Nadal forward could have been considered unfair." Nadal, for his part, did not sound too fussed about the matter, saying, "I had a very good chance to be No. 10 (given the time off), and there are lots of chances to be worse, and I accept the situation." So last years French Open runner-up to Nadal, Novak Djokovic, will be seeded No. 1, and 17-time major champion Roger Federer will be seeded No. 2. Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., is ranked No. 16 in the world. Djokovic handed Nadal one of his two losses of 2013, in the Monte Carlo final on clay last month, proof that Nadal is not completely invincible, even on the slow surface he dominates. The No. 1-ranked Williams, meanwhile, has been unbeatable lately. She arrives in Paris having won a career-high 24 consecutive matches and is 36-2 -- like Nadal -- with a tour-leading five titles this season. Thats part of a stretch in which shes gone 67-3, including titles last year at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the London Olympics. That 70-match stretch of excellence dates, probably not coincidentally, to her last match at Roland Garros, a shocking loss to 111th-ranked Virginie Razzano of France in the first round in 2012. It is her only opening loss in 50 career Grand Slam tournaments -- precisely the sort of thing that seems to happen around these parts. While there certainly are other women who realistically can harbour hopes of lifting the trophy in a little more than two weeks -- defending champion Maria Sharapova is the best example -- Williams appears to be playing as well as ever at the moment. She already owns 15 Grand Slam singles titles, but the French Open is the only major tournament shes won fewer than four times. Her lone championship in Paris came in 2002. "Nothing is ever perfect and I learned that last year when I felt perfect," Williams said. "So I am still in a danger zone." NFL Jerseys China . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Wholesale Jerseys from china .com) - The Chicago Blackhawks aim for their third three-game winning streak of the season when they host the struggling Edmonton Oilers in Sundays battle at the United Center. http://www.chinanflwholesalejerseyscheap.com/ . Once again, DeLaet finished tied for second at a PGA Tour stop on the weekend, this time at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The pride of Weyburn, Sask. Cheap Jerseys . It might not have mattered. While the Dodgers are preparing for the playoffs, the Padres showed their future has promise behind two rookies. Cheap Jerseys china . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night. ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a $1 million, one-year contract to keep right-handed reliever Andrew Bailey, the first of this years 157 free agents to reach a deal.Bailey revitalized his career last season with the Angels, posting six saves with a 2.38 ERA in 12 appearances. He became Los Angeles closer after Huston Streets season-ending injury.The Angels are the 32-year-old Baileys fifthh big-league team.dddddddddddd He is a two-time All-Star who won the ALs Rookie of the Year award in 2009 with Oakland, but he struggled with shoulder injuries for the previous three seasons.To clear a roster spot, the Angels designated outfielder Shane Robinson for assignment Wednesday. ' ' '