Die Macht » Serbian national team -- is constantly gi

LONDON -- Facing yet another critical point during a match he never controlled, Novak Djokovic stretched for a half-volley drop winner, held up his right index finger -- reminding the world, Im No. 1! -- then threw an uppercut and bellowed.Perhaps this was the moment everyone kept expecting as he tried to dig himself out of a daunting deficit against 41st-ranked Sam Querrey in the third round at Wimbledon. Perhaps this was a sign that Djokovic was rediscovering the consistency, efficiency and excellence he maintained for more than a year on tenniss most important stages.To wit: Djokovic had won 30 consecutive Grand Slam matches, carrying him to four consecutive Grand Slam titles, the longest such run by a man in nearly a half-century. He didnt just appear to be unbeatable at the majors. He was.No longer. His magical streaks are gone, including two successive titles at the All England Club and 28 Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances in a row, all brought to a sudden, stunning end by a player who has never participated in a major quarterfinal. With 31 aces against as good a returner as there is, Querrey did what no one else could for so long, beating Djokovic 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5) in a match interrupted Saturday by three rain delays after being suspended in progress because of showers a night earlier.He just overpowered me, was Djokovics simple assessment.Djokovic was stopped halfway to the first calendar-year Grand Slam by a man since Rod Lavers in 1969.I believe in positive things in life, and I managed to win four Grand Slams in a row -- two different seasons, though. I want to try to focus on that, Djokovic said, rather than failure.His last loss at any major came against Stan Wawrinka in the French Open final in June 2015. Since then, Djokovic won Wimbledon last July, the U.S. Open in September, the Australian Open in January and the French Open last month, raising his Slam total to 12.Late in Djokovics second-round victory Wednesday, he slipped and fell to his back, but he appeared to be OK at the time. Against Querrey, he rarely seemed to be himself, and afterward, was asked whether he was 100 percent healthy.Not really, Djokovic replied, but its not the place and time to talk about it.Only Laver, in 1962 and 1969, and Don Budge, in 1938, won all four major championships in one year.That was sort of quite a surprise, seeing Novak getting knocked out. I thought he was going to get the title, Laver said in a telephone interview. I dont know whether it was the pressure or whether he wasnt feeling up to full power. ... It didnt look like he was ready to play a big match.Things certainly looked bleak for Djokovic when he dropped the first two sets Friday against Querrey, the first American in 14 years to beat a man ranked No. 1 at a major.Im not going to lie and say going into it I thought I was going to win, Querrey acknowledged afterward.Djokovic woke up Saturday -- if hed been able to sleep at all -- knowing he needed to win three straight sets to extend his Grand Slam bid.Hes on his way to possibly being the best ever, Querrey said, and so you know hes mentally tough, and he was going to come back.Djokovic did. Sort of. He took the third set, then went up a break in the fourth at 5-4 by pounding a forehand winner that brought coach Boris Becker to his feet. But serving to even the match at two sets apiece, Djokovic faltered.That game included two calls against Djokovic which, according to the BBC broadcast, were incorrect -- but he was out of challenges and couldnt ask for a review. Querrey, 0 for 6 on break points in the set until then, converted No. 7 when Djokovics poor forehand volley found the net for 5-all.In the closing tiebreaker, Djokovic led 3-1, but Querrey hung in there, and a stray forehand by the big favorite sailed wide to end it.Probably not the best hes ever played, said Querrey, who plays Frances Nicolas Mahut next, but not the worst hes ever played.Until now, the 28-year-old Californian was best known for unusual off-court episodes. In Thailand for a 2009 tournament, he cut two muscles in his right arm when he sat on a glass table that shattered. Last year, he appeared on the reality TV show The Millionaire Matchmaker. Theres a popular Vine on social media of Querrey -- sunglasses and hat on, shirt unbuttoned -- dancing with friends wearing horse-head masks.Thats just Sam, said No. 9 Madison Keys, who reached the fourth round Saturday.Now Querry has a signature victory, fueled largely by a serve Djokovic called brutal.The drenched tournament cleared a backlog of matches and finally closed the second round Saturday, when two-time champion Petra Kvitova lost to Ekaterina Makarova 7-5, 7-6 (5). Among the men into the fourth round: No. 2 Andy Murray and Querreys fellow American and doubles partner Steve Johnson.Nothing resonated, of course, like Djokovics defeat.In the Open era, which dates to 1968, hes the second No. 1-seeded man to lose in Wimbledons third round: Coincidence or not, the other was Jim Courier in 1992, when he was halfway to a true Grand Slam.Asked how much the pursuit of history was a burden, Djokovic said: I dont think it played (that) big of a factor, to be honest.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich Michael Wacha Jersey . Schenn scored the game-winning goal and added two assists to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday. Andrew Miller Jersey . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. http://www.authenticcardinalspro.com/cardinals-drew-robinson-jersey/ .5 seconds to play in the game, Kevin Love never stopped believing that they would come out of there with a win. Dexter Fowler Jersey . Vaives lawyer Trevor Whiffen claims the former 50-goal man wasnt provided with a copy of the claim beforehand and that he would not have agreed to the allegations made against the NHL had he been asked to review its contents. Jedd Gyorko Jersey . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. Under the bright Southern California sun, in the pool at Segerstrom High School in Santa Ana, 15 of the best water polo players in the U.S. are divided into three groups -- each group with one goalie and four field players. Three nets are set around the pool. The players take turns catching the ball with one hand, moving side to side into position and shooting for a goal .From the far goal, shouting erupts and a player leaves the group to swim laps on his own. If you hear them yell -- Club! -- that means they missed [the shot] and have to swim Russians, says Carling McMichael, the sports medicine trainer. They can get pretty into it. Any chance they have to get competitive, they really go for it.On this April day, the U.S. mens national water polo team is in the midst of a four-day training session that starts daily at 6:30 a.m. and ends at 7 p.m. This time together is important for their Olympic hopes -- both as a team and individually. In less than three months, on July 7, the 13-man roster for the Rio Games (Aug. 5-21) will be named.And after an eighth-place finish at the 2012 London Olympics -- a big departure from the silver won in 2008 --the U.S. is aiming for a podium finish in Rio. Its a two-week tournament, not one game, says 38-year-old goalkeeper Merrill Moses, who competed at both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. You have to be at your best for the whole two weeks. You have to give everything to prepare and put yourself in the best possible situation. Its the biggest stage in sports and you train for four years for those two weeks.For now, though, its about avoiding the collective shout of Club!Yes, thats a yawn from defender Nic Carniglia. Its an early start for the 20-year-old and his teammates, who start the day in the gym. After the morning meditation, each player gets to choose a 20-second exercise or stretch for everyone before moving onto more strenuous exercises.With only 100 days out until the Rio Olympics, the teams focus is evident. Attacker Alex Bowen, 22, finds space outside to complete his morning dryland exercises. After about an hour-and-a-half in the gym, the team makes its way over to the pool for the rest of the day.Despite the seriousness of the teams training, there is also a lightheartedness to their interactions -- and the camaraderie is visible. A joke between goalkeepers McQuin Baron and Merrill Moses shows that. (Left to right: Moses, with back facing camera; John Mann; Baron; and Drew Holland)During circuits, the team is broken into three groups and three different stations. One group throws a medicine ball against the wall, one does side-sit-up toe touches and one performs sit-ups with overhead weights.Attacker Bret Bonanni works with a Thera-Band on resistance exercises. These exercises are an important part of building a well-rounded player by targeting muscles groups that are needed for both strong play and injury protection.Everyone jumps, dives or steps into the pool at the same time to start the pool workout. This first session lasts three hours. It begins with a swimming warm-up and moves into a passing warm-up.Once warm-up is done, various drills are performed to improve strength and agility. This group treads water while moving weighted balls quickly from side to side, tied to the edge of the pool with resistance bands. When finished, they move onto the next station.The mid-morning break divides the two back-to-back morning sessions, and the smoothies the team trainers prepare are one of the highlights.These players have each others back. And the sunscreen of choice? Coppertone Water Babies. Some use an even thicker skin-toned sunblock for their face, creating a mask to protect from the suns reflectiion off the water.ddddddddddddThe team is divided into offense and defense, and they go about running the set plays. When the coach wants to make an adjustment for the offense, the defensive players are asked to go underwater so they cant hear.Toward the end of the week, players, including defender Alex Roelse here, take turns describing the set plays to each other. With so little time together as a group between now and the Olympics, the coach and the captain stress the importance of this activity. These plays are then put into action in the second pool session.Moses, 38 (in forefront), is the oldest member of the team. He balances the national team, assistant coaching for the water polo team at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, and family life as he heads to his third Olympics. I say Im like a fine wine: I just keep getting better with age, the California native says. I can say that when I turn 39 at the Olympics games, Ill be in the best shape of my life.Baron explains that this afternoons torture for the three goalkeepers involves a water jug. He fills it with water and raises it upside down above his head, treading water as the jug empties. Our position is all legs, so we have to train differently, says Baron, Class of 2018 at USC. Some bottles you can swirl and it empties a little faster -- theres nothing you can do with this one. Its just horrible.Mann stands ready for the final challenge of the day against his teammates: 100-meter freestyle for time. Theres a particular challenge with team sports, Mann says. Learning to work with all of these different personalities, learning to control your ego and emotion and to sometimes lessen some of your own personal success for the betterment of the team to achieve your goals. Im not just playing for myself.In the lunch room, Carling McMichael, responsible for the teams sports medicine, helps the guys to sort out aches and the pains. Here, attacker Bonanni receives a massage while the others guys eat their lunch.Next stop for defender Jackson Kimbell? The dentist. He cracked his tooth during one of the scrimmages. While these players are training together for the Olympics, they often play against one another for their college or club teams and scrimmages can get just as physical as a game.At first glance, water polo might appear to be a low-contact sport, but theres plenty of contact above and below the surface. My face has scars everywhere, Mann says. Ive had probably 40 or 50 stitches in my face, teeth going through my lips -- been stitched on the side of the pool deck in Croatia with no anesthetic. It was like fishing line and moonshine on my face. Its a brutal sport.As the sun sets on a long day in the pool, Bowen sits out with a suspected dislocated rib. He remains attentive to the play and uses it as an opportunity to study from outside the water. The coaching staff, which includes head coach Dejan Udovicic -- former head coach of the Serbian national team -- is constantly giving the players feedback.The first pool session of the day is done. As soon as I get out of the pool, its all about recovery, Kimbell says. He will get a 30-minute break before returning to the pool for the second morning session.The second pool session of the day is done at 1:30 p.m., with the third session beginning at 5 p.m. and ending at 7 p.m. Before they depart to run errands, take a nap or relax between sessions, the guys head to the breakroom. The small portable at the edge of the pool serves as a meeting room for the coaches, a physical therapy space and a spot to eat lunch. ' ' '