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2B – Daily News – Tuesday, September 14, 2010 SLAM (Continued from page 1B) quite clear. ‘‘He has the capabili- ties already now to become the best player ever,’’ Djokovic said. ‘‘I think he’s playing the best tennis that I’ve ever seen him play on hard courts. He has improved his serve drastically — the speed, the accuracy. And, of course, his baseline (game) is as good as ever.’’ Nadal stretched his Grand Slam winning streak to 21 matches by adding the U.S. Open to his titles at the French Open in June, then Wim- bledon in July. No man had won those three tour- naments in the same year since Rod Laver won a true Grand Slam in 1969. Now Nadal heads to the Australian Open in Janu- ary with a chance to claim a Rafa Slam of four con- secutive major champi- onships — something that also hasn’t been done since Laver. No. 3 Djokovic, the 2008 Australian Open champion and 2007 U.S. Open runner-up, made Nadal earn it. The Serb played superbly for long stretches, showing off the terrific returning, retriev- ing and big forehand he used to knock off 16-time Grand Slam champion Federer in Saturday’s semifinals. Coming out of the rain delay with Djokovic serv- ing at 4-all, 30-all in the second set, both players clearly benefited from a bit of rest. Fresh of body and clear of mind, and with conditions perfect for tennis — calm and cool, the temperature in the 70s — they were superb, engaging in 10-, 15-, 20- stroke points that drew standing ovations and camera flashes from the stands, no matter who hit the winner. And there were win- ners aplenty at both ends — 49 by Nadal, 45 by Djokovic — as well as point-extending defense, sneakers squeaking as they scurried around the court. The key, perhaps, was this: Nadal went through a stretch of 45 points without making an unforced error, and he made only two in the fourth set. It’s not as though he was playing safe, either, cranking up his groundstrokes and aiming for the lines. Djokovic claimed the second set by breaking Nadal in the final game, getting back a deep return off a 122 mph serve. Nadal was on his heels — a rare sight, indeed — and slapped a forehand into the net. That gave Djokovic three breaks in a span of 10 service games, against a player who was broken twice the first 92 times he served. It would be the only set lost of 22 played by Nadal in New York this year, as he came oh-so-close to being the first man in a half-century to win this tournament without drop- ping a set. Nadal was back to his relentless best in the third and fourth, hitting shots so well that Djokovic was moved to applaud on occasion. A drop volley here; a running backhand passing winner there; most delivered with a sneer. Nadal broke for 2-1 leads in each of those last two sets, then arrived at match point by sprinting to reach a drop shot and whipping a forehand that landed right on the base- line. Djokovic hit a forehand wide to end it, and Nadal fell backward onto the court with a shout. He rolled onto his stomach, his chest heaving — final- ly the champion in New York after losing in the semifinals the last two Cramer’s path leads to 1st MLB win Athletics 3 Kansas City 1 KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bobby Cramer kept believing in himself all those years, even if few others did. Cramer’s long and wind- ing trek culminated with a win in his major league debut Monday when he pitched the Oakland Athlet- ics past the Kansas City Royals 3-1. ‘‘Just getting here was amazing in itself, but now that I’m here I want to pitch well and want to show everybody who I think I can be up here,’’ he said. Cramer (1-0), a left-han- der who turns 31 next month, started his pro career in 2003 in the Tampa Bay system. Cut by the Rays, he was a substitute high school math teacher and worked in pipeline maintenance while out of baseball in 2005-06. Cramer played in an independent league in 2008, then began this year in the Mexican League. ‘‘There were times I felt this was an uphill battle, that I may never get over that hump,’’ he said. ‘‘I never doubted my own ability. I had a lot of internal confi- dence. I felt like I was good enough. That’s what made me persist. I wanted to chal- lenge myself to get to the next level.’’ Cramer held the Royals to one run and four hits in 5 1-3 innings. He struck out four and walked one. Cramer went 13-3 with a 2.95 ERA in 22 games with Quintana in Mexico this season. At that point, he wasn’t about to give up. ‘‘When I got released in ’05, I tried to convince myself I was done,’’ he said. ‘‘I was with Tampa and at the time they were a strug- gling organization, that would give young guys a chance and promote you if you played well. I couldn’t even get out of A ball with them. I thought that was God’s way of trying to tell me that this just isn’t it. The problem is I quit physically, but I never quit mentally.’’ Cramer became the old- est pitcher in Athletics fran- chise history to make a start in his big league debut since Steve Gerkin for the Philadelphia A’s on May 13, 1945. ‘‘When you travel a road as tough as the one he has, I think he’s more appreciative of this opportunity, a little older, more mature, tougher mentally sometimes than a young kid,’’ A’s manager Bob Geren said. ‘‘I’m very happy with him going that deep into the game and keeping a lead. You’ll defi- nitely see him again.’’ Andrew Bailey worked the ninth for his 24th save in 27 opportunities. Jack Cust hit his 100th home run, connecting in the Oakland sixth off Bryan Bullington. Mike Aviles homered in the fourth for the only run off MLB West Division Texas A’s American League WL Pct GB 80 63 .559 — 72 71 .503 8 Angels 70 73 .490 10 Seattle 55 88 .385 25 East Division WL Pct GB Tampa Bay 87 56 .608 — New York 87 57 .604 .5 Boston 79 64 .552 8 Toronto 73 71 .507 14.5 Baltimore 56 88 .389 31.5 Central Division WL Pct GB Minnesota 85 58 .594 — Chicago 79 64 .552 6 Detroit 72 72 .500 13.5 Cleveland 58 85 .406 27 Kansas City 58 85 .406 27 ————————————————— Monday’s results Oakland 3, Kansas City 1 Baltimore 4, Toronto 3, 11 innings Tampa Bay 1, New York 0, 11 innings Boston at Seattle, late Today’s games Oakland (G.Gonzalez 14-8) at K.C.(Greinke 8-12),5:10 p.m.,CSNC Los Angeles (Kazmir 8-13) at Cleveland (Tomlin 3-3), 4:05 p.m. Toronto (Sh.Hill 0-1) at Baltimore (Arrieta 5-6), 4:05 p.m. New York (Nova 1-0) at Tampa Bay (Garza 14-8), 4:10 p.m., MLBN Detroit (Bonderman 8-9) at Texas (D.Holland 3-3), 5:05 p.m. Minnesota (Liriano 13-7) at Chicago (Danks 13-10), 5:10 p.m. Boston (Matsuzaka 9-5) at Seattle (French 4-5), 7:10 p.m. Cramer. Aviles hit his first home run since May 9, a span of 316 at-bats, and fin- ished with three of the Roy- als’ seven hits. Luke Hochevar (5-5) lost in his first start since missing nearly three months with a sprained right elbow. He gave up two unearned runs and two hits in five innings. He walked three and threw just 39 strikes in 78 pitches. The A’s took advantage of sloppy Royals fielding to take an early lead. ‘‘I wouldn’t even classify it as an eyesore,’’ Royals manager Ned Yost said of his defense. ‘‘It was worse. It wasn’t good baseball. We’d still be out there play- ing if we hadn’t given them a couple.’’ In the first inning, Aviles and Hochevar made errors and rookie catcher Lucas May was charged with a MLB West Division National League WL Pct GB Padres 81 62 .566 — GIANTS 81 63 .563 1/2 Colorado 79 65 .5492 1/2 Dodgers 71 73 .49310 1/2 Arizona 57 87 .39624 1/2 East Division WL Pct GB Philadelphia 84 61 .579 — Atlanta 83 62 .572 1 Florida 73 70 .510 10 New York 71 73 .493 12.5 Washington 60 84 .417 23.5 Central Division WL Pct GB Cincinnati 82 62 .569 — St. Louis 74 68 .521 7 Houston 69 75 .479 13 Milwaukee 66 77 .462 15.5 Chicago 63 81 .438 19 Pittsburgh 48 95 .336 33.5 ————————————————— Monday’s results Atlanta 4, Washington 0 Chicago 5, St. Louis 1 Cincinnati 7, Arizona 2 Houston 4, Milwaukee 2 New York 1, Pittsburgh 0, 10 innings Philadelphia 11, Florida 4 San Diego 6, Colorado 4 Today’s games Los Angeles (Kershaw 11-10) at San Fran.(Zito 8-12),7:15 p.m.,CSNB Arizona (D.Hudson 5-1) at Cincinnati (Tr.Wood 5-2), 4:10 p.m. Philadelphia (Hamels 10-10) at Florida (Mendez 1-0), 4:10 p.m. Pittsburgh (Duke 7-13) at New York (Dickey 10-6), 4:10 p.m. Washington (Li.Hernandez 9-11) at Atlanta (Jurrjens 7-5), 4:10 p.m. Milwaukee (Capuano 3-3) at Houston (Norris 7-8), 5:05 p.m. Chicago (R.Wells 6-13) at St. Louis (Wainwright 18-10), 5:15 p.m. San Diego (Garland 13-11) at Colorado (Hammel 10-7), 5:40 p.m. passed ball. Aviles’ wild throw from second base on what could have been a dou- ble-play grounder by Kurt Suzuki allowed Coco Crisp to score. Crisp began the game reaching on Hochevar’s error and stealing second. Crisp has stolen at least one base in five straight games, totaling nine in that span. NFL AFC West WL T Pct PF PA Kansas City 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Chargers 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Denver Miami 0 1 0 .000 17 24 RAIDERS 01 0 .000 13 38 East WL T Pct PF PA 1 0 0 1.000 15 10 New England 1 0 0 1.000 38 24 Buffalo Houston 1 0 0 1.000 34 24 Jacksonville 1 0 0 1.000 24 17 Tennessee 1 0 0 1.000 38 13 Indianapolis 0 1 0 .000 24 34 North WL T Pct PF PA Baltimore 1 0 0 1.000 10 9 Pittsburgh 1 0 0 1.000 15 9 Cincinnati 0 1 0 .000 24 38 Cleveland 0 1 0 .000 14 17 NFC West Arizona 1 0 0 1.000 17 13 Seattle WL T Pct PF PA 1 0 0 1.000 31 6 49ERS 01 0 .000 6 31 St. Louis 0 1 0 .000 13 17 East WL T Pct PF PA Washington 1 0 0 1.000 13 7 N.Y. Giants 1 0 0 1.000 31 18 Dallas New Orleans 1 0 0 1.000 14 9 Tampa Bay 1 0 0 1.000 17 14 Atlanta Chicago 1 0 0 1.000 19 14 Green Bay 1 0 0 1.000 27 20 Detroit Minnesota 0 1 0 .000 9 14 ————————————————— Monday’s results Baltimore 10, N.Y. Jets 9 San Diego at Kansas City, late Sunday’s games St. Louis at Oakland, 1:05 p.m. Arizona at Atlanta, 10 a.m. Baltimore at Cincinnati, 10 a.m. Buffalo at Green Bay, 10 a.m. Chicago at Dallas, 10 a.m. Kansas City at Cleveland, 10 a.m. Miami at Minnesota, 10 a.m. Philadelphia at Detroit, 10 a.m. Pittsburgh at Tennessee, 10 a.m. Tampa Bay at Carolina, 10 a.m. Seattle at Denver, 1:05 p.m. Houston at Washington, 1:15 p.m. Jacksonville at San Diego, 1:15 p.m. New England at N.Y. Jets, 1:15 p.m. N.Y. Giants at Indianapolis, 5:20 p.m. Monday, Sept. 20 New Orleans at San Francisco,5:30 p.m. 0 1 0 .000 7 13 Philadelphia 0 1 0 .000 20 27 South WL T Pct PF PA 0 1 0 .000 9 15 Carolina 0 1 0 .000 18 31 North WL T Pct PF PA 0 1 0 .000 14 19 FedExCup Leaders Rank Pts Money 1. Matt Kuchar 4,935 $4,753,727 2. Dustin Johnson 4,299 $4,336,622 3. Charley Hoffman 3,449 $2,289,646 4. Steve Stricker 3,372 $4,062,735 5.Paul Casey 6. Jason Day 3,015 $3,283,194 2,633 $2,757,327 7. Luke Donald 2,597 $2,855,234 8. Ernie Els 2,343 $4,311,361 9. Martin Laird 2,294 $1,639,528 10. Phil Mickelson 2,249 $3,685,233 11. Jim Furyk 2,121 $3,459,622 12. Geoff Ogilvy 2,121 $2,214,545 13. Justin Rose 2,105 $3,441,331 14. Adam Scott 2,083 $2,364,902 15. Hunter Mahan 2,058 $3,402,391 16.Ryan Palmer 1,988 $2,678,611 17. Retief Goosen 1,976 $2,700,589 18.Bubba Watson 1,948 $3,051,998 19. Zach Johnson 1,896 $2,624,868 20.Kevin Na 21.Tim Clark 1,837 $1,862,224 1,757 $3,205,431 22.Ben Crane 1,732 $2,694,500 23. K.J. Choi 1,725 $1,952,462 24. Jeff Overton 1,669 $3,334,856 25. Camilo Villegas 1,621 $2,827,398 26.Ryan Moore 1,610 $2,166,698 27. Robert Allenby 1,604 $2,619,997 28. Nick Watney 1,584 $2,057,289 29.Kevin Streelman1,575 $1,181,724 30.Bo Van Pelt 1,572 $2,630,258 FOOTBALL California — North (8-man) League Overall WL W L Big Valley 0 0 Dunsmuir 0 0 Hayfork 0 0 Butte Valley 0 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 WARRIORS 00 1 0 L.Christian 0 0 Happy Camp 0 0 1 1 0 2 ————————————————— Friday’s games Big Valley at Champion Christian, 7 p.m. Herlong at Dunsmuir, 7 p.m. Liberty Christian at Hayfork, 7 p.m. Saturday’s games Mercy at Redding Christian, 1 p.m. Butte Valley at Loyalton, 1 p.m. WNBA FINALS Seattle 1, Atlanta 0 Game 1:Seattle 79, Atlanta 77 Today: at Seattle, 6 p.m., ESPN2 Thursday: at Atlanta, 5 p.m. Sunday: at Atlanta, Noon Tuesday, Sept. 21: at Seattle, 6 p.m. Sept. 9 result Butte Valley 44, Westwood 18 Sept. 10 results Big Valley 48, Elk Creek 0 Greenville 34, Happy Camp 26 Hayfork 56, Princeton 28 Sept. 11 results Dunsmuir 72, Loyalton 48 Liberty Christian def. Herlong, forfeit PGA 0 1 0 .000 10 15 N.Y. Jets 0 1 0 .000 9 10 South WL T Pct PF PA NASCAR Sprint Cup Points Leaders 1.Denny Hamlin 5,060 2. Jimmie Johnson 5,050 3.Kevin Harvick 5,030 4.Kyle Busch 5.Kurt Busch 5,030 5,020 6.Tony Stewart 5,010 7. Greg Biffle 5,010 8. Jeff Gordon 5,000 9. Carl Edwards 5,000 10. Jeff Burton 5,000 11. Matt Kenseth 5,000 12. Clint Bowyer 5,000 FOOTBALL Mountain Valley League Overall WL W L Chester 0 0 Maxwell 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 BULLDOGS 00 1 2 Biggs 0 3 ————————————————— Friday’s games University Prep at Los Molinos,7:30 p.m. Burney at Chester, 7:30 p.m. East Nicolaus at Biggs, 7:30 p.m. Tulelake at Maxwell, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 10 results Los Molinos 21,Weed 14 Chester 26, Fall River 12 Maxwell 36, Colusa 16 Williams 16, Biggs 7 years. Now he’s the first left- hander to win the U.S. Open since John McEnroe in 1984, and the first Spaniard since Manuel Orantes in 1975. Nadal first burst onto the scene as the so-called King of Clay, compiling a record 81-match winning streak on that surface and starting his French Open career 31-0. His five titles at Roland Garros have earned him accolades as the best clay-court player in history, but now he has become so much more. He won on the grass at Wimbledon in 2007, edg- ing Federer 9-7 in the fifth set as darkness descended, then again this year. He won on the hard courts at the Australian Open in 2009, again besting Feder- er in five sets. All that was left was the U.S. Open. After com- plaining of fatigue in 2008, coming off his gold medal from the Beijing Olympics, then dealing with bad knees and a torn abdominal muscle in 2009, he set out to make this trip to Flushing Mead- ows different. He curtailed his sched- ule a bit in the spring, to save some wear and tear. He took time off after Wimbledon, getting treat- ment on his knees and skipping the Davis Cup quarterfinals. And, con- stantly seeking ways to improve, he says he decid- ed a couple of days before the start of the U.S. Open to tweak the way he holds his racket to serve. That added zip to his serves, now regularly faster than 130 mph, GOLDEN Championship Chico vs. Maui Today: at Chico, 7:05 p.m. Wednesday: at Chico, 7:05 p.m. Saturday: at Maui, 9:05 p.m. Sunday: at Maui, 9:05 p.m. Monday, Sep. 20: at Maui, 9:05 p.m. which helps him earn some easy points — important given the way he hustles so much and hits so hard, those boom- ing forehands looking like uppercuts. Nadal only had one blip all tournament: That sec- ond set Monday evening. Perhaps bothered by some pro-Djokovic supporters yelling between serves — earning an admonishment from the chair umpire — Nadal fell behind 3-1 by making four mistakes, including a double-fault, to get broken at love. When Nadal pushed a backhand long to close a 19-shot point, Djokovic screamed, ‘‘Come on!’’ It was part of a run of 11 consecutive points for Djokovic, who went ahead 4-1. As quickly as Nadal lost his way, however, he gathered himself, his strokes gaining steam, his footwork as good as ever. A violent backhand on a 23-stroke exchange allowed Nadal to break back, and he held to 4-all. While Djokovic would take that set, Nadal even- tually would prove too tough, too swift and too good — even at the U.S. Open. ‘‘Nadal ... is just prov- ing each day, each year, that he’s getting better. That’s what’s so frustrat- ing, a little bit. He’s get- ting better each time you play him,’’ Djokovic said. ‘‘He’s so mentally strong and dedicated to this sport. He has all the capa- bilities, everything he needs, in order to be the biggest ever.’’ FOOTBALL Eastern Athletic — South League Overall WL W L Lassen 0 0 Paradise 0 0 Las Plumas 0 0 Oroville 0 0 2 0 2 1 0 2 0 2 SPARTANS 00 0 2 ————————————————— Friday’s games NCAA Top 25 Schedule Saturday’s games No.1 Alabama at Duke, 12:30 p.m. No. 2 Ohio State vs. Ohio, 9 a.m. No. 3 Boise State at Wyoming, 5 p.m. No. 4 TCU vs.Baylor, 1:30 p.m. No.5 Oregon vs.Portland State, 3:15 p.m. No.6 Texas at Texas Tech, 5 p.m. No.7 Oklahoma vs. Air Force, 12:30 p.m. No.8 Nebraska at Washington, 12:30 p.m. No. 9 Iowa at No.24 Arizona, 7:30 p.m. No. 10 Florida at Tennessee, 12:30 p.m. No.11 Wisconsin vs.Arizona State, 12:30 p.m. No.12 Arkansas at Georgia, 9 a.m. No. 13 South Carolina vs. Furman, 4 p.m. No.14 Utah at New Mexico, 5 p.m. No.15 LSU vs. Mississippi State, 4 p.m. No.16 Auburn vs. Clemson, 4 p.m. No.18 Southern Cal at Minnesota, 12:30 p.m. No.19 Stanford vs.Wake Forest, 8:15 p.m. No.20 Michigan vs.Massachusetts, 9 a.m. No. 21 West Virginia vs. Maryland, 9 a.m. No.22 Penn State vs.Kent State, 9 a.m. No. 23 Houston at UCLA, 7:30 p.m. No.25 Oregon State vs.Louisville, 2:30 p.m. Corning at Red Bluff, 7:30 p.m. Las Plumas at Anderson, 7:30 p.m. Lassen at Foothill, 7:30 p.m. Oroville at Central Valley, 7:30 p.m. Pleasant Valley at Paradise, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 10 results Shasta 53, Red Bluff 13 Anderson 6, Oroville 0 Chico 35, Las Plumas 9 Sept. 11 result Paradise 61, Lowell 13 FOOTBALL Northern Athletic League Overall WL W L Central Valley 0 0 0 0 Anderson 0 0 West Valley 0 0 CARDINALS 00 2 0 Yreka 2 0 2 1 1 1 1 1 ————————————————— Friday’s games Corning at Red Bluff, 7:30 p.m. Henley at Yreka, 7:30 p.m. Las Plumas at Anderson, 7:30 p.m. Oroville at Central Valley, 7:30 p.m. West VAlley at Fortuna, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 10 results Corning 35, Orland 27 Anderson 6, Oroville 0 Central Valley 27, Henley 0 Mazama 34, Yreka 32 West Valley 28, Enterprise 21