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2B Daily News – Tuesday, September 13, 2011 OPEN Continued from page 1B Monday was his return. He repeatedly sent serves back at Nadal's feet, forc- ing errors or giving Djokovic control of the point. That helped Djokovic accumulate an astounding 26 break points and convert 11. Consider this: When Nadal completed his career Grand Slam by winning last year's U.S. Open, he was broken a total of five times in seven matches. Another telling statistic: Four times Mon- day, Nadal broke Djokovic — only to have Djokovic break right back in the next game. That's exactly what happened in the third game of the second set, which lasted 17 minutes and featured a bit of every- thing: 22 points; eight deuces; six break points; a time violation warning against Nadal (Djokovic was admonished later in the set); complaints by both men that the glare from the stadium lights was bothersome; seven exchanges that lasted at least 10 strokes. After a 28-shot point, Djokovic leaned over and put his hands on his knees, his chest heaving. Nadal was the one who faltered, though. He double-faulted to set up break point No. 6, then — on a great defensive lob by Djokovic — put an overhead into the net. More remarkable than all those breaks of serve was the way Djokovic seemed to break the will of the reliably relentless and indefatigable Nadal. At the end of the first set, when Djokovic reeled off DEBUT Continued from page 1B He wound up in a good spot out West working with another Harbaugh. ''The only Harbaugh I didn't end up playing for. I almost did,'' Akers said with a smile while address- ing Jack. ''We're old- timers, old-time friends.'' ''I just couldn't recruit,'' Monday's Sports Transactions By The Associated Press BASEBALL American League BALTIMORE ORIOLES—Activated RHP Jason Berken from the 15-day DL. CHICAGO WHITE SOX—Activated OF Carlos Quentin from the 15-day DL. TORONTO BLUE JAYS—Placed RHP Jon Rauch on the 15-day DL, retroac- tive to Sept. 5. National League CHICAGO CUBS—Named Julian Green vice president, communications and community affairs. SAN DIEGO PADRES—Named Sarah Farnsworth senior vice president, pub- lic affairs. BASKETBALL National Basketball Association NBA—Fined Charlotte owner Michael Jordan an undisclosed amount for making comments about the league's ongoing collective bargaining process. Women's National Basketball Asso- ciation six games in a row, and at the end of the match, Nadal wasn't even chasing Djokovic's shots. ''It was a tough match,'' said Nadal, who owns 10 major titles. ''Physical, mental, every- thing.'' Yes, and Djokovic turned this U.S. Open final rematch into something of a mismatch. He entered this year with one Grand Slam title, at the 2008 Australian Open. Djokovic attributes his surge to a variety of factors, including a vastly improved serve, better fit- ness — owing, at least in part, to a gluten-free diet he doesn't like to discuss in any detail — and, most- ly, a seemingly endless reservoir of self-belief dat- ing to December, when he led Serbia to its first Davis Cup title. Djokovic began a 43- match winning streak there, a run that ended with a semifinal loss to Federer in the French Open semifinals. The only other blemish on Djokovic's 2011 record was a loss to Andy Murray in last month's Cincinnati Masters final, where Djokovic stopped playing while trailing, citing a painful shoulder. That was the 24-year- old Serb's last match before heading to Flushing Meadows. His shoulder was fine in New York, clearly, and while he was treated by a trainer and took painkilling pills in the late going Monday — which is why his serves slowed to the 90s mph in the fourth set — he over- came it. With both men playing fantastic, court-covering defense in a grueling con- test that lasted 4 hours, 10 minutes, there were more Jack replied, chuckling. ''Just keep kickin' 'em.'' While the elder Har- baugh has long been a sounding board for his sons, he had only one mes- sage planned for his son after Sunday's win: ''The only real thing I'll say is how proud I am. The way — with the lockout and no OTAs and some of the players he hadn't met until the latter part of July — he came in and got a lot of MOVES PHOENIX MERCURY—Signed G Diana Taurasi and F Penny Taylor to multiyear contract extensions. FOOTBALL National Football League ATLANTA FALCONS—Signed C Brett Romberg.Waived C Rob Bruggeman. MINNESOTA VIKINGS—Signed C Joe Berger.Waived C Jon Cooper. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS—Signed RB Ian Johnson to the practice squad. Released RB Xavier Omon.SOCCER Major League Soccer SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC—Signed G Bryan Meredith. Placed MF Michael Seamon on the disabled list. TENNIS United States Tennis Association U.S. OPEN—Fined Serena Williams $2,000 for berating the chair umpire during the final. COLLEGE BOSTON COLLEGE—Announced offensive coordinator Kevin Rogers will be taking a leave of absence for health reasons and tight ends coach Dave Brock will fill the position. MCT photo Quarterback Alex Smith scrambles into the endzone Sunday in the 49ers 33-17 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. work done in August and the preseason, then to come here on opening day National Football League At A Glance By The Associated Press All Times EDT AMERICAN CONFERENCE East WL T Pct New England1 0 0 1.000 Buffalo 1 0 0 1.000 N.Y. Jets 1 0 0 1.000 Miami South 0 1 0 .000 WL T Pct Houston 1 0 0 1.000 Jacksonville 1 0 0 1.000 Tennessee 0 1 0 .000 Indianapolis 0 1 0 .000 North WL T Pct Baltimore 1 0 0 1.000 Cincinnati 1 0 0 1.000 Cleveland 0 1 0 .000 Pittsburgh 0 1 0 .000 West WL T Pct San Diego 1 0 0 1.000 Denver 0 0 0 .000 Oakland 0 0 0 .000 Kansas City 0 1 0 .000 against the Seahawks, a divisional team and a team you have to beat if you're NFL NATIONAL CONFERENCE East WL T Pct Washington 1 0 0 1.000 Philadelphia 1 0 0 1.000 Dallas 0 1 0 .000 N.Y. Giants 0 1 0 .000 South WL T Pct New Orleans0 1 0 .000 Tampa Bay 0 1 0 .000 Carolina 0 1 0 .000 Atlanta 0 1 0 .000 North WL T Pct Chicago 1 0 0 1.000 Detroit 1 0 0 1.000 Green Bay 1 0 0 1.000 Minnesota 0 1 0 .000 West PF WL T Pct PA San Francisco 1 0 0 Arizona 1 0 0 1.000 St. Louis 0 1 0 .000 Seattle 0 1 0 .000 Monday's Games New England 38, Miami 24 Oakland at Denver, late ENTERTAINMENT Saturday, September 10th at Tehama Family Fitness Center 9:30 am Zumba and U-Jam Party 10:00 am - Fun Run 10:00 am-1:00 pm Kids Zone water play area 10:30 am Tehama's Strongest Man Competition Tehama Family Fitness Center 2498 South Main St., Red Bluff 528-8656 www.tehamafamilyfitness.com American League At A Glance By The Associated Press East Division WL Pct GB New York 88 57 .607 — Boston 85 61 .582 3 1/2 Tampa Bay 82 64 .562 6 1/2 Toronto 74 73 .503 15 Baltimore 58 88 .39730 1/2 Central Division WL Pct GB Detroit 85 62 .578 — Chicago 73 73 .50011 1/2 Cleveland 72 72 .50011 1/2 Kansas City62 86 .41923 1/2 Minnesota 59 87 .40425 1/2 West Division Texas WL Pct GB 83 64 .565 — Los Angeles80 66 .548 2 1/2 A's 66 80 .45216 1/2 Seattle 61 85 .41821 1/2 ——— Sunday's Games Detroit 2, Minnesota 1 Toronto 6, Baltimore 5 Tampa Bay 9, Boston 1 Cleveland 7, Chicago White Sox 3 Texas 8, Oakland 1 N.Y.Yankees 6, L.A. Angels 5 Kansas City 2, Seattle 1 Monday's Games Tampa Bay 5, Baltimore 2 Detroit 14, Chicago White Sox 4 L.A. Angels at Oakland, late N.Y.Yankees at Seattle, late Tuesday's Games Tampa Bay (Price 12-12) at Baltimore (Simon 4-8), 4:05 p.m. Toronto (Morrow 9-10) at Boston (Wake- field 6-6), 4:10 p.m. Cleveland (Masterson 11-9) at Texas (M.Harrison 11-9), 5:05 p.m. Detroit (Verlander 22-5) at Chicago White Sox (Floyd 12-10), 5:10 p.m. Minnesota (Pavano 8-11) at Kansas City (Chen 10-7), 5:10 p.m. L.A. Angels (J.Williams 3-0) at Oakland (Moscoso 8-8), 7:05 p.m. N.Y.Yankees (A.J.Burnett 9-11) at Seattle (Furbush 3-8), 7:10 p.m. Wednesday's Games Toronto at Boston, 10:35 a.m. Detroit at Chicago White Sox, 11:10 a.m. L.A. Angels at Oakland, 12:35 p.m. Minnesota at Kansas City, 1:10 p.m. Cleveland at Texas, 4:05 p.m. Tampa Bay at Baltimore, 4:05 p.m. N.Y.Yankees at Seattle, 7:10 p.m. going to have a chance to get to the playoffs, bowed his neck and jetted out his jaw and said, 'Let's get it done.''' Team Harbaugh went 2- for-2 on Sunday. Jack Harbaugh and wife, Jackie, also celebrated John Harbaugh's 35-7 rout with than two dozen points that lasted at least 15 strokes. Djokovic quickly turned things around after falling behind 2-0 in each of the first two sets. Those were tiny deficits compared to what he dealt with in the semifinals Sat- urday: He lost the first two sets to Federer, then faced two match points at 5-3, 40-15, before smacking a cross-court return winner that sent him on the way to taking the last four games. By backing up that vic- tory on Monday, Djokovic became only the second man to defeat Federer and Nadal during the course of one Grand Slam tourna- ment. Juan Martin del Potro did it en route to the 2009 U.S. Open title. The only time Djokovic truly faltered at all in the final was in the crucible of the third set, when he showed signs of being bothered by his lower back. His level dipped, and Nadal made one last stand. Djokovic went up 3-2 only to get broken, then served for the match at 6-5 and was broken again when he made two unforced errors, the sec- ond at the end of a 21- stroke exchange. ''When I lost that third set, it wasn't fun,'' Djokovic said. ''I knew I wasn't physically there.'' But in the fourth set, Djokovic was in control from the start, breaking in the second game with a forehand winner, then cruising from there. When Djokovic ended it with another forehand winner, he raised his arms, then tossed aside his rack- et and dropped to the court. He pulled off his shirt and threw it into the stands, then put on a dark hat with ''FDNY'' written on it — a nod to Sunday's 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which both he and Nadal mentioned during the trophy ceremony. The final — delayed a day to Monday by rain for the fourth consecutive U.S. Open — was marked by spectators calling out during points or as the players were in their ser- vice motions, and while that's perhaps to be expected in New York (as opposed to, say, the staid All England Club), Djokovic and Nadal were bothered by it, and the chair umpire repeatedly chastised the unruly crowd. Once he adjusted to the conditions, Djokovic dis- guised shots well, rearing back and ripping big shots off both wings — often right near lines, if not right on them. He wound up with 55 winners — 23 more than Nadal — and, all in all, put on a master- ful display of as diverse a game as one can have. He excelled at everything — serving, returning, volley- ing, groundstrokes and the sort of constant movement and retrieving with which Nadal usually frustrates opponents. Mostly, he kept telling himself he could win. ''The bottom line is that that's the whole point — to win Grand Slams — because these are the tour- naments most important and most valuable in our sport,'' Djokovic said. ''Right now I feel drained emotionally and physical- ly and mentally.'' Then, motioning with his right hand at the silver chalice that forever will carry his engraved name, Djokovic added: ''But I have this trophy here, and this is what I was fighting for.'' BRADY Continued from page 1B Brady completed 32 of 48 passes, and perhaps in the most ironic of foot- notes, his NFL record for consecutive passes with- out an interception ended with 13:13 left in the third quarter when Jared Odrick grabbed a deflected ball and rumbled 40 yards to set up a Miami touch- down. Brady had thrown 358 straight passes without being picked off in a regu- lar season game, a streak that began last October. By the end of Monday night, that mistake — and it wasn't even his mistake — was long forgotten. So too, in many respects, was Henne's spectacular night. Accord- ing to STATS LLC, it was the 16th time in Dolphins history that a quarterback threw for at least 400 yards: Dan Marino did it 13 times, and Joey Har- rington and David Wood- ley both did it once. The game turned com- pletely New England's way with just under 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Henne's fourth- and-goal pass from the 1 intended for Brian Hart- line fell incomplete, and the Patriots took over. ''The right play,'' Henne insisted afterward. Maybe, maybe not. The next one, however, could- n't be argued. On the first play of the ensuing New England series, Brady lofted the ball out to Welk- er, who took off on a 12- second sprint that ended up as the longest play from scrimmage in Patri- ots history. It pushed Brady over the 500-yard mark, and sent Miami fans flocking to the exits. ''This is the first game, man,'' Dolphins line- backer Karlos Dansby said. ''We've got 15 more. Know what I'm sayin'? We've just got to play well from here on out. It's just the first one.'' Brandon Marshall fin- ished with 139 receiving yards on seven catches for Miami. Henne also was Miami's leading rusher with 59 yards and a touch- down, and Reggie Bush finished with 38 yards on 11 carries in his first regu- lar-season game with the Dolphins. Bush and Hartline caught Henne's touch- down passes. ''We said it all week,'' Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said. ''Big plays are going to kill you against this team.'' The Dolphins had a star-studded series of pregame ceremonies, including orange-carpet arrivals for the likes of Fergie — a limited partner with the organization — and Hank Williams Jr. A statue of original Dolphins owner Joe Rob- bie was rededicated out- side the stadium he built, and a flag was hoisted in honor of former Miami tight end and radio com- mentator Jim Mandich, who died of complications from cancer earlier this year. And like in every stadi- um that hosted NFL games Sunday, the night was tinged with patrio- tism. One day after the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York, Washington and Pennsyl- vania, each fan was hand- ed an American flag upon entering the stadium. the Baltimore Ravens over Pittsburgh — albeit from afar. ''It was a fantastic day for us to experience John and Jim, who are brothers in the NFL, and then to go back-to-back with wins,'' Jack Harbaugh said. ''It's an outstanding feeling. Just imagine all those parents out there, they have their youngsters in academics, music and art and the youngster brings home classwork and the pride that they feel. Jackie and I feel the same pride in our fami- ly.'' Notes: The Niners signed RB Ian Johnson to the practice squad and released RB Xavier Omon. ... Harbaugh had no update on WR Michael Crabtree's injured left foot after X-rays were negative Sunday night. The 2009 10th over- all pick broke the foot and needed surgery after getting hurt during workouts led by quarterback Alex Smith during the NFL lockout this summer. MLB National League At A Glance By The Associated Press East Division WL Pct GB Philadelphia94 50 .653 — Atlanta 84 64 .568 12 New York 71 76 .48324 1/2 Washington 68 77 .46926 1/2 Florida 67 79 .459 28 Central Division WL Pct GB Milwaukee 86 62 .581 — St. Louis 79 68 .537 6 1/2 Cincinnati 71 76 .48314 1/2 Pittsburgh 67 80 .45618 1/2 Chicago 65 82 .44220 1/2 Houston 50 97 .34035 1/2 West Division WL Pct GB Arizona 85 62 .578 — Giants 76 70 .521 8 1/2 Los Angeles72 73 .497 12 Colorado 69 77 .47315 1/2 San Diego 63 84 .429 22 ——— Sunday's Games Florida 4, Pittsburgh 1 Washington 8, Houston 2 Milwaukee 3, Philadelphia 2 St. Louis 6, Atlanta 3 Colorado 4, Cincinnati 1 San Francisco 8, L.A. Dodgers 1 San Diego 7, Arizona 6 Chicago Cubs 10, N.Y. Mets 6, 11 innings Monday's Games Pittsburgh 6, St. Louis 5 Chicago Cubs 12, Cincinnati 8 Florida 5, Atlanta 4, 12 innings Washington 3, N.Y. Mets 2 Houston 5, Philadelphia 1 Arizona at L.A. Dodgers, late San Diego at San Francisco, late Tuesday's Games St. Louis (C.Carpenter 9-9) at Pittsburgh (Karstens 9-8), 4:05 p.m. Chicago Cubs (Dempster 10-11) at Cincinnati (Leake 11-9), 4:10 p.m. Florida (Hand 1-6) at Atlanta (Minor 5-2), 4:10 p.m. Washington (Wang 2-3) at N.Y. Mets (Gee 12-6), 4:10 p.m. Philadelphia (Hamels 14-7) at Houston (Happ 5-15), 5:05 p.m. Colorado (Rogers 6-5) at Milwaukee (Greinke 14-6), 5:10 p.m. Arizona (I.Kennedy 19-4) at L.A. Dodgers (Billingsley 10-10), 7:10 p.m. San Diego (Luebke 5-9) at San Francisco (Cain 11-10), 7:15 p.m.