Unsere Haustiere » You cant really control the elevation. Its like Denver

From the perspective of the casual tennis fan, the Challenger series is the shadow circuit, where players generally ranked outside the top 50 scuffle for ranking position. But for many, its a stepping-stone to much bigger endeavors.Its a tough circuit, and everyone has to go through it, Frances Tiafoe said Tuesday from the Fairfield, California event. Its not as much about the money as it is the rankings points.Less than two years ago, Tiafoe was ranked No. 1,145 among ATP World Tour players, but by the end of 2015, he had zoomed up to No. 176.Now, at the age of 18, for the first time, he is a top-100 player -- No. 100 on the nose -- and part of the surging youth movement (#NextGeneration) that has come to define the ATPs 2016 season.Tiafoe is one of four teenagers ranked in the top 100.There are so many young guys coming up; its unbelievable, Tiafoe said. Youve got [Alexander] Zverev and [Nick] Kyrgios playing great tennis, and you feed on that.Its funny. Youre in juniors and looking up to the pros, and it happens so fast. Honestly, I thought it would be tougher to get up here.Ah, those impressionable teenagers. They dont always know what they dont know. Fact is, the next 50 spots will be far more difficult to scale. After that? Skill, mentality and luck will all help him become the top-10 player he envisions.Tiafoes swift ascendance, along with No. 71-ranked Californian Taylor Fritz, gives the United States two 18-year-olds in the top 100. The last time that happened?In 1990, Michael Chang and Pete Sampras were ranked among the top 100, at Nos. 10 and 14, respectively. Now, no one is predicting that Tiafoe and Fritz are going to combine for 15 Grand Slam singles titles, but that 26-year gap gets your attention.Fritz is the No. 5-ranked American man, behind Steve Johnson, Jack Sock, John Isner and Sam Querrey. Tiafoe is No. 7, behind Donald Young. Jared Donaldson, 20, is No. 10 behind Ryan Harrison.Back in February, Fritz reached the finals at Memphis and the quarterfinals in Acapulco. As a result, his last Challenger -- the Triple-A level of mens tennis -- came in April. This week, Tiafoe was playing in his 17th Challenger.The season began at Happy Valley, Australia, where the sturdily built Tiafoe lost in the first round (Fritz was the eventual winner there), then lost in the second round of qualifying at the Australian Open.Last week, Tiafoe took the title in Stockton, California, winning $14,400 but also collecting the championship share of 100 points. That vaulted him 17 spots, into the No. 100 slot.In the final, Tiafoe defeated Long Islander Noah Rubin, the 2014 Wimbledon junior champion. It was a potentially awkward match because they were both being coached by former U.S. professional?Robby Ginepri, a three-time winner on the ATP Tour and semifinalist in the 2005 US Open. Ginepri, according to Tiafoe, recently signed a 20-week coaching deal with the USTA.It was weird and pretty funny, actually, Tiafoe said. We both had a great week. Robby just told us to go out there and enjoy the battle. I was happy I played really well.Tiafoe, who also won the Challenger in Granby, Canada, was the first teenager to win multiple titles since Fritz did it last year, at Sacramento and Fairfield. Tiafoe was also a finalist in Lexington, Kentucky, Winnetka, Illinois and Tallahassee, Florida. Each of those results netted him 48 points, helping to move him up the ladder.His first-round match in Fairfield, against Blaz Rola, a 26-year-old from Slovakia, offered a glimpse of his improving game. A week earlier, in the first round at Stockton, Rola extended Tiafoe to three sets. On Tuesday, Tiafoe was down 3-1 in the second set and won the last six games to complete a 7-6 (6), 6-3 victory.I definitely served better than I did last week, Tiafoe said. Hes strong from the baseline, but I stayed tough. I knew I didnt need to be too aggressive, just solid. I was lucky to break back and win the second set.In Wednesdays second round, Tiafoe fell to French teenager Quentin Halys, another #NextGeneration player ranked among the top 200. Halys, ranked No. 170, beat Tiafoe in three sets for the third time this year.That illustrates the microscopic difference between players at this level. In March, Tiafoe beat Fritz in three sets at Indian Wells, but lost to him in the first round at Winston-Salem. Tiafoes summer featured a tight loss to No. 55 Adrian Mannarino in Washington, D.C., and a first-round defeat by Isner -- in a five-set match decided by a tiebreaker.Ive played close matches with top-50 guys, Tiafoe said. Really believing you can do it is a big thing.The new ranking is a goal Ive wanted to crack since I turned pro, according to Tiafoe, and it gets him very close to automatic entry into the main draw of the Australian Open. If he can gain a few more spots, he would guarantee it. To that end, he will likely play a Challenger event in Las Vegas the following week.Thats the goal, to be in the main draw of the majors, Tiafoe said. Thats huge, moneywise and playing at that level. Hopefully, I can do well and end the year around No. 80.That would set me up, cruising along nicely. I feel like if I can get comfortable, I can get better winning a bunch of matches at the next level. Dikembe Mutombo Nuggets Jersey . The Clippers were angry about blowing a big lead; the Kings didnt like being in that kind of hole and nearly digging themselves out only to lose. Dikembe Mutombo Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. http://www.nuggetsproshop.com/Will-Barton-Nuggets-Jersey/ . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. 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For more than a decade, the NFL has been taking its game abroad looking to attract new fans and new markets to football.When the Oakland Raiders take on the Houston Texans on Monday night in Mexico City, the fans at Azteca Stadium will see something no foreign audience has ever gotten the chance to watch: two teams with winning records.Instead of watching the dregs of the league, the sold-out crowd at the renovated Azteca Stadium will see a game with playoff implications when the Raiders (7-2) take on the Texans (6-3) in a matchup of first-place teams.Despite the big stage, high stakes and international flair, it still is just one game.We know if you dont win, it doesnt mean anything. Its a cool thing to look back on someday, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr said. It doesnt change the game for me. It doesnt change my heart rate. It stays the same.The Raiders enter the game on a roll having won three straight games before a bye, capped by a 30-20 prime-time win over defending Super Bowl champion Denver on Nov. 6. That has Oakland off to its best start since 2001 as the team hopes to end a 13-year playoff drought .The Texans have won two straight and are in sole possession of first place in the AFC South, but have gotten much less publicity for their record than Oakland. In part, thats because Houston has been outscored by 27 points with lopsided losses to New England, Minnesota and Denver overshadowing the wins.A victory against a Raiders team that has been so impressive of late would be a big step forward for the TexansI think every single week is a statement game, Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler said. When you look across the National Football League, every single week is different. You see one team maybe blow out somebody one week and then the next week they get blown out, or a win and then the next week they lose. So, I think every single week you need to go out there and prove yourself.Here are some other things to watch:WRONG CARR: After David Carr failed to develop into a franchise quarterback when Houston drafted him with its first pick as an expansion team in 2002, the Texans twice passed on his little brother in 2014. Houston took pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney with the first overall pick, then guard Xavier Sua-Filo at the top of the second round -- three picks before Derek went to Oakland. That move looks suspect now with Carr developing into one of thhe leagues top young quarterbacks.ddddddddddddWe chose who we chose and were happy with who we chose, coach Bill OBrien said. Dereks having a good year.MACK ATTACK: The Raiders were very happy with Houstons draft that year. They ended up with edge rusher Khalil Mack with the fifth pick and he has outperformed Clowney so far with 26 sacks to Clowneys 7 +. Then they got Carr in the second round.Mack has sacks in four straight games and is looking forward to a rematch with Osweiler after sacking him five times in one game last year in Denver.We are well aware of what Khalil Macks capable of doing -- obviously I experienced it firsthand last year -- and we will have answers for him, Osweiler said.HIGHER GROUND: Both teams will have to deal with the altitude for the game played at an elevation of 7,350 feet. The teams wont arrive in Mexico until Sunday in hopes of limiting the effects of the altitude, and they spent the week preparing for it.Just work hard, Mack said. You cant really control the elevation. Its like Denver and all those other places. Just get ready and expect you might have a hard time breathing.OAKLANDS ENGINE: The Raiders have invested heavily in the offensive line the past few years by signing free agents Rodney Hudson, Kelechi Osemele, Donald Penn and Austin Howard and it is paying big dividends now. Oakland has allowed a league-low 11 sacks and has run the ball effectively of late, especially two weeks ago against Denver when the Raiders gained 218 yards on the ground. Carr attributes the success of the team to the play of the line.He calls us the engine, Penn said. Theres no car without an engine.PUNT PARTY: Marquette King had big shoes to fill in Oakland back in 2013 when he replaced six-time All-Pro Shane Lechler as Raiders punter. King has thrived and leads the NFL this season with 21 punts of at least 50 yards. He celebrates some of those punts with dance moves that have gone viral. While Lechler is impressed by his successors kicking leg, the dance moves are something else.Unfortunately, I have, Lechler said when asked whether he had seen any of the dances.---AP Sports Writer Kristie Rieken in Houston contributed to this report---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '