PARIS -- The closest thing to intrigue or drama involving Rafael Nadal on Saturday came after his 31st consecutive French Open victory concluded. [url=http://www.cheapshoes.us.org/]Cheap Shoes Online Free Delivery[/url] . Thats when the eight-time champion revealed that a painful back is slowing his

PARIS -- The closest thing to intrigue or drama involving Rafael Nadal on Saturday came after his 31st consecutive French Open victory concluded. Cheap Shoes Online Free Delivery . Thats when the eight-time champion revealed that a painful back is slowing his serves -- and, all in all, giving him more trouble than his opponents so far. For now, leave the on-court theatrics to others. Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, for example, was clutching at aching hamstrings while being taken to 7-all in the fifth set by No. 28 Philipp Kohlschreiber before their third-round match was suspended for fading light. No. 23 Gael Monfils acknowledged tanking a set en route to a 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 victory over No. 14 Fabio Fognini, who was docked a point for chucking his racket near a ball boy. "They make a good show for the crowd," Nadal said. "Long match. Crowd involved. Good for tennis." Well, aside from the fact that Monfils and Fognini combined for more than twice as many unforced errors, 137, as winners, 66. Nadals play was much, much cleaner: During the entire course of his 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 win against 65th-ranked Leonardo Mayer of Argentina, the No. 1-seeded Spaniard made 10 unforced errors -- two in the first set, three in the second, five in the third. Hes dropped a total of 19 games through three matches. More worrisome would be his back, which also acted up in January during a loss to Stan Wawrinka in the Australian Open final. "During my career, I had (a) few problems. ... Hopefully will not be (the) case" the rest of the way in Paris, Nadal said. Against Mayer, Nadal averaged only 102 mph (165 kph) on first serves, with a top speed of 114 mph (184 kph). That was down from an average of 111 mph (179 kph) and top of 122 mph (197 kph) in the first round last Monday. Through two matches, Nadal faced five break points and lost serve twice. He dealt with eight break points Saturday, losing two. The last time Nadal won 31 matches in a row in Paris, he failed to get No. 32, losing in the fourth round in 2009 to Robin Soderling -- a defeat that later was blamed, in part, on injured knees. That remains the Spaniards lone setback in 63 matches at the tournament. Next for Nadal is 83rd-ranked Dusan Lajovic of Serbia, who beat Jack Sock of the United States 6-4, 7-5, 6-3. Another American, Donald Young, lost in five sets to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain, leaving No. 10 John Isner as the last U.S. man. Before this French Open, Lajovic had a 10-21 career record in tour-level matches, never winning two in a row. "I saw him play a few times on TV. Sure, its great to have new players on tour, young players on the tour that are coming strong. Hopefully not too strong," Nadal said with a smile. "Well see on Monday. I hope to be ready." Asked whether he would seek advice from another Serbian, No. 2 Novak Djokovic, before facing Nadal, Lajovic joked: "Yeah, I will try to ask everybody (for) some tips." That wont help if Nadal produces shots of the sort he did when Mayer served at 5-all in the second set -- a stretching, scooping backhand lob to break. As Mayer watched the shot sail overhead, he waved his left hand to signal to the ball to go out, then rolled his eyes when it curled in. Nadal pumped his fist, ahead 6-5 and on his way to reaching the fourth round for the 10th time in 10 French Opens. Monfils will take on Garcia-Lopez for a quarterfinal berth. Whoever emerges from Murray-Kohlschreiber meets the winner of another suspended match scheduled to resume Sunday: No. 24 Fernando Verdasco led No. 12 Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-2, 2-2. Womens fourth-round matchups set up Saturday were No. 4 Simona Halep against No. 15 Sloane Stephens, 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova against Lucie Safavora, 2012 runner-up Sara Errani against Jelena Jankovic, and Andrea Petkovic against 148th-ranked qualifier Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands. As the sun came out and the temperature topped 70 degrees (20 Celsius) after several days of overcast skies and occasional rain, Stephens eliminated No. 22 Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 6-3, 6-4, while Halep beat 55th-ranked Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor of Spain 6-3, 6-0. Halep is the highest seeded woman left, following losses by No. 1 Serena Williams, No. 2 Li Na and No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska. Said Halep: "Thats a surprise for everyone." Authentic Shoes For Cheap . - The Oakland Athletics say they are stopping negotiations to extend their lease at the Coliseum. Cheap Shoes Outlet Stores . Helwani said that Weidman has been dealing with recurring swelling and pain in his knees related to torn meniscus he suffered as a teenager and the problems came to a head last week when he suffered prolonged swelling and pain in his left knee, resulting in the decision to undergo an arthroscopic scope procedure to clean up the tear in both knees. http://www.cheapshoes.us.org/ . Rudy Gay made the tying basket in regulation and a 3-pointer in overtime that gave Sacramento the lead for good, and Fredette scored a career-high 24 points to help the Kings beat the Knicks 106-101 on Wednesday night.Here are five thoughts on the Eastern Conference first-round series between the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets following Game 5, including the play of Kyle Lowry, Joe Johnson, Kevin Garnet and Paul Pierce, as well as head coaches Jason Kidd and Dwane Casey. 1. KYLE LOWRY: Brilliant in Game 5. Watching him Wednesday night brought me back to watching Allen Iverson torch the Raptors in the 2001 playoffs. Considering Lowry is a Philly guy and one of the guys he looked up to as a young player was Iverson, I couldnt help myself but to draw comparisons. A totally different players but one quality that truly makes them alike is that they are both incredible competitors. Not the size of the dog in the fight but the fight in the dog. In the last five quarters of play (Game 4, 4th quarter and Game 5), other than the magic of Vince Carter, I cant recall a better stretch of play ever from a Raptor on so many fronts. Enjoy it - Im mesmerized by it. 2. JOE JOHNSON: Give him credit. Major bounce-back in the second half of Game 5. He was close to unstoppable. Raptors did everything they could to contain/control him and he was that much better. Im sure a significant focus of game planning for Game 6 will centre on tightening the screws on both the individual coverages associated with him and the collective scheme based upon the help you have to give his defender. He is an absolute load. Im so impressed by his talent. 3. RAPTORS FIRST THREE QUARTERS VS. 4TH QUARTER: It looked like five guys stole Raptors shirts early in the 4th and tried to imitate the real guys. In the first three quarters we saw the Raptors at their truly best - ball movement, defensive energy, effort, discipline and most importantly, a collective will and confidence that the crowd fed off of. In the fourth, we saw a team that cruised and thought it would be easy and let up with its focus. Very fortunate that they hung on, yet when I reflect on it for the majority of the game they were far better, which is good. Now its about learning from that lesson and growing. Remember back in early December at Golden State? It was the Raptors biggest collapse in franchise history and lost to the Warriors. This time, a huge collapse as well - the difference - they won and won on a much more meaningful stage than the stage back in Oakland. Speaking of Oakland, the late Al Davis (Oakland Raiders) would say just win, baby! They did. Trendy Wholesale Shoes. One to go but it wont be easy. Their competition has lots to play for; it should be a major challenge and lots of fun to watch. 4. KG AND PAUL PIERCE: They were spectators Wednesday night in the 4th quarter and Im sure both men will be ready to go Friday night in response to that. I dont think there have been many times in either guys career that they sat and watched at crunch time. Im sure well see two angry/ornery guys in Brooklyn talking smack and challenging their teammates and the crowd to be at optimal level. Lots of folks piling on KG these days. I respect what hes done in his career. Is he the player he once was? No, but his effort and will to win are still there all the time. Pierce - Hes still got a lot left and his matchup at the four spot is still a tough cover for the Raptors, yet I do like that the Raps are now making him guard his guy and attacking him. Fully expect both guys to come out firing guns blazing. Be prepared. 5. JASON KIDD AND DWANE CASEY: Both coaches, Im sure, are working on their teams collective psyche as we enter Game 6. Kidd challenged his team before Game 5 to be much better in the 4th quarter after being outplayed by the Raps in Games 3 and 4 in the defining stanza. They were awesome in the 4th Wednesday night… the other three quarters, not so impressive. Im sure hes pushing momentum and carryover. Coach Casey will hammer the fact that you must sustain and play every possession at the max and learn/build on the fact that you won, yet have to respect the little details of the game. You also sell that momentum in a series that lasts only as long as you allow it to or make it happen. As much as the Nets want to sell that theyre now going to pick up where they left off, youve got to sell that the score always takes care of itself if you do the right things. You concentrate on doing the right things" each possession and youll find a way in Game 6, or if necessary, Game 7. Wont be easy to put Brooklyn away Friday but it can be done. Dictate the tone and personality of Game 6 right at the start. Winning/losing - thats too much sometimes to focus on. Dive into the details of what it takes to succeed and youll handle the pressure of a road game better. ' ' '