hampered by injuries and wont play in New York this year

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Jul 15 '16 | By wxy1123 | 143 Profile Views | support user content | Comments: 0
SUN CITY, South Africa -- The first time he met Nelson Mandela, Gary Player got on his knees and kissed the former political prisoners feet. Alex Song Jersey . Remembering his "very tearful" first encounter with Mandela, the nine-time major winner paused Friday to compose himself and hold back more tears. Mandela, the beloved former South African president and Nobel laureate, died Thursday at 95. Renowned as a fierce competitor on the golf course, Player was invited to meet Mandela at his office in Johannesburg after the anti-apartheid leaders release after 27 years in prison. But he didnt expect to do what he did, Player said. "I knelt down and I kissed his feet and I said, I have never kissed anybodys feet in my life, and I said, I have so much admiration for you. I said to him, It is remarkable, how can you not have revenge?" Mandelas reply, according to Player, was: "You have got to start a new life and forgive and go ahead." Player, speaking at the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City, said Mandelas ability to inspire with compassion left him amazed then -- and still does. "It was very tearful for me, because when you think of a man that has gone to jail for all those years for doing the right thing, not the wrong thing, it is hard to comprehend that a man can come out and be like that," Player said. "He was an exceptional man." From that first meeting, Player and Mandela would cross paths regularly as the golfer, one of South Africas greatest sportsmen, worked with the president on charity projects. Once, Player remembered with a big smile, Mandela landed at a charity tournament in a helicopter to lend support. "I had to meet him when the helicopter arrived and open the door. Now I had been around him all these years raising money for young black children and I opened the door, and he says Good morning Gary, do you remember me?" Player recalled, imitating Mandelas unique rasping voice. "Just wonderful." Although Player wasnt sure if he ever saw Mandela swing a golf club, he knew that the anti-apartheid leader "realized the value of sport" and even followed Players career overseas while he was imprisoned by South Africas former racist regime. "He said to me, When I was in jail, I used to watch you playing. He was very complimentary," Player said. Alexis Sanchez Jersey . Whether its a sign of things to come remains to be seen, but that question will likely be answered within the next week. Nash is the biggest name in the NHL rumour mill heading toward the Feb. Lionel Messi Barcelona Jersey . Clevelands struggling offence, which scored 13 runs on an 0-6 road trip, finally broke loose. Brantley hit a leadoff homer in the fifth and added a two-run single in the sixth. Santana hit a solo homer in the second and had an RBI single in a five-run first, while Ryan Raburn and Yan Gomes each drove in two runs. NEW YORK -- Two 23-year-olds, Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov, broke through to their first major semifinals at Wimbledon. Perhaps this years U.S. Open will be the tipping point for the rise of a new generation. But recent history suggests that if somebody other than the "Big 4" wins, a veteran may be more likely. "We didnt have many young players who were able to challenge for top spots and win Grand Slam titles," Wimbledon champ Novak Djokovic said. "So this is something that is happening now, but its still a long way to the Grand Slam title. Its not something that can happen overnight." It was then-28-year-old Stan Wawrinka who snapped the streak of 16 straight Grand Slam titles by Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray when he won the Australian Open in January. The only other men in the U.S. Open field who have reached a major final in the last five years are 32-year-old David Ferrer and 28-year-old Tomas Berdych. The U.S. Open starts Monday with Djokovic, Murray, Wawrinka, Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams among the big names on the court. The player with the most impressive performance leading to this tournament was 29-year-old Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Tsonga, the runner-up at the 2008 Australian Open, beat Djokovic, Murray, Dimitrov and Federer to win the title at Toronto this month. As the sport became more physical, Grand Slam titles became less likely not only for teenagers but for players in their early 20s. "Everybody realizes that youre reaching your peak physically maybe a little bit later and then theyre staying there longer, because they have the technology and theyre more systematic about their training," said Patrick McEnroe, the U.S. Tennis Associations general manager of player development. So a group of players not that young by tennis standards has gained little experience of playing in the highest-pressure moments. The oft-repeated stat is that the Big 4 have won 36 of the last 38 Grand Slam titles. Contrast that to the five years before Nadal won his first major championships at the 2005 French Open to start that streak. Jeremy Mathieu Barcelona Jersey. As Pete Sampras reign was ending and Federers beginning, 12 different players won the 20 Grand Slam titles; for six of them, it would be their only major championship. Now, its daunting not just to win championships but to even get close to them. Since Murray reached his first major semifinal at the 2008 U.S. Open, the Big 4 have hogged 63 of the 96 slots in the semis. And since the 2006 French Open, the first Federer-Nadal major final, theyve filled 58 of the 68 spots in Grand Slam title matches. Nobody else reached a major final for 10 straight events from the 2010 U.S. Open to the 2013 Australian Open. "Its definitely been a tough time for everybody else trying to break through," Raonic said. Especially younger players. Of the eight other men to play in Grand Slam title matches since the 2006 French, only Tsonga and Juan Martin del Potro were under age 24. "I was really impatient -- I wanted things to happen quick for me, just wanted to achieve right way," Dimitrov said. "I cant forget that nowadays the game has changed so much that nothing happens like that," he added, snapping his fingers. A 20-year-old del Potro stunned Federer in the 2009 U.S. Open final, seemingly heralding the arrival of a new generation. It wasnt to be. Del Potro, now 25, has been hampered by injuries and wont play in New York this year because of a wrist problem. He and his contemporaries are a glaring omission from the upper echelons of the sport. The rankings current top 10 include the two 23-year-olds, Raonic and Dimitrov; no one else is under 27. Other promising players in their mid-20s such as Kei Nishikori, Ernests Gulbis and Marin Cilic have never maintained a consistent high level. Djokovic and Murray were born a week apart in 1987; Nadal is less than a year older. If they can stay healthy -- certainly a big "if" with Nadal -- the logjam at the top could stick for a while. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys ' ' ' 

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