That was settled only when Sanchez was lost for the year

SHANGHAI, China -- Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic overcame tough challenges in their quarterfinals at the Shanghai Masters on Friday and moved a step closer to a possible showdown in the final. Top-ranked Nadal saved three set points and finally closed out a 20-minute tiebreak in the first set against Switzerlands Stanislas Wawrinka before winning 7-6 (10), 6-1. Djokovic, the defending champion, needed nearly 2 1/2 hours to rally past Frances Gael Monfils 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4. Djokovic and Nadal improved to a combined 20-0 record against the pair. Their semifinal opponents had much easier matches. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Florian Mayer 6-2, 6-3, and Juan Martin del Potro advanced with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Nicolas Almagro. Tsonga next plays Djokovic, while del Potro meets Nadal. If Djokovic and Nadal do meet in the final, it would be their 39th professional matchup -- and second in as many weeks. Djokovic defeated Nadal last Sunday in the China Open final in Beijing after the Spaniard was assured of retaking the No. 1 ranking from him. Nadal had a lengthy first set against Wawrinka -- a player who had never taken a set off him in 10 matches. After fending off three set points by Wawrinka, the Spaniard hit a cleverly disguised drop shot from the baseline to go up 11-10 in the tiebreak and finally managed to win it on his fourth set point with a forehand winner. "Match in general, first set especially, was very, very hard one," Nadal said. "Positive thing, when he was playing well, I was playing well, too. I was able to resist. If I was not playing well, I was going to lose that set." Djokovic looked out of sorts against Monfils. The Serb hadnt been broken in his two previous matches in Shanghai, but he dropped serve twice in the first three games. "Inexplicably, I started serving quite bad, but not many unforced errors," he said. "Its just sometimes that you start off slowly and youre not feeling the ball as much." Monfils played remarkable defence in the first set, sliding and stretching for every ball and forcing errors. At one point, Djokovic was so frustrated, he clenched his fists and let out a full-throttle scream. "Today was a very physical match and very intense," he said. "I knew coming into the match that hes going to run for every ball and hes going to make me play an extra shot. Sometimes I was even surprised with the balls that hes getting back." In the second set, it was Monfils turn to get emotional. Down 3-1, he sprinted after a drop shot and did a split trying to reach it, falling on his back. After lying still for 15 seconds, he finally wandered back to the service line -- and received a time violation. Monfils angrily questioned the umpire about the rule and berated him on the changeover. Then, a couple of games later, he began grimacing in pain and took an injury timeout to have a trainer massage his abdominal muscles. He never recovered, looking increasingly drained in the third set. "It was really tough," said the Frenchman, who ousted Roger Federer in the third round. "I get a bit scared with my abs. It was tough for me to serve full bore. For sure, against Novak, its impossible to win if not serving 100 per cent." Meanwhile, Del Potro and Tsonga each spent a little over an hour on the court. Del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, moved back into the top five in the rankings on Monday for the first time in more than three years. He believes hes capable of challenging Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray for Grand Slam titles again. A win in Shanghai would make a statement: Hes never won a Masters title and he would have to get past Nadal and possibly Djokovic to do so. "I felt close to them in some parts of the year, some matches during this year, like in Wimbledon (where he lost in a five-set semifinal to Djokovic), or when I beat Djokovic (and) Murray in Indian Wells," he said. Tsonga is also on the comeback trail. He missed several months with a knee injury and also parted ways with his coach, Roger Rasheed, after less than a year. Hes slipped to No. 9 in the rankings -- his lowest position in two years. Tsonga believes he has a good shot against Djokovic, despite losing their past eight matches. "I think he has lost more matches this year than the other years, so maybe its an opportunity for me," Tsonga said. Fake Air Max 97 For Sale .C. -- Lucy Li made two double bogeys, a triple bogey and finished her historic round at the U. Buy Nike Tn Trainers Uk . Wheeler scored two goals, including the winner, as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Minnesota Wild 6-4 on Friday in a game that featured a seven-goal first period. http://www.fakeairmaxukoutlet.com/. Kripps, of Summerland, B.C., and Edmontons Barnett used a terrific second run to move up two spots, putting the Canadian duo in medal contention with the final two runs set for Monday (11:15 a.m. ET, streaming live at cbc. Authentic Air Max 90 . -- Coyotes coach Dave Tippett thinks of one thing when he watches Eastern Conference teams struggle against Western opponents before they get to Phoenix: His team must keep pace. Air Max 200 Uk . The Blueshirts hope to stay alive once again when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins in Sundays Game 6 battle at Madison Square Garden. MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- The postgame cheer from inside the New York Jets locker room could be heard in the stadium hallways. The reason for the roar: The Jets were keeping their coach. Shortly after Sundays 20-7 victory over Miami to conclude an 8-8 season, Jets owner Woody Johnson told the team that Rex Ryan would return for a sixth season in 2014. "Everyone in the locker room was ecstatic," quarterback Geno Smith said. "It felt as if you won the Super Bowl. Having our head coach back, a guy we enjoy playing for, its great." Ryan was given the news before the game. Hes 42-38 in the regular season with the Jets, and his future had been in doubt even though hes popular with players, has a 4-2 post-season record and has a year left on his contract. The Jets will sit out the playoffs for the third year in a row. "Ill say this: I love being the head coach of the New York Jets, plain and simple," Ryan said. "You put everything youve got into it. I never wanted to go out this way. Weve missed the playoffs three straight years, and that bothers me, no question." Players had expressed their support for Ryan in recent days and did so again after the finale. "Everybody wanted Rex back," linebacker Calvin Pace said. "Hes the right man for the job." Players celebrated the win in the finale by soaking Ryan with a bucket of sports drink. The victory gave the Jets their first two-game winning streak, but Johnson said the decision to retain Ryan was made before those victories. "Were on the ascent, and a lot has to do with our coach," Johnson said. General manager John Idzik, who is completing his first year with the Jets, denied that he wanted to hire his own coach rather than continue with Ryan. "We were together from the beginning," Idzik said. "I know theres speculation throughout the season otherwise, but we always worked together. Hes been tremendous to work for and work with. Hes a leader, a motivator. Hes a teacher. Hes a great coach, too." It was not clear if Ryan will coach through his existing deal or be given a contract extension. Neither Johnson nor Idzik would discuss details related to Ryans contract. Ryan was animated throughout Sundays victory. When Smith scored on a 7-yard, third-down keeper up the middle with 3 seconds left in the first half for a 14-7 lead, Ryan ran on the field to celebrrate with his players.dddddddddddd When running back Bilal Powell threw a 30-yard completion to set up the Jets first field goal, Ryan punched the air as he sprinted along the sideline. The coach was eager for his team to atone for a 23-3 loss to the Dolphins on Dec. 1. "Quite honestly, we owed them," Ryan said. "This team is getting better. This was going to be a proving ground for that. This was a team that whipped us. That was the main driving force." Smith had been benched during that loss. In the rematch, the rookie led three long scoring drives, ran for a touchdown and threw for 190 yards. "After the benching, I had to dig deep -- a lot of soul-searching, the first time it ever happened to me in my life," he said. "Quite honestly, I dont like it. That was part of the decision-making of the coaches. I just had to continue believing in myself." Ryan and Idzik will now look forward to building next seasons team with plenty of issues to consider, starting with Smith. The Jets must determine whether he can be their quarterback of the future, and whether theyll draft another player to compete with him or sign a proven veteran. New York will likely part with quarterback Mark Sanchez and receiver Santonio Holmes to save money on the salary cap, and there are several potential key free agents, including right tackle Austin Howard, right guard Willie Colon and kicker Nick Folk. Expectations were extremely low for this years team. One major factor was the trade of the Jets best player -- Darrelle Revis -- to Tampa Bay, a big blow to Ryans defence. There was also a dearth of game-changing talent on offence, and an underwhelming yet closely contested quarterback competition between Sanchez and Smith, a second-round draft pick. That was settled only when Sanchez was lost for the year with a shoulder injury in the third preseason game. New offensive co-ordinator Marty Mornhinweg was forced to try to develop Smith on the fly. After a solid first few games, Smith became a turnover machine before bouncing back in his last four outings of the season, in which the Jets went 3-1 to finish .500. Notes: Jets reserve CB Kyle Wilson left the game in the first half with a knee injury and didnt return. ... Rookie Dee Milliner made two interceptions, and 35-year-old Ed Reed added one to prevent a Miami comeback. ' ' '