n.Clearly our experience in the few months of recru

NEW YORK -- It seems surreal, but this US Open is the first Grand Slam since the 2004 French Open that doesnt have either Roger Federer, Andy Murray or Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. Top seed Novak Djokovic is the only representative of the Big Four left in the singles. That seems to put him back on track to win his third major of 2016. Or does it? Heres what you need to know:How to watch all the action FridayAt noon ET, the mixed-doubles final between No. 7 Coco Vandeweghe/Rajeev Ram and Laura Siegemund/Mate Pavic will begin on ESPN2 & WatchESPN.?Click to watchAt noon ET, a number of American juniors will be in action on the outer courts. Click to watch?At 3 p.m. ET, the mens semifinals will begin on ESPN & WatchESPN. Click to watchTo view starting times of upcoming days at the US Open, click here.?Live scoringOur real-time scoreboard, updated stats and social handles can be found in one spot: US Open CourtCast.?Fridays mens semifinals breakdownNo. 1 Novak Djokovic versus No. 10 Gael Monfils, 3 p.m. ET on ESPN and WatchESPNCase for Djokovic: The Serbian star came into this tournament hoping that his injured wrist and an unspecified right-arm problem wouldnt wreck his chances over the course of a punishing two-week major played under grueling late-summer conditions. He ominously hinted that he was hoping just to get through the beginning of the event and take his chances from there. But the tennis gods must look upon Djokovic with great favor, because its almost as if he couldnt help making it into the semis. He has played just nine-plus sets, benefiting from a walkover and two retirements. Hes hit enough balls under fire to be seasoned, but his wrist and arm have been spared and given extra recovery time. This much luck must make him confident as well. And to top it off, while Monfils was Djokovics feared junior rival, Novak is 12-0 in their pro matches.Case for Monfils: The whippet-lean Frenchman won the most significant singles title of his career a few weeks ago in Washington, D.C. For a player of his talent, that simply isnt an adequate career best. Monfils seems to know it, too. Hes been playing this summer with a new and uncharacteristic sense of purpose. Hes won 19 straight sets on hard courts since losing to Kei Nishikori (after holding a match point) at the Rio Olympics. Monfils must continue to play aggressive, first-strike tennis and serve with gusto. He must also avoid challenging Djokovic to rallying contests -- even if they give Monfils great opportunities to show off his spectacular retrieving abilities.Prediction: Djokovic in fourNo. 3 Stan Wawrinka versus No. 6 Kei Nishikori, after Djokovic-MonfilsCase for Wawrinka: After surviving a scare in the third round versus Dan Evans, Wawrinka thanked the crowd for believing in me sometimes more than I believe in myself. The reality is that the pundits and camp followers often overlook him in their focus on the Big Four, even though hes won the same amount of majors as Nadal and Andy Murray since the start of 2014 (two). Nobody, but nobody, is more dangerous than when Wawrinka is at the top of his game. Twenty percent of his shots at the US Open have been winners; thats tied for eighth-best in the tournament, and only one other semifinalist can match him. Wawrinka will likely try to smother Nishikori and keep him from turning the match into a track meet. Wawrinka leads this rivalry 3-2.Case for Nishikori: The conventional wisdom casts Nishikori as a baseline grinder. Its a deceptive oversimplification. This years youngest Open semifinalist at 26, Nishikori doesnt have enough pop on his serve to build a conventional attacking game. Instead, he uses his quickness and mastery of angles to open up the court and force an error or win a point outright. Thats why he, not the spectacular Monfils or the precise Djokovic, is one of three men tied with Wawrinka in the winners stats department in New York. This match will be loaded with David vs. Goliath overtones. Nishikoris game plan will be to get one more ball back, thereby increasing his chances to wear down Wawrinka and/or tease out an error.Prediction: Wawrinka in three Cheap Nike Shoes From China .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. Wholesale Nike Shoes Free Shipping . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries. http://www.wholesalenikeshoeschina.com/ . -- Patrick Reed got an early start in golf. Cheap Nike Air Max Shoes China .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Cheap Air Max Shoes . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. Cricket Ireland has suffered another blow in its attempts to find a manager for their national academy after Toby Radford left after little more than a month in the role.Radfords departure follows Chris Adams u-turn over the job after he was initially handed the position only to change his mind two days later for family reasons. Radfords decision to leave is also down to his personal circumstances.Cricket Ireland performance director Richard Holdsworth said: We are naturally very disappointed to be losing Toby so quickly. Fortunately it is a quieter period of the year where most players are resting after the season.Clearly our experience in the few months of recruitment for this position has been a challenge, particularly in relocating. We shall look at the position again and have an in-depth review of our human resourcees around the Shapoorji Pallonji Academy in order to get to the right outcome.ddddddddddddRadford said: It has been a very difficult decision for me to make. For family reasons, I feel I have no alternative but to move back to the UK to be with them. In my short time in this role with Cricket Ireland I have been very grateful for the positive attitudes, warm welcome and generosity of all the staff and players.I have written a new Academy template and Programme for next years Cricket Ireland Shapoorji Pallonji Academy intake, and would have dearly loved to be here to implement it. I wish Cricket Ireland every success with its continued drive for attaining ICC Full Member and Test Match status. ' ' '