NEW YORK -- Top-ranked Novak Djokovic shouldve gone to sleep Friday night in New York feeling like the luckiest man in tennis. Its as if someone slipped a horseshoe in his racket bag. Before this US Open, he was skeptical -- his word -- that he could survive some nagging injuries and self-doubt enough to do well here. Then he got to Flushing Meadows and had a blessedly less taxing trip through this tournament that, for him, has featured a little of the bizarre and a lot of luck on the way to Sundays final.It takes seven winning rounds to capture a tennis major. Through his first six matches, two of Djokovics opponents had to retire with injury, a third withdrew before a ball was struck, and in Fridays semifinals, a fourth rival, Frenchman Gael Monfils, was hit with a massive brain cramp.Figuratively speaking, of course.Monfils -- who began the day with an 0-12 career record against Djokovic -- didnt see it that way, despite the heavy criticism he faced after the match for not putting out an acceptable effort at times by tapping shots back, standing at odd positions on the court and even egging the crowd on when it finally started to b him for the desultory way he was playing. When he finally started cracking off blistering forehand winners and running down balls few players can reach to win the third set, the amplitude of his game only made his early tactics seem worse. Where in the hell had this been all day?Djokovic eventually won 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 to move on to his seventh career US Open final -- this time opposite third-seeded Stan Wawrinka, a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 winner over Kei Nishikori of Japan -- but not before ripping open his shirt in frustration at one point. He admitted he was mad he let Monfils rope-a-dope tactics creep briefly into his head in a brutally humid 90-degree afternn match that left both players staggering at times from the heat. Djokovic felt he let the match drag on longer than he should have.Asked how he overcame the frustration, Djokovic joked, I got another T-shirt from my bag. And already I felt better.Things should return to some semblance of normal for Djokovic in Sundays final now that Wawrinka -- who brazenly carries a racket bag embroidered with the words Stan the Man -- stands between him and his third career US Open title. Wawrinka has won the past 10 finals he has been in.If Djokovic buckles at all mentally, as he did against Monfils, Wawrinka has the game and the guts capitalize on it.Wawrinka was like a circling shark Friday evening when he saw Nishikori jackknife at the waist from fatigue and dig at his cramping legs. Nishikori was trying to ride out the pain that had come from spending far t many tournament hours on court.The Swiss star likes to strut around and point to his temple to compliment himself for how mentally strong he is during matches, and he has earned the right. In this tournament alone, he has played a staggering 23 sets and 237 games. Djokovic, meanwhile, has played only 13 sets and a total of 118 games, putting him on a record pace for fewest sets and games in an Open era major that featured a 128-man draw and best-of-five-set matches.Nishikori tried hard to make his second US Open final and become the first Asian-born man to win a Grand Slam title. Unlike Monfils, he hustled from start to finish. But he was also coming off a grueling five-set upset of Andy Murray just two days earlier, and the toll began to show by the third set Friday. This was never more evident than when Nishikori hit a power-sapped 77 mph first serve in the third set.Right about then, it was only natural to wonder what ran through the mind of Michael Chang, Nishikoris coach, who once famously served underhand against big bad Ivan Lendl in the 1989 French Open quarterfinals at the age of 17.The pain never got quite that debilitating for Nishikori. But the 31-year-old Wawrinka -- except for a couple blips -- seemed to be running downhill once Nishikori began to lk distressed.Veteran that he is, Wawrinka began rubbing it in, hoping to make Nishikori feel worse. He let Nishikori know he knew he was fading by loudly celebrating big shots or service breaks. At one point, Wawrinka even stared at Nishikori and pointed to his own legs as if to say he could run all night.I know I can last for three, four, five hours, [and] I have to make them suffer, Wawrinka said, when asked about the gesture. You have to show you are not going to let down. You are going to push him, push him, push him.It was a variation of the mind-game ploys that Monfils hoped to pull off against Djokovic but couldnt sustain.Now? Sundays final should be a gd one. Tennis is always a mental test as much as a chess match, and Djokovic and Wawrinka are terrific at both. As Djokovic himself volunteered Friday, Wawrinka beat him in the final of the 2015 French Open and quarterfinals of the 2014 Australian Open, So both of these Grand Slam trophies that he has, he won against me on the way.Wawrinka knows that, t.Come Sundays final, the mind games begin anew.Air Max 270 Ireland Outlet . A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Wholesale Nike Shoes Ireland . Zvonareva, who won the tournament in 2009 and 10, couldnt handle her opponents big groundstrokes in only her third event back after 17 months out with a shoulder injury. Zvonareva made her comeback in January in Shenzhen and played in the Australian Open but lost her first matches at both tournaments. http://www.airmax270cheapireland.com/ .C. -- Todd Fiddler scored a hat trick, including the overtime goal, as the Prince George Cougars survived an 8-7 win against the Kamlps Blazers in Western Hockey League play Sunday. Air Max 270 Ireland Online . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. Air Max 270 Ireland . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games.ARLINGTON, Texas -- John Stephen Jones, grandson of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, was greeted first by his dad, tears streaming down the face of team CEO Stephen Jones after Dallas Highland Park clinched a Texas state high schl championship.The younger Jones scored two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score from the 1-yard line on fourth down in the third quarter, and Highland Park beat Temple 16-7 for the Class 5A Division I title Saturday.So happy for all the Scots, said Stephen Jones, who two days earlier had to stop in the middle of an answer to keep from choking up while talking about his sons pursuit of a state crown. Of course, love him to death. Dont know what else to say. Its just raw emotion.John Stephen, the offensive MVP, scored his first touchdown on a 36-yard run in the first half in front of 35,089 fans at AT&T Stadium, the $1.2 billion home of the Cowboys built mostly with Jerry Jones money.Jerry Jones hugged his grandson after Highland Park (14-2) clinched its fourth state title and first since 2005. The postgame scene turned into a jubilant celebration for the Jones family.Dallas quarterback Tony Romo, who attended several Highland Park games during the season, watched with Jerry Jones in a suite.Stephen Jones sat in the stands with the other parents, just as he did throughout the six-game playoff run that included games at the teams new 12,000-seat indr practice facility that doubles as a home field for schls in the suburb of Frisco, 30 miles north of Dallas.Hes been by my side each step of this whole thing since sppring, the younger Jones, a junior, said of his dad.dddddddddddd My freshman year, when I got hurt last year, hes been giving me advice, cheering me on with my mom. Its been awesome.Temple (12-4) went ahead 7-0 on a 38-yard run by Jemiyah Franklin, followed by a 16-play drive from its 8-yard line to the Highland Park 22. The march ended on a failed fourth-down pass as Temple dropped to 2-7 in title games in its second appearance in three seasons.Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, a Highland Park alum, had a pregame message that was shown on the huge video board hanging over the middle of the field. Stafford led Highland Park to its 2005 title.Leading 14-7, Highland Park stopped Temple on fourth-and-1 at its 4-yard line early in the fourth quarter when Bennett Brock and John House stuffed Zion Leach at the line of scrimmage.Highland Park padded its lead with a safety when Michael Clarkes punt pinned Temple at its 1 and two plays later Reid Hesse was sacked in the end zone by Turner Coxe with 5 minutes remaining.John Stephen Jones long TD run on a quarterback draw pulled Highland Park even at 7-all late in the second quarter.Paxton Alexander led Highland Park with 144 yards rushing on 26 carries and John Stephen Jones was 9 of 23 for 96 yards with an interception. He was sacked three times and finished with 29 yards rushing.Franklin had 78 yards rushing, and Hesse was 21 of 31 for 177 yards with an interception. ' ' '