Ive worked really hard this year,

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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. Donald Stephenson Jersey . The 22-year-old slugger, who is no stranger to adversity, made up for it at the end. Justin Simmons Jersey . "Uuufff," was all shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria could come up with after Stantons latest mammoth shot. http://www.thebroncosstoreonline.com/Yo ... y-Jerseys/. -- Arizona pitcher Bronson Arroyo is expected to miss a week to 10 days because of a back injury. Darian Stewart Jersey . Gonzalez participated in his final game on Sunday, Atlantas 21-20 defeat at the hands of the NFC South champion Carolina Panthers, having posted four catches for 46 yards. Carlos Henderson Jersey . The (35-35-10) Jets have 80 points and are also playing .500 hockey on home ice this season with a 17-17-6 record. Michael Hutchinson will start his second straight game in goal.ARE, Sweden - Canadas Olympic champion Marielle Thompson raced to silver at a ski cross World Cup on Saturday, and remains poised to capture the overall season title. The 21-year-old from Whistler, B.C., who won gold at last months Sochi Olympics, lost out to her rival Fanny Smith of Switzerland, but still leads the womens standings with 660 points over Smith and 26-time World Cup winner Ophelie David of France. "If the overall comes I will be really happy because Ive worked really hard this year, but Fanny has too," Thompson said. "I think it will come down to the last race. It was tight out of the start today, and in the final I didnt have my best start." Swedish teenager Sandra Naeslund won the bronze. Thompson made history in 2012 when she became the first Canadian to win an individual ski cross Crystal Globe. Shes been the picture of consistency this season, winning gold in Sochi plus five World Cup podiums. Shes been in the toop five in all nine World Cup races.dddddddddddd Georgia Simmerling of West Vancouver, B.C., finished 11th overall after being eliminated in the quarter-final stage. Danie Sundquist of Calgary was also knocked out in the quarter-finals to finish 16th. Swedens Victor Oehling Norberg won the mens race. Backed by a partisan home crowd, Oehling Norberg won every heat and grabbed 1,000 points before Jonathan Midol of France and Swiss Armin Niederer, who got 800 and 600 points, respectively. Oehling Norberg remains in the overall lead with 521 points, ahead of Swiss Alex Fiva and Andreas Matt from Austria. It was a disappointing day for Canadas men. Dave Duncan of London, Ont., who was leading the overall standings prior to Saturdays race, went out in the qualification round. Chris Del Bosco of Montreal, Calgarys Brady Leman, Mathieu Leduc of Comox, B.C., and Louis-Pierre Helie of Berthierville, Que., all failed to make the quarter-finals. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '