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WIMBLEDON -- Perhaps the biggest beneficiary of Sam Querreys stunning upset of No. 1 Novak Djokovic was one Andy Murray.After beating Djokovic to win the Wimbledon title three years ago, the No. 2 seed has lost to him in five straight Grand Slam meetings, including the finals of this years first two majors.Theres still some work to do, of course, but after Murrays buttoned-down 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 victory over the sometimes-volatile Nick Kyrgios, the Scot seems to have a favorable wind at his back into the final.The odds-makers, who do this sort of thing for a living, have installed Murray as a rather prohibitive favorite.Every year I play here, its not any different, Murray said of the pressure to win this tournament as a Scot playing in London. I try my best to play my best and win my matches.Nick lost his focus in the middle part of the second set, and in the third, he was serving at a high percentage. But when I was able to get the ball back in play, I was able to dictate the rallies.News flash: There was no drama in this Monday evening match, not a stitch. It was merely well-played dinner theater with Kyrgios on his best behavior, even laughing and chatting during the changeover after a blazing Murray forehand hit him in the heart.Kyrgios has been a busy fellow this fortnight, keeping himself in the headlines of the grateful British tabloids. Hes been fined for an obscenity, directed the R-word toward his box for a perceived lack of support and got into a spirited semantics argument with a reporter. That was just over the first three rounds.In the fourth, Kyrgios ran into Murray, a player he considers a good friend. The explosive matchup was good fodder for the newspapers, but the match itself was something less than compelling.Kyrgios has now lost all five of his matches against Murray and dropped 16 of 17 sets. For Murray, he improved to 19-0 against Australians in his career.As soon as I lost the first set, I just lost the belief, said Kyrgios, who prepared for the match by watching Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt play doubles. Obviously, it felt like a mountain to climb. Just a little soft still when things get tough. Ultimately, it comes down to just laying it all out there and competing for a long time. I didnt do that today at all.After the last ball, Murray spent a moment with Kyrgios at the net, saying he was sorry.Just win the tournament, Kyrgios told him. Please.Kyrgios is only 21 years old, but hes already been to two major quarterfinals, including the 2014 edition of Wimbledon.Murray simply wrecked him.With Kyrgios serving at 4-5 in the first set, Murray swiftly earned three set points at love-40. After Kyrgios summoned two unreturnable serves, Murrays running forehand handcuffed him at net, and he couldnt land the volley that would have brought the game to deuce. It was a signature Murray shot, not only reaching a ball that some players wouldnt, but turning defense into offense with a flick of the wrist.The second and third sets didnt go any better. In fact, they were worse.Murray did not face a break point and hit 36 winners. His unforced errors were recorded as six -- giving him an astonishing plus-30 differential.It was the ninth consecutive quarterfinal here for Murray, equaling the best efforts of Pete Sampras and John McEnroe. How consistent has Murray been at the Slams in general? This was the 21st quarter appearance in the past 22 hes played.It was also the 50th match-win at the All England Club, two better than his coach, Ivan Lendl, and one ahead of Stefan Edberg and Goran Ivanisevic.Murray is comforted by the familiar site of Lendl in his box. His two Grand Slams came with Lendl providing coaching support, and with Djokovic out of the picture, Murray has to be keen on his chances here.He meets No. 12 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who benefited from a Richard Gasquet retirement six games into the match Wednesday. Murray has beaten Tsonga 10 of the 12 times theyve played, twice here at Wimbledon.Every match is different in individual sport, Murray said, downplaying as usual. A bad performance and you can easily lose. If [I] play as focused and solid as today, I have a chance.Fat chance. He wont say it, but we will: Whoever Murray sees in the final -- Roger Federer, Marin Cilic, Sam Querrey or Milos Raonic -- in his own mind, hell be the overwhelming favorite. Cheap Basketball Shoes Free Shipping . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. Discount Basketball Shoes . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. http://www.wholesalebasketballshoes.com/ . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set. Cheap Basketball Shoes . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. Cheap Basketball Shoes Authentic .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. SAN FRANCISCO -- The injury jolts keep coming for the New York Mets.Manager Terry Collins announced that left-hander Steven Matz would skip Fridays start against the San Francisco Giants because of shoulder discomfort.Rookie Seth Lugo?will start instead.The hope is that Matz only misses one rotation turn.Matz is coming off an outing in which he allowed only one hit in 7? scoreless innings against the San Diego Padres on Sunday.I was throwing on flat ground and I felt a little twinge in my shoulder, Matz said. It was bothering me a little bit. And then, next day, I was throwing and I was still feeling it, so I didnt throw my bullpen, hoping it would get better. I was just kind of taking it day by day. Theres some discomfort in there. I think you go through stuff all the time throughout a season, but it didnt respond the way Id like it to.Matz said he is not concernned about the issue lingering.ddddddddddddNot so much, Matz said. Its just discomfort. Im really not worried about it.Matz has been pitching with a bone spur in his pitching elbow that will need to be surgically removed after the season.Collins said he is confident Matz did not alter his mechanics to compensate for an elbow issue and harm the shoulder. The Mets, like all major league teams, now have access to sophisticated real-time data about their pitchers mechanics.Ive been feeling great. I really have been, Matz said about the elbow. Its disappointing that I really didnt bounce back like I wanted to this past start. But Im really not too, too worried about it. Hopefully, its just this one [missed start] and just keep going forward. ' ' '