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Spain took a 2-0 lead in the World Group playoff tie against India after Feliciano Lopez defeated Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-4, 6-4,3-6, 6-1 before David Ferrer saw off Saketh Myneni 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 the first two singles matches at the RK Khanna stadium in New Delhi on Friday.Lopez had replaced Nadal after the latter suffered from stomach pain and a blister on his foot just before the match.In their first ever singles meeting, world number 203 Ramkumar was the first to serve and held comfortably in the first game of the match. Lopez, who is ranked 26th in the world, struggled in his first service game before managing to hold serve after a big serve.Lopez, 34, had a 5-8 singles record in the Davis Cup going into this match, and didnt get an early look in as Ramkumar held comfortably in the third game to lead 2-1.I knew it would be a tough match. He was suffering as well, but we were just trying to hang in there and do our best. Finally, I found a way to win the match and take the point for my country, Lopez said after the win. They love Rafa, and hes such a big idol around the world. Its an honour for us to have him in our team. Thank you, all of you, for coming to watch. We are hoping that you will come in tomorrow as well.Ramkumar, 21, appearing in only his third Davis Cup singles match, was solid at the baseline even as Lopez tried to serve and volley on the slow surface. The left-handed Lopez squandered two break point opportunities in the fifth game before capitalizing on the third break point with a passing shot down the line to lead 3-2.Guys, thank you. I was not able to get enough first serves. I was trying my best, but unfortunately I could not win. It was a good match, and I dont regret anything, Ramkumar said. I gave it my best and didnt win and I wish Saketh good luck. I couldnt return as well as I hoped. Id like to thank my parents.Lopez, who has made 59 consecutive Grand Slam appearances, second only to Roger Federer, tried to keep the rallies short and rushed to the net at every opportunity. The strategy did not always work as Lopez won only 14 per cent of the net points in the first set.There were no breaks of serve in the next four games as Lopez won the first set 6-4 in 41 minutes. Ramkumar committed 14 unforced errors in the first set whereas Lopez committed only 8. Ramkumars inexperience showed in the first game of the second set as he failed to put away a couple of volleys to lose serve. Lopez then unveiled an array of strokes with a lovely drop shot and some nicely placed serves in the ad court which dragged Ramkumar out of the court often.The next five games saw no breaks of serve as both the players held comfortably and Ramkumar showed greater energy and let out a couple of big roars after holding serve.Ramkumar faced a break point in the seventh game but managed to hold with a couple of good first serves. The second set saw only one break of serve as Lopez won the set 6-4 in 34 minutes.Lopezs serve proved to be the difference as he won 93 per cent of the first serve points whereas Ramkumar won only 62 per cent points on his first serve in the second set. The third set saw both players hold serve comfortably in the first five games but Ramkumar took a medical time out after the fifth game with what looked like a bout of cramps.Ramkumar came out charging after the time out as he had two break points opportunities in the eighth game and put Lopezs serve under pressure. He converted the third opportunity with a passing shot to lead 5-3.He then held serve to close out the set 6-3 in 40 minutes. The unforced errors mounted up for Lopez as he committed 10 to Ramkumars six in the third set.Lopez broke Ramkumar in the second game of the fourth set with a passing shot as Ramkumar continued to be uncomfortable at the net.Lopez ran away with the match in the fourth set as he broke Ramkumar again to go up 5-1. He then held serve to win the set 6-1 in 28 minutes.Ferrer doubles Spains leadDavid Ferrer gave Spain a commanding 2-0 lead at the end of the first set after he defeated Saketh Myneni 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 in one hour and 28 minutes in the second singles match of the day.Ferrer, ranked 13th in the world, was in imposing form from the beginning, breaking Mynenis serve twice in the first set to win it 6-1 in 22 minutes. Myneni was first broken in the fourth game when he committed a double fault on break point.The 34 year-old Ferrer, who has a 25-4 career record in singles matches in the Davis Cup, attacked from the baseline and kept the rallies short with 6 winners in the first set.The trend continued in the second set as the 28 year-old Myneni was broken twice in the first three games. The slow court helped Ferrers game as it neutralized Mynenis serve.Unlike Lopez, Ferrer rarely approached the net and controlled the rallies from the baseline. He raced to a 5-0 lead in the second set after breaking Myneni for the fifth time.Myneni got himself on the scoreboard in the second set after Ferrer committed a double fault to lose serve in the sixth game of the second set.Ferrer made Myneni scamper from corner to corner as he worked the ball around the court as he won the second set 6-2 in 34 minutes.World number 137 Saketh was broken twice early in the third set as Ferrer led 4-0. He then wrapped up the set 6-1 in 30 minutes. replica jerseys china .Y. -- Knicks coach Mike Woodson said Wednesday that J. fake jerseys china .ca NBA Power Rankings, ahead of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. https://www.chinajerseysreplica.us/ .ca. Kerry, Just watched the shootout in the Coyotes/Leafs game and I have to ask, why was the James van Riemsdyk goal allowed to count? All of the video replays we were shown on TV were inconclusive about whether the puck had entirely crossed the line or not. cheap jerseys from china ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. wholesale jerseys china .C. -- Calgarys Kevin Koe did it the hard way again. Omaha-Cal State Fullerton, Abilene Christian-Charleston Southern and South Dakota State-Idaho really arent games fans are demanding to see once, never mind twice.But with home games hard to secure for low- and mid-major Division I teams, playing two games against the same nonconference opponent in the same season has become a viable option. More than two dozen same-season home-and-home nonconference series were scheduled for 2016-17.Schools have a hard time procuring home games whether because of geographic proximity or success on your home court or cost factors associated with travel, South Dakota State coach T.J. Otzelberger said. What youre seeing are more and more teams willing to play the same team two times in a year.Tennessee Tech actually scheduled two opponents, Lipscomb and Alabama A&M, twice, and coach Steve Payne said he would have played a third nonconference opponent twice if it had been the right fit.You want to win games, and its proven 66 percent of the time the home team wins, Payne said. Everybody has to fill out a schedule and nobody wants to be on the road the entire nonconference.Though these matchups are largely borne out of desperation, coaches say there is no downside.Scheduling two games for the same season instead of a home-and-home over two or more years eliminates the potentially deal-breaking back-and-forth about where the first game will be played. In a same-season two-game series, the site of the first game doesnt matter much because both games will match up the same personnel and it wont knock each schools number of home games out of balance.Playing twice also simulates the home-and-home structure of conference play. Teams get accustomed to making adjustments based off what happens in the first meeting and try to execute them in the second.Budgetary concerns require low- and mid-major teams to play a few road games each season against high-major opponents that pay them guarantees, with the going rate about $90,000. After that, the low- and mid-major teams try to find opponents similar to them to round out their nonconference schedules.The degree of difficulty is greater for teams that have knocked off bigger programs. When Omaha was transitioning from Division II to Division I, coaches from all levels of Division I calledd offering to play the Mavericks.ddddddddddddAfter Omaha won at Marquette two years ago, the phone didnt ring nearly as much. The Mavericks are in their second season as full-fledged Division I members.We have to make all the phone calls now, said coach Derrin Hansen, whose team probably added to its future scheduling difficulties by winning at Iowa this month.Omaha along with four other teams in the far-flung Summit League each have scheduled two nonconference games against the same opponent this season. The most natural of these is North Dakota State-North Dakota. The two used to be conference rivals, but North Dakota State is now in the Summit and North Dakota in the Big Sky. They are in the first season of a four-year contract that has them playing twice a season.When youre in Fargo, North Dakota, and youve had some success, getting home games is a difficult task, coach Dave Richman said. From a budget standpoint, its 75 miles (to Grand Forks), so we go up the day of the game, and the bus cost is all it entails.And the fans?They probably enjoy it a little bit, Richman said. We had 5,000 in here last Wednesday, and I would expect a good crowd up there (Friday) night.The oddest same-season home-and-home set might have been between Abilene Christian and Charleston Southern.Neither of us could finish our schedule, so we just decided to play twice, Charleston Southern coach Barclay Radebaugh said.The teams from schools almost 1,200 miles apart put on good shows. In Abilene, Texas, Charleston Southern won 66-65 to finish a comeback from a 17-point second-half deficit. In Charleston, South Carolina, Abilene Christian rallied from seven points down in the final 19 seconds of regulation and won 85-82 in overtime.Sometimes guarantee games dont prepare you as much because in our league you dont face that kind of size and athleticism, said Radebaugh, whose team is in the Big South. So games like Abilene Christian greatly benefit us with preparation for league play. While I would have preferred to win both games, looking big picture, I thought it really benefited us this year.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org ' ' '