playing briilliantly and picked up where he left off in Australia.dddddddddddd Maro Itoje is up for World Rugby player of the year along with Ford and Billy Vunipola Farrell is one of three England players

NEW YORK -- Juan Martin del Potro is the lowest-ranked man to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals since Jimmy Connors in 1991, and it turns out a 27-year-old Argentine can share much in common with a 39-year-old American.At its root, the story captivating fans at Flushing Meadows is the same: the former champion making an unlikely run to reclaim past glory.In del Potros case, his body has betrayed him through injuries, not age -- multiple left wrist surgeries that kept him from the majors for 2+ years. The only thing missing from his tale so far at this tournament is a marathon match.Mondays victory was particularly brief after eighth-seeded Dominic Thiem retired in the second set because of a bum knee. For once, an injury was aiding del Potro, not hindering him.Still tired after the stunning run to an Olympic silver medal that announced him as a contender again, he got a huge break in spending only 72 minutes on court. Del Potro has played just 10-plus sets through four rounds and got in some extra hitting after Mondays match abruptly ended.Thiem took a medical timeout to have trainers look at his right knee after the second sets fifth game. He returned to the court for one point before deciding he couldnt go on.Del Potro had won the first set 6-3 and was up a break in the second. He had trainers massage his right shoulder on a few occasions but looked fine after coming back from down an early break.Thiem said his knee started hurting three days earlier, and he speculated it was the indirect result of blisters on his feet -- he needed to alter his gait to compensate. Late in the first set Monday, it started getting worse. He didnt want to take any risks with a knee injury and planned to get an MRI.I couldnt bend it too much the last three days, he said. So I was all the time a little bit handicapped.Thiem, who turned 23 on Saturday, has had a breakthrough year, reaching the French Open semifinals and cracking the top 10. But all those victories came with a cost -- a tour-high 69 matches, and the long season had started to wear on his body. On top of that, he had played 12 sets through three rounds at the U.S. Open.I never expected to play that many matches, of course, this year, he said. For sure next year Im going to change it up a little bit.Del Potros quarterfinal opponent will be third-seeded Stan Wawrinka, who has already made a cameo in this saga. In del Potros first Grand Slam back, his second-round upset of Wawrinka at Wimbledon initially hinted at a return to the top of the sport.He will be the favorite to win in that match, del Potro insisted, before adding: But anything can happen in this event for me. I got the power from the crowd in every match.In Wawrinkas victory Monday, the two-time major champ blew a lead, smashed a racket and eventually pulled it out in four sets against 63rd-ranked Illya Marchenko, who was playing in his first Grand Slam round of 16. The other mens quarterfinal Wednesday will be second-seeded Andy Murray against No. 6 Kei Nishikori after both posted commanding straight-set wins.On the 25th anniversary of the 174th-ranked Connors rousing run to the semis, del Potro, at No. 142 in the world, is a win away from that stage. Hes already in his first major quarterfinal since 2013 Wimbledon.Del Potro recalled in his on-court interview after Mondays match how sad he was to watch the U.S. Open on TV, stuck at home the last two years.I didnt expect to be in quarters in my second Grand Slam after my comeback, he said later. Im playing good tennis. My level is growing up every day.Somebody noted that at the 2009 U.S. Open, which ended with a victory over Roger Federer in the final, he beat an Argentine, an Austrian and a Spaniard along the way -- just as hes done this year.Del Potro burst into laughter and replied: I only remember the finals against Roger, and hes not here. But its a good point.Pittsburgh Penguins Gear . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. Penguins Jerseys China . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. https://www.cheappenguinsjersey.com/ . 4 Villanova with a 96-68 drubbing on Monday. Wragge hit 9-of-14 from behind the arc, matching Kyle Korvers school record for 3-pointers in a game set in 2003, as Creighton (16-3, 6-1 Big East broke a conference record with 21 treys in the rout. Pittsburgh Penguins Pro Shop . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. Penguins Jerseys 2019 . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2.George Ford is not surprised rugby obsessed England team-mate Owen Farrell has made a stunning return from the back injury that delayed the start to his season.The childhood friends are set to continue as twin play-makers when South Africa visit Twickenham on Saturday, with Ford operating at fly-half and Farrell at inside centre.Farrell missed the opening six weeks of the season through a niggling injury that prevented him from kicking, but marked his comeback with a man-of-the-match performance in Saracens 33-21 victory over Toulon on October 15. England vs South Africa November 12, 2016, 2:00pm Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass I wasnt surprised by Owens form. He would have been on top of things constantly even if he was not training to his full capacity, Ford said.He is obsessed with the game. Hed have watched the games on TV and hed have been having input with his team at Saracens.Mentally he would have been on it and I am sure physically he would have been doing as much as he can to put himself in the best position he could for when he returned.I am sure you would have seen hes playing briilliantly and picked up where he left off in Australia.dddddddddddd Maro Itoje is up for World Rugby player of the year along with Ford and Billy Vunipola Farrell is one of three England players shortlisted for World Rugbys player of the year award, alongside Billy Vunipola and Maro Itoje, with the winners announced on Sunday.There have been some outstanding performers in the team and those three especially. Other players could have made it as well, Ford said. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for only ￡6.99. No contract. The reflection of that is the way the team has gone. If the team are not winning every Test match then there are going to be less names on that list and less chance of lads playing to their potential.Watch England v South Africa live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Saturday from 2pm. Catch all four of Englands Old Mutual Wealth Series fixtures for £25 with NOW TV. No contract.Also See:Wood stays as England cut nineCorbisiero predicts clean sweepQUIZ: Englands last win over SABoks out to emulate Ireland ' ' '