NEW YORK -- It was late in this US Open semifinal match, and once again, the lopsided nature of Serena Williams résumé versus her opponents didnt matter. Same as it didnt save Williams in four of her past five Grand Slam losses before this. This time, Williams tormentor wasnt her Australian Open conqueror Angelique Kerber, or Spanish upstart Garbine Muguruza, who surprised her in this years French Open final. It wasnt even a wily veteran like Roberta Vinci, who derailed Williams run at a calendar-year Grand Slam on this same court a year ago with arguably the most monumental upset in tennis history.Thursday night on the floor of Arthur Ashe Stadium, the new predicament Williams found herself in was a win-or-go-home tiebreaker against 24-year-old Karolina Pliskova, a 10th-seeded but largely unproven Czech. Williams was faced with the unenviable chore of trying to survive against the most prolific ace machine on tour. This while playing with an aching left knee -- a new ailment that only a few insiders knew that she had until after the match, which ended ingloriously for her with a double fault that sealed Pliskovas stunning 6-2, 7-6 (5) win.Just like that, all the history Williams was chasing -- a tie with Chris Evert for the record of seven US Open titles, a chance to break her tie with Steffi Graf at 22 majors, most in the Open era -- was put off for another day. When Williams wakes up Monday morning, she also officially wont be ranked No. 1 (Kerber will) leaving Williams forever moored in a tie with Graf for most consecutive weeks in the top spot, with 186.Im not talking about No. 1, thank you, Williams said during an occasionally terse news conference in which she allowed that her knee mightve contributed to the loss. Williams, though, hotly disputed fatigue from her three-set win over Simona Halep a day earlier was a factor.For Williams, who turns 35 on Sept. 26, the defeat nonetheless continued a troubling trend. By any measure -- the statistics, the anecdotal evidence, the way she has dominated tennis for two decades now -- Williams is the greatest player in tennis history, bar none. Theres no need to confine the praise to only the womens side of the sport.Including last months Rio Olympics, where Williams was sent crashing out in the third round by Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, what has been astonishing isnt just who Williams has lost to in the biggest moments the past year -- its how she has been losing. Even when her body hasnt betrayed her, as it did in the past month, nerves seem to haunt her. Her confidence seems more brittle than youd expect, given all that she has done. Errors come in bunches. Opponents are rushing in to capitalize.Williams has now lost four of her past five major tournaments to players that she had a combined career record of 18-2 against before she lost to them.Players still deeply respect Williams. But other than her win against Kerber for the Wimbledon title, Williams just doesnt project the same self-assurance or strike the same off-the-charts fear into her opponents that she used to. And Muguruza had no problem saying that out loud after her French Open title win, telling reporters that players are seeing that Williams is more beatable now.Of course, Muguruza hasnt personally been able to build on her breakthrough win. She has fallen into the same struggles that Kerber admittedly did after she won her first Slam title. But still other players have performed like they agree with the Spaniard -- playing Williams doesnt spark the same feeling of inevitability it used to. Other players just seem to see a little daylight now against Williams, where before, they saw little to none.Romanias Halep said as much, too, after very nearly beating Williams in their three-set dogfight on Wednesday night. Afterward, she rued her failure to break Williams in the first game of the final set, saying if shed done that then, the ending wouldve been a different story.Pliskova played like one of the new believers, too. Williams is generally thought to have the greatest serve in the history of the game, but Pliskovas serve and return games were both better than Serenas on Thursday night.And the thing is, Pliskova had never even been past the third round of a Grand Slam tournament until this giant-killing 11-match summer winning streak shes on, which also included a win over Serenas sister, Venus, earlier in this tournament. With the victory, Pliskova became only the fourth player to beat both William sisters at the same Slam, joining Martina Hingis, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin.I said I dont believe it -- but actually, I do believe [I won], Pliskova said. I always knew I had a chance to beat anyone if Im playing my game.For Serena, who is used to doing the dictating, it was a frustrating night. But she refused to go as far as her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, did and blame this loss on her knee injury. (Mouratoglou said she suffered it against Halep on Wednesday, but Williams said she suffered a few rounds earlier.) The most Williams would allow was being hampered by the knee caused her focus to waver.I was making errors that I never make. So many simple, simple shots that I couldve easily made, she said.Williams has been so extraordinary for so long, any wobble in her play seems like a seismic event. But she has now had four such upsets in her past five Slams. She isnt just blowing these matches; her rivals are going out and taking them.Williams has dug herself out of too many trenches before in her majestic 22-year career to rush to any big conclusions that this is the beginning of her end as the games greatest player. But it has been happening for a year now.And its only natural to wonder. Markus Wheaton Jersey .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week. Chris Long Jersey .ca! Kerry, Two nights after the Scott-Eriksson incident in Buffalo, the Bruins returned home to play San Jose. In that game, Zdeno Chara put a check on Tommy Wingels that clearly targeted his head. http://www.cheapeaglesjerseyssale.com/?tag=kamu-grugier-hill-jersey-sale . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. Nate Sudfeld Jersey . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. Rodney McLeod Jersey . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two.Swimmer Siobhan-Marie OConnor was one of four Sky Academy Sports Scholars grabbing the headlines in a weekend of sporting action. The 20-year-old Bath star picked up three victories at the Edinburgh International Swim and looks in stunning form ahead of the Olympic trials in April.OConnor secured the top FINA points prize with a winning time of 2 minutes 10.12 seconds in Saturdays 200m individual medley final to take her above world champion Katinka Hosszu at the top of the rankings. She finished four seconds clear of the field, but had more of a fight in Sundays 100m fly final to win by a fingertip ahead of Rachel Kelly and Bath team-mate Jemma Lowe.OConnor, who capped off a magnificent show by making it a hat-trick with victory in the 200m breaststroke, said: Im really happy with my first outing of the season.This was the first real long course competition of the year and I was happy to swim some encouraging times during a hard training block, having just come back from Australia.I dont often swim the 200 breaststroke so it was nice to finish the meet with a win and a personal best. Im now really looking forward to tapering ahead of the trials and travelling there with the team.It was also a very rewarding two days of action for BMX star Quillan Isidore, 800m runner Jessica Judd and speed skater Elise Christie.After a four-month winter break, the 19-year-old Isidore from south London started his season with the first two rounds at Manchesters National Cycling Centre. Quillan Issidore happy with his season opener in Manchester On Saturday evening, Isidore struggled after a poor start in the Supercross Open, but hit back on Sunday in the Superclass to go unbeaten over 10 tough laps in his two races.dddddddddddd Isidore said: Overall it was a very positive weekend for me. To bounce back after a bad practice and first two motos on Saturday to a few really solid laps for me, Ill take that.The results may have not been the best, but Im very happy with my performance. Sunday was a tough one - racing both classes, having a total of 10 laps, but its a great platform for me.Judd has been building up for the outdoor season with a series of cross country races and ahead of a training trip to the US, she secured an excellent fifth spot at the Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships.After her gruelling efforts at Cofton Park in Birmingham, Judd said: Im over the moon at the championships. Im so happy to finish the cross country season like that.And if that wasnt enough for a weekend, Judd opted to stretch her legs on Sunday in the Trafford 10K.Elise Christie continued her fine form on the ice with a silver and bronze at the World Championships in Seoul. Read more details on Elise and her medal efforts.WHATS COMING UP FOR OUR SCHOLARS...MARCH 19: Sam Oldham, English Championships, LoughboroughMARCH 28 - APRIL 3: Jessica Judd, pre-season training in USAAPRIL 9/10: Sam Oldham, British Championships, Liverpool Also See: About the Scholarship Meet the athletes Blogs Videos Galleries Cheap Adidas Hockey Jerseys Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap Nike Basketball Jerseys Cheap Football Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Baseball Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Nike NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Soccer Jerseys China Cheap NCAA Jerseys China Stitched NFL Jerseys Cheap Custom Jerseys China Cheap Basketball Jerseys Authentic NFL Jerseys China Cheap College Jerseys Wholesale Football Jerseys ' ' '