round defeats at tournaments in India, Malaysia, Singapore and China. He finally showed a flicker of improved form by

WASHINGTON -- Back when Ryan Harrison participated in the 2011 edition of the hard-court ATP tournament in the nations capital, he was still a teen, still considered the next big thing in American mens tennis, and still talking about wanting to be, in his words at the time, a multiple Grand Slam champion.Harrison lost to Viktor Troicki that week. As it happens, all of these years and hiccups later, Harrison played the same guy again Wednesday at the same event, and this time he won, eliminating the 10th-seeded Troicki of Serbia 7-6 (4), 6-4 to reach the Citi Opens third round as a qualifier.For Harrison, now 24 and nearly a decade into his professional career, it represents the first time hes won back-to-back main-draw matches in 2016. It also represents a real step back in the right direction for someone who reached his career-best ranking of 43rd in 2012 and is now 158th.Mentally, its been an up and down ride over the last couple years, because the hardest thing to do when youve had early success and you hit a speed bump is to let go of the negative. You can dwell on so many things. At so many stages of my career, Ive been angry and irritated. Ive been discouraged. Not depressed in my life, but disappointed with the way that Im playing, Harrison said in an interview after beating Troicki in front of a standing-room-only crowd.You can get in a sulky mode. Everything thats built up from negative moments can creep back in, continued Harrison, who was born in Louisiana and is now based in Texas. The biggest thing for me moving forward is just being who I am today. I know what I can do, I know the level Im capable of playing, and when I do let go of all that stuff then I feel I give myself chances to win. Because I dont doubt myself from an ability standpoint.Harrison converted only three of 22 break points, but he counted it as a positive that he didnt let all the missed chances get to him.When youre in a situation like Im in -- that you havent won a ton of matches -- it seems like its tough to convert on opportunities. And its easy to get discouraged. You miss your first couple, and you feel like youve lost the match, he said. For me, the biggest turning point for this week, compared to other weeks, has been when Im not getting that first opportunity, (Im) staying in there and creating more.Next for Harrison is an all-American matchup against fifth-seeded Steve Johnson, who beat Adrian Mannarino of France 6-3, 6-4.Others advancing included top-seeded John Isner, No. 2 Gael Monfils -- who hadnt won a match since early May and said hed missed time on tour recently because of a virus -- No. 3 Bernard Tomic, No. 6 Jack Sock and No. 15 Marcos Baghdatis.In a match between two of the three teens in the ATPs top 100, seventh-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany saved all five break points he faced and overwhelmed Taylor Fritz of the U.S. 6-4, 6-2. They were born six months apart in 1997, but Zverev brushed off the idea that this was a significant meeting of two members of tennis next generation.It doesnt mean a lot for the future, Zverev said. We both know that theres a lot of improvements to be made for both of us.The third teen in the top 100, Borna Coric, won Wednesday and faces Monfils next.In womens play, wild-card entry Jessica Pegula defeated Christina McHale 7-5, 6-2. Pegula, whose parents own the NFLs Buffalo Bills and NHLs Buffalo Sabres, reached the quarterfinals of a WTA tournament for the first time.McHale, who pushed Serena Williams to three sets at Wimbledon, is the sister of Harrisons fiancee, Lauren.Their wedding date is in next March, which coincides with the closing weekend of the Masters tournament in Miami.So, noted Harrison, sounding as confident as ever, we are hoping to have to reschedule.---Follow Howard Fendrich at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich Custom Boston Red Sox Jerseys Cheap . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. 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Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. In November of 2014, I spoke to Kidambi Srikanth over a not so clear phone line from China. He had just experienced the greatest moment of his professional career by beating his childhood hero Lin Dan in the final of his home tournament. It was the first time an Indian male player had won a Super Series title and to add to the luster of the moment, it had come on the birthday of his coach and mentor Pullela Gopichand. Srikanth is a measured, soft-spoken young man but a lilt of excitement seeped through his voice.I had nothing to lose, so I wanted to give my best, Srikanth told me then. When I went into the match, I never thought I could beat him. I had a few strategies in mind, so I thought if I could execute them properly, I had a chance. I felt if I got all my strokes in, a 100 on 100, and make very few mistakes, I could do something. There arent too many weaknesses in his game because he has won more tournaments than anyone else in the history of the game.On Wednesday, at 9.20 am local time in Rio, just 10 minutes short of 6 pm in India, Srikanth faces the onerous task of producing an encore?as he fronts up against Dan in the quarterfinal.Since that heady day Fuzhou, their paths havent crossed. Dan had won their previous two clashes and comfortably at that. He has decimated the field so far at these Olympic games winning his three matches in straight games. Known on the circuit as Super Dan, the 32-year-old won Gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and followed it up with a repeat performance in London in 2012. He has been world champion five times. Hes won the All-England six times. Hes helped China win the Thomas Cup Five times. Just for fun, he has four Asian games Gold medals too.That Lin Dan is a colossus of modern badminton who loves the big stage is clear as daylight. The question is if Srikanth has the tools to upset this rampaging monster of a player. His coach Gopichand, who will have carefully strategised for this moment, was expectedly unwilling to share much insight, offering instead the bare essentials to set uup this contest.ddddddddddddIt will be a tough match, Gopichand said. All we know is that he will give his best, lets see how he performs. All your past records are of no significant value here. It is about who is able to soak in the pressure and who is able to keep the momentum. I think Lin Dan is smart, he knows how to play on the big stage and he will be tough to beat. I think Srikanth will go in with a lot of confidence from his last three matches. Lets see how he does. Hes a good player and hes playing well.After an underwhelming year, Srikanths return to form at these Olympics has been quite encouraging. His upset win over World No. 5 Jan O Jorgensen in the pre-quarters was a reminder of his prowess on the court. Once ranked as high as No. 3 in the world, Srikanths ranking has tumbled just outside the top-10 in recent months at the back of a string of inconsistent performances. Though he started the year by winning the Syed Modi Grand Prix gold title in Lucknow, his results tapered off subsequently.Starting with a second round exit at the All-England championships in March, Srikanth suffered a series of first round defeats at tournaments in India, Malaysia, Singapore and China. He finally showed a flicker of improved form by reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open in June. An attacking player by instinct, Srikanth has been carefully nurtured by Gopichand to develop a more all-round game and improve his fitness. In Rio, the effort put on the training court over the last month and a bit has paid off. His first two opponents were brushed aside comfortably in the group stages and the ninth seed stunned Jorgensen by unleashing a ferocious all-out attack that the Dane could not find a retort to.Its a dream come true as Lin Dan is my idol, Srikanth had said after his pre-quarterfinal victory. Its been a long time since I beat him last time in the China Open final, so this will be a new game. ' ' '