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  November 10, 2018 9:14 AM EET

  The air went out of the WTA balloon shortly after the US Open, when Serena Williams announced that she would play no more tour events until the WTA Finals in Singapore. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . The decision all but conceded the prized year-end No. 1 ranking to the woman who deposed Williams at the top, No. 1 ranked Angelique Kerber.Now the balloon is inflated again, and dancing in the breeze, thanks to Kerbers failure to clamp down on her rivals in the weeks since the US Open.Had Kerber improved upon her solid but unspectacular results of last year this fall, she would be in position to clinch the top spot for 2016 before the start of Singapore. It was a reasonable assignment for a newly empowered player who took a quantum leap in 2016, winning two Grand Slam events. But Kerber faltered. Shes now involved in a two-person race with a rival whos still relaxing back home.Kerber will lose ground (95 points) when the rankings are issued Monday, because she was beaten one round sooner this year than last in Beijing. She will have 8,390 points, a lead of 1,340 points. The undefeated winner of the WTA finals earns 1500 points, so Williams clearly will have a shot to displace Kerber because she has no points to defend, while Kerber can add points but also has some coming off as the weeks end.As of now, Kerber could lose the coveted top ranking on the last day of the WTA season. In fact, right now she could only lose it on the final day of play in Singapore, as Williams would need to make at least the final to regain No. 1.Stranger things have happened. Remember, this is Serena Williams we are talking about.In fairness, Kerber hasnt found much favor with the draw gods this fall. She took a bruising, three-set third-round loss against Petra Kvitova in Wuhan just as the Czech was roaring back from her recent slump. In Beijing, Kerber was knocked out in the third round as well, this time by emerging giant killer No. 19 Elina Svitolina. The erratic but dangerous 22-year-old Ukrainian also bounced Williams from the Olympic Games a couple of months ago.Williams certainly has faced challenges comparable to this one. You can be sure Kerber is already hearing footsteps, and thats not going to make her life any easier at the final tournament on her schedule next week in Hong Kong. She was a finalist there last year, so shell have to win the event outright in order to add insurance points to her ranking.Kerber can add 100 points if she wins Hong Kong, which will also feature Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, Sam Stosur and Alize Cornet. Anything less than a final for Kerber and she loses points with Williams gaining some precious breathing room.The current ranking system can actually give players a delayed reward for poor performances. Kerber has never made it out of the round-robin portion of the WTA Finals in three trips (shes won just two single matches). Last year, she won one match and will be defending just 370 points.No matter how you cut it, Williams has very little wiggle room -- but there is room after the latest turn of events in Beijing.Williams decision to return for the WTA Finals always seemed more like a tour-related obligation rather than a legacy-building opportunity. Had Kerber clinched the top ranking, Williams might have gone into the finals relaxed and happy to hit a few balls and pick up a kings ransom in prize money. After all, she left the tour in order to get healthy for 2017, not to train like mad to make a final push at Singapore. Its also clear that Williams has been enjoying life, as her Twitter feed and videos -- like the most recent one of her salsa dancing -- confirm.But if she goes into the WTA Finals with a chance to win back the No. 1 ranking, the vibe in Singapore changes. The tournament will matter. Whether Williams likes it or not, Singapore becomes the third potential showdown on a big stage with Kerber. Then the question becomes, how prepared is Williams?Thats where the difference in their WTA Finals records might come into play. Williams is 29-6 (five titles), while is just Kerber, 2-7. But given Kerbers lead in rankings points, even that might not be enough. Authentic Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield. Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Free Shipping . The formidable trio of Canadian receivers -- individually known as Chris Getzlaf, Rob Bagg and Andy Fantuz -- will share the field at Mosaic Stadium one more time on Sunday. http://www.cheapwholesalejerseysnfl.com/ ;. LOUIS -- Attorneys for the St. ORLANDO, Fla. -- Alex Martins full-time job is CEO of the Orlando Magic. But throughout the season, the 52-year-old has another role that comes into focus once the NBA calendar turns to July. Martins serves as the gatekeeper for the Orlando Summer League, the less-publicized and more exclusive summer locale for NBA teams to check out their newest draft picks and younger players trying to find a way into the league.We have a waiting list of teams right now that would love to get in, Martins told ESPN.com recently.The Magic executive didnt say this in boastful way. In fact, he went out of his way to say that he and the rest of his staff wanted to work alongside the NBA and the organizers of the Vegas Summer League to make sure they werent stepping on any toes. But Orlando has turned into the preferred destination for many around the league, away from the glitz and glamor of the Vegas Strip.How did this happen?Back in 2002, Martins and the Magic staff were looking to try something different. The Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat joined up with the Magic, and the Orlando Summer League was up and running.Vegas is very productive and the teams that go out there love it and enjoy it and they get benefit out of it, Martins said. But we wanted to create an environment that was really just all about basketball. In a basketball setting, not an arena-type setting. Where the media and scouts and team officials could access and watch and evaluate, but confined to that group. Over the years, what weve been told by the teams that participate here is that they really love that environment. They love the fact that its just all about basketball. And thats not speaking negatively about Vegas in any means -- this is just different.In Vegas, teams play in the Thomas & Mack Center and the Cox Pavilion, much larger venues, which serve as the home to the UNLV mens and womens basketball teams. In 2002, the Magic started the Orlando league in the RDV Sportsplex on the practice floor the Magic used. In 2010, the Magic moved the league to the new Amway Center, but maintained the cozy atmosphere by still using their practice floor in the new structure, not the arena floor itself.The biggest difference in atmosphere, besides the cities themselves, is that the Orlando Summer League is not open to the public. The only people who can gain access are team or league personnel, agents, scouts and media. The Vegas Summer League, and now the even smaller Utah Summer League, are both open to fans. The Orlando games are broadcast on NBA TV and streamed on ESPN3 but there are only a couple hundred people in attendance in the small gym.Detroit Pistons coach and head of basketball operations, Stan Van Gundy, loves the set up in Orlando. I like the environment for players, Van Gundy said. I like the environment that its not public so you dont have a lot of people comiing in. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys For Sale. I think they can concentrate on their game more. I like this as a city a lot more than Las Vegas, Utah would probably be the same, but a few less distractions. I think they just run a really, really well-organized league. You can just come here and get to work. Well have been here 12 days, and its 12 good work days with great organization and no distractions.Part of the charm of the Orlando league is in its quaintness. In Vegas, league personnel are spread out in hotels on the Vegas Strip. In Orlando, many players and coaches can walk back and forth to the arena from the hotels located nearby. Coaches and executives can come and go as they please without being hassled by fans.Since its inception in 2002, the Orlando league has grown to a nine-team venture (the Magic have a Blue Team and a White Team to even out the schedule to 10) and has developed a loyal following. Like Van Gundy, who coached the Magic from 2007-12, Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing sung the praises of the league. Ewing, who coached the Charlotte Hornets summer league entry, served on Van Gundys Magic staff.I enjoy coming to Orlando, Ewing said. Ive lived there, I think its great. I like the fact that this one, you get in, you get your work done, and then you leave.Martins says the Magic dont make any money off the league itself, but the exposure for both the organization and the Orlando area is important.Theres no financial benefit to us, Martins said. The way it works is every team has an entry fee, and we ask basically the teams that participate just to cover all the costs. We have everything. We feed the media, we feed all the personnel that are here. We have expenses associated with using the building, etc. So we just charge an entry fee so that we cover all that. The entry fee is around $10,000-15,000 depending on the year.While there has been some talk about expanding the league in the future, Martins says there hasnt been much talk about opening the league up to the public. The only exception came in 2003 when LeBron James played his first professional game as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers Summer League team. Aside from the sellout crowd at the old Amway Center, that game will always be remembered as the one in which former Utah alum Britton Johnsen, playing for the Magics summer league team, dunked on James.Theres always room for that special situation, Martins said. Like the year that LeBron came out and we took the game to the old Amway Arena. But beyond that, again, the beauty of this specific summer league is that it is all about basketball. 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