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NEW YORK -- Two 23-year-olds, Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov, broke through to their first major semifinals at Wimbledon. Perhaps this years U.S. Open will be the tipping point for the rise of a new generation. But recent history suggests that if somebody other than the "Big 4" wins, a veteran may be more likely. "We didnt have many young players who were able to challenge for top spots and win Grand Slam titles," Wimbledon champ Novak Djokovic said. "So this is something that is happening now, but its still a long way to the Grand Slam title. Its not something that can happen overnight." It was then-28-year-old Stan Wawrinka who snapped the streak of 16 straight Grand Slam titles by Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray when he won the Australian Open in January. The only other men in the U.S. Open field who have reached a major final in the last five years are 32-year-old David Ferrer and 28-year-old Tomas Berdych. The U.S. Open starts Monday with Djokovic, Murray, Wawrinka, Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams among the big names on the court. The player with the most impressive performance leading to this tournament was 29-year-old Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Tsonga, the runner-up at the 2008 Australian Open, beat Djokovic, Murray, Dimitrov and Federer to win the title at Toronto this month. As the sport became more physical, Grand Slam titles became less likely not only for teenagers but for players in their early 20s. "Everybody realizes that youre reaching your peak physically maybe a little bit later and then theyre staying there longer, because they have the technology and theyre more systematic about their training," said Patrick McEnroe, the U.S. Tennis Associations general manager of player development. So a group of players not that young by tennis standards has gained little experience of playing in the highest-pressure moments. The oft-repeated stat is that the Big 4 have won 36 of the last 38 Grand Slam titles. Contrast that to the five years before Nadal won his first major championships at the 2005 French Open to start that streak. As Pete Sampras reign was ending and Federers beginning, 12 different players won the 20 Grand Slam titles; for six of them, it would be their only major championship. Now, its daunting not just to win championships but to even get close to them. Since Murray reached his first major semifinal at the 2008 U.S. Open, the Big 4 have hogged 63 of the 96 slots in the semis. And since the 2006 French Open, the first Federer-Nadal major final, theyve filled 58 of the 68 spots in Grand Slam title matches. Nobody else reached a major final for 10 straight events from the 2010 U.S. Open to the 2013 Australian Open. "Its definitely been a tough time for everybody else trying to break through," Raonic said. Especially younger players. Of the eight other men to play in Grand Slam title matches since the 2006 French, only Tsonga and Juan Martin del Potro were under age 24. "I was really impatient -- I wanted things to happen quick for me, just wanted to achieve right way," Dimitrov said. "I cant forget that nowadays the game has changed so much that nothing happens like that," he added, snapping his fingers. A 20-year-old del Potro stunned Federer in the 2009 U.S. Open final, seemingly heralding the arrival of a new generation. It wasnt to be. Del Potro, now 25, has been hampered by injuries and wont play in New York this year because of a wrist problem. He and his contemporaries are a glaring omission from the upper echelons of the sport. The rankings current top 10 include the two 23-year-olds, Raonic and Dimitrov; no one else is under 27. Other promising players in their mid-20s such as Kei Nishikori, Ernests Gulbis and Marin Cilic have never maintained a consistent high level. Djokovic and Murray were born a week apart in 1987; Nadal is less than a year older. If they can stay healthy -- certainly a big "if" with Nadal -- the logjam at the top could stick for a while. Josh Rosen Cardinals Jersey . The midfielder had an operation on Saturday, and is set to miss seven Premier League games, the third round of the FA Cup and the semifinals of the League Cup. Custom Arizona Cardinals Jerseys . It all would have been for naught, however, had it not been for some clutch shooting in the fourth quarter by Kobe Bryant and a couple of equally critical hustle plays by Derek Fisher and Pau Gasol in the final minutes. http://www.nflcardinalsrookiestore.com/C...e-Smith-Jersey/. Azarenka needed exactly one hour in a 6-1, 6-0 rout of Austrian Yvonne Meusburger to start the night session at Laver Arena. Sharapova had a much easier time earlier in the day with cooler conditions and took full advantage in 6-1, 7-6 (8-6) win over Frenchwoman Alize Cornet, while Radwanska had to rally for a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Arizona Cardinals Jerseys . Lowry and the Raptors officially announced a four-year US$48 million dollar deal Thursday. The deal was reported last week but couldnt be made official until Thursday, when the moratorium on signings was lifted. "They were real factors. I did my homework. Mason Cole Cardinals Jersey . Bookies were offering odds of 13/1 before kickoff that the home team Houston Dynamo would prevail by three goals to nil.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Al Jefferson had a pretty good inkling it was Charlottes night when he banked in a 31-footer from well beyond the top of the key to beat the shot clock midway through the fourth quarter. "I didnt call the bank, but I trusted my right hand," Jefferson said with a laugh. Jefferson scored 34 points and the Bobcats stunned NBA-leading Indiana 109-87 Wednesday night, handing the Pacers just their second two-game skid of the season. Jefferson was 16 of 25 from the field and had eight rebounds for the Bobcats (28-33), who won their fifth straight at home to equal their combined win total from the previous two seasons. "Im not accepting that were a team that guys look at on the schedule anymore and say, OK, we have the Bobcats (so) we can take the night off." Jefferson said. Jefferson, whose 38-point, 19-rebound effort Monday night was overshadowed by LeBron James career-high 61-point outing, has scored at least 20 points in 21 of his last 24 games. "I think everybody needs to question the Eastern Conference voting on why Al Jefferson wasnt on the All-Star team because clearly he is one of the best in the game," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "He showed it tonight. Give him credit." Charlotte was finishing a brutal four-game stretch, becoming the first team since the 2009-10 Knicks to play the NBAs top four teams in consecutive games. They previously lost to San Antonio, Oklahoma City and Miami on the road, but left no doubt about this this one. Charlotte jumped out to a 28-8 lead after the first quarter and never trailed. Kemba Walker added 19 points and nine assists for the Bobcats, who have the seventh-best record in the Eastern Conference. Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said he thought his team played well in the road losses to the Spurs, Thunder and Heat and that it carried over some confidence to Wednesday night. "We played a lot of good basketball and you get nothing for it," Clifford said. "To be honest, we took a day off (on Tuesday) and you could tell from our shootaround, not that we were going to win, but that we were going to play well." Evan Turner had 22 points for the Pacers (46-15), who lost back-to-back games for only the second time this season. Charlottes Michael Kidd-Gilchrist said he was "extra fired up" to deffend All-Star Paul George, two nights after James destroyed the Bobcats by knocking down 8 of 10 3-pointers.dddddddddddd Kidd-Gilchrist did his job, holding George without a field goal. George was 0 for 9 and finished with just two points. Jefferson defended Kidd-Gilchrists effort against Miami, saying he did the job asked of him against James. "Against LeBron, the game plan was we didnt want him to get to the basket," Jefferson said. "We want LeBron to shoot jumpers. If he hits 8 of 10 3-pointers, we can live with that." George said he wasnt at the top of his game against Charlotte. "I was sore," George said. "I tried to play through it thinking it would loosen up. It was a tight night for me." The Pacers had won 14 of their last 15 against the Bobcats coming in, including five straight by an average of nearly 18 points. But Indiana was sluggish from the start, shooting 4 of 20 from the field in the opening quarter and turning the ball over six times, leading to 12 Charlotte points and a 20-point deficit. The Pacers, shooting at the home end of the floor where some of the lights were out, were held to eight points -- the fewest allowed in a quarter this season by the Bobcats. While the Pacers were struggling on offence, Jefferson was at it again on the offensive end. He hit his first six shots and had 20 points at the break. The Pacers would battle back to cut the lead to four in the second quarter, but the Bobcats never surrendered the lead and stretched the lead back to 18 again by the end of the third quarter. The Bobcats shot 51 per cent from the field against the NBAs top defensive team. The 22-point loss was the third-largest of the season for the Pacers. "Charlottes a good basketball team," Vogel said. "Theyre rested. We are coming in here in this situation in their house. We beat them pretty handily the first couple of times. So, we knew they were going to come out and we were going to have to play great and we didnt play great." NOTES: Chris Douglas-Roberts got the start in place of Gerald Henderson, who missed his second straight game with a strained calf. ... The only other time the Pacers lost back-to-back games this season came Dec. 16 and 18 against Detroit and Miami. ... The Bobcats are 14-3 at home when scoring at least 91 points. 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