NEW YORK -- The numbers are not the sort that Roger Federer likes to see beside his name. [url=http://www.wholesaleairmaxsale.com/]Wholesale Air Max 2018 Free Shipping[/url] . One of them -- his age, 32 -- he cannot control. The other -- his ranking, No. 7 -- he insists he can. "People are going

NEW YORK -- The numbers are not the sort that Roger Federer likes to see beside his name. Wholesale Air Max 2018 Free Shipping . One of them -- his age, 32 -- he cannot control. The other -- his ranking, No. 7 -- he insists he can. "People are going to say what they like," Federer said Saturday, two days before his first-round match at the U.S. Open. "Important is that I concentrate on my game and that the passion is there, that I work the right way, that Im prepared, and that I feel like I can win a tournament." The five-time U.S. Open champion is seeded seventh, the biggest number next to his name at a Grand Slam tournament since 2003, the year he started on his record-setting run of 17 majors. In June, Federer exited Wimbledon in the second round, the earliest hed been dismissed from a major tournament since the 2003 French Open. Starting with that loss, his season has included a steady diet of defeats that would have once been considered freakish and a withdrawal from a tournament that went unexplained. All these factors point toward an obvious conclusion: Age is taking its toll on the most decorated mens player ever. Not since Pete Sampras captured the trophy in 2002 has a man over 30 won the U.S. Open. But Federer doesnt envision quite such a grim picture. A bad back that might help explain some of his summer doldrums is no longer bothering him. A new racket that confounded him over the summer has been shelved for the time being. His ranking, and corresponding seeding, may have dropped from third to seventh in the nine weeks between Wimbledon and the Open, where his first-round match is against 61st-ranked Grega Zemlja, but Federer considers himself fit enough to contend. "Now I can really say Im really just focused on the point for point, and thats why Im not concerned," he said. "My back problem is not that major. I just need to make sure I dont have any bad moments in the future." He would love to wipe away most of this 2013 season. He has a grand total of one tournament title, won at a small event in Halle, Germany -- a grass-court tune-up for Wimbledon. In addition to his second-round Wimbledon loss to 116th-ranked Sergiy Stakhovsky, Federer has fallen to No. 114 Federico Delbonis and No. 55 Daniel Brands, the sort of players who used to feel beaten by Federer before they even walked on the court. That air of invincibility is gone, and small cracks in a once-impenetrable facade have cropped up. Federer withdrew in Montreal early this month without giving a reason, though he had been complaining about his back through the summer. He expanded on his health Saturday, saying the back was no problem as he heads into this, his 58th appearance at a major. "At times, I was playing a lot, having it in the back of my mind, and that has definitely affected me sometimes with my movement ... and actually not being able to really focus on the point for point mentality that you want to have out on the tennis court," Federer said. "So now, I can really say Im really just focused on the point for point, and thats why Im not concerned. " Federer had been working with a new, slightly larger racket, but was unable to figure out the nuances of the prototype and decided to shelve the experiment until after the U.S. Open is over. "I just said, You know, Ill go back to the racket I know and the racket I have won everything with," Federer said. Novak Djokovic, the man occupying the No. 1 spot that Federer once owned, (He was seeded No. 1 at 18 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments from 2004-08) calls the ups and downs with the rankings simply a cycle of life. "You cant always expect somebody to be at the highest level," Djokovic said. "Its normal to go up and down. Thats why this sport is so very demanding, physically, mentally, emotionally. In any way you turn it around, the sport is actually asking from a tennis player everything, you know, all the commitment possible from every aspect." Federer insists his commitment has never waned, even if his ranking has. He says this takes him back to his younger days, in his early 20s, when he used to get excited at the prospect of what the new rankings would look like each Monday. "Usually, I was more excited that it was going up," Federer said. "The older you get, the less you pay attention to it. But nevertheless, I clearly want to move up from here." Cheap Air Max 2018 China . The R&A announced Monday that golfs oldest championship will return to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland for the first time since Max Faulkner won in 1951. White Air Max 2018 On Sale . Selected by the Titans in the 2007 NFL Draft, Johnson rejoined the club last season after a five-year stint with Indianapolis. http://www.wholesaleairmaxsale.com/ . Patty Mills had 20 points, Tim Duncan had 11 points and 13 rebounds in limited action, and San Antonio rolled to a 110-82 victory over Milwaukee that kept the Bucks winless in the new year. ST. LOUIS -- After the morning skate, captain Jamie Benn vowed that the Dallas Stars would play to honour ill teammate Rich Peverley. With the forward following the Stars game against the St. Louis Blues from a hospital bed back in Dallas, Benn put his team over the top. Stars coach Lindy Ruff said Peverley, who is sidelined because of a heart issue that caused him to collapse on the bench on Monday, was well aware his teammates beat the Blues 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday night. "I texted him right after the game and he responded," Ruff said. "He was happy. He said Keep rolling. I just said at the end, See you tomorrow." Benn scored 3:42 into overtime to end the Blues five-game winning streak. St. Louis is first overall in the NHL standings. "Obviously, (Monday) night was a scary situation but today is a new day," Benn said. "We were thinking about Rich back home, but I thought we did a great job getting mentally ready for this game. "Were still in a big playoff push and we found a way to get two points." Defencemen Alex Pietrangelo and Roman Polak ended lengthy goal droughts for the Blues, who lost for the first time in five games with new goalie Ryan Miller. They might have run into an inspired team. "Youve got to give them credit. Theyve been through a lot in the last 24 hours," Blues forward Steve Ott said. "Its pretty honourable for them to come out and play like that." Colton Sceviour, one of two call-ups by the Stars with Peverley out indefinitely and teammate Alex Chiasson also hospitalized due to emotional distress after his teammates "cardiac event," scored on a power play in the first period. Miller robbed the other call-up, Chris Mueller, with a glove save from point-blank range with 2:16 to go in the third. But he couldnt cross the crease in time to corral a shot from the right circle by Benn that gave Dallas its fourth win in five games. "I kind of knew he got lost up there, but no one was on the back side the way the play developed," Miller said. "I just didnt get my whole body over in time." The Stars hoome game against Columbus was postponed Monday night after Peverley fell ill. Black Air Max 2018 Outlet. Peverley remained hospitalized in stable condition on Tuesday while undergoing tests. "I told them, You can look for a reason to lose or you can find a way to win," Ruff said. "I said we need to find a way to win and we need to win it for a couple of our teammates." Benn has scored in three straight games and has seven points in a five-game streak. The Blues are 18-0-2 against the Central Division, breaking the franchise record of 19 consecutive games with a point in divisional play set in 1968-69. During the five-game winning streak, they never allowed more than two goals. After settling for one point, coach Ken Hitchcock saw only negatives. "I dont think were playing very smart," Hitchcock said. "Were not putting pucks in deep, were not getting on the grind, were turning way too many pucks over. "Players are going to have to dig in and start playing the right way." Polak tied it at 2 at 5:01 of the third period with his first goal in 37 games and fourth overall. He sent a drive through traffic that got past goalie Tim Thomas. Pietrangelo, who earlier this season became the first Blues defenceman to score 40 points in his first three seasons, snapped a 20-game goal drought in the first period. Pietrangelo had 11 assists since his previous goal on Jan. 10 at Vancouver. Antoine Roussel scored on a breakaway earlier in the period to put the Stars ahead, sending the puck slowly trickling between Millers pads. Roussel got free after David Backes flubbed a cross-ice pass near the blue line in the offensive zone. Sceviour, among the leading scorers in the AHL for the Texas Stars, scored his fourth goal in eight games this season against a team that had killed 33 of 35 power-play chances the previous 11 games. NOTES: Blues D Jay Bouwmeester played in his 700th consecutive regular-season game, the longest active streak in major sports. ... The Blues fell to 36-1-5 when scoring first. ... Roussel had one assist the previous four games. ... Polak has four goals, tying his career best for a season. ' ' '