Cowboys RB Phillip Tanner (head) and Redskins LBs Brian Orakpo (rig

NEW YORK -- The game that will be talked about for years and years required 198 strokes, 30 points, and 21 minutes to decide. Air Max 270 React Italia . Entire sets have taken less. It might be easy to conclude that Novak Djokovic won his tense, topsy-turvy U.S. Open semifinal against Stanislas Wawrinka despite dropping that epic third game of the fifth set. The truth is that the 2011 champion emerged with a 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 victory in 4 hours, 9 minutes on Saturday at least in part because of the one that got away. "Even though I lost that game, I felt like, OK, hes getting a little bit more tired, and maybe this is my chance to step in," Djokovic said. "And thats what I (did)." The No. 1-seeded Djokovic will play No. 2 Rafael Nadal on Monday. Its their record 37th match against each other, their sixth Grand Slam final, and their third meeting for the championship at Flushing Meadows since 2010. Nadal was a 6-4, 7-6 (1), 6-2 winner over No. 8 Richard Gasquet of France in Saturdays second semifinal, which was far less competitive than the first. Indeed, the tennis and theatrics at 1-all in the last set alone of Djokovic-Wawrinka were so compelling that the game was interrupted twice by standing ovations. By then, Wawrinkas strained right thigh had been taped after a medical timeout in the fourth set (he would be seized by cramps during his postmatch news conference). Still, he managed to erase five break points and navigate 12 deuces until finally delivering a 123 mph service winner to hold for a 2-1 edge. He stepped gingerly to the sideline, plopped down in his chair and smiled. That grin remained in place throughout the two-minute changeover. If the ninth-seeded Wawrinka was enjoying the moment, perhaps feeling a tad relieved, Djokovic was ever more determined. He responded by taking the next three games, propelling himself to a fourth consecutive title match at Flushing Meadows and fifth since 2007. "I was already quite tired," said Wawrinka, who won the same number of points in the match as Djokovic, 165. "I was already quite dead physically." During his on-court interview, Djokovic took the microphone and posed a question: "How long was that game?" He was told the answer, repeated it, then chuckled. "Well, I was thinking -- I guess everybody was thinking -- Whoever wins this game is going to win the match," the six-time major champion told the crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium. "After he won the game, I thought to myself, OK, I guess I have to fight against those odds." The current version of Djokovic, the one who recently published a book about diet and fitness, is nothing if not dogged, able to withstand even the most dire of circumstances. Its why he managed to set aside match points and come back to beat Roger Federer in the 2010 and 2011 U.S. Open semifinals. Its why he was able to beat Nadal in a 2012 Australian Open final that lasted nearly six hours. Its why he was able to win the longest Wimbledon semifinal in history. "At the end, he pushed me," Wawrinka said. "Pushed me far, far, far." Nothing quite that dramatic occurred when 12-time major champion Nadal played Gasquet, who was in his first Grand Slam semifinal since 2007. The most newsworthy moment of their match came right at the 1-hour mark, when Nadal let a forehand drift long to get broken and make it 2-all in the second set. That allowed Gasquet to become the first player to break Nadals serve in the entire tournament, ending a run of 73 holds. There were five other break points for Gasquet, but Nadal saved each while stretching his hard-court record in 2013 to 21-0. A year after missing the U.S. Open because of a bad left knee, Nadal is looking as fit and as impressive as ever. "I dont know if its a victory to (break) his serve. Im not sure about it. I think its better to win one set or more," said Gasquet, now 0-11 against Nadal. In the past, the U.S. Open was the only Grand Slam tournament to schedule the mens semifinals Saturday and the final Sunday, instead of having a day of rest in between. This year, the tournament scrapped that plan and built in an extra 24 hours. As it is, Djokovic said he "didnt find it very fair" that he needed to play at noon Saturday after finishing his quarterfinal at about 11 p.m. Thursday. Nadal and Gasquet played their quarterfinals Wednesday. "I didnt find any logic in that, to be honest," Djokovic said. "But, again, there are some other, I guess, influences that have more power than players, and this has to be changed." On Sunday, while Nadal and Djokovic rest and prepare, No. 1 Serena Williams will play No. 2 Victoria Azarenka for the womens championship. Its the first time both U.S. Open singles finals are 1-2 matchups since 1996. Nadal is 21-15 against Djokovic, but said when they play, it "becomes a very difficult match for both of us. Nadal said hed rather face a less-formidable foe, because wanting to play someone as good as Djokovic would be "stupid." Djokovic, meanwhile, called trying to beat Nadal "the biggest challenge that you can have in our sport now." Dealing with Djokovic and his sliding, arm-stretching defence is no day at the beach, either. Wearing white sunscreen slathered across his cheeks and nose on a sunny afternoon, Wawrinka produced a performance that was fairly similar to the net-rushing surprise he pulled off against defending champion Andy Murray in the quarterfinals. Wawrinka could sense jitters early from Djokovic, who acknowledged afterward he was nervous. That seemed odd, because Djokovic was playing in his 14th consecutive Grand Slam semifinal, the second-longest streak in history, and 21st overall. Wawrinka -- long in the shadow of Federer, his Swiss Olympic teammate and good friend -- was in his first. And yet it was Djokovic who double-faulted four times as part of his 14 unforced errors in the first set, while getting broken three times. Djokovic was fraying at the edges. He hit a ball in anger after losing a point, drawing jeers from the stands. He whacked his racket against each arm after a missed backhand return. He kept chatting with his coach, Marian Vajda, and eventually was cited by the chair umpire for a code violation (coaching is not allowed during matches; Djokovic admitted he deserved the warning). When a fan called out right before he netted a backhand, Djokovic raised an arm and yelled, "Shut up!" It didnt help matters that Wawrinka kept finding the mark with his booming serves, which reached 138 mph, his effective forehand and his sweet, one-handed backhand, to the tune of 57 winners, 19 more than Djokovic. "Today I had the feeling that when I was playing my best level, I was better than him," said Wawrinka, who entered the day 2-12 against Djokovic. "But hes not No. 1 for nothing. Thats why he won the match, because he always finds a solution." Slowly but surely Djokovic found ways to bother Wawrinka, in part by forcing more errors off his forehand wing, in part by serving better himself. Wawrinka began showing signs of mental and physical fatigue. There was the problem with his right leg. He swatted a ball toward the upper deck, earning a warning, and later was docked a point for spiking his racket, picking it up and bending it over his knee to completely wreck the frame. Wawrinka egged on fans to get louder and clap longer, soaking it all in -- and getting a bit of a chance to catch his breath. Djokovic at first seemed annoyed, before he, too, waved for more noise. Two games later, a sequence of errors by Wawrinka, capped by a weary backhand, let Djokovic break for a 3-2 lead. "I managed to stay tough and play well when I needed to," Djokovic said. "Thats something that definitely encourages me before the final." Air Max 97 Uomo Scontate . Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema scored two goals each Wednesday night in a 6-1 rout of Schalke in the first leg of their second-round matchup. "We played a very, very good match," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "We got well into the match, scored two early goals and that opened the game and left us able to counter and to use the speed of our players. Air Max 97 Donna Saldi . Indeed, must be among the greatest challenges in all of sports. The pressure he applies, from set to set, game to game, point to point, shot to shot. http://www.outletscarpesaldi.it/air-max-90-prezzo-basso.html . They wanna make t-shirts about it and sell them at our next hockey game..DB: Wow, they want to make t-shirts? That sounds pretty amazing.MS: Yeah, I was also on the Top 10, I was number 1 today, so that was pretty cool.LANDOVER, Md. - On fourth down, feeling the season was on the line, Tony Romo dropped back, scrambled forward and found the correct colour uniform. DeMarco Murray made the catch, his momentum taking him into the end zone for the winning score. For much of the second half, Romo and Dallas Cowboys had flirted with their usual December swoon. A recently signed fullback lost a fumble. The quarterback threw a bad interception. An eight-point lead became a nine-point deficit. Murray lost 9 yards on a third-and-goal at the 1. But there was one chance left to pull off a win. Romo-to-Murray converted the fourth-and-goal at the 10 with 1:08 remaining Sunday, giving the Cowboys a 24-23 victory over the Washington Redskins. "We just had to make a play," Dallas receiver Dez Bryant said. "Tony did a Houdini." Its a magic moment that matters only if the Cowboys can win one more. The victory ended a two-game skid — as well as a four-game December losing streak — and sets up a winner-take-all, regular-season finale for the NFC East title next week, when the Cowboys (8-7) host the Philadelphia Eagles. "Today we felt like we were playing for everything," Romo said. "Next week will be the same thing." The Cowboys, who beat Philadelphia 17-3 on Oct. 20, set themselves up to quash two years of 8-8, collapse-around-Christmas misery. "I know in some ways weve gotten hit with just the fact of losing the last couple of years in the final game," Romo said. "I think were the only team that keeps getting themselves in position to win the NFC East every year — thats a credit. Its also a negative in the fact that we didnt do it the last couple of years." The Cowboys melted down big-time last week against the Green Bay Packers, blowing a 23-point lead with Romo throwing two interceptions in the waning minutes. On Sunday, the Cowboys fell flat in the third quarter instead of the fourth, leaving just enough time for a comeback. "Coming back and playing well and working hard can help your character. Now, I dont recommend the way we came back today as a way to get there," Dallas owner Jerry Jones said with a smile. "I wouldve liked for it to be a little easier and confident." The Redskins (3-12) arent building much of anything. They lost their seventh straight, thee second in a row by one point, both with Kirk Cousins starting in place of shut-down franchise player Robert Griffin III. Air Max 90 Nere Scontate. Pierre Garcon (11 catches, 144 yards) provided the home team highlight by breaking Art Monks single-season franchise reception record, while veteran linebacker London Fletcher played in what is expected to be his final home game before retiring. Embattled coach Mike Shanahan clinched his worst record in his 20 seasons as a head coach. "Everybody on the team is fed up at this point," Washington linebacker Perry Riley said. "We should be winning. Need to be winning. Were not winning. And thats frustrating." Romo completed 17 of 27 passes for 226 yards with two touchdowns and played much of the game with back pain. He was limping noticeably after a couple of plays in the fourth quarter. "I took a hit that kind of triggered it a little bit. ... I felt it after that play, the rest of the game," Romo said. "You just play through it, just like anything in football." The Cowboys led 14-6 at halftime before committing turnovers on back-to-back drives — a fumble by Tyler Clutts and an interception by DeAngelo Hall. The Redskins scored on three straight possessions and took a 23-14 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter. But Romo converted a fourth-and-6 at the Washington 40-yard line to set up a field goal that cut the lead to six with 6:09 to play. The Cowboys started the go-ahead drive at their 13 with 3:39 remaining. A 51-yard pass to Terrance Williams set up the winning score, with the Cowboys surviving the 9-yard loss by Murray when knocking on the door at the 1. "A couple of self-inflicted wounds in the second half hurt us," Dallas coach Jason Garrett said. "But you keep playing. Our guys scratched, clawed, and fought." Notes: Michael Spurlock, signed Wednesday because of an injury to Dwayne Harris, set up a TD with a 62-yard punt return in the first quarter. ... Murray ran for 96 yards, becoming the first Cowboys back to rush for 1,000 yards since Julius Jones in 2006. ... The Cowboys are 5-0 in the NFC East; the Redskins are 0-5. ... Injuries: Cowboys RB Phillip Tanner (head) and Redskins LBs Brian Orakpo (right groin) and Nick Barnett (sprained left knee). ' ' '