Offtopic/fun » was coming from, Stephenson said of De

NEW YORK -- The business end of the seasons last Grand Slam is approaching and, thankfully, most of the top seeds are still alive. Wednesday offers four fascinating, mostly marquee matches, with the winners advancing to the semifinals:Watch every matchAt 11 a.m. ET, all play on the outer courts (juniors and doubles) will begin on ESPN3. Click to watch?multicam.?At noon ET, ESPN and WatchESPN begin coverage of Wednesdays quarterfinal matches. Click to watch.?To view starting times of upcoming days at the US Open, click here.?Live scoringOur real-time scoreboard, updated stats and social handles can be found on one spot: US Open CourtCast.?Schedules?Heres a schedule of whos playing Wednesday. Click here.Wednesday key matchesNo. 10 Karolina Pliskova versus Ana Konjuh, noon ET on Arthur Ashe Stadium (Watch)This one is the outlier. Konjuh, an 18-year-old from Croatia, has been a revelation, knocking off No. 20 seed Kiki Bertens in the first round and No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska in the fourth. The WTAs No. 92-ranked player only made it to the second round of the seasons previous three majors. Pliskova will be a tougher out, however. Her 29 aces are tied for second among women, and she took out No. 6 seed Venus Williams in a terrific three-set match in the fourth round. Pliskova and Konjuh have never met.No. 2 Andy Murray versus No. 6 Kei Nishikori, following Pliskova-Konjuh (Watch)This was the quarter, based on seeds, that the draw foretold. After a scratchy third-round win over Paolo Lorenzi, Murray crushed lackadaisical No. 22 seed Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round, dropping only five games. Nishikori, a finalist here in 2014, has played three four-set matches. Murray leads the head-to-head 7-1, including wins in their past four matchups. Murray scorched Nishikori in Rio de Janeiro a few weeks ago.No. 1 Serena Williams versus No. 5 Simona Halep, 7 p.m. ET on Arthur Ashe Stadium (Watch)This is another quarter bracket that played true to form. Williams cant remember ever serving so consistently, and she has yet to lose a set in her quest to keep the No. 1 ranking. Halep has dropped only one set. She was impressive in dispatching No. 11 seed Carla Suarez Navarro in the fourth round. The history between these two has been one-sided: Serena holds a 7-1 career edge, most recently beating Halep in straight sets at Indian Wells in March. In their only Grand Slam meeting, at Wimbledon in 2011, Serena needed three sets to prevail.No. 3 Stan Wawrinka vs. Juan Martin del Potro, following Williams-Halep (Watch)Although del Potro -- in the midst of yet another comeback from wrist surgery -- is unseeded here, he has beaten the two-time Grand Slam champion in four of six previous matches. Del Potros most recent victory, a few months ago at Wimbledon, was significant. He won in four sets, and it was the beginning of his confident surge back into the elite level of tennis. Del Potro won this tournament seven years ago, his only major victory to date.Rafinha Jersey . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. Mehdi Benatia Bayern Munich Jersey . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami. http://www.soccerfcbayernshop.com/kids-christian-fruchtl-munich-jersey/ . 8 Iowa State on Saturday, sending the Cyclones to their third consecutive loss. The Longhorns (14-4, 3-2) got their biggest win of the season with their third in the row in the Big 12. Dante Bayern Munich Jersey . Thats not a comment on the suspension that banished the Portland Winterhawks general manager and coach from his Western Hockey League teams bench for most of the 2012-13 season. Thomas Muller Bayern Munich Jersey . - Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings was speaking to a group of local high school students earlier this week when the conversation turned to the importance of being prepared when opportunities in life arise.CINCINNATI -- The New York Mets certainly dont have the most desirable travel schedule.They beat the Washington Nationals 5-1 in a nationally televised game Sunday night, then flew to Cincinnati to face the Reds at 1:10 p.m. EDT on Monday at Great American Ball Park.Is that a big difference? Well, yeah, youre still talking about rest, manager Terry Collins said. Weve still got to get to the ballpark, weve got to be there at 11:30 (a.m.), just to get the blood flowing and get the guys out there, loosen them up and get them ready to play.Theyre not going to go board that plane tonight and go right to sleep. That isnt happening. So weve got to somehow make sure that theres a least a little period of time where theyre going to get some rest.Collins said Sunday night that he discussed resting some regulars on Monday but hadnt made any decisions.Monday will be a memorable day for Mets right fielder Jay Bruce, who will play in Great American Ball Park for the first time with his new team. He was traded Aug. 1 by the Reds, the club he played for during his first eight-plus seasons, to New York in exchange for infielder Dilson Herrera and minor league pitcher Max Wotell.Bruce, along with his wife Hannah, are to be honored during pregame ceremonies on Monday.The Mets have won 16 of the past 18 matchups with the Reds, including each of the past 11 games dating to a 2-1 loss on Sept. 16, 2014, at Great American Ball Park.The current 11-game losing streak is Cincinnatis longest ever against the Mets.At 27-15, the Mets have the highest winning percentage at Great American Ball Park of any team in the National League, including the Reds.New York swept the Reds in a three-game series April 25-27 at Citi Field.Right-hander Robert Stephenson, the Reds top-rated rated prospect according to Baseball America, will make his third major league start Monday. He is taking the rotation spot vacated by Homer Bailey, who is beeing skipped due to tightness in his right biceps.ddddddddddddIt has been a roller coaster year for Stephenson, who became the first Reds pitcher to win his first two career starts since Larry Luebbers in 1993. Wayne Simpson in 1970 was the last Reds pitcher to win his first 3 career starts.However, in the minor leagues, Stephenson struggled with his command while going 8-9 with a 4.41 ERA in 24 Triple-A starts. Delino DeShields, his manager at Louisville, said publicly that he wasnt making the adjustments as suggested by the coaching staff and should be embarrassed by his performance.I understood where he was coming from, Stephenson said of DeShields after being recalled on Friday. I was frustrated, too. He apologized. Id be stupid to not listen to coaching.Stephenson (2-0, 3.00 ERA) will be facing the Mets for the first time, and he said he will take solace in the fact that he will remain in the majors for the remainder of the season.Of the three times Ive been called up, this is definitely the most exciting, knowing that Im going to be here for an extended period of time, he said.Right-hander Bartolo Colon (12-7, 3.35 ERA) will start for the Mets. In his career, Colon is 4-1 with a 4.01 ERA against Cincinnati in six starts. He got a no-decision in his lone appearance against the Reds this year, giving up three runs in five innings on April 26 in New York.Cincinnati (57-78) took two of three from the wild-card contending St. Louis Cardinals over the weekend at Great American Ball Park. Meanwhile, the Mets (71-66) won two of three against the Nationals to climb within one game of St. Louis in the race for the second NL wild card.The Reds might be without a key contributor Monday, as center fielder Billy Hamilton left the Sunday game due to a strained left oblique muscle. ' ' '