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One of the reasons New Zealand are expected to fare better than South Africa in Indian conditions is that they have three spinners, three varieties of spinners, two of whom have had success in India in the shortest format of the game. On the other hand, though, Indias batsmen are expected to have improved their game on such tracks. They will be expected to do better than last year, when only Ajinkya Rahane managed to score a hundred and average over 35. It wont be easy, though, should the pitches be similar.Anil Kumble, Indias coach, spoke of the challenges faced by not just Indian batsmen, but any modern batsman batting out of his comfort zone, two days before the start of the first Test in Kanpur.It is quite challenging for a modern-day cricketer to keep changing formats, Kumble said. Invariably, when you are playing the shorter format, its in favour of the batsmen. There is hardly anything for the bowler. So, obviously, when they come to play in a Test match, irrespective of the conditions, seam or spin…We have seen modern cricketers, who, if you look at their records in previous years, they were all good players of fast bowling. But they have struggled on seaming tracks because of what the modern batsman encounters. That goes with all teams. But one good thing we have had is we are coming off a Test series, and we have a long Test season at home. So itll only get better. And in terms of our preparations, we have spent a lot of time focusing on preparing to play spinners, and how to respond to playing spinners. And it will only improve, which youll notice as the series goes by.According to Kumble, the problem persists despite knowing what to expect in todays world of analysis. I dont think there is any intrigue left, but the challenge is to adapt to those conditions as quickly as possible, he said. Its equally the same for the home team as well because youre playing so much of cricket. Its all about adapting to whatever challenges are forthcoming. Yes, the home team certainly has the advantage of knowing and playing in these conditions, growing up in these conditions.For a foreign team, since they travel so much - and even for the Indian team now because we have travelled so much - the conditions are no longer alien. Its all about how good and how committed you are, and what kind of quality cricket you can put across on the park.Indias preparations have been thorough. They assembled in Kanpur on September 17, five days before the first Test, and began with their fitness tests. Knowing they could have to face a lot of left-arm pace in the series from Trent Boult and Neil Wagner, they called up Delhis Pradeep Sangwan and Rajasthans Aniket Choudhary to bowl in the nets. They were helped by two pretty good local left-arm quicks. Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav, who is from Kanpur, was at the nets too.The training sessions were long and intense. On Monday, they went on for at least two hours either side of their press conference, virtually spending the whole day at the ground. Kumble said they were not underestimating the opposition.The New Zealand team have done really well, Kumble said. They are not just good at home, but they tour really well, and were aware of that. The fact that they have three spinners, yes, we watch them - at least I watched them - two of the three spinners in the World T20. They played a significant role in New Zealands progress. We respect the opposition and we know that New Zealand is a very potent team, not just in the spin department, but all-round as well. We certainly respect their all-round ability. They have different variations in their spin attack - left-arm spinner, offspinner, legspinner. That is something you dont often see in a foreign team. Miami Marlins Gear . 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NEW YORK -- Not many people had Stan Wawrinka and Angelique Kerber down to win the mens and womens titles at the US Open.Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams were both toppled in what was an eventful fortnight in Queens, to say the least.Here are the 10 biggest takeaways from Flushing Meadows:Time for a Big Five?As Wawrinka showed off his new trinket, John McEnroe said on the ESPN telecast that perhaps now it is time we expanded the Big Four to the Big Five.The Swiss has now matched Andy Murray by winning his third major title, and he looks far more likely to win another one sooner than the injured, aging Roger Federer and the dwindling Rafael Nadal.Wawrinka is now just a Wimbledon title away from completing the career Grand Slam, too -- he proved at Flushing Meadows that he deserves to be included in the conversation when talking about the games active greats.Time to change treatment rules?ESPN commentator Patrick McEnroe was not happy with what he perceived to be gamesmanship from Djokovic. The Serb looked to be struggling with leg cramps but took a medical timeout at 3-1 down in the fourth set for what he said was a foot injury, just before Wawrinka was due to serve.Sorry man, Djokovic said to a complaining Wawrinka. I couldnt stand. The world No. 1 took off both of his shoes and had his toes taped by the trainer.But McEnroe was not buying it. Complete abuse of the rules, he said on the broadcast. Its up to the officials to do something about it. They just dont have the guts to do it. Thats the bottom line.Trainers are not allowed to be called on court to treat cramps alone, according to ATP rules, and can only be summoned to provide treatment for an acute medical conditionon changeovers.Wawrinka had to save a break point when play resumed, but he was able to close out the 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 win after 3 hours, 55 minutes.Clock ticking for SerenaSo, Serena is human, after all.Losing to Kerber in the Australian Open final and Garbine Muguruza in the French Open final seemed like mere blips when she claimed her seventh Wimbledon title.But what once seemed unthinkable finally came true when she limped out in the semifinals to Karolina Pliskova here, surrendering her No. 1 ranking to Kerber, the eventual champion.Had she made it to the final and beaten Kerber, Williams would have broken two of Steffi Grafs records. The American would have overtaken the Germans previously unbeaten 186 consecutive weeks at the top of the rankings, and her Open-era best of 22 Grand Slam titles.Williams will turn 35 later this month and is seemingly finding it harder to recover between matches, having appeared to struggle after a quick turnaround from her quarterfinal Wednesday night.I wasnt tired from yesterdays match, she said after her defeat to Pliskova. Im a professional player; been playing for over 20 years. If I cant turn around after 24 hours and play again then I shouldnt be on tour.Missing out on the calendar Grand Slam last year may had a bigger effect on her mentally than first thought, too -- she may not get another shot at it, with her air of invincibility now fading.Kerber can be the new queenWith Williams absent, Kerber and Pliskova put on a thrilling final in Arthur Ashe Stadium and suggested they could be the two big faces of the womens game going forward.Kerber also became the first female player since Serena to win multiple majors in a single year with her three-set victory.Serena, for me, is one of the best players in the world. She is a great person and a great champion, said the German.What she did for the sport, its just incredible. Im trying to go my own way and trying to enjoy now every single moment with my second Grand Slam. Its one of my best years, so I will just try to continue this and just trying, as well, to improving my game and my personality, as well.Just taking the next steps in the next tournaments.Throw in Muguruza, the French Open champion who endured early exits at Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows, and Serena has a huge challenge on her hands to re-establish her dominance.Murray must learn from his mistakesMurray was the man in form arriving at the US Open, with 22 wins from his previous 23 matches, a Wimbledon title and a second straight Olympic gold medal.But those efforts took their toll on the 29-year-olds body.After a few days away, I would imagine Id be very happy with how I have done and learn from this match and the summer as a whole, Murray said after his shocking quarterfinal defeat to Kei Nishikori.Its been tough. Its been a hard summer. Im happy with how its gone. Theres just a few things I could do differently next time.Murrays biggest mistake was agreeing to play in Cincinnati on the heels of his triumphant run in Rio. Perhaps he was just not expecting to make it all the way to the final in the Masters event,, where he lost to Marin Cilic.dddddddddddd.I pushed myself as hard as I could over the last few months, and Im very proud of how I have done, he added. If someone had offered me the summer Ive had before Wimbledon, I probably wouldve signed for that.Rafa has work to doRafael Nadal must keep improving to get back to where his game was.It was unlikely he would challenge for the title, here, given the wrist injury that caused him to withdraw from the French Open after his second-round match and miss Wimbledon. But the 14-time major champion was expected to go further than the round of 16, where he lost a five-set thriller to No. 25 Lucas Pouille.I have the motivation to keep working, he said. Took a long time, a lot of hours, a lot of spirit of sacrifice to be back where I was before the injury this year. Was tough. And now I need to come back there. I dont start from zero. Thats a positive thing. I am closer than last year to be where I want to be.Currently ranked sixth in the ATP Race to London, Nadal must finish the season strong and ensure qualification for the World Tour Finals.That will be a good effort if I make that happen after two months and a half without competition, he added. I going to fight for it.Del Potro can be a threat againAfter three wrist surgeries in the past two and a half years, Juan Martin del Potro began his latest comeback in February ranked 1045 in the world.Today the 2009 US Open champion will be confirmed as the new No. 63 after his stunning fairy-tale run as a wild card to the quarterfinals was ended by Wawrinka.Moving forward, the 6-foot-6 Argentine will not just be a feel-good story but a threat at the Grand Slams. He will use his excellent summer as a springboard for the 2017 season, when a return to the top 10 seems inevitable providing he stays healthy.Never will ask for wild card anymore, he said, smiling. I need to just to stay healthy and wait for the preseason to get 100 percent for next year. Im already top 100, so thats good. And everything here is positive for me. Im so glad for that.Federers absence feltA US Open without five-time champion Roger Federer just feels a little less special.The 17-time major winner missed his first Grand Slam for 17 years after a back injury ruled him out at Roland Garros. His misfortune continued with a knee issue keeping him from competing at Flushing Meadows, and the rest of the season.He has spent his time hiking in the Swiss Alps to take his mind off the pain.Of course it hurts, he told the ATP Tour website during the tournament. I would love to play on Arthur Ashe. I would love to hear the roars of the crowd. Just being in the city would be amazing, being there with all the other players.But he couldnt switch off completely,Im doing fine. Im healthy, and Im enjoying a great time with my family, he added. And I catch myself, very often, checking scores of whats going on.The 35-year-olds time on the tennis court may be coming to an end quicker than we thought, but it bodes well for the game to see that he is still so engaged with it despite his absence -- tennis without Federer at all in some capacity is a dejecting prospect.Kyrgios can hit great heights if he heeds adviceNick Kyrgios showed glimpses in New York that he can be one of the best players in the world if he puts his mind to it.But he also found himself on the receiving end of some criticism from ESPN commentator John McEnroe, after retiring with a hip injury in his third-round match.Nick Kyrgios, if you dont want to be a professional tennis player, do something else, the seven-time Grand Slam champion said. Hes hurt because hes not training enough.It may have just been McEnroes way of getting through to Kyrgios, from one hothead to another.The Australian appeared to take the advice on. John McEnroe takes a stab, I understand, he tweeted, having pledged after his defeat to unseeded Illya Marchenko to be more diligent with his physical work in the gym going forward.Quiet, pleaseThe new $150 million roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium was both a hit and a miss. While it has an obvious upside, the roof seemed to trap every single noise inside the stadium and magnify it, causing a big distraction to the players.The USTA may have to take a look at how it can solve the problem.Murray was the first player affected by it, when the roof was closed for his second-round match.Im sure if the feedback is that, you know, the TV or the spectators arent enjoying the match as much then they will look into it and try and change it, Murray said afterward. But if its fine on TV, which from what I have heard it is fine on TV -- I dont know what the fans have said about it yet, but the players will adjust. ' ' '