Dein erstes Forum » Kings owner Vivek Ranadive attended the game. .

The clay court season begins its build-up to the French Open with the Monte Carlo Masters this week, and Sky Sports expert Barry Cowan has been pondering the big talking points. Can Murray use Monte Carlo to find form for Roland Garros?For Andy, he has become a great clay court player. Where Andy has a slight disadvantage is that hes not as good stepping onto clay on the first day as the likes of Djokovic, Nadal or even Roger Federer. Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic could meet again in Monte Carlo Murray takes a while to play his best tennis. Every match he plays this week, hell benefit from it going towards the French Open.For Andy its not about winning this week. Its about building momentum. He will put the disappointment of Indian Wells behind him, which is always a difficult period for him. Well start to see Andy play his best tennis. Will it be here in Monte Carlo? I dont know. Murrays route to final Who could he play? Is Djokovic the favourite once again? Novak Djokovic most recently won the Miami Open It certainly looks that way. Its astonishing what Novak is able to do on all surfaces. Hes head and shoulders above the rest. This week is fairly comfortable for him because its his home tournament, as such. Its where he lives, Monte Carlo. Hes played well there in the past few years and, a couple of times, has been a winner.But can he complete a career Grand Slam with a French Open title?For every win he has over the next five or six weeks, every press conference will have the question: Can you cope with the pressure of the French Open? Novak Djokovic celebrates his 2015 Monte Carlo win Last year, I was surprised - I think of most of were surprised - with what happened in the final, and with what Stan Wawrinka produced on the clay. Incredible tennis, his best match ever.But Novak is a better player now than he was a year ago, I think mentally he is even stronger. He is winning so many matches in the mind - not a lot of players believe they can beat Novak when it gets to the crucial stages.Is Djokovic likely to be knocked off the top spot?I expect more of the same - who else can challenge? Who else can step up to the plate? At the moment theres not a long list. Dominic Thiem gave Djokovic a rough ride in Miami But new people emerge. Dominic Thiem has emerged in the past few weeks and I was really impressed with how he played in Miami against Novak.Nadal is traditionally the clay king - but can he still cut it?Its a great topic of conversation. If I look at Rafa last year, and at Rafa throughout all of 2015, could he get back to his best? I felt it would be the clay court season where Rafa would get back to his best because hes able to hit a large repetition of shots and build up confidence. Rafael Nadal has tasted success in Monte Carlo But I look at his performances on clay and on quicker surfaces in the past 12 months and I think hes a better player. The quicker surfaces take away the indecision and doubt that is clearly in Rafas mind.Theres so much doubt in his mind. Buenos Aires and Rio, which were in February after the Australian Open, he wasnt convincing. It will be a fascinating week to see if Rafa can back himself. Its remarkable to say that, given he has won this title eight times and dominated the clay court season for the past decade.Watch the Monte Carlo Masters live on Sky Sports all week. Also See: ATP schedule Tennis on Sky Latest scores Get a NOW TV pass Video OAKLAND, Calif. -- Slow at the start of the series and strong at the end, the San Antonio Spurs wore out the Golden State Warriors the way they have so many other opponents. Tim Duncan had 19 points and six rebounds, Kawhi Leonard added 16 points and 10 rebounds and the Spurs held off a furious final rally to beat the Warriors 94-82 in Game 6 on Thursday night and advance to the Western Conference finals. "Theyve got great character. Theyre competitive. They know theres not a million chances to do this sort of thing. They wanted it," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. Tony Parker shook off a poor start to score 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter and Tiago Splitter added a career-playoff high 14 points for San Antonio, which had a 13-point lead in the third quarter dissolve to two in the final minutes. Stephen Curry shot 10 of 25 from the floor to score 22 points on a nagging left ankle, and Jarrett Jack had 15 points as the injury-saddled Warriors finally tired. The Spurs outshot Golden State 45 per cent to 39 per cent and outrebounded them 46 to 40. Second-seeded San Antonio will open the conference finals at home against Memphis on Sunday. The fifth-seeded Grizzlies eliminated Oklahoma City in five games. The Spurs lost to the Thunder in the conference finals in six games last season after going ahead 2-0. They havent been to the NBA Finals since 2007, when they won their fourth title with a sweep of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Spurs became the first team to win consecutive games in the series and hand the Warriors consecutive losses in the playoffs -- and they did it at just the right time. The Spurs quieted a standing-room-only crowd late in the third quarter and seemingly seized control for good. Instead, the Warriors roared back. Klay Thompson, who had 10 points on 4-for-12 shooting, made a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter that sliced San Antonios lead to three. Then Currys pull-up jumper brought the Warriors within 77-75 with 4:52 to play. Parker was 1 for 13 before hitting a corner 3-pointer before Leonard followed with two free throws to put the Spurs up seven. Jack made a jumper and two free throws to bring the Warriors back again. Then Leonard hit another corner 3-pointer for the Spurs to go ahead 85-79. Curry and Thompson each had consecutive 3s rim out on the same possession that couldve kept Golden State close. But Parker hit anotheer 3-pointer to put San Antonio up 88-79 with 1:15 remaining and send some of the yellow-shirted crowd of 19,596 heading to the exits.dddddddddddd In the end, most still stuck around. Fans serenaded the home team with chants of "Warr-i-ors!" in the final seconds. Curry also grabbed the microphone after the game and thanked fans at half court, breaking the huddle with the crowd, "Just us!" The Warriors had only made the playoffs once since 1994 before this season and hadnt won two games after the first round since 1977. "Its inspiring to think of what we were able to accomplish this year and the foundation that has been laid," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. The Spurs showed incredible ball movement and had the Warriors playing from behind most of the way. San Antonios first 10 field goals came on an assist, going ahead by 10 points in the second quarter and maintaining that cushion until late. Golden State stayed close despite more injury setbacks in a season full of them. Andrew Bogut walked gingerly to the locker room with 8:31 remaining in the second quarter to get his troublesome left ankle re-tapped. Upstart rookie Harrison Barnes fell awkwardly while leaping to contest a layup in the second quarter from Boris Diaw. Barnes hit the court hard and his teammates immediately called for the training staff to attend to him as the arena fell silent. He received six stitches above his right eye at halftime and ran on the court late to start the third quarter, bringing fans to their feet roaring once more. At least for a moment. Barnes left the game in the fourth quarter because of a headache, the team said. He finished with nine points and four rebounds in 31 minutes. The steady Spurs kept making the Warriors work for every shot and grinding out points on the other end. San Antonio took a 61-48 lead late in the third quarter before Golden State started its final surge. The Spurs made sure it wasnt enough. NOTES: NBA Commissioner David Stern, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and prospective Kings owner Vivek Ranadive attended the game. ... T