ent this fortnight: Kerber has won all 12 sets shes played so f

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Matt Forte has his sights set on the regular season.The New York Jets running back just needs his hamstring to be ready, too.Despite growing concerns over the health of one of the Jets key players on offense, Forte is confident hell be able to play in the season opener against Cincinnati on Sept. 11.Ill be available, Forte said Tuesday. Definitely.Forte tweaked a hamstring while running on his own before camp opened nearly three weeks ago and hasnt fully participated in a practice during training camp. He did individual drills Tuesday, though, as he did Sunday. The Jets were off Monday, but it marked consecutive practices that the 30-year-old running back was on the field.Forte had not done positional drills since Aug. 2 before working in the past two practices.Its taken longer than I expected just because were being super, super cautious about it, he said. At this point, theres no reason to rush back out there. I got a lot of reps in the offseason. I know the offense. By watching in camp, I know it a lot more. It doesnt take that long to get back into it. So, Im looking forward to being on the practice field soon.Forte, signed as a free agent in March after eight seasons in Chicago, is uncertain whether he will be able to play in any preseason games. He would like to see a few snaps against the Giants on Aug. 27, the last game most of the teams starters will play.In the last five, six years, Ive never played a ton in the preseason, Forte said. As long as Im out at practice, I think Ill be fine.But, if he misses the game against the Giants, too, hes not overly concerned that he wont be ready when the games start to count.Forte has run for 8,602 yards and 45 touchdowns in his career, and caught 487 passes for 4,116 yards and 19 scores during his career. He is coming off a career-low 898 yards rushing in 13 games, but is only two years removed from setting an NFL record for running backs with 102 receptions.This is the most anxious Ive (been) and the most patience Ive had to have with an injury, he said. Ive always looked forward to, obviously, getting out there as soon as possible, but at this point in time, its been a process throughout camp.Forte acknowledged that the training staff has had to hold him back from rushing onto the field too quickly -- and possibly aggravating the hamstring injury.If it was up to me, Id be going at it every day to try to be out there on my own terms, he said. A lot of times, they have to protect me from myself, so I (dont want to) overwork and have a setback.Game notes WR Brandon Marshall has been excused for a day or two, coach Todd Bowles said, but will be ready to play against Washington on Friday night. ... C Nick Mangold got most of practice off so Bowles and the coaching staff could see others at the position. ... DE Muhammad Wilkerson fully participated in practice for the first time in training camp. The team had been easing him back after he broke his right leg against Buffalo in the last seasons finale. He ran around fine, Bowles said. But hes still got some ways to go before he gets in shape. ... OLB Trevor Reilly (leg) and NT Steve McLendon (toe) both returned to practice after missing the past several.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFL Grayson Allen Jersey . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. 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LONDON -- Before looking ahead to the Wimbledon final between Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber on Saturday, take a moment to look back at the Americans second-round match last week.After dropping the opening set against Christina McHale in a ragged tiebreaker, Williams plopped herself in her sideline chair and proceeded to smack her racket repeatedly against the grass, before flinging the equipment so far behind her that it landed in the lap of a TV cameraman.That display earned six-time Wimbledon champion Williams a $10,000 fine. And, more importantly, she has won all 10 sets shes played since.Sometimes when I release that energy, I get kind of calm, Williams said. I just sometimes feel like maybe I need to release.So maybe there was something to the theory, espoused by some, that Williams has been having so much trouble winning her 22nd Grand Slam title because she cared too much about tying Steffi Grafs Open-era record.Listen to the way Williams described the state of her game heading into Saturdays final:I feel good. I felt great in other tournaments, as well. But I feel a little different, Williams said. I just feel more relaxed and more at peace than I may have been in the past.A few minutes later, she was asked to elaborate on what, exactly, she meant.Well, you know, just sometimes, when you are fighting, sometimes you want something so bad, it can hinder you a little bit, Williams explained. Now Im just a little bit more calm.The No. 1 player in the WTA rankings insisted, meanwhile, that her so-close-yet-so-far pursuit of Graf has not been weighing on her.My goal has never been 22, Williams said after her 48-minute workout of a 6-2, 6-0 semifinal victory over Elena Vesnina on Thursday. I dont talk about that anymore.Since winning Wimbledon a year ago for her fourth consecutive Grand Slam title and 21st of her careeer, Williams count has stalled.ddddddddddddShe lost to Roberta Vinci in the U.S. Open semifinals, to Kerber in the Australian Open final, and to Garbine Muguruza in the French Open final.That meeting on a hard court at Melbourne in January was the first major title match for Kerber, a 28-year-old from Germany who considers Graf an idol and has received advice from her.Speaking about Kerbers play in the three-set Australian Open final, Williams said: She came out swinging, ready to win. She was fearless. Thats something I learned. When I go into a final, I, too, need to be fearless like she was.The No. 4-seeded Kerbers left-handed, counter-punching game -- watch during baseline exchanges as she bends so low that a knee touches the ground -- gave Williams trouble that day. Its also created problems for every opponent this fortnight: Kerber has won all 12 sets shes played so far, including during a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Williams older sister Venus in the semifinals.Might Venus offer Serena any advice about how to beat Kerber?Ill give her a few pointers, Venus said. For the most part, shes got to go out there and play the match she wants to play, not that I want her to play.Williams-Kerber II represents the first time in a decade that two women play each other in a pair of Grand Slam finals in the same season: Amelie Mauresmo defeated Justine Henin for the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles in 2006.Can Kerber go 2-for-2 against Williams?I will just try to (go) out there like in Australia, Kerber said, trying to show her, `OK, Im here to win the match, as well. I know that I have to play my best tennis to beat her in the final.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich ' ' '