similar story, as the Irishman missed four darts to knock him out and Shepherd won 4-3. His third-round opponent was Barrie Bates, who also missed a raft of doubles as Shepherd snatched another 4-3 victory. Again similarly to Leicester, Shepherd had a lot of narrow victories and the ability to keep g

Rafael Nadal must take on Albert Montanes, another fellow Spaniard, in his pursuit for the Barcelona Open title on Thursday.You can see Nadal against Albert Montanes plus a host of other exciting matches from 12.30pm on Sky Sports 1 HD.Spains top player Nadal defeated Barcelonas own Marcel Granollers in Wednesdays second-round match and now finds another fellow countryman blocking his route to glory. Montanes is the world No 104 and hasnt yet beaten Nadal in three attempts - they havent met since the 2014 Rio Open, another clay court event.One to watch Kei Nishikori tasted victory at this event last year Kei Nishikori is the defending champion but finds himself pitted against a dangerous challenger in just the third-round.The Japanese player will meet Jeremy Chardy, the 13th seed, on Thursday - Nishikori has previously won three of their five matches but the Frenchman won their sole clay meeting in Rome three years ago.Potential upset? The eccentric Fabio Fognini is always entertaining Fabio Fognini, whose preferred surface is clay, could spring a surprise against eighth seed Viktor Troicki.The 12th seed Fognini shares a 2-2 head-to-head record with Troicki, with both players having won one match on clay apiece.Watch the Barcelona Open on Thursday from 12.30pm on Sky Sports 1 HD.Also See:ATP scheduleTennis on SkyLatest scoresGet a NOW TV passVideoCheap Portland Trail Blazers Jerseys China . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. Cheap Memphis Grizzlies Jerseys China . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. http://www.cheapbasketballchina.com/cheap-detroit-pistons-jerseys-china_294r.html . Tuesdays surgery at Atlantas Piedmont Hospital was performed by Dr. Xavier Duralde and Hawks team physician Dr. Michael Bernot. Cheap Washington Wizards Jerseys China . Halladay signed a one-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday that allowed the veteran right-hander to retire as a member of team with which he broke into the majors and spent the bulk of his distinguished 16-year career. Cheap New Orleans Pelicans Jerseys China . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee.After Leicester Citys title heroics, Rod Studd looks back at when a 1000-1 outsider almost pulled off a similar fairytale triumph.Kirk Shepherd was a 21-year-old sheet metal worker from Ramsgate that, frankly, no-one had ever heard of. Like Leicester, he had just been promoted up to the big league and was no way expected to challenge for the title at the 2008 PDC World Darts Championship. He was a 1000-1 outsider, which is literally the biggest odds for a player to have reached a world darts final. Leicester City defied odds of 5,000-1 to win the Premier League title You expected Shepherd to be a lamb to the slaughter when he faced world no 4 Terry Jenkins in the first round. Jenkins was wiping the floor with him, but then missed seven match darts and Shepherd somehow scrambled through 3-2, despite having an average of only 79. A little bit like Leicester, Kirk was up and running, but you doubted whether it would last much longer. Sky Live: PL Darts Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor continue battle for top spot on He played Mick McGowan next and it was a similar story, as the Irishman missed four darts to knock him out and Shepherd won 4-3. His third-round opponent was Barrie Bates, who also missed a raft of doubles as Shepherd snatched another 4-3 victory. Again similarly to Leicester, Shepherd had a lot of narrow victories and the ability to keep grinding out results.At times, Shepherd was being outplayed but would mount a crucial counter attack. It would be the same against Peter Manley in the quarter-finals as One Dart went 2-0 up in the final set, only to miss two match darts and Shepherd edged through 5-4. When he reached the semi-finals, you thought hang on a minute, this could be possible.dddddddddddd Rod Studd on Kirk Shepherd You kept thinking he will lose the next match, he will collapse in a minute, it cannot carry on. When he reached the semi-finals, you thought hang on a minute, this could be possible. The least said about his semi-final with Mardle the better. Lets just write Shepherd 6-4 Mardle. No more salt needs to be rubbed into Mardles wounds. Wayne Mardle suffered a shock defeat to Shepherd in the semi-finals Raymond van Barneveld, like Chelsea, was out-of-sorts from the start and lost in the last-16. Phil Taylor would be Manchester City, the favourite for much of the race and then fell away. Whereas Mardle was much like Arsenal - he looked a million dollars and then flattered to deceive.John Part in the final was cast in the role of Tottenham, except on this occasion Spurs would not throw it away. Some Jamie Vardy-style finishing kept Shepherd in the match as he hit a vital 160 checkout to win the second set. Part missed three or four match darts, but Shepherd this time could not conjure up any heroics and the Canadian won 7-2 to claim his third world title. John Part would finally end Shepherds title hopes in the final The fairytale did not quite end in the way that Leicester Citys did, but if it had, it would have been the biggest upset in the history of individual professional sport. Watch all of this weeks Premier League matches on Thursday night from 7pm on Sky Sports 1.Also See:Sky Live: PL DartsAdams open to Slam returnCaven: Leicester inspired mePrem Table ' ' '