Soukalova missed only one target and completed

MARSEILLE, France -- Yuzuru Hanyu took the lead with an electrifying performance in the short program on Thursday to stay on course for a fourth straight Grand Prix Final figure skating title.In perfect rhythm to the funky sounds of Lets Go Crazy by Prince, the Olympic champion brought the crowd to its feet at the Palais Omnisport, as he earned his season-best score of 106.53.This program cant be completed without the audience, Hanyu said through a Japanese translator. When I got out on the ice this morning I felt really comfortable. I feel like my body was well rested.Two-time former champion Patrick Chan of Canada was second, and defending two-time world champion Javier Fernandez was third after sloppy errors.Although Hanyu had to slightly correct a landing on his opening quad loop, he was clean on his quad salchow and triple toe loop. Even coach Brian Orser was dancing along to the routine beside the rink as the crowd got increasingly louder.Hanyu was probably the only one not totally impressed.My skating skill can still be improved and I can improve my jumps, he said.Chan, a three-time world champion, put some pressure on him with his season-best score of 99.76.I felt pretty happy about todays performance, said Chan, also a two-time Olympic silver medalist. Its my first good short program internationally for a long time.But Fernandezs bid to upstage Hanyu at the Final after finishing runner-up in the past two years looks like a long shot.The Spaniard just about recovered from a fall on his quad salchow and fell again on his flying sit spin to score 91.76.I wasnt happy for sure, more than one mistake this time, he said. We just have to go back to practice to find out what is going on with this short program. When I go to competition there are always mistakes. I just have to keep myself strong for the free program on Saturday.A comeback has precedence: At the worlds in April, he clawed back a considerable deficit on Hanyu to win.The Americans lagged behind, Nathan Chen in fifth place and Adam Rippon in sixth.I was at the Final last year as a junior skater, he said. Its a huge step for me and its cool to be competing with these top-level skaters. Im excited.Rippon admitted to being nervous.Its great to be here. Its a bonus, he said. I want to put out good performances. I got the crowd on their feet today, so thats what my main goal was. Im trying the least amount of quads, so my focus is to skate well overall.Russians Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov nailed all of their jumps for a season-best 78.60 to lead the pairs.We have managed to skate at the same level we trained for, Morozov said. Hopefully we can keep that trend going into the free program.They are ahead of Yu Xiaoyu and Zhang Hao, who also scored a season best, 75.34. The Chinese pair is working well in its first season, having won the Cup of China in Beijing last month.Canadians Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford have a lot to do to win back the title they lost to Russians Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov last year. Duhamel and Radford were recent winners at the NHK Trophy in Sapporo, Japan, but the two-time world champions are in third place here with 71.44 points after Duhamel made a couple of errors.She put one hand on the ice landing slightly awkwardly on a triple lutz, and fell over backward on the throw triple axel.Well, it wasnt the way I wanted to have my birthday go, said Meagan Duhamel, who turned 31 Thursday.Radford was also dejected.Were trying some really difficult elements, the triple Lutz and the throw triple axel, he said. Its frustrating because they were really good in practice, but theyre not transferring into the performance and today they werent even close. Were going to have to review this when we get home.It proved to be a tricky night for the Canadians, with Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau in last place with 60.86. They fell once each. Bilodeau fell back on the triple salchow, and Seguin tumbled forward on the throw triple lutz.Natalia Zabiiako and Alexander Enbert of Russia skated with elegance to the melancholic sound of Georgi Sviridovs Snowstorm but a lack of technical difficulty put them in fifth (65.79) behind Chinas Peng Cheng and Jin Yang (70.84). Cheap Dallas Cowboys Authentic . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. Connor Williams Jersey . 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Payets performances last month helped Slaven Bilics side to two wins and a draw as they stayed in the hunt for Champions League qualification.The Frenchman, who has been called up to his national squad for the friendlies against the Netherlands and Russia, won 41.6 per cent of the vote to beat off competition from West Ham team-mate Mark Noble (39.6 per cent) and Tottenham forward Christian Eriksen (18.8 per cent). That selection was reduced from an initial 12-man list featuring Cesc Fabregas, Diego Costa (both Chelsea), Danny Rose (Tottenham), Fraser Forster (Southampton), Heurelho Gomes (Watford), Jamie Vardy (Leicester), Robert Huth (Leicester), Ross Barkley (Everton) and Salomon Rondon (West Brom).Every month, throughout the English football season, fans will have the opportunity to vote on skysports.com for who they think has been the best player in the Barclays Premier League, Sky Bet Championship, Sky Bet League One and Sky Bet League Two, after Sky Sports teamed up with the PFA to be the digital platform for the Awards. Payets performances helped West Ham to tw