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MELBOURNE, Australia - Milos Raonic advanced into the second week of the Australian Open for the third time in five years on Saturday. Alex Gordon Jersey . Fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil did not. Raonic was always in control as he won comfortably against Germanys Benjamin Becker 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 while Pospisil was beaten 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 by Spaniard Guillermo Garcia Lopez. Becker, who eliminated Australian Lleyton Hewitt in the previous round, was no match for 22 aces off the racquet of the eighth seed from Thornhill, Ont. It took the winner four match points to see off Becker with a break in the last game. Becker saved the first three Raonic winning chances before the Canadian went through from Beckers double-fault. Raonic took victory with 46 winners, 19 unforced errors while breaking on five of 14 opportunities. Raonic will next face 12th-seeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain, who beat Polands Jerzy Janowicz 7-6 (8-6), 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). Im happy with how Im playing, said Raonic, who played and won on the third showcase court, the Hisense arena. I cant complain, everything has been working for me on this court and the results have been good. My game feels great and Im having a lot of fun. I look forward to going on. Vancouvers Pospisil had been bidding to join Raonic by reaching the fourth round of a grand slam for the first time. But the fitness factor came into play for the No. 60, who had suffered in his previous win on Thursday and withdrew after just nine minutes of doubles on Friday. The Canadian came to the court depleted, committing 40 unforced errors and breaking only one of six times. Pospisil dropped the first two sets but staged a minor rally in the third set, firing off two love games for a 2-1 lead before being overhauled by his Spanish opponent. The Canadian saved a match point before going down to the loss as Garcia Lopez backhand sailed a winner past him down the line. Raonics victory in 101 minutes improved his record over the 41st-ranked Becker to 3-1. Raonic, who played the Wimbledon semifinals last summer, won his 13th career match in Melbourne against four losses. Raonic was never threatened by his journeyman opponent, winning each of the first two sets in 30 minutes. Raonic claimed the opener with a break in the final game with a forehand winner to the corner past Becker. The second set also featured only one break, with Raonic converting for a 4-2 lead. Two games later, Raonic set up two set points with an ace only to double-fault the first chance away. But his 17th ace solved the problem on the second opportunity as he earned a two-sets-to-love lead. In the third set, Raonic broke in the fifth game and climbed to 5-3 before closing it out. Greg Holland Jersey .Y. - Tennessee Titans safety Michael Griffin, and New York Jets defensive players Muhammad Wilkerson and Quinton Coples all have been fined for plays during last Sundays game at Nashville. Jeremy Guthrie Authentic Jersey .C. -- Major League Soccers Vancouver Whitecaps and the City of New Westminster have signed a memorandum of understanding towards bringing a United Soccer Leagues Pro franchise to the British Columbia city.SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- Canada fell shot of an elusive semifinal berth at the FIFA under-17 womens World Cup, but coach Bev Priestman says the Canadians showed they could compete with the best in the world. Marie Levasseur and Sarah Kinzner scored for the Canadians in a 3-2 quarter-final loss to Venezuela on Thursday. The Canadians were hoping to make history as the first Canada side to make the semifinals at the U-17 event. "They outperformed what was expected of them in a very tough group and tried to play a brand of football that were trying to develop throughout our system," Priestman said. Deyna Castellanos, Yosneidy Zambrano and Lourdes Moreno scored for the Venezuelans at the 35,000-seat Nacional Stadium. Castellanos opened scoring in the seventh minute, before goals by Kinzner, in the 19th, and Levasseur, in the 40th, gave the Canadians a 2-1 lead. Zambrano scored the equalizer two minutes before halftime, then Moreno put Veenezuela ahead for good in the 62nd minute. Lorenzo Cain Authentic Jersey. "The girls are obviously very disappointed at the moment, but to be fair to them Venezuela really counter-attacked to make it difficult," Priestman said. "You attack but then you lose the ball and youve got to quickly defend." In the preliminary round, Canada played perennial powerhouse Germany to a 2-2 draw before tying 2012 runners-up North Korea 1-1. The Canadians finished the preliminary round by toppling Ghana 2-1. Venezuela went undefeated through the opening round and hadnt conceded a goal until Kinzners. This was the youngest side Canada has fielded at the tournament. Priestman said she expects some of the players to continue to represent Canada in 2016, at either the under-17 World Cup in Jordan or the under-20 tournament in South Africa. "I expect to see quite a few of the players move up the system this summer in Canada," she said. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
