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CHARLESTON, S. T.J. Lang Jersey .C. -- Eugenie Bouchard won five of the last six games to upset Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the Family Circle Cup quarter-finals Friday. The 20-year-old Canadian beat the second-seeded Jankovic to reach the semifinals at a WTA tour event for the second time this season and fifth in her career. On Saturday, she plays 14th-seeded Andrea Petkovic as she seeks her first title -- something Bouchard thinks shes more than ready for. "Every time I go into a tournament now and every match, I always believe I can win," she said. Even when she falls behind, as happened in her past two matches. Bouchard trailed in the third set against Venus Williams on Thursday and Jankovic this time before rallying to victories. "I feel confidence in myself," she said. Jankovic, a Serb once ranked No. 1, was the latest familiar name to be ousted before the weekend. The 2007 champion joined Serena and Venus Williams and past winners Sabine Lisicki and Sam Stosur. Jankovic was the highest-ranked player left in the field at No. 8. No. 3 seed Sara Errani was also upset in the quarterfinals, falling to 17-year-old qualifier Belinda Bencic. Bencic, who had to win twice last weekend simply to make the field, took over in the final two sets for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory over the 26-year-old Italian. Bencic hadnt made it past the second round in two previous WTA events this year and wasnt expecting to advance to her first tour semifinals "I was hoping for it and I was believing in me that it would come," she said. "Yeah, Im just really happy it came this week." Bencic is the first qualifier to advance this far at the Family Circle, an event where at least one of the top four seeds has reached the semifinals the previous 10 years. On Saturday, shell face unseeded Slovakian Jana Cepelova, who pulled off a final surprise when she easily beat 12th-seeded countrywoman Daniela Hantuchova 6-2, 6-1. Cepelova had defeated world No. 1 and two-time defending Family Circle champion Serena Williams on Tuesday night to start off a week of upsets. Either Bencic or Cepelova will be the first unseeded player in the finals since 2011 when Elena Vesnina lost the championship to Caroline Wozniacki. Errani looked confident and in control in the first set before getting overwhelmed by Bencic, who won 12 of the final 15 games. Errani talked to herself and even threw down her racket as Bencics crisp shots clipped lines and moved out of reach. Petkovic topped ninth-seeded Lucie Safarova 6-3, 1-6, 6-1. The 26-year-old German, ranked 40th in the world, had struggled in recent events. So Petkovic was pleased to shake off Safarova in the final set and advance to weekend play. "Im used to winning at least two, three matches and then losing to the top players, but it was a really tough few weeks for me in the past," she said. "So now Im just really, really happy and kind of relieved." Cepelova said the win over Serena Williams gave her a boost of energy shes carried throughout the work. "Playing against Serena I really learned so much and every match gave me more confidence," she said. Bouchard made it to the Australian Open semifinals this year, losing to eventual champion Li Na. In her only WTA final, she lost to Sam Stosur in Osaka in October. Bouchard trailed 2-1 in the final set. She then dug in to win the next three games and take control. Her steady, strong groundstrokes wore down Jankovic. "It was the third set and your concentration goes down a little bit if youre getting tired," Jankovic said. "It was so close. It could have went either way, if I was a little bit tougher out there and played certain points a little smarter." The two also met in the quarterfinals last year, and Jankovic won 6-2, 6-1. Bouchard was ranked No. 114 then, but shes 20th now. "Well, I didnt want it to be Groundhog Day today, for sure," Bouchard said. "Same tournament, same round, same opponent." Not the same result. T.J. Lang Packers Jersey .com) - Nikolay Kulemin had two goals and an assist and the New York Islanders closed out a hugely successful pre-All-Star- break schedule with a 7-4 decision over the Philadelphia Flyers.Mason Crosby Womens Jersey . Hes got everything thats needed to be a top midfield player. His attitude is first class, hes got strength, he can play, he can pass it and he can score goals,” prophesized Harry Redknapp.ROME -- Milos Raonic was a few points away from locking up a spot in a Masters 1000 final for the second time in his career. Instead a letdown in a second-set tiebreaker proved costly for the Canadian as he dropped a three-set decision to Novak Djokovic on Saturday at the Italian Open. The second-ranked Djokovic will now renew his rivalry with top-ranked Rafael Nadal in the championship match Sunday. There will be an enticing womens championship too, with top-ranked Serena Williams to face Sara Errani, the tournaments first Italian finalist in nearly 30 years. Djokovic took his time before figuring out Raonics massive serve for a 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory in a three-hour match at the Foro Italico. "I did the things I wanted to do. I didnt execute in the moments I would have liked but I did create a lot of opportunities for myself," Raonic said. "I just wish I would have played a few situations differently. I had the right approach but wasnt able to execute well (all) of the time. "I felt I had a chance in the match. I brought my best tennis (so) I could give myself an opportunity -- which I was able to do today. It came down to a few moments and he performed better in those moments than I did." Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., had 55 winners but also made 42 unforced errors. The 23-year-old missed out on three break-point chances in the second set while Djokovic earned an early break in the third for a lead he wouldnt relinquish. "It was a tight match that was decided in the first two sets on a few points," Djokovic said. "He put a lot of pressure on my service games. And when you serve that well, you dont have as much pressure on your return games." Raonics serve flirted with the 230 km/h mark at times and he fired 17 aces. "I cant recall the last time when I was feeling so helpless in the return games," Djokovic said. "It was brutal." In mens doubles action, Canadas Daniel Nestor and Serbian partner Nenad Zimonjic reached the final with a 7-6 (3), 4-6, 12-10 win over Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States. Raonic lost to Nadal in the final of the 2013 Rogers Cup in his lone Masters 1000 final appearance. He will return to a career-high No. 9 in the world rankings on Monday. Raonic will also be a top-eight seed at the French Open in two weeks since Argentinas Juan Martin Del Potro -- currently the world No. 7 -- will be unable to compete because of injury. The Italian Open is the last key clay-court tuneup before the upcoming French Open. Having been stretched to three sets in his opening three matches this week, Nadal finally put in a complete performance with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Grigor Dimitrov in the late semifinal. "Today was a good confirmation that I really played better ... a lot of positive things," Nadal said. "(Djokovic) is playing great and its going to be a really tough match." Nadal holds a 22-18 career edge vs. DDjokovic but the Serb won their last meeting for the Sony Open title in March in Key Biscayne, Florida. Bryan Bulaga Packers Jersey. . Nadal already has a record seven titles in Rome, while Djokovic is seeking his third championship at the Foro Italico. They have met in three finals here, with Nadal winning two of them. Williams overcame a second-set lapse to beat Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 and gain a measure of revenge for a fourth-round loss to the Serb at this years Australian Open. Using vocal crowd support to her advantage, Errani fought back from a 4-1 deficit in the second set for a 6-3, 7-5 win over two-time Rome champion Jelena Jankovic. Williams is aiming for her third Rome title, having won this clay-court tuneup for Roland Garros in 2002 and last year. The American is 6-0 in her career against Errani and lost just one game in their last meeting, in the semifinals of last years French Open. "Shes just taken her game to a whole new level and she has so much confidence beating two really good top-10 players and two really great clay-court players," Williams said, also referring to Erranis win over second-seeded Li Na in the quarter-finals. "So I have a lot of work to do tomorrow. Its not going to be easy. And she has nothing to lose and she has the crowd behind her. So its going to be a really tough match for me." Nadal went the distance against Gilles Simon, Mikhail Youzhny and Andy Murray in his opening rounds this week but had relatively little trouble against Dimitrov, who was playing in his first Masters series semifinal. Afterward, Djokovic appealed for help for his flood-hit native Serbia, and wrote a message of support on a camera lens, adding I love you in Cyrillic. "This is a total catastrophe of biblical proportions," he said. "Half the country is in danger of not having electricity." Errani drew emotion from the crowd. "There were a few moments when I thought I might not pull it off but the fans were huge," said Errani, who is attempting to become the first Italian to win the tournament since Raffaella Reggi took the 1985 title in Taranto. The last Italian man to win was Adriano Panatta back in 1976. Its already Erranis best result since reaching the 2012 French Open final. Jankovic, the 2007 and 2008 Rome champion, repeatedly asked the chair umpire to come down and check marks but none of them were overturned, resulting only in the crowd stepping up its encouragement for Errani. "Just do it, Sara. Just do it, Sara," the fans cheered late in the second set. The highly partisan crowd frequently applauded Errani while points were still being played and cheered even when Jankovic double-faulted. "(The crowd) was all on her side but its normal, shes the local player," Jankovic said. "I tried to stay focused on my game, and play my tennis but she was the better player today." ------ With files from The Canadian Press. wholesale nfl jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' ' |
