XRAY - Model racing cars

LONDON - Fresh from a straight-sets loss to one of the games all-time greats, it was difficult for Canadas Milos Raonic to look at the positives from his performance at Wimbledon this year. He made it to the semifinals at the All England Club for the first time and was two wins away from becoming the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam mens singles title. However, his effort Friday against Roger Federer left him disappointed. The Swiss star broke Raonic in the first game en route to a comfortable 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory. "Looking at the big picture, the last two weeks have been in a lot of ways very successful," Raonic said. "I won consecutive matches and put myself into position of the final four here. There are a lot of good things to take from it. "If you had asked before the start would I sign to make the semis, I would have signed. But when you get to this point the greed of human nature takes over. You want so much more and theres nothing wrong with that." Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., appeared nervous at the start of his first Grand Slam semifinal appearance, on the showcase centre court to boot. Federer, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, looked as relaxed as ever. Federer, who owns 17 major titles, broke once in each set and won 61 of 80 points on serve to make it back to a Slam final for the first time since winning Wimbledon in 2012. "I know I can do better," Raonic said. "I was not expecting to play my best, but I was expecting much better. I didnt deal with the situation well today, thats what I can learn from if I reach this situation again. "The worst would be to feel the same way as I do right now." Federer will play Novak Djokovic of Serbia for the mens crown on Sunday. Djokovic, the top seed, ran off six of the final seven points in the tiebreaker to beat Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (7) to advance to his third Wimbledon final in four years. Eugenie Bouchard of Westmount, Que., will play Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in the womens final on Saturday. Bouchard hopes to become the first Canadian womens singles player to win a Grand Slam title. In addition, Vancouvers Vasek Pospisil and American Jack Sock will play Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States in the mens doubles final. And defending mixed doubles champions Daniel Nestor of Toronto and French partner Kristina Mladenovic will take on Max Mirnyi of Belarus and Hao-Ching Chan of Taiwan in semifinal play. Federers dominance against the eighth-seeded Raonic was total. Raonic had 17 aces but also had four double faults and conceded seven break points. Federer was clinical throughout and saved the only break point he faced. "I didnt put in the serves that I needed," Raonic said. "I usually serve better, but he came with the right shots every single time. He hit returns that didnt allow me to get into the match." Before this tournament, the last Canadian to reach a singles semifinal at a major was Robert Powell at Wimbledon in 1908, according to Tennis Canada. Montreal native Greg Rusedski reached the U.S. Open final in 1997 but he was representing Great Britain at that time. Raonic will rise three positions to a career-best ranking of No. 6 when the new ATP rankings are released Monday. He had not been past the second round in each of his three previous appearances at Wimbledon. "I would have liked to have had more experience on centre court before the semifinals," Raonic said. "But it was not the physical things that bothered me. It was knowing the opportunities that lie ahead. I put too much pressure on myself." It will be Djokovics 14th Grand Slam final — and 10th in his last 13 majors. Djokovic won the 2011 Wimbledon title and lost in last years final to Andy Murray. The 32-year-old Federer will be playing in his ninth Wimbledon final. If he wins, he will hold the outright record for mens titles, which he currently shares at seven with Pete Sampras and William Renshaw. Federer would also become the oldest mens Wimbledon champion since the Open era began in 1968. The Swiss great has slipped in the rankings the past two years and failed to get to any Grand Slam finals. This could represent his best chance for another major title. Federer, who has lost only one set and been broken just once the whole tournament, was asked how much it would mean to lift the Wimbledon trophy once more. "A lot," he said. "I must say Im unbelievably proud every time I can walk the grounds here and keep on playing this tournament. I know I dont have 10 left, so Ill try to enjoy it as much as I can. Clearly, the first one was unbelievably special in 2003. "And that I was able to play so successful for so many years here at Wimbledon has been an unbelievable thrill and that I get another chance to go through these kind of emotions is great." Federer holds a career 18-16 advantage against Djokovic, but this will be only their second meeting in a major final. Federer beat him for the U.S. Open title in 2007. Overall, Federer has a 6-5 edge in Grand Slam matches. Theyve faced each other only once before at Wimbledon, with Federer winning in four sets in the 2012 semifinals. "We know each others games," said Djokovic, who will move to No. 1 in the rankings with a victory, replacing Rafael Nadal. "We played many matches on different occasions. We played so many times in semifinals and finals of Grand Slams, different surfaces, big matches over the years. They were very exciting. "And, of course, most of the matches we play against each other went the distance. So Im going to be, of course, physically ready and fit to go the distance this time." The final matchup means that one of the so-called "Big Four" in mens tennis — Federer, Nadal, Djokovic or Andy Murray — will walk away with a Grand Slam trophy for the 36th time in 38 majors. One of the four has won Wimbledon title the past 11 years, seven for Federer. Djokovic, who has lost in his last two major finals and three of the past four, is going for his seventh Grand Slam title. "Of course, there is plenty of motivation from my side to win this Grand Slam final after losing last three out of four," he said. "I want to try to get the title. It would mean a lot mentally for me." The 11th-seeded Dimitrov, with his girlfriend Maria Sharapova watching from his guest box on Centre Court, came in with a 10-match winning streak and had been seeking to become the first Bulgarian to advance to a major final. He pushed Djokovic to the limit but hurt his chances with eight double-faults — including three in a row in one game. ——— With files from The Associated Press. . Parnell will be out much longer if it turns out he needs surgery. But first, he will try resting for two weeks before beginning a throwing program that could last up to a month, general manager Sandy Alderson said. . -- Zach Johnson is like most players at the World Challenge, not sure whether hes still playing in 2013 or if hes in the middle of the new wraparound season that officially started in October. http://www.discountswellbottles.com/swe ... anada.html. The outdoor event will be played on Dec. 31 between alumni of the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers at Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies. . Mika Zibanejad and Jason Spezza scored in the shootout to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 2-1 victory over Nashville on Saturday night. .com) - On the bright side, either the Minnesota Wild or Buffalo Sabres will end their losing streak on Thursday night. DENVER -- Nino Niederreiter hesitated for just a moment after scoring the winning goal, not sure if what he just saw actually occurred. It happened, all right. His Minnesota teammates suddenly skating over to mob him made the moment real. Niederreiter scored his second goal of the game at 5:02 in overtime after Ilya Bryzgalov made a big save filling in for the injured Darcy Kuemper, leading the Wild to a 5-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 7 on Wednesday night. The right winger was a rather unlikely star with his first two goals of the series. "An unbelievable feeling," said Niederreiter, whose team captured their first playoff series since 2003. "I think our heart made the difference tonight." Minnesota trailed 4-3 before Jared Spurgeon scored on a nifty play with 2:27 left in regulation. Spurgeon waited for a clear look at the goal, and then shot it over Semyon Varlamovs shoulder and off the left post. Mikko Koivu and Dany Heatley had the other goals for the Wild, who will face the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks in a second-round series that begins Friday. The two met last season, with the Blackhawks winning in five games. Nick Holden, Jamie McGinn, Paul Stastny and Erik Johnson scored for the Avalanche as they returned to the post-season for the first time since 2010 and tied a franchise record with 52 wins in capturing the Central Division. Not that its much consolation -- not now, anyway. "The toughest part is to not come back tomorrow and be ready for Chicago," first-year coach Patrick Roy said. "We believe in ourselves and its hard to see that its over. "Im sure tomorrow is going to hurt more thinking its over because we still have the emotion of the game." Rookie Nathan MacKinnon couldnt agree more. "It tarnishes the year a lot," said MacKinnon, who had two goals and eight assists in the series. "We wanted to make a run here and we had a chance twice to win the series, once in Game 6 and obviously tonight. Its tough to describe what went on. "Weve got to wait until September to get things going again, which is going to be a long summer, especially watching the playoffs. Its going to be tough." The Avalanchee took a lead on four different occasions, only to have the Wild respond.dddddddddddd. Niederreiter won it for Minnesota on a 2-on-1 break when he sent a shot over Varlamovs shoulder in the fourth overtime of the series. "Its not easy to play against a good team," said Varlamov, whos a finalist for the Vezina Trophy thats given to the leagues top goaltender. "Theyve been playing well against us the whole series." Bryzgalov took over in net for Kuemper midway through the third. Bryzgalov started the series but was replaced by Kuemper in Game 2. The veteran Bryzgalov stopped a shot with his left shoulder early in the overtime, paving the way for Niederreiters winner. It was his only save in 13:15 of action. Now, like most of the season, the Wild have a concern at goalie, especially since coach Mike Yeo isnt sure how badly Kuemper is hurt. "If only we had any experience dealing with this," Yeo jokingly said. "Were fortunate we have good depth at that position." Roys first season on the bench for the Avalanche ended the same way his Hall of Fame goaltending career did -- with a loss to the Wild in Game 7. Roy surrendered the winning overtime goal in 2003. This one was just as agonizing. "We had our chance -- dont kid ourselves," Roy said. "We had our chance and they took advantage of theirs." Niederreiter was starting to heat up in Game 6, but couldnt find the net. That changed on Wednesday. "He raised the bar," Yeo said. "Got himself in trouble now, because this is what we expect." Niederreiter was only happy to contribute. "As a little kid, its exactly the moment you dream about," Niederreiter said. "Im very happy and fortunate that it happened tonight." NOTES: Minnesota F Matt Cooke served the fourth game of his seven-game suspension for his knee-to-knee hit on Avs D Tyson Barrie. Cooke has appeared in the most Game 7s (seven) of any Wild player. ... Yeo said this is the start of a "budding rivalry" between the two Central Division foes. ... Wild F Kyle Brodziak had three assists. ... Colorado Fs P.A. Parenteau and Matt Duchene each had two assists. This was Duchenes second game back after missing almost a month with a knee injury. ' ' '