The public relations

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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. Djokovic but the Serb won their last meeting for the Sony Open title in March in Key Biscayne, Florida. 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. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . Jeff Carter had two goals and an assist as the Kings stretched their streak to seven wins in a row with a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . And theyre pointing to the NHLs biggest market: Toronto. With Gretzky paid out for what is believed to be $7 to 8 million, Gretzky may be eager to get back into the NHL and TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports that the Maple Leafs are very much interested in The Great Ones services. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку!. -- The Florida Gators are first yet again this season. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . - A lot of scenarios ran through Terrell Suggs head when the Baltimore linebacker prepared to face the Pittsburgh Steelers. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . The Toronto Argonauts running back hurt his left ankle during the teams practice Friday afternoon at Rogers Centre.TORONTO -- Almost three weeks after its last league outing, Toronto FC returns to action Friday night against the New York Red Bulls as the MLS season resumes with a vengeance following a World Cup break. After just two league games in June, Toronto (6-4-1) will go on to play seven in July plus a friendly against Tottenham. Five of those contests are against Eastern Conference opposition, meaning valuable points in the playoff race are on the line. Manager Ryan Nelsen gave his players eight days off following the 1-0 win over visiting San Jose on June 7. They have been training ever since, albeit with sessions pushed forward a little bit to allow players to watch the World Cup in the afternoon. There are different allegiances, although the team is rooting for both Brazil and the U.S. given the presence of TFC goalie Julio Cesar and midfielder Michael Bradley at the tournament. Canadian international Jonathan Osorio is pulling for Colombia, where his parents came from. The U.S.-Ghana game pitted the 12 Americans on the Toronto roster against Ghana-born forward Dominic Oduro. Massage therapist and acupuncturist Marcelo Casal is cheering for Uruguay. The public relations department is still mourning the exit of Italy. While his players enjoyed time off, albeit with a prescribed gym regimen, Nelsen and his coaches were at work planning training sessions. "We might have worked around a nice glass of red," said Nelsen, whose business holdings include a winery back home in New Zealand. Nelsen is expecting a hard contest Friday against the Red Bulls (4-5-6) who are one point behind fourth-place Toronto in the East despite having played four more games. Toronto defeated New York 2-0 when they met in May at BMO Field, with Jermain Defoe scoring early and Luke Moore scoring late. "I think that game was a big game for us," said Nelsen. "We had a few guys out (injured) and wed justt come back from the West Coast after 120 minutes (in an Amway Canadian Championship game in Vancouver) and it was a really, really good performance.dddddddddddd. "New York will have a lot of motivation, in all honesty, to put one back on us. Its at their home field. Ive got a real sense that everybodys desperate to play a game after the break. "Its nice to have a break but everybody wants to get back on the field. I can sense this games going to be a really good one, a good tough one. Im looking forward to it." The host Red Bulls will also be well rested. Star striker Thierry Henry, fresh from a stint as a BBC World Cup analyst, and Colombian defender Jamison Olave have not played since May 27 at Sporting Kansas City, skipping artificial turf games June 8 in New England and June 14 against the New York Cosmos (in U.S. Open Cup play). The Red Bulls Australian star Tim Cahill is slated to be back from the World Cup and could make an appearance Friday night. Cahill did not see action in the Socceroos 3-0 loss to Spain on Monday but scored two goals earlier at the tournament including a highlight-reel volley against the Dutch. "Were expecting them to play," Nelsen said of Cahill and Henry. While hes a Kiwi, Nelsen was raving about Cahills strike against the Dutch while saying it had not got the publicity it deserved. "For me, if a Brazilian did that, or an Argentinian, or a big-country-type player did that, theyd be raving about that for years to come. ... It was of such quality that I didnt think they gave him the credit he really deserved for an over-the-shoulder left-foot volley." "But thats Timmy," he added. "Timmys been scoring those type of goals his whole career. Thats why New York is so lucky to have him." Toronto has two injury concerns in winger Daniel Lovitz (concussion) and Brazilian striker Gilberto (hip flexor). ' ' '