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. Cameron Erving Jersey . 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. Dustin Colquitt Jersey .C. - The Panthers will be without starting defensive tackle Star Lotulelei for Saturday nights NFC divisional playoff game against Seattle after undergoing surgery Wednesday to repair a broken bone in his foot. Reggie Ragland Jersey . "I honestly dont know," he said. Try this: 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds by Rajon Rondo, a 62-37 rebounding advantage by the Celtics and a horrible 4-for-30 shooting performance on 3-pointers by the Nets. http://www.thechiefsshoponline.com/Youth-Phillip-Gaines-Chiefs-Jersey/ . While plenty of statistics illustrate Torontos turnaround in the second year of manager Ryan Nelsens tenure, stopping goals is not one of them.Stat of the week!!! Torontos back-up quarterback, third-year player from Edinboro, Trevor Harris, had two special teams tackles. Never a good thing when thats happening. Although Harris did show us 400-metre strength, speed and endurance while tracking down the speedy returner from West Virginia, Jock Saunders, on the missed field goal return of 121 yards. That play showcases how unpredictable and explosive our great brand of football can be here in Canada and also gives us an insight as to how you can make a bye week only two weeks into the season pay off. To ensure there were no blues, loss of continuity or complacency pertaining to the execution of schemes, the Stampeders coaching staff and players reloaded and actually extended their playbook. This was evident on Saunders missed field goal return. Coach Mark Kilam, in his tenth year coaching for the Stampeders, and fifth as special teams coordinator, had his return teams locked, loaded and dialed in, ready to pounce on this very opportunity. Anticipating a missed field goal, a wall return left was executed like clock work. Saunders, while making an acrobatic catch on the errant field goal attempt as he was tight roping the very back of the end zone, started to his left and quickly became the beneficiary of his teammates hustle and preparation. Before you knew it, Saunders, the first year Stampeder, was bursting down the sideline with Kilam himself not far behind. With sheer determination and athletic ability, Argonaut Harris, who was holding for third year kicker from Alabama-Birmingham, Swayze Waters, on the field goal attempt, somehow tracked down Saunders. Sometimes we see these extra effort and hustle plays pay off, but in this case the Stamps third year quarterback, from Eastern Washington, Bo Levi Mitchell cashed in quickly with a quick TD strike. Bang, ten-point swing just like that! Exciting and unpredictable. To have a designed missed field goal return implemented at this juncture of the season is one thing, but to be able to execute all the moving parts that are required in order to pull it off, is really heady stuff. Another example of how Calgary used the extra prep time to their advantage was the direct snap to Saunders, throwback to Mitchell, chunk it over the top to Anthony Parker. This early in the season, teams are working diligently to find rhythm and consistency in the basics of their respective systems, let alone trying to master plays like the flea-flicker. Maybe Saunders was the only running back who had the ability to throw it back to Mitchell, but to have that play in the game plan at this stage and the way it was executed, is an indicator that Calgary had the extra time and spent it wisely. If you still are not convinced that this extra week of prep time holds merit for teams and in this case the Stampeders, look to whom the Stamps had to replace in only their second game of the season. Missing was Jon Cornish, reigning Most Outstanding Player in the CFL and two electrifying receivers in Nik Lewis and Mo Price. The Stamps offence found a way to survive and even thrive. Second year receiver from Texas A&M,, Jeff Fuller flexed his athletic ability and found the end zone twice, picking up some of the slack. Chris Jones Jersey. Fourth year receiver from University of Calgary, Anthony Parker seemed well versed and more at ease performing his responsibilities, contributing four catches for 101 yards and a score. Third year running back, also from the University of Calgary, Matt Walter continues to round out into form when given the opportunity. Id also say that Walter took on more of a work load than usual in this contest because of the added time the Stamps were afforded. Walter was involved downfield in the passing game on play 115 from scrimmage, a fake screen pass. This is when he releases out of the backfield giving the defence a look like he is going to block the defender whos covering the receiver faking the hitch screen and then at the last possible moment, he turns it up the rail as the defence bites on the screen. You see it all the time in the CFL but primarily with your starters executing these timing plays, not your back ups. Not a believer yet? How about the Stampeders defence shutting down the high powered offence of Toronto led by 12-year veteran quarterback from Sacramento State, Ricky Ray. Ray had his streak of ten games in a row throwing a touchdown pass broken. We are talking about an offence that put up 559 total yards of offence against the defending Grey Cup Champion Saskatchewan Roughriders defence the week before and looked lethal. Defensive coordinator Rich Stubler had his men on point to where they held the Ray-led Argos out of the end zone for just the second time since Ray has been an Argo. Now I must say Ray and company moved the ball between the twenties but thats where the well devised defensive gameplan came into play. Dont give up the big play and make Toronto be patient series after series. In other words, play everything in front of you and rally to the ball. Certainly easier said than done, but the plan was implemented and well executed. So an early quirk/bye in the schedule actually pays off for the Stampeders as they were able to prepare, plug and play players without missing a beat and actually extend a few of their philosophies and schemes in only Week 2 of the season. Calgarys next bye week is a long ways off, coming in Week 16. Ill bet you they will embrace that bye week as much and if not more than they did in Week 2! Heres a look at the remaining bye weeks for each CFL team. Week 1 Ottawa (makes sense to give them a bit more time)Week 2 Calgary (see article above)Week 3 Hamilton (able to get Masoli and LeFevour up to speed and Fantuz and Ellingson another week)Week 4 Saskatchewan (ouch, a two-game losing streak going into this stretch is ugly)Week 5 MontrealWeek 6 EdmontonWeek 7 Toronto (seems like they could use it now)Week 8 None, that means somebody has to play twice during this week and thats TorontoWeek 9 Hamilton Week 10 BCWeek 11 TorontoWeek 12 OttawaWeek 13 WinnipegWeek 14 Toronto (Damn, Toronto gets three, making up for Week 8)Week 15 MontrealWeek 16 CalgaryWeek 17 BCWeek 18 EdmontonWeek 19 SaskatchewanWeek 20 Winnipeg Ready Break!!! Wholesale Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Jerseys 2019 China Jerseys ' ' '