PC Games » hird, a one-out single by Mike Zunino. Shortstop Al

WASHINGTON -- Milos Raonic has had nearly a month to digest his Wimbledon semifinal loss to Roger Federer. But even after all that time, the sting still lingers. "Im still pretty angry about it," Raonic said of the straight-sets loss to the Swiss star. It was the first Grand Slam semifinal for the hard-serving player from Thornhill, Ont., who reached a career-high sixth in the world rankings. Now ranked seventh, he says the disappointment of not advancing to the final at the All-England Club has left him with extra incentive heading into the hard-court season. "Out of all the ranking climbs that Ive made over the past three years that have been significant to me, its probably the one that I enjoyed the least because I felt that I could have done much better in that situation," said Raonic, who returns to the court this week at the Citi Open. Raonic arrived in Washington last Friday -- five days ahead of his opening match -- rested and rejuvenated but with the July 4 loss to Federer still fresh in his mind. The Canadian is seeded second, behind only fifth-ranked Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. "Its been a lot of frustration, anger and disappointment, specifically to that semifinal, and its actually sort of transformed into a lot of energy to do better, to work harder and now its got me really excited," said Raonic. "It makes me want to play that much more badly and get through these next tournaments." The Citi Open is the first of three straight hard-court events for Raonic, who returns home to Toronto next week for the Rogers Cup before playing in the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati the week after. That Raonic is heading into the hard-court season with extra motivation and a newfound confidence is a potentially scary thought for the rest of ATP Tour. "I have more belief in what I can do and the kind of damage that I can make," said Raonic, who has won 82 per cent of his first-serve points this year, second-most on tour, and is third with 567 aces in 34 matches. "I can make guys feel uncomfortable whether theyre ranked No.1 in the world or No. 50. I dont think anybody enjoys playing me so I have a lot more understanding of that and how to use that to my advantage." Prior to his semifinal run on the grass courts at Wimbledon, Raonic also reached the quarter-finals on the clay courts of the French Open. Overall, the 23-year-old compiled a 16-7 record on grass and clay this spring, after going 8-8 over the same stretch a year ago. Combine the recent success in Europe with Raonics past performances on hard courts and he says "this is the most eager" hes ever felt heading into his favourite time of year. "Its the best thing for my game," he said of the hard courts and the typically hot and humid playing conditions that accompany the North American summer schedule. "After spending four months of tennis where Im adjusting to playing the surface, this is a surface where Im comfortable and where I dont have to worry about OK in this situation, I have to hit this kind of shot. (On hard courts) I have that stuff ingrained in myself naturally." Raonics coach, former world No.3 Ivan Ljubicic, also sees the hard-court season as a tremendous opportunity for Raonic to close the gap with the games elite and to potentially breakthrough with his first career Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open. "His level is much higher than at this time last year," said Ljubicic, who challenged Raonic last August to "save" his 2013 season with a strong tournaments in Montreal, Cincinnati and New York. "Hes shown recently that hes better able to handle certain situations -- the pressure situations -- very well," he said. "Hes got the type of personality and character where he feels more comfortable with a higher ranking, where he doesnt feel the pressure. If anything, he has more hunger to do better." Raonic now has his sights set on defending his ranking points at the Rogers Cup -- he reached the final in Montreal last year before falling to Rafael Nadal -- and building towards a strong U.S. Open. He is also eyeing his first career top-5 world ranking. "I think theres a big opening," Raonic said of joining Nadal and Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic among the top-5. "The biggest threshold and the biggest barrier or wall to pass is the one that Novak and Rafa have on the 1-2 spots. But I think that the rest of the parts, this year specifically, are up for grabs." Rigoberto Sanchez Jersey .ca contributor Grant McCagg provides a look at some risers and fallers on the prospect watch. Christine Michael Sr Jersey . Locke overcame a shaky start to pitch seven innings and Josh Harrison had three hits to extend his hot streak as the Pirates beat the Miami Marlins 7-3 on Wednesday night. http://www.coltsfansshop.com/Colts-Jabaa...Draft-Jersey/.C. -- Carter Ashton had a pair of goals and added an assist as the Toronto Marlies downed the Charlotte Checkers 5-2 on Saturday in the American Hockey League. Andrew Luck Jersey . Top-seeded Djokovic, who is making only his second appearance this year after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over 54th-ranked Istomin of Uzbekistan. "It wasnt as easy as the scoreline indicates," said Djokovic, who has won in Dubai on four occasions. Erik Swoope Jersey . Ryan Callahan trade talks caught a lot of people off guard. Details are now emerging about why the Rangers would consider such a move. Darren Dreger: He wants a lot of money. Its been widely reported that Callahan is looking for a seven-year term around $6 million per year. That is not accurate. Im told that it is more than $6.SEATTLE -- Jason Vargas used his "accelerator" to control the strike zone and it meant his first road victory of the season. It came at a place where he felt like home. Vargas allowed three hits over seven innings and the Kansas City Royals had 16 hits -- all singles -- in a 6-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night. Vargas (3-1), who pitched for the Mariners for four seasons (2009-12), struck out six without a walk. He is 3-1 with a 1.59 ERA in four career starts against his former team. His 2.30 ERA at Safeco Field is tied for the seventh best for a starter in park history Vargas signed a four-year, free-agent deal with the Royals in November. "When hes on his game, like he was tonight, he really works the accelerator really well," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "He pushes down with the fastball, backs off with the changeup. Good curveball. "What pitchers like Vargie do so well is they disrupt the opposition hitters timing. He did that extremely well tonight." Vargas said controlling the strike zone is always his goal "but the execution is not always the same. ... Tonight I was able control counts and able to make pitches down in the strike zone." Salvador Perez, Eric Gordon and Eric Hosmer had three hits each for the Royals while Nori Aoki and Lorenzo Cain had two each. The Mariners have scored just two runs and have 10 hits over the past three games. Brandon Maurer (1-1) took the loss, allowing 14 hits, six runs -- four earned -- and did not walk or strike out a batter. The 14 hits Maurer allowed were just one short of the team record set by Greg Hibbard on May 24, 1994. "This was a weird, weird game," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. "Maurer threw the ball extremely well, gave up two hard hits. They were persistent, put the bat on the ball and found some holes. "It was one of those nights. I didnt look up to see if it was a full moon or not. It was weird." The first hit Vargas allowed came in the third, a one-out single by Mike Zunino. Shortstop Alcides Escobar knocked the hard grounder down but it rolled a few feet away. The other hits were Dustin Ackleys line single to centre in the fifth and Robinson Canos ground single to right in the seventh. "He mixed it up and threw strikes," Mariners third baseman Will Bloomquist said of Vargas. "I saw a couple changeups and they were kind of Jamie Moyer-like, coming out of the back of his hand and falling off pretty good. He threw the ball well." Thee Royals pieced together rallies off Maurer.dddddddddddd Only one run scored on a hit. The rest scored on an error, a sacrifice fly, a double play and two on fielders choices. "We dont care how we get the runs," Hosmer said. "Any way we can produce them. Thats what we need to do. As an offence, we just have to bear down and find ways to produce runs." Aoki opened the game with a single to right followed by Hosmers single to right, with Aoki sprinting to third. Aoki scored on Billy Butlers bouncer to Bloomquist, who tried to start a double play but threw wildly to second, pulling Cano off the bag. Initially, the umpires ruled Hosmer safe on an apparent error but Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon challenged the call. After a review, it was ruled that Cano dragged his left toe across the bag while in possession of the ball. Hosmer was ruled out. Perez bounced into a double play to end the inning. Hosmers sacrifice fly in the third put the Royals up 2-0. Mariners shortstop Brad Millers throwing error in the fourth allowed two more runs. Perez opened with a single followed by a clean bunt single by Gordon. Johnny Giavotella then bounced a potential double-play ball to short but Millers flip to second sailed into right field and Perez scored. Gordon would later score the second run on Cains double-play grounder. Kansas City made it 5-0 in the sixth when Butler scored on Giavotellas fielders choice. Cains one-out single in the eighth scored Perez from second to make it 6-0, ending Maurers evening. The Mariners scored in the eighth off reliever Aaron Crow. Miller drew a one-out walk. Pinch-hitter James Jones then stroked a two-out double into the right-field corner. Miller had stopped at third then trotted home on right-fielder Aokis throwing error. NOTES: Mariners LHP James Paxton, who started the season at 2-0 before suffering a strained lat muscle, threw 25 pitches in a bullpen session before the game. RHP Taijuan Walker (right shoulder impingement) will have his first bullpen session Sunday. There is no timetable for either pitcher. Also, RHP Stephen Pryor, coming off shoulder surgery, is back with Triple-A Tacoma. . Kyle Seager was a late scratch for the Mariners because of flu-like symptoms. Bloomquist replaced him. . The Royals pre-game move to promote Giavotella was necessary because of Omar Infantes ailing back. Infante missed Thursdays game and will be rested for the series. Giavotella was hitting .352 for Triple-A Omaha. To make room, the club sent RHP Michael Mariot to Omaha. 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