in, with jockey Martin Garcia earning his first Cup victor

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. Cheap NFL Jerseys 2020 . The 25-year-old native of Milford, Conn., has 18 points in 41 games this season. The five-foot-eight 166-pound centre also has 28 points (10-18) in 15 games with AHL Oklahoma City. Wholesale China Jerseys Free Shipping . For the Blue Jays the time was Wednesday and the ace was R.A. Dickey. He stepped up. "I feel some responsibility as a stopper from time to time," said Dickey. http://www.wholesalejerseysreview.com/ . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Tonight, Michigans Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ontario. Cheap Jerseys 2020 . Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Buddy Robinson scored 43 seconds apart in the second period to lead the Binghamton Senators to a 4-1 victory over the Bulldogs in American Hockey League action Friday night at the Bell Centre. Fake Nike NFL Jerseys .ca MLB Power Rankings, the third consecutive week that the As have held top spot and the third straight week that they have been one ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays.ARCADIA, Calif. -- Gary Stevens had never won the $5 million Breeders Cup Classic in his long career. Kathy Ritvo came close a year ago with Mucho Macho Man only to settle for second. The veteran jockey and the trainer who got another chance at life after a heart transplant in 2008 teamed up with the hard-knocking horse to win by a whisker Saturday. Mucho Macho Man edged Will Take Charge in a photo finish decided by a nose, making Ritvo the first female trainer to win North Americas richest race at a Breeders Cup that began tragically with the death of a horse in the first race. "I didnt know the photo was as close as it was," said Stevens, who was 0-for-14 in the Classic. Stevens capped his comeback at 50 in stellar fashion, surviving a photo finish in the Classic after winning the $2 million Distaff with Beholder on Friday for a sweep of the biggest races at the two-day world championships at Santa Anita. Ritvo became the fifth female trainer to win a Breeders Cup race and got to celebrate a year after seeing Mucho Macho Man finish second by a half-length to winner Fort Larned. "Thrilling," she said. First, though, Ritvo had to sweat out the results. Mucho Macho Man stretched his neck to hold off Will Take Charge, trained by 78-year-old Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas. "I was just hoping he got it," Ritvo said. "When I saw Gary shake his stick, I was confident. He ran a fantastic race." Game On Dude, the 8-5 favourite who was 5-0 this year, finished ninth on his home track for trainer Bob Baffert and co-owner Joe Torre, the retired Dodgers and Yankees manager. Baffert had an up-and-down day. His filly, Secret Compass, broke her leg in the opening Juvenile Fillies race and had to be euthanized. Then he won two races before Game On Dude lost as the favourite for the second straight year. "When I saw him going real fast on the backstretch, I knew I was in trouble," he said. "Then when Mike (Smith) asked him, there was nothing there. You always feel bad when you get beat, but I feel worse for the horse." Fort Larned wound up fourth. Mucho Macho Man ran 1 1/4 miles in 2:00.72 and paid $10, $4.60 and $3.60 as the 4-1 second choice. The victory likely earned him champion older male honours and may get him consideration for Horse of the Year honours, which Game On Dude could have wrapped up with a win. Current Horse of the Year Wise Dan repeated in the $2 million Mile, winning by three-quarters of a length under Jose Lezcano, a late replacement for Velazquez. He paid $3.60 to win as the 4-5 favourite. Will Take Charge returned $7.20 and $4.80. "Its just a heartbreak that he lost," said Lukas, who won his only Classic in 1999 with Cat Thief. "He did everything right. The jump after the wire we got him." Declaration of War was another head back in third and paid $4.80 to show. Stevens and Mucho Macho Man started moving on the outside around the stretch turn and went after the leaders. They got in front coming out of the turn for home, with Stevens urging the 5-year-old Mucho Macho Man on with a right-handed whip. "They give me a free roll around the far turn," he said. "I think that might have been the winning move." Ritvo, a 44-year-old mother of two, waited six months for a new heart in 2008. Mucho Macho Man first put her in the national spotlight two years ago when he ran in all three Triple Crown races, including third in the Kentucky Derby. "Kathy Ritvo is one of the most underrated trainers in the thoroughbred industry,&qquot; said Finn Green, racing manager for Mucho Macho Mans owners Dean and Patti Reeves.dddddddddddd Lukas put Stevens on Oxbow in the Preakness in May, and they won. "Gary is riding in a zone," the trainer said. "I think we jump-started him in the Preakness pretty good." Last Gunfighter was fifth, followed by Palace Malice, Paynter (trained by Baffert), Flat Out, Game On Dude, Moreno and Planteur. The 30th Breeders Cup got off to a troubling start, with a rare disqualification in the opening race and Secret Compass euthanized because of a broken leg. The $2 million Juvenile Fillies went from strange to tragic over several minutes. The DQ was announced after a green screen went up in a spot approaching the final turn to shield injured Secret Compass from the crowd. "When you lose a horse like that, it just took all the wind out of our sails," Baffert said. "Ive never had something like that happen on a big day. Were all still in shock." John Velazquez, who rode Secret Compass, had emergency surgery to remove his spleen after internal bleeding was discovered shortly before he was to be released from a Pasadena hospital. Ria Antonia finished second but was declared the winner of the 1 1/16-mile race after Shes a Tiger was disqualified by the stewards. They ruled that Shes a Tiger and Stevens drifted out late, bumped Ria Antonia and Javier Castellano, slowing her momentum. It was the first DQ of a winner since the inaugural 1984 Juvenile Fillies race in which Frans Valentine won and later was placed 10th. "This is heartbreaking," said Jeff Bonde, who trains Shes a Tiger. Sent off at 32-1 odds, Ria Antonia paid $66.60, $29.80 and $17.40. The winning time was 1:43.02 and the margin was a nose. Shes a Tiger returned $6.40 and $4.80. Rosalind paid $6.80 to show. Running third at the time, Secret Compass front legs collapsed, slamming Velazquez hard into the dirt. Bafferts 2-year-old filly was euthanized after sustaining a lateral condylar fracture, according to on-call veterinarian Dr. Wayne McIlwraith. "It is the worst type of injury we get, unfortunately," he said. Velazquez was to ride in all nine Breeders Cup races, but he was replaced by other jockeys. Baffert was smiling later when 10-1 shot New Years Day rallied on the rail to win the $2 million Juvenile by 1 1/4 lengths. The colt paid $23 to win, with jockey Martin Garcia earning his first Cup victory. But the trainers emotions were raw. "Just the win is exciting, but in the back of my mind, Im thinking about that filly," he said. Baffert and Garcia also teamed to win the $1.5 million Sprint by a neck with Secret Circle. Baffert earned his third win in the Juvenile, whose winner is typically tagged as the early Kentucky Derby favourite. His other entry, Tap It Rich, finished fifth. Havana, the 5-2 favourite trained by Todd Pletcher, was second. Strong Mandate, trained by Lukas, was third. After the early drama, 3-2 favourite Dank restored order by winning the $2 million Filly & Mare Turf by a half-length over Romantica. Ridden by Ryan Moore, Dank ran 1 1/4 miles in 1:58.73 and paid $5, $3.40 and $2.80. Another favourite, 3-1 Groupie Doll, won the $1 million Filly & Mare Sprint for the second straight year by a half-length. Mizdirection defended her title in the $1 million Turf Sprint for co-owner Jim Rome, the sports talk host. She ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:12.25 under Smith, who extended his record for most Cup wins by a jockey to 20. He won two races on opening day Friday. ' ' '