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PARIS – Milos Raonic is a much different player than the one who lost in the third round of the French Open one year ago. "Not only am I a better player purely all-around, but also on clay," said Raonic, who is seeded eighth, his highest ever ranking at a Grand Slam event. "Last year, coming in, there was a lot of doubts in my mind, struggling with a coaching change [an emotional split with Galo Blanco] and everything and I just wasnt playing my best tennis leading into it or at the event whereas now Im playing some of my best tennis, definitely my best tennis on clay and I feel like Im getting better each week on the clay." Just last week, Raonic came within a few points of knocking off Novak Djokovic at the Masters 1000 event in Rome, ultimately falling 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 3-6. After the match, the worlds second-ranked player said he could not remember the last time he felt so "helpless" in the return game. "Thats what I want every single one of my opponents to feel," Raonic said. "I know that when I can make them have a lot of doubts and a lot of insecurities on my service games, my return games get easier, because they feel the pressure that they need these games and its about imposing myself and I felt that in that match, I was able to impose myself." Raonic has won 80 pre cent of his first-serve points on clay this season to lead the ATP Tour. Thats up from the 76 per cent last season. "I think its the serve, but also the confidence I have behind the serve when the ball comes back," Raonic explained. "I think Im structuring points better. A lot of the time when people look at serve stats, they think that its just the serve and nothing happens after that, but its how you back it up and I think it creates more pressure on my opponents that when they do get my serve back, its not just about getting it back, they have to do something with it to at least neutralize [the point], because if I start the point ahead, I can finish it off." Raonic is a much more complete player than the one who burst onto the scene three years ago at the Australian Open advancing all the way to the fourth round. That remains the furthest he has progressed at a major (hes reached that stage four times, including twice at the US Open and once more at the Australian Open in 2013). It also matches the furthest any Canadian man has ever advanced in the singles competition at a Grand Slam event. But all signs point to that changing soon as the big server from Thornhill, Ont. seeks to break down yet another Canadian tennis barrier. He beat Andy Murray, seeded seventh at Roland Garros, earlier this season at Indian Wells. He pushed Rafael Nadal, the top seed in Paris, to three sets at a hard-court event in Miami this season. So as he enters the years second Grand Slam, his confidence level against the games elite is very healthy. "Its quite high actually," the 23-year-old said in a matter-of-fact tone. "I feel like every time Im getting better when I put myself in those situations. Its a big focus for me: do well in early rounds so you can face those top guys, because each time you do, youll get more experience." Raonic could get another shot at Djokovic if the draw holds to form and both make it to the quarterfinals, although the road there for the Canadian is littered with tricky propositions. Hell open the tournament on Sunday against Australian wildcard Nicholas Kyrgios. He is ranked 161st right now, but turned heads in Melbourne at the seasons first major by upsetting Benjamin Becker in the first round before falling to Benoit Paire, a top-30 player, in five sets in the second round. The 19-year-old Kyrgios is viewed as a player on the rise. "I followed him a lot, especially in the Australian Open," said Raonic. "He was having some exciting matches. He played really well. He likes to play aggressive. He likes to sort of use the ambiance around him and hes got a big personality in that sense. For me, it really comes down to taking care of what I need to take care of. Ive got to take care of my serve. Ive got to go out there, its the first match, with the attitude. The approach on the mental side is going to be very important and I must make sure I stay with patience. It doesnt matter if moments get difficult, because its still three out of five, just let my game flow and let my game follow." In the second round, Raonic could face 53rd-ranked Czech Lukas Rosol and in the third round, Gilles Simon could be waiting and its certain the Frenchman would have the home fans on his side. Then, should Raonic get to the round of 16, a showdown with ninth-seed Kei Nishikori looms. The Japanese star is 2-0 against Raonic and just beat him in Madrid (straight sets, but both went to a tiebreak). A Canadian man has never made the fourth round at Roland Garros so history seems to be within reach for Raonic, who made it clear he must do better than last years third-round finish if this tournament is to be considered a success for him. And should Raonic make more history at Roland Garros by making the quarterfinals, well, that would be an important milestone, but the rising star is hardly fixated on that benchmark. "It would mean a lot in that moment," he said, "but I dont think it would be very significant at the same time, because my ambitions dont lie in just making the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam." Alex English Jersey .Y. -- Kristen Gillman rallied to win the U. Cheap Denver Nuggets Jerseys . -- With his team down 16 points in the second quarter and headed for another blowout loss at home, Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson yelled out to his players to keep shooting and keep fighting on defence. http://www.cheapnuggetsjerseys.com/. - Rookie Tesho Akindele scored three goals and Fabian Castillo added two in FC Dallas 5-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night. Jarred Vanderbilt Jersey . He made the comment at a media availability Saturday prior to Game 2 of the Boston-Montreal playoff series when a Quebec reporter said there is sentiment in Quebec that the NHL looks more favourably on Seattle than Quebec City when it comes to future expansion. Will Barton Jersey .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner.SAO PAULO, Brazil -- The Formula One season ends this weekend with champion Sebastian Vettel looking to set more records to cap an already impressive year. At the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday, the Red Bull driver can equal Michael Schumachers record of 13 victories in a year and match the nine consecutive wins of Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 53 seasons. The season finale will also see Mark Webber bid farewell to F1, and will be the final race before a series of driver changes at other top teams such as Ferrari, McLaren, Lotus and Williams. The Brazilian GP will also be the last race before significant engine changes revamp the series next year, meaning theres a chance the days of dominance of Vettel and Red Bull could be over. "Its been a pretty good season, so in a way you would like the season to continue," Vettel said Thursday. "But we are also looking forward to the challenge of next year." Vettel was untouchable in 2013 and his dominant performances led to record-setting numbers. Last week at the United States GP, he won for the eighth consecutive time to break Schumachers mark of seven straight wins in 2004. When he clinched the title at the Indian GP, the 26-year-old German became the youngest driver to win four world championships. "I think you have a different approach if you talk about records when you are a sportsman," Vettel said. "There are a lot of records that were not meant to be broken and were broken in the past, and therefore it will be the same in the future. I dont know how long Formula One will exit, probably forever, so the chances are very high that your record or somebody elses record will break one day." A victory in Brazil will put Vettel on the same page as Ascari and Schumacher again, giving more arguments to those who say he can already be considered one of the greatest F1 drivers ever. He said he felt somewhat "embarrassed" to hear such comments from some former world champions. "In the end of the day, similar to them in their time, II like what I do and obviously I dont come here to finish second," Vettel said.dddddddddddd "So If I have a chance to win I want to take it." Despite his dominance this year, winning in Brazil may not be easy. Vettel has not won the season-ending race at Interlagos since 2010. And although he clinched the title last year in Sao Paulo, he finished only sixth after spinning on the first lap following a poor start. Vettel was second to teammate Webber in 2011, when he came into the race with the title already secured. "This race is always crazy," Vettel said. Webber also won the Brazilian GP in 2009, and the Australian is hoping for another win on Sunday to end his 12-year F1 career on a high note. He will be joining Porsche in a racing series in 2014 after saying the "fire was not quite" there anymore for him at F1. "There comes a time when youve got to let go," Webber said. Australian Daniel Ricciardo, from Red Bulls sister team Toro Rosso, will replace Webber in 2014. In other changes, world champion Kimi Raikkonen leaves Lotus for Ferrari, where Felipe Massa drove for eight seasons before losing his ride and joining Williams. The Brazilian replaces Pastor Maldonado, who could be up for the Raikkonen seat at Lotus. When Massa was asked if he thinks Ferrari will miss him in the future, he said "I hope so," before starting to praise the Italian team and saying he wished it "a good future." McLaren, which struggled throughout 2013, will replace Mexican Sergio Perez with rookie Kevin Magnussen of Denmark. Theoretically, all of them may have chances to win next year as F1 changes from the current 2.4-litre V8 engines to a 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged unit, demanding significant alterations in the design of cars and making predictions nearly impossible. "Cars will be different, engines will be different," Vettel said. "Next year certainly is a very big project. There are a lot of things that are still a little bit grey right now." 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