News » on Thursday night, and the Clippers

TORONTO -- Novak Djokovic heard the names of the players he could face in his opening match at the Rogers Cup and buried his head in his arms. The worlds top mens tennis player didnt need that big of a test out of the gate. Djokovic wasnt happy about having to see either 22nd-ranked Gael Monfils or 35th-ranked Radek Stepanek right away, and he couldve done without Andy Murray being in his quarter of the draw, picked Friday afternoon at Queens Park. But beyond his tough road that awaits at the Toronto tournament, Djokovic cant help but smile given his recent fortune. Within the past month, the 27-year-old won Wimbledon and got married, and he and his new wife are expecting their first child soon. "Its been probably the best month Ive had in my life with Wimbledon title, with wedding and of course a baby coming up," Djokovic said. "Im going back to the business, back to my office, but of course filled with positive energy, with joy, all the beautiful emotions that a person can experience right now. Hopefully I can use that to perform well on the tennis court." Part of Djokovics joy is that hes playing some of the best tennis of his career. Winning at Wimbledon and in Rome and reaching the final of the French Open at Roland Garros gave him a sizable boost of confidence. At the Rogers Cup, which begins with qualifying rounds Saturday and Sunday while the main draw gets underway Monday, Djokovic returns to hard-court play for the first time since winning the Sony Open in Miami in March. Djokovic got to town Thursday with designs on getting some extra practice in. "One thing is to practise, the other thing is to play an official match," Djokovic said. "Im looking forward to the first match, even though the draw is terrible for me. Still, not my fault. Obviously thats something that I cannot influence." Djokovic was joking throughout the draw about the difficult path hell have to take in order to win his fourth Rogers Cup title. Murray, seeded eighth, would be his quarter-final opponent, and Djokovic would have to get through either third-seeded Stan Wawrinka or seventh-seeded Grigor Dimitrov to reach the final. Roger Federer, whom Djokovic beat in a memorable five-set match to capture this years Wimbledon trophy, headlines the bottom half of the draw as the second seed. Federer moved up after defending champion Rafael Nadal withdrew earlier this week because of a wrist injury. Even without Nadal, the Rogers Cup features what Ontarios lieutenant governor, David C. Onley, called "an A-list of international tennis stars." It doesnt get more A-list than Djokovic. "I really do wish you well in the tournament," Onley said to Djokovic. "As a Canadian, though, Im just wishing you a little bit well in the tournament." There are three Canadians in the field: sixth-seeded Milos Raonic, unseeded Vasek Pospisil and wild card Peter Polansky. Raonic, who on Friday beat Steve Johnson in Washington to reach the semifinals at the Citi Open, will face either American Jack Sock or Austrian Jurgen Melzer after his first-round bye. Raonic lost to Federer in the semifinals at Wimbledon, and his game is on the rise whether his friend Djokovic likes it or not. Djokovic joked that Raonic "can get to No. 1 as soon as Im done with my career." He may not get his wish if Raonics rise continues. "He has the clear goal of what he wants to achieve and he says he wants to be the best, so there is a potential in him," Djokovic said. "Hes already an established top-10 player and hes becoming a player that plays really well on the big stage." This is yet another big stage for Raonic, who was born in Montenegro but grew up in Thornhill, Ont., just outside of Toronto. The three Canadians got spread out throughout the 64-player bracket. Vancouvers Pospisil got a rough draw as hell face Richard Gasquet in the first round, while Frank Dancevic of Niagara Falls, Ont., will face a qualifier and Polansky, also of Thornhill, will open against Polands Jerzy Janowicz. Seven qualifying spots will be filled this weekend. In the meantime, Djokovic will try to get continue his sharp play with the U.S. Open not far away. Re-adjusting to being on hard courts is the first step. "Looking at the results throughout my career, hard court is probably my most successful, most preferred surface," Djokovic said. "Its why I have always excitement for playing in events on this surface." Djokovic has plenty of reasons to be excited, whether its about marrying Jelena or becoming a father. Its good to be Djokovic right now. "Its a real joyful moment, and Im blessed to be in a position to play the sport that I love, to be successful in it now back to No. 1 and of course to be married, to become a parent soon," he said. "I cant ask for more from this life, to be honest. I try to nurture what I have and always seek to improve as a tennis player, to improve as a person and to love my wife, otherwise Ill be in trouble." On the court, Djokovic knows it would be difficult to match 2011, when he won the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. But he still has time to make 2014 almost as successful. "Knowing that I have achieved something like that gives me of course always confidence and I do have high ambitions and expectations for myself wherever I go," he said. "Each year brings a new challenge, and I have matured as a player and as a person. I have gotten stronger in certain aspects of my game and physically, as well." JC Tretter Jersey . 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Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford went to work on Pauls mind on the bus ride to their flight home from Oklahoma City after the Clippers blew a 13-point lead in just over four minutes. The fiasco culminated in the All-Star point guards touch foul on Russell Westbrook to set up the winning free throws, sandwiched between two brutal turnovers by Paul -- all in the final 14 seconds. "He was visibly upset, and I told him that game is not on one guy," Griffin said Wednesday at the Clippers training complex. "Its not on him. We made plenty of mistakes down the stretch, plenty of mistakes throughout the game that could ultimately change the outcome. That idea that the game is on him, you understand what hes saying, but its not on him by any means. We still have two games left to play." The Clippers roller coaster of a post-season has careened into another valley after the Thunder stormed back from near-certain defeat with the help of Pauls mistakes and a much-debated out-of-bounds call with 11.3 seconds left. Clippers coach Doc Rivers hadnt changed his opinion one day after declaring the Clippers "were robbed" on that call, although he said he wont file any formal protest. The NBA issued a statement Wednesday night saying the call was made correctly in the absence of clear evidence to change it on replay review. Paul still appeared glum, giving short, clipped answers to questions about his turnovers and the Clippers ability to bounce back in Game 6. "I woke up this morning with a beautiful wife and two beautiful kids," Paul said. "At the end of the day, it is basketball, but theres a lot of guys livelihoods who depend on it, so Ive got to do my part." After three weeks of a circus atmosphere around the Clippers, Rivers stilll believes his young team has gathered enough resilience to force the series back to Oklahoma City for a deciding game.dddddddddddd The Clippers played 43 outstanding minutes in Game 5 to reach the brink of what could have been a benchmark victory in a shift of the Western Conference hierarchy, only to let it slip away. Rivers thinks its a lesson the Clippers needed. "You dont win it easy," Rivers said. "Were trying to do something special here and be something special. And if youre trying to stand out in any job, its going to be hard. Youre going to face adversity, and youve just got to accept that thats part of the process. Yeah, this is hard. Its supposed to be. And thats the only thing I told our guys. Whats going on right now is exactly what should happen to win. You have to go through stuff to win, and youve just got to deal with it." The Thunder travelled to the West Coast on Wednesday with a bit of house money after the comeback by Westbrook and Kevin Durant, who combined for 17 of Oklahoma Citys 19 points in the final 9 1/2 minutes while Los Angeles fumbled, stumbled and finally crashed. Oklahoma City could advance to its third Western Conference final in four years with a victory in Game 6. But the Thunder also recall their own collapse in Game 4 at Staples Center, where they blew a 16-point lead with nine minutes left last weekend. Game 5 told coach Scott Brooks plenty about his teams tenacity. "I like the fact that we did that after the game before," Brooks said. "We had a lot of opportunities to win that game." Neither team has been significantly better in this series: Los Angeles has cumulatively outscored the Thunder 540-539 through five games, with Oklahoma Citys two-man offensive game countering the Clippers more balanced attack. But even after the exhaustion of a seven-game first-round series with Golden State and the continuing drama surrounding owner Donald Sterlings lifetime ban, the Clippers leaders think theyve still got more fight. "I think weve done a pretty good job this season and in the post-season of putting things in the past and just moving forward," said Griffin, who leads the Clippers with 24.2 points per game in the series. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '