01-06-2020, 07:54 AM
MONTE CARLO -- Vancouvers Vasek Pospisil lost his career debut at the Monte Carlo Masters on Monday, falling 6-2, 6-2 in the first round to experienced clay-court player Roberto Bautista-Agut of Spain. The 29th-ranked Pospisil lacks clay-court experience and paid the price against his 45th-ranked opponent who grew up playing on the surface. "Theres a lot you can learn from every loss," said Pospisil. "This one was more about my lack of clay experience, I need to get used to the surface. Working on my movement will help a lot, its something I can improve." Eighth seed Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., had a bye in the first round and will face either Argentinas Federico Delbonis or Taiwans Lu Yen-Hsun in the second round on Wednesday. Pospisil was competing in only his seventh top-level match on clay and now stands 1-6 on the surface. His only victory came in a Davis Cup tie against Ecuador in 2011. Pospisil hasnt played much since the Australian Open due to a back injury. "Considering how little Ive played in general, this was not so bad," said Pospisil. "He played extremely well and didnt miss any balls. I played well on my forehand but obviously clay is not my natural surface. "There was really not much I could have done out there." Pospisil, who committed 18 unforced errors in the opening set, admitted he came to the court with low expectations. "I didnt have too many expectations, Ive been dealing with a couple of injuries and only played points on clay for the first time yesterday." The Canadian said that while he did not want to go into detail, his back felt fine during the match. Pospisil will move onto Bucharest and Munich over the next few weeks as the French Open buildup continues. Elsewhere, Fabio Fognini of Italy was two points away from defeat before rallying to beat Joao Sousa 5-7, 7-5, 6-4. Sousa led 5-2 and 30-0 on Fogninis serve, but the Portuguese player lost his composure and then started complaining to the chair umpire at the end of the second set and midway through the third. "Im not happy today. I was I think a bit lucky," Fognini said. "It was a really difficult match." The 10th-seeded Fognini, who lost to title-holder Novak Djokovic in last years semifinals, was the highest seeded player in action Monday in the clay-court tournament. Fognini failed to serve out the first set at 5-4 and then his game fell apart. "I was completely without energy, without power in my legs," he said. "I have no idea what happened." After Fognini had served out the second set, the crowd jeered Sousa -- who had received a warning during the first set. At 3-2 down in the third, Sousa continued to grumble, saying "its a joke, its a joke." Fognini will play Bautista Agut in the next round. Later in the day, 11th-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain beat Belgian qualifier David Goffin 6-4, 6-1. In other first-round matches, there were victories for Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, Czech players Radek Stepanek and Lukas Rosol; and Spaniards Albert Montanes, Albert Ramos and Pablo Andujar. Rosol beat Evgeny Donskoy 7-5, 6-1; Kohlschreiber won 6-3, 6-4 against Simone Bolelli; Stepanek thrashed Ivo Karlovic 6-1, 6-2; Ramos beat Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, 7-5 and Andujar downed Edouard Roger-Vasselin 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5). On Tuesday, Djokovic plays Montanes in the second round. On Wednesday, eight-time champion Rafael Nadal of Spain faces Gilles Simon or Teymuraz Gabashvili, and fourth-seeded Roger Federer takes on Stepanek. Omer Asik Jersey . Ozuna hit Reeds 2-2 pitch off the batters eye far above the 407-foot sign in straightaway centre. It was the fifth blown save in 25 tries for Reed (1-5) and the ninth home run the closer has allowed in 38 appearances. Nuno, acquired in the deal that sent Brandon McCarthy to the New York Yankees, gave up three hits, struck out a career-high seven and walked one in seven innings. Nicolo Melli Jersey . Louis Blues just continue to roll -- especially against the Nashville Predators. https://www.cheappelicans.com/795u-jrue-...icans.html . Here is a look at all the moves through the first week of NHL Free Agency. The most significant deals will get the full Numbers Game column treatment, like these:Briere-for-Parenteau trade. Pelicans Jerseys 2021 . The hard-serving 22-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., became the first Canadian to be ranked in the Top 10 on the ATP World Tour thanks to his runner-up performance at Rogers Cup in Montreal. New Orleans Pelicans Pro Shop . And while taking highly-touted Simon Fraser offensive lineman Matthias Goossen second overall on Tuesday night will definitely help in an area of need for the club, it was a swap of draft picks that may prove to be his most shrewd move. "When Jesse Briggs started to fall a little bit, you could just see Kyle perk up in his chair.TSN.ca presents its latest weekly power rankings for the 2013-14 Barclays Premier League season. Rankings were weighted evenly between separate lists made by TSN Radio host and soccer analyst Gareth Wheeler as well as TSN.cas soccer editors. *Please note the ranking changes also take into account Matchday 13 that was played November 30th and December 1st, those results are in brackets for each team. 1. Arsenal (Last Week -1) Top of the table Arsenal were solid once again in a professional 2-0 victory over Hull City. Nicklas Bendtner scored his first goal for the Gunners since 2011 in the second minute of the game setting a tone that would not change throughout the contest. Mesut Ozil scored just after halftime and any fight that might have been in Hull was quickly washed away. (3-0W vs. Cardiff) 2. Manchester City (LW-4) Looking to respond to their poor away form to start the season, City picked up a 3-2 victory away to West Brom that was not as close as the score would suggest. They built a three goal lead through Sergio Aguero and a brace from Yaya Toure before conceding twice in the final five minutes plus stoppage time to leave with a one goal victory. (3-0W vs. Swansea) 3. Chelsea (LW-2) Eden Hazard was the story for Chelsea in a wild 4-3 victory over Sunderland. He twice gave his team the lead with strikes in the 36th and 62nd minute of the contest. Frank Lampard and a Sunderland own goal provided the rest of the margin for Chelsea who held fast at the end to capture a very entertaining victory. (3-1W vs. Southampton) 4. Liverpool (LW-3) The story was Luis Suarez and the question was how many could he score against Norwich City. The answer was four goals, all of the highlight reel variety, and add an assist in a 5-1 victory. Suarez has an incredible 11 goals in five games against Norwich, though there doesnt seem to be a side that he cant dominate against right now anywhere in the League. (3-1L vs. Hull City) 5. Everton (LW-7) Bryan Oviedos 85th minute marker helped Everton do something they hadnt done since 1992, pick up a victory at Old Trafford. It looked like it was going to be a solid point for the Toffees before the defender found himself alone in the box and fired home the winner. Romelu Lukaku was strong for Everton in the victory. (4-0W vs. Stoke) 6. Tottenham (LW-9) A 73rd minute marker from Vlad Chiriches and a Lewis Holtby goal nine minute later brought Spurs back for a 2-1 victory over Fulham. The victory was the first in four League games for Tottenham who now find themselves sixth just out of the European places. They were deserved winners of this contest. (2-2D vs. Manchester United) 7. Manchester United (LW-5) Five minutes from picking up a point, United conceded the winner and fell 1-0 at the hands of Everton. Wayne Rooney struck the post and missed another great chance before halftime and two more chances went by the boards in the second half of the game. The Champions now find themselves 12 points off the top of the table. (2-2D vs. Tottenham) 8. Southampton (LW-6) The Saints fell 3-2 to Aston Villa in a game they dominated but in the end found themselves on the losing side. Before the deciding marker they found themselves behind in the game twice and both times were able to equalize including Pablo Daniel Osvaldo just five minutes after they gave up the second goal. 11 minutes after that though, they were trailing once again and this time for good. (3-1L vs. Chelsea) 9. Newcastle United (LW-8) A four match winning streak came to a crashing end at the Liberty Stadium as Newcastle fell on the road to Swansea 3-0. Swansea dominated the contest and though Newcastle had a few claims for penalties waved away, they didnt produce much else on the day. (2-1W vs. West Brom) 10. Swansea City (LW-10) It was a rather easy night for The Swans as they rolled to a 3-0 victory over Newcastle.dddddddddddd Goals from Jonjo Shelvey and Nathan Dyer as well as a Mathieu Debuchy own goal were the difference in the contest. It wasnt all good for Swansea who added striker Alvaro Vazquez to their growing list of injured offensive players. (3-0L vs. Manchester City) 11. Aston Villa (LW-12) Three goals against the run of play led Aston Villa to a 3-2 victory over Southampton in a game the Saints dominated. Gabriel Agbonlahor, Libor Kozak and Fabian Delph were all on target for Villa, with Delphs winner coming in the 80th minute to both seal and steal the three points. (0-0D vs. Sunderland) 12. Hull City (LW-14) Hull was not able to recover from giving up a goal in the second minute of the game as they fell 2-0 at the hands of Arsenal. There really werent many high points for hull in this loss as they hand trouble working their way into the game and as a result were beaten in almost every aspect of the action. (3-1W vs. Liverpool) 13. West Bromwich Albion (LW-11) A late arriving crowd and an even later comeback were the story for the Baggies as they fell 3-2 at the hands of Manchester City. Kickoff was delayed 15 minutes at The Hawthorns due to a traffic jam, while Victor Anichebes goal, late in stoppage time, was only able to make the final score-line a little closer. (2-1L vs. Newcastle) 14. Cardiff City (LW-13) Though they looked good at times in the game, Cardiff was forced to settle for a scoreless draw against Stoke in the only game on Match day 14 that didnt feature a goal. Declan John almost stole the game for his side but wasnt able to find the net for a late winner. (3-0L vs. Arsenal) 15. Stoke City (LW-15) On a day with many goals, Stoke and Cardiff played to a scoreless draw. For Stoke it was a much better defensive performance following their four goal loss to Everton in their last League game. Keeper Asmir Begovic was solid when called upon to help his team leave with a point. (4-0L vs. Everton) 16. Norwich City (LW-16) The Canaries were helpless against Luis Suarez as he tore them apart for four goals in a 5-1 loss to Liverpool. Bradley Johnson scored in the 83rd minute for Norwich, but Suarez sent Raheem Sterling in for a fifth marker to restore the four goal lead he built. It was total domination at the hands of a brilliant player. (1-0W vs. Crystal Palace) 17. West Ham United (LW-17) A headed goal conceded just before halftime was the difference in a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace. The Hammers pressed hard at the end of the game and enjoyed more of the possession throughout the contest but were not able to produce an equalizing marker. (3-0W vs. Fulham) 18. Sunderland (LW-20) The Black Cats were on the wrong end of a seven goal thriller as they well 4-3 to Chelsea. Phillip Bardsley was all over the map for Sunderland as in a two minute span he scored a goal at both ends. His Own goal proved to be the winning marker for Chelsea, while his 86th minute strike gave his team a chance to push for an equalizer that never came for Sunderland. (0-0D vs. Aston Villa) 19. Crystal Palace (LW-19) A 42nd minute marker from Marouane Chamakh was the difference as Palace scored a 1-0 victory over West Ham. This was an important victory as Crystal Palace tries to start a bid for survival in the Premier League and a first at home under new manager Tony Pulis. (1-0L vs. Norwich) 20. Fulham (LW-18) The Martin Jol era might have ended earlier in the week but Fulham are still in poor form as they fell 2-1 to Tottenham. Ashkan Dejagah gave the home side the lead in the second half before Spurs stormed back with two goals in a nine minute span to lay claim to the victory. (3-0L vs. West Ham) ' ' '