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. Robert Turbin Authentic Jersey . 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. Justin Britt Jersey . 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.Zach Miller Authentic Jersey . -- Vincent Viola grew up in Brooklyn, graduated from West Point, is a former chairman of the New York Mercantile Exchange and after the Sept.With NFL training camps underway, the league is abuzz with position battles, injury news and rookies making an immediate impact. Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NFL beat. Given His Shot After a strong showing in the teams scrimmage on Saturday, Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel opened practice with the Browns first-team offence on Monday. Manziel electrified the crowd in Akron, Ohio on Saturday while reportedly outperforming incumbent Brian Hoyer. On his first play on Monday, Manziel connected with Travis Benjamin on a 40-yard pass, which Benjamin retreated to catch due to being underthrown. Manziels next pass was tipped and intercepted by safety Donte Whitner. This is the first known involvement for Manziel with the first-team offence in training camp. Out of the Woods? Buffalo Bills quarterback EJ Manuel called the decision to give second-year receiver Robert Woods no snaps with the first team offence in Sundays Hall of Fame game, "a bit surprising." Woods is coming off a productive rookie season where he caught 40 passes for 587 yards and three touchdowns. He caught four balls for 49 yards and a touchdown working with quarterbacks Jeff Tuel and Thad Lewis on Sunday night. "A little bit (surprised) for Woody not to be in with us with the ones. A bit surprising," Manuel said told ESPN.com. "But he did great. He did great. Woodys going to be Woody with whatever hes given. So I was still glad to see him go out there and do a great job." The first-team offence featured Mike Williams and rookie first-roundd pick Sammy Watkins on the outside with Chris Hogan taking snaps in the slot position. Marshawn Lynch Jersey. Woods said after the game he was given no reason for being left off the field from the first-team offence, but that would produce with whoever played with. "It is what it is," the 2013 second-round pick said. "I just come out here and make plays whenever Im in on the field." Wounded Eagle Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper suffered a foot injury over the weekend and is in a walking boot. Cooper is expected to return to practice later this week and though his status for the Eagles first preseason game is in jeopardy, Cooper should be fully healthy for the regular season. The 26-year-old (who will be 27 in September) signed a five-year contract extension following his strong 2013 season. Cooper caught 47 passes for 835 yards and eight touchdowns last season. Cooper faces competition for his starting position from rookie Jordan Matthews in the spot opposite Jeremy Maclin. Struggling Shaq The New York Daily News reports Jets fourth-round pick receiver Shaq Evans has struggled with drops throughout training camp. Evans, one of two wide receivers drafted in the fourth-round this year by the Jets, is not listed amongst the top-six receivers on the Jets current depth chart. Evans struggles continue a disappointing trend for the Jets, as second-round selection tight end Jace Amaro is reportedly also struggling in camp. Due to their draft position, however, both players should make the teams 53-man roster for the regular season. The Daily News described the entire Jets draft class as looking "green." wholesale jerseys ' ' '
