TOKYO - Canadas Milos Raonic defeated Denis Istomin 7-6 (8), 6-3 on Friday to reach the semifinals of the Japan Open. Dominik Hasek Jersey .The 23-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., now holds the eighth and final qualifying spot for the ATP World Tour Finals which begins Nov. 9 in London.Raonic has been aiming for a place in the elite eight-man field all season after missing out in the points race a year ago. But with the remainder of the Japan Open plus the Shanghai Open next week and three more weeks of ATP season play, nothing is guaranteed for Raonic.Ive put it all at the back of my mind, said Raonic. My goals has always been to do well at everything I play. I want to finish the year well a€” thats where my motivation is coming from.Raonic lost the last two finals in Tokyo and will try to reach his third consecutive Japan Open final when he faces Frances Gilles Simon on Saturday.The unseeded Simon advanced to the tournaments four with a 7-6 (4), 6-1 win over American Steve Johnson.In other quarter-finals, Japans Kei Nishikori defeated unseeded Jeremy Chardy of France 6-4, 6-2 while German Benjamin Becker edged American Jack Sock 4-6, 6-1 6-4.Raonic improved his 2014 record to 42-13 and now stands 13-4 at Tokyos Ariake Colosseum in career ATP play.Raonic won in 79 minutes with 15 aces and one break of serve. His own serve was never threatened by 60th ranked Istomin.But Raonic had hoped to be quicker out of the blocks.I struggled to find rhythm at the start, but I played a good tiebreak so I have to be happy, said Raonic. I was able to improve more and more as I went along.Neither player cracked in the 47-minute first set, with Raonic firing an ace to take it into a tiebreaker.Raonic was put to work in the decider, saving an Istomin set point while requiring three of his own to finally win it after Istomin followed a double-fault with a backhand into the net.The second set went much smoother for Raonic, who scored the only break of the match for 5-3 and closed out the win a game later after serving up a double-fault on the first of his three match points. He advanced on his third chance as Istomin hit the net with a return.The Canadian stands 2-0 over Simon, whom he beat at the French Open this year.Ive done well against him but I always want to do better, thats the match situation right there, said Raonic. Alexander Nylander Jersey . JOHNS, N. Ryan OReilly Jersey .S. international midfielder Michael Bradley is complete. http://www.officialsabreshockeyauthentic.com/robin-lehner-jersey/ . However, it wasnt a problem on Monday night. Evgeni Nabokov made 23 saves for his 56th career shutout in the New York Islanders 3-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night.WATERLOO, Ontario - This time, Stacy Lewis says, shes going to take some time to savour being the best female golfer in the world. This time, shes going to be more prepared. And this time, shes hoping it lasts a little longer. "It feels good to be back at No. 1," said Lewis, who is in Waterloo, Ont., at the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic looking for her third win of the season. "I only got four weeks there last year so Im looking forward to hopefully spending a little bit more time there." Lewis took over the No. 1 spot on the world rankings last week when she won her second tournament of the year, the Shoprite LPGA Classic, surpassing Inbee Park. It marked the second time the native of Toledo, Ohio found herself on the top of womens golf, but last time it came as more of a surprise. Not this time around. "Obviously I knew all the scenarios," she said. "I knew what would happen." Getting another win this week wouldnt be out of the question. Lewis, who is sponsored by Manulife, has finished tied for sixth in each of the past two years at Grey Silo. The tournament has proved to be a birdie-fest in its short life – last years winning score was 26-under -- and Lewis just happens to have made 209 of those this year, more than any other player on tour. Of course beyond the wins and the losses and the birdies and bogeys, her story is an inspirational one. She wasnt a great junior player, wasnt the top golfer on her high school team and wasnt heavily recruited by colleges, ending up playing for the University of Arkansas. Oh and there was the scoliosis. For seven and a half years, she wore a back brace for 18 hours a day, hoping to correct the curvature in her spine. After that, she underwent surgery to put in a stainless steel rod and five screws to hold her spinne in place. Dale Hawerchuk Jersey. Golf? She was told she might not even walk again. (Click here to visit Lewis web site and see X-rays of her back pre and post operation) Not a week goes by on tour when she doesnt receive a thank you for being a shining example, or hear a story from someone else in a similar position to her. She encourages them, supports them and even keeps in touch with a number, some of whom arent even golfers. So being atop the world ranking is something special for the ever-smiling, cheery Razorback. "I want to be in this position, I want to be No. 1 in the world and I want to raise the bar," she said. "I want to show people how good we are out here. By me playing good golf, it forces everyone else to play some good golf too." Good golf is something Lewis has been doing for some time now. In the last year and a half, shes won five times and posted 29 top-10 finishes. In the last three and a half years, shes banked more than $6 million. This year? Two victories and 10 top-10s in 12 starts. Despite that, shes pretty low key. The only reward shes splurged on since she joined the LPGA Tour was a new car she bought with the first cheque she made back in 2008 – its a car she still drives. But sitting atop the golf world this time around will be different; shes going to drink it all in and enjoy it, for as long at it lasts. "You know, I think this time Im going to try to embrace it," Lewis said. "I dont want to say theres pressure – I put enough pressure on myself already so I dont need to worry about the rankings. If I stay there for four or 20 or 50 weeks, whatever it is, any time you spend at No. 1 in the world its going to be great." The way shes playing, you can probably expect to see Lewis on top for some time to come. Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Disocunt Football Jerseys White NFL Jerseys Cheap Discount Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys 2020 Wholesale NFL T-shirts NFL Jerseys China ' ' '