MONTREAL -- Milos Raonic came out on top of the all-Canadian semifinal at the mens Rogers Cup, but now comes the real test -- Rafael Nadal. Brian Ferlin Jersey . The power-hitting right-handers cliffhanger 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4) victory over Vasek Pospisil on Saturday made him the first Canadian to reach the final of his countrys biggest tournament since Robert Bedard won it for the third time in 1958. It will be Raonics first final in the Master series, a level of ATP tournament just below the grand slams. The other semifinal was a gem of speed and skill, as Nadal ended Novak Djokovics two-year reign as Rogers Cup champion with 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2) victory. Nadal will be seeking a third title after winning in 2005 and 2008. It had drama, as Djokovic wasnt pleased at all to be accidentally hit in the face by a Nadal cross-court shot in the third set, but there was no harm done. The two traded shots evenly until the third-set tiebreaker, when the crowd favourite Nadal took a 6-0 lead and later saw it end when Djokovic hit a groundstroke a tad long. "Milos is a fantastic player," Nadal said in a courtside interview. "I know him well. He has played a fantastic tournament here. "Im very happy for Canada to have two players in the semifinals." Raonic is 0-3 against Nadal in his career and has never won a set from the Spaniard. "Last time he gave me a whoopin in Barcelona," said Raonic. "It was a very different surface on clay. And at home for him, it was tough. "When I played him in 2010, I was like 200th in the world. I held my own to a certain extent, but he was a much, much better player than I was. In 2011, it was my first tournament back from hip surgery. I think its a different situation this time around. "I have to try to play as much as I can on my terms. Im going to have to serve well. Thats always of highest importance. And Ive got to try of create opportunities for myself through aggressive tennis, rather than waiting for him to make errors." Raonics win will put him into the top-10 in world rankings -- a prestigious spot that only the very good ones ever achieve. "Theyre all very special, but I think the top-10 one stands out more just because its a goal that I set this year," the 22-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., said. "It looked a little bit difficult after how I played recently, but to do it here in Montreal is a relief and its a happy feeling." Meanwhile, it was a tough night for veteran Daniel Nestor of Toronto. He and Swedish partner Robert Lindstedt were thumped 6-3, 6-0 in a semifinal against Wimbledon champion Andy Murray and Colin Fleming. Djokovic and Nadal met for the 36th time, tying the record for the Open Era set by John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl. Nadal leads the head-to-head series (21-15), and cut Djokovics lead on hardcourts at to 11-6. Nadal has won seven tournaments this year, but only one so far on a hardcourt. Still, the king of clay courts is 8-0 on the hard surface. Pospisil, in his best ATP Tour showing, earned $128,960 and 360 rankings points for reaching the semis, which will push his ranking from its current 71st to about No. 40. That completes the Vernon, B.C., natives goal for this year of reaching the top-50. On the court, both played nervously at first and it turned into a serving battle, with few interesting rallies until the final point of the third-set tiebreaker to decide the match. Raonic stretched to get to a Pospisil shot at the net, forcing his opponent to make a lunging volley that went into the net. "I was winning most of the points from the baseline once the rallies were started," said Pospisil. "The tiebreak got away from me a little bit there at the end, a couple of loose points. "But I went for it. No regrets. I didnt want to lose the match playing defensively. I tried to go for it even with the nerves that there were. This time it didnt work out, but thats the right way for me to go." The two Canadians have been playing each other since they were in under-14 tournaments, but while Raonic has used his big serve to shoot up the rankings in recent years, Pospisil has taken a slower route. He has caught fire of late, however, winning a Challenger series tournament last week in Vancouver, then posting three wins at the Rogers Cup, including his first win over a top-20 player (John Isner) and his first over a top-10 (Tomas Berdych). It ended against Raonic, who has been struggling since he won in San Jose in the spring and is now working with a new coach. Now the Davis Cup teammates may become rivals on the ATP Tour. "For my sake, I hope well see each other a lot more," said Pospisil. "That will mean Ill keep up the good form. "I dont see why not because Ive been doing really well the last couple months." The centre court crowd had been on its feet for Canadian players all week, but with two playing each other, the partisan clapping and chanting between points was gone. And there was little to get excited about in the first set, as Raonic had the only service break for a 3-2 lead just after Pospisil let two break points get away. "Early on we were both pretty nervous," said Pospisil. "It wasnt the moment. "It was the fact I was playing Milos. Its probably a little bit the same for him. We played each other so many times. We grew up together. I dont think either one wanted to lose." It all went Pospisils way in the second set as he broke twice for 2-0 and 5-1 leads against a suddenly listless Raonic. Pospisil punctuated set point with a leaping fist pump. Raonic took a restroom break after the set and came back with a strong service game and the two held service through to the tiebreaker. "I had so much bottled up inside of me that it was stopping me from playing my best tennis," said Raonic. "I sort of yelled at myself, got a lot of emotions out, told myself if this is going to happen, its going to be me going out there and pushing as much as I can. "The first game, I started serving 20 km/h harder. I told myself that Ive got to leave it all out there." They were the first Canadians to reach the semifinals of the tournament -- once called the Canadian Open -- since Mike Belkin lost to American Cliff Richey. The last time two Canadians were in the semifinals of an ATP Tour event was in 1990 at Rio de Janeiro, where Andrew Sznajder lost in the final and Martin Wostenholme was beaten in the semis. The Djokovic-Nadal match was another level of tennis entirely, as the current and former world No. 1s exchanged fast-paced, often spectacular rallies. Pospisil earned entry into next weeks tournament in Cincinnati, where he will face Frenchman Gilles Simon in the first round. Raonic is seeded 12th and will play American Jack Sock. Mark Messier Jersey .C. - Nick Merkley and Damon Severson each had a goal and two assists as the Kelowna Rockets downed the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds 6-3 on Saturday in Western Hockey League playoff action. Darnell Nurse Jersey . Its been a successful Games for Canada, which will finish near the top of the medal standings again. From repeat gold medal winners to multiple medal winners to undefeated teams to acts that define the Olympic spirit, there are many solid candidates who could be considered to receive the honour. http://www.oilersauthority.com/authentic-jari-kurri-oilers-jersey/ . The turf is scheduled to give way to actual grass that is bright green, so we dont have to complain any more—we just have to wait a few years. Instead, do feel free to complain if the roof is closed for any reason other than to allow a game to be played.When Brett Lawrie arrived with the Blue Jays in 2011, he looked even at age 21 to have the raw potential to become one of the franchises greats. In a 43-game stint, he batted .293 with nine homers and 25 runs batted in with a .953 OPS. He played spectacular defence and seemed to have a skill for pumping up his teammates and electrifying the crowd. You had to ask yourself how Milwaukee let him get away in that trade for right hander Shaun Marcum? But in the last two seasons, Lawrie has gone through some growing pains. Hes had injury problems, some awkward in-game moments, such as throwing a batting helmat in the direction of an ump, and the berating of a teammate for a perceived miscue on the bases. (Lawrie was wrong). On top of that his production has dropped off, to the point where some have wondered if that blaze of glory in his first stint with the club was a fluke or a flash in the pan. The thing to remember is, Brett Lawrie is only 24. Skipper John Gibbons suggested this week that Bretts peak performance years could still be a couple of seasons away. If you go by a couple of third basemen from the Blue Jays past, Gibbons may well be right. Kelly Gruber spent nine years with the Jays, hitting .259 with 114 homers, 439 runs batted in and 80 stolen bases. He was stolen away from Cleveland in the Rule 5 draft and spent his first couple of years as a Jack-of-all-trades utility man before becoming the primary third baseman in 1987. At age 24 for the Jays he hit just .196 with five homers and 15 runs batted in. It took until 1990 for him to have a star impact season. At 28 years old, he hit .274 with 31 homers and 118 RBIs. Gruber was still the starting third sacker for a division title run in 1991 and for the Jays first World Series victory over Atlanta in 1992. Ed Sprague offers up another example of a player who peaked in his late 20s. Sprague was the Jays regular third baseman for six seasons. After Gruber was moved to the Angels, Sprague took over at third in 1993 at 26. He hit .260 with 12 homers and 73 runs batted in and was a key member of the Jays second straight World Series victory over the Phillies in 1993. Still he didnt have his first really big year until he was 29, when he broke through with 36 homers and drove in 101 runs. Yes there are exceptions to the rule...guys who hit the ground running and continue to thrive practically from the moment they arrive in the Majors. Two of those kind of guys enjoyed brief stints witth the Blue Jays in the last decade. Andrej Sekera Jersey. Troy Glaus came over from the Diamondbacks along with Sergio Santos in a deal for right hander Miguel Batista and infielder Orlando Hudson. Glaus played third for the Jays for two seasons in 2006 and 2007. As a 22-year-old with his original club the Angels, he hit .240 with 29 homers and 79 runs batted in. At 24 with the Halos, he upped his power numbers to 41 homers and 108 runs batted in. Glaus had a good year with the Jays in 06, but his numbers fell off a bit in 2007, and he ultimately asked for a trade since the artificial turf at Rogers Centre was playing havoc with his back. The Jays dealt Glaus to St. Louis for another standout third baseman in Scott Rolen, who had had a falling out with Cards manager Tony LaRussa. As a 22-year-old with his original club the Phillies, Rolen - arguably the best defensive third baseman the Jays have ever had - hit .283 with 21 homers and 92 runs batted in. Rolen only spent one season with the Jays, at age 33 before asking for a trade to the U.S. midwest to be closer to his family. He wound up going to Cincinnati in a deal that saw the Jays land two pitchers, Zach Stewart and Josh Roenicke and a guy named Edwin Encarnacion. The point of all this is, Lawrie is still young enough to take off the way Rolen and Glaus did, or he may take a little longer like Gruber or Sprague. If you want to pipe dream a bit, consider Royals legendary Hall of Famer George Brett. At 24 he batted .312 with 22 homers and 88 runs batted in. The bottom line on Lawrie is, with the defence he plays, and the infectious hustle he plays with, the Blue Jays will be very patient with him indeed. The real Brett Lawrie could even emerge this season, if only he can stay healthy. Spring Roots The Blue Jays may not be leaving their spring training home in Dunedin after all. About a year ago a story first surfaced that the Houston Astros were talking with the Jays about teaming up with them on a new two-team state of the art facility in Palm Beach County on Floridas east coast. The Astros lease with Kissimmee, Florida runs through 2016, so the target date for moving obviously would have been 2017. However a local group of citizens didnt want any part of having this type of complex in their area and threatened a lawsuit. So now the Astros are looking elsewhere in Palm Beach County and are now talking with the Washington Nationals about being their potential partners. 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