Dein erstes Forum » They lost Lowry and Andrea Bargnani to long-term

LONDON - Not long ago at Wimbledon, Milos Raonic had to tell journalists how to pronounce his name. Less than five months later, things have changed dramatically for the big-serving Canadian, one of the three newcomers playing at the ATP World Tour Finals.At 23, Raonic is now a well-known name on the tour, and the youngest player in the field at the O2 Arena in London — where the eight best players of the year, minus the sidelined Rafael Nadal, have gathered for the season finale.The two other new faces at the indoor tournament are U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic and Japans Kei Nishikori, the first Asian player to qualify for the event.Although the top-ranked Novak Djokovic, 17-Grand Slam champion Roger Federer and Nadal continued to dominate the tour this season, 2014 has seen two new Grand Slam champions and a bunch of new talents emerging.Its nice to see new faces out there with Raonic, Cilic and Nishikori, Federer said. Well see how it plays out this week.Raonic had a breakthrough at Wimbledon, where he reached the semifinals following an early season marred by a left ankle injury. The big-serving Raonic, who was born in Montenegro when it was still part of the former Yugoslavia before his family left for Canada when he was 3, sealed his spot at the finals last week at the Paris Masters after defeating Federer in the quarterfinals.Cilic had an even better season, surprisingly winning his first Grand Slam title after beating Nishikori in a U.S. Open final that few had predicted.I think this year has been the best year of my career with a lot of great tournaments, especially a big success at the U.S. Open, said the 26-year-old Cilic, who climbed from No. 37 to No. 9 in the ATP rankings. I feel that opens a little bit of a door for the other guys, for us from the second line. It shows that tennis is expanding a little bit. And for sure it means there will be a bigger intensity next year and the upcoming seasons, as were going to see in tennis, maybe new Grand Slam winners.Still, the old guard is not ready to surrender. After recovering from back problems, Federer has been enjoying a superb season, losing to Djokovic in the final at the All England Club and claiming five titles. As a result, the Swiss still has an outside chance of beating Djokovic to the year-end No. 1 spot.And Djokovic, seeking a third consecutive title at the O2, added six titles to his collection as he looks to finish the season at the top for the third time in four years.It had been a few seasons since you had four (different) Grand Slam winners, Djokovic said. There is some change in professional tennis in terms of new players and a new generation challenging the top four, who have been winning most of the major titles. But I think this is something normal to expect after many years of Federer vs. Nadal dominance and (Andy) Murray and myself.The 27-year-old Murray, who qualified for the tournament after pocketing three titles this autumn and is gradually making his way back among the elite, also warned the young guns they will need to fight hard to take over from their elder colleagues.There has been a change, but it is not drastic, Murray said. The young guys are improving a lot. A guy like (Grigor) Dimitrov, obviously as well, who just missed out on being here. There have been a lot of firsts for those guys. But the guys you mentioned are up against some of the best players of all time, regardless of how much the younger guys have improved. So its not going to be that easy to just knock them off.Raonic, the first player born in the 1990s to qualify for the finals, could not disagree.I think these guys are knocking on the door, but nobody has kicked that door open, thats for sure, he said. 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In 82 games with the Flyers in 2013-14, Schenn scored 20 goals and added 21 assists.PORTLAND - DeMar DeRozan validated his newly minted All-Star title, spearheading the Raptors comeback on Saturday but theres one play hed like to have back. With just under five seconds remaining - the Raptors having clawed back from a 19-point deficit and pulled within one - DeRozan took the handoff from Chuck Hayes. As he tried to create space, turning the corner with Blazers guard Wesley Matthews draped all over him, the first-time All-Star fumbled the ball off his calf. His reaction was instant and said it all. He knew he, quite literally, dropped the ball. "I lost the ball, I put that one on me," DeRozan said, owning up to the miscue. "Ive got to keep the ball in my hands and not turn it over, at least give us a chance to get a shot off." Fact is the Raptors had that opportunity, a shot to steal a game they had no business hanging around in, because of DeRozans heroics. DeRozan, like the rest of his teammates, came out flat in the first half. Coming off a win in Denver the night before, Toronto shot 35 per cent from the field in the opening 24 minutes, misfiring on all eight attempts from three-point range. As a team they couldnt execute, missed makeable shots and left their defensive effort in the Mile High City. It was ugly. "The first half, we came out with a typical back-to-back approach," said coach Dwane Casey, who was critical of his team after they let up in the fourth quarter of Fridays double digit victory over the Nuggets. "It wasnt us." DeRozan, playing in his second game after missing two with an ankle injury, had just six points, shooting 2-of-8. Whatever was said at the break seemed to wake up the fifth-year guard. DeRozan could do no wrong in the second half, where he scored 30 of his game-high 36 points and recorded 10 of his career-best 12 assists. "I mean, hes an All-Star. Yall see it," said Kyle Lowry, who should be joining DeRozan in New Orleans later this month. "Hes an All-Star for a reason. He did an unbelievable job of making shots, getting to the line and just getting it going. We know. Weve seen it before so its no surprise to us." Lowry, like his backcourt comrade, was also much better in the second half - he had 23 points and eight assists on the night - as were subs Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes, who came in andd helped the Raptors find themselves defensively.dddddddddddd. The resilient Raptors dug deep once again - something weve become accustomed to seeing after slow starts this season - and when it came down to one final possession, there was never a doubt who the play was being drawn up for. "[DeRozan] wanted the ball and when your best player, your All-Star wants to the ball you give him the ball," Lowry said. "They did a good job defensively and [Matthews] is strong enough to do that but Im still getting the ball to [DeRozan] every single time in that position." Within seconds of losing the ball, DeRozan walked off with both hands on his head in disappointment. He tapped his chest as if to say, "my bad" and lifted the jersey over his head. "We put ourselves in that position," Casey said, stressing the poor start. "[DeRozan] wanted the ball, we gave it to him, but I give him props for getting us to that point." "I commend DeMar for carrying us. He put us on his shoulders and took us down the stretch and put us in a position to win. Thats all you ask." The loss - Torontos sixth straight in Portland - said a lot about how far the Raptors have come, how far DeRozan has come. If there was ever any doubt about DeRozans All-Star candidacy or his growth as a leader, Saturdays game served as a silencer. He had his full arsenal on display, demanded the ball with the game in the balance and when it was all said and done he took responsibility for his blunder. No excuses, he pointed the finger at himself. Meanwhile, his team fought the good fight, something they failed to do when they last visited Portland. A year ago, the Raptors experienced the absolutely lowest point of an already low season, dropping an embarrassing 92-74 contest to the Blazers on Dec. 10, 2012, the finale of a winless five-game road trip. They lost Lowry and Andrea Bargnani to long-term injuries in the game, while Amir Johnson was ejected for uncharacteristically tossing his mouth-guard at an official. Their skid in Portland continues, they havent won in The City of Roses in seven years, but theyre not the same team that left the city in turmoil 13 months ago. "We put ourselves in a position to win the game even after all that," Casey said. "So thats what you have to ask for." ' ' '