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TORONTO -- Before Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil were born
TORONTO -- Before Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil were born and when they werent yet old enough to hold tennis rackets, a generation of Swedes led by Stefan Edberg, Bjorn Borg and Mats Wilander swept the tennis world. Cheap Arizona Cardinals Gear . Now it might be Raonic and Pospisils turn to do the same as Canadians. "I think theres a chance now with the guys in Canada here that they can do the same journey," Edberg said. "It should be a very exciting time for Canadian tennis going forward now." Considering Raonic beating Pospisil on Sunday in the Citi Open was the first all-Canadian final in the history of the mens tour, this journey is just getting started. What the match also illustrated is that Pospisil has a ways to go to catch up with Raonic, even though hes showing evidence of following him up the rankings. Pospisil, who will face Richard Gasquet in the first round of the Rogers Cup on Tuesday, is ranked 27th in the world after reaching his first ATP final. Raonic is back up to his career high of sixth after winning his sixth title. "For me, just seeing him, growing up with him and beating him when we were younger just motivated me a little bit and feeling I could do it, too," Pospisil said Monday. "I have a lot of areas of my game that I need to work on and fully develop to reach the top 10." Raonic is still the standard for Pospisil and this new generation of Canadian mens tennis players, but the Vancouver native is making strides, especially recently. A back injury contributed to a streak of eight consecutive losses from February through the French Open, and it took some time before Pospisil was 100 per cent again. "I got healthy for the first time this year the week before Wimbledon, and then I built a pretty good momentum," he said. "I felt every week I have been improving, and I feel like Ive got a good groove now." Pospisil got his groove back during doubles play at Wimbledon when he and American partner Jack Sock won it all. Raonic said that doubles run mightve given Pospisil "a perspective and a confidence to really be able to be playing this well that quickly." It has been what Pospisil has called a "pretty amazing couple of years" since being ranked in the 100s. The 24-year-old has improved so much in that period of time that Raonic and others cant help but take notice. "I think hes just constantly getting better, and most importantly you see hes playing consistently a lot of weeks making quarters and hes beating the guys he should be," said Raonic, who is set to play Wednesday night at Rexall Centre. "Thats the first steps you need to make. Thats how you can see that somebody is making progress in a developmental stage." Coming off a tiring week in Washington, Pospisil faces an immediate challenge at the Rogers Cup in the 12th-seeded Gasquet, whom he beat in the Citi Open semifinals. Pospisil used Monday to catch his breath because playing Tuesday is a difficult, quick turnaround. "Im a little bit tired but I wont be tomorrow, just today," Pospisil said. "I didnt get much sleep last night or the night before. So right now Im not feeling great, but I know tomorrow Ill be fit." A third Canadian got into the winning act Monday night as wild card Peter Polansky beat 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist Jerzy Janowicz 7-6(5), 6-4. Polansky, who advances to face second-seeded Roger Federer on Tuesday night, didnt watch the Raonic-Pospisil match in Washington but credits their success as a bit of inspiration. "When youre around your peers and your peers start doing well, I think it pushes everyone and it gives everyone a little extra confidence saying, Im training with this guy, maybe Im beating him a little bit in practice and look where hes ranked," Polansky said. "I think for sure it gives us all a little confidence." Polansky grew up nearby but hadnt won a match at Rexall Centre since 2010. Even though Pospisil has just one victory in four career matches in Toronto, he flashed a wide smile Monday when the topic of playing back home in Canada was brought up. Flash bulbs went off before he explained that excitement about the Rogers Cup served as inspiration over the past couple of weeks. Pospisils lack of success here in the past is much more an indication of where he has been, not where he is as a player right now. Still, hes admittedly a work in progress. "Its an ongoing process over the course of the last 18 months and probably will be the same for years to come, just becoming a complete player all around and being aggressive and thats the key," Pospisil said. "I think thats where I made my biggest jump was when I started being less passive on the court and especially in big moments, and you have to kind of play aggressive and go for it, as all these guys do." With his big, intimidating serve, Raonic is at the point where hes measuring himself against the likes of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Federer. Asked about his best matches of 2014, Raonic pointed to a loss to Djokovic as one of them. Its unlikely Pospisil will look back at Sundays 6-1, 6-4 drubbing at the hands of Raonic in the same way. No matter the opponent, his first final represented an early career milestone. "I would have liked to have been on the winning end of that, obviously, but yeah, its another special moment for me because it was my first final," Pospisil said. "The fact that I was playing another Canadian, Milos, made it more special for sure, I think especially for tennis fans in Canada. But, yeah, I think its more icing on the cake, I guess, for all the good results that we have been having these past few years in Canada." But the match did show a glimpse of what would be the best-case scenario for Pospisil and Raonic: more finals played between the budding rivals. Custom Cardinals Jerseys . Erik Logan, president of the network, said Friday that the postponement was made after meetings with the St. Louis Rams. Arizona Cardinals Jerseys China .A. Happ capped a challenging season with one of his best efforts of the year. http://www.cardinalscheap.com/ .The long-haired pivot, who joined the Alouettes midway through the CFL season and put up a 9-3 record as a starter, will be listed as the top quarterback in training camp next spring.With a full training camp under his belt, the Alouettes will see if he has what it takes to get them back to the Grey Cup game after a four-year absence.MELBOURNE, Australia - Top-seeded Serena Williams will play Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium in the first round of the Australian Open as she begins her attempt to win a 19th Grand Slam singles title.Williams could meet former No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals and Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the semifinals following Fridays draw. The season-opening major begins Monday at Melbourne Park.In the other half, second-seeded Maria Sharapova, who plays a qualifier in the first round, could meet Eugenie Bouchard in the quarterfinals and Ana Ivanovic, whom she beat in the Brisbane International final last weekend, in the semis.Two-time champion Victoria Azarenka, unseeded after an injury-hit 2014, will take on American Sloane Stephens in the first round in a rematch of their acrimonious semifinal two years ago when Azarenka left the court for a medical time out and Stephens questioned her reasons for doing so.Stephens had beaten Williams in the quarterfinals the same year.In the mens draw, No. 2 Roger Federer and No. 3 Rafael Nadal were drawn into the same half. Top-seeded Novak Djokovic and defending champion Stan Wawrinka are in the other half of the draw.Djokovic drew a qualifier in the first round and Federer, who recently won his 1,000th career match when he beat Milos Raonic in the Brisbane International final, will play Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan. Djokovic and Raonic, who also will open against a qualifier, are in the same quarter of the draw.Federer could meet sixth-seeded Andy Murray of Britain, who plays a qualifier in the first round, in the quarterfinals. The 17-time Grand Slam winner also has Baby Fed, No. 10-seeded Grigor Dimiitrov of Bulgaria, in his quarter. Authentic Arizona Cardinals Jerseys. Nadal, still recovering from appendix surgery he underwent in November, has a tough first-round match against former top 10-player Mikhail Youzhny of Russia.Youzhny is a tough rival who knows how to play good in important matches, Nadal said Friday.Its normal that every match is dangerous when you are in good shape. Imagine when you are not playing matches in a row, when you have only played four matches for the last 6-7 months. Every match is really dangerous, anything can happen.Wawrinka will begin his title defence against Marsel Ilhan of Turkey.Starting the year with a Grand Slam and finishing with the Davis Cup, it was an incredible 2014, Wawrinka said as he and Li Na, the 2014 Australian Open womens champion who retired in September, delivered the trophies to the draw location outside the newly refurbished Margaret Court Arena.Wawrinka and Federer were part of the Swiss team that beat France in the Davis Cup final in November, the countrys first win in the competition.U.S. Open finalist Kei Nishikori of Japan also will play a former top 10 player, Nicolas Almagro of Spain, in the opening round. Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion on the comeback from a left wrist injury, will open against Jerzy Janowic, who helped Poland win the Hopman Cup last week.Former No. 1-ranked Lleyton Hewitt, contesting his 19th consecutive Australian Open, will meet Chinese wild-card entry Zhang Ze.Li, who called it quits after four knee operations, said her plans are to open a tennis academy in China and to start a family.___Associated Press writer Jocelyn Gecker contributed to this story. 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