Neuigkeiten » ight, too. The junior has been interchangeable with Napier

LONDON -- Canadas Eugenie Bouchard stumbled in her first two Grand Slam semifinal appearances this year. The third time proved to be the charm Thursday at the All England Club. Bouchard defeated Romanias Simona Halep 7-6 (5), 6-2 to become the first Canadian to advance to the womens singles final at Wimbledon. It was the latest achievement in what has already been a historic run for Bouchard at the sports most prestigious event. "After doing well in the past few (Grand) Slams, Ive been believing since the beginning of the tournament that I can do really well," she said. "Im just trying to take it one match at a time. Its really important not to get ahead of ourselves. "I totally feel like I belong, and Im just so excited for the next match." The 20-year-old from Westmount, Que., has yet to lose a set in her six matches so far at Wimbledon. No Canadian had ever reached the womens singles quarter-finals here in the Open era -- never mind the final -- before Bouchard. There could be a Canadian in the mens singles final as well. Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., will take on Switzerlands Roger Federer on Friday with a berth in Sundays championship on the line. This is uncharted territory for Canadian tennis. Before this tournament, no Canadian had ever reached a mens or womens Grand Slam singles final, according to Tennis Canada. The last Canadian to reach a singles semifinal at a major was Robert Powell at Wimbledon in 1908, the organization said. Montreal native Greg Rusedski reached the U.S. Open final in 1997 but he was representing Great Britain at that time. The 13th-seeded Bouchard, who converted her sixth match point to complete the 94-minute victory, will next face sixth-seeded Petra Kvitova on Saturday. "To get to my first Grand Slam final, its very exciting. Its what Ive worked so long for, you know," Bouchard said. "So Im just proud of myself for todays effort." Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champion, beat fellow Czech left-hander Lucie Safarova 7-6 (6), 6-1 in the early semifinal. Bouchard lost in the semifinals at the years two previous majors, the Australian Open and French Open. Shes projected to rise to No. 7 -- the highest ranking for a Canadian woman -- by reaching the final and would go to No. 6 by winning the championship. Bouchard would also be the youngest Grand Slam champion since Maria Sharapova won the 2006 U.S. Open at age 19. "Ive put in a lot of hard work and its been kind of years in the making to me," Bouchard said. "So I believe in myself and I expect good results. Ive had a good start to the season, but I expect myself to do even better than that." In a semifinal that was delayed twice in the first set -- first by a left ankle injury to Halep, and then when a woman spectator fell ill during the tiebreaker -- Halep double-faulted on break point in the second set and then was broken again by Bouchard to give the Canadian a 4-1 lead. The third-seeded Halep, who saved three match points in the seventh game and two more in the final game, appeared to be increasingly affected by her ankle injury and looked down at her feet several times after hitting shots. "It was difficult to continue ... I felt a big pain in the moment, but then was better with the tape," Halep said. "But still, I couldnt push anymore with my leg. My first serve was really bad after that." On Bouchards first match point, Halep hit an ace, but Bouchard did not appear ready to receive, and she went to speak with chair umpire Kader Nouni. But the point stood and Bouchard failed to clinch the match. "When Simona tossed I heard someone scream in the crowd," Bouchard said. "It had happened a few times already. This time I didnt feel prepared to return, so I put my hand up. I felt like we should have replayed the point, but he said, no, it was her point. Just happy I kept my focus and didnt get distracted." The tiebreaker was delayed briefly when the female spectator became ill. With Halep leading 3-2, Nouni jumped from his chair to alert security officials to the womans illness and told both players to go to their sideline chairs. Temperatures on Centre Court were 25 degrees Celsius under sunny skies. Following a delay of about five minutes and after the woman was escorted from the seating area by medical staff, the tiebreaker resumed. The woman returned to her seat later in the match after treatment. Halep had never been past the third round at a Grand Slam until last year, when she made it to the fourth round at the U.S. Open. Then she reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open in January, and got to the final at the French Open last month, losing to Sharapova. In the first semifinal, Kvitova -- the only womens player born in the 1990s to have won a major title -- improved her record to 25-5 on the Wimbledon grass. The 24-year-old has made at least the quarter-finals for five years in a row. "I know how (it feels) when you hold the trophy so I really want to win my second title here and I will do everything I can," Kvitova said. She saved her best for last: Up to 6-all in the tiebreaker, Safarova had won more total points, 40-39. From there, though, Kvitova won 31 of the last 48 points in the match. Kvitova beat Bouchard 6-3, 6-2 in their only previous meeting, a second-round match at the Rogers Cup in Toronto last August. "I find her as a very solid and talented player," Kvitova said. "She is confident in her game right now. Shes moving very well ... shes playing aggressively." After sealing the victory, Bouchard appeared pleased with her performance but kept the jubilation to a minimum. "Its not like a surprise to me -- I expect good results like this," she said. "So for me, I was like, OK good. Its a step in the right direction. I get to play in the final and I still have another match so its not a full celebration yet." Bouchard is the only woman to have advanced to all three Grand Slam semifinals this year. The 2012 Wimbledon junior champion said shes proud to be the first Canadian to make it this far in the tournament. "Its always exciting and special when I can make history," she said. "My job is not done, I want to go another step further. So Im going to stay focused and enjoy it after." Also Thursday, Vasek Pospisil of Vancouver and American Jack Sock upset the second-seeded duo of Alexander Peya of Austria and Bruno Soares of Brazil in mens doubles quarter-final play. The third-seeded team of Torontos Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia dropped a 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 6-4 decision to fifth seeds Leander Paes of India and Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic. Top-seeded Novak Djokovic will play Grigor Dimitrov in the other mens semifinal Friday. The final is scheduled for Sunday. Cheap Chargers Jerseys . His chance at winning a Stanley Cup in Philadelphia is over. Same with Jeff Carter. And Brian Boucher. Throw in Ville Leino and Dan Carcillo. Cheap Chargers Jerseys Authentic . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Tonight, Michigans Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ontario. http://www.cheapchargersjerseyselite.com/. He will be practicing with the Norfolk Admirals (AHL) on a conditioning assignment. - @AnaheimDucks Corey Perry has a knee sprain and will miss the next three to four weeks. Cheap Los Angeles Chargers Jerseys . Marian Gaborik had two goals and an assist and Martin Jones made just 17 saves to record his fourth shutout of the season as the Kings snapped a three-game losing skid with a 3-0 victory over the lowly Oilers on Thursday. Wholesale Chargers Jerseys . Inter Milan ended its five-match winless streak in all competitions by beating 10-man Bologna 3-1 on new manager Claudio Ranieris debut, while injury-plagued AC Milan edged Cesena 1-0 with an early goal from Clarence Seedorf.ARLINGTON, Texas -- Connecticuts 2011 national championship has been characterized as a one-man effort by Kemba Walker. Good as he was, he still needed help from teammates Jeremy Lamb, Alex Oriakhi and Shabazz Napier. Now that its Napiers turn, the same gotta-have-help method has applied -- this time with DeAndre Daniels and Ryan Boatright taking turns at the wheel. Daniels carried UConn out of an early funk, Boatright bulled around Floridas guard at both ends and the Huskies are headed back to the national championship game after a 63-53 victory over the Gators in the Final Four Saturday night. Daniels had 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting and 10 rebounds, and Boatright finished with 13 points to help finish off Floridas 30-game winning streak and send the seventh-seeded Huskies into Mondays title game against Kentucky. "Weve been saying all year that weve got a complete team," Boatright said. "Its not a one-man team. Its not a two-man team. Weve got a complete team." Napier has been UConns unquestioned leader and had a solid night after a slow start, finishing with 12 points, six assists and four steals. But stars often need an occasional lift from their sidekicks, and Daniels and Boatright both did that against Florida (36-3). Daniels, the talented-but-sometimes-inconsistent forward, helped the Huskies (31-8) dig out of an early hole by scoring inside and out. He also hit a couple of big shots down the stretch to prevent the Gators from mounting a comeback. Boatright was like a bulldog all night, consistently getting inside Floridas defence and combining with Napier to hold ailing Gators star Scottie Wilbekin (cramps) to four points and one assist. "I dont know if you all keep thinking its a one-man team, but its not," UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. "Shabazz is the first one to tell you and I keep telling everybody its not just him." During the 2011 run, Walker was the unquestioned lead Husky. But Lamb had some big scoring games during the title run, Oriakhi manhandled opposing big men in the paint and Napier, the confident-but-still-learning freshman, chipped in to earn a championship ring. This has been Napiers team from the start and hes come through as a star player should, including a game-winninng jumper to beat Florida back on Dec.dddddddddddd 2 -- the Gators last loss. In the rematch, Napier had a hard time with Floridas aggressive switching on defence, unable to find seams into the lane. UConn fell into holes of 7-0 and 16-4, and Napier didnt score until hitting a 3-pointer with 3:54 left in the first half. Daniels led the charge back. The junior has shown off flashes of his athleticism some games, disappearing in others. Its been nothing but the good Daniels in the NCAA tournament, though, including a 27-point, 10-rebound game against Iowa State in Sweet 16. Spurred by a conversation with former UConn coach Jim Calhoun before the national semifinal game, Daniels was at his active best, sailing in for a dunk during an 11-0 run and dropping in a pair of 3-pointers in the first half. Daniels continued to be a matchup problem for Florida in the second half, keeping the Gators at bay, including a long jumper that put the Huskies up 57-47 with 2 1/2 minutes left. "I talked to Coach Calhoun and he was like, Man, nobody is talking about you," Daniels said. "All I said was not to worry about it because everybody was going to be talking about me after today." Boatright, too. The junior has been interchangeable with Napier in the backcourt, playing shooting guard when Napier runs the point, leading the team when Napier shifts to the two spot or heads to the bench. He also turned into UConns point-guard stopper, hounding the opposing teams floor leader into mistakes. Boatright had a quiet first half before starting to find seams in Floridas defence. He got to the rim a few times without much hassle against the long Gators and was able to find open shooters when they did cut off his drives. Behind Boatright and Daniels, UConn scored all but two of its baskets inside the lane. Boatright also helped lead the charge against Wilbekin, adding to his cramping woes by combining with Napier to hound his every step. "It all starts with Boatright," Florida coach Billy Donovan said of UConns defence. "He does a great job of pressuring the ball." When it was over, the Huskies again were underdogs headed to the national championship -- thanks to a pair of sidekicks helping the star get there. ' ' '