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NEW HAVEN, Conn. Mike Gesicki Dolphins Jersey . -- Caroline Wozniacki beat American Sloane Stephens 7-6 (6), 6-2 on Thursday to reach the semifinals in New Haven for the sixth consecutive year. The four-time champion is 23-1 at the Connecticut Tennis Center, with her lone loss coming a year ago when she had to retire from the semifinals because of a knee injury. "Thank you for making me feel old, Im really not," the 23-year-old said. "Im pretty proud of my achievement actually. I think its pretty impressive." The former top ranked player will play Simona Halep on Friday. The Romanian beat Russias Ekaterina Makarova 6-1, 7-6 (6). The other semifinal will feature two players from the Czech Republic. Defending champion Petra Kvitova beat Russias Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 2-6, 6-2, 7-5. She will face Klara Zakopolova, who came from a set down to beat Russian Elena Vesnina 4-6, 6-0, 6-4. Stephens, a 20-year-old rising U.S. star, stayed with Wozniacki early and was serving for the set after breaking the Danish star in the ninth game. But Wozniacki broke back to tie the set at 5-5 and never trailed in the tiebreaker, winning 8-6. Wozniacki broke Stephens in the third game of the second set, and put the match away with another break to go up 5-2. "We both were playing well," said Stephens, who is still looking for her first WTA tournament title. "Its just unfortunate that I lost the tiebreaker. But I thought we both played really well." Kvitova needed three sets and a full day to make her return to the semifinals. Rain delayed the start of play in the early matches by more than an hour and a half, and she was forced to sit through a second, hour-long rain delay, during play. It was the third three-set match of the tournament for the defending New Haven champion, who leads the WTA Tours top 100 players with 29 this season. She improved to 18-11 in those contests. "I know Im playing a lot of three-set matches, thats why I probably know if I lose the first set, still I can go to the third," Kvitova said. "I dont feel like without energy in the third set, so thats good sign, too." Zakopalova also came from behind to win her quarterfinal, finding her confidence in the second set, which she won in 28 minutes. She was serving for the match at 5-2 before Vesnina rallied, coming within a point of tying the set. "I was just fighting for every point," Zakopalova said. "In the end I was a little bit more lucky, I think." Their match and the earlier quarterfinal between Halep and Makarova were forced to the grandstand court by the rain. Fewer than 20 fans watched as Halep jumped out early, taking the first 6-1 while breaking Makarovas serve four times. The second rain delay came with the players tied at 1-1 in the second, and when play resumed Makarova made a run, winning the next two games. "I was a little bit nervous after (the rain)," Halep said. "I played really slow after. But I came back from 4-2 again and I did well." The Romanian broke serve in the eighth game, and won the tiebreaker 8-6. She is looking for her fourth tournament title this summer and said she likes where her game is heading into next weeks U.S. Open. "Im a bit tired right now," she said. "But I want to play tomorrow, to try my best. After that I will see what will happen." This is the first quarterfinal in the tournaments history that didnt include either of the top two seeds. Sara Errani and Angelique Kerber both lost earlier in the week in the second round. Kvitova, Wozniacki and Stephens were the only seeded players to make it past round two. The players got a little excitement before play began Thursday. A fire alarm, caused by smoke from someone cooking in the players lounge, forced the evacuation of the Connecticut Tennis Center for about 15 minutes. "It was OK, when we were waiting for the match, some fun," Kvitova said. "I wasnt cooking, so thats good." Durham Smythe Jersey . The game was the first of two international friendlies that Canada is playing during the international break, with the second game against Slovenia set for Tuesday in Celje. Canada looked uncomfortable defensively throughout the game, and every free kick that came into Canadas penalty box looked like ending up in the back of the net. Minkah Fitzpatrick Jersey . 1. Lions WR Calvin Johnson (6 REC, 101 YDS, 1 TD, 10 targets) leads receivers with 1,299 yards and 12 touchdowns, though his 118.1 receiving yards per game ranks second behind Clevelands Josh Gordon. Gordon (10 REC, 261 YDS, 2 TD, 15 targets) is emerging as a superstar, putting up huge numbers even with Jason Campbell and Brandon Weeden at quarterback. http://www.dolphinsteamauthenticshop.com/c-92-dolphins-durham-smythe-jersey.aspx . -- Fantasy football owners and Denver Broncos fans can rest easy: Peyton Manning is back.Randy Carlyle could only speak for the moment when asked about his future as coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, addressing the media on Tuesday for the first time after his teams season ended short of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. “Im here today,” he said when asked whether he would be back with the club for the 2014-15 season. “In this business you take on the responsibility of wins and losses, he continued. “You put your best foot forward and try to be honest and forthright with people and thats what were trying to do as a hockey club.” Carlyles future has been the subject of great speculation in the wake of a disappointing season for the Leafs. A March free-fall saw the team plummet from third in the Eastern Conference to a 38-36-8 finish, good for the eighth-worst record in the League. The teams first order of business once the off-season began was to appoint former NHL Director of Player of Safety and Hockey Hall-of-Famer Brendan Shanahan as the teams new president. While Carlyle could not comment on any impending changes under Shanahan – he is yet to formally meet with his new boss – he summed up the free-fall as a symptom of how the team played throughout the year. “The last 30 days of the season was the tell-tale story for our group,” Carlyle said. “The things that we were doing in the beginning and winning came to fruition in the final 30 days.” He pointed specifically to the teams inability to capitalize on a strong road trip to California in early March as a detrimental turning point in the season. After winning two of three road games against the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings in early March, the Leafs returned to the east coast, losing three games in four nights and kicking off what would become an eight-game stretch without earning a single point in the standings. “It seemed we played well enough to earn some respect,” Carlyle said of the California trip. “Then we seemed to have lost our mojo.” Froom then on, the teams confidence seemed to drop every time they conceded an early goal or did not perform up to expectations. Jerome Baker Dolphins Jersey. . “The first goal would go in and the shoulders would slump, that was the tell-tale sign,” he said. “Our response was very minimal.” The 57-year-old Carlyle has spent parts of three seasons with the team, taking over from previous Leafs head coach Ron Wilson with 18 games remaining in the 2011-12 season. Carlyle would lead the team to a 6-9-3 finish in his first year. His most successful year at the helm would be the following season when he led the Leafs to a 26-17-5 mark in strike shortened 2012-13 and, more importantly, the franchises first playoff berth since 2003-04. They would ultimately suffer a shocking defeat in Game 7 of their opening round series, surrendering a 4-1, third period lead in the final 11 minutes of regulation and falling in overtime to the Boston Bruins. Speaking to the teams 2012-13 success, Carlyle stated that he and the teams management were confident going into the season, but that they may have misjudged the teams strength. “We had been a competitive group the year previous and we felt this group was ready to take the next step,” Carlyle said Tuesday. “It didnt materialize.” Speaking to the teams defensive posture, Carlyle didnt see a consistent effort. “You have to play and you have to compete on the defensive side of the puck with will and commitment,” Carlyle said. “We didnt do that consistently.” “Were not asking players to do something they havent done before,” he added when asked about players molding to his coaching strategy. Carlyle currently has one year remaining on the three-year deal he signed after taking over for Wilson in 2012. He stopped short of offering up explanations for how to turn the Leafs fortunes around, capitulating with: "For now, we dont have the ultimate answer to give you and were embarassed by what just went down." Cheap NFL Jerseys Throwback Cheap Jerseys Discount NFL Jerseys Wholesale Authentic Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Discount Jerseys Wholesale Stitched Jerseys ' ' '