Was An Effective Strategy That Djokovic Couldnt Handle Optiuni

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SOCHI, Russia -- Another golden opportunity awaits Team Canada. Four years after winning gold on home ice in Vancouver, the Canadians will get a chance to make it two in a row Sunday against Sweden after beating the United States 1-0 in the Olympic semifinals Friday at Bolshoy Ice Dome. This time, though, it was made possible by a few players who werent around in 2010, namely Jamie Benn and Carey Price. Benn scored for Canada on a pretty pass from fellow newcomer Jay Bouwmeester, and Price -- chosen by coach Mike Babcock to start over Vancouver golden goalie Roberto Luongo -- had 31 saves to make it stand up. Though it didnt show up on the scoresheet, Sidney Crosby was flying up and down the ice, creating chances seemingly at will. The captain still doesnt have a goal in this tournament, but along with the rest of his teammates he has raised his level of play just in time to play Sweden for the gold medal on Sunday. The United States will play for the bronze Saturday against Finland, which lost to the Swedes 2-1 in the other semifinal. Guaranteed either a gold or silver, this is the first time Canada has won a medal in an Olympics held outside North America since NHL players began participating in 1998. Canada and the U.S. traded chances throughout the first period. Just 90 seconds in, Crosby forced a turnover that led to a quality opportunity for Patrice Bergeron in front. More than five minutes in, Phil Kessel patiently waited for John Carlson to cross the blue-line and get a one-timer off that Price snagged with his glove. Not long after that, Crosby created a chance for Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Quick made a big save on Bergeron. Quick finished with 36 saves. It took until early in the second period for Canada to get on the board, thanks to a heads-up play from Bouwmeester. The smooth-skating defenceman waited it out with the puck above the left face-off circle, allowing Benn to find open space between Brooks Orpik and Carlson, playing together for the first time at these Olympics because of a hand injury to Paul Martin. A perfect sliding pass across the ice from Bouwmeester hit Benns stick right on the tape and deflected past Quick at the 1:41 mark of the second. At that point, Canada tilted the ice and spent much of the period hemming the Americans in their own end. The result was more brilliance from Quick, who had to slide post-to-post to rob Benn and oozed confidence. The same came from Price on the other end, as he didnt flash his glove hand as much as calmly lift it to catch the puck with ease. Canadas victory came a day after the womens team staged an improbable late comeback to beat the United States for its fourth straight gold medal. Babcock and his players said that victory taught them that "you dont give in." Of course the way Team Canada got to the gold-medal game was very different. It hasnt trailed for even one second at these Olympics. That didnt stop the women from trying to use their experience as motivation. Alternate captain Hayley Wickenheiser, starting goalie Shannon Szabados and forward Brianne Jenner were responsible for a letter posted in the mens locker-room that read: "Tonight is yours. Own the moment. We are proof that every minute matters. The podium is reserved for the brave. Earn every inch, dictate the pace. Go get em! From the girls! " The men are one win away from giving Canada double gold in hockey for the third time in the past four Olympics. Friday nights game was skated almost at the blistering pace of the one played Feb. 28, 2010, that Canada won 3-2 on Crosbys unforgettable overtime goal. Some of Canadas best players in the Olympic rematch were watching from home four years ago. In addition to Bouwmeester, Benn and Price, Jeff Carter looked like he was playing in another gear and defenceman Alex Pietrangelo and Marc-Edouard Vlasic quietly controlled the game. NOTES -- Canada scratched defenceman P.K Subban on defence and the injured John Tavares at forward. Tavares, who suffered a tournament- and season-ending left knee injury against Latvia, will remain with the team until after the Olympics. Matt Duchene filled his spot in the lineup. ... Russian star Alex Ovechkin was in attendance, sitting at centre ice on the suite level of Bolshoy Ice Dome. Ovechkin did not take the first charter flight back to North America after his father underwent heart surgery. He tweeted Friday night: "Thanks to all for support. My dad going to be good and he see you all again." ... Even though Russia was eliminated in the quarters, 11,172 fans filled the arena for the all-North American semifinal. Breeland Speaks Super Bowl Jersey . Matt Carkner got back into the Ottawa lineup, and made his presence felt right away by settling his clubs score in a one-sided fight with Rangers forward Brian Boyle. Derrick Thomas Super Bowl Jersey . As analysts we do the same thing, so here are some observations from week one. First there were two major upsets. I should say, major upsets in the eyes of the fans and prognosticators. http://www.officialkcchiefspro.com/Darrel-...-chiefs-jersey/ . She still remembers the massive roar of the home crowd when the Canadians walked out on the pitch before 47,784 fans at Commonwealth Stadium in 2002. Lang expects a similar reception for the Canadian team as the host nation at this years tournament, which begins Tuesday. Anthony Sherman Super Bowl Jersey . The future hall of famers stole the show at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night, with Jagr moving into seventh place in all-time goal scoring and Brodeur stopping 29 shots as the Devils downed the Montreal Canadiens 4-1. Morris Claiborne Super Bowl Jersey . The 34-year-old averaged 10.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in 82 games played in 2013-14 with the Utah Jazz. Jefferson has averaged 14.5 points, 4. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Fourth-seeded Roger Federer ended top-seeded Novak Djokovics chance of defending his Dubai Championships title with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 semifinal win on Friday. Federer will be looking for his sixth Dubai title when he plays third-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in Saturdays final. Berdych reached his second consecutive Dubai Championships final with a tough 7-5, 7-5 semifinal win over seventh-seeded Philiipp Kohlschreiber of Germany. Federer now leads Djokovic 17-15 in their career head-to-head meetings. He also leads Djokovic 13-12 when competing on hard courts. "He deserved to win," Djokovic said. "He played in the second part of the match better and was more aggressive and played all around the court really well." Djokovic had won their last three matches and nine of their last 12 matches. Hes twice won three consecutive matches against Federer, but never has won four in a row. "Right now Im just happy that I was able to win the match," Federer said. "I dont care so much about the head-to-heads. "But its nice to be in the finals here in Dubai again." For the first set-and-a-half, Djokovic looked as if he would have an easy time reaching the final. Djokovic established an early lead when Federer lost his serve in an error-filled second game of the first set. Serving at 5-3, Djokovic won the first set on his third set point of the game with a clean ace down the middle. Midway through the second set, it seemed as though Federer remembered that his new part-time coach Stefan Edberg, who is not in Dubai, is urging him to play more offensively. From that point on, Federer started to come into the net and volley more often, which was an effective strategy that Djokovic couldnt handle. "I think I was able to play a bit more aggressive as the match went onn," Federer said.dddddddddddd "For me it was just a matter of playing consistent, but remain aggressive. "Clearly it was close, but I think I got the right balance." Djokovic doesnt seem to be interested in learning to use the net effectively now that he has Boris Becker, who was a serve and volley type of player, as his new head coach. "Weve been working on certain details in my game, but its nothing significant that Im going to change," Djokovic said. "Im not going to play serve and volley." In the second set, Djokovic surrendered his serve in an error-riddled sixth game to put Federer in position to even the score at one set apiece. Federer broke Djokovics serve in the first and fifth games of the third set to set up the win. In the final game, Federer saved two break points when serving for the match in the final game. Berdych enters the final on a 11-match winning streak. He arrived in Dubai having won his first title in over a year at Rotterdam two weeks ago. "I think hes playing very well right now," Federer said. "This is a big match for him tomorrow (Saturday) as well. "I will try to stop him and play a good match myself." Berdych now leads Kohlschreiber 8-1 in career matches played. In the first set, Kohlschreiber broke out to a 4-2 lead after Berdych lost his serve in the opening game of the match. From 5-3 for Kohlschreiber, Berdych won the next four games to win the first set, which lasted one hour, 28 minutes. The second set stayed on serve until the very last game, when Kohlschreiber surrendered his serve at 15-40 for Berdych to return to the final. "The second final in a row with so many great players in the draw here is a great result for me," Berdych said. "Its great to be able to be hitting the ball so nice and clean." ' ' '