Eugenie Bouchards days of playing lower-tier events and working through qualifying draws appear to be over. The Canadian tennis players first full season on the WTA Tour was a strong one. She has risen to No. 32 in the world rankings and will likely be seeded at the first Grand Slam event of the 2014 season. Bouchard scored some big victories this year and proved she can hang on court with the sports elite. Her next mission is to build on that momentum as she looks ahead to next year. "Ive always believed in my skill," Bouchard said Friday on a conference call. "I think it was just a matter of time for me to get to this level. But then again, I dont want to stay here. "I want to work hard in the off-season and get ready for 2014 and try to improve as fast as I can and even more for next year." At just 19 years of age, Bouchard posted impressive victories this past season over big names like Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Sloane Stephens. The young Canadian pushed Venus Williams to three sets last month in Tokyo and reached her first Tour final this month at the Japan Open. Not bad for a player who was ranked No. 144 in the world at the end of the 2012 season. Bouchard was also given heavy promotional treatment at last summers Rogers Cup in Toronto. Her matches were given showcourt attention and she performed admirably in the brighter spotlight. "I do like it, its part of the job," she said. "I think the harder I work and the better I do, that will happen more often." Bouchard doesnt have a specific ranking goal for next season. She simply wants to improve all facets of her game and get stronger by continuing to play the top players on tour. One area where she noticed an improvement of late was her on-court transition from defence to offence. She also feels her mental game is better. "Ive played big matches and gained so much experience," she said. "Ive played on centre court at the French Open, centre court at Wimbledon and at Louis Armstrong (stadium court) at the U.S. Open. Those are big matches and big moments that really have given me a lot of confidence and strength and experience." Bouchard, who is from Westmount, Que., but trains primarily with coach Nick Saviano in Florida, has a 39-24 record this year and earned over US$415,000 in prize money. Her top highlight was beating Ivanovic on Centre Court at the All-England Club, the same venue where Bouchard won the Wimbledon junior title a year earlier. "It was an amazing feeling," she said. "In tennis you cant get a bigger stage than that." Bouchards 2014 campaign will kick off during the holiday season at the Hopman Cup mixed tennis team tournament in Perth, Australia. She will team up with Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., for the Dec. 28-Jan. 4 event before continuing preparations for the Australian Open.
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Ashley Williams Wales Jersey . But sometimes the way you lose takes precedence over the final score. And how the Jets lost the 5-4 game to the New York Islanders on Thursday is what had Coach Claude Noel hot after the game.DETROIT -- On a day of dandy Detroit debuts, Alex Gonzalez helped Brad Ausmus start his tenure as Tigers manager with a win. Gonzalez lined an RBI single off Greg Holland in the bottom of the ninth, giving the Tigers a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday in Ausmus first game since replacing Jim Leyland. Victor Martinez homered for Detroit, and Justin Verlander was sharp aside from a three-run fourth inning that wasnt all his fault. "Theres two things that could have spoiled opening day for me," Ausmus said. "One, if we lost. And two, if the sun wasnt out. Because for me opening day, the sun is out, fans are having fun, theyre eating their popcorn, drinking their beer. The energy is higher." Kansas City lost its sixth straight opener. Ausmus was upstaged a bit by another newcomer on a bright, pleasant day in downtown Detroit. Gonzalez was acquired by the Tigers in late March following an injury to shortstop Jose Iglesias. Detroit is just hoping he can fill in competently, and Gonzalez did not impress at first. His error in the fourth helped the Royals score an extra run, but he made up for that with a tying triple in the seventh. Gonzalez then singled with men on first and third in the ninth. "Ive played on a lot of opening days -- I dont even remember all of them -- but this one was special," Gonzalez said. "I was looking for a pitch that I could elevate, and I got one. I rounded first and all I saw was the whole team coming at me." Joe Nathan -- another new face on Detroits roster -- pitched a scoreless ninth. Nathan (1-0) signed with the Tigers to become their closer, but hell have to wait a bit longer for a save opportunity. Holland didnt have a save chance either after converting 47 of 50 last year. Instead, the right-hander came into a difficult situation in the ninth and couldnt get out of it. Wade Davis (0-1) yielded a one-out walk to Alex Avila and a single to Nick Castellanos before Holland allowed the single to Gonzalez. "I get paid to get people out, and I didnt do it today," Holland said. "Were not here to fight and compete. Were here to win." Detroits Tyler Collins made his major league debut as a pinch runner for Avila -- and ended up scoring the winning run. Salvador Perez had four hits for Kansas City.dddddddddddd Although there were still a few patches of snow in the Detroit area Monday morning, the game was played under a sunny sky with temperatures in the 50s. With its recently re-sodded field, Comerica Park looked sharp. But the Tigers, coming off three straight AL Central titles, were sloppy at first. Right fielder Torii Hunter dropped a routine flyball in the second, and although Verlander pitched out of that jam, he couldnt escape the fourth. Salvador Perez tied it at 1 with a one-out RBI double off Verlander, and Lorenzo Cain slapped an RBI single through the hole into left field to put Kansas City ahead. After a two-out walk, Gonzalez bobbled Norichika Aokis slow grounder for an error that loaded the bases. Verlander then walked Omar Infante, forcing in Kansas Citys third run of the inning. Verlander had surgery in January after injuring his groin, but he pitched 20 scoreless innings during spring training. He allowed three runs -- two earned -- and six hits in six innings Monday, walking three and striking out two. That was enough for a no-decision. Verlander was making his seventh straight start on opening day, and hes only 1-1 in those games. "I never seem to find a win on opening day, but the bullpen shut them down and we got one anyway. Thats all that matters," Verlander said. "Every opening day is special, but this one meant a little more, because I had to really work and grind to get here for this one after the surgery." With Kansas City ahead 3-1 in the seventh, Austin Jackson hit a one-out triple and Avila drew a walk. Aaron Crow replaced starter James Shields and struck out Castellanos, but the third strike was a wild pitch that allowed Jackson to score. Gonzalez followed with a triple to the gap in left-centre. Shields gave up three runs and five hits in 6 1-3 innings. NOTES: Infante received a hand from the Detroit crowd when he was introduced with the Kansas City players before the game. He left the Tigers and signed with the Royals in the off-season. ... The crowd of 45,068 was the second-largest in Comerica history. ... It was the fourth four-hit game of Perezs career. ... The Royals were 67-6 last year when leading by 2 or more runs at any point from the seventh inning on, according to STATS. ' ' '