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WASHINGTON -- Milos Raonic has had nearly a month to digest his Wimbledon semifinal loss to Roger Federer. But even after all that time, the sting still lingers. "Im still pretty angry about it," Raonic said of the straight-sets loss to the Swiss star. It was the first Grand Slam semifinal for the hard-serving player from Thornhill, Ont., who reached a career-high sixth in the world rankings. Now ranked seventh, he says the disappointment of not advancing to the final at the All-England Club has left him with extra incentive heading into the hard-court season. "Out of all the ranking climbs that Ive made over the past three years that have been significant to me, its probably the one that I enjoyed the least because I felt that I could have done much better in that situation," said Raonic, who returns to the court this week at the Citi Open. Raonic arrived in Washington last Friday -- five days ahead of his opening match -- rested and rejuvenated but with the July 4 loss to Federer still fresh in his mind. The Canadian is seeded second, behind only fifth-ranked Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. "Its been a lot of frustration, anger and disappointment, specifically to that semifinal, and its actually sort of transformed into a lot of energy to do better, to work harder and now its got me really excited," said Raonic. "It makes me want to play that much more badly and get through these next tournaments." The Citi Open is the first of three straight hard-court events for Raonic, who returns home to Toronto next week for the Rogers Cup before playing in the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati the week after. That Raonic is heading into the hard-court season with extra motivation and a newfound confidence is a potentially scary thought for the rest of ATP Tour. "I have more belief in what I can do and the kind of damage that I can make," said Raonic, who has won 82 per cent of his first-serve points this year, second-most on tour, and is third with 567 aces in 34 matches. "I can make guys feel uncomfortable whether theyre ranked No.1 in the world or No. 50. I dont think anybody enjoys playing me so I have a lot more understanding of that and how to use that to my advantage." Prior to his semifinal run on the grass courts at Wimbledon, Raonic also reached the quarter-finals on the clay courts of the French Open. Overall, the 23-year-old compiled a 16-7 record on grass and clay this spring, after going 8-8 over the same stretch a year ago. Combine the recent success in Europe with Raonics past performances on hard courts and he says "this is the most eager" hes ever felt heading into his favourite time of year. "Its the best thing for my game," he said of the hard courts and the typically hot and humid playing conditions that accompany the North American summer schedule. "After spending four months of tennis where Im adjusting to playing the surface, this is a surface where Im comfortable and where I dont have to worry about OK in this situation, I have to hit this kind of shot. (On hard courts) I have that stuff ingrained in myself naturally." Raonics coach, former world No.3 Ivan Ljubicic, also sees the hard-court season as a tremendous opportunity for Raonic to close the gap with the games elite and to potentially breakthrough with his first career Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open. "His level is much higher than at this time last year," said Ljubicic, who challenged Raonic last August to "save" his 2013 season with a strong tournaments in Montreal, Cincinnati and New York. "Hes shown recently that hes better able to handle certain situations -- the pressure situations -- very well," he said. "Hes got the type of personality and character where he feels more comfortable with a higher ranking, where he doesnt feel the pressure. If anything, he has more hunger to do better." Raonic now has his sights set on defending his ranking points at the Rogers Cup -- he reached the final in Montreal last year before falling to Rafael Nadal -- and building towards a strong U.S. Open. He is also eyeing his first career top-5 world ranking. "I think theres a big opening," Raonic said of joining Nadal and Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic among the top-5. "The biggest threshold and the biggest barrier or wall to pass is the one that Novak and Rafa have on the 1-2 spots. But I think that the rest of the parts, this year specifically, are up for grabs." 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Darryl Dawkins Jersey . -- All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham and the New Orleans Saints met Tuesday for arbitration on his contract.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Detroit Tigers starting staff has been nearly unhittable in the American League Championship Series. Yet, the Tigers find themselves down, 2-1, to the Boston Red Sox. Doug Fister hopes for some run support on Wednesday when the Tigers and Red Sox play Game 4 of the ALCS at Comerica Park. Boston snatched control of the best-of-seven set on Tuesday, as Mike Napoli broke a scoreless tie with a solo home run off Justin Verlander in the seventh inning, and John Lackey and the Red Sox bullpen made the blast stand up in a 1-0 victory. The Red Sox had mustered a mere three hits and one run for the series entering the eighth inning of Sundays Game 2, when David Ortiz brought Boston back to life with a game-tying grand slam and the AL East champs rallied for a thrilling 6-5 win. They managed only four hits and struck out 10 times in eight innings against Verlander (0-1). Lackey (1-0) was splendid during his 6 2/3-inning stint, holding the Tigers to four hits and striking out eight without a walk. Three relievers finished off the shutout, with Game 2 winner Koji Uehara shutting the door with a four-out save. "John Lackey was outstanding," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "He held his stuff throughout the entire time he was out there. Just very good work by every guy that went to the mound today." Of the previous 31 occasions, the team with the 2-1 advantage has gone on to win the series 23 times. And since the ALCS converted to a best-of-seven format in 1985, 17 of 22 teams to take a 2-1 series lead have moved on. Detroit went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position for the game, with Torii Hunter and Victor Martinez each going 2-for-4 in the loss. "Today I thought Lackey and (catcher Jarrod) Saltalamacchia were absolutely terrific, game calling, pitch making," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland. "(Alex) Avila and Verlander were exactly the same. It was just tremendous pitching and both guys called a great game. And that pretty much sums it up.dddddddddddd" Miguel Cabrera went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and failed to reach base in a postseason game for the first time as a Tiger and just the third time in his career, ending a 31-game, postseason-record streak. "Gotta swing at better pitches," Cabrera said. Prince Fielder, meanwhile, hasnt had an RBI in his last 57 postseason at- bats. Amazingly, the Tigers .231 average this postseason is the second-best mark of the four teams still alive. Their 23 runs, however, are the lowest total. Anibal Sanchez, Max Scherzer and Verlander have combined for a sparkling 0.86 ERA in this series. Now Fister gets the call in his second start this postseason. Fister allowed three runs in six innings as the Tigers beat Oakland 8-6 in Game 4 of the Division Series on Oct. 8. He gave up six runs and 11 hits while lasting just 3 1/3 innings in a 10-6 home loss to Boston on June 21, but held the Red Sox to four hits in seven innings of a 3-0 victory at Fenway Park on Sept. 2. "I think a lot of it is the fact of just executing - keeping the ball down, mixing pitches and not getting in any sort of routine," Fister said. "Their hitters are very smart, very intelligent. And you know, weve seen each other a lot." Boston, meanwhile, will turn to righty Jake Peavy, who hasnt pitched since helping the Red Sox eliminate the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 4 of the ALDS back on Oct. 8. Peavy surrendered a run in 5 2/3 innings of that one. Having pitched parts of the last five seasons for the Chicago White Sox, Peavy is quite familiar with the AL Central champion Tigers and is 4-5 lifetime against them with a 4.83 ERA. "I do know those guys well," Peavy said. "It comes down to (Wednesday) night, executing the game plan that we think were going to go with and get those guys out. Its a huge challenge with the way they swing the bat." The Tigers were 4-3 against the Red Sox in 2013, winning three of four at Comerica Park in June. 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