arly two-year layoff with a long recovery , going back to t

Milos Raonic booked his place in the last four of the ATP World Tour Finals by beating Dominic Thiem in their final round-robin match.Both players went into the tie knowing a win would take them through to the semis as group runner-up behind Novak Djokovic.Thiem performed well, but Raonic prevailed 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 thanks largely to the strength of his serve and will now play the winner of Andy Murrays group on Saturday. Shot of the matchThiem lost the first-set tie break, but this backhand winner to take a 2-1 lead was nevertheless a moment to cherish. Dominic Thiem beats Raonic with a brilliant backhand winner Raonics reactionI got fortunate at the end of the first set there to hit three aces. That helped me out and saved me in a lot of important moments today. I stuck with my weapons and I stuck with what I know how to do best and I was fortunate to get through today.It wasnt a round-robin match; it was a quarter-final for the both of us, and Im fortunate I was able to win it. Raonic gives his reaction to beating Thiem Expert opinionGreg Rusedski: Raonic got the job done. He was a little bit nervous early on, but he found a way to push through and he got better with each set. It was a match he was expected to win and he got the job done.Barry Cowan: He can certainly hold his head up high, can Dominic Thiem. He will be a better player for it. He still prefers the slower surface, but I thought he played very well all week. Raonic played the sort of tennis you would expect in these type of conditions. He is serving unbelievably well. His numbers on first serve and second serve will make him a force come the weekend. Raonic analyses his game at the SkyPad The matchThiem played the better of the two in the opening set, but with Raonics booming serve proving unbreachable, he was unable to force a break and it went to a tie break.Thiem opened up a 4-2 lead and looked on course to take the set, but an error opened the door for a Raonic comeback and the Canadian took full advantage to win the tie break 7-5. Six months half price Upgrade to Sky Sports to watch Man Utd v Arsenal on Saturday and get the first six months half price He then broke Thiem in the opening match of the second set and again in the final game to seal an ultimately comfortable victory.Follow our game-by-game coverage from all group matches at the ATP World Tour Finals in London - including Andy Murray v Stan Wawrinka on Friday afternoon - on skysports.com/tennis, our app for mobile devices and iPad and our Twitter account @skysportstennis.Upgrade to Sky Sports now to watch Man Utd v Arsenal this Saturday and get the first six months half price!Also See:Djokovic eases past GoffinAs it happened on Day 5...Murray v Stan: A battle royaleWATCH: Murrays double takeWholesale NFL Jerseys Gear . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov. Cheap NFL Jerseys Shop . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. http://www.nfljerseyschinastore.com/ . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period. Discount Nike NFL jerseys . The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday that the veteran forward will return to the teams line-up on Saturday night when the Habs visit the Nashville Predators. Jerseys NFL Wholesale China . 24 Baylor in a Big 12 clash between teams trending in opposite directions. Andrew Wiggins made 10-of-12 from the foul line and scored 17 for Kansas (14-4, 5-0 Big 12), which capped a stretch of four straight games against ranked opponents unscathed.RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried is eager to see what offseason changes do for his program after a stumble.After last years injury-plagued Wolfpack missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in his five seasons, Gottfried hit the recruiting trail for several spring additions while reshaping a coaching staff that had been intact since his arrival in Raleigh. Now N.C. State has two new assistants and a roster featuring a top-10 national recruiting class along with key returnees -- a mix that could get N.C. State back into the NCAAs.Its like if you and I play cards together, and if you kick my tail in cards, I cant wait to play again, Gottfried said. Lets go play. Thats kind of where we are: Im ready, lets go, our players are ready. ... We have that kind of anxiousness about getting this year started because of that.The Wolfpack (16-17, 5-13 Atlantic Coast Conference) relied heavily on ACC-leading scorer Anthony Cat Barber last year, but he left with a year of eligibility remaining to pursue a professional career. Twin wings Caleb and Cody Martin transferred, while senior forward Lennard Freeman is likely to redshirt to fully recover from a leg injury that lingered through last season.The biggest cause for optimism in Raleigh is the debut of touted freshman Dennis Smith Jr. He enrolled early in January to rehab a serious knee injury and is fully recovered , while the recruiting class also features a five-star Turkish big man Omer Yurtseven -- though the school is waiting for the NCAA to clear him to play as an amateur.Throw in the debut of Torin Dorn Jr., a former Conference USA freshman of the year from Charlotte who sat out last year, and N.C. State has an infusion of young talent.Among the returnees, junior forward Abdul-Malik Abu, the teams No. 2 scorer and top rebounder, is back along with sophomore wing Maverick Rowan and senior center BeeJay Anya. N.C. State will also get back a player it never really had last year in West Virginia transfer guard Terry Henderson, who played just 7 minutes in the season opener before going down with an ankle injury..dddddddddddd---Some other things to know about the Wolfpack this season:SMITHS DEBUT: Smith is a likely one-and-done prospect, a player that Gottfried described bluntly as the best guard in the country. Period. Hands down. The instate recruit from Fayetteville exudes confidence and hasnt seemed fazed by his recovery, even back during summer workouts . I didnt wear a brace or anything like that at all, Smith said recently. As soon as they cleared me, I was ready to go. The mental aspect of recovering was pretty easy for me.HENDERSONS RUST: Henderson was supposed to give the Wolfpack a 3-point shooter, second ballhandler and wing defender before his injury. Now hes entering a season in which he has had a nearly two-year layoff with a long recovery , going back to the 2014-15 season when he sat out as a transfer. Just know Im back, Henderson said, and Im here to win.BODIES UP FRONT: The return of Abu and Anya gives N.C. State some size, but the Wolfpack sure could use Yurtseven, too. Abu will have to continue to develop his offensive game and attack the glass, while Anya -- who has battled his weight and conditioning issues throughout his career -- has contributed in the past as a shot blocker and rebounder (not to mention with a pretty big shot in 2015, too).BENCH CHANGES: N.C. State has two new assistants in former Oklahoma State assistant Butch Pierre and former UT-Martin head coach Heath Schroyer. They replace Rob Moxley -- who shifted into an administrative role after a life-threatening health scare in 2015 -- and Bobby Lutz, a strong Xs-and-Os assistant now with the NBDLs Windy City Bulls.OUTSIDE SHOOTING: Rowan is the only returnee with more than one made 3-pointer last year. The Wolfpack must find reliable shooters to go with Rowan, who hit a team-high 81 3s and shot 34 percent from behind the arc last year.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap and the APs college basketball site at http://collegebasketball.ap.org ' ' '