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TOKYO - Canadas Milos Raonic moved closer to a possible place in the ATP season-ending event as he reached a second straight final at the Japan Open on Saturday with a 7-6 (4), 6-1 semifinal win over Croatian Ivan Dodig. But the 22-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., is trying to keep it all in perspective as he improves one spot to provisional tenth in the race to the eight-man World Tour Finals set for London in just over a month. No Canadian has ever played the elite tournament in singles, though Torontos Daniel Nestor has made multiple appearances at year-enders in doubles. "London is still far away for me," said Raonic, winner of his last eight matches in Asia and the champion last weekend in Bangkok. "I dont have any issues thinking about it. "Im playing well but I have a long way to go to possibly qualify. I need to keep giving myself chances to try and make it. But Im not letting it get into my head. "Im just concentrating on each match, Ive been playing well and I want to keep that up. I know what I have to do to keep on winning these matches, thats what I want to concentrate on right now." Raonic, seeded third, will play for the title on Sunday at the Ariake Colosseum against the winner of top seed Juan Martin del Potro and Spanish No. 6 Nicolas Almagro. Raonic lost the Tokyo final a year ago to Japans Kei Nishikori, who went out this year in the quarter-finals to Almagro while complaining of back pain. As he bids for the sixth title of his career and third this season after San Jose and Bangkok, Raonic said that his run of form over the past months was made possible by his final against Rafael Nadal at the Rogers Cup in Montreal in August. "Montreal helped me to gain confidence,"he said of the first event he played after taking on former player Ivan Ljubicic as his coach. "I wasnt playing my best there, but it got me started." It took just under 90 minutes for Raonic to defeat Dodig, with the first set lasting almost one hour. The Canadian took charge in the second set with his big serve. Raonic faced the first break point in three matches, saving it in the third game of the second set against Dodig, who had won both of their previous matches. He recovered from a 4-1 deficit in the first set, then passed Dodig 5-4 and set up a pair of set points after the Croatian sailed his return wide. Raonic fired over his sixth ace to seal the long set and took that momentum into the second set, which barely lasted 30 minutes. Raonic won his 41st match of the season and his eighth straight in Asia after claiming the Bangkok title last weekend over Tomas Berdych. Saturdays match marked Raonics fifth time playing in a semifinal this season, and he has now won four of them. He came to the court without having faced a break point in 30 previous games and has held serve in 79 of 81 games during his Asian run. He will be playing in back-to-back finals for the third time in his career. Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version had the incorrect first name for del Potro. Brett Favre Jersey . The Eastern Conference-leading Celtics finished their recent trek at 3-1 on Monday in Salt Lake City when Rajon Rondo made a key jumper with 24.1 seconds remaining, as Boston held off the Utah Jazz, 107-102, at EnergySolutions Arena. Ray Nitschke Jersey . Murakami gracefully executed a double triple toe jump and a triple flip jump that put her at the top of a tightly contested race with 64.73 points, just ahead of Li Zijun of China on 62. http://www.shoptheofficialpackers.com/Customized/.Y. - DeMarre Carroll felt as though he couldnt miss in the second quarter as he outscored the Brooklyn Nets 14-13 all by himself. Dave Robinson Jersey . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins (5) – He was locked in all night, made huge stops on Benoit Pouliot, Raphael Diaz, Ryan Mcdonagh, Carl Hagelin, Rick Nash (twice) but none better than the three saves on Mats Zuccarello. Bart Starr Jersey . The third-seeded Bouchard, from Westmount, Que., was coming off a semifinal appearance at the French Open. She took the opening set before the unseeded American came back for the 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory.REGINA -- Kory Sheets didnt win the rushing title and wasnt named the CFLs outstanding player, but he still got the one he says ends the debate over whos the best running back in the league. "Youre looking at him," said a beaming Sheets, moments after being named the 101st Grey Cups most valuable player. Sheets ran for a Grey Cup-record 197 yards and two touchdowns to help the Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 45-23 Sunday for their fourth CFL championship and first since 2007. "That was one thing that coach Chamblin instilled in us was be determined, be relentless and just focus on us and thats what we did," said Sheets. "We didnt care about the Ticats all week. We didnt think about them, we didnt talk about them. "All we wanted to know was what our game plan was and what time the game started." Sheets broke Johnny Brights 57-year-old Grey Cup rushing record midway through the fourth quarter. With the Riders facing second-and-19 from their own 19-yard line, Sheets took off toward the Hamilton bench for a 21-yard run that bumped Bright from the record book and presumably lightened Sheetss pocketbook too. "I got something special planned for the guys," he said of Saskatchewans offensive line. "Yall (will) see tomorrow what Ive got planned for them." Sheetss impact was felt early and often, starting with a 39-yard rumble on the Riders second possession after he reeled in Saskatchewan quarterback Darian Durants fumble out of midd-air.dddddddddddd He scored his first touchdown on a one-yard run after Durant hit the games top Canadian, Chris Getzlaf, with a 29-yard pass nine minutes into the second quarter. That score gave Saskatchewan a 24-3 lead but was more significant as it came on the Riders first possession following Durants third fumble of the half. Sheets struck again on the same drive as his record-setting run, following a 30-yard pass from Durant to Weston Dressler with a four-yard TD run to make it 38-16 and bury Hamiltons comeback bid. The normally loquacious second-year tailback was occasionally at a loss for words after the win, which he said was his first championship since high school. "Ive always been on one of those teams that just really couldnt cut it," said Sheets. "And now we had a team that was the cream of the crop and we went out there and proved it." Getzlaf finished the game with three catches for 78 yards, all during a second quarter in which Saskatchewan put 24 points on the board. He had a 38-yarder on the second play of the quarter to help set up Chris Milos only field goal of the game and an 11-yarder on second down to sustain a drive that ended in a Jock Sanders touchdown to go along with the one that set up Sheets score. "Its a Cinderella story, if you will, being able to come home and play in front of the hometown," said Getzlaf. "Weve got quite a few guys from Regina on this team and to celebrate a win with Rider Nation is amazing." ' ' '