of those have been against Australia - the most recent of which

MONACO -- Canadian Milos Raonic is out at the Monte Carlo Masters. The hard-serving native of Thornhill, Ont., was limited to just six aces in a 7-6 (5), 6-2 quarter-final loss to third-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka on Friday. Raonic, seeded eighth, was playing his first clay quarter-final at the Masters 1000 level but struggled with consistency against his Swiss opponent, the reigning Australian Open winner. Raonic, 23, is currently ranked No. 10 on the ATP but has lost all three head-to-head matches against Wawrinka. The previous two were hardcourt contests in 2012 and 2013. Raonic played well in an opening set that lasted nearly an hour before getting into trouble in the tiebreaker. He held leads of 3-0 and 5-3 but mental lapses allowed Wawrinka to rally for the victory. Raonic stormed out to a 40-0 lead to start the second set but again Wawrinka rallied to earn the break and take the early lead. "Stan found a rhythm and played more free," said Raonic. "On the key points, he was really going for his shots. He overtook me and started dictating. "But Ive done something Ive never done before (reach quarter-finals on clay at Masters level), so its still very positive for me." Raonic was broken in the seventh game to trail 5-2 before Wawrinka cemented the win a game later. "I was really focused on my serve to be really aggressive from the first shot, to make him move, to make him work every ball," Wawrinka said. "I just feel strong from the baseline. I feel good physically. "I know that on clay courts, if I play my best tennis, I can beat those guys." Raonic will try to regroup as the French Open draws closer but found solace with his accomplishment in this clay event. "I have to be happy with things if I look at the big picture," he said. "Of course I wish I would have done better, but after one week on clay Im playing well. "I had expected to work through the weeks up to Paris, getting better as I go along. Thats still the goal. I need to get better on the clay, spend more time on it and do all the clay-specific fitness. This week does give me confidence though." In doubles action, Torontos Daniel Nestor and Serbian Nenad Zimonjic, who won this event in 09 and 10, face Monacos Romain Arneodo and Benjamin Balleret in quarter-final action. In other singles play, Rafael Nadal lost his quarter-final match to Spanish compatriot David Ferrer 7-6 (1), 6-4. Its Nadals earliest exit at the Monte Carlo Masters in 11 years. While he beat Nadal just last year, Ferrer hadnt defeated Nadal on clay since 2004. A day after becoming the 11th man in the Open era to reach 300 wins on clay, Nadal committed 44 unforced errors and was broken four times. Ferrer lost his own serve three times in the match that lasted over two hours. Nadal won eight consecutive Monte Carlo titles from 2005-12 before he lost last years final to Novak Djokovic. Ferrer will face Wawrinka in semifinal action. "I know I am supposed to be among the favourites, but every time I play a match I am in the state of mind of a challenger who is trying to win an additional match," said Wawrinka. Swiss star Roger Federer advanced with a 2-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1 win against No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France. Federer was two points from defeat at 0-30 serving at 6-5 down in the second set. Federer, who improved to 11-4 against Tsonga, wasted 15 straight break points and three set points in the second set But at 6-6 in the tiebreaker, Tsonga hit a wild forehand into the net and Federer tied the match with a volley winner. After finally breaking Tsonga at the 16th try, Federer clenched his fist in relief. He broke him again with a forehand winner down the line and held for 5-0. "It was just many things went wrong at the wrong time for me: Jo playing well, me playing wrong at certain times, wrong shot selections," Federer said. "Im happy I found the way to tough it out." Tsonga said the changing conditions in the late afternoon as the match went into a third set suited Federers style of play more. "I dont think it was that much of a change. I dont think there was any wind change or any crazy, like, quickness change," Federer said. "We played in those conditions a million of times." Djokovic set up a 34th career meeting against Federer, a 17-time Grand Slam champion, by downing unseeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. "I started very poorly. Garcia-Lopez played well and I had to work for this win," Djokovic said. "I finally started to play as I wanted in the second set." Federer leads Djokovic 17-16 in head-to-head matches and they are 1-1 this year. Federer won in the Dubai Championship semifinals while Djokovic emerged victorious in their showdown in the final at Indian Wells. The Serb was close to losing against Garcia-Lopez, saving a break point in the fifth game of the second set and two more when trailing 15-40 in his next service game. Djokovic then made a crucial break to take a 5-3 lead, served out the set, and then broke Garcia-Lopez twice at the start of the third. Custom Baltimore Orioles Jerseys . But qualifying for her first Scotties Tournament of Hearts after years of falling short in tough Manitoba provincial championships is as good as consolation prizes get for the 29-year-old from Winnipegs Fort Rouge Curling Club. Baltimore Orioles Pro Shop . -- Wide receiver Sidney Rice should be fully recovered from a torn knee ligament by the time the Seattle Seahawks start defence of their Super Bowl title, general manager John Schneider said Wednesday. https://www.cheaporioles.com/ . The Montreal Alouettes announced Tuesday that they have acquired the return specialist from Calgary, as well as the Stampeders fifth-round draft pick in the 2014 CFL Canadian Draft. Wholesale Orioles Jerseys . Ortiz hit a pair of two-run homers, including his 400th shot in a Red Sox uniform, and drove in a career high-tying six runs to power Boston past the Houston Astros 10-7 on Saturday night. Stitched Orioles Jerseys . -- The taxing preseason, which included two games in China, is finally over.Captain Heather Knight hopes there will be more opportunities for England’s women to play Test cricket in the years ahead. Knight was appointed England skipper last week, stepping up from vice -captain following the international retirement of predecessor Charlotte Edwards last month.Just five of Knights 93 international appearances have been in the longer form of the game. Four of those have been against Australia - the most recent of which was at Canterbury in last summers Womens Ashes - with the other Test match coming against India in August 2014 . Ive always said as a player I absolutely love playing Test cricket, Knight told Sky Sports News HQ. And because we dont play it very often its even more exciting when we do play it and I absolutely love it. Knight has replaced Charlotte Edwards as England womens cricket captain But that is something for the administrators to decide and obviously we have had our success in one-day cricket both commercially and in the media.ddddddddddddI just turn up in my cricket gear, whatever colour Im told to be in.Following Englands semi-final loss to Australia during the Womens World Twenty20 earlier this year, head coach Mark Robinson, who was appointed last November, called for his players to get fitter and toughen up a little bit.Youre always looking to improve as an international cricketer and fitness is one of those things you can get an easy gain in, Knight added.I think we could have improved it and got a few extra percentages and hopefully now we have done that. Also See: Womens cricket home Sportswomen Cricket fixtures/results Get Sky Sports ' ' '