With the Rogers Cup set to take place in Montreal next week, Blainville, Quebecs Aleksandra Wozniak reflects on preparing for the event in her home province with her personal blog on RDS. Kyle Kuzma Jersey .ca and TSN.ca. I took a few days off after Wimbledon, but now Im back in training - seven hours a day, six days a week. Ive finished my preparation for the tournament at Stanford before returning to Quebec for the Rogers Cup. And Ive spent a lot of time on the field and in the gym. Im really happy to go play at Stanford, a place where Ive kept some precious memories. This is where, in 2008, I won my first title on the WTA Tour at age 20. This time, Im going through qualification before I get to see my name on the main board - an event that will feature top seed Serena Williams. It seems that when a tennis player returns to play in a tournament that he or she has already won, the organizers generally give some more attention to that former champion. Sometimes youre entitled to special treatment because theyre happy to know youre returning. There are certainly a lot of tournaments in a year and each player usually has an established route for the season. Sometimes the former champions dont return to where theyvewon. But as a former champion, I keep so many great memories and beautiful thoughts it feels good to go back. Not to mention that Stanford University is beautiful, with a great atmosphere and people who love tennis. Theyre true enthusiasts and its nice to play there. I was also very happy to learn that the organizers of the Rogers Cup gave me a pass for the tournament, which begins next week in Montreal. Ive supported Tennis Canada for several years and they believe in me, knowing all the efforts that I put in to heal my injured right shoulder. Tennis Canada knows that I work hard to improve my lot in the sport. I was 378th in the world but now Im up at 103rd. There was a time when I was one of the few Canadians on the professional tour, but I continued to get great support along with other new players. Going through the qualification stage doesnt bother me, but I am very pleased with this pass in Montreal. Upon my return to competition, the most important thing was playing as many events as possible just to get into shape. I hadnt played for a year and wanted to find my bearings and rebuild my confidence. Then when you start winning more regularly, its good to get to play in places like Montreal. And the Rogers Cup is my favorite tournament. When I was younger, my parents took me to this tournament so I could see my idol Monica Seles in action. Watching her in my hometown made me want to be like her. It made me dream. And its great for encouraging young people to play tennis. And of course, I get to play at home - where I reached the quarterfinal round two years ago and was the first Canadian in 20 years to get that far in the tournament. It will be very fun to play at home in front of family and sponsors, not to mention the fans who bring a beautiful energy. Ill try to play my best tennis for my supporters and go as far as possible against the best in the world. I would like to repeat what I did two years ago, taking one game at a time. And of course, Eugenie Bouchards success in the WTA is spilling over in courts across the country. With Eugenie and others making their mark, were demonstrating to the world that Canadians wont be easy prey and were very competitive. A few years ago, I was the only Canadian in the Top 50. Today, we have Eugenie and Sharon Fichman - not to mention the guys! All of these good performances are inspiring our youngest to play tennis. I am very pleased to see Eugenie succeed on the world stage. We all work very hard to climb to the top and we do it our own way. I reached 21st in the world a few years ago but unfortunately, injuries slowed my progress. But Im a very persistent and determined girl and will continue my journey by staying focused on my career. A heavy loss - Dr. Francis Jean Its with great sadness that I learned of the passing of Dr. Francis Jean, the founder of The Iris Visual Group. They were my first major sponsor, well before my win at Stanford. Francis believed in me and always encouraged me - even when things werent going so well. He sent me little words of encouragement and was very active in the tennis world. He was a true sports enthusiast and was loved by all. My deepest sympathies to his entire family. https://www.facebook.com/WozAlekshttp://...iak.com/Twitter @alekswoz Kyle Kuzma Lakers Jersey .Leicester won 25-21 in a heated European Rugby Champions Cup group match on Sunday.Toulon said on its website on Wednesday that it decided to open an investigation after Leicester complained about the behaviour of prop Martin Castrogiovanni and fullback Delon Armitage. Tyson Chandler Lakers Jersey .com) - The fading Ottawa Senators have a chance to make up some ground in the playoff race on Tuesday night as they play host to the New York Rangers. http://www.lakersbasketballshop.com/Vlade-Divac-Jersey/ .com) - New England Patriots starting center Bryan Stork will not play in Sundays AFC Championship against Indianapolis due to a knee injury the rookie sustained last week. PHOENIX -- Paul Goldschmidt seems to hit whatever Tim Lincecum throws at him. So does Aaron Hill. Neither one is about to question why. Theyre just going to enjoy the success while it lasts. Hill drove in two runs, and Goldschmidt had two hits off Lincecum, helping the Arizona Diamondbacks send the San Francisco Giants to their sixth straight loss, 4-1 on Friday night. "You dont want to take it lightly because baseball can turn at any moment," said Hill, who is 11 for 19 against Lincecum. "He is a great pitcher and had a great career, and you dont want to make it sound like its easy. Hes a great pitcher and its not easy." The Giants still lead the NL West, but have lost nine of 10 to see a lead that was once 9 1-2 games dwindle to less than four. The last-place Diamondbacks extended San Franciscos misery behind a gritty effort by Josh Collmenter (5-4) and by knocking around Lincecum (5-5). Hill had run-scoring hits in the fourth and fifth innings, and Goldschmidt had a single and double to raise his average to .577 against the two-time Cy Young Award winner. Collmenter fought through five innings to win for the first time in four starts. Arizonas bullpen picked it up from there. Three pitchers worked scoreless innings, and Addison Reed had a perfect ninth to close out his 17th save. It was Arizonas third win in 10 games and another frustrating loss in what is becoming a long stream of them for the Giants. "Its been that way here through this tough streak," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "We are missing the big hit, kind of keep the line moving. We had some great at-bats, stretched him (Collmenter) out, but he dodged some bullets there." Collmenter had lost two straight starts, allowing six runs in six innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers his last time out. The right-hander laboured through his night, needing 31 pitches to get through the first. Pablo Sandoval had a run-scoring triple in the inning, chugginng his way around the bases after centre fielder Ender Inciarte just missed a diving catch in the gap. Shaquille ONeal Lakers Jersey. . Collmenter continued to run up his pitch count, yet found ways to wriggle out of jams. He walked two in the fifth inning and got out of that by striking out Sandoval and getting Michael Morse to fly out to deep centre. Collmenter allowed a run and four hits, struck out four and walked four while throwing a season-high 109 pitches. "I just continued to battle," Collmenter said. "I dont think Ive ever had a clean, crisp outing against these guys for whatever reason. But I felt as good as I have in the last few starts and was able to make some good pitches." Lincecum was solid in his previous two starts, allowing five combined runs after giving up eight against Cincinnati on June 3. Like Collmenter, he struggled. Unlike Collmenter, he didnt always get out of it. Arizona scored two runs off the right-hander in the fourth inning, on Hills single and a double by Martin Prado. Arizona added a run in the fifth on a run-scoring triple by Chris Owings, who was thrown out at the plate while trying for an inside-the-park homer. Hill made it 4-1 with a sacrifice fly that scored Goldschmidt, who improved to 15 for 26 against Lincecum with his second hit of the night, a double off the wall in left-centre. Lincecum allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings. "I left too many pitches over the plate, and you saw what they did with them," Lincecum said. NOTES: The Diamondbacks signed first-round draft pick Touki Toussaint. Arizona took the right-hander from Coral Springs (Fla.) Christian Academy with the 16th pick in this years draft. ... Giants OF Angel Pagan missed his fourth straight game with lower back pain, but Bochy said he could be back in the lineup Saturday night. ... Arizona RHP Brandon McCarthy will pitch in the middle game of the series against Giants RHP Ryan Vogelsong. 01:33ET 21-06-14 ' ' '