ROME - Canadas Milos Raonic defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (5), 6-4 on Thursday to reach the Italian Open quarterfinals. Zapatillas Asics Baratas España . Raonic, the No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., won five of the last six points in the first-set tiebreaker. He picked up a break in the second set en route to his first career victory over the 11th-seeded Frenchman. Tsonga outlasted Raonic in a marathon match at the London Olympics in 2012 and beat him again last year at Indian Wells. Raonic hit seven aces and saved five break point chances on the red clay courts at the Foro Italico. Hell make his fourth Masters 1000 Series quarterfinal appearance of the season Friday against Jeremy Chardy of France. Chardy, who upset Roger Federer of Switzerland in the second round, advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Croatias Ivan Dodig. Raonic has yet to reach a semifinal this year. Also Thursday, Rafael Nadal was pushed to three sets for the second consecutive match before ultimately prevailing to set up a quarterfinal against Andy Murray. The top-ranked Nadal dropped behind a set and a break against Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, then won 11 of the final 12 games to win 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-1 on another windy day at the Foro Italico. "Get used to (it)," Nadal said of his recent struggles. "With the years thats the normal thing. Everybody suffers. Thats part of the sport." At 27, Nadal believed his best days were probably behind him. "At this age, (Bjorn) Borg was doing other things," said Nadal, a 13-time Grand Slam winner. "Its not possible to win for 10 years with easy scores and easy matches. At the same time, Im sure I can do much better than I am doing." Nadal was looking forward to facing Murray for the first time in more than two years. "I play against one of the top players in the world after two tough days," Nadal said. "If I play well Im going to have my chances, if not Im going to spend the weekend (at home) in Mallorca." Murray eliminated Jurgen Melzer of Austria 7-6 (1), 6-4 to celebrate his 27th birthday. In an upset, the seemingly ageless Tommy Haas beat third-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka 5-7, 6-2, 6-3. On the womens side, Maria Sharapovas 12-match winning streak — which included titles in Stuttgart and Madrid — ended with a 6-1, 6-4 loss to Ana Ivanovic. Showing no signs of trouble from the left thigh injury that forced her to withdraw from Madrid, defending champion Serena Williams cruised past fellow American Varvara Lepchenko 6-1, 6-2. Pushed for three hours by Gilles Simon to nearly midnight a day earlier, Nadal didnt generate the usual depth with his groundstrokes, and began to take control only when Youzhny started committing more unforced errors. "The conditions were very impossible," said Nadal, a seven-time Rome champion. "You always have to find the positive thing. I was able to play with the right motivation even if the feeling was not perfect." Nadal consistently ran around his backhand, a shot that also caused him concern in recent losses to David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, respectively. Of Nadals 29 winners, only two of them came with his backhand. Haas, the oldest player in the draw at 36, used his expertise to give Wawrinka trouble with heavy topspin. Haas last beat a top-10 player more than a year ago in Miami, where he took out then-No. 1 Novak Djokovic. "These things dont happen too often anymore, so when I take them Im really proud of them," the German said. He has been winning this week in Rome for the first time since he lost the 2002 final to Andre Agassi. Wawrinka cited a back injury that occurred in colder conditions during his opening win. "I couldnt move too well," he said. "Its really nothing serious. Its just painful and I need some rest — maybe a few days." Wawrinka has made a great start by winning the Australian Open and the Monte Carlo Masters but another early exit in last weeks Madrid Open leaves his form in question with the French Open starting in 10 days. Haas quarterfinal opponent will be Grigor Dimitrov, who at 22 is the youngest player in the top 20. Dimitrov rallied past sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2. Fifth-seeded David Ferrer beat Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 6-2, 6-3 and will meet either Novak Djokovic or Philipp Kohlschreiber, who were playing late. In womens play, second-seeded Li Na defeated Sam Stosur 6-3, 6-1 and will next meet Sara Errani of Italy, who kept the crowd content by beating Czech qualifier Petra Cetkovska 6-4, 7-6 (3). Also, third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska eliminated Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 6-1, and will play 2007 and 2008 Rome champion Jelena Jankovic, who got by Flavia Pennetta 6-2, 6-3. Asics Baratas España .com) - Virginia is for loving Latrell Scott. Zapatillas Asics Baratas . Canada will host Japan in a World Group first-round match in 2015. It will be a rematch of their first-round clash last year when Japan defeated Canada 4-1 to reach the World Group quarter-finals for the first time in its history. http://www.baratasasics.es/ . The 25-year-old Lu, a regular on the Japan LPGA Tour after giving up her LPGA Tour membership in 2010, shot an 8-under 64 in windy, wet conditions at Kintetsu Kashikojima. DETROIT -- James Shields was acquired two offseasons ago to pitch in games like this for Kansas City. With the Royals trying to avoid a sweep in their biggest series in years, the 32-year-old right-hander delivered. "You dont earn a nickname like Big Game James for nothing," manager Ned Yost said. "Games dont come much bigger than this." Shields allowed two hits over seven innings in another terrific performance, and Kansas City edged Detroit 3-0 on Wednesday night to take a one-game lead over the Tigers atop the AL Central. Detroit had won the first two games of the series to pull into a virtual tie for first in the division. The teams have a three-game series in Kansas City that starts Sept. 19. "Its definitely a game that we needed, for sure, but I think every game from here on out is pretty crucial," Shields said. "We took a couple tough losses there, the last couple days, but were having fun right now and enjoying the moment." Shields (14-7) gave up a single to Ian Kinsler leading off the first. Then he picked off Kinsler -- and retired every other batter he faced until another Detroit single in the seventh. The Tigers put two on that inning, but Shields worked out of the jam. Kelvin Herrera pitched the eighth and Wade Davis finished for his third save. Rick Porcello (15-11) pitched well for the Tigers, but Kansas City pushed across two runs in the fourth on RBI singles by Salvador Perez and Lorenzo Cain. Alcides Escobar added a sacrifice fly in the ninth. Shields was acquired in December 2012 in a trade that sent top prospect Wil Myers to Tampa Bay. Myers won Rookie of the Year honours last season, but now Shields has helped put the Royals in contention for their first post-season appearance since 1985. "The only thing Ive been telling guys is just stay relaxed and have fun," said Shields, who pitched in the post-season for Tampa Bay in 2008, 2010 and 2011. "This is why we play the game." He came within two outs of a shutout in New York on Friday in a 1-0 win over the Yankees, and the Tigers didnt fare any better against him. SShields struck out eight and walked one on Wednesday, throwing 98 pitches. Asics Baratas Chinas. Torii Hunters comebacker hit Shields in the back of his right leg in the first, but the Kansas City starter was able to continue. The game was delayed 42 minutes by rain at the start, and in the fourth it was raining hard enough to send fans toward the concourse, but there were no more delays. RALLY HALTED In the seventh, Hunter managed a single and Miguel Cabrera walked, but Shields retired Victor Martinez on a deep fly and struck out J.D. Martinez. "Thats pretty typical of him. He goes out and he pitches like that for 200 innings every year. Thats what he does," Kinsler said. "Rick threw the ball really well, but we didnt create any offence, and thats the game." TOUGH LOSS Porcello struck out four of the first five Kansas City batters. He allowed two runs and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings, striking out seven without a walk. He allowed consecutive singles to Josh Willingham, Eric Hosmer and Perez with one out in the fourth, and Cains two-out single made it 2-0. TRAINERS ROOM Royals: All-Star closer Greg Holland sat out again, despite the tight score in the late innings. He hasnt pitched since Sept. 3 because of a triceps issue. "Greg felt fine today," Yost said. "My whole mindset was, I was going to go up to the point where Greg said, OK, I dont feel anything -- and then give him another day." Tigers: RHP Joakim Soria (left oblique strain) was activated from the disabled list before the game. He allowed a run in the ninth. ... Left-handed reliever Phil Coke left in the eighth with a muscle spasm in his lower back after being unable to field Hosmers bunt. UP NEXT Royals: RHP Liam Hendriks (1-1) starts against Bostons Clay Buchholz (7-8) on Thursday night. Kansas City LHP Danny Duffy is missing that turn in the rotation because of a sore shoulder. Tigers: Detroit has an off day Thursday, followed by a home series against Cleveland. Tigers LHP David Price (13-11) starts against Cleveland RHP Carlos Carrasco (7-4) on Friday night. ' ' '