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MONTREAL - It was an intense week at the Bouchard household as daughter Eugenie worked her way to the Australian Open semifinals. http:///...e-wl501-gra-sko.html . "We were yelling like idiots," Mike Bouchard, the players father, said Thursday of his daughters stirring win over Ana Ivanovic in the quarter-finals, which made her the first Canadian to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament since Carling Bassett-Seguso in 1984. It wasnt quite as frenzied at their Westmount, Que., home two nights later, when Bouchard bowed out with a 6-2, 6-4 loss to fourth-seeded Li Na of China in the semis. "It was also exciting, but in the first set Li Na came out strong and Genie was a little nervous," he said. "I felt for her, but she came back well in the second set. Overall, it was an excellent tournament." Bouchard stole the show in Melbourne, where a dozen or so local fans formed Genies Army to cheer her on and toss her stuffed Australian animals after her wins. Several commentators spoke of Bouchard, the 2012 Wimbledon junior girls champion, being the next big thing in womens tennis and a potential future Grand Slam tournament winner. Already, her results are expected to move her from 31st into the top 20 in next weeks rankings. And it has stirred ticket sales for her next appearance on home turf. She will play for Canada against Serbia Feb. 8-9 in a Federation Cup tie at the Claude Robillard Centre in Montreal. Eugene Lapierre of Tennis Canada, tournament director for the Montreal half of the Rogers Cup, said 500 to 600 tickets per day have been sold since Bouchards win over Ivanovic. The 4,000-seat venue will likely be sold out. And ticket sales have picked up for the womens Rogers Cup at Uniprix Stadium next summer, which is rare in January. "It will drag a lot of people out to come and watch her play," said Lapierre. "It will be interesting to see how she makes the switch from a Grand Slam and playing in a 20,000 seat stadium to the Claude Robillard here with 4,000. But it will be a lot of fun." Canadian tennis has been on a high lately with Milos Raonics rise into the top 10 in the world on the mens side and Vasek Pospisil also climbing in the rankings. Both made the Rogers Cup semifinals in Montreal last summer and led the Davis Cup team to a first-ever semifinal appearance. "Its phenomenal what Eugenie has done," said Lapierre. "I wouldnt say she opened the gates for Canada. The boys started that last year. "But its a new era thats started with the sport of tennis in Canada. Itll be tremendous for the promotion of the game in Canada. Thats our goal at Tennis Canada — to get more kids playing the game. Everyones talking about Eugenie, and thats bound to be good for the sport." Louis Borfiga, Tennis Canadas high performance director, said Bouchard could have a similar impact to Nadia Comaneci, the Romanian who drew slews of girls to try gymnastics after her stunning performance at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. Or the effect that Anna Kournikova and Maria Sharapova had on womens tennis in Russia. "It will enlarge the pool of players and that will produce more very good players," said Borfiga. "Thats the difference between Canada and countries like France and Spain — their pool of players is larger." Mike Bouchard, an investment banker, is fine with having a daughter who may be seen as a role model for young players. He doesnt even mind that she is quickly becoming a celebrity. "Its good for her," he said. "Shes put in so much work and effort. "If she can be an ambassador for tennis and help tennis grow in Canada, thats fantastic. If it becomes bigger than that — international stardom — good for her. She has a strong head. Shes well grounded, and I think shell be able to go through that unscathed." Mike Bouchard knew he had a special daughter when Eugenie was a young child. When she was 12, the family the moved to Florida so she could learn at an academy run by Nick Saviano, who remains her coach. She spent more than three years in Florida before returning to Montreal to work at the national tennis centre. "It was difficult to find players at her own level to play against, and we also wanted to expose her to international coaching," said Mike Bouchard. "It takes a lot of dedication. Everyone in the family chipped in." Eugenie has a fraternal twin sister Beatrice, an 18-year-old sister Charlotte and a 14-year-old brother William, so the move was a big commitment for all of them. It paid off when Bouchard became one of the worlds top junior players and then made a rapid rise in WTA rankings. The group cant go to every tournament and they elected not to go to Australia, where Eugenie lost in the qualifying tournament last year. But her father said he was tempted to jump on a plane when she reached the semifinals. "We never anticipated shed go this far in the first Grand Slam of the year, so we gathered the kids and some friends and we watched (on TV)," he said. "There was a lot of emotions when she was hitting some winners. We were screaming and laughing and encouraging her." He was a little taken aback at a bizarre question put to Eugenie by an on-court interviewer after the quarter-final. She was asked who shed most like to date. To the apparent displeasure of Genies Army, she named Canadian pop star Justin Bieber. "Youve got to get used to that if youre going to become a celebrity," Bouchard said. "I actually thought she answered pretty well. She said Justin Bieber with a question mark at the end. It was tongue in cheek." It became a little awkward when Bieber was arrested in Florida on Thursday for reportedly taking part in an early morning drag race. "I actually dont follow anything that goes on in his life," Bouchard said with a laugh. "But I did hear about that." http:///...orange-hvid-kpu.html . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. http:///...rod-orange-born.html . John Tavares, Thomas Vanek and Kyle Okposo were also being counted on to slow down sizzling Rangers forward Rick Nash. That plan didnt go so well early. http:///...ul-sort-charkul.html . The Croatian served 21 aces and hit 42 winners against Sijsling, who double-faulted to give Cilic a 4-3 lead in the deciding set. "All the players, they know me and they were really happy to see me and they were really happy that this is over for me," Cilic said.UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- John Tortorella was pleased his Vancouver Canucks left Long Island with two points he felt they shouldve had two days earlier in Columbus. How they got these is another story. "I thought it was an absolute mess, right on through," the blustery coach said after the Canucks rallied for a 5-4 overtime victory against the New York Islanders on Tuesday night. "It seems like every time we come into this building ... it turns into a cluster." The Canucks erased a 2-0 deficit in the first period, a 3-2 hole in the second, and overcame a tying goal by the Islanders Frans Nielsen with 1:12 left in regulation. Vancouver improved to 3-1-1 on its seven-game trip that has two stops remaining. This win took a little bit of the sting off a 3-1 loss at Columbus on Sunday. "I give them credit," Tortorella said. "It was ugly. We made a ton of mistakes, they made a ton of mistakes, but we found a way to win. Thats what I was so disappointed in Columbus about. It was a game that good teams win. We didnt. "Tonight is another type of game where I think if youre going to get there in the end, you have to win." Brad Richardson provided the deciding goal, banking the puck in off Islanders goalie Evgeni Nabokov 2:16 into overtime with Vancouvers 33rd shot. The Islanders salvaged a point at the end of their 1-1-2 homestand when with Nabokov pulled, Nielsen fired the rebound of MacDonalds shot into the open left side, past the outstretched glove of Roberto Luongo to tie it at 4. "We found a way in the third period," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "We need some guys to play better. We need some guys to engage more if they want the ice time they want. That will be addressed." Chris Higgins had given the Canucks their first lead -- 4-3 -- with 17.2 seconds left in the second. He scored off a feed from defenceman Kevin Bieksa, who took the puck away from Brock Nelson in the New York zone. "It wasnt the prettiest one but well take it," said Higgins, a Long Island native with dozens of friends and family in attendance. "It was a bad game to watch but you have to grind out some ugly ones." Ryan Kesler scored his fourth of the season to get Vancouver on the board, and Daniel Sedin tied it 2-2 with his second 4:12 later. Vancouver will play on back-to-back days at New Jersey and St. Louis to finish this long trip. "As you go further and further, you wear down a bit. Its natural," Tortorella said. "Its a situation that teams have to fight through." New York grabbed the lead just 2:26 in on Nelsons first NHL goal and wwent ahead 2-0 just 2:15 after that on the first of Matt Moulsons two power-play goals. http:///...fw-bla-hvid-sko.html. Islanders captain John Tavares earned an assist to stretch his point streak to eight games, but New York finished its homestand 1-1-2. Vancouver started its comeback 16 seconds later, taking advantage of a shaky Nabokov, who made 28 saves. Moulson put New York back in front 4:48 into the second, but Henrik Sedin answered that one at 12:39. The Islanders looked ready to run the road-weary Canucks out of the Nassau Coliseum in Vancouvers first visit since a shootout win on Jan. 11, 2011. Cal Clutterbuck sent the puck behind the net from right-wing wall to Peter Regin, who carried it out by the left post and tried a jam shot. Nelson came to the right post and knocked in the rebound. New York struck again on its first power play after Higgins slashed Nielsen. Tavares sent a pass down to Nielsen near the left post, and he moved the puck across the crease to Moulson, who was first denied by Luongo but then knocked in the rebound. Islanders fans were still celebrating that one when Kesler cut the Canucks hole in half. Defenceman Dan Hamhuis fired a long shot from inside the Islanders zone that Nabokov blocked with his chest but couldnt control. The puck bounced into the slot, and Kesler beat New York defenceman Andrew MacDonald to it and knocked it past Nabokov. Nabokov wasnt any sharper a few minutes later when Jannik Hansen sent a pass from the right circle to Daniel Sedin in the left circle for a drive that sailed past the Islanders goalie to make it 2-2. The 38-year-old goalie has played in all but one of New Yorks nine games, but could soon lose playing time to backup Kevin Poulin. "Im not going to discuss the goaltending," Capuano said. "Poulin is going to get his chance shortly. If he plays well, hes going to play more." Luongo, the No. 4 pick in the 1997 NHL draft by the Islanders, found his game and made a pair of stellar saves to deny Moulson and Thomas Hickey to keep it tied before the intermission. Only Moulson had the touch to beat him again. Moulson let go a wrist shot from the right circle that found its way over Luongos glove and into the top right corner of the net. NOTES: Luongo improved to 8-10-3 against the Islanders in 24 games, the same number he played for them in his one season before being traded to Florida. ... Nelson was in the lineup for speedy RW Michael Grabner, who served the first game of a two-game suspension for hitting Carolina forward Nathan Gerbe in the head on Saturday. ... Canucks LW David Booth was a healthy scratch. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '