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WASHINGTON -- Milos Raonic has had nearly a month to digest his Wimbledon semifinal loss to Roger Federer. But even after all that time, the sting still lingers. "Im still pretty angry about it," Raonic said of the straight-sets loss to the Swiss star. It was the first Grand Slam semifinal for the hard-serving player from Thornhill, Ont., who reached a career-high sixth in the world rankings. Now ranked seventh, he says the disappointment of not advancing to the final at the All-England Club has left him with extra incentive heading into the hard-court season. "Out of all the ranking climbs that Ive made over the past three years that have been significant to me, its probably the one that I enjoyed the least because I felt that I could have done much better in that situation," said Raonic, who returns to the court this week at the Citi Open. Raonic arrived in Washington last Friday -- five days ahead of his opening match -- rested and rejuvenated but with the July 4 loss to Federer still fresh in his mind. The Canadian is seeded second, behind only fifth-ranked Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. "Its been a lot of frustration, anger and disappointment, specifically to that semifinal, and its actually sort of transformed into a lot of energy to do better, to work harder and now its got me really excited," said Raonic. "It makes me want to play that much more badly and get through these next tournaments." The Citi Open is the first of three straight hard-court events for Raonic, who returns home to Toronto next week for the Rogers Cup before playing in the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati the week after. That Raonic is heading into the hard-court season with extra motivation and a newfound confidence is a potentially scary thought for the rest of ATP Tour. "I have more belief in what I can do and the kind of damage that I can make," said Raonic, who has won 82 per cent of his first-serve points this year, second-most on tour, and is third with 567 aces in 34 matches. "I can make guys feel uncomfortable whether theyre ranked No.1 in the world or No. 50. I dont think anybody enjoys playing me so I have a lot more understanding of that and how to use that to my advantage." Prior to his semifinal run on the grass courts at Wimbledon, Raonic also reached the quarter-finals on the clay courts of the French Open. Overall, the 23-year-old compiled a 16-7 record on grass and clay this spring, after going 8-8 over the same stretch a year ago. Combine the recent success in Europe with Raonics past performances on hard courts and he says "this is the most eager" hes ever felt heading into his favourite time of year. "Its the best thing for my game," he said of the hard courts and the typically hot and humid playing conditions that accompany the North American summer schedule. "After spending four months of tennis where Im adjusting to playing the surface, this is a surface where Im comfortable and where I dont have to worry about OK in this situation, I have to hit this kind of shot. (On hard courts) I have that stuff ingrained in myself naturally." Raonics coach, former world No.3 Ivan Ljubicic, also sees the hard-court season as a tremendous opportunity for Raonic to close the gap with the games elite and to potentially breakthrough with his first career Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open. "His level is much higher than at this time last year," said Ljubicic, who challenged Raonic last August to "save" his 2013 season with a strong tournaments in Montreal, Cincinnati and New York. "Hes shown recently that hes better able to handle certain situations -- the pressure situations -- very well," he said. "Hes got the type of personality and character where he feels more comfortable with a higher ranking, where he doesnt feel the pressure. If anything, he has more hunger to do better." Raonic now has his sights set on defending his ranking points at the Rogers Cup -- he reached the final in Montreal last year before falling to Rafael Nadal -- and building towards a strong U.S. Open. He is also eyeing his first career top-5 world ranking. "I think theres a big opening," Raonic said of joining Nadal and Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic among the top-5. "The biggest threshold and the biggest barrier or wall to pass is the one that Novak and Rafa have on the 1-2 spots. But I think that the rest of the parts, this year specifically, are up for grabs." Gilbert Arenas Jersey . 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The 28-year-old joins Scottish striker Kenny Miller and Argentine midfielder Matias Laba as designated players on the Whitecaps roster.TEMPE, Ariz. -- Jake Waters threw for 271 yards and connected with Tyler Lockett on three touchdowns, leading Kansas State to its first bowl victory in 11 years, 31-14 over Michigan in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl on Saturday night. Kansas State (8-5) scored on its first three possessions, all touchdown passes from Waters to Lockett, and its defence dominated Michigan to end a five-game bowl losing streak. Lockett set a school record with 10 catches for 116 yards and Waters completed 21 of 27 passes, sending the Wildcats to their first bowl victory since the 2002 Holiday Bowl. Freshman Shane Morris was steady in place of injured starter Devin Gardner, leading Michigan (7-6) on two early scoring drives. The Wolverines settled for field goals on both and did little the rest of the way, finishing with 261 total yards. Morris threw for 196 yards on 24-of-38 passing with an interception before leading Michigan on a late scoring drive with the game out of reach. Michigans defence also had trouble stopping Kansas State most of the night, giving up 420 total yards Kansas State finished the season strong after some early difficulties -- starting with a home loss to FCS North Dakota State -- winning five of its final six games while scoring at least 31 points in each. Michigan limped to the finish after a 5-0 start, losing five of its final seven games and Gardner along the way. The senior injured his toe in the regular-season finale against Ohio State and didnt recover in time for the bowl game, leaving the Wolverines in the hands of Morris. The freshman hasnt played much over the past year, limited to four games as a high school senior due to mononucleosis and to nine pass attempts as Gardners backup this season. Morris didnt seem to mind being thrust into the spotlight as the first Michigan quarterback to make his first career start in a bowl game.dddddddddddd He was helped by a conservative game plan filled with short throws early and started unleashing his big left arm by Michigans second drive, completing 15 of 19 passes for 121 yards in the first half. The problem for the Wolverines was they couldnt finish off drives, settling for field goals of 22 and 26 yards by Matt Wile. That was good for Wile, who made one field goal all season, but not for Michigan since its defence couldnt seem to stop the Wildcats -- particularly the Waters-to-Lockett combination. Kansas State set the tone on its opening drive, grinding out 75 yards in 15 plays and 7:51 off the clock. Lockett capped it with a 6-yard touchdown catch after the Wildcats line gave Waters just enough time to get the throw off against Michigans blitz. Lockett set up the next drive with a 40-yard kickoff return and capped with a 29-yard touchdown catch, set up by Waters pump fake that gave him separation behind Michigans defence. Kansas State raced down the field again on its next drive, setting up Locketts third touchdown, an 8-yarder from Waters that put the Wildcats up 21-6 at halftime. The Wildcats bogged down in the second half, but so did the Wolverines. Michigan had 23 total yards in the third quarter and failed to capitalize on the games first turnover -- a fumble by Daniel Sams -- by going three-and-out. Kansas States Ian Anderson hit a 22-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, John Hubert scored on a 1-yard run after Morris interception and the Wildcats celebrated Bill Snyders seventh bowl victory by chasing the 74-year-old coach down the sideline for a water-bucket dump. 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