MONTREAL -- While top players keep dropping around her, Serena Williams plows ahead at the womens Rogers Cup. Samson Ebukam Jersey . On a day that saw French Open champion Maria Sharapova and Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova eliminated from the US$2.44 million hardcourt event, Williams served impeccably to defeat 15th-seeded Lucie Safarova 7-5, 6-4 in the third round on Thursday. She is 7-0 in her career against the Czech left-hander. The match played out from the service line, with one break in each set going to Williams. In the last game of the second, Safarova double faulted twice and the hit match point long. "I served great," said Williams, who is celebrating her 200th week as the world No. 1 and who is coming off a win last week at Stanford. "I needed to serve great because she was hitting unbelievable serves to me." Williams, who won last year in Toronto, is playing in Montreal for the first time since she retired with an injury in the final in 2000. For a second match in a row, the American delighted the crowd by doing her post-match interview at courtside in French. The win set up a quarter-final on Friday between the two most impressive players in the tournament, Williams and Caroline Wozniacki, who routed American qualifier Shelby Rogers 6-1, 6-0. Wozniacki, the 11th seed from Denmark who coming off a victory in Istanbul, has dropped only six games in three matches en route to the quarter-finals. "It will be a great match," said Williams, who is 6-1 against Wozniacki. "Shes playing great tennis. "Shes really focused. It will be a good match to see where I am." Rogers caused the shock of the tournament when she ousted local favourite Eugenie Bouchard in the second round on Tuesday night. But the 113th-ranked American was no match for former world No. 1 Wozniacki. "I felt really comfortable and confident," Wozniacki said. "I served and returned well. "Shes a tough player. She has some big shots. I was just able to neutralize them and play my game." Carla Suarez Navarro upset fourth-seeded Sharapova 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in a match delayed twice by rain. And second seed Kvitova is out after a 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 loss to Ekaterina Makarova in a battle of left-handers. Suarez Navarro, ranked 16th in the world, returned from the second delay to break Sharapovas service and then staved off a break point in the next game thanks to a lucky net cord. She broke again in the final game. Sharapova said playing on centre court, which has more space on the sides and behind the baseline than a regular court, may have helped her Spanish opponent. "I think that favoured her quite well as she was able to step so far behind the baseline and retrieve a lot of balls," said Sharapova. Sharapova, just getting started on the hardcourt season, had struggled to a three-set win in her opening match Wednesday against Garbine Muguruza. She said she has much to work on in her game heading toward the U.S. Open at the end of August. "I couldnt find my rhythm from the beginning of the match," said the 27-year-old. "I always had my back against the wall, always had to come back." She said the rain, which sprinkled just enough to cause roughly 30-minute delays, was not a factor. The 25-year-old Suarez Navarro won her first WTA tournament this year at the Portugal Open in May. She will face the winner of an evening match between Venus Williams and Angelique Kerber. Makarova, ranked 19th in the world, has been hot of late, reaching the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and then going to the semifinals last week in Washington. She will play the winner between Jalena Jankovic and qualifier Coco Vandeweghe. "I didnt change anything," said Makarova, who is being handled by her mother while her regular coach is on holiday. "I just had a couple of days of holiday (after Wimbledon) and started working again. Maybe Im just really well prepared for this American tour." Kvitova said she and Bouchard, who she beat in the Wimbledon final, may both have struggled to get back into normal competition. Kvitova felt she had no legs on court, while Bouchard was equally listless in her loss to Rogers, although the pressure of expectations from her hometown crowd was also a factor. "After the big success of a final at Wimbledon, its never easy," said Kvitova, who also won at the All England Club in 2011. "For her, its a new situation. "I honestly know what Im talking about. I really feel for her. I know how shes feeling. But I think its something you never learn from, you just have to live with it. I think she will come back stronger." Later Thursday, American qualifier Coco Vandeweghe upset seventh seed Jelena Jonkovic 7-6 (8), 2-6, 7-5. Vandeweghe will face Makarova in the quarter-final. In the late matches, Victoria Azarenka downed Heather Watson 6-2, 6-4, Venus Williams got past Angelique Kerber 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, and Agnieszka Radwanska beat Sabine Lisicki 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Aaron Donald Jersey .Inter Milan and Napoli also advanced to ensure there will be at least three Italian clubs in the last 32 of Europes secondary competition.Spurs victory, secured by Benjamin Stamboulis 49th-minute winner, was overshadowed by a succession of pitch invasions that forced the referee to halt the game after 41 minutes. Ethan Westbrooks Jersey . -- Zach Johnson asked his short-iron approach on the par-4 18th to "Do something right, baby. http://www.cheapramsjerseysonline.com/ . "Weve given ourselves now a tougher task," said Carlyle after the Friday practice, the Toronto head coach notably chipper and upbeat throughout. "But the bottom line is we just have to win our share of games [and] not worry about what anybody else is doing.TORONTO -- Theres a new hip face of the franchise, a new look in the works, and in 2016 theyll host basketballs biggest party. The Toronto Raptors officially announced Monday that theyll host the 2016 NBA all-star game and unveiled homegrown rap star Drake as their new "global ambassador." They also confirmed theyll have a new look and new colours -- but not a new name -- for the 2015-16 season. Its all in an effort to turn around Canadas floundering basketball franchise, and what Tim Leiweke, the president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd., called the beginning of a "new age" for the Raptors. Now the team has to do its part to live up to the hype. "Anything you do, for me, its all based on winning," said Raptors president and general manager Masai Ujiri. "This is all great and beautiful for the city, but at the end of the day, my responsibility, and my teams responsibility is to put that basketball team on the floor that is going to try and win out there. "Its going to take time and patience, but were taking on the challenge, and we love it. The people, the organization, the fans I think deserve it in Toronto." Drake, who grew up a Raptors fan and calls some of the leagues biggest stars his close friends, said he approached the team about getting involved. "I want to bring the excitement into this building, I want a team that people are dying to come see, I want the tickets to be extremely hard to get, I want to bring that aggression, I want to bring that energy," said Drake. "And obviously I want it to be a top team in the NBA, if not the top team." A crowd of several hundred people -- including reporters representing sports, entertainment and news, plus MLSE employees -- squeezed into the atrium at the Air Canada Centre for the announcement, which kicked off one of the most festive Toronto Raptors media days in the teams history. Drake -- who looked sharp wearing the lone electric blue suit among a stage full of black-clad MLSE officials and politicians, including Mayor Rob Ford -- joked he would "have to go to Harry Rosen and get some more neutral suits because the vibrant blues arent going to cut it." Leiweke scheduled the announcement to coincide with the opening of camp, he said, to set a tone for the franchise. He called the day a "turning point" for the team. "I think what youre seeing is the remaking of a franchise, the remaking of what people think about us, the remaking of the demand in the marketplace for us," Leiweke said. "I think theres a reason that we led the NBA in new ticket sales the last few weeks, theres now a buzz about this organization." Leiweke stressed the all-star game isnt the final destination, that winning a championship is. But a team that hasnt made the playoffs since 2008 has a long way to go. The Raptors went 34-48 last season, spending most of it digging out of a horrific 4-19 hole. "Not to make Masai feel any more pressure than he already feels but I think we know weve got to be competitive by the all-star game," Leiweke said. "We cant be a dormant franchise, and what we wont do is have one thing to talk about in 2016, which is an all-star game. Mike Thomas Jersey. The all-star game should be part of a new image, it shouldnt be the new image." The players said there was reason to be optimistic. Rudy Gay, acquired in the mid-season three-team trade, looked stronger for his summer spent in the gym, and said hes put on 20 pounds of muscle. A lean Kyle Lowry looked about 20 pounds lighter. DeMar DeRozan spent much off the off-season improving his three-point shooting. Monday, they were focused on the beginning of training camp and the coming season, while sounding at best only mildly interested in all the all-star hype. "Its a lot better when you have a good team going into playoffs and is known as a good team and then host the all-star team, than (host the all-star game) as a sub-par team," Gay said. He did say Drakes backing meant something. "Hes a staple in this city, and for him to behind us as we try to get better as a franchise, it says a lot," Gay said. The 26-year-old rapper, who said he travels the world preaching the "gospel that is Toronto," grew up following the Raptors, and called the Vince Carter era the source of his best basketball memories. He envisions "everybody wearing Raptors stuff. I want to have merchandising through the roof, I want everybody to be proud and patriotic about being from here and supporting this team." Drake counts among his good friends: Raptors forward Amir Johnson, and Toronto native and University of Kansas forward Andrew Wiggins. Last week Johnson, on his own accord, bought out all of Drakes new album "Nothing Was the Same" at two Toronto stores. He then handed out the several hundred copies free to fans at downtowns Yonge-Dundas Square. "Hes just a great guy," Drake said of Johnson. "Luckily for us, we have an amazing foundation thus far, so I think for the franchise its going to take work but theres a base foundation there." What exactly his role will be -- or even how much hell be around the Air Canada Centre considering he just released his new album -- remains to be seen. But Leiweke promised Drake will have "as much a footprint on the all-star week as the NBA will allow us to." The city last hosted an all-star game in 2008 when Major League Soccer held its showcase here. The NHL staged its all-star game in Toronto in 2000 while the Toronto Blue Jays hosted baseballs marquee contest in 1991. The 2014 all-star game will be held in New Orleans while New York will host the 2015 contest. Leiweke says an NBA all-star game usually generates somewhere around $100 million for the host city but he predicted Toronto will eclipse that, saying he and Drake have been discussing making the festivities about more than just basketball and music. "Were already talking about fashion, were talking about films, were talking about food, were talking about all the things ... that are the trademark of this great city," said Leiweke. "We certainly see it as an opportunity to let everyone see all the phenomenal parts of Toronto." 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