LONDON – The numbers dont look promising for Milos Raonic when it comes to his semi-final showdown against Roger Federer at Wimbledon. Consider the following: * Federer has won 17 grand slam titles, including seven at the All England Club. Raonic, meanwhile, is playing in his first ever slam semifinal. * Raonic has lost seven straight matches against top-four players dating back to 2012. Federer is currently ranked No. 4. * Raonic has never beaten Federer in four tries and the most recent match, at the 2013 Australian Open, ended in straight sets. That was their only previous encounter at a slam. * Federer is the most successful active player on grass with a 130-18 career record and 14 titles. Before this tournament, Raonic had never made it past the second round at Wimbledon and had a sub-.500 record on grass. * Federer has never lost a Wimbledon semifinal in eight previous appearances. Did we mention Raonic has never played in any slam semifinal? So, it seems pretty bleak for the 23-year-old, right? Not so according to Raonic, who is aiming to become the first Canadian man to ever make a major final. Heres what he had to say when asked about facing Federer on a court where hes had the most success in his career - a career that may go down as the best ever. "Im going to step out there and Im not playing the seven-time Wimbledon champion. Im not playing a 32-year-old man. Im not playing the father of two sets of twins, which is a very low possibility bet to do. Im not playing the guy thats won whatever hes won, which I could probably list quite vividly. Im playing a guy that is standing in my way of what I want to achieve, and Ive got to focus on everything thats there, on the situation, how best to deal with it to give myself the best possibilities to achieve what I want." Raonic understands how big a win could be for him on Friday. It could be a career-defining moment. "It can be if I get the job done. I focus on what I need to do. Everything else is a ripple effect. Everything else is a reason. I have to create the cause for it by playing good tennis and giving myself the possibility to win." As for those four previous losses to Federer? "Hes gotten the better of me all four times, but I havent played him in more than a year, a year and a bit, so I think Im a different player," Raonic said. "Ive got in close with him in the past. Ive found a lot of those things [that will help me] sort of pull away. That gives me a lot of belief that I can do this. "So theres no point to talk about it. Ive got to step up and do it." Vincent Yarbrough Jersey Signed . But San Diego had even more trouble against right-hander Tanner Roark, who pitched a three-hitter for the first complete game of his career as the Nationals shut out the Padres 4-0. The 27-year-old set down the first 16 batters before San Diego catcher Rene Rivera, an . 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PAUL, Minn – The clock lingered for what seemed like an interminable two minutes and 51 seconds before Mark Fraser finally escaped to the bench during a wildly one-sided first period of an eventual loss to Boston.CONCORD, N.C. -- Clint Bowyer feels awful for costing Ryan Newman a win, though his apology for spinning at Richmond is not an admission of guilt. Ryan Newman also feels terrible. Only his sympathy is for Martin Truex Jr., the unwitting participant in a botched race-fixing attempt by Michael Waltrip Racing that has put two friends in an awkward position and spoiled the start of NASCARs championship race. "I feel bad for Martin, and I feel he didnt know anything about it and he had the carpet ripped out from underneath him," Newman told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "And I know exactly how that feels." Its been a roller-coaster for NASCAR since there were seven laps to go in Saturday nights race at Richmond. Newman was on his way to a victory that would have given him the final spot in the 12-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup championship field. Then Bowyer spun to bring out a caution, setting in motion a chain of events that cost Newman the win and the Chase berth, cost Jeff Gordon a Chase berth and put Truex and Joey Logano in the final two spots. There were way too many questions about the final moments of the race and NASCAR launched an investigation, determining Monday that MWR had manipulated the outcome of the race and levying unprecedented sanctions that put Newman in the Chase and bumped Truex out. MWR was also fined $300,000, general manager Ty Norris was suspended indefinitely, Bowyer, Truex and Brian Vickers were docked 50 points each, and their crew chiefs were placed on probation through the end of the year. Bowyer, previously scheduled to spend the day at ESPN, denied the spin was deliberate. In his first interview, he said he had apologized to Newman in a phone call for bringing out a caution while Newman was leading, but said it was racer protocol for costing Newman a win. Asked specifically if the apology was an admission of guilt, Bowyer said: "Lets not dig too much into this." The topic was covered again in a second appearance, and Bowyer denied deliberately spinning. "No," he said. "Anytime something happens on the race track, its unfortunate. If I had a crystal ball and could have told you everything lined up just perfectly the way it did, theres no way you could do all that math and know everything that happened." Bowyer also revealed he had poison oak all over his arm from cutting a tree down last week when asked about his team allegedly talking in code during the race. His crew chief had inquired about his arm right before he spun, at one point saying, "I bet its hot in there.dddddddddddd Itch it." NASCAR said they could not prove Bowyers spin was intentional. Newman said he accepted Bowyers apology and the two will move on -- they have a previously scheduled hunting trip together next week. But while Bowyer discussed the spin in Monday nights phone call, Newman told AP Bowyer never said it was intentional. "I could tell by the sound of his voice, I really feel he was genuine with his remorse," Newman said. "He said it was a heat of the moment thing, and he told me the biggest thing was he was glad NASCAR did what they did and took the action they did to get me in the Chase. I believed him and that made me feel good about what he was saying. But, no, he did not say with the exact words that he spun on purpose." Still, Newman said he has no doubt that MWR manipulated the ending of the race through a series of different actions that only began with the Bowyer spin. NASCAR could only prove one action -- radio communication between Norris and Vickers in which a confused Vickers was told to pit as the field went green with three laps to go. The call was an effort to give Joey Logano position on the track to pass Jeff Gordon in the standings and knock Gordon out of the Chase so that Truex could gain the wild card. Newman had been leading at the time of Bowyers spin with seven laps to go, and the victory would have given him the wild-card berth. He lost the race and the final spot in the Chase. "That no doubt was the toughest thing in my career, having the carpet pulled out from underneath me," Newman said. "To have that manipulated, and after the race, I didnt put two-and-two together, I didnt immediately think it was on purpose. Obviously, Clint has a lot of remorse now." Newman, however, feels awful for good friend Truex, who has not spoken publicly since Saturdays race. When it was Truex who ended up advancing into the Chase, Newman said he found his friend after the race and told him, "Now go do something with it." Having now swapped places with his buddy because of unprecedented NASCAR sanctions to correct a bizarre race-fixing attempt, Newman said Truex has given him the same advice. "I know that its tough for him because of his team situation," Newman said. "I want to go out and do the best I can in the Chase and do the best I can for my team, but at the same time, Im disappointed my buddy isnt part of it and Im disappointed at what hes going through right now." ' ' '