TORONTO -- Rogers Cup fans got a glimpse of whats been touted as the next big thing in American tennis for some time. Sloane Stephens debuted at the womens tournament Monday with a 6-2, 7-6(5) victory over Frances Kristina Mladenovic in the opening round. The world No. 17-ranked Stephens has been labelled the natural successor to Serena and Venus Williams in the American womens game. This year shes proving why, with a semifinal showing at the Australian Open and quarter-final appearance at Wimbledon. Stephens insists she doesnt let the hype affect her game. "Obviously most of the attention I get is pretty positive," said Stephens. "Its because people want to see me do well and Im American and thats awesome, but I mean theres a little downfall of that too. There is a lot of pressure ... and things like that. "You just have to deal with it and play hard and imagine what (Andy) Murray deals with in England and what Serena has dealt with for so many years. Its definitely tough but people have done it before." The 20-year-old Stephens battled back from down 5-3 in the second set to win the match in 90 minutes, 40 seconds. She looked strong from the first game as she broke Mladenovic twice to jump out to a 3-0 lead. The No. 39-ranked Frenchwoman tried to play aggressive by attacking the net, but Stephens blew a forehand by her to make it 4-0. "She comes in a lot and volleys really well," said Stephens. "I knew probably she was going to press a little and make me play more balls. But I tried to stay with it and hit a lot of angles and move her and it seemed to work." Mladenovic had a chance to break and make it 4-2 but returned the ball long, then wide before Stephens reversed momentum to win the game and pull ahead 5-1. Mladenovic appeared en route to forcing a third set with a 5-3 lead in the second, but Stephens won three straight games before closing out the match in a tiebreak. "She upped her game a lot in the second set," said Stephens. "Some nights its going to be up and down, but I thought I stayed pretty solid and got through it." Stephens will next face Germanys Mona Barthel, who advanced with a 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-6(1) win over Chinas Jie Zheng. Carol Zhao, meanwhile, became the first Canadian ousted from the tournaments main draw. The 18-year-old qualifier from nearby Richmond Hill, Ont., lost 6-1, 6-3 to Russias Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Zhao, making her first appearance in the Rogers Cup main draw, looked overpowered by the Russian in the first set but fought back for a 3-0 lead in the second. "I think I just tried to simplify my game plan (in the second set), and I think it rattled her a little bit," said Zhao. "I think the next step for me is trying to maintain that level of play for a longer period of time." Pavlyuchenkova rallied back to make it 4-3 before winning the match on serve. Shell meet four-seed Li Na of China in the second round. Zhao says the experience of playing her first Rogers Cup will be a lasting memory. "I think there is nothing really like coming to play the Rogers Cup. This is a tournament I grew up watching," said Zhao. "Getting an opportunity to play in the main draw is a dream come true." Most of the pre-tournament buzz has been around her fellow Canadian Eugenie Bouchard who lost in doubles on Monday with partner Kirsten Flipkens of Germany. The duo fell to Oksana Kalashnikova and Alicja Rosolska 4-6, 6-3, 10-7. Bouchard, a Westmount, Que., native who is the main draw on a wild card, will play her first singles match on Tuesday night against Russias Alisa Kleybanova. Bouchard turned heads at Wimbledon this year when she advanced to the third round with victory over former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic. Flavia Pennetta and Yanina Wickmayer were among the early winners in Mondays opening round. Pennetta of Italy became the first player through to the second round after she eliminated Urszula Radwanska 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, while Belgiums Wickmayer ousted American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Mattek-Sands was called upon shortly before the match after Britains Laura Robson pulled out with a right wrist injury. Known for her eye-catching fashion sense, Mattek-Sands sported black socks and wrist bands with a streak of green in her blonde hair. The world No. 32-ranked Robson -- set to make her Rogers Cup debut -- joins a list of injured players who withdrew from the tournament, including top-5 seeds Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka. Robson was coming off a strong performance at Wimbledon where she reached the fourth round -- the first British woman to do it since 1998. In other early results Monday, Dominika Cibulkova knocked off fellow Slovakian Jana Cepelova 7-5, 6-4; Romanias Sorana Cirstea moved on with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Ukrainian qualifier Olga Savchuk; 10-seed Roberta Vinci of Italy beat Germanys Julia Goerges 2-6, 6-4, 6-3; Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands defeated American Alison Riske 6-4, 1-6, 6-3; Varvara Lepchenko of the U.S. won 6-3, 6-1 over Ayumi Morita of Japan; and Klara Zakopalova was a 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 winner over fellow Czech Lucie Safarova. Rafael Camacho Liverpool Jersey . Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. Jordan Henderson Liverpool Jersey .05 million next season unless Graham and the Saints subsequently agree on a long-term deal. The designation was released Monday after the deadline passed for NFL teams to use franchise or transition tags on players becoming free agents. http://www.liverpoolgear.us/Authentic-Fabinho-Liverpool-Jersey/ . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. Custom Liverpool Jerseys .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have placed centre Cody Hodgson on injured reserve and recalled two players from their AHL affiliate in Rochester. Fabinho Jersey .Y. - New York City has been selected to host the NBA All-Star weekend in 2015, with the game played at Madison Square Garden and the slam dunk contest and other skills events held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.LOS ANGELES, Calif. - When the Diamondbacks and Dodgers get together, its bound to be close. Six of their seven games this season have been decided by three runs or less, and the latest was even tighter. Willie Bloomquist put Arizona ahead with a bases-loaded, two-run infield single off Los Angeles closer Brandon League in a four-run ninth inning, helping the D-backs rally for a 5-4 victory on Monday night. "Its going to come down to the last at-bat against them," Bloomquist said. "I was just trying to stay up the middle. I didnt hit it great but sometimes direction is better than hitting it hard." Diamondbacks closer Heath Bell then barely held on as Arizona won its fifth straight against the Dodgers and improved to 6-1 against them this season, including a three-game sweep in May. "Heath kept his composure," D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said. "Guys buckled down and they didnt give in." The D-backs closed to 3-2 on pinch-hitter Jason Kubels infield single to second base that scored Martin Prado, who singled with one out in the ninth. Gerardo Parra doubled to deep centre before League walked pinch-hitter Didi Gregorius to load the bases. Bloomquist hit a sharp grounder that shortstop Nick Punto stopped with a dive behind second base but couldnt hold onto the ball and Parra and Josh Wilson, running for Kubel, scored to give the D-backs a 4-3 lead, their first of the game. "The groundball with the bases loaded, it was just an inch away from being an out," League said. "But I didnt do my job in the ninth and I got an L for it." Peter Moylan replaced League and gave up a RBI single to Paul Goldschmidt, making it 5-3. Juan Uribe pulled the Dodgers to 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth with a solo homer off Bell. Tim Federowicz followed with a double that glanced off the glove of right fielder Parra. "I made a mistake and they got a hit," Bell said. "The Dodgers are really hot right now. It was just a good win for us." Pinch-hitter Skip Schumaker sacrificed Federowicz to third on Prados fielding error, but Bell retired three in a row to finish for his 12th save. Tony Sipp (3-1) pitched one-third of an inning for the victory. "Nobody is giving in ever," Arizona starter Wade Mileyy said.dddddddddddd"We battled and battled and battled, got opportunities and made it work." League (2-3) gave up four runs and four hits, struck out one and walked one in two-thirds of an inning for the loss. Dodgers rookie sensation Yasiel Puig went 3 for 4 with a strikeout while hitting fourth in the lineup after batting leadoff in his first seven big league games last week. He was named NL player of the week on Monday for his stellar performance that featured 13 hits in 28 at-bats, four home runs and 10 RBIs. Puigs single loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth, but Jerry Hairston Jr. grounded into a double play to third and Andre Ethier flied out to centre to end the inning. Mark Ellis homer in the fifth extended the Dodgers lead to 3-1. He went 3 for 4 with a walk and two runs scored. Uribe snapped a 1-all tie with his broken-bat double that scored Hairston, who singled and took second on Ethiers single. Puig opened the inning with a single, and tried to eke out an extra base on Hairstons hit but was thrown out at third by right fielder Parra. Arizonas first run came on Miguel Monteros RBI single in the second that tied the game 1-1. Parra robbed Federowicz of extra bases with a catch at the wall leading off the seventh. Federowicz hit the first pitch from Charles Brewer, who was making his major league debut after being called up earlier Monday. Miley gave up three runs and nine hits, struck out four and walked two. Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw allowed one run and six hits, struck out five and walked two to remain winless in his last four starts with two no-decisions. NOTES: The D-backs recalled LHP Joe Paterson and Brewer from Triple-A Reno, optioned LHP Tyler Skaggs and placed LHP Matt Reynolds on the 15-day DL with a strained left elbow. ... Dodgers CF Matt Kemp, on the DL with a strained right hamstring, will rehab with the team through Wednesday, and then likely go on a minor league rehab assignment. ... Dodgers SS Hanley Ramirez was out of the starting lineup for the fifth straight game because of a nagging left hamstring. The team said an MRI done Sunday didnt show any damage. ... The Dodgers recalled INF Justin Sellers from Triple-A Albuquerque, giving them another option to help fill the void until Ramirez returns. ' ' '