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PARIS -- Milos Raonic lost his chance for a spot in the ATP World Tour Finals, as the Canadian went down to a 7-6 (13), 6-4 loss against Tomas Berdych on Thursday in the third round of the Paris Masters. The defeat in just under two hours also settled the final lineup for the eight-man season wrapup, which starts Monday in London. Stanislas Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet gained the last two places as a result of Raonics loss. The 22-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., lost against Berdych for the first time. He had beaten the Czech in both of their previous matches, including a September final in Bangkok. No Canadian has ever reached the year-end event in singles, though Torontos Daniel Nestor has made multiple appearances in doubles. "I didnt have any pressure thinking about London," said Raonic, who fired 18 aces and only lost his serve once. "I actually didnt think about it until I stepped off the court, It was not a part of my mental process. "The two guys who made London deserved it. I had a match point against Gasquet at the U.S. Open, maybe things would be different now if I had won that one. But I cant really say Im disappointed. "I see how close I came," said Raonic, who will still gets a handsome payday as an alternate in London, "I know I can improve a lot more." Raonic battled hard with the sixth-seeded Berdych during a 68-minute opening set, saving five set points while failing to convert on two of his own. Once the set was done -- Berdych put a forehand winner into the corner to claim it -- the Czech then broke Raonic to start the second set. Raonic was forced to play catch-up and failed to get the break back. "He played well at the important moments, he was fired up," said Raonic. "The reason Im not in London is not because of the last few weeks, its because of the first five to seven months of the year, when I played poorly at one point. "Theres not too much to be disappointed with, I improved a lot at the later stages of the season. Im trying to focus on the right things and playing in the right way. Ill have opportunities to contend for bigger moments and bigger events." Raonic ends 2013 with 45 wins and 21 losses, earning titles at San Jose and Bangkok. He was playing this tournament for only the second time and has yet to get past the third round at the Bercy arena. Jaromir Jagr Jersey . However, the intensity and physicality that has characterized the postseason so far has caught Gretzky by surprise. "Its a little bit risqué right now," Gretzky told Philadelphia radio station 97. Bill Barber Jersey . There, I saw a teenaged boy with tears in his eyes, being consoled by strength and conditioning coach Randy Lee. http://www.hockeyflyersauthentic.com/dave-schultz-jersey/ . The Twins announced Thursday the 28-year-old Albers cleared waivers. He will join the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization. Bernie Parent Jersey . Linemates Ryan Johansen and Boone Jenner each had a goal and an assist in the first period, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 36 saves to lead the Blue Jackets past the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Saturday night. Claude Giroux Jersey . This is not some token job for a prominent, popular former player. All of those areas need a lot of work, so Molitor is going to be busy. "Hes certainly got a history and knowledge and a high baseball IQ," general manager Terry Ryan said.PATTAYA, Thailand -- Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic reached her first WTA semifinal in almost a year after she came back from two match points down to beat third-seeded Sorana Cirstea 1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-0 in the Pattaya Open on Friday. Pliskova came up with good serves when she needed them at 4-5, 15-40 in the second set to hold that game, and went on to dominate the tiebreak and third set thanks also to a barrage of unforced errors from Cirstea. "I didnt expect to win," Pliskova said. "She was playing amazing in the first set and I didnt have any chance to play my game. She was playing fast and she was killing all my second serves. In the second set I was just trying to hold my serves and hoped that in the tiebreak anything could happen." Pliskovas llast appearance in a semifinal was in Kuala Lumpur last February, when she also went on to claim her first and only singles title.dddddddddddd She faces Julia Georges of Germany, who beat fifth-seeded Elena Vesina of Russia 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. "Im happy that Ive won hard matches here," Pliskova said. "I played my last semifinal in Kuala Lumpur which is almost a year. So Im happy that Im not going to lose (ranking) points." In another quarterfinal, Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic upset eighth-seeded Peng Shuai of China 6-2, 7-5. Hlavackova, a doubles specialist who has two Grand Slam doubles titles, will have to go through fourth-seeded Ekaterina Makarova of Russia or Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm to reach her second singles final. ' ' '