Maui Invitational, but Georgetown will take it. Its hard to

PARIS -- Gilles Simon rallied to beat Julien Benneteau 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in an all-French match in the first round of the Paris Masters on Monday.In their ninth career meeting dating back to 2007, Simon cracked Benneteaus resistance in a tense first game of the deciding set and won the next three to go 4-0 up.Juliens a very good player and you always have to be wary of him, Simon said. It was a tough match and Im glad I reacted well to get through.Benneteau had won three of their past four meetings, but Simon is now 5-4 ahead.He saved seven of eight break points and broke Benneteau three times -- twice in the deciding set.The 23rd-ranked Simon has reached the Shanghai Masters semifinals and the Miami Masters quarterfinals this season.Im trying to finish the season strongly, the 31-year-old Simon said. Its always good to finish well to get things going for next year.He next faces 10th-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut and leads the Spaniard 3-1 overall.Bautista Agut is one of seven players in Paris vying for the two remaining spots at the season-ending ATP finals in London.Dominic Thiem and Marin Cilic, who won the Swiss Indoors on Sunday, had the last two places heading to Paris.Tomas Berdych, David Goffin, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Lucas Pouille and Bautista Agut are the other contenders and are also playing here.Berdych, who won the 2005 Paris Masters, must reach the semifinals to qualify. He faces Portugals Joao Sousa on Tuesday and could then face Bautista Agut in the third round.Tsonga faces Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who downed 36-year-old Frenchman Stephane Robert 6-1, 6-4 in Mondays last match.Earlier, Frenchman Benoit Paires 14 aces were not enough as Italian Paolo Lorenzi won 6-4, 7-6 (4).Lorenzi took his only chance on Paires serve in the first set and saved the one break point he faced in the second. He plays 16th-seeded Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay.Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain downed Italian Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-1 and faces fourth-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada, who is feeling the effects of an ankle injury that forced him to withdraw ahead of his China Open semifinal three weeks ago.Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, an Australian Open finalist 10 years ago, won 6-2, 6-4 against Paul-Henri Mathieu and faces 14th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria.American Steve Johnson had eight aces in a 6-4, 7-5 win against Guido Pella of Argentina, setting up a match against 12th-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet.Sousa saved all six chances on his serve as he beat Italian Andreas Seppi 6-4, 6-4, while German Jan-Lennard Struff did not concede a single chance on serve in a 6-1, 6-1 win against Illya Marchenko.Spaniard Fernando Verdasco was up 6-2, 3-2 against Robin Haase when the Dutchman retired with a left hip injury.Verdasco is up against second-ranked Andy Murray, who will move top of the world rankings if he wins the tournament and Novak Djokovic does not reach the final.Djokovic, whose 66 career titles include a record 30 in Masters tournaments, is chasing his fourth straight title in Paris and fifth overall.The Serb opens against either Nicolas Almagro of Spain or Gilles Muller, who play their first-round match late on Tuesday.Djokovic leads Almagro 4-0 and Muller 3-0 in career meetings, while Murray is 11-1 against Verdasco.There are two other American players in Tuesdays remaining first-round action.Big-serving John Inser takes on Mischa Zverev -- seven years after their other meeting -- and Jack Sock plays Philipp Kohlschreiber for the first time. Martin Brodeur Devils Jersey .S. -- Nikolaj Ehlers registered a hat trick for the third straight game and Jonathan Drouin had a goal and five assists as the Halifax Mooseheads hammered the host Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 10-1 on Tuesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Jesper Bratt Jersey .com) - Manchester City midfielder David Silva is expected to miss the next four weeks because of a calf problem. http://www.devilssale.com/authentic-pavel-zacha-devils-jersey/ .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. Andy Greene Devils Jersey . At a Manhattan federal court hearing, attorney Jordan Siev said his law office has gotten more evidence nearly every day to support its lawsuit accusing MLB and Selig of going on a "witch hunt" to ruin Rodriguezs reputation and career. He said the defendants went "way over the line. Cory Schneider Jersey . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. WASHINGTON -- When 24-year-old graduate-student transfer Rodney Pryor joined Georgetown, not everyone appreciated him acting like the big man on campus.From Day One he came in, he was very vocal, junior forward Isaac Copeland said. At first it kind of rubbed me the wrong way like, `What is this new dude talking about all this stuff for? But after Week One or Week Two I was like, hes going to be a big part of our team this year.The oldest player on the team, Pryor is expected to be a big part of the Hoyas as they look to rebound from their worst season in more than 40 years. Pryor, junior college transfer Jonathan Mulmore and freshman Jagan Mosely are part of Georgetowns new blood, and those players should make it easier to forget a forgettable 15-18 campaign -- the worst winning percentage since 1971-72.After averaging 18 points a game at Robert Morris, Pryor got a sixth year of eligibility and picked Georgetown over Kansas, Gonzaga and Florida.Obviously Kansas is a top-tier school, but I didnt feel the need for me was as high because they got great players, the 6-foot-5 guard said at Georgetowns preseason media day Thursday. To have a top-tier school like (Georgetown) want me and need me goes a long way, and I want to make sure I prove to them that they picked the right person.Pryor wanting to be defensive player of the year fits in with Thompsons goal of getting back to being consistently strong on defense. The new-look Hoyas will probably push the pace more than ever before under Thompson, but that starts with defense and rebounding.You need rebounds to run a fast break, Copeland said. We have athletes at all positions this year, so get the rebound and push it.Adding Pryor, Mulmore, Mosely and getting former Louisville forward Akoy Agau back after he missed all last season with a torn ACL makes the Hoyas more athletic. It has also provided more depth after managers joined practice at times last year to fill holes.The one big void was left by the graduation of guard DVauntes Smith-Rivvera, who was Georgetowns go-to guy.dddddddddddd There isnt one yet, but talent by committee isnt a bad thing.Our team is very different this year than last year, Thompson said. Its just very different in that we dont have to depend on one person like we did last year.The stacked Big East with defending national champion Villanova, Xavier, Creighton and Seton Hall at the top will certainly challenge the Hoyas. Thats what Thompson said they signed up for, and theyre not shying away from the competition.It makes us better, but I think we make them better too, junior guard L.J. Peak said.---Some other things to watch with Georgetown this season:HAYES, EVENTUALLY: Center Bradley Hayes is back for an unexpected extra season but will have to sit out the first four games. That means missing Maryland and then Oregon at the Maui Invitational, but Georgetown will take it. Its hard to replace 7-foot, 280, Copeland said. Hes huge.PEAK PLAYING TIME: Peak was better off the bench than starting last season, Thompson conceded, though its not certain what his role will be now. Peak is one of Georgetowns best players, so if he can handle starting again he will.DONT FORGET IT: Peak believes Georgetown should just drop last years disappointment, while Copeland considers it motivation. Their coach is following the latter. Were not going to keep picking that scab, Thompson said. We have to make some changes on how things were done, and we have. Were in the process of doing it.FOUL PLAY: After being one of the most foul-prone teams in the nation last season, The coaching staff is preaching playing better defense and being more disciplined at the same time. Last year we fouled too much, Thompson said. Last year we didnt get to the line enough. All of those have been looked at and try to figure out how to address those issues.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org ' ' '