" Kings fans chants of "This is our house!" echoed through H

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LONDON -- Total prize money for this years Wimbledon tournament will reach 25 million pounds ($42 million), an increase of 10.8 per cent that will mostly favour the early-round losers. The All England Club said Tuesday that the mens and womens singles champions will each receive 1.76 million pounds ($2.9 million), a 10 per cent increase on last years top prize won by Andy Murray and Marion Bartoli. By comparison, this years French Open champions will receive 1.65 million euros ($2.3 million) while Stanislas Wawrinka and Li Na earned $2.65 million for their wins at the Australian Open in January. U.S. Open organizers have yet to announce the prize money for this years tournament. The main increases at Wimbledon are for the early losers, with players who fail to get past the third round receiving prize money worth 12.5 per cent more than in 2013. "Weve placed emphasis on the large group of players who need our help the most, those players who lose in qualifying and in the early rounds of the championships," Wimbledon chairman Philip Brook said. "We also had an eye to being competitive internationally, and we do keep our watch on what is going on in other tennis events and in particular the other Grand Slams." The grass-court Grand Slam will be played from June 23-July 6. In keeping with player demands for a larger slice of Grand Slam revenues, all four majors have greatly increased their prize money in the past two years, with Wimbledon offering the biggest amount following a record 40 per cent increase last year. The French Open now offers more than 25 million euros ($34.5 million) while the U.S. Open increased its purse to $34.3 million and the Australian Open went up to AU$33 million ($31 million). The Wimbledon prize money for the majority of singles players who lose in the first three rounds of the grass-court tournament has been increased by more than 100 per cent over a three-year period. The main increase this year is for first-round losers, with each receiving 27,000 pounds ($45,450), 14.9 per cent more than last year. "This year weve got a very generous increase once again," Brook said. "We wanted to build on the focus from 2012 and 2013." There will also be an increase of 8.7 per cent in prize money for doubles and a 6.1 per cent increase for mixed doubles. In all, an extra 2.4 million pounds ($4 million) is up for grabs compared to last year. Brook said plans to build a retractable roof on Court No. 1 are still on track pending planning approval, with an application to be submitted later this year. The roof, similar to the one on Centre Court, should be completed in 2019, and court capacity will be increased by 900 seats to 12,400. Brook also confirmed the tournament will start a week later in 2015 to create a three-week gap between the French Open and Wimbledon, with the mens final on July 12. "Hopefully with the extra week more players will be encouraged to compete on grass," Brook said. Seedings for this years tournament will be announced on June 18. Brook said defending champion Murray, who has slipped to eighth in the rankings, will stay among the top seeds thanks to his strong record on grass over the past two years. Wimbledons seeding order is determined using the ATP rankings and points are added for achievements in grass-court tournaments in the past 12 months. "And we add to that 75 per cent of the best-performing tournament in the previous year," Brook said. "For Andy Murray, as the winner of Queens last year and the winner here last year, and a finalist here in 2012, there will be a significant impact on him." Brooks said the seedings will also have "significant impact" on seven-time champion Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, Brook said. Brook did not comment on speculation of a possible return to competition by Bartoli ahead of Wimbledon. The 29-year-old Frenchwoman retired suddenly after a loss at Cincinnati last August, explaining that her ....... could no longer take the strain after 14 years as a pro. When asked if her entourage had been in touch recently and if Bartoli would be granted a wild card if she asked for one, Brook said: "The rumours in France have not reached London yet, so well wait and see." Bruno Martins Indi Netherland Jersey . It was considered unlikely that Rielly would be loaned to Canada for the tournament, which begins Dec. 26 in Malmo, Sweden, though a stretch of three straight games in the press box made it something of a debate. 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Steven Berghuis Netherland Jersey . - Josh Sterk scored twice to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 7-1 rout of the Ottawa 67s in Mondays Ontario Hockey League action.ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Sitting in another jubilant dressing room deep inside another dazed road arena, Anze Kopitar simply stopped trying to explain the Los Angeles Kings big-game brilliance. In nearly every tight playoff spot over the last three years, his Kings have emerged and advanced -- even when they end the career of hockey icon Teemu Selanne along the way. Kopitar knows the Kings tenacity cant be easily defined, and its almost impossible to capture. But it has taken them all the way back to the Western Conference finals after they finished off the rival Anaheim Ducks in grand style, 6-2 in Game 7 on Friday night. "Its hard to say what it is, but its all in this room," said Kopitar, the Kings leading scorer. "We dont look outside too much. We believe in this room. We knew this would have to be our best game of the series, and it was." Justin Williams, Jeff Carter and Mike Richards scored in an overwhelming first period. The Kings advanced to their third straight conference finals by improving to a jaw-dropping 6-0 when facing elimination this spring. Los Angeles has won two seven-game series as it heads to Chicago for Game 1 on Sunday. Kopitar, Marian Gaborik and Tanner Pearson also scored, and Jonathan Quick made 25 saves to help the Kings claim the first post-season Freeway Faceoff series with back-to-back wins over their top-seeded Southern California rivals. "Were built for the playoffs, for sure," Kings defenceman Drew Doughty said. "We struggled during the regular season. I dont know the reason why, but were always ready for when it really counts." The Kings added to their 7-1 record in elimination games over the past two years, showing the remarkable poise that has led to eight playoff series victories in three seasons. They earned a rematch with the Blackhawks, who eliminated them in five games last spring. The 2012 Stanley Cup champions led 5-0 late in the second period in Anaheim, never allowing the Ducks to get going in their own building. Los Angeles shredded rookie goalie John Gibson for four goals in the first 22:02, and the Ducks lost a Game 7 for the second straight year. "Really tough emotions right now," said captain Ryan Getzlaf, who scored one goal in the series. "They came out and played the way they can play. They know what theyre doing in these situations." The defeat likely ended the career of the 43-year-old Selanne, who intends to retire. Both teams paid tribute to the Finnish Flash after he took the final shift, eventually waving a melancholy goodbye to his Anaheim fans. "Its got to be a lot of happpiness later, but it is hard right now," Selanne said.dddddddddddd "It was going to be ending in a great celebration or a big disappointment, and we didnt get the win." Kings fans chants of "This is our house!" echoed through Honda Center, where the Ducks were one of the NHLs best home teams during the best regular season in franchise history. The Kings got stellar performances from their best big-game players. Quick improved to 3-0 in Game 7s. Williams kicked off the first-period onslaught with his sixth goal in six career trips to Game 7. Williams also has six assists in those deciding games. "Im proud of my numbers in Game 7, but the one Im most proud of is 6-0," Williams said. Gaborik scored six goals in the series four games in Anaheim, giving him an NHL-best nine goals in his first post-season with the Kings. Gaborik, Williams and Richards are unbeaten in six career trips to Game 7; Carter improved to 4-0. The 20-year-old Gibson was overmatched, yielding four goals on 18 shots before getting pulled for Jonas Hiller, the dependable veteran benched twice by coach Bruce Boudreau in the seasons final weeks. Boudreau dropped to 1-5 in his six career trips to Game 7s with Washington and Anaheim, losing all five times at home. "The first period was like men against boys, quite frankly," Boudreau said. "They were bigger, stronger, more determined. Everything we said we didnt want to do, we did." Corey Perry scored early in the third period, but also missed a penalty shot and got denied on a second-period breakaway on his 29th birthday. Kyle Palmieri scored late in the second period. The game was an unsightly farewell to Selanne, whose 21-season NHL career began in Winnipeg in 1992 and included parts of 15 seasons in Anaheim. He scored 684 regular-season goals, but had just two goals in 12 playoff games this spring. "It will be great memories I will live with for the rest of my life," Selanne said. "I would never have expected to have this kind of career. I am very thankful for that." Game 7 also might have been a finale for Saku Koivu. The 39-year-old Finnish centre said hell wait several weeks before deciding whether hell retire after 18 NHL seasons. NOTES: The Kings again played without injured veteran defencemen Willie Mitchell, who missed his eighth straight game, and Robyn Regehr (sixth straight). ... Los Angeles is the 17th team in NHL history to win a Game 7 twice in the same post-season run. The New York Rangers also have done it this spring. ... The visiting team has won five of the six Game 7s in the current playoffs. Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '