RIO DE JANEIRO -- When Beijing gold medalist Phil Dalhausser teamed up with Nick Lucena less than a year ago for a long-shot run at the Olympics, it was more out of friendship -- and a lack of alternatives -- than anything else.Dalhausser was coming off two straight seasons with injuries. Lucena had never been to the Olympics, struggling to find a partnership that worked.We were playing with the houses money, Dalhausser said Monday after losing in three sets to Brazilian world champions Alison and Bruno in the quarterfinals on Copacabana Beach.Its been a lot of fun, Dalhausser added. I couldnt have done it without him. I wouldnt have wanted to do it with anyone else.At 6-foot-9 and already an Olympic champion, Dalhausser is one of the most feared players in the sport. He won his gold medal with Todd Rogers in 2008, and the pair returned to the London Games, finishing ninth.But last August, already a year into the two-year qualification cycle, his partnership with two-time Olympian Sean Rosenthal had stalled -- in part because of Dalhaussers abdominal and calf injuries. So he went back to Lucena, his partner for a couple dozen events when they were first starting out.Im pretty fortunate to play with him, Lucena said after the 21-14, 12-21, 15-9 loss to Brazil left them in fifth place. Hes one of the best players in the world. I wanted to win this for him.Lucena and Dalhausser first teamed up in 2003, a time when they were traveling all night to play in domestic tournaments and sleeping on the beach outside the gates to save money. After they split in 2005, Lucena played with four different partners that year; Dalhausser went on to become a world and Olympic champion.But Dalhaussers injuries left him with little chance of making it back to the Olympics -- or so he thought.Nobody gave us a chance to qualify, he has repeated often.I gave us a chance, Lucena interrupted playfully, just hours after their Olympic elimination. I dont know what hes talking about.The two played their way to No. 3 in the international standings and a spot on Copacabana Beach with a whirlwind of 13 tournaments in 12 months -- just one event more than the minimum. They cruised through Olympic pool play with a 3-0 record.And that was the problem.When Alison and Bruno lost in the preliminary round, they wound up second in their group. The blind draw lined them up with the Americans in the quarterfinals in a match that could have easily been the final.In the second quarterfinal match, the Dutch team of Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen advanced with a 25-23, 21-17 victory over countrymen Reinder Nummerdor and Christiaan Varenhorst.Fans waving Brazilian flags had to struggle to hold onto them in a stiff breeze that began just as play started Monday. The Brazil and Olympic flags on the poles ringing the top of the stadium came partially loose and fluttered wildly while the poles shook in the wind.Trash swirled around the arena.The Brazilians dominated the first set against the United States and then -- just as decisively -- struggled in the second. The Americans fell behind 12-6 in the third, and then the 6-foot-8 Alison and the crowd took over.With a block to force match point and then a spike off Dalhausser for the winner, the man known as the Mammoth moved within one win of a second straight Olympic medal.Brazil will play the Netherlands in one semifinal match, and Russia will play Italy in the other. The fifth-place finish for the Americans, combined with the 19th-place finish by Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson, ties with Athens for the worst finish by the U.S. men in an Olympics.I have learned so much from the Americans. They are good friends outside of the court, Alison said. Theres respect for them, and they must be celebrated.Custom Hockey Jerseys Store . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Wholesale Custom Hockey Jerseys . 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LONDON -- Eugenie Bouchard progressed further than she ever has at a Grand Slam in her young career, but she was left lamenting missed chances that could have prolonged her run into the depleted field at Wimbledon. Bouchard lost her bid for a spot in the fourth round at Wimbledon on Friday as the Montreal teenager lost to Spains Carla Suarez Navarro 7-5, 6-2. "This was an opportunity that I had that I lost," Bouchard said. "I felt generally the whole match I had a few loose shots, loose errors, that I normally dont make that I was making." Despite the loss, it was a career-best grand slam showing for the 66th-ranked Bouchard. Her previous best was a berth in the second round of the French Open earlier this year. The 2012 junior champion at the All England club fought hard from 4-1 down in both sets but was unable to close the gap against the experienced Spaniard. The first set went well over an hour, the second was done in an additional 29 minutes. "She returned really well, I knew that going in," Bouchard said. "My serve wasnt as good as previous matches." Bouchard limited her winning chances with 21 unforced errors in the opening set. She saved two set points in the ninth game, forced her opponent to four break points in the 11th and then dropped her own serve in the 12th as Suarez Navarro fired a backhand winner down the line. Bouchard failed to regroup in the second set as the pair traded early breaks before the Spaniard ran off into the lead. Bouchard saved two match points in the final game before sending a forehand out to end it with 24 winners and 32 unforced errors. "For sure it went differently than I hoped," Bouchard said. "She was very consistent, and more aggressive than me. I should have done more to try to control the points -- instead she did. "Ill take lots of experience out of this whole week and try to learn from all the mistakes and take the good and the bad and just keep working hard." Two Canadian mens doubles teams advanced, with veteran Daniel Nestor aand Swedish partner Robert Lindstedt reaching the third round.dddddddddddd The sixth-seeded Nestor and Lindstedt defeated Argentines Eduardo Schwank and Horacio Zeballos 6-1, 7-5, 6-3 and will next face the winner from a match between ninth-seeded Britons Colin Fleming and Jonathan Marray and Czech Frantisek Cermak and Slovak Michael Mertinak. There was also first-round success for Canadians Jesse Levine and Vasek Pospisil as that unseeded combination defeated Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic and American Rajeev Ram, 6-2, 6-4, 6-1. The opening match for Levine, from Ottawa, and Vancouvers Pospisil was postponed by rain on Thursday evening. The pair were teaming up for the first time since April, when they reached the semi-finals of a Challenger event in Savannah, Ga. Levine and Pospisil will next take on American Nicolas Monroe and German Simon Stadler. Nestor, 40, from Toronto, won the title at the All England Club in 2008 and 2009 with former partner Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia and played the 2002 final with Mark Knowles of the Bahamas. He and Max Mirnyi of Belarus exited in the second round in 2012. Nestor and Lindstedt made sure they avoided the long match they played in the first round this week as morning rain gave way to dry weather and faint sunshine. The seeds got on top of their opponent as they quickly won the first two sets, with Nestor guiding his partner to a 4-1 lead in the third at the only grand slam where doubles is played in best-of-five-sets. The Argentines earned a late break of Lindstedt stay in contention 2-5 and saved a match point on their serve a game later to hold for 3-5. But it was all over a game later as Nestor pounded down a smash to earn three match points, with Lindstedt applying the finishing touch seconds later in the 87-minute rout. The winners ended with three aces and five breaks of serve as they try to rescue a grass season now standing at 2-2. Watch exclusive bonus online coverage throughout the competition on TSN.ca, including full coverage of select matches not being televised. ' ' '