PARIS -- Having demanded a new striker, Paris Saint-Germain fans should be grateful that Edinson Cavani was more patient with them than they were with him.Cavani is playing well, and his goals have helped defending champion PSG withstand two early league defeats -- as many as it had during last seasons record-breaking league campaign.PSGs all-time leading scorer, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, left to join Manchester United in the offseason. The club then targeted Barcelona star Neymar, but the big-name striker expected to replace Ibrahimovic never arrived.Instead, PSG signed Jese, a 23-year-old Spaniard from Real Madrid and an unheralded forward with 13 career league goals who is more of a wide player than a finisher.That left Cavani -- regularly a punchline among the teams supporters -- to lead the attack.Their frustration was compounded when Cavani missed several chances in PSGs first Champions League game against Arsenal on Sept. 13, which finished in a 1-1 home draw.That game, they believed, was glaring proof that Cavani -- despite scoring with a trademark bullet header -- is a very wasteful finisher. That argument has merit, because the Uruguay forward does miss chances, but it is somewhat unfair because the way he was asked to play at PSG dulled his natural game.Cavani very much plays on confidence. Hes a quick and explosive forward who relies upon speed and instinct rather than exceptional technique.He can be lethal when that confidence is high, as 15 goals in 13 games this season for club and country has proven. He scored 104 goals in 138 games for Italian side Napoli before joining PSG in the summer of 2013 for a French record fee of 64 million euros ($77 million).But his confidence was lessened by being played out of position for much of the past three seasons, as it was impossible to share the spotlight with Ibrahimovic.Our system does not allow Cavani to show his qualities at 100 percent, former PSG coach Laurent Blanc said last season.With the Swedish star playing mostly as the lone striker, Cavani was pushed out wide right as a harrying, energetic winger who often tracked back.That he did so with little complaint is to his credit, for many players of his stature would have forced a transfer to play their preferred position.On the occasions that he was the striker -- mainly when Ibrahimovic was injured, rested or suspended -- Cavani quickly had to revert to focusing on scoring.He sometimes struggled and looked clumsy at times. Despite mitigating circumstances, he was given no leeway by sections of the PSG crowd or the French media.Both demanded more goals -- yet, despite often playing as a converted winger during his first three seasons with PSG, he still scored 81 goals in 147 games.This season, Cavani has 11 goals in nine games for PSG, which plays at last-place Nancy on Saturday. He was also named the French leagues player of the month for September -- seemingly a reward for putting his ego aside and working with Ibrahimovic for the previous three years.But if many fans had their way, the 29-year-old Cavani would be playing elsewhere during what appears to be the strikers peak season. Nike Shoes From China . Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and took the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. 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Miller reached right to deflect Mikhail Grabovskis attempt with just over 2 minutes remaining in regulation, and then made two more saves in the shootout Sunday to give the Sabres a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals.TORONTO -- A large banner featuring Serena Williams hangs prominently on the side of the Rexall Centre stadium for this weeks Rogers Cup. The north side of the stadium may belong to the top-seeded American, but the east side is reserved for one of the rising stars of the womens tour. Eugenie Bouchard cuts a steely pose on her banner, with fist clenched and a look of intensity that appears to go against the grain of the soft-spoken Canadian. Bouchard is being given her share of the spotlight at this US$2.369-million tournament. On Tuesday night, she showed that shes ready. The 19-year-old from Montreal was in fine form for her first-round singles match, posting a tidy 6-3, 6-1 over Alisa Kleybanova. Bouchard mixed up her effective ground strokes with some slick cut shots that left her Russian opponent stymied. There were more service breaks than holds early in the 79-minute match, which forced the Canadian to adjust her style. "I just decided to go for it and started to play aggressive," Bouchard said. "That definitely helped me." It has been a busy week for the 2012 Wimbledon junior champion. Bouchard teamed with Monica Seles for an exhibition against the Williams sisters and dropped her first-round doubles match with partner Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium. Bouchard battled some early nerves when she appeared on centre court for her opening singles match Tuesday but quickly settled in. The 62nd-ranked wild-card entry looked smooth and quite comfortable for someone in her first full season on the pro circuit. "Yeah, I am relaxed," she said. "Its fun. Its just fun being home where people know you a bit more. But besides that I know I need to stay focused on what I need to do or else I will lose my concentration. "So I put pressure on myself and thats really all I think about -- my own expectations." Bouchard has had some big moments this year. She posted a third-round victory over U.S. Open winner Samantha Stosur last April at the Family Circle Cup and upset Ana Ivanovic to reach the third round at Wimbledon. Shell have her work cut out for her in the second round on Wednesday. Bouchard is scheduled to meet defending champion and No. 6 seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic. "Yeah, time to take the defending champ down," she said with a smile. "Obviously shes a great player. Shes won a (grand slam tournament). But you know, Im just really excited I will play at home on centre court in front of the crowd. Its always so fun for me. "Im going to try my best and well see what happens." Kleybanova currently holds the No. 599 position in the world rankings. The former top-20 player is a cancer survivor who was playing her first WTA Tour match in over a year. "I was pretty excited to go out there," she said. "I love playing on stadium court and beiing in front of the crowd.dddddddddddd Its a great experience for me every time I go on the court. You know today I went out, tried to do my best and obviously did, you know. But she played really well." Torontos Sharon Fichman advanced with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 win over Stephanie Dubois of Laval, Que. The Canadians are friends and have played doubles together in Fed Cup competition in the past. "It really is a shame that we had this draw and obviously it was a really tough match because we know each others game so well," she said. "It was three sets and it was definitely a tough one, but Im happy to get through it." There was only one mild upset on the day as Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia eliminated eighth-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany in second-round play. The unseeded Cibulkova, ranked No. 20 in the world, needed almost three hours to complete the 6-7 (0), 6-2, 7-5 victory. "It was a really tough match," Cibulkova said. "Angelique, she was putting everything back. Her defensive game is really good and I just had to be patient and aggressive today. "So it was not easy. My serve was not working like I was expecting but in the end I made it, so I was really happy." Flipkens, the No. 13 seed in the singles draw, started slow before defeating American Venus Williams 0-6, 6-4, 6-2. "I wasnt really expecting to play that well in the first set," Williams said. "So I think that in the second, I just kind of didnt handle it well. But I was pretty close there to closing that match out and then got down in the third." In other first-round matches, No. 11 seed Maria Kirilenko of Russia beat qualifier Petra Martic of Croatia 6-2, 6-1 while Ivanovic, the No. 16 seed from Serbia, defeated Su-Wei Hsieh of Taiwan 6-1, 6-2. "Its good to be back here," Ivanovic said. "Im really looking forward to consistency and especially coming off how I played well last week. "I hope (to) keep that momentum going and to keep playing well here." Ivanovic reached the semifinal at the Southern California Open last weekend before losing to Victoria Azarenka of Belarus. Also Tuesday, No. 15 seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia topped Georgian qualifier Anna Tatishvili 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-3, Ekaterina Makarova of Russia beat Anastasia Rodionova of Australia 6-1, 7-5 and American qualifier Lauren Davis edged Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 7-5, 7-5. Frances Alize Cornet beat Russias Elena Vesnina 6-3, 6-3; Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia defeated Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania 6-4, 6-3 and Italys Francesca Schiavone defeated South Africas Chanelle Scheepers 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. In the late matches, third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland beat Belgiums Yanina Wickmayer 6-2, 6-3 while Stosur, the No. 12 seed from Australia, defeated Julia Glushko of Israel 5-7, 6-2, 6-3. ' ' '