SHANGHAI, China -- Rafael Nadal lost his first match since reclaiming the No. 1 ranking this week, falling to a resurgent Juan Martin del Potro 6-2, 6-4 in the Shanghai Masters semifinals on Saturday. The fifth-ranked del Potro will try to win his first Masters title on Sunday against top-seeded Novak Djokovic, who defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the other semifinal 6-2, 7-5. Del Potro hadnt beaten Nadal since the semifinals of the 2009 U.S. Open where the Argentine went on to win his only Grand Slam title. But del Potro is playing fully fit and with confidence -- hes coming off a win last week at the Japan Open that returned him to the top five in the rankings for the first time in three years. He completely overpowered Nadal with his deep, punishing groundstrokes and fended off all six break points he faced. Nadals serve, on the other hand, was under threat for the entire match. After not dropping serve in 28 games this week, the Spaniard was broken twice to start the match as del Potro raced out to 4-0. Del Potro started to make a few mistakes in the second set, giving Nadal two chances to break in the second game. But the Argentine saved both with huge serves and put the pressure right back on Nadal, breaking him for a third time in the following game. "I played so solid all the time, hitting so hard the ball. I saw Rafa playing very far off the baseline, which is good for my game, for my serve and confidence. Thats the way to beat this guy," del Potro said. Nadal said he hadnt seen del Potro play this well in years. Or anyone, for that matter. "Very few times I played against a player with a level like today I played against," the Spaniard said. "At the end, I played against a player who served 80 per cent of first serves, who hit every ball as hard as he can, I think, and with no mistakes." The big-hitting Argentine, who wrapped up a spot in the ATP Finals in London with the win, has been working his way back into top form since a wrist injury knocked him off the tour for most of 2010 -- just after he got his breakthrough win as a 20-year-old at the U.S. Open. Now he believes he can challenge Djokovic, Nadal and Andy Murray for major titles again, as his run to the semifinals of Wimbledon this year showed. He lost a tight, five-setter to Djokovic in that match, but he had beaten the Serb a few months earlier at Indian Wells. "I always believe (in) myself. I always believe (in) my game," he said. "It could be my biggest challenge of my career, getting closer to the top position." Djokovic, meanwhile, will be trying to win his 20th straight match -- and fourth straight tournament -- in China on Sunday. He won the China Open and the Shanghai Masters in 2012, and then successfully defended his title in Beijing last week, beating Nadal in the final. "Ive always been coming out in China and making some really, really good results, winning trophies," Djokovic said. "Its very positive because most of the people would think after the fourth Grand Slam of the year is over, that somehow the season is finished in the minds of maybe people who are not following consistently the tennis season." Djokovic raced to 3-0 after only seven minutes against Tsonga, who came out looking flat and misfiring wildly at times on his groundstrokes and volleys. However, Djokovic then lost his temper in the second set when serving at 4-2, yelling angrily at chair umpire Ali Nili after two disputed calls. Tsonga twice challenged late calls that went against him - and both times the Hawk-Eye camera replay showed the balls had clipped the line. The umpire awarded both points to Tsonga, prompting a furious reaction from Djokovic who thought the points should have been replayed. "Twice I was on the ball, twice you take the point away from me," Djokovic yelled. "Focus!" Tsonga managed to break the rattled Serb to get back on serve at 4-3, but his comeback was short-lived as another error-strewn game allowed Djokovic to break him at 6-5 to close out the match. "When youre on the tennis court, it feels like an arena," Djokovic said about his outburst. "Youre fighting. Its emotional. Its intense. Its normal. Its not the first nor the last time." Custom Minnesota Twins Jerseys . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Tonight, Michigans Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ontario. 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The team of Lars Nelson, Daniel Richardsson, Johan Olsson, and anchor Marcus Hellner cruised to victory in the 4x10 km event, winning in a time of one hour, 28 minutes, and 42. DENVER -- Peyton Manning stuffed the football into his helmet and handed it to an equipment man for safekeeping. The connection: Flawless, as usual. The keepsake: Certainly one hell want to hang on to. The Broncos quarterback had an answer for everyone Sunday -- from Tom Brady to the New England defence to anyone who thought he couldnt win the big one. Manning is taking the Broncos on a trip to New York for the Super Bowl after another of his impeccably crafted victories -- this time, a 26-16 win over the Patriots on Sunday in the AFC title game. "Being in my 16th season, going to my third Super Bowl, I know how hard it is to get there," Manning said. Especially this time. Only three years ago, he could barely grip a football as he started the long comeback from surgeries that ravaged his neck and nerve endings. And only 53 weeks ago, he suffered a devastating loss to Baltimore in the divisional playoffs that derailed what looked like a Super Bowl trip in his comeback season. But Manning will get his chance for a second Super Bowl ring, after all. Hell try to become the first starting quarterback to win one with two different teams, at the Meadowlands on Feb. 2 against the Seattle Seahawks, who beat San Francisco 23-17 in the NFC title game. "Hes been remarkable," said Broncos coach John Fox, off to his second Super Bowl as a head coach. "Its unprecedented what he did." After packing away his football, Manning ran to the 30-yard line to shake hands with Brady. A bit later in the locker room, he celebrated with his father, Archie, and brothers Cooper and Eli, the Giants quarterback who surprised Peyton much the way Peyton surprised him by showing up at the NFC title game two years ago. The Indy-turned-Denver quarterback improved to 5-10 lifetime against Brady, but is now 2-1 in AFC title games. "I have a lot of respect for him," Brady said. "Certainly, hes a great player and he played great today." Though Manning threw for 400 yards, it was more dink-and-dunk than a fireworks show in this, the 15th installment between the NFLs two best quarterbacks of a generation. Manning set up four field goals by Matt Prater and put his stamp on this one with a pair of long, meticulous and mistake-free touchdown drives in which nothing came cheap. He geared down the no-huddle, hurry-up offence that helped him set records for touchdown passes and yardage this season and made the Broncos the highest-scoring team in history. The result: 93- and 80-yard touchdown drives that each lasted more than seven minutes; they were the two longest, time-wise, of the season for the Broncos (15-3). The Broncos held the ball for 35:44. They were 7 for 13 on third-down conversions. "To keep Tom Brady on the sideline is a good thing," Manning said. "Thats something you try to do when youre playing the Patriots." Manning capped the second long drive with a 3-yard pass to Demaryius Thomas, who got inside the overmatched Alfonzo Dennard and left his feet to make the catch. It gave Denver a 20-3 lead midway through the third quarter. From there, it was catch-up time for Brady and the Pats (13-5), and they are not built for that -- at least not this year. "We got in a hole there," Brady said. "It was just too much to dig our way out." A team that averaged more than 200 yards on the ground the last three games didnt have much quick-strike capability. Brady, who threw for most of his 277 yards in comeback mode, actually led the Patriots to a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns. But they were a pair of time-consuming, 80-yard drives. The second cut the deficit to 26-16 with 3:07 left, but the Broncos stopped Shane Vereen on the 2-point conversion and the celebration was on in Denver. "Losing is never easy," Patriotss defensive lineman Rob Ninkovich said.dddddddddddd "But when you have somebody as talented as (Manning), who puts in as much work and effort, and has done it for so long, its a little bit easier to swallow." The trip to New York, where it figures to be at least a tad cooler than Sundays 63-degree reading at kickoff, will come 15 years after John Elway rode off into the sunset with his second straight Super Bowl victory. The Broncos have had one close call since -- when they lost at home to Pittsburgh in the 2005 seasons AFC title game -- but what it really took was Elways return to the franchise in 2011. He slammed the door on the Tim Tebow experiment and signed Manning to a contract, knowing there were risks involved in bringing to town a thirty-something quarterback coming off multiple operations to resurrect his career. Even without Von Miller on the field, Elway put enough pieces in place around Manning to move within a game of the championship. Thomas. Wes Welker (four catches, 38 yards). Eric Decker (5-73). Tight end Julius Thomas (8-85). "Its been a terrific group," Elway said as he hoisted the AFC championship trophy. "They worked their tail off all year." Manning knows how to make the most of all the options hes been given. This game started getting out of hand at about the same time Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib went out with a knee injury. Nobody else could cover Thomas, and Manning, who finds mismatches even under the toughest of circumstances, found this one quickly. "Talibs an excellent player," Manning said, "but Demaryius was going to be a big part of the game plan, either way." Thomas finished with seven catches for 134 yards, including receptions of 26 and 27 yards that set up a field goal for a 13-3 lead before the half. Denver got the ball to start the third quarter and Manning hit Thomas for 15 and 4 yards as part of the 80-yard, 7:08 touchdown drive that gave Denver the 17-point lead. It was 23-3 before Brady began the comeback that came up short. "Peyton Manning is Peyton Manning," Patriots defensive end Andre Carter said. "Hes a smart player and able to make adjustments when he needs to." New England came up a win short of the Super Bowl for the second straight year. The thought this week was that Bill Belichicks team was playing with house money, having well exceeded expectations for a team that lost a number of stars -- Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski -- and has been plagued by injuries all year. But a loss is a loss and facts are facts. Belichick is stuck on three titles and hasnt won one since the NFL busted him for the Spygate videotaping scandal. "There were a lot of opportunities in the game that, if we were able to coach better, play better, execute better in any of those areas, it would have given us a chance," Belichick said. Manning said Belichick is the best coach hes ever had to go against. The quarterback insisted this weeks showdown against Brady was more Broncos vs. Patriots than Manning vs. Brady. He lets others decide whos the greatest at this or that. But he earned a chance to improve on his already-sterling legacy -- one that figures to leave him holding his fifth MVP trophy come Super Bowl week. A win at MetLife Stadium in two weeks would put him in the same company brother Eli, along with Elway, Roger Staubach and a few others as a two-time Super Bowl winner. Two weeks for Manning to prepare might feel like a lifetime. At times, his long, difficult comeback has felt like a lifetime, too. "Weve definitely come a long way in two years," Manning said. "And bouncing back from last years playoff loss to put ourselves in this position, it definitely feels very gratifying." ' ' '