The Goldeyes made it interesting against St. Paul closer Dustin

 WIMBLEDON, England - Roger Federer avoided wading into the subject of equal prize money for men and women at Grand Slams events. . After his second-round victory at Wimbledon on Wednesday, Federer was asked about comments by 13th-seeded Gilles Simon of France, who is on the ATP Player Council and said men should be paid more than women at tennis tournaments. "I hope it doesnt become a big issue during Wimbledon. Its obviously a debate thats out there ever since, I guess, the Slams have made equal prize money. Theres nothing you can do, anyway, about it," Federer replied. "Its just a matter of who believes what, and then that is an endless debate. So whatever you believe," he continued. Simon told reporters at Wimbledon in French that he thinks "mens tennis is ahead of womens tennis" and "men spend twice as long on court as women do at Grand Slams." He also said men "provide a more attractive show" in their matches. All four Grand Slam tournaments pay equal prize money to men and women, something Simon said he doesnt think "works in sports." In a statement released Wednesday via a WTA spokesman, the CEO of the womens tour, Stacey Allaster, said: "Tennis, including the Grand Slams, is aligned with our modern, progressive society when it comes to the principle of equality. I cant believe in this day and age that anyone can still think otherwise. This type of thinking is exactly why the WTA was founded and we will always fight for whats right." The All England Club began paying women the same as men in 2007, one year after the French Open decided to starting giving the same prize money to the mens and womens singles champions. The other two Grand Slam tournaments, the U.S. Open and Australian Open, already had been doing that for years. When Wimbledon started paying players when the professional Open era came in 1968, womens champion Billie Jean King took home a little more than a third of what was earned by mens champion Rod Laver. "Its always been talked about, but we (have) different physiques, as well. I think we earn our money, as well," 2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic said after winning in three sets Wednesday. "I mean, I was out there 2 1/2 hours today." At the Grand Slam tournaments, men play best-of-five-set matches; women play best-of-three. At most other events, all matches for both genders are best-of-three. "It is tough for the guys, especially at Wimbledon, because its five sets. At all the other tournaments it should be the same," said Heather Watson, the first British woman since 2002 to reach the third round at the All England Club. "We play the same amount of sets and have to work just as hard." Simon was elected last weekend to a two-year term on the ATP Player Council. Federer was elected to a third term. One female player asked about Simons comments, 19-year-old American Sloane Stephens, said: "I dont care what he says about anything. He hit me with a ball the first time I was a ballkid. He hit me in the chest, because he lost a point and lost the set. He turned around and slammed the ball with his racket and hit me ... and Ive never spoken to him since then." ___ Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at .J. -- A few minutes after having another strong game, Deron Williams was asked about the importance of maintaining a positive attitude during what has been a trying season. . Carrier scored his 10th goal of the season midway through the first period with assists from Alexandre Lavoie and Jonathan Oligny. That makes two straight wins for the Screaming Eagles (5-8-4). Elsewhere in the QMJHL, the Val-dOr Foreurs defeated the Sherbrooke Phoenix 4-1. . Mata collected teammate Ever Banegas controlled pass in the 47th minute and struck the ball through a crowed area and beyond goalkeeper Andres Palop to open the scoring before Hernandez sealed the victory in the 80th with a looping volley. . According to Czech newspaper Denik Sport, Detroit or Tampa Bay are among teams that might come into play. Haseks son Michal is a student at Michigan State University and while the former Vezina Trophy winner visited him in the United States, he reportedly met with the managers of a few NHL clubs. . Upton broke out of a 3-for-19 slump with a key two-run triple and the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 and snap a six-game losing streak.The bats continue to struggle for the Winnipeg Goldeyes. A ninth inning run would be all the Goldeyes would score in a 4-1 loss to the St. Paul Saints Friday night in front of 6,013 fans at Shaw Park. Winnipegs lead over St. Paul in the wild card race is now down to just four games. The Saints scored single runs in the second, fourth, seventh and ninth innings to take a 4-0 lead. The Goldeyes made it interesting against St. Paul closer Dustin Klabunde in the bottom of the ninth. After Josh Mazzola led off with the double, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Kyle Day single, the Goldeyes loaded the bases from Jose Duran with two out. But, Duran grounded out to second to end the ball game. Winnipegs run in the ninth inning was the teams first in 18 innings, going back to Thursdays 1-0 shutout loss in Fargo to the RedHawks. Fridays loss, which was the Goldeyes fourth in their last five games, was crushing outside of the standings, as well. IIn the fifth inning, Chris Roberson, who leads the team with a . . 337 batting average, fouled a ball that went up into his face and clipped his left eye. He was replaced in the game by Duran and went to hospital for further evaluation. Goldeyes starter Zach Baldwin drops to 2-2 on the year after giving up two runs through four innings. Anthony Claggett threw six scoreless innings for his sixth win of the season. Winnipeg will turn to the American Associations leading pitcher Matt Rusch tomorrow. He will take his 8-2 record and 2.48 ERA to the hill against Kyle Ruwe (2-1, 2.43) for St. Paul. Game time is 6:00 p.m. Great tickets for tomorrows game and the last nine home regular season games are available by calling 1-855-GOLDEYE, clicking on Ticketmaster.ca or by visiting any Ticketmaster location, including the one at Shaw Park. Coverage on TSN 1290 with Paul Edmonds begins at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow with Around the Association. ' ' '