Devastating Nadal fires a title warning September 2, 2009 RAFAEL NADAL turned on the style to fire a title warning to his rivals last night after easing into the second round of the US Open at Flushing Meadows. The 23-year-old has sat out much of the summer with a knee injury and has slipped to No3 in the world rankings with Roger Federer and [...]
The top four have no need to spend September 2, 2009 MARK HUGHES’ declaration that Manchester City have squeezed three years’ worth of dealing in two transfer windows fails to represent what has been a quieter-than-usual transfer window as far as the big clubs are concerned. City’s spending accounted for £120m of the £460m total of the Premier League total spending – and even that was [...]
Bendtner and Denilson net Gunners deals September 2, 2009 ARSENAL boss Arsene Wenger has again put his faith on his young brigade by handing 21-year-old pair Nicklas Bendtner and Denilson new long-term deals. Danish striker Bendtner scored 15 goals for the Gunners in all competitions last season, while Brazilian midfielder Denilson made more starts for the Gunners than any other player, 49 in all. [...]
SPORT IN BRIEF September 2, 2009 Strauss and Onions up for awardCRICKET: Talismanic England captain Andrew Strauss and seam bowler Graham Onions have been nominated for the International Cricket Council’s Cricketer of the Year award. The pair, who featured prominently in England’s Ashes success this summer, are among a 14-man list of nominees which includes Australia’s Mitchell Johnson, India captain Mahendra [...]
Djokovic’s on the march as Open hots up September 1, 2009 WORLD No4 Novak Djokovic made light work of a predicted banana skin last night as he enjoyed an easy passage into the second round of the US Open. The Serbian was up against former world No3 Ivan Lubicic but proved to be a class apart as he strolled past the 30-year-old Croatian 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 [...]
Twenty20 is hit by the rain again September 1, 2009 HEAVY rain yesterday accounted for the Twenty20 series between England and Australia with the Old Trafford pitch deemed unplayable for the second time in three days. Sunday’s first Twenty20 game was ended prematurely by rain while yesterday’s second and final match was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to problems with the wet outfield. [...]
Fallon given green light to end three-year exile September 1, 2009 SIX-TIME champion jockey Kieren Fallon admits he cannot wait to get back in the saddle after being cleared to make his comeback following a three-year absence. Fallon was yesterday granted a riding licence by the British Horseracing Authority in London, after completing an 18-month drugs suspension. However, he has not competed since July 2006, when [...]
Resilient Massa is back on the recovery road September 1, 2009 FELIPE MASSA is eyeing a fast-track return to Formula One after latest medical tests revealed he is recovering well from his horrifying crash in Hungary. The Ferrari driver suffered extensive head injuries after being hit by a flying car part during qualifying. He will undergo minor surgery this week after neurological and vision tests showed [...]
Ennis concern over burnout September 1, 2009 ATHLETICS: World heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis has hinted that she may miss next year’s Commonwealth Games to avoid the risk of burnout. Ennis, 23, has her sights set on the European Championships in Barcelona from 26 July to 1 August, while the Commonwealth event gets underway in Delhi on 3 October. “I’ll sit down with [...]
Richards to referee Quins September 1, 2009 RUGBY UNION: Harlequins’ bid to put the embarrassing “bloodgate” scandal behind them suffered an unlikely setback yesterday when a familiar name was selected to referee their first game of the new season. Quins’ game against Wasps at Twickenham will be overseen by Dean Richards – not the club’s disgraced former director of rugby, but the [...]