Federer made to sweat by unsung Croat June 23, 2010 WORLD No1 Roger Federer admitted his relief after surviving another scare against an unfancied opponent before booking his place in the third round. Federer was made to battle by Croatian qualifier Ilija Bozoljac and needed two tie-breaks before prevailing 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-5). It continued the top seed’s unexpectedly tricky start to the [...]
I’ll give Murray a scare, says Nieminen June 23, 2010 JARKKO NIEMINEN plans to spoil Andy Murray’s date with royalty and prove a Wimbledon party pooper. The Finn takes on the British No1 in front of the Queen this afternoon when they walk out on Centre Court for their second round match-up at the All England Club. Nieminen is no stranger to keeping the partisan [...]
Johnson riled by bitter finish June 23, 2010 N. ZEALAND MAORI(35) VS ENGLAND(28) ENGLAND manager Martin Johnson admitted his frustration after his side twice squandered a healthy lead to end the tour Down Under on a low note. Johnson’s men stormed into a 13-0 advantage after Steffon Armitage crossed early on, only to be pegged back by two New Zealand Maori tries. Then [...]
SPORT | IN BRIEF June 23, 2010 United pull out of Cole race FOOTBALL: Arsenal remain favourites to sign Joe Cole this summer after Manchester United reportedly pulled out of the race to sign the England midfielder yesterday. The 28-year-old will become a free agent when his Chelsea contract expires on 1 July after the Blues refused to offer him a new [...]
FOOTBALL TRADER BEN CLEMINSON TAKES A LOOK AT ITALY’S FINAL GROUP MATCH AGAINST SLOVAKIA June 23, 2010 CHAMPIONS Italy have played nothing like their title suggests at this tournament and they are very lucky that they are still in with a decent chance of qualifying from Group F. Marcello Lippi’s side have lacked ideas but with Paraguay likely to beat New Zealand in the other game, a draw could feasibly be enough [...]
Henry to meet President Sarkozy as French begin debacle inquest June 23, 2010 FRENCH president Nicolas Sarkozy will today meet striker Thierry Henry to dissect the nation’s disastrous World Cup campaign. Henry called Sarkozy himself to request a meeting after the team crashed out at the group stage amid bitter in-fighting. Sarkozy yesterday met with his prime minister and sports minister to begin the inquest, after the France [...]
Serbia miss out with Pantelic miss June 23, 2010 SERBIA striker Marco Pantelic missed a sitter from six yards out in the dying seconds to deny his side a place in the last 16. The substitute somehow fired over the bar from Zoran Tosic’s cross as Australia held on for a 2-1 win, which still wasn’t enough for them to qualify. Tim Cahill headed [...]
Italy pin hopes on Pirlo to help seal last 16 spot June 23, 2010 ITALY hope to be boosted by the return of midfielder Andrea Pirlo for this afternoon’s must-win Group F decider with Slovakia in Johannesburg. Much like England, the Azzurri suffered disappointing draws in their opening two games and need a victory to guarantee their place in the last 16. Experienced playmaker Pirlo has been ruled out [...]
Forget Terry talk, now it’s down to business June 22, 2010 ENGLAND boss Fabio Capello says he never contemplated dropping John Terry over his infamous outburst, insisting his relationship with his players is “really good” ahead of the crunch World Cup decider with Slovenia. The Italian claimed Terry had made a “big mistake” after the Chelsea captain had aired grievances in public following England’s poor start [...]
PERMUTATIONS: HOW DRAWING LOTS MAY DECIDE FATE June 22, 2010 Q. WHAT DO ENGLAND NEED TO DO TO GO THROUGH? A.A win would guarantee their progress to the last 16, although not necessarily in first place. England could theoretically scrape through with a draw, but they would need Algeria to hold USA to a draw – and then it starts to get complicated. Q. HOW [...]