Serena wary of Stosur, Russians set to 'battle to death'

Published>Tue, Jun 01 10 02:53 PM

It was not quite the opponent she was expecting but Serena Williams will be the last person to under-estimate Australia's Samantha Stosur when the two meet with a place in the French Open semi-finals at stake.

The script had the American world number one in a dream quarter-final with four-time champion Justine Henin but Aussie seventh seed Stosur had other ideas, seeing off the Belgian four-time champion in three sets and reaching the last eight for the second year in succession.

Williams broke hearts Down Under in January when she beat Stosur in the fourth round of the Australian Open, yet the 26-year-old from the Gold Coast, whom she faces on Wednesday, is a different proposition on clay.

You can never underestimate anyone, and Sam is actually a wonderful claycourt player, Williams said after her fourth-round demolition of Israel's Shahar Peer.

I think she proved that last year, and this year I think she's only lost twice on the clay. So she's someone you can't overlook. She has a good chance to go all the way.

There will be no secrets on show when seasoned Russians Elena Dementieva, 28, and Nadia Petrova, 27, square off in their quarter-final on Tuesday.

Between them they have 22 Roland Garros campaigns under their belts yet none of their previous 14 meetings, which they have shared, has been on the red Parisian dust.

She has a lot of experience in the grand slams, Petrova said after claiming second seed Venus Williams' scalp in the fourth round.

What can I say, when two Russians are playing each other, it's like a battle to death. We really try to leave everything possible out there, win or lose.

Italy's Francesca Schiavone is enjoying something of an Indian summer to her career, and is now looking forward to her second Roland Garros quarter-final nine years after her first.

She was battered in two sets by Martina Hingis in the last eight on her full draw bow in 2001, but her experience and guile will be among her biggest weapons when she faces Danish teenager and third seed Caroline Wozniacki on Tuesday.

She's a great player. She has already played one grand slam final (U.S. Open), so I think I have to play my best tennis and concentrate.

Serbian Jelena Jankovic faces unheralded Kazakh Yaroslava Svedova, the world number 36, in the fourth quarter-final on Wednesday.

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Murray needs to be more aggressive, technically sound to win glory: Rusedski

Published>Tue, Jun 01 10 02:37 PM

London, June 1(ANI): Former British tennis star Greg Rusedski believes that World No. 4 Andy Murray needs to be more aggressive to win glory and repeat a performance similar to the Australian Open.

Rusedski criticised Murray's technique after being knocked out of the fourth round of the French Open on Saturday.

Murray, a quarterfinalist at Roland Garros last year, was hammered in straight-sets 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 by Czech Tomas Berdych.

"In reaching the final in the first Grand Slam of the season, the British No.1 struck just the right balance between defence and attack, but on the clay at Roland Garros, he seemed to take a step back in his tactics," Rusedski wrote in an article for The Mirror.

"Now in the build-up to Wimbledon - starting with the AEGON Championships next week - he will be forced to be more aggressive," he added.

Rusedski further said that on his current form Murray can reach the last eight or the semi-finals of a tournament, but he is not going to beat the best.

The 23-year-old is back in London, and now heads to the grass courts of Queen's Club next week to defend his title before Wimbledon.

"Murray's serve needs improving and he has been pulling off his forehand and losing power. He also needs to step in and use his great backhand down the line. And he spent too long on court in Paris - over 10 hours," Rusedski said.

"He needed five sets against Gasquet and then four each against Chela and Baghdatis. You don't see Federer and Nadal wasting time and energy against opponents like that," he added. (ANI)

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North Korea's Zimbabwe warm-up match called off after protests

Published>Tue, Jun 01 10 01:53 PM

Harare, June 1 (DPA) The North Korea football team's controversial planned pre-World Cup warm-up session in Zimbabwe here has been called off following threats of protests in the African country, government sources said.

The North Korean squad had been due to arrive here Tuesday to train and play friendlies against local teams before moving onto South Africa, where the World Cup kicks off on June 11.

But a senior source in the power-sharing government of President Robert Mugabe and former opposition leader, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, said the visit was called off after it provoked outrage among supporters of Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

North Korean army instructors in 1983 trained the newly-formed Zimbabwean army brigade that went on to slaughter thousands of civilians during a small insurgency in the western provinces of Matabeleland.

Reports put the numbers killed in the operation, which wound up in 1987 after the opposition entered a union with Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, at between 8,000 and 20,000 civilians.

Most of the victims were members of the Ndebele-speaking minority.

Tourism Minister Walter Mzembe, a Mugabe appointee, invited North Korea to warm up in Zimbabwe, in an attempt to showcase the tourist potential of the economically depressed country to World Cup viewers and visitors.

The team had initially been due to stay in Bulawayo, capital of Matabeleland.

Zimbabwe's government later switched the base to the capital Harare after activists in Bulawayo threatened to disrupt training sessions and games.

At the weekend, a senior government source from Tsvangirai's party told the German Press Agency dpa the visit had since been cancelled after Mzembi came under pressure from the MDC to disinvite the Koreans.

Minister of Sports David Coltart, who comes from the south and belongs to a splinter MDC faction also said: 'I do not think they are still coming to Zimbabwe for camping. I have no clue as why they are no longer coming.'

Mzembi would not confirm or deny the reports, telling dpa: 'I cannot say they are no longer coming at this stage. We are still talking. We have a few things to clarify.'

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Younis, Malik's inclusion will not affect Pak dressing-room environment

Published>Tue, Jun 01 10 01:23 PM

Karachi, Jun 1 (ANI): The return of former captains Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik, who faced disciplinary action, in the squad for Asia Cup and England tour will not affect the dressing-room environment, according to Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed.

Both former captains Younis and Malik faced disciplinary action with the former still waiting to get his indefinite ban overturned.

Malik had his one-year ban lifted last week and was already selected in the 35-man preliminary squad for the two tours starting June 15 with the Asia Cup.

The manager played down suggestions that presence of former skippers would fuel controversies among the players, The News reports.

"I don't foresee any issues due to presence of Younis and Malik in the upcoming tours and I am confident the assignments would be free of controversies," said the manager.

The manager felt that decision to include banned players in the squad was taken in the best interest of team, saying Pakistan will need seasoned players in the assignments especially on tour of England.

However, Saeed said he would keep a vigilant eye on the players during the tours and would not tolerate any discipline breach. (ANI)

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Inter Milan look to fill vacuum after Mourinho's adieu

Published>Tue, Jun 01 10 01:17 PM

Rome, June 1 (DPA) A mild uneasiness, mixed with large quantities of pride and joy, looms over Inter Milan after their Champions League football triumph and the shock of Jose Mourinho's abrupt departure for Real Madrid.

The successful helmsman has confirmed speculation that began weeks earlier, saying that he was indeed going to abandon Inter minutes after a 2-0 defeat of Bayern Munich Saturday in Madrid made them the first Italian club to complete a prestigious 'tripletta'.

Only five other clubs in Europe - Glasgow Celtic, Ajax Amsterdam, PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United and, last year, Barcelona - had managed to win their national cup and league, plus the continental title, in the same season.

For president Massimo Moratti, lifting the trophy ended a wait of 45 years and brought him close to his late father Angelo, who twice savoured the moment in the 1960s.

Asked what his father would have told him after the triumph, Moratti said that 'a caress would have been enough. I don't want to think what he would have told me'.

After the celebrations subsided Sunday morning with the fans meeting the team at Milan's Giuseppe Meazza stadium, the issue of finding a new coach took shape in the minds of Inter managers.

In a television interview reported by the club's website, Moratti said that Mourinho's 'timing was not nice because the players read the newspapers, as I do myself.

'There has never been a direct dialogue about this (move to Real), nor an attempt to make me directly understand the matter. It was always done through (media) communications and it was my duty not to use an iron fist because I wanted that the season ended well.'

Moratti's praise of Mourinho was, however, unconditional, and he stated that respect was never at issue in his two-year relationship with the Portuguese, who also led Inter to two Serie A titles in a run of five.

A severance clause worth 16 million euros ($20 million) remains to be settled with Real and Mourinho, but the choice of a new Inter coach appears inevitable.

Moratti ruled out a return of Roberto Mancini, who left Inter in 2008 and in December took over Manchester City, and expressed mild interest for Roberto Baggio, a former star with good contacts at Inter, but still with no experience as coach.

Local media, meanwhile, looked at Sinisa Mihajlovic as the new likely coach, although Inter are said to have also considered England manager Fabio Capello, Liverpool's Rafael Benitez and Barcelona's Josep Guardiola.

Mihajlovic, 41, knows Inter well, having ended his brilliant career as defender there in 2006 to become Mancini's assistant for two seasons.

He is not as big a name as the other candidates, but did well this season at underdogs Catania, rescuing them from a relegation-bound course.

As a lesser figure in the coaching world, the Serb would not weigh heavily on the club's budget, which have to be trimmed according to strict guidelines being drafted by football's European ruling body UEFA.

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Shoaib Akhtar all set to return to Pak team for Asia Cup

Published>Tue, Jun 01 10 01:07 PM

Karachi, Jun 1 (ANI): Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar is all set to make yet another return to international cricket on June 3 when Pakistan will name their 15-man squad for the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka.

Sources said the fast bowler has garnered enough support within the Pakistan cricket think-tank to earn a recall for the Asia Cup to be played in Sri Lankan from June 15-24.

Shoaib last played for Pakistan in a Twenty20 International against Australia in Dubai on May 7, 2009. After that he was overlooked for a number of important assignments, including the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 championship in England, the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa and the twin tours of New Zealand and Australia.

Dogged by injury and disciplinary problems, Shoaib didn't lose heart and made a spirited comeback to the domestic circuit earlier this season after reportedly undergoing liposuction to remove excess weight from his body last year, The News reports.

He bowled a few impressive spells during the Pentangular Cup one-day tournament in Karachi and was later included in a 35-man preliminary squad picked by the national selectors for the Asia Cup and a marathon tour of England.

Sources said that there remains some skepticism within the Pakistan camp about the likely return of Shoaib Akhtar.

Sources said that Afridi believes that a fit-again Shoaib can be a potent weapon in Pakistan's bowling arsenal for One-day Internationals and Twenty20 matches.

"Having regained his fitness, Shoaib has proved that he still has that sting that can unsettle batsmen. Afridi is of the view that Shoaib fits in his game plan, which is to play aggressive cricket.

"He believes that if Shoaib bowls a fiery spell with the new ball and can get a few breakthroughs then other bowlers like Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir can capitalise on it," said the source. (ANI)

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