I missed you, Roger tells Rafa

Published>Fri, May 21 10 11:47 PM

Roger Federer is looking forward to facing his great rival for the French Open crown a year after Rafael Nadal missed their rendezvous in the final.

With usual contenders Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro having pulled out injured, the road looks clearer for another Roger versus Rafa classic.

"It is hard to pick anybody to say if Roger and Rafa are not going to win who else will it be," Federer, wearing a blue polo shirt and looking calm, told reporters on Friday.

"We'll see how we play. I hope we can play again in the future, because a year away from each other was maybe a bit long," he added.

After 12 months without meeting Nadal, Federer finally caught up with him last week in the Madrid Masters final.

The muscular Spaniard beat the Swiss last Sunday, a year after losing at the same stage in the same place.

SPECIAL MATCH

"I think anywhere we play is special", said Federer.

"It's always a big match regardless of where it is, how it is. It's one of the great rivalries in sports right now, and obviously in our game the biggest one."

Nadal and Federer have met 21 times, with the Spaniard coming out on top on 14 occasions, comfrotbaly winning three French Open finals against the Swiss.

Neither was keen to jump the gun and anticipate a fourth final showdown on the Paris clay, although the temptation was greater for Federer who made the draw at Roland Garros.

"When you're sitting in that room, you feel like, ah, if only I could have picked maybe (...) Oh, no. You don't even want to start thinking that way," he said with a smile.

"It was a bit nerve-wrecking in some ways. But I'm used to pressure situations, so it was moderate. It was fine."

The pressure will get stronger by the day for the defending champion, who could meet France's Gael Monfils in the fourth round before a possible quarter-final clash with Swede Robin Soderling who he beat in last year's final.

"Fourteen days down the road and six matches for each of (us) to get into the final. (It) is not my priority to play Rafa," said Federer.

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Roland Garros feels like home to Henin

Published>Fri, May 21 10 11:27 PM

Justine Henin feels at home at Roland Garros, surrounded by familiar faces and even happy to see her old locker.

"I went to see the place with my locker in the locker rooms where I had won the last time. It's a sort of good-luck charm for me, that specific locker," four-times champion Henin told reporters on Friday, two days before the start of the French Open.

"But the most emotional thing was to meet people again, coming back after all those years and seeing the same people working for the tournament, with whom I had sort of created some friendly relationships, and also to come back to clay here, which is the best clay ever."

The Belgian, who returned from 20 months in retirement in January, won the last match she played on the Paris clay three years ago.

"I know the site perfectly well and I feel very much at ease here," said Henin, 27. "Very often I stayed for the whole two weeks in this tournament, so for me it's easy to find my way here. It's always very special for me.

"I practised on Court One and I remembered that 13 years ago I won the juniors here. All this comes to my memory."

Henin, champion in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007, is expecting a warm welcome from the local crowd.

"I feel at home here because the French crowd always welcomed me incredibly well, and many Belgian people come because it's close," the former world number one said.

"When you are at the other end of the world in Australia you feel more isolated, whereas I feel here I'm surrounded by many more people...Of course I have to deal with that, because it means I want to do even better here than elsewhere."

Henin will start her bid for a fifth French Open title with a first-round match against Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova, possibly on centre court.

"I know that court very well. I don't really need to practise on that particular court in advance," she smiled.

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Pollard, South Africa fined

Published Fri, May 21 10 10:57 PM

Antigua, May 21 (PTI) Explosive West Indies batsman Kieron Pollard was today fined 25 per cent of his match fee for breaching ICC Code of Conduct during his team''s second Twenty20 International match against South Africa here. South Africa were also fined for maintaining a slow over-rate during their 13-run victory yesterday. Pollard was charged with a Level 1 offence under article 2.1.8 of the code which relates to conduct contrary to the spirit of cricket. The incident took place in the 18th over of the West Indies innings when Pollard ran towards the non-striker''s end in such a way that he impeded the bowler''s path to the ball. The charge was laid by on-field umpires Norman Malcolm and Clyde Duncan as well as third umpire Goaland Greeves. The player pleaded guilty to the charge and accepted the proposed sanction offered to him by Match Referee Roshan Mahanama. "A competitive attitude is to be promoted and cherished on the cricket field but players must also remember at all times to play within the spirit of the game," Mahanama said in an ICC statement. "On this occasion Kieron has overstepped the mark and I have fined him 25 per cent of his match fee, a penalty that he has accepted," the statement added. Graeme Smith''s side was ruled to be one over short of its target at the end of the match when time allowances were taken into consideration. In accordance with ICC Code of Conduct regulations governing minor over-rate offences, players are fined 10 per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain fined double that amount. As such, Smith has been fined 20 per cent of his match fee while his players receive 10-per-cent fines. "Smith was guilty of a similar offence in T20Is during the ICC World Twenty20 2010 and, under the terms of the ICC Code of Conduct, if he is guilty of three in total in this format of the game over a 12-month period, he will automatically receive a one-match suspension," the ICC statement said.

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Bolt revels in China return, Liu aims to surprise

Published>Fri, May 21 10 10:47 PM

Jamaican triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt lapped up the attention on his return to China on Friday, while hometown hurdling hero Liu Xiang vowed to give fans a nice surprise.

Bolt, who won 100 and 200 metres gold at the Beijing Olympics in world record time, will run in the 200 in Shanghai on Sunday in the Diamond League's second meet of the season.

Clad in a pale blue and bronze t-shirt and baby blue jeans, Bolt aimed to put on a good show for the Chinese crowd but said a defeat could spice up world athletics.

"I am loving it, this is where I burst out," Bolt told a news conference. "I really enjoy the crowd here, there is a lot of support."

Earlier this week, the lanky Bolt clocked a time of 9.86 seconds in Daegu, South Korea, easily defeating compatriot Michael Frater with a time that was 0.28 seconds off his world record of 9.58.

However the Jamaican, making his first appearance in China since the 2008 Games, said he was not unbeatable.

"I have said it before, I can be beaten. I really work hard not to be," he said, adding that a defeat could even make the sport more interesting.

"I take everybody seriously as long as you are in the lane beside me."

'FIERCE MATCH'

Liu, a sporting icon in China with a profile rivaled only by basketball's Yao Ming, posed for photographs with Bolt and looked at ease in the full glare of the media spotlight.

The Chinese hurdler, wearing a lime green t-shirt, was in confident mood throughout the session and said he wanted to give his home supporters a good surprise in the 110 hurdles this weekend.

Liu devastated millions of Chinese when he limped out of the 2008 Olympics and admitted he was still not at his peak, predicting a time of 13.5 seconds.

Cuban Dayron Robles, the champion in Beijing, has already bettered Liu's 110 world record with a time of 12.87 seconds in Ostrava in June 2008.

The 26-year-old Liu is making his first outdoors appearance of the season and faces a stiff test in the form of world champion Ryan Brathwaite of Barbados.

"I am always competing against myself," Liu said. "The audience and the media want to see a fierce match, I am used to that."

The Achilles injury that caused him to limp out of Beijing's Bird's Nest Stadium in August 2008 has continued to dog his performance. He finished seventh in the 60m final in Qatar in March.

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WADA loses appeal to increase Hardy suspension

Published Fri, May 21 10 10:27 PM

World record holder Jessica Hardy has been cleared to continue swimming after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) lost an appeal to increase the American's ban from one to two years.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said Friday they had dismissed WADA's appeal to double the suspension, agreeing with an earlier ruling from the American Arbitration Association (AAA) to impose a reduced 12-month ban.

Hardy, a world record holder in breaststroke, has already served a one-year suspension after testing positive for the banned steroid clenbuterol at the 2008 U.S. Olympic trials, which normally carries a two-year ban.

The AAA agreed to reduce it to one year when Hardy explained she took nutritional supplements after having obtained assurances from the manufacturer.

WADA asked that the ban be increased to two years but a CAS panel of arbitrators ruled that the AAA penalty should stand.

"They agreed that Jessica Hardy had shown good faith efforts before ingesting the food supplements at stake," CAS said in a statement explaining their decision.

"The athlete had personal conversations with the manufacturer about the supplements' purity prior to taking them, she obtained the supplements directly from the manufacturer, not from an unknown source; supplements she took were not labelled in a manner which might have raised suspicions."

Hardy voluntarily withdrew from the 2008 Beijing Olympics and returned to swimming last year after completing her ban, reclaiming her world record in the 100 metres.

But the 23-year-old is still unsure whether she can compete at the 2012 Olympics in London after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) introduced a strict new rule that athletes suspended for six months or more automatically miss the next Olympics.

CAS rejected Hardy's request that the IOC be added to this arbitration hearing and declined to make any recommendation on the 2012 games.

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My Test career is over: Afridi

Published Fri, May 21 10 10:21 PM

Karachi, May 21 (PTI) Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi today made it clear that his Test career is over and will now concentrate only in one-day and Twenty20 cricket which he said is more suited to his attacking style. Afridi, who is tipped to be named next week as captain of the one-day side for the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, ruled himself unavailable for Pakistan''s six-match Test series in England this summer. "Some of my well wishers and supporters wanted me to return to Test cricket. But it''s the end of Test cricket for me and it''s my firm decision," Afridi said. "Now my focus is forthcoming Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, T20 and ODI series in England and next year''s World Cup," he told a state owned news agency. Afridi, who has not played a Test since 2006, conceded that his attacking style suited limited-over cricket more. "To be frank, Test cricket has its own demands and it doesn''t suit my style. I love to play in attacking manner and I get it from T20 and ODIs," Afridi said. Afridi, who led Pakistan to the final of just concluded Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies, is expected to be given the ODI captaincy when Pakistan Cricket Board and selectors meet next week in Lahore. Asked about next month''s Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, Afridi said, "It''s my dream to win this continental title for the country. It will be a good tournament." "We need some solid batsmen in the middle order which is our trouble area," he said. After the Asia Cup, Pakistan play four Twenty20 Internationals and five ODIs in England besides the six Tests. Afridi has made 1683 runs in 26 Tests at an average of 37.40 and taken 47 wickets at an average of 34.89. Meanwhile, experienced all-rounder Abdul Razzaq is still undecided about continuing to play Test cricket. "The last time I played was three years ago so I really don''t know but if the selectors feel I have a role to play in the Tests in England then I will give it a thought," Razzaq said. Razzaq, however, made it clear that he wanted to continue his limited over cricket career for Pakistan.

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Gill skips meet on regulation of sports bodies

Published>Fri, May 21 10 09:57 PM

New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Union Sports Minister M.S. Gill Friday skipped a meeting called for regulating the sports federations, ostensibly because he missed his flight from Chandigarh.

Gill was to attend a meeting on 'need of regulating the sports bodies' organised by think tank the Policy Planning Group.

However, the organisers announced at the last minute that Gill had missed his flight to Delhi after he was caught up in traffic jam on his way from Shimla.

Gill's non-appearance came on a day the Delhi High Court quashed the central government's order derecognizing a national sports body and termed the action as illegal.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had de-recognised the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), a move that was endorsed by the sports ministry.

Two days ago, four Rajya Sabha members had questioned Gill for writing to the International Olympic Council that the Indian parliamentarians wanted the sport bodies to be regulated.

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