Stosur sprucing up her serve to hold her in good stead at Wimbledon

Published>Fri, Jun 18 10 04:07 PM

London, June 18(ANI): Australian tennis ace Samantha Stosur has said that she has been practising her serve "over and over" again to give her a cutting edge on grass at Wimbledon, which gets underway on Monday.

Stosur's encouraging Wimbledon tune-up continued at Eastbourne, where she beat Scotland's Elena Baltacha to progress to the semi-finals of the grass-court event. he recovered from a first-set lapse to oust Baltacha 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-0, and is now the highest-ranked player left in the AEGON International after early exits for top seed Caroline Wozniacki and Francesca Schiavone.

"Once I got the break in the second set, it all opened up. I started serving better and she felt under more pressure. It just built and built and built. Midway through the third I was fully in control," Fox Sports quoted Stosur, as saying.

The World No. 7's victory has set up a showdown with Russia's Ekaterina Makarova.

Baltacha had already beaten top Chinese players Li Na and Zheng Jie to become the first UK quarter-finalist since Jo Durie in 1983. (ANI)

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France to play for pride and hope for a miracle, admits Domenech

Published>Fri, Jun 18 10 03:51 PM

Cape Town, June 18(ANI): After a disappointing campaign in the World Cup's group stages, France coach Raymond Domenech has said that his team will now be playing for pride and hope for a miracle.

France, World Cup winners in 1998 and runners-up four years ago, followed a 0-0 draw with Uruguay in their opening game with another uninspiring display where they lost to Mexico 0-2.

"Qualification is no longer in our own hands, but for the sake of French pride we must still play to our very best in our next match against South Africa," The Sun quoted Domenech, as saying.

"There is an infinitesimally small chance we can go through, but we are greatly disappointed with our performance tonight. We really struggled and I don't have any explanations for that right now. There's one match left," he added.

Defeat leaves France with just one point from two games, and facing the possibility of an embarrassing exit.

Meanwhile, Uruguay and Mexico meet in their last group game knowing a point will send them both into the last 16.

France play hosts South Africa in their final group game on Tuesday.

"We have to be strong and at least play for our honour. At least we must show something in the last match," Domenech said. (ANI)

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Mystery behind porn star's 'love child' with Tiger Woods claim deepens

Published>Fri, Jun 18 10 03:41 PM

New York, June 18 (ANI): A DNA test that was conducted to prove if golfer Tiger Woods is the father of one of his mistress' son has now been claimed to be 'false'.

According to TMZ.com, porn star Devon James had claimed that her 9-year-old son, Austin T. James, is the result of her affair with Woods, and a DNA test had been performed eight years ago as part of "an ongoing child support battle".

But now a source, who is close to 29-year-old James, has insisted that the paternity test was "false".

"The DNA test done in 2001 was on a man who is a white guy, a complete white guy," the New York Daily News quoted the source as saying.

"His name is Matt. The test showed he is not the father, and Tiger has never taken a DNA test," the source added.

So far there have been no comments from Woods, 34, who is competing in the U.S. Open. (ANI)

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Lewis Hamilton scared of girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger's driving

Published>Fri, Jun 18 10 03:37 PM

London, June 18 (ANI): F1 ace Lewis Hamilton is petrified of sitting in the car - when his girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger is driving.

The 31-year-old Pussycat Dolls singer said Hamilton often tells her off for driving with her knees.

"He's more afraid when I'm driving than he is during a race," the Sun quoted Scherzinger as saying.

"He gives me pointers, but at the end of the day he's like, 'Babe, you're driving with your knees!'

"I'm doing my make-up and changing the radio," she added. (ANI)

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Electrifying India-Pak face off in offing

Published>Fri, Jun 18 10 02:51 PM

It will be a battle of attrition when arch rivals India and Pakistan resume their high-voltage cricketing rivalry after eight months in an Asia Cup match.

The battle lines have been drawn for what is regarded as most sought-after match in world cricket, which dwarfs the interest evinced even in the Ashes series between England and Australia.

Though the wicket is not ideal for an ODI, it should produce an electrifying contest as Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Shahid Afridi's men fight for supremacy at the Rangiri Dambulla international stadium.

The last time the teams met across the square, Pakistan had the measure of India in the Champions Trophy in South Africa last September and Dhoni's legion would be aching for revenge.

Pakistan are known to be dangerously volatile when put in a do-or-die situation, as is the situation now after they lost their first match to Sri Lanka.

A determined and aggressive Afridi could spoil India's party if he cuts loose in the middle, as he did against the Lankans.

The Akmal brothers, Umar and Kamran, are immensely capable of turning the match on its head when the chips are down. Salman Butt and Shoaib Malik also have the reputation to destroy any attack on their day.

But man to man, India have a superior batting unit. Unlike Pakistan, India have a deep batting line-up, with Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan capable of pulling their side out of crisis.

But it will be interesting to see how Virender Sehwag responds to the Pakistan challenge. On return from a shoulder injury, he made 11 against Bangladesh, struggling to move back and across the stumps during his 14-ball tenure at the square.

Gautam Gambhir worked hard for his 82 against Bangladesh, but would carry the confidence of spending time in the middle into the game against Pakistan.

A determined Dhoni was also among the runs (38 not out in 45 balls). Gambhir and Dhoni's form aside, India would need significant contributions from Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to win this game.

Both teams have a reasonably good bowling line-up. If Shoaib Akthar, who hobbled out with a strained left knee after a practice session, finds the rhythm which had deserted him in the game against Lanka, it would be an intense contest in the middle.

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Sri Lanka elect to bat against Bangladesh

Published>Fri, Jun 18 10 02:47 PM

Dambulla (Sri Lanka), June 18 (IANS) Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and elected to bat against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup cricket tournament here Friday.

Teams:

Sri Lanka:

Kumar Sangakkara (captain, wicket-keeper), Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga, Chanaka Welegedara

Bangladesh:

Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim (wicket-keeper), Mahmudullah, Naeem Islam, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shafiul Islam, Syed Rasel.

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Sutil rues missed opportunity in Montreal

Published Fri, Jun 18 10 02:21 PM

Silverstone (UK), Jun 18 (PTI) Force India driver Adrian Sutil is still rankled by the missed opportunity in Montreal where, he reckons, a top five finish was well within the realm of possibility but for the contact with Robert Kubica which left him with a punctured tyre. Sutil started ninth on the grid and had an exciting duel with Kubica when the Renault driver suddenly pitted his car, not before a contact with Sutil''s VJM03 which left the German with a puncture. Kubica got a reprimand for the incident but that cost Sutil his race as the Force India driver had to pit his car even though finishing 10th meant he still got a point. "We missed out on a big chance. It was not our fault, but still we missed a big chance" rued Sutil, recalling the race in which team mate Vitantonio Liuzzi also had his share of misfortune after an opening lap tangle with Ferrari''s Felipe Massa necessitated an early pit for the Italian who eventually bagged two points courtesy his ninth place finish. "I think position five or six was possible, certainly sixth behind (Red Bull''s) Mark Webber. The pace was good, we knew that after qualifying, so it was a little bit disappointing. But we can be happy that both cars finished in the points," said Sutil. Recalling coming into contact with Kubica, Sutil said, "I was trying to pass him, but I didn''t know that he was going into the pits. He suddenly backed off. He was right behind me, and I thought, ''Good I''ve gained a position.'' "I was braking as normal before the chicane, and suddenly he came flying down the inside. I thought he''d missed his braking point and was trying to get the position back. But then he pulled into the pits, and I was wondering, ''What did he do?''. "He touched me slightly on the rear right tyre and I got a puncture. Within 200m the pressure dropped down, and under braking for the first corner I lost the car and went straight. That manoeuvre ended my race," lamented the German. "I was so unlucky, because I had to do the whole lap with a punctured tyre. I lost around 20 seconds, and it did huge damage to the floor. There was no real floor left on that side, to be honest. "And then I just had to race as it was. I still did a good race, and could fight for positions. It was tough, but I got a point in the end," he said. Looking ahead to next week''s European Grand Prix, Sutil said, "Last year we were quite good in Valencia. I finished 10th and the car should go pretty well there again, but it''s a bit different to Montreal, where you have longer straights and just chicanes. You need a bit more downforce in Valencia. But it should still suit our car." PTI AY PM

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