Venus primed to conquer Wimbledon for many years to come

By Pritha Sarkar
LONDON (Reuters) - The competitive fire is still burning in Venus Williams and, unlike some of her contemporaries who extinguished their careers early, the five-times Wimbledon champion plans to stick around until at least the 2012 Olympics.
Having watched rivals like Justine Henin take early retirement at the top of their games, the 29-year-old Williams is still hungry for success after contesting seven of the nine finals at the All England Club since the turn of the millennium.
"I want to play the (2012) Olympics here," the American told reporters on Sunday, referring to the Games tennis event which will be held at Wimbledon.
"It's really not that far off. It's just, what, three years. So I definitely would love to be playing the Olympics here and representing, going for more golds."
Since making her debut in southwest London as a giggly teenager in 1997 with a head full of braids and beads, Williams has seen top players like Martina Hingis and Jennifer Capriati fall victim to burnout.
But Venus and her younger sister Serena still have the drive to win.
"Serena and I, we often talk about that. Wonder what happened to them (the players who retired early)," said Venus.
"We're still here and we're not leaving, so ... I don't see anything changing for a while."
While on other courts Venus can often get lost in the crowd, she adopts a regal air the moment she steps on to Wimbledon's lush green lawns and strikes fear into her opponents with the sheer force of her game.
She can equal Billie Jean King's tally of six Wimbledon singles titles over the next fortnight and the third seed was relishing the prospect of retaining the title that she won 12 months ago without dropping a set in the entire tournament.
"It's fantastic to look up and see a good number by your name, and it equals the Wimbledons. It's great to be a part of history. I already am," she said.
"If I can step it up a notch, it will be even more of an honor."
(Editing by Sonia Oxley)

Source: Reuters

"Lucky FIFA" able to cope with world economic crisis

By Mike Collett
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The global recession will have only a minimal effect on next year's soccer World Cup although sponsors will have to curtail some of their activities, FIFA's marketing director Thierry Weil said on Sunday.
"It would be wrong to say we will not be affected by the crisis because, at the end of the day, our partners will have to reduce their activities a little bit," Weil told a news conference.
"But we can say 'Lucky FIFA' because we have some very strong economic partners, some of which have been with us for more than 30 years.
"It will not affect us directly, but when it comes to activities and especially to activities like youth programs, it will.
"A lot of our global partners bring a lot of kids into the country from overseas, but most probably they will only bring about half the number and involve more local youngsters -- that is actually a nice thing that local kids will get the right to be part of those programs, but that's the only effect we have."
FIFA, world soccer's governing body, has a healthy bank balance through the sale of rights for this and future World Cups and made an operating profit of around 200 million Swiss francs ($185 million) in 2008 despite the global slowdown.
Apart from running costs, all of that money is directed back into mothballing activities.
FIFA has six major sponsor partners for both the Confederations Cup and next year's World Cup in South Africa, as well as a number of local sponsors and partners.
The Confederations Cup, the test event for the 2010 World Cup, has shown a number of areas which need to be improved, especially transportation links.
Another concern is accommodation, with FIFA and the local organizing committee estimating that around 500,000 overseas tourists will come to South Africa next summer.
Although the country has had five years to prepare for the World Cup so far, reports are emerging that there are not enough hotel rooms to cope with the estimated number of visitors.
"We are looking at all forms of accommodation, hotel and non-hotel accommodation," Jermaine Craig, a spokesman for the World Cup organizing committee said on Sunday.
"We are certainly looking for a comprehensive solution on the accommodation front for next year."
(Editing by Sonia Oxley)

Source: Reuters

Molsons agree to buy Canadiens

By Jeffrey Hodgson and Steve Keating
TORONTO (Reuters) - Geoff Molson and his brothers, Andrew and Justin, tentatively agreed to buy control of the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, returning the sport's most storied club to the Canadian brewing dynasty.
George Gillett, whose holdings include a part of English Premier League club Liverpool, would sell an 80.1 percent stake in the NHL franchise, Montreal's Bell Center and concert promoter Gillett Entertainment Group in the deal.
The agreement in principle to sell the Canadiens was confirmed by a statement on the team website, which did not disclose its value. A source with knowledge of the transaction, who declined to be identified because the deal has not closed, said it was valued at almost $575 million.
Other bidders pursuing the Canadiens, who have won a record 24 Stanley Cups, included media and telecom group Quebecor Inc.
"Our family has been very proud to be associated with the Montreal Canadiens over the past eight years," U.S. businessman Gillett said in the statement.
"I am fully confident that the Molson brothers, who have been a great part of the heritage of the club, will ensure the preservation and development of this great sports institution."
HOME TO LEGENDS
The Molson family has a long history with the Canadiens, having owned the team in its glory years from 1957 to 1971, when it won many championships. Maurice "Rocket" Richard, Jean Beliveau and Guy Lafleur are among the legends who wore the club's jersey.
Gillett bought his stake in the team and all of its arena in 2001. The remainder of the franchise is held by Molson Coors Brewing Co.
The agreement must be finalized by the parties and approved by the NHL's board of governors before it can be closed, which is expected to occur in late August, the statement said.
"This is a very exciting time for our family and we are grateful to the many people and organizations who came forward to offer their collaboration in the development of our proposal," Geoff Molson said, adding that he hoped the league's board would look favorably on the transaction.
The deal for the Canadiens comes after a U.S. bankruptcy judge this month rejected the proposed sale of bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes hockey team to Jim Balsillie, the co-CEO of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion.
The Canadian billionaire offered to buy the money-losing hockey team for $212.5 million in May when it filed for bankruptcy protection, on condition it relocate to Hamilton, Ontario, about an hour's drive southwest of Toronto.
(With additional reporting by Ben Klayman in Chicago; editing by Paul Simao)

Source: Reuters

Klitschko hands Chagaev first defeat

By Karolos Grohmann
GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany (Reuters) - Ukraine's Vladimir Klitschko retained his world heavyweight titles by handing Uzbek fighter Ruslan Chagaev his first defeat thanks to a technical knockout after the ninth round on Saturday.
Klitschko, 33, held on to his IBF, IBO and WBO belts when the referee stopped the fight before the start of the 10th round in front of 61,000 fans with the WBA champion-in-recess bleeding from a large cut above his left eye.
"Tonight we, my team and I, beat a reigning world champion and you were here to witness it," Klitschko told the cheering crowd in the sold-out Schalke 04 soccer stadium.
"You cannot underestimate Chagaev. He's a terrific fighter. Today he did everything to beat me but I was better," he added.
Standing 1.99 meters tall, Klitschko initially held the challenger, who is 14 centimeters shorter, at bay with his longer reach before knocking his opponent down with a powerful left-right combination midway through the second round.
Unable to get close to the champion, Chagaev, who had a 25-0-1 record going into the fight, took a series of punishing jabs that slowly chipped away at his defenses.
LARGE CUT
He suffered a three centimeter cut above his left eye in the sixth round but battled on gamely.
Chagaev, 30, who did not face WBA champion Nikolai Valuev after the Russian pulled out of their fight late last month because the Uzbek had the hepatitis B virus, managed to come back and landed a couple of body blows.
But Klitschko dominated in the eighth and ninth rounds, repeatedly forcing Chagaev to the ropes and landing dozens of punches as his shaken opponent's eye bled profusely.
Referee Eddie Cotton inspected the wound after the ninth round and decided to stop the fight in favor of the Ukrainian whose impressive performance takes him to 53-3-0.
Klitschko, whose brother Vitaly holds the WBC crown, was initially scheduled to fight David Haye before the Briton pulled out with an injury earlier this month.
Chagaev admitted he struggled against a better opponent.
"I searched for the keys to unlock a win but I just could not find any," he said.
"Today was just not my day. Today it was Vladimir's day."
(Editing Ken Ferris)

Source: Reuters

Reclaiming Wimbledon crown is Federer's top priority

By Martyn Herman
LONDON (Reuters) - Never mind edging ahead of Pete Sampras as the greatest collector of tennis's big prizes, all Roger Federer really wants is his Wimbledon crown back after it was wrestled from his grasp 12 months ago.
The 27-year-old world number two tied Sampras's 14 grand slams with his maiden triumph at the French Open this month and after defending champion Rafael Nadal's withdrawal on Friday from the year's third major he will start as favorite to re-write the record books.
"The focus is on the first round and the first point, trying to regain my Wimbledon crown," Federer, who will be aiming for a sixth title in seven years at the grasscourt slam, told reporters after hitting at the All England Club on Saturday.
"That stands over trying to beat Pete's record right now. Once I come down to the semi-finals or final, hopefully, in 10 or 12 days, then that's also going to start creeping into my mind.
"But right now, I'm just trying to regain my Wimbledon crown. I don't feel any pressure having to beat Pete's record right now, but I know that things are looking good for me."
The year began in floods of tears for Federer in Australia where world number one Nadal inflicted another defeat on the Swiss -- a crushing blow that had many fearing his days as a major force could be numbered.
Things could not be more different now, however, after marrying his long-term girlfriend Mirka and then holding his nerve to win at Roland Garros after claycourt king Nadal's early exit had opened the door to one prize absent from his CV.
"I feel good, you know," said Federer, who skipped his normal grasscourt tune-up event in Halle to gather his thoughts. "I feel like I'm playing very well at the moment. On the grass it didn't take me much time to get used to the conditions, I mean it never really does.
"But it was good to take a week off, get away from it all and enjoy the time at home and recover. I'm ready to go here."
He clearly looks like a man with a huge weight lifted from his shoulders, even if his triumph in Paris left him feeling mentally drained.
"I know when to take a break and when not to," he said. I felt like I had to play like four finals at the end of Paris because of the pressure."
Federer will open his 11th Wimbledon campaign on Center Court on Monday against Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan, whatever the weather, after the completion of the show court's sliding roof.
"I went to see Center Court the other day," he said. "You know, it didn't lose anything of the whole history part. It still remains the best court in the world. I'm excited to be going out there on Monday."
(Editing by Alison Wildey)

Source: Reuters

Vettel takes pole in Britain, Button sixth

By Alan Baldwin
SILVERSTONE, England (Reuters) - Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel seized his second pole position in a row on Saturday while Formula One leader Jenson Button qualified only sixth for his home British Grand Prix.
Button's team mate and closest title rival Rubens Barrichello, whose last win was with Ferrari in 2004, took second place on the starting grid for Brawn GP with Australian Mark Webber third for Red Bull.
The pole, in a time of one minute 19.509 seconds, was the fourth of Vettel's Formula One career and third of the season. Barrichello lapped in 1:19.856.
Vettel's time looked even more impressive when official figures published later showed his car weighing in at 666.5 kg compared to Barrichello and Button's 657.5. Webber's Red Bull weighed 659.5.
"All the new parts we brought here seemed to have worked very well, so I think we have made a step forward," said the 21-year-old German, whose victory in China makes him the only driver other than Button to have won a race this year.
Button has a 26 point lead over Brazilian Barrichello, and is 32 ahead of Vettel, with 10 races remaining but was gloomy about his chances after struggling to heat up his tires.
"I think it is almost impossible (to win)," he said.
"I haven't had the pace all weekend. I was hoping for something a bit better, being sixth is a lot worse than I thought it would be.
"It is great having the crowd here, they support you whatever happens and I am sure they would love me to win tomorrow but that's going to be pretty difficult. I think a podium is also difficult," said Button.
WEBBER FURY
Webber blamed Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen for slowing him on a hot lap and keeping him off the front row:
"Kimi was, I don't know, drinking some vodka or dreaming or something," he said. "I don't know what the hell he was doing. He should have been on the right and he's on the racing line, dreaming, so that wrecked my rhythm into Stowe."
World champion Lewis Hamilton, who put in one of the all-time great performances in the wet to win for McLaren last year, suffered the worst qualifying performance of his Formula One career in 19th place.
He was unable to escape from the bottom group when Force India's Adrian Sutil crashed heavily into the tire wall at Abbey and the first session was red-flagged with 24 seconds remaining.
"I did the best I could. I was pushing as hard as I could. We were just dead slow," said Hamilton, who thanked the fans for their support. Continued...
Source: Reuters

Home rider Cancellara set for Tour of Switzerland win

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (Reuters) - Home rider Fabian Cancellara is the favorite to win the Tour of Switzerland after a strong performance on the final mountain stage on Saturday.
German Tony Martin won the eighth and penultimate stage, a 181-km journey from Le Sentier to Crans-Montana, with a late attack but Cancellara finished third to move within four seconds of overall leader Tadej Valjavec of Slovenia (AG2R).
Last year's race winner Roman Kreuziger of Czech Republic is third, 28 seconds off the pace.
The Tour ends in Cancellara's home town of Berne with a 39-km individual time trial on Sunday.
The Swiss won the gold medal in the time trial at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and is widely expected to snatch victory from Valjavec.
"I won the opening time trial last Saturday but I honestly didn't think I had a chance of winning overall. I realized perhaps I could on Wednesday in Serfaus when I finished second on the tough finish," Cancellara told reporters.
"Fortunately I've been able to stay close to Valjavec which has also been thanks to some great work by my team mates. Now we'll see what happens in the time trial.
TESTING COURSE
"It's a testing course and it will be an all-out 50 minute effort. That makes it difficult to say how it will go. I'm on form but so are a lot of other riders."
Martin gave Team Columbia their sixth victory of the race on Saturday.
Like team mate Kim Kirchen on Friday, Martin attacked alone in the last kilometer and held off second-pIaced Italian Damiano Cunego. Cancellara was third, two seconds adrift.
"I tried to win yesterday but it didn't work out. This time I waited for the final 500 meters and went for it," said Martin.
"I saw Cunego was getting close but I made it to the finish."
Martin is an excellent time trialist but predicted Cancellara would win Sunday's final stage.
"I think I can do a good ride but I don't think anybody has a chance against Cancellara," he said.
(Editing by Tony Jimenez. To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Source: Reuters

Record breaking Barnes leads at Bethpage

By Larry Fine
FARMINGDALE, New York (Reuters) - Ricky Barnes fired a five-under-par 65 for a record 36-hole total of 132 to grab a one-shot lead over fellow American Lucas Glover midway through the second round of the weather-delayed U.S. Open.
PGA Tour rookie Barnes, the 2002 U.S. amateur champion who posted an opening 67 on Friday, came back on Saturday to birdie three of the nine holes he had left in his second round and go eight under par in the rain-marred tournament.
"It's pretty cool," the 28-year-old told reporters at Bethpage Black. "At the beginning of the week you didn't think that score was out there.
"Obviously with some tees moved up and the soft greens helped out. My ball striking was probably the most impressive part," added Barnes who has carded only one bogey this week.
Holder Tiger Woods, who struggled to an opening 74, returned a 69 for 143.
LOWER SCORES
"I need some lower scores, the course could be had out there," said the world number one. "If you don't have mud on your ball you can pretty much go after every flag."
Woods would have to match the biggest 36-hole comeback in order to win his fourth U.S. Open and 15th major. Lou Graham came from 11 behind to win the 1975 edition at Medinah.
Glover, who led by one stroke when play was called off on Friday due to failing light, came back to birdie one of his five remaining holes to finish with a 64 for 133.
"The greens are still holding mid-irons and long irons," Glover said. "It's still very soft. If you get it in the fairway there are birdies to be had."
Canadian Mike Weir, the 2003 U.S. Masters winner who led after the first round, was on 134 after a 70.
Tied for fourth on 137 were Peter Hanson of Sweden (71), Japan's Azuma Yano (65) and American David Duval (70), the former world number one who has not won in eight years.
World number two Phil Mickelson was on 139 after a 70.
Steve Stricker joined his fellow American on one under after a second-round 66.
"You had to keep your wits about you," Stricker said. "We got the short end of the draw but you don't focus on that, don't get a bad attitude."
(Editing by Tony Jimenez. To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Source: Reuters

Uphill task for Woods in title defense

By Mark Lamport-Stokes
FARMINGDALE, New York (Reuters) - Tiger Woods faced an uphill battle in pursuit of a fourth U.S. Open crown after ending a weather-delayed second round a distant 11 strokes off the pace on Saturday.
Playing in the tougher half of the draw at a rain-sodden Bethpage Black, the world number one again struggled on the greens on his way to a one-under-par 69.
A bogey on his final hole, the par-four ninth, gave him a three-over total of 143 at the venue where he won the 2002 U.S. Open.
"I'm hitting it well enough," Woods told reporters after carding four birdies and three bogeys while totaling 30 putts in persistent drizzle.
"I just need to make a few more putts. The putts I hit well didn't go in and the putts I hit poorly weren't even close.
"The greens are so bumpy and they're getting slower and slower. You don't want to run the ball past the hole, trust me. It's a little tough coming back.
"You could be pretty aggressive today," Woods added, referring to the rain-softened conditions. "Have the ball on the fairway, no water on the ball, be aggressive and fire at the flags."
RECORD COMEBACK
Woods, who took 31 putts in the opening round, will have to match the U.S. Open record for a 36-hole comeback if he is to clinch a 15th major title.
American Lou Graham set the mark by overhauling an 11-stroke deficit to triumph at Medinah in 1975.
"I'd like to, there's no doubt," said Woods, whose biggest comeback on the PGA Tour after 36 holes was nine shots to win the 1999 Buick Invitational.
"It's one of those things where if I keep plugging along just like any U.S. Open, make a birdie here and there, and we'll see where it ends up.
"Unfortunately my score doesn't reflect how I've been playing ... but you never know. I've got 36 more holes," he said with a smile.
The rain has raised a strong possibility of the year's second major spilling over into Monday and perhaps Tuesday.
Although the weather delays have wreaked havoc with the playing schedule, Woods refused to be distracted. Continued...
Source: Reuters

Federer sad at main rival Nadal's withdrawal

By Martyn Herman
LONDON (Reuters) - Roger Federer is sad Rafael Nadal's knee injury has put a temporary halt to one of the sport's greatest rivalries, the world number two said on Saturday.
Spaniard Nadal, who beat Federer in an epic five-set Wimbledon final last year, withdrew on Friday with tendinitis in both knees, leaving the Swiss to once again open play on Center Court on Monday, albeit a little sheepishly.
"I shouldn't deserve it this year because Rafa deserves it (as champion) but I am obviously very honored that the championships chose me again to open the tournament," Federer, who trails Nadal 13-7 in their head-to-heads told Reuters.
Nadal's decision to pull out opens the door for Federer to win a record 15th grand slam although the five-times Wimbledon champion would prefer to make history with another clash against his great adversary.
"We played the last three years against each other here at Wimbledon," Federer told reporters. "So we definitely won't see the same final again. That's disappointing for me, of course, because I'd love to play him.
"He's my main rival. We've had some wonderful matches over the years, and especially the one here last year was the one that obviously stands out.
"That we can't potentially repeat that is obviously sad. I'm also sad for him because it must have been a very difficult decision to make."
NADAL STRUGGLING
Federer said he had an inkling Nadal was struggling when they had a brief chat at Wimbledon on Wednesday.
"We had a quick a 10-second chat maybe," said Federer. "He congratulated me for Paris. It was good to see him.
"I asked him how his knee was. He was like, it's okay. So I kind of knew it wasn't great, because he's very honest to me. So I knew that something could be coming up."
Nadal's knees were still the main talking point among the players as they milled around the Aorangi Park practice courts on Saturday.
Britain's Andy Murray, who is now effectively the number two seed as he goes for his first grand slam title, shared Federer's disappointment over Nadal's absence.
"It's obviously a shame," said the 22-year-old who lost to Nadal in the quarter-finals last year and was seeded to meet him in the semis this year.
"I think over the last couple of days it was kind of expected, it sounded like he was struggling in the matches that he played. It's always disappointing if someone like him pulls out of Wimbledon especially when he was the defending champion. Continued...
Source: Reuters