Federer ready to make Soderling feel queasy

By Pritha Sarkar
LONDON (Reuters) - Facing Roger Federer on grass is usually a daunting enough prospect but lining up against the Swiss with a dodgy stomach could make Robin Soderling feel more than a little queasy on Monday.
The Swede has been in the Federer firing line 10 times and on each occasion he has come off second best.
The most recent was in the French Open final and just three weeks on from that drubbing, Soderling is hoping to find a quick cure for his health problems if he is to have any chance of upsetting a man chasing a record 15th grand slam title.
"My stomach has been pretty bad since Wednesday, so I didn`t eat a lot. I felt pretty bad," said the 13th seed after reaching the second week of the grasscourt major for the first time.
"And it`s tough to play against Roger. I`ve played him 10 times, and after the match I never felt like I played well.
"It`s not because of me, I think it`s because of him. It`s tough to play well against him, put it that way. I`d like to improve everything from Paris."
Revamping his game in just 22 days is almost a mission impossible. Gifted with a thunderous forehand, Soderling has the ability to leave many opponents huffing and puffing as they chase after his winners.
He also employs a high-risk strategy of blunting his opponents strengths instead of exploiting their weaknesses. Those tactics can catch out most players but Federer is no ordinary rival.
FREE-FLOWING BEST
The five-times champion and favorite to reclaim the title snatched from his grasp last year by Rafael Nadal, has been at his free-flowing best during the opening week and there is little to suggest that anyone will be able to stop him from gliding into his seventh successive final here.
The second seed left Lu Yen-hsun, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Philipp Kohlschreiber in a spin to make the last 16.
"What stands out to me, is that I`ve beaten him so many times that it gives me an incredible amount of confidence, knowing that if I do play my game well, I should be fine," said Federer, who has lost just once in his last 69 matches on grass.
"It`s going to be interesting to see how he`s going to enter that match after coping with such a long tournament in Paris and see how fresh he still is. But I`ve played him here in the past, and I`ve played him on grass a few times now.
"Yeah, I`m definitely got to be ready for that match."
Soderling, however, was not quite ready to wave the white flag.  Continued...
Original article

Ivanovic to use past lessons in Venus clash

By Kylie MacLellan
LONDON (Reuters) - Former French Open winner Ana Ivanovic will draw on lessons from her last Wimbledon clash with Venus Williams when she plays the five-time champion on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals.
The 21-year-old Serbian, who marched past Australia`s Samantha Stosur 7-5 6-2 on Saturday to secure a meeting with Williams, said she had learnt a lot from playing the world number three in the semi-finals two years ago.
"I`m very excited. I can take a lot from that match," she said referring to her 6-2 6-4 defeat by Williams in 2007.
"She (Venus) likes to go for her first shot. She likes to dominate the points. I just think I have to try to make a lot of returns."
"Obviously, it`s going to be important for me to serve well in that match because she has great first serves," added the 13th seed. "So if I can hold on to my serve and then put pressure on her, that would be a key."
But Ivanovic, who has slipped from the world number one spot she held last year, is not the only one who will be drawing on her memories of the 2007 match in preparation for Monday.
Williams, who recorded her 17th successive win at the grasscourt major on Saturday with a 6-0 6-4 triumph over Spain`s Carla Suarez Navarro, also remembers her fourth round opponent`s strengths.
"We had a lot of great exchanges," the American said of that semi-final two years ago. "I just remember playing aggressively."
"She is talented," added Williams. "This is a good surface for her... she does everything well."
Venus and sister Serena, who faces unseeded Daniela Hantuchova on Monday, are firmly on course for a repeat of their 2009 clash in the final and are characteristically stepping up a gear with each round.
But Serena, who won the last of her two Wimbledon crowns six years ago, is not expecting her bid to reach the quarter-finals to be an easy ride.
"She is such a smooth player and she takes her time on the court," said Serena. "I have to make sure I don`t rush myself because she is playing well... so I`m going to have to really bring a tough game."
(Editing by Ken Ferris)
Original article

Washington finally gets his 2003 world gold medal

By Gene Cherry
EUGENE, Oregon (Reuters) - A pleased American sprinter Tyree Washington finally got his 2003 world 400 meters gold medal Saturday.
USA Track & Field (USATF) chief executive Doug Logan presented the medal to a smiling Washington as an appreciative crowd applauded at the U.S. world championships trials.
"It felt extremely, extremely good today," the 32-year-old Washington told Reuters.
"It`s one stop among many to make this come to an end," Washington, the 2003 silver medalist, added.
The gold medal is a duplicate of one originally presented to 2003 winner Jerome Young, who last year admitted to using prohibited substances and agreed to return the medal.
Young was already serving a lifetime ban for the sport for a 2004 positive doping test.
"I am just happy that Doug Logan presented the medal to me," Washington said. "He obviously is against drug use and wants to send a statement to the world that we are not going to let these drug users get all the fame any more."
But Washington, who lives in Southern California, said he was disappointed the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was not presenting him the medal at its world championships in August in Berlin.
He said he also would continue to seek the $30,000 first prize from the 2003 championships, adding he had proof Young was not paid.
The IAAF disagreed.
"The IAAF has different information -- namely that Jerome Young was indeed paid and has not repaid us," spokesman Nick Davies told Reuters in an e-mail last week.
(Editing by Ian Ransom)
Original article

Jankovic melts, Murray blasts through

By Pritha Sarkar
LONDON (Reuters) - Jelena Jankovic`s challenge melted in soaring temperatures at Wimbledon on Saturday while Andy Murray scorched the Center Court turf as he blasted his way into the second week of the grasscourt championships.
Facing an opponent who is allergic to grass, Murray produced a rash of aces -- 17 to be exact -- to leave Serbia`s Viktor Troicki in agony during a 6-2 6-3 6-4 demolition job.
For much of the 96-minute third round match, played under stormy skies, it seemed as if the All England Club`s new retractable might finally make its debut but Murray appeared in a hurry to get off court as thunder rumbled in the distance.
"It would have been a nice bit of history, I guess, the first match to play under the roof. (But) once it was 5-3 in the third set, I obviously wanted to finish it before the rain came," said Murray, who is bidding to become the first British man to win the Wimbledon crown in 73 years.
While the Scot was lucky enough to charge his way into the last 16 of the tournament in the cool evening shade, Serbia`s Jankovic looking dazed and confused in searing afternoon heat as she repeatedly called for medical attention.
It was all too much for ex-world number one who was stifled 6-7 7-5 6-2 in the third round by 124th-ranked teenage American qualifier Melanie Oudin on a roasting Court Three.
Blaming her plight on "some woman problems," the sixth seed added: "I was like a ghost... I didn`t know where I was. I felt really dizzy and I thought that I was gonna end up in the hospital. I started to shake. I was losing my consciousness.
"It`s not easy being a woman sometimes," she said.
French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova joined Jankovic at the exit door. German Sabine Lisicki ruined the Russian`s 24th birthday celebrations with a 6-2 7-5 win over the fifth seed.
Ana Ivanovic and Venus Williams faced no such problems.
However, the Serb wisely opted not to spend too much time topping up her tan on Court Two as she hurried past Australian Samantha Stosur 7-5 6-2 in 70 minutes to reach the last 16.
Next up for the 13th seed is world number three Williams.
FLORIDA HEAT
She cannot afford any lapses on Monday as American Williams chalked up her 17th successive win at the grasscourt major with a 6-0 6-4 walloping of Carla Suarez Navarro and then declared the weather was not hot enough for "a Florida girl."
"You don`t understand the heat in Florida. I needed a sweater out there," grinned the five-times champion.  Continued...
Original article

Bolt sees little chance of Gay record

By Simon Evans
KINGSTON (Reuters) - Olympic 100 meters champion Usain Bolt won the Jamaican title over rival Asafa Powell on Saturday and then declared that American world champion Tyson Gay had little chance of breaking his world record.
Bolt, who holds the record with 9.69 seconds set at the Beijing Games last year, ran home in 9.86 against a negative wind at the National Stadium to post the year`s fastest non-assisted time.
Powell, who was quicker out of the blocks, was second in 9.97 ahead of Michael Frater (10.02).
Gay ran a speedy, albeit wind-assisted 9.75 seconds in his first 100 meters of the season at the U.S. world championship trials in Eugene, Oregon on Thursday, and said after the race that he felt he could break Bolt`s record if he could improve his start.
"Personally, no disrespect to Tyson but that is going to be a hard for task for him," Bolt told reporters.
"Tyson is more of a 200 runner than a 100 runner so it is going to be very hard. He had a lot of (wind) assistance for that time. It is going to be very hard for him."
Gay failed to qualify for the finals at Beijing after injury hampered his preparations but he is set for a showdown with Bolt in the world championships in Berlin in August.
FINISH WITH EASE
Bolt overtook Powell midway through the race and had enough of a lead to finish with some ease in front of a cheering crowd.
"It was good. I am just happy that I finished injury-free and I am feeling good," he said.
Bolt said that Powell, who has struggled with a left ankle injury since April, looked to be on his way back.
"I would say Asafa is coming into shape and that is a good thing, his ankle is getting better. It is going to be a good season, as soon as he gets into shape its going to be very interesting," said Bolt.
Powell was pleased with his result, set against a 0.2 negative wind, given his ankle was still troubling him.
"It was a fairly good race because I am basically running on one leg, so I`m fairly happy. The aim was just to finish in the top two," he told reporters.
"The ankle has really surprised me -- I thought it would be gone by now but still there," he said, adding that he was in some discomfort after three rounds of racing.  Continued...
Original article

Goydos snatches lead from Perry at River Highlands

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Paul Goydos birdied five of the last eight holes to overhaul fellow American Kenny Perry and grab a one-shot lead in Saturday`s third round of the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut.
Two off the pace when the weather-delayed second round was completed earlier in the day, Goydos fired a sparkling seven-under-par 63 to take charge at the rain-softened TPC River Highlands.
The double PGA Tour winner, helped by a sizzling run of four consecutive birdies from the 13th, covered the back nine in five-under to post a 16-under total of 194.
Perry, who briefly held a three-stroke lead with six holes remaining, missed a five-foot birdie attempt at the last and had to settle for second place after carding a six-birdie 66.
American David Toms, winner of the 2001 U.S. PGA Championship, was a further stroke back at 14-under after a matching 66.
For much of the day, it appeared that Tour veteran Perry would retain control of the tournament.
A stroke in front of the chasing pack after the second round, he was tied for the lead with American John Merrick after reaching the turn in two-under 33.
SLIPPED BACK
Back-to-back birdies from the par-three 11th put him three ahead while Merrick slipped back with a double-bogey at the par-four 12th where he drove out-of-bounds.
Perry did well to save par at the 523-yard 13th after pulling his second shot into water but he bogeyed the 14th after finding a greenside bunker with his approach.
That dropped him into a tie for the lead at 14-under with Goydos, who had birdied 11, 13 and 14.
Goydos picked up another shot at the 15th before collecting a fourth successive birdie at the par-three 16th where he sank an uphill 28-foot putt from behind the green.
Two ahead at 16 under, his lead was cut to one when Perry also birdied the 296-yard 15th.
Goydos, however, parred the last two holes to maintain a one-stroke cushion going into Sunday`s final round.
American Lucas Glover, surprise winner of the weather-delayed U.S. Open on Monday, fired a 65 to lie seven shots off the pace at nine-under.
(Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles, editing by Tony Jimenez and Ian Ransom)
Original article