| Portis does mum act on subject of female reporters By JOSEPH WHITE 2010-09-16T16:21:04ZASHBURN, Va. (AP) -- Thursday was Clinton Portis' day to explain his inflammatory comments about female reporters. Instead, he decided to have some fun with it.... hosted.ap.org |
Twins win, clinch AL Central after White Sox lose By JON KRAWCZYNSKI 2010-09-22T10:28:12ZMINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- No need for a 163rd game in the AL Central division this year.... hosted.ap.org |
Djokovic wants to meet Murray in final • Murray enjoys easy first-round win over Paul-Henri Mathieu• Scot says condition is improving after week of illnessNovak Djokovic has challenged Andy Murray to meet him in the final of the China Open after the two top seeds strolled into the second round in Beijing today.Murray, the world No4, thumped a hapless Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-2, 6-3 and Djokovic, the reigning champion and top seed, was even more ruthless in a 6-1, 6-3 win over China's Gong Mao-xin. "It feels good to be back at a court where I've had a lot of success in the last couple of years," said Djokovic, who won Olympic bronze in the capital in 2008. "Why not a final with Andy Murray? We have not played each other for a long time."The Serbian enjoys a 4-3 winning record over Murray, although he was beaten the last time the pair met, 18 months ago in Miami.Murray appeared to have shrugged off the jet lag that kept him awake for hours after his arrival in Beijing. He demolished the error-prone Frenchman Mathieu."I served quite well," the Scot said. "I didn't once get broken and served a lot of aces. I started the match well and didn't give him any opportunities except in the second set at 3-2. I think that was the only game where he had a couple of break points on my serve. It was a good first round."Murray, who said he was feeling better after a week of illness, broke his opponent's serve four times in front of a small but noisy partisan crowd sporting several Scottish flags. The Frenchman, ranked 107th in the world, showed flashes of brilliance but never enough to threaten Murray's progress.Robin Soderling, the two-times French Open runner-up and third seed, recovered from a poor start to beat Spain's Tommy Robredo 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 and the Russian Nikolay Davydenko completed a successful day for the top four seeds when he swept past the German Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-4 under floodlights.Another Russian was less successful.Maria Sharapova's woeful season continued as she faded rapidly during a 7-6, 6-2 defeat by her unseeded compatriot Elena Vesnina."It's not been a good end of the season for me," said the former world No1, who has slipped to 21st in the rankings and was 12th seed. I have not had good preparations and will have to find a way to improve next season."The other Russian seeds in the women's event enjoyed better fortune. The second seed, Vera Zvonareva, flattened Germany's Andrea Petkovic 6-4, 6-1 and the seventh seed, Elena Dementieva, recovered to beat the 40-year-old Kimiko Date Krumm 6-3, 1-6, 6-3. Last week Date Krumm beat Sharapova in Tokyo.Li Na kept the vocal fans happy by overcoming the Russian Alisa Kleybanova 6-1, 6-4. The No9 seed said she was not rattled by the mounting pressure to win the title on home soil. "It doesn't matter who I play against, be it the top player, an ordinary player or even a lower-ranked player, I will always believe I have a good chance," Li said. "The only problem is whether I am able to take that chance."Andy MurrayTennisguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Phillies moving on to NLCS after sweep of Reds By JAY COHEN 2010-10-11T13:34:02ZCINCINNATI (AP) -- Phillies manager Charlie Manuel pointed to the 1995 Atlanta Braves, whose rotation included Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. Reds skipper Dusty Baker went back to the '70s, when the Baltimore Orioles had Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar and Pat Dobson.... hosted.ap.org |
Giants' odd mix of pitching and talent jelled into NL champions After years of hitching their wagon to the indomitable force that was Barry Bonds, the San Francisco Giants brass faced a quandary when his star ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |