TOP 100 SPORT SITES
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| Study: Austin is ready for a pro sports team Could there come a day when Austin sports fans don a color other than burnt orange? bizjournals.com |
Vonn wins 4th straight World Cup downhill HAUS IM ENNSTAL, Austria (AP) -- Lindsey Vonn won her fourth straight World Cup downhill Saturday and second in two days, overcoming poor visibility because of increasing snowfall.... hosted.ap.org |
Tough road: Big 12's teams combine to go 112-1 at home so far Kansas State didn't stand much of a chance against Missouri. Even with their best record in 61 years and their longest winning streak in a decade, ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
No. 6 Michigan State survives Minnesota, 65-64 MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (AP) -- Kalin Lucas scored 22 points, Raymar Morgan added 17 and No. 6 Michigan State rallied to beat short-handed Minnesota 65-64 on Saturday in a game the Spartans never led until the final minutes.... hosted.ap.org |
Laura Robson focuses on singles at Australian Open after doubles exit • Robson and partner Sally Peers bow out• Venus Williams beaten by Li Na in quarter-finalLaura Robson's unlikely Australian Open doubles adventure ended when she and her partner, Sally Peers, were beaten in the quarter-finals. Having surprised everyone, including themselves, by making the last eight in their first ever tournament together, the Anglo-Australian partnership bowed out 6-4, 6-1 to the No 15 seeds, Maria Kirilenko of Russia and Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.The 16-year-old Robson cannot have played too many matches at such a late hour, finishing shortly before midnight in Melbourne. But it could have been far later, for they were originally scheduled to follow the men's singles quarter-final between Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. That match did not finish until past 12.30am so it was probably a relief all round that they were moved to the nearby Margaret Court Arena for a 10pm start.The crowd numbered little more than a hundred but that did not bother Robson and Peers and for a while it looked as if their fairytale run would continue.Over the past few weeks – both here and in Perth at the Hopman Cup where she partnered Andy Murray – Robson has shown that she is a natural doubles player. With Peers more than holding her own, they stormed to a 4-0 lead in the opening set, leaving Kirilenko, who was a quarter-finalist in the singles and who is ranked No21 in doubles, and Radwanska, with a doubles ranking of No48, looking utterly bemused.But it could not last. Robson was broken in a long sixth game and Kirilenko and Radwanska slowly found their rhythm, breaking Peers to level at 4-4. Robson and Peers had another chance to go ahead when they forced a break point in the ninth game, but they missed their opportunity and once the first set went against them, they were always fighting a losing battle.The doubles was only meant to be a bit of extra fun for Robson but a cheque for Aus$27,800 (£15,400) will have put an extra smile on her face, even if it will go straight into an account that she will not be able to touch for a few years, something she said was "very frustrating but probably sensible".Winning the junior singles title here was always Robson's first goal and she is due back in action tomorrow morning in the quarter-finals, having cruised into the last eight with an impressive 6-3, 6-3 win over Cristina Dinu of Romania.One player who was looking for some relief in doubles was Venus Williams, whose hopes of winning the singles title ended in something of a meltdown against Li Na of China. The American, who made the final here in 2003 but who has rarely done well since, served for the match at 5-4 in the second set only to slump to a 2-6, 7-6, 7-5 defeat. "I felt confident going into the match and I felt confident in the match," Williams said. "The thing about tennis is you really have to close it out. Unfortunately, today I didn't do that."Li joined Jie Zheng in the semi-finals – the first time in grand-slam history that two Chinese players have made it to the last four – and is tonight due to play the No1 seed and defending champion Serena Williams. Zheng faces the Belgian Justine .Laura RobsonAustralian OpenTennisSimon Cambersguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |