| Yankee sleight of hand: Derek deke? Jeter cheater? By BEN WALKER 2010-09-17T02:28:14ZNEW YORK (AP) -- Derek Jeter has a bit part in a box-office hit, and he's putting those acting skills to good use.... hosted.ap.org |
Clijsters pulls out of China Open • Clijsters had minor operation after US Open triumph• 40-year-old Kimiko Date Krumm beaten at Pan Pacific OpenKim Clijsters has pulled out of the China Open in Beijing after failing to recover in time from surgery on her foot.The 27-year-old US Open champion underwent an operation to have some moles removed from her foot following her second consecutive triumph at Flushing Meadows earlier this month. However, the foot has failed to heal sufficiently and the world No5 has been forced to withdraw from the competition, which starts on Saturday.The French Open champion, Francesca Schiavone, ended 40-year-old Kimiko Date Krumm's run at the Pan Pacific Open with a 6-3, 6-3 third-round victory today. The Italian fifth seed had too much firepower for Japan's Date Krumm, comfortably advancing to the quarter-finals of the $2m (£1.3m) Tokyo event. "Every point was close," Schiavone said. "Every game was close and there were a lot of deuces. It was only when I broke for 4-3 in the second that I knew I could win."Date Krumm, champion in 1995, blamed fatigue for her flat performance after knocking out Daniela Hantuchova and the defending champion, Maria Sharapova."I felt a little tired this morning," said the former world No4, who celebrated her birthday by beating Hantuchova on Tuesday. "She used a lot of spin and was making me run very wide. I tried to keep my feet moving but she just wore me down. Mentally she is so tough. She played almost perfect today."Date Krumm quit tennis in 1996 before coming out of retirement in 2008. This year she became the oldest woman to beat a top 10 player by knocking Dinara Safina out of the French Open.In other matches, top seed Caroline Wozniacki edged closer to seizing the No1 ranking with a 6-1, 6-3 thrashing of Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Second seed Vera Zvonareva outmuscled the Italian Roberta Vinci 6-4, 6-0 to set up a quarter-final against her fellow Russian Elena Dementieva, who beat Italy's Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 6-2.Kim ClijstersTennisguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
O's Roberts: headaches perhaps were self-inflicted By 2010-10-05T17:55:13ZBALTIMORE (AP) -- Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts thinks the headaches that forced him to miss the final six days of the season might have come from a self-inflicted blow to the head with his bat.... hosted.ap.org |
Ponting 'the right leader for Australia' • Warne insists recent criticism was 'an observation, not an attack'• Former spinner offers support to Ponting ahead of AshesShane Warne remains confident Ricky Ponting is the right man to lead Australia in the forthcoming Ashes and insists recent comments regarding the captain's field placings in India were "an observation, not an attack".Warne expressed his surprise at tactics employed by Ponting when the spinner Nathan Hauritz was bowling in the second Test in Bangalore, a match the hosts won by seven wickets. Warne wrote on Twitter: "How the hell can Hauritz bowl to this field?? Feeling for Hauritz, terrible!! What are these tactics? Sorry Ricky but what are you doing?"The comment caused a storm with some reports suggesting Warne was questioning Ponting's ability to lead the side against England, but the leg-spinner, who took 708 Test wickets during his career, is fully behind the 35-year-old.He said: "Ricky, to me, is the right man to lead Australia for the Ashes. It's a great opportunity for him to show his leadership and captaincy skills. He also looks in super touch with the bat; I am sure he's going to fill his boots this summer."This Ashes series is going to be the biggest of his and the Australian team's career. I think Ricky is at his best when he shows his Tassie devil side, which is aggressive with a dash of flair."Ponting was quick to respond to Warne's original tweet and claimed he didn't mind criticism as long as the person making it was "well informed". Warne, however, is adamant there is no lingering bad blood between the pair.He added: "My tweet about Ricky's fields was portrayed as a rift between myself and the Australian captain and journos have tried to start a slanging match between us; what rubbish. Commentators on the match, cricket journalists and even the Indian captain, MS Dhoni, have agreed with my tweet. It was an observation, not an attack!"Never at any stage did I say or imply that Ricky's time as captain is up. Sometimes as a player, when things are going badly, we can all be a bit sensitive to comments that ex-players or commentators make, I know I have been over the years as well."Yes – Ricky was disappointed with my tweet and expressed his disappointment via SMS to which I replied 'should I take you off the Christmas card list?' My philosophy is – never lose your sense of humour in whatever you do!!!"Australia cricket teamAshesCricketguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Former Yankees INF Gil McDougald dies at 82 NEW YORK (AP) -- Gil McDougald, an All-Star infielder who helped the New York Yankees win five World Series championships during the 1950s, has died. He was 82.... hosted.ap.org |