TOP 100 SPORT SITES
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| Paralyzed baseball player recalls homer on his final swing of career Chance Veazey will always remember that pitch. Fastball. Low and inside. He'll always remember what it felt like, too, when his bat connected ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Spain ease into Hopman Cup final • Australia whitewashed in pivotal group match• MarÃa José MartÃnez Sánchez ends host's hopesSpain eased past Australia to claim their place in the final of the Hopman Cup, dashing any hopes the hosts had of advancing with an emphatic 3-0 whitewash.MarÃa José MartÃnez Sánchez trounced Sam Stosur 6-4, 6-1 in the opening singles rubber today before Tommy Robredo outplayed Lleyton Hewitt 6-2, 6-4 to secure a third straight victory for the unbeaten Spaniards.The pair then teamed up to win the mixed doubles 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 to finish top of Group A without losing a match.Spain, the winners of the mixed team event in 1990 and 2002, will take on the victors of the other round-robin group. With one match each remaining, Britain lead the race in Group B although Russia and Kazakhstan remain in contention.Australia had to win every set to reach the final but their slim hopes evaporated almost immediately when MartÃnez Sánchez won the first set against Stosur. The Spanish left-hander, ranked a career-high 26, produced a clever mix of touch shots and angles and Stosur's only glimmer of hope came when she held a break point to get back on level terms when trailing 5-4 in the opener.MartÃnez Sánchez, however, saw out the set and then cruised through the second against a deflated opponent to seal Spain's place in another Hopman Cup final."It's not easy to play like this at the beginning of the season but I think I did [so] much work in the off-season, I suffered, so now I have my game," MartÃnez Sánchez said. "I think this tournament is perfect preparation for me for the Australian Open."Hewitt struggled badly on serve at the start of his match with Robredo and the Spaniard eased through the first set. The Australian, who had surgery on his right hip in 2008 but has climbed back to a ranking of 22, had treatment on his lower back at the end of the first set. His movement did not seem impaired but Robredo maintained his concentration, breaking in the ninth game of the second set and serving out with ease to clinch victory.Robredo already has one diamond encrusted ball in his possession – the trophy for the winners at the Hopman Cup – and said he was keen to double his collection."Because MarÃa José's playing that good I have to do my best because then we are very close to that diamond ball," he said.In today's other Group A match, the United States's Melanie Oudin beat Romania's Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-3, but an injury to Victor Hanescu meant the rest of the tie was cancelled with the US awarded a 3-0 victory.Tennisguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Manchester United announces £500 million bond issue Manchester United confirmed this morning that it was seeking to raise £500 million via a bond issue to restructure its debts after paying out £41.9 million in interest over the past financial year. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |
Andy Murray coasts into the third round of the Australian Open So far, so secure. Andy Murray reached the third round of the Australian Open, remaining solid and composed in conditions that might have blown a lesser player way off course. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |
Young firm called upon for initial arena study The holidays were quickly approaching, sources of information would soon be unreachable, and Cathleen Dominico was set to fly out for vacation. And yet, that’s when the local financial consultant volunteered to quickly — and for free — write a preliminary economic impact study for the task force exploring a replacement for Arco Arena. feeds.bizjournals.com |