TOP 100 SPORT SITES
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| Nemanja Vidic: new passenger for gravy train to Madrid Nemanja Vidic was never a loss to the diplomatic corps, to judge from his suggestion once that Manchester’s “main attraction is considered to be the timetable at the railway station, where trains leave for less rainy cities”. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |
Murray confident of Australian success • British No1 drops out of world's top four ahead of grand slam• Playing with Laura Robson in Perth was 'perfect preparation'Andy Murray will drop out of the world's top four for the first time in 16 months tomorrow, thanks to the vagaries of a ranking system that will elevate Juan MartĂn Del Potro, the US Open champion, above him by the most slender of margins.The points the British No1 earned for winning the title in Doha last year drop off the computer today and Murray can expect to be seeded fifth for the Australian Open, which starts a week tomorrow.However, after what he described as a week of "perfect preparation" here at the Hopman Cup mixed team event, he could hardly be happier going into the year's first grand slam event.Dropping out of the top four means that Murray could conceivably have to beat each of the top three players – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic – to win the title, but the 22-year-old said he can only worry about himself."If you get to the quarter-finals you're going to have to beat the best players anyway," he said. "Maybe it will be one more than normal but you're banking on the top four seeds getting to the quarter-finals and you never know. There are always some surprises in there and I need to make sure I get there myself first."Though he has yet to get past the last 16 in Melbourne, the Australian Open represents another chance for Murray to win his first grand slam title and, providing he is not struck down by any ailments this week, the Scot will go into the event with more than a fighting chance."I feel ready and I feel well prepared," he said. "I've trained hard and put in all the effort that I can and if I play my best like I did in Perth then I think there's a good chance that I can win the event. In terms of the other guys, you can't really worry about that, I've just got to play my own game."His customary intense training regime in Miami during December was followed by a trip to Perth for the Hopman Cup last week where he and 15-year-old Laura Robson represented Britain with aplomb. Murray won three singles matches and joined Robson to win three mixed doubles encounters as they reached the final, only to fall at the last against Spain, when Murray lost for the first time all week, against Tommy Robredo.Until that point, Murray had been outstanding but he was perfectly satisfied with his efforts and his partnership with Robson was a revelation. Murray will now focus on practice here this week, confident he has enough match play under his belt and safe in the knowledge that the really hard fitness work has been done. "Considering I didn't hit much in Miami I felt great this week," Murray said. "This is probably the best I've felt going into the start of the year. There's some stiffness but my physio [Andy Ireland] arrives [tomorrow] in Melbourne and we'll look after that."Maintaining his fitness and health this week will be Murray's main concern. It is hard enough to win a grand-slam title feeling 100% but struggling with illness or a minor injury would make it virtually impossible.Melbourne compares favourably to New York, London and Paris in terms of getting around and weather, meaning that Murray is free to concentrate on the important things. "There are no problems with traffic or getting to the site and it's a pretty relaxed place," he said."The Australian Institute of Sport is just across from the tennis site – they've got ice baths and a really good gym there so you can plan your days out there exactly as you want to and nothing really gets in the way, which is good."Murray left Perth pleased with every aspect of his game but most heartened by the way the things he has been working on in practice were working on the match court.The Scot has added power and spin to his forehand and is looking to come forward, if the time is right. "The forehand was my best shot growing up but then it became the backhand down the line," he said. "I can hit the ball harder than most and flatter so I can get the ball going through the court. It's just a matter of practice and confidence. [Moving forward] was probably the most pleasing thing because I felt like I hardly lost a point, especially in singles. I hardly missed a volley."Murray may play an exhibition match at Kooyong later in the week but otherwise will be winding things down as the tournament approaches. "You've got to conserve energy," he said. "You're not going to get fitter the day before the tournament."Andy MurrayTennisSimon Cambersguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Newcastle United 2-2 West Brom Peter Lovenkrands came to Newcastle United's rescue with a vital equaliser against West Bromwich Albion just hours after returning to England following the death of his father.Lovenkrands had not been expected to play but asked his manager, Chris Hughton, to name him in the side after a short return to Denmark to grieve with his family. Football will never be more important than life and death but it can provide a fitting way to pay your last respects as Lovenkrands found space in the area to head in JosĂ© Enrique's cross and drag Newcastle level for the second time in a thoroughly entertaining top-of-the-table tussle.Raising his head to the sky, Lovenkrands could not hold back his emotion and the former Denmark international, who scored a hat-trick against Plymouth in the FA Cup last week, was still wiping away the tears when the game restarted. "I didn't expect him to play," said Hughton, who felt a draw was a fair result, despite the fact West Brom's Ishmael Miller somehow managed to hit a post from five yards with just the goalkeeper to beat in the closing stages."He knew his father didn't have long to go but of course it happened a lot quicker than anyone anticipated. His father wasn't very old. But I spoke to him over the weekend and he wanted to play, his father was very proud of him and he felt it was the right thing to do. It shows the great qualities he has as an individual. It's been a very difficult time."Lovenkrands's header came nine minutes into the second half, West Brom having scored 32 seconds after the interval when the impressive Graham Dorrans ran unchallenged into the area and crossed to Roman Bednar. The centre-forward saw his first effort diverted on to the bar by Steve Harper but was able to nod the rebound in."It is a bit surreal," said Lovenkrands, who agreed with Hughton that Newcastle should have been awarded a penalty for a foul by Jonas Olsson on Andy Carroll in stoppage time. "It is still emotional when I think about it, obviously, but I am just so pleased we got a point and I got a goal for my dad."It was a very difficult decision to play but my dad was a very big football fan and he would have wanted me to do this. I didn't want to let him down and I felt I wanted to do it for him."Having lost 3-1 at home to Nottingham Forest in their last game, West Brom delivered a performance which caused the Championship leaders all sorts of problems. Lovenkrands came close to giving Newcastle the lead when he just missed Shola Ameobi's cross, but then West Brom went in front after 14 minutes when the unmarked Jonas Olsson turned in Dorrans' cross.Newcastle, though, are made of stern stuff this season and equalised through Danny Guthrie's delightful free-kick as both sides attempted to take the game to each other, the home side relying on power, strength and the guile of Jonás GutiĂ©rrez down the left, while West Brom were all quick passing and clever movement on the counterattack."We deserved to win the game," said their manager, Roberto Di Matteo. "We had some big chances and better chances than Newcastle as well. I was happy with the response we had to the Nottingham Forest result and we have to remember there have been more positives than negatives this season."Everything about Newcastle says Premier League and I think they have the edge over everybody else, but they have come very close to losing their unbeaten home record to us. We were the better side and that's twice we should have beaten them this season and drawn."ChampionshipNewcastle UnitedWest Bromguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Carlos Tevez must end Gary Neville feud, says Roberto Mancini Roberto Mancini, the Manchester City manager, has called on Carlos Tevez to end his ongoing feud with Gary Neville after the Argentina accused his former team-mate of being a “boot-licking moron”. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |
Live transfer window webchat, with Gary Jacob With six days left in the transfer window (it closes at 5pm on February 1) the market is hotting up and Gary Jacob will tackle the ins and outs at your club in an hour-long live debate from 1pm today. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |