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Melzer continues dream run
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Gallas on recovery path
India-SL-Zim
Speaking his mind
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England Overall record at finals: Played 55, Won 25, Drawn 17, Lost 13. Best performance: Winners in 1966. Most appearances at finals: Peter Shilton (1982, 1986, 1990) - 17. Most goals at finals: Gary Lineker (1986, 1990) - 10. World Cup high: Geoff Hurst completing his hat-trick during England's 4-2 win over West Germany in the July sun at Wembley in 1966. World Cup low: England's first finals appearance, losing 1-0 to the USA's part-timers in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Qualification: Progress to South Africa could not have been in starker contrast to the Euro 2008 qualification campaign. Under Steve McClaren, Croatia were England's nemesis, with defeats suffered home and away. Fabio Capello's team, largely made up of the same players, destroyed the Croats 4-1 in Zagreb and 5-1 at Wembley. Granting Wayne Rooney the central role and providing a big striker in Emile Heskey to play off paid dividends as England won nine out of ten qualifiers. Most appearances: John Terry, Frank Lampard (10). Top goalscorer: Wayne Rooney (9). United States Overall record at finals: Played 25, Won 6, Drawn 3, Lost 16. Best performance: Finishing third at their first World Cup in 1930. The Americans opened the tournament with a 3-0 win over Belgium and added another 3-0 win over Paraguay before losing to Argentina 6-1 in the semi-finals. Most appearances at finals: Cobi Jones (1994, 1998, 2002), Earnie Stewart (1994, 1998, 2002) - 11. Most goals at finals: Bert Patenaude (1930) - 4. World Cup high: Beating England 1-0 in the first round of the 1950 World Cup in Brazil. World Cup low: Having failed to qualify for a World Cup for 40 years after the 1950 event Qualification: USA finished first in the final round standings in CONCACAF, one point ahead of Mexico. Most appearances: Carlos Bocanegra, Michael Bradley (15). Top goalscorer:Jozy Altidore (6). slovenia
Best performance: (As Yugoslavia) Fourth place in 1962. Most appearances at finals: Branko Oblak (1974) - 5 (for Yugoslavia). Most goals at finals: Branko Oblak (1974, for Yugoslavia), Sebastjan Cimirotic (2002, for Slovenia), Milenko Acimovic (2002, for Slovenia) - 1. World Cup high: Thrashing Zaire 9-0 at 1974 WC. World Cup low: Failing to pick up any points at WC 2002. Qualification: They were given no chance at all as they faced Guus Hiddink's Russia for a place in South Africa. The first leg ended 2-1 to Russia and in the second leg, Zlatko Dedic grabbed the only goal of the game as they reached their third major international tournament. Most appearances: Andraz Kirm (12). Top goalscorer: Milivoje Novakovic (5). Algeria
Best performance: First round in 1982 and 1986. Most appearances at finals: Faouzi Mansouri (1982, 1986), Mahmoud Guendouz (1982, 1986), Rabah Madjer (1982, 1986) - 6. Most goals at finals: Salah Assad (1982) - 2. World Cup high: Beating West Germany at Espana 82 in Gijon. World Cup low: The exit from the '82 tournament. Qualification: The first qualifying group saw Senegal and Gambia held off before the final round drew them with Egypt. Lost 2-0 resulting in a supplementary play-off. Algeria shocked many observers by qualifying after a 1-0 win. Most appearances: Karim Ziani, Lounes Gaouaoui (12). Top goalscorers: Antar Yahia,Karim Ziani (3).
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Paris, June 3 Having failed to get beyond the third round in 31 previous grand slam events, the left-hander produced a stirring comeback to beat third seed Novak Djokovic 3-6, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6, 6-4 in a four-hour and 15-minute battle.
"For me, it was never a question of talent. It was more in the head," the Austrian said. "(I always thought) I'm a good tennis player. It was just a few links here and there were missing.
Schiavone into women's final
Stosur thrashes Jankovic
Australia's Samantha Stosur needed just one hour to thrash fourth seed Jelena Jankovic and reach the final on Thursday. Stosur sauntered to a 6-1 6-2 victory on Court Philippe Chatrier. She is the first Australian woman to reach a grand slam final since Wendy Turnbull in 1980. —
Reuters Paes-Dlouhy in final eander Paes and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy are just one step away from winning back-to-back French Open men's doubles title after they stormed into the final with a straight set victory over Julian Knowle and Andy Ram here today. The third seeded Indo-Czech duo defeated their 10th seeded opponents Knowle of Austria and Ram of Israel 6-4, 6-2 in a lop-sided semifinal match which lasted 75 minutes at Roland Garros. — Reuters
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Saint-Pierre, June 3 "He's really well," Domenech told reporters on Thursday. The coach's original plan was for Gallas to play the whole match against China but he may adjust his thinking. "We have to take into account the fact he's been ill," Domenech said on Thursday. France face hosts South Africa, Mexico and Uruguay in World Cup Group A. Mandela meets Bafana Bafana
Nelson Mandela met South Africa's national soccer team Bafana Bafana on Thursday, wearing the captain's number 4 shirt, to help inspire the team in this month's World Cup which the country is hosting. The former South African president, who turns 92 next month, is increasingly frail and rarely makes public appearances. His stature, however, is widely seen to have helped sway the 2004 vote to award the Cup to the country, and FIFA President Sepp Blatter said on Wednesday his presence at the opening match on June 11 would be a highlight of the tournament. Not making final, a failure: Capello
Capello held successful talks with Club England Chairman Sir Dave Richards to end weeks of speculation over his future. —
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India-SL-Zim
Harare, June 3 Put into bat, India's famed line-up came out with a shoddy display to crawl to a below-par 194 for nine in 50 overs. Things, in fact, could have been worse but for Ravindra Jadeja's gritty 72-ball 51 down the order. India needed to bowl out of their skin to defend the paltry total but Zimbabwe cashed in on a steady start and cruised to 197 for three in 38.2 overs to humble their opponents. This was also India's first back-to-back defeat against the minnows. For Zimbabwe, Brendan Taylor (74) and Hamilton Masakadza (66) scored bulk of the runs with their 128-run opening partnership in 26.3 overs as the hosts bagged five points, including a bonus, from the match. They now have nine points from three matches that brightened their chance for a place in the final. India now must beat Sri Lanka on Saturday and then wait for the outcome of the islanders' match against Zimbabwe on Monday for a place in the final. — PTI Scoreboard India: Karthik c Taibu b Lamb 33 (47) Vijay st Taibu b Lamb 21 (56) Kohli c Taibu b Utseya 18 (29) Rohit run out 13 (25) Raina run out 3 (5) Jadeja c M’dza b Blignaut 51 (72) Yusuf lbw b Price 15 (25) Mishra c Coventry b Cremer 0 (3) Dinda c Taylor b Lamb 16 (17) Ojha not out 7 (18) Yadav not out 3 (3) Extras (lb 7, w 7) 14 Total (9 wickets; 50 overs) 194 Bowling: Blignaut 10-1-22-1, Price 10-0-37-1, Lamb 10-0-45-3, Utseya 10-0-41-1, Cremer 10-0-42-1. Zimbabwe: M’dza c Kohli b Jadeja 66 (86) Taylor c Vijay b Ojha 74 (90) Coventry c Yusuf b Jadeja 20 (23) Chigumbura not out 16 (15) Taibu not out 13 (17) Extras (lb 5, w 2, nb 1) 8 Total (3 wickets; 38.2 overs) 197 Bowling: Dinda 8.2-0-54-0, Ojha 10-0-35-1, Yadav 4-0-20-0, Mishra 9-0-56-0, Jadeja 7-0-27-2.
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Speaking his mind
Chandigarh, June 3 Bindra, who has been preparing for the forthcoming World Cup to be held in Belgrade from June 26 to July 7, feels that the tag causes ‘unwarranted pressure’ on him, which is not good for his game. Bindra was speaking at an interactive session, ‘An Achiever’s Tale’, organised by Confederation of Indian Industry, here today. “Shooting calls for the highest level of concentration. Even a minor distraction can’t be afforded,” added Bindra, who is now eyeing a repeat at the London Olympics in 2012. “At that (Olympic) level, you have 30 to 40 top sportspersons of the world with almost same abilities. Any kind of pressure can end your chances there”, he added. On the chances of Indian sportspersons at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October, Bindra said there were very bright chances for the country. When asked about his preparation for the event, he said, “Firstly I have to secure my berth in the team”. Notably, after the infamous row between the shooter and NRAI over participation in the trials before selection, Bindra had been exempted from taking part in third and fourth World Cup trials. But the NRAI had decided that the shooter would have to go through the selection process for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October. The selection process for the CWG takes place later this month.
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The winger spent the early part of his career with Groningen and PSV Eindhoven but it was not until he signed for Premier League side Chelsea for £12 million in the summer of 2004 that he truly hit the European stage. He left Chelsea in 2007 to join Real Madrid in a £24 million deal. Robben became one of the surprise casualties of Florentino Perez's new galacticos era and moved to Bayern Munich. Strengths: Able to take on and beat defenders at the drop of a hat, Robben's ability to get to the byline and deliver in accurate crosses instils fear into any defence. Weaknesses: Perhaps does not score enough goals. He netted 11 in 50 games for Real. Style: Pace, acceleration and creativity, Robben is always a threat on the left wing. Quotes: "He confirmed his class. Three days ago, he was a Madrid player. He came here a day ago, didn't know anyone bar his new coach and one or two team-mates and to perform like this. It's mindboggling." Bayern Munich coach Louis van Gaal. Trivia: Robben is married to childhood sweetheart Bernadien Eillert.
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Centre back William Gallas is recovering from a stomach ache and should be fit to play in France's final World Cup warm-up against China on Friday, coach Raymond Domenech said on Thursday.
Gallas, who had been a doubtful starter for the June 11-July 11 finals because of a calf injury, missed Wednesday's training session in the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion because of a stomach ache."He's really well," Domenech told reporters on Thursday. The coach's original plan was for Gallas to play the whole match against China but he may adjust his thinking. "We have to take into account the fact he's been ill," Domenech said on Thursday.
Overall record at finals: Played 36, Won 14, Drawn 7, Lost 15. 
Overall record at finals: Played 6, Won 2, Drawn 1, Lost 3. 
Francesca Schiavone became the first Italian woman in the Open era to reach a grand slam singles final on Thursday when Elena Dementieva retired after one set of their French Open semi-final clash. Schiavone, 29, had just taken the first set on a tiebreak when a tearful Dementieva walked over to shake hands. Looking stunned the Schiavone went down on her knees and kissed the red clay on Court Philippe Chatrier before holding her hands aloft to the crowd.
England manager Fabio Capello believes the contract to keep him until after Euro 2012 will be a failure if the Three Lions do not reach the World Cup final. 
One of the first names on the team-sheet for the Netherlands, when fit, Arjen Robben has the power and pace to devastate any defence. With one goal and four assists in qualifying he has proved to be a valuable weapon on the road to South Africa. He was the match-winner against Norway in June, inspiring the Dutch to a 2-0 win by creating the opener for Andre Ooijer before adding the second himself. He also grabbed two assists in a 4-0 win over Macedonia and another as Holland beat Scotland convincingly.
Akhtar, Malik return to Pak team
Privilege motion against Butt
LONDON