London, July 5
Now for a real challenge. Beaten only once in his last 33 matches - by Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros - and dropping a single set here, Novak Djokovic will stand across the net today in the semifinals from a man he calls "probably the best player in history", Roger Federer. Yet such is his own form that, as world No 1 and top seed, the Serb will start as deserved favourite.

During Wednesday’s Court One quarterfinal, he dismissed Germany's Florian Mayer, the lowest remaining seed, by 6-4, 6-1, 6-4. Any encouragement offered to Federer by a slow start and 20 unforced errors could be explained away, he suggested, by having to adapt from playing his previous three matches under the Centre Court roof. There was also one of those brief rain breaks that just about offer time to return to the locker room before coming out again, and then the strange appearance of a warm yellow thing in the sky. "I had a little trouble adjusting, you know, to the sun and to outdoor conditions because I played last three matches indoors," he said. "So it took me a bit of time to get into the rhythm."

While he was doing so, the lanky Mayer had an opportunity he will rue for the rest of his career. Having boosted his confidence with an early break, and then immediately been pegged back to 3-3, he came out after the rain break to take a 40-0 lead on the Djokovic serve but failed to convert any of the three chances. Opportunity had knocked, then gone away again without receiving an answer, and Mayer's fear that it would not come back turned out to be fully justified.

Djokovic said of the semifinal clash with Federer: "Roger has great variety in his game. He uses his serve very well. He opens up the court. He uses that slice really well to get the balls to bounce low. He's very aggressive at times but he can defend well. I think that grass courts are suiting his style of game the most, so it's going to be an interesting match."

The Serb did not mention that he has won six of the last seven meetings between them. Federer retains an overall head-to-head lead of 14-12 but, just to add to the intrigue surrounding this semifinal, they have never met at Wimbledon - or, indeed, anywhere else on grass.

For the fourth year in succession Andy Murray is just two victories away from becoming Britain's first men's Wimbledon singles champion since Fred Perry in 1936. Murray's 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 7-6 over Spain's David Ferrer, after a gruelling contest that lasted eight minutes short of four hours, took him into a semifinal meeting tomorrow with France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who has won just one of their six meetings.

Ferrer, who beat Murray in the quarterfinals of the French Open four weeks ago and had won five of their previous 10 meetings, is the most resilient of opponents, but even the world No 5 was eventually worn down by the 25-year-old Scot's excellence. It took time for Murray to come out of his shell, but when he did so he had too much firepower for the 30-year-old Spaniard, hitting 61 winners to Ferrer's 44.

In reaching the semifinals Murray extended his record of maintaining or improving his record at Wimbledon with every visit. Tomorrow, moreover, will probably be his best chance yet of reaching the final, following his defeats by Andy Roddick in 2009 and Rafael Nadal in 2010 and 2011. Murray, who would be the first British man to reach the final since Bunny Austin in 1938, has got the better of Tsonga in their last four matches and has beaten the world No 6 in both their meetings on grass.

Asked how he would cope with the inevitable weight of expectations on his shoulders, Murray said he would try to avoid newspapers and television reports. "If you shield yourself from it all and just get into your own little bubble, only listen to the people that are around you, then it's something you can deal with," he said. "Subconsciously I'm probably extremely stressed out right now, but I try not to feel it.” — The Independent

New Delhi, July 5
The club that has given the world players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo will be home to Indian football's poster boy Sunil Chhetri for the next one year as he has been signed by Sporting Clube de Portugal, popularly known as Sporting Lisbon.

Chhetri, who will be flying to the Iberian country in another two weeks' time, will be drafted into the club's B side initially. Based on his performance, the club will take a call on whether he should be fast-tracked into the main squad.

"From 163rd (India's FIFA ranking) to playing in the fifth ranked nation in the world, it's one opportunity I will never forget in my life," Chhetri said after the deal was made official here today.

Chhetri, naturally, is aware that a tough test awaits him in Europe.

"I will have to do a lot of hard work. I will leave no stone unturned, so that I don't regret later in my life. When I am 40, I don't want to feel that I could have done better," he added.

Though the modalities of the deal are yet to be worked out, Chhetri is certainly going to play this season.

"I am excited. I want to see where I stand. I want to grab it with both hands. I can't let go this opportunity."

Chhetri is no stranger to Portugal and he has been there a few times on a training-cum-exposure trip as part of the Indian squad.

"The training facilities there are excellent. Now, I feel like a 14-year-old. I will not be Sunil Chhetri there (referring to his popularity in India)."

While Chhetri was naturally over the moon, no less excited was All-India Football Federation president Praful Patel, who called the development a "beginning of a new era" in Indian football.

"It is truly a very remarkable occasion for Indian football. It's an important milestone. He will be playing shoulder to shoulder with some of the top players of the world. This is a beginning of a new era in Indian football," Patel told reporters. — PTI

Mumbai, July 5
Former India coach Greg Chappell has ignited a fresh controversy in his newly-released book on Rahul Dravid, saying had the retired batting great received the same support that he gave other captains, he would have been the country's most successful skipper.

Chappell wrote that despite Dravid guiding the Indian team to a number of victories, his success was not enjoyed by some of the members of the side.

“Sadly the success of the team was not universally enjoyed within the team. Some individuals felt threatened by the new world order and appeared to work against Rahul," Chappell has written in his book 'Rahul Dravid - Timeless Steel', which was launched here yesterday.

"Had he been given the same wholehearted support in the role that he had given others, I think the recent history of Indian cricket may have been very different and he could have gone on to become the most successful Indian captain ever," he added.

The former Australian skipper recalled how Dravid led India to nine ODI wins in a row by inserting the opposition after winning the toss, regardless of the conditions, and then went on to pilot the team to a world record of 17 consecutive wins batting second.

"To learn how to get better at chasing a target, Rahul kept asking the opposition to bat first, no matter the conditions. Under his leadership, India won nine ODIs in a row against Pakistan and England, and went on to complete a world record of 17 consecutive wins batting second."

Stating that the same approach had helped India win Test matches abroad as well, Chappell wrote, "A similar approach to Test cricket brought about India's first overseas victory in the West Indies for 35 years and a first-ever Test victory in South Africa, which could have been turned into a series win if the team had batted better in the second innings in the final Test in Cape Town."

Chappell's reference is to India's Test series victory (1-0 in the four-match series) in the Caribbean in 2006 followed by its maiden win in Johannesburg's opening Test of the 2006-07 series, before Dravid's team lost the next two games and the rubber to the Proteas.

Chappell, who had a wonderful rapport during his tenure as coach with the Bangalorean in sharp contrast to his stormy relationship with skipper Sourav Ganguly, has written he was fond of Dravid.

"Men don't say these things, but I have a genuine affection for Rahul Dravid," Chappell has said in the book.

Stating that Dravid gave everything he had on the cricket field, Chappell has written that world's second highest scorer in Test cricket was a much better captain than he would ever be credited with.

"He was an excellent deputy, in that he gave whole-hearted support without ever thinking he might be better than the incumbent, and when he got the job he was a much better captain than he will ever be credited with," Chappell has written.

Praising the former India no. 3 further, Chappell has stated in his article that Dravid never took rash decisions as a player or uttered ill-advised words on or off the field. — PTI

London, July 5
American great Michael Johnson believes Usain Bolt can lower his 100 metres world record from 9.58 to 9.4 seconds and has also suggested two years is not a long enough ban for drug cheats.

"If Usain was to be really focused and committed on cleaning up his technique he could probably run 9.4 seconds but he would have to do some major training and adjustments in the way that he runs," Johnson said in an interview. "I think he can do whatever he wants to do. If he gets to the starting line healthy, at his best, everyone else at their best, he wins every time ... he's that good."

Johnson, who holds the world and Olympic records over 400 metres, was impressed by Yohan Blake's two victories over Bolt in last weekend's Jamaican trials and believes the 22-year-old is another gold-medal prospect at the London Games that start on July 27.

"Yohan Blake showed he will take advantage when Bolt does not perform at his best," the American said. "Bolt now has a legitimate challenger and will need to be at his best in London to defend his Olympic title."

Johnson also called for the punishment for drug cheats to be increased from two to four years. He and his relay partners gave back their gold medals won at the 2000 Sydney Olympics following 4x400 team mate Antonio Pettigrew's admission in 2008 that he had taken banned substances erythropoietin and human growth hormone.

"You have people continuing to use performance enhancing drugs because you could be banned for two years and you could be back for the next Olympics," said the 44-year-old Johnson. "That's just not enough of a punishment specifically in sports like athletics where the Olympics is really what it's all about. A lifetime ban? I think everyone should be given a second chance. You have some people who will make a mistake and I think they should be punished and I think that four years would be a more appropriate ban. — Reuters

New Delhi, July 5
India's top discus thrower Krishna Poonia has landed in England and started training at a multi-sport facility near London in a bid to acclimatise with local conditions ahead of the Olympics this month.

Poonia, along with her husband and coach Virender, reached London on July 3 and started training at Basildon Sporting Village on Wednesday. The multi-sport and recreational facility is situated at Basildon, a town in Essex county, within 50 km from London.

Poonia said she decided to reach London much before her actual event date as she wanted to acclimatise with the conditions.

"Many top athletes from other countries have also reached and are training here though I am the only Indian," she said on the phone from Basildon..

The 30-year-old, reigning Commonwealth gold medallist, is gunning for a medal in the Olympics. She is ninth in the current IAAF rankings with a personal best of 64.74m. The women's discus throw event will be held on August 3 and 4. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Greipel wins 5th stage of Tour
ST. QUENTIN, FRANCE: Germany's Andre Greipel won the 196.5-km fifth stage of the Tour de France from Rouen on Thursday. Australia's Matt Goss was second and Argentina's Juan Jose Haedo finished third. Swiss Fabian Cancellara retained the overall lead.

Bolt pulls out of Monaco event
PARIS: Olympic champion Usain Bolt has pulled out of the Monaco leg of the Diamond League later this month. "This is arising from Usain's participation at the national trials in Kingston last weekend where he had a slight problem ... I've had to withdraw him from the Diamond League meeting in Monaco on July 20," his coach Glen Mills said, without elaborating.

HFA ropes in Spanish coach
NEW DELHI: The Hindustan Football Academy (HFA) has roped in Spanish professional coach Oscar Bruzone to impart training to city's budding footballers. Bruzone, 45, is a UEFA A Pro Coaching Licence holder. He is a former U-14 coach of Spanish second division Pro League club R C Celta De Vigo. — Agencies