S P O R T S

Brits on cloud nine as Murray, Robson win
Sun shines on hosts as Andy enters last 16; Laura back in spotlight after holding nerves in a rain-hit match
London, June 28
Laura Robson was the toast of Wimbledon again on Friday as she reached the third round for the first time, five years after being dubbed the “next big thing” in British women's tennis. Robson, who won the junior Wimbledon title as a 14-year-old, was given the unexpected honour of playing on Centre Court after her match was postponed by rain on Thursday and surfed a wave of home support to beat Colombian qualifier Mariana Duque-Marino 6-4 6-1.

Britain’s Laura Robson beat Mariana Duque of Colombia 6-4 6-1 at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships on Friday. — AFP

Dimitrov follows girlfriend Maria out of Wimbledon
London, June 28
Grigor Dimitrov ended up on the second round scrapheap along with girlfriend Maria Sharapova after losing a rain-interrupted five-setter against Grega Zemlja at Wimbledon on Friday. The Bulgarian 29th seed joined the long list of big names to fall as Slovenian Zemlja held his nerve to claim a 3-6 7-6 3-6 6-4 11-9 victory on Court Three.

Paes-Stepanek win, Hesh-Hantuchova lose
London, June 28
Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek had to work hard to beat Daniele Bracciali and Jonathan Erlich in the men's doubles first round even as Mahesh Bhupathi and Daniela Hantuchova bowed out of the mixed doubles event at the Wimbledon Championships on Friday.

Impossible to win without doping: Armstrong
Paris, June 28
Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, who cheated his way to seven Tour de France victories from 1999-2005, claims it would have been impossible to win the world's greatest race without doping.

Confed cup
Best of both worlds: Spain vs Brazil in final
Fortaleza, Brazil, June 28
World and European champions Spain overcame Italy 7-6 in a penalty shootout after surviving an energy-draining Confederations Cup semi-final that ended goalless after two hours in sapping heat and humidity on Thursday.

Spain celebrate after midfielder Jesus Navas scored his penalty in the shoot-out at the end of the extra time and defeating Italy in the Confederations Cup at the Castelao Stadium in Friday. — AFP

Champions Trophy is history, says Dhoni
Kingston, June 28
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni says the expectation of the team's fans means there will be no post-Champions Trophy hangover when the team contests a triangular one-day series against the West Indies and Sri Lanka in the Caribbean. There has been no let-up for India after winning the trophy in rainy England, moving directly to the tropical heat for two weeks to contest the Celkon Mobile Cup.

Narine spins a web of mystery around Lanka
Kingston, June 28
The menacing spin of Sunil Narine restricted Sri Lanka to a lowly total of 208 in the first ODI of the Tri-Nation Series in Kingston on Friday.

Brits on cloud nine as Murray, Robson win
Sun shines on hosts as Andy enters last 16; Laura back in spotlight after holding nerves in a rain-hit match

London, June 28
Laura Robson was the toast of Wimbledon again on Friday as she reached the third round for the first time, five years after being dubbed the “next big thing” in British women's tennis. Robson, who won the junior Wimbledon title as a 14-year-old, was given the unexpected honour of playing on Centre Court after her match was postponed by rain on Thursday and surfed a wave of home support to beat Colombian qualifier Mariana Duque-Marino 6-4 6-1.

Andy Murray secured his place in the second week of Wimbledon with a comprehensive straight-sets win over Tommy Robredo in round three.The second seed won 6-2 6-4 7-5 under the Centre Court roof to reach the last 16 without dropping a set.

With the rest of Wimbledon under rain covers all eyes were on Robson but after a nervy start she eventually dealt with the occasion, and the unexpected position of starting favourite, superbly and Duque-Marino had no answers to the 19-year-old's forehand fusillade.

Sergiy Stakhovsky tumbled from cloud nine at rainy Wimbledon as the man who dethroned Roger Federer returned to third-round defeat (6-2 2-6 7-5 6-3) by Austrian Jurgen Melzer on a drizzly Court Three.

Wimbledon's Centre Court roof operators were busy as Day Five of the championships began in soggy fashion and the canopy was in place for Robson as she served up a tasty starter before title-chasing.

Michelle Larcher De Brito, who stunned Maria Sharapova, was hoping to avoid a similar anti-climax when she faced Italy's Karin Knapp in her third round match.

No American men in Round 3 for first time in 101 years

For the first time in 101 years no American will be playing in the third round of the men's singles. That dismal fact was confirmed on Thursday when their last man standing, 156th ranked qualifier Bobby Reynolds, bowed out to Novak Djokovic. His failure completed a dismal day for the U.S. after 33-year-old James Blake was outclassed by Australian Bernard Tomic and Denis Kulda also lost in straight sets to Croat Ivan Dodig. The statistics really do make for depressing reading.

The last time American men failed to reach the third round was 1912, when in fact none entered in the draw. In 1911, one American competed in the men's singles but perished before the third round.

The U.S. men have now gone a record 39 grand slams in a row without a triumph - comfortably beating the 31 blanks they suffered from the 1955 U.S. Open to Wimbledon in 1963. Andy Roddick was the last American man to win a grand slam and hold the number one ranking in 2003 but he retired last year. Sam Querrey is their top player at 19th but lost in five sets to Australian Bernard Tomic in the first round.

The only other American men in the world's top 50 are John Isner (21) and Mardy Fish (43) who was unable to play at Wimbledon due to a heart condition. The contrast between the men's performances and the U.S. women's game could not be sharper with Serena so utterly dominant and a string of promising youngsters like Madison Keys coming through.

Biggest Headache

Tennis players have become bigger and stronger but American youngsters with the right physique are attracted more to the dominant domestic sports of American football and basketball. John McEnroe pinpointed that as one of the biggest headaches. — Agencies

Women’s singles third Round
19-Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) beat Eugenie Bouchard (Canada) 7-5 6-2, Flavia Pennetta (Italy) beat 29-Alize Cornet (France) 0-6 7-6(4) 6-2, 20-Kirsten Flipkens (Belgium) beat Vesna Dolonc (Serbia) 6-4 6-2; 2nd Round: Alison Riske (US) beat Urszula Radwanska (Poland) 4-6 6-3 6-4, Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) beat 7-Angelique Kerber (Germany) 3-6 7-6(6) 6-3, Laura Robson (Britain) beat Mariana Duque (Colombia) 6-4 6-1

Dimitrov follows girlfriend Maria out of Wimbledon

At a few points I heard Maria screaming behind my back which wasn't very pleasant! Grega Zemlja, Grigor Dimitrov’s opponent AFTER round 2

London, June 28
Grigor Dimitrov ended up on the second round scrapheap along with girlfriend Maria Sharapova after losing a rain-interrupted five-setter against Grega Zemlja at Wimbledon on Friday. The Bulgarian 29th seed joined the long list of big names to fall as Slovenian Zemlja held his nerve to claim a 3-6 7-6 3-6 6-4 11-9 victory on Court Three.

Dimitrov, who twice led by a set, had trailed 8-9 in the decider when play was stopped by rain on Thursday.

After another rain delay on Friday, the match finally resumed but took a bizarre twist when, serving at 30-30, Dimitrov slipped over after launching a serve and, despite a valiant attempt to play his next shot on his knees, went match point down. With Sharapova watching on from the front row of seats behind the baseline, he immediately walked to his chair and told the umpire the court was too greasy to continue playing.

When play started again he saved the match point with a hefty first serve which Zemlja returned into the net tape.“At a few points I heard Maria screaming behind my back which wasn't very pleasant!" Zemlja, the 26-year-old son of a former ski jumper, told reporters. “It was after the points not during the points though.”

Just kidding! Murray challenges
Serena to Vegas showdown

US Open champion Andy Murray has challenged women's world number one Serena Williams to a showdown in Las Vegas that would evoke memories of the famous 'battle of the sexes' 40 years ago. Murray threw down the gauntlet to Serena after responding to a Twitter follower who claimed the American could beat her male counterpart. The world number two's proposal, however light-hearted he intended it to be, sparked thoughts of the time when 55-year-old Bobby Riggs, a tennis superstar of the 1930s and 1940s, took on female greats Margaret Court and Billie Jean King. Those matches in 1973 drew huge worldwide attention, with Riggs easily beating Court in the first clash. — Agencies

Paes-Stepanek win, Hesh-Hantuchova lose

A fan sits on court one on Friday. — AFP

London, June 28
Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek had to work hard to beat Daniele Bracciali and Jonathan Erlich in the men's doubles first round even as Mahesh Bhupathi and Daniela Hantuchova bowed out of the mixed doubles event at the Wimbledon Championships on Friday.

Fourth seeds Paes and Stepanek won the match, stretched to second day after being suspended due to rain, with a 7-6 (6) 6-4, 6-7 (1), 6-4 win after battling hard with the Italian-Israeli pair for three hours and five minutes.

The Indo-Czech pair had secured the first set before skies opened up, forcing suspension of play. They next face local guy Jamie Delgado and Australian Matthew Ebden.However, it was not a good day in office for Bhupathi and his Slovakian partner Hantuchova as they suffered a first round defeat in the mixed doubles.

The Indo-Slovakian pair lost 7-6 (2) 4-6 4-6 to Mark Knowles of Bahamas and Sabine Lisicki of Germany. Bhupathi's challenge in men's doubles is still alive as he has moved to the second round with Autrian partner Julian Knowle.

Upsets leave fans in need of a programme

There's a 42-year-old who played Steffi Graf in the semifinals in the '90s. Name: Kimiko Date-Krumm. There's the reigning Wimbledon champion — in juniors — who was supposed to be playing in a far corner of the All England Club and ended up on Centre Court. Name: Eugenie Bouchard. There's the man who didn't get the memo: That serve-and-volley players, even on the grass at Wimbledon, can't post significant victories anymore in pro tennis. — Agencies

Impossible to win without doping: Armstrong

Paris, June 28
Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, who cheated his way to seven Tour de France victories from 1999-2005, claims it would have been impossible to win the world's greatest race without doping.

Asked if riders won races drugs-free in the era when he competed, a bullish Armstrong told French daily Le Monde on Friday: "It depends on the races. The Tour de France? No. Impossible to win without doping. "My name was taken out of the palmares (list of achievements) but the Tour was held between 1999 and 2005 wasn't it? There must be a winner then. Who is he? Nobody came forward to claim my jerseys."

Five-times Tour champion Bernard Hinault was quick to react, the Frenchman telling local TV channel BFM: "He must not know what it was like to ride without doping." Last year, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) published a report into Armstrong's doping programme, calling it "the most sophisticated in the history of sport", leading to the American being banned for life and losing his Tour titles.

"I did not invent doping. Sorry, Travis," the 41-year-old Texan said, referring to USADA CEO Travis Tygart. "And it (doping) has not stopped with me. I just took part in the system. — Agencies

Confed cup
Best of both worlds: Spain vs Brazil in final

Fortaleza, Brazil, June 28
World and European champions Spain overcame Italy 7-6 in a penalty shootout after surviving an energy-draining Confederations Cup semi-final that ended goalless after two hours in sapping heat and humidity on Thursday.

Substitute Jesus Navas converted the winning penalty past Gianluigi Buffon after Italian defender Leonardo Bonucci skied the 13th penalty of the shootout with the score level at 6-6 at a spellbound Estadio Castelao.

All the previous 12 penalties had been converted with players from both sides displaying nerves of steel as the tension increased.

Antonio Candreva began what was effectively the fourth act of a classic match when he planted the ball past Spain goalkeeper Iker Casilla and after that, 11 others stepped up and dealt with the mounting pressure before Bonucci's kick ended up in Row Z. The Spanish players found their last dregs of energy to celebrate wildly as they set up a final against Brazil on Sunday at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil, who beat Uruguay 2-1 in Wednesday's semi-final will be looking for their third successive Confederations Cup title and fourth overall.

The tournament, which is being used as a test event for next year's World Cup finals in Brazil, has been shrouded in controversy with the matches overshadowed by riots and protests about social issues and the cost of hosting the World Cup.

Distinct period

The atmosphere in the stadia, however, has taken soccer fans' minds off the chaos outside and Thursday's semi-final between the Euro2012 finallists was no different as the game fell into four distinct acts. Italy dominated the first half before Spain got back into the game in the second.

The world champions then asserted themselves in extra time, while the denouement was the penalty shootout that appeared as if they could last all night until Bonucci's miss.

“They were on top, especially in the first half, but we showed our strength and in the second half, we ironed out some problems.” — Reuters

Champions Trophy is history, says Dhoni

Kingston, June 28
India captain MS Dhoni says the expectation of the team's fans means there will be no post-Champions Trophy hangover when the team contests a triangular one-day series in the Caribbean islands. “The demands remain the same. The expectation when it comes to the Indian team has always been the same,” Dhoni said. 

Salman Butt admits to spot-fixing

Narine spins a web of mystery around Lanka