Henin edges Sharapova at French Open

PARIS (AP): Four-time champion Justine Henin advanced to the fourth round of the French Open by outslugging Maria Sharapova 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 on Sunday.

 

The two former No. 1s played the seesaw final set after the match was suspended late Saturday because of darkness. The pivotal moment came when Henin fell behind 0-2, love-40, then overcame four break points to hold

She soon led 4-2, broke again for a 5-3 lead and served out the victory.

The result extended Henin's winning streak at Roland Garros to 24 matches. It was the first meeting between the two rivals since Henin spent 20 months in retirement before mounting a comeback this year.

On a windy, chilly and damp afternoon, both players took ferocious swings from the baseline and charged forward when they had the chance. Sharapova pumped her fist after almost every point she won - and often before points.

 

Henin found herself on the defensive at first, then began finding the corners, forcing Sharapova to hit on the run.

The showdown occurred early in the tournament because Sharapova was seeded 12th and Henin - climbing in the rankings since her return - is 22nd. Their nine previous meetings - Henin won six - all came in the quarterfinals or later.

Henin next plays No. 7 Samantha Stosur.

In fourth-round play, No. 5 Elena Dementieva beat unseeded Chanelle Scheepers 6-1, 6-3. No. 17 Francesca Schiavone defeated No. 30 Maria Kirilenko 6-4, 6-4.

Teen Scares Off Burglar With Samurai Sword

HIALEAH, Fla. -- A teenager with a brown belt in karate used a samurai sword to scare off a burglar who was after his PlayStation 3 video game console.

Last Friday afternoon, Damian Fernandez and his 15-year-old sister, Deanne Fernandez, were home alone at their northwest Miami-Dade County home while their parents were at work when they heard knocking on the front door. Moments later, two men were prying the front door unlocked, prompting Deanne to hide in her closet.

"I was so scared," she said.

As her brother slept in the next room, the burglars ransacked their parents' room, taking some jewelry before moving on to what they were really after -- a PlayStation 3.

According to a police report, one of the burglars kicked in Deanne's bedroom door. She said she could see his foot through the closet panels.

The burglar found the empty PlayStation 3 box and ran out of the room, but Damian was waiting for him.

"Once I saw him take off running back, I jumped off my (bunk) bed and I grabbed my sword … and I just waited for him," he said.

Damian said he lunged at him with his samurai sword, striking him in the chest.

"He freaked out," Damian said.

The burglar ran out of the house with Damian chasing him down the road. When police arrived, a K-9 officer located the burglar hiding behind a neighbor's palm tree. The second burglar got away.

Javier Cotera, 21, was arrested and released early the next morning on bond.

Local 10 attempted to contact Cotera at his Hialeah home, but his family said he wasn't there and that they didn't know anything about it.

Damian and Deanne's father, Delio Fernandez, said he is concerned Cotera is out of jail.

"If he would have had a gun, I could have lost one of my children," he said.

Cotera is scheduled to appear in court in two weeks to face three felony charges.

Joe Hart on 'three-horse' England keeper race

How football healed Honduras

Reaching the World Cup united a nation in political turmoil Page last updated at 09:42 GMT, Wednesday, 26 May 2010 10:42 UK

Joe Hart on 'three-horse' England keeper race

AdvertisementFollowing Monday's friendly against Mexico, Manchester City and England keeper Joe Hart says that manager Fabio Capello "keeps his cards close to his chest" and that he doesn't know which of the three possible England keepers the Italian will select to play in the World Cup.

Unions ask companies to let staff watch WCup games

LONDON (AP)—Britain’s trade unions are asking companies to let employees watch the World Cup at work to prevent them from faking sickness during England matches.

The Trade Union Council says companies should allow televisions in the workplace or introduce flexible working hours during the June 11-July 11 World Cup.

England’s group matches against the United States and Algeria are scheduled to kickoff in the evening but its June 23 game with Slovenia starts at 3 p.m. in Britain (1400 GMT).

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber says banning employees from watching football would “run the risk of demotivating staff and losing hours through unauthorized sick days.”

Champions League: Mourinho, Van Gaal chase more glory

MADRID: Jose Mourinho is looking to bring long-awaited European glory back to Inter Milan on Saturday, and Louis van Gaal is aiming to guide Bayern Munich to a fifth title in Europe's most prestigious club competition.
The coaches in the Champions League final have won 28 major titles combined, and this year Mourinho will put his reputation as one of the game's best coaches on the line against an experienced manager who has won league titles with four different clubs in three countries.
Mourinho, who led Chelsea to its first English league title in 50 years, is out to lead one of European football's biggest clubs to its first European Cup triumph since 1965. He will do so amid strong speculation that he will then walk out on the Italian club and move to Real Madrid.
Mourinho has won six league titles in Portugal, England and Italy among his 13 major successes, and the 47-year-old self-proclaimed “Special One” is one of the most sought after coaches in the game.
“In Porto we won UEFA Cup, (league) championship and Portuguese Cup. The next year we won (European) Super Cup, championship and Champions League, so we did all three,” Mourinho said during the buildup to Saturday's final.
But despite two Premier League titles in a row, the Portuguese coach failed to achieve Champions League success with Chelsea and left the club, unhappy that Russian owner Roman Abramovich was making transfer decisions without his approval.
He eventually took over an Inter side which had dominated Serie A but failed in Europe. The owners wanted someone to end that long wait for another European Cup.
“This would be an incredible achievement because the level of the competition is so high and our road to the final was an incredible road,” said Mourinho, whose team had to play defending champion Barcelona both in the group stage and the semi-finals.
Inter also beat Chelsea home and away, and his former club went on to win both the Premier League and FA Cup.
“It was an incredibly difficult way to get to the final,” Mourinho said.
Bayern also had a tough route to the final but capitalized on a little good fortune along the way.
On the brink of going out, Bayern came from behind to knock out Juventus in the group phase after a 4-1 win away from home. A disputed goal from Miroslav Klose gave Bayern a 2-1 first leg lead over Fiorentina, and the German side advanced on away goals in the first knockout round.
Bayern again appeared to be on the way out when it trailed Manchester United 3-0 in the second leg at Old Trafford. But the German club scored two to again go through on away goals.
Bayern went on to beat Lyon and reach its eighth final, then stretched its Bundesliga record number of titles to 22 and outplayed Werder Bremen 4-0 in the German Cup final. Back in November, however, Bayern was in eighth place in the Bundesliga, on the brink of being knocked out of the Champions League. Van Gaal sensed then that his time was short.
“If I don't produce, I will be fired,” the 58-year-old Bayern coach said at the time.
The Dutchman won the Champions League with Ajax in 1995, so both he and Mourinho are out to join Ernst Happel (Feyenoord 1970 and Hamburg 1983) and Ottmar Hitzfeld (Borussia Dortmund 1997 and Bayern 2001) as winners with two different clubs.
Bayern's players have called on all fans of Bundesliga clubs to get behind the team on Saturday because a triumph would earn the nation four spots in next season's competition and Serie A would lose one.
Both teams are missing key players. Inter is without Brazil defensive midfielder Thiago Motta and Bayern won't have France winger Franck Ribery. Both were sent off in the semi-finals.
Inter has won repeated Italian titles with barely any Italians on its starting lineup and a side packed with talented and hugely experienced players from Brazil and Argentina, and a creative Dutch midfielder in Wesley Sneijder.
Van Gaal's team has a strong Dutch influence, too, with Arjen Robben and Marc van Bommel playing alongside Germany internationals Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm.
English referee Howard Webb will take charge of his first Champions League final. Although a familiar face in the competition for the past few years, he has missed out on the final because Premier League clubs have made it to the previous five, making him ineligible.

Holders Equatorial Guinea launch defence against Namibia

African champions, Equatorial Guinea will launch their campaign for a place at the 7th CAF Women’s Championship, South Africa 2010, against Namibia in Windhoek this weekend.
The holders, who drew a bye at the prelims, will face the Female Brave Warriors, 3-2 winners over Angola at the initial stages.
Head coach Clémentine Touré will be relying on playmaker Gennoveva Anonma of German club, USV Jena amongst others to record an impressive outing against the Namibians.
Five-time African champions, the Super Eagles of Nigeria will be away in Abidjan as guests of their Ivorian counterparts, just as the Ghana’s Black Queens, who trek Dakar to face the Teranga Lionesses of Senegal.
In Conakry, Guinea will face their toughest competition yet in the qualifying series against Mali. The Lady Sylis eased past Sierra Leone 4-3 on aggregate at the preliminaries and will be hoping to add the Malians to their list of victims.
Tanzania will host Eritrea ion Dar-es-Salaam whilst DR Congo clash with Cameroon in Kinshasa.
In Algiers, the Lady Fennecs will battle it out with their Tunisian counterparts.
The second leg matches are billed for the weekend of June 4-6 with the winners after both legs joining hosts South Africa for the finals slated for October.

Bryant shakes balky knee to burn Suns for 40 as Lakers take Game 1 of West finals

LOS ANGELES -- Kobe Bryant dribbled toward the Lakers' bench, luring Channing Frye and Jason Richardson along with him. Bryant leaned back and launched a feather-soft jumper over Phoenix's double team, neatly beating the first-quarter buzzer.

That's about when the Suns should have noted the bright yellow brace on Bryant's right knee is the color of a caution sign.

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Kobe Bryant turned this into his game -- and put his name at the top of the playoff storylines, writes J.A. Adande. Daily Dime

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The Suns slinked away from Game 1 of the Western Conference finals with as many worries as 48 minutes can generate, writes Marc Stein. Story

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Even with a balky knee and a litany of additional woes, Bryant still is among the most dangerous postseason scorers in NBA history -- and he had no problem giving Los Angeles an early leg up in the Western Conference finals.

Bryant scored 40 points, Lamar Odom added 19 points and 19 rebounds, and the Lakers opened the series with ruthless offensive efficiency in a 128-107 victory on Monday night.

"Just being aggressive, playing my game," Bryant said. "Got shots, took them. Got lanes to the basket, took them."

Pau Gasol had 21 points for the top-seeded Lakers, who won their seventh straight playoff game and snapped the Suns' six-game streak with a phenomenal second half, highlighted by Bryant's 21-point third quarter. He barely stepped on the Lakers' practice court during the past week to rest his ailing knee, ankle, finger and back -- all minor impediments to a major talent.

"I practice so much during the season," Bryant said. "In the offseason, I work a lot. To take a week off, I'm not going to lose all the work I put in prior to that."