WC team felicitated; Sachin, Durrani honoured

  Mumbai: Sachin Tendulkar and former all-rounder Salim Durrani bagged top honours, while the World Cup winning Indian team led by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was felicitated by the Cricket Board at it annual awards function this evening.

Tendulkar was bestowed with the `Polly Umrigar Award for India`s best cricketer of 2009-10` and received a trophy and cheque for Rs five lakh, while Durrani was felicitated with the CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award for which he received a trophy, a cheque for Rs 15 lakh and a citation.

Members of the World Cup winning Indian team were felicitated and presented cheques worth Rs two crore each by BCCI president Shashank Manohar and BCCI secretary N Srinivasan.

The support staff of the team too were honoured and presented cheques of Rs 50 lakh each as declared by the Cricket Board earlier.

However, former coach Gary Kirsten, mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton and bowling consultant coach Eric Simmons were absent.

Among those present were members of the 1983 World Cup winning squad, including then skipper Kapil Dev, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sandeep Patil and Yashpal Sharma.
On the occasion, Dhoni thanked fans for supporting the team and said that winning the coveted trophy after 28 long years was a proud moment.

"I thank all of you for the support we got throughout the World Cup. Hundred crore people supported us in the country as well as outside. It was a great moment for us.

"When you play for the country, the one thing you want to win is the World Cup. It is a proud moment for all of us. The victory was achieved thanks to the combination of experienced players and youngsters. We exploited the conditions really well. It was a great moment."

After receiving the best Indian cricketer award, Tendulkar thanked his team-members and also lauded the role played by Dhoni and the support staff in India`s second World Cup win.

"Indeed its a great honour to win the Polly Umrigar Trophy once again. I won it few years ago. It wouldn`t have been possible without the support of the Indian team members who are all here. I congratulate the team for becoming number one in Tests which was our dream followed by something
absolutely magical less than two months ago... We won the World Cup.

"It was a combined effort of all the team members and superb leadership exhibited by Dhoni. I also want to thank the support staff. They worked very hard and planned very well. We executed the plans and the results came," he said.

The 38-year-old Tendulkar, who has completed more than two decades in international cricket, scored 1064 runs from 10 Tests at an average of 82 during 2009-10 season. The fine performance included a double hundred and five centuries.

He also scored 695 runs from 12 ODIs at 69.5, inclusive of the first double hundred in ODIs by a male cricketer.

Durrani, who represented India in 29 Tests scoring 1,202 runs at an average of 25 and took 75 wickets, recalled the exploits of Col. Nayudu in a domestic match that he played while representing Rajasthan in 1958.

"I played against Colonel Sahab for Rajasthan. He was representing Uttar Pradesh in the match at Benaras and made 84. In our team we had great bowlers like Subhash Gupte and Vinoo Mankad, and top batmen like Vijay Manjrekar and myself.

"He (Nayudu) hit three sixes, two of them off Mankad over the roof, and the other of Gupte. I still remember that. Its an honour to get the award and I thank the BCCI for it," said Durrani, one of the most popular cricketers of his time who was known to hit a `six on demand`.

After representing Holkar for many years, Col. Nayudu was associated in a coaching role with Uttar Pradesh and had played that match.

In his address, Manohar congratulated Dhoni`s team for becoming the number one Test team in the ICC rankings and for winning the World Cup after 28 years.

"We are all proud of you. It was in 1983 under Kapil Dev that we won the World Cup and proved that India can do it. And it was MSD`s team that did it on April 2nd this year and fulfilled the dream of every Indian," he said.

K Hariharan was named as the `Umpire of the Year` and was presented with a cheque of Rs 50,000.

The other awardees (October 2009-September 2010):

Madhavrao Scindia Award (Highest Scorer in Ranji Trophy): Manish Pandey.

Madhavrao Scindia Award (Highest wicket-taker in Ranji Trophy): Abhimanyu Mithun

M A Chidambaram Trophy (Best Under-16 cricketer): B Aparajith.

M A Chidambaram Trophy (Best Under-19 cricketer): Bhargav Merai.

M A Chidambaram Trophy (Best Under-22 cricketer): Nataraj Behera.

M A Chidambaram Trophy (Best woman cricketer): M D Thirushkamini.

M A Chidambaram Trophy (Best woman cricketer junior): Reva Arora. 

Federer breezes into last four clash with Djokovic

Paris: Third seed Roger Federer sealed an eagerly-awaited French Open semi-final clash with world number two Novak Djokovic after gliding past Gael Monfils 6-4 6-3 7-6 on Tuesday.

The Swiss has not dropped a set at Roland Garros so far this year and although there were a few chinks in his armour, he was ruthless when break points arose and Court Philippe Chatrier had to applaud the 2009 winner rather than Frenchman Monfils.

The ninth seed broke first when Federer double faulted only for the world number three to storm back amid blustery conditions and secure the set when Monfils sent a wild forehand wide.

They exchanged breaks again early in the second but Monfils, who smashed his racket into the ground, then double faulted to gift Federer the set before the 16-times grand slam champion easily wrapped up victory in the tiebreak. 

Eng to reclaim 2nd spot in ICC Test rating

Dubai: England`s stunning victory against Sri Lanka in the first Test in Cardiff has kept it on course to reclaim second position on the ICC Test Championship table for the first time in more than three years.

Although the Test Championship table will be updated only at the end of the series, a 3-0 series win will put England one ratings point ahead of South Africa. England last occupied the second position in November 2007.

England players Chris Tremlett, Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell, who engineered the stunning an innings and 14 runs victory over Sri Lanka, also achieved their career-best rankings in the list released today.

Swann, who bagged 4-16 in the second innings to finish with figures of 7-94, has strengthened his second position on the ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, which is still headed by Dale Steyn of South Africa.

Tremlett, who claimed 4-40 in the second innings to earn match figures of 5-121, has gained seven places and is now on a career-best ranking of 27th.

Among the Test batsmen, man of the match Jonathan Trott, who scored 203, has moved up one place to join former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara in third position.

Ian Bell was also rewarded for his innings of 103 not out with a jump of three places to the 18th position for the first time in his career.
Skipper Alastair Cook also earned 15 ratings points for his innings of 133 which has put him on 818 ratings points and just 38 points behind the pair of Trott and Sangakkara.

Sri Lanka opener Tharanga Paranavithana and wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardena moved up one place to 44th spot and six places to 51st position respectively.

Murray battles past Troicki in rolled-over match

Paris: Fourth seed Andy Murray battled into the French Open quarter-finals by beating Viktor Troicki 4-6 4-6 6-3 6-2 7-5 on Tuesday after the pair returned to court for a one-set shootout.

Play was suspended late on Monday due to bad light after Murray, carrying an ankle injury, had fought back superbly to level the match at two sets all.

Troicki was angered at the start of the sixth game of the last set when a ball boy inexplicably ran on to the court right in front of the Serb as he was winning the point with a smash.

The umpire ordered them to replay the point which Murray won, leading to more rage from Troicki and boos from a crowd sympathetic to the blushing boy.

In the end it did not matter as Troicki went on to break the Briton the same game but the 15th seed lost his serve twice, sending a backhand into the net on the key point as Murray sealed a last-eight clash with Juan Ignacio Chela.

Chance for youngsters to step up and perform: Raina

Mumbai: Stand-in India captain Suresh Raina feels that the absence of senior cricketers during the ODI series in the Caribbean will be an ideal opportunity for those who did well in domestic cricket to show their performance at the international level.

"It`s a great opportunity for the youngsters who have done well in domestic cricket. I hope they will do well," said the 25-year-old Raina at the pre-departure media conference of the team on Tuesday sitting alongside newly-appointed chief coach Duncan Fletcher.

The Indian team will be playing in the ODIs without Gautam Gambhir, prolific opener Virender Sehwag, man-of-the-tournament in the World Cup Yuvraj Singh--- all of whom are out with injuries. Regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and senior pacer Zaheer Khan have been rested keeping in mind the gruelling two and a half month tour of England that starts in July.

"I am really honoured to be leading the side. I am happy with the side as we have some very good batsmen in Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, S Badrinath, Shikhar Dhawan all of whom have done well in first-class cricket.

"Badrinath especially has done well in first-class cricket and deserves to be in the team. I hope we will do well in the West Indies," said Raina who will hand over the reins to Dhoni when he returns for the three-Test series to be held after the conclusion of the five ODIs.

The Indians start the tour with a lone T20 international at Port of Spain on June 4.

Coach Fletcher said he had followed the rotation system when he was the England coach and received criticism from the authorities.

The burly Zimbabwean wants to go slow about this supposed rotation policy.

"While I was in England, I started the rotation policy resting senior guys. I was heavily criticised by the English authorities. It`s important to do that considering the heavy schedule. We need to look into the matter as we go into the future," said the Zimbabwe-born Fletcher for whom it will be his first assignment as the Indian team`s coach after taking over from his protege Gary Kirsten after the World Cup.

"There is a lot of talent in India and my job is to prepare these youngsters. It`s a pleasure to blood them in ODIs," said Fletcher.

Asked about the club-versus-country debate, Fletcher said it`s not specific to cricket.

"That`s the way it is in modern day sports. We have to ensure that all the players are fit enough," he said.

Raina said the Indian team had done very well over the last three years, having climbed to the top among Test nations and winning the World Cup after 28 years.
"There`s always pressure and we have done well under pressure. We have done well over the last three years and have won the World Cup. It`s for us as players to execute the plans of the coach well. We have to play our natural game," he said.

Fletcher did not see the trip as an easy outing though the West Indies are not the same force they were in 70`s and 80`s.

"Any team playing at home is difficult to beat. We should not be complacent," said the new coach who said he intended not to look too far ahead in his job.

Fletcher admitted that beating England and Australia in their den will be the biggest challenge but as of now the focus is on the Caribbean tour.

"Yes, we would like to beat England in England and Australia in Australia. But the first job is the tour of West Indies. It`s very important not to look too far down the road. India have a plan to stay at the top. The young players have the potential and this tour will show the depth of talent we have," he said.

Raina said the West Indies had some good all-rounders in Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo.

Asked about the likely return of Chris Gayle after the first two ODIs for which he had been left out, the southpaw said his team has Ravichandran Ashwin to counter the threat from the West Indian opener.

"We have Ashwin. It`s a good challenge for us," said Raina about his Chennai Super Kings teammate`s success-rate in the just-concluded IPL against Gayle.

He credited Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and Dhoni for learning the ropes of captaincy.

"I learnt a lot about captaincy from Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and Dhoni. They have captained with a lot of honesty," he said.

Bartoli fights past Kuznestova to reach French open semis

Paris: Eleventh seed Marion Bartoli, an emotional jumping jack of nervous energy, clinched the tie break when 13th seed Kuznetsova misdirected a forehand off a deep approach.

The Frenchwoman, a Wimbledon runner-up in 2007, was a break ahead in the opening game of the second set and backed it up with another break to lead 5-2.

But the experienced Russian clawed a break back in the eighth game as Bartoli served for the match.

Kuznetsova held for 4-5 but Bartoli claimed victory on her first match point when Kuznetova ballooned a forehand into the stands.

"Thanks to the fans and to my father (Walter, her coach). We won it together," said Bartoli

"I prepared well for this match with my dad. I am very happy and proud." 

Battling Schiavone reaches French Open semi-finals

Paris: Defending champion Francesca Schiavone battled from a set and 4-1 down to defeat Russian teenager Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and reach the French Open semi-finals on Tuesday.

The 30-year-old, who became the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam title when she triumphed last year, clinched a 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 win in a mistake-strewn quarter-final that featured 13 breaks of serve and 79 unforced errors.

Fifth seed Schiavone will face either Russian 13th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2009 champion, or 11th-seeded Marion Bartoli of France for a place in the final.

Despite being 11 years older than the Russian, Schiavone said her experience had paid off in a tense finale.

"On 6-1, 4-1, I said 'keep going'. The key is to hit three, four, five, six, seven balls, but I couldn't hit three, four. So at 4-1, I played two really good games.

"Then she went a little bit down, and when I caught her. I say 'keep going. I am here. If I have to lose, I have to lose in the right way'."

Pavyluchenkova, playing in her first Grand Slam quarter-final, said she had paid for not applying the killer blow when she was ahead in the second set.

"I lost my concentration at 4-1 in the second. I was dictating the game but then I wasn't aggressive enough, and I just didn't serve well," she said.

"She was putting a lot of balls in. It was really tough for me to attack them because they were high. I didn't feel power anymore. She had courage, and it was tough to stop her."

Schiavone struggled in the chilly, blustery conditions on Court Philippe Chatrier in the first set.

She was broken twice on her way to a 4-0 deficit in the opener before 19-year-old Pavlyuchenkova, the 2006 world junior champion, clinched a third break in the key seventh game to take the set 6-1.

The Italian managed to win just two points on the teenage Russian's serve in a woefully under-par first-set performance.

But her greater experience paid off in the second set when she overturned a 4-1 deficit to win six of the next seven games to level the tie as the Russian's game fell apart.

A running backhand pass gave Schiavone a break in the opening game of the decider and she was soon 3-0 ahead as Pavlyuchenkova's game was made to look increasingly one-dimensional.

The sturdy Russian retrieved one of the breaks to go to 1-3, but Schiavone hit straight back to stretch to 4-1.

In a topsy-turvy final set, which featured seven breaks of serve, the Italian went to 5-1 before squandering a chance to serve for the match at 5-2 when she was broken to love.

Pavlyuchenkova held for 4-5 and broke to level at 5-5 before lazily handing the initiative back to Schiavone in the 11th game.

The Russian saved one match point with a wrong-footing forehand off a short approach and another with a forehand off a weak second serve.

A deft drop shot took the Italian to a third match point, however, and she celebrated victory when Pavlyuchenkova batted back a tame backhand that was eagerly gobbled up by the champion.

Conte to be named as new Juventus coach

Milan: Former midfielder Antonio Conte will be named as the new Juventus coach on Tuesday, club president Andrea Agnelli has said.

"We want to succeed and we want to do it with Antonio Conte. He is the first piece in the jigsaw to return to winning ways," Agnelli said at a promotion for the Italian Open golf tournament in Turin.

Once mighty Juve, who finished seventh in Serie A for a second straight season, sacked Luigi Del Neri last season after just one term in charge and have turned to the Siena coach to try to revitalise the club.

The Turin-based club said in a statement that sporting director Beppe Marotta would hold a news conference at 1400GMT when Conte is expected to be unveiled.

Conte, 41, who led Siena to promotion back to Serie A this month, was at the centre of one of the best midfields in Europe in the 1990s and early 2000s as Juve routinely dominated Serie A and reached the latter stages of the Champions League.

Since then Juve, Italy's best supported and most successful domestic club, has endured a dreadful spell on and off the field.

Their 2006 demotion for match-fixing was followed by an immediate return to the top flight and a third place finish but in 2009/10 both Ciro Ferrara and Alberto Zaccheroni failed to stop the rot and they ended up a lowly seventh.

Del Neri was brought in, having guided Sampdoria to fourth, but Juve again flopped having struggled in the transfer market, failing to recruit the very top talent with the stigma of match-fixing still haunting the club.

Juve will move to a new stadium for next season on the site of their old Stadio Delle Alpi having shared with Torino at the cramped Stadio Olimpico since 2006.

They will become the first Italian club to own their own ground but difficulties in finding a sponsor for the new stadium have again undermined their attempt at renaissance and chief executive Jean-Claude Blanc recently announced his departure.

Fiery Conte brought Bari up to Serie A two years ago but then left after a row with the board before a short unhappy spell at Atalanta, who have been linked in the media with a move for former boss Del Neri now they are back in the top flight. 

Newcastle eying Man U’s Berbatov

London: Newcastle is eager to sign striker Dimitar Berbatov in the wake of media reports that he wants to move out of Old Trafford.

According to a leading daily, Newcastle boss Alan Pardew is ready to meet United''s 7.5 million pound demand.

Newcastle, in fact, has been looking for a striker after Andy Carroll was sold to Liverpool for 35 million pound in January.

Berbatov, 30, won the Golden Boot this season along with Manchester City''s Carlos Tevez after hitting 20 league goals, but he was inexplicably left out of Saturday''s Champions League final against Barcelona.

Now he wants a club where he is regarded as the main man and not someone down the pecking order.

Newcastle, meanwhile, have landed French midfielder Yohan Cabaye from Lille for 4.3 million pounds.

Nadal in last eight with bogeyman Soderling looming

Paris: Five-time champion Rafael Nadal reached the French Open quarter-finals on Monday with a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 win over Croatia`s Ivan Ljubicic and could face Roland Garros bogeyman Robin Soderling next.

It was another low-key display by the top-seeded Spaniard against the veteran Ljubicic before he took his Paris record to 42 wins and just one loss.

Big-swinging Swedish fifth seed Soderling, who inflicted that shock defeat in the fourth round in 2009 before Nadal gained revenge in the 2010 final, tackles French 18th seed Gilles Simon later on Monday in the last 16.

Nadal, bidding for a sixth French Open title to take him level with Bjorn Borg`s record, has looked a shadow of his usual powerful self in Paris, shaken by the super-charged form of Novak Djokovic.

The second seeded Serb snatched his Madrid and Rome Masters claycourt titles in the run-up to Paris, and the pressure appears to be telling.

The great Spaniard dropped 42 games in the first three rounds, the most he has ever surrendered in his French Open career, and needed five sets to see off America`s John Isner in the first round.

"There was a lot of wind today which made it very awkward," said Nadal. "I played better in the last two sets and I am getting a little better as the tournament goes on."

On Monday, he was a break to the good to lead 2-1 in the opening set before Ljubucic, a 2006 semi-finalist, hit back for 3-3.
Nadal stepped up the pressure on the Croatian`s serve, however, and snatched the set when Ljubicic sent his single-handed backhand wide.

Two breaks in the seventh and ninth games of the second set helped Nadal stretch his lead, the set secured with a smart, down-the-line whipped forehand.

A break for 3-1 in the third set seemed to be the foundation that the 24-year-old required, but Ljubicic, at 32 the oldest man left in the draw, hit back for 2-3.
But an immediate break to love gave Nadal a 4-2 lead and he claimed the tie in the ninth game when Ljubicic again went long with a loose backhand.

Atwal finishes eighth in PGA event

                                                     


Irving (Texas): Arjun Atwal, who at one stage was placed second, fell prey to the brutal conditions on the final nine on final day as the winds were high and scoring became tough here at the HP Byron Nelson Championship golf.

Atwal had rounds of 68, 72, 67 and 74 for a total of one-over 281 to finish at eighth in a six-way tie and picked up USD 169,000.

Keegan Bradley parred the first hole of a playoff with Ryan Palmer. Bradley sank a 2-foot par putt at the 419-yard 18th hole in the playoff, while Palmer's approach went into the water before a 13-foot bogey putt.

Palmer (72) and Bradley finished at 3-under 277, the highest winning score on the PGA tour this year -- and the highest in relation to par in a non-major since 1999.

It was the fifth playoff in six weeks and 10th overall.

Atwal, after starting the day at third place, seemed to ruin his chances with back-to-back bogeys on second and third. But he made up with birdies on fifth and seventh.

At the turn, he was still three-under for the event and a fair shot at the title. But with bogeys on 11th, 14th, 15th and 18th, he ended on eighth.

Bradley, a PGA tour rookie who never won on the Nationwide Tour, got his first professional victory nine days before his 25th birthday.

Palmer forced the extra hole with a 6-foot putt at No. 18 for only the second birdie there all day. When that putt dropped, Palmer punched his right fist in the air and then raised both arms over his head.

Bradley and Palmer then played No. 18 again, both going way right with their tee shots to start the playoff.

Volunteers removed a temporary lemonade stand to give Bradley a line of sight to the green and avoid the necessity for a drop. Bradley's approach was dangerously close to sliding off the side of the green into the water, but stayed up.

Palmer went in the same direction but his ball didn't stay dry and dropped into water.

On the 172-yard 17th hole, Bradley sank a 12-foot par-saving putt and responded with an emphatic fist pump.

After Bradley tapped in his par putt at No. 18, third-round leader Palmer was in one of the five groups still playing.

Bradley then sat for a few minutes before going to the practice range to prepare for a playoff.

Ryuji Imada (71) and Joe Ogilvie (70) finished a stroke back at 2 under. Imada bogeyed three of his last four holes after getting to 5 under.

Defending Nelson champion Jason Day (67) was fifth at 1 under, the last player under par this week at TPC Four Seasons. 

Bengal beat Manipur 2-1 in final, retain Santosh Trophy

Guwahati: Bengal on Monday retained the Santosh Trophy with a 2-1 victory over Manipur in the summit clash to win their 31st title of the national championships.

Strikers Branco Cardozo (21st minute) and Budhiram Tudu (48th) scored for Bengal while Manipur pulled one back through Nabachandra Singh in the 75th minute at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Manipur were playing in only their second final after winning the title in 2002.

Both the teams started on an aggressive note. While Manipur went all out for an early goal, Bengal preferred to play sensibly and gained in confidence as they played the waiting game.

Branco put Bengal ahead in the 21st minute. He blasted a Francis Fernandes pass from the top of the box as Bengal went into the interval with a one-goal lead.

After changing ends, Bengal doubled the lead in the 48th minute. Midfielder Budhiram Tudu found the back of the net when he tapped in from close.

With no other option left, Manipur went all out. And it paid dividends when Nabachandra Singh reduced the margin in the 75th minute. Inspired by the goal, Manipur launched a series of attacks to restore parity but it all came a bit too late.

Bengal now have won their second consecutive title after a lull of 11 years since emerging champions in 1999. In the last edition, Bengal had beaten Punjab 2-0 in the final to regain the trophy.

Vettel wins incident-packed Monaco Grand Prix

Monaco: Sebastian Vettel has won the Monaco Grand Prix, beating Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button in a thrilling and incident-packed race that several drivers failed to finish.

Defending F1 champion Vettel has won five of the six races this season, with only Lewis Hamilton beating him in China.

The German gambled by staying out on the same set of soft tires Sunday, turning the last 15 laps into a battle of wits as both Alonso and Button were on his tail.

That gamble looked certain to backfire until a crash on lap 72 resulted in a red flag that suspended the session just as he was close to being caught.

When the race resumed, Vettel had changed his tires and the last few laps became a procession. 

Germany forward Klose ruled out of Euro qualifiers

Berlin: Germany forward Miroslav Klose has been ruled out of next month's Euro 2012 qualifiers against Austria and Azerbaijan after picking up a rib injury in the 2-1 friendly win over Uruguay on Sunday.

Klose's injury opens the door for Bayern Munich team mate Mario Gomez to lead the attack after the Bundesliga top scorer made the most of a rare start by netting Germany's opening goal against Uruguay.

Klose, who was again seen as coach Joachim Loew's starting choice for the qualifiers despite Gomez's fine performance on Sunday, came on as a substitute in the second half but failed to make an impact.

"He picked up a painful rib injury. Medical tests on Monday showed that the 32-year-old will need to refrain from training in the coming days and so cannot be at our disposal for the qualifiers," the German football federation said in a statement.

Germany, who top their Euro qualifying group with five wins from as many matches, travel to Austria on June 3 before taking on Azerbaijan four days later.

Germany's second most capped player behind Lothar Matthaeus, Klose, is chasing Gerd Mueller's all-time scoring record, having netted 61 times in 109 appearances.

Mueller's record stands at 68 goals from 62 internationals.

Bopanna-Qureshi in quarterfinals of French Open

Paris: Indian Davis Cupper Rohan Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi advanced to the French Open men`s doubles quarter-finals with a straight-set win over Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan and Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan.

The fifth seed Indo-Pak pair recorded a 6-3 7-5 win over their unseeded rivals in the third round in one hour and nine minutes.

It will be the third quarter-final appearance in the last four Grand Slams for Bopanna and Qureshi.

They will now clash with top seeded American twins Mike and Bob Bryan, who defeated Russia`s Teymuraz Gabashvili and Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan 7-6 (6) 7-5 in their pre-quarterfinal round.
Bopanna and Qureshi had lost to Bryan brothers in the US Open final last year.

Bopanna is the only Indian surviving in the men`s doubles as Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi made a shock second round exit.

Later in the day, seventh seeds Sania Mirza and Russian Elena Vesnina will take on top seeds Gisela Dulko of Argentina and Flavia Pennetta of Italy in the women`s doubles quarterfinals.

Another contest of Indian interest would be the mixed doubles quarterfinal between Indo-Czech pair of Paes and Iveta Benesova and the top seeded combination of Slovakian Katarina Srebotnik and Serbian Nenad Zimonjic.

Djokovic into last four as Fognini quits

Paris: Second seed Novak Djokovic got a walkover into the French Open semi-finals after last eight opponent Fabio Fognini pulled out on Monday because of injury.

The pair were due to play their quarter-final on Tuesday but the Italian has not recovered from a thigh muscle problem sustained in Sunday`s long five-set win over Albert Montanes.

"I have a little problem with my left left leg so I have to retire," Fognini told a news conference.

"My doctors said if I play tomorrow maybe it can be dangerous."

Serbia`s red-hot Djokovic is on a 41-match winning streak since the start of the year, just one behind John McEnroe`s 1984 record.
His progression through the last eight will not count as part of the streak, officials confirmed, so the world number two will have to win the title for the first time if he is to break the American`s record at Roland Garros.

The Australian Open champion could meet third seed and 2009 winner Roger Federer in the semi-finals if the Swiss gets through his quarter-final.

Bandana-wearing Fognini reckoned he would be fit for Wimbledon next month and did not regret finishing the match even if a withdrawal when he suffered the problem in the final set would have put Spain`s Montanes through.

"It`s the best tournament of my career. But this is the best solution," added the unseeded Fognini, who battled through to the last eight with his unusual brand of laidback tennis, almost like a boxer dropping his hands.

'ICC has informed Tharanga about dope flunk'

Colombo: A day after a doping scandal rocked Sri Lankan cricket, the sports ministry on Monday confirmed that the ICC has informed opening batsman Upul Tharanga about flunking a random dope test conducted during the recent World Cup.

A sports ministry spokesman said that the ICC has informed Tharanga about the dope flunk and subsequently, minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage set up a three member panel to inquire into the case.

However, Sri Lanka Cricket, the country`s governing body for the sport, is yet to be informed by the ICC about the dope flunk, the spokesman said. The ICC is also yet to make the dope flunk official.
"The minister appointed the ministry secretary Udaya Seneviratne, Dr Geethanjana Mendis and Dr Maiya Gunasekera to investigate. They will be recording a statement from Tharanga," Harsha Abeykoon, the sports ministry media spokesman, said.

Apart from the sports secretary, the other two members are physicians with extensive experience of sports medicine.

26-year-old Tharanga tested positive for banned substance prednisolone -- a drug for asthma, a condition from which he is said to suffer. He became the first Sri Lankan cricketer to have failed a dope test. He is also set to face an ICC inquiry.

Tharanga, a left-handed opening batsman, had a pretty good World Cup even scoring a century in the semifinal against England, but was not picked for the current tour of England.

He has said that a well-known medical practitioner, who had treated Indian stars Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir and Ashish Nehra, prescribed the medicine containing the banned substance to him.


The blood sample was taken in Colombo during the World Cup and the embarrassing development comes amid allegations by former skipper Hashan Tilakaratne that Sri Lankan players have been responsible for match fixing since 1992.

After the news of the dope flunk broke out in a report in a local daily yesterday, Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Nishantha Ranatunga had denied knowledge of Tharanga`s failed dope test.

"Officially we know nothing about Tharanga`s case. SLC has not received any complaints or reports about the use of the banned substance called Prednisolone from any organization or agency," he said.

ICC spokesman James Fitzgerald has also yesterday refused to comment on the matter.

According to the ICC`s anti-doping code, a player is responsible for any prohibited substance found to be present in his or her test sample. If a player needs to take a drug that is on the World Anti-Doping Authority`s (WADA`s) banned list in order to treat an illness, he is required to apply for a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE).

Under the dope-testing process, if a player`s `A` sample is found to contain a banned substance, he will have the option of asking for his `B` sample to be tested as well.

If his `B` sample is also found to be positive, the player could face a provisional suspension until the ICC carries out its inquiry. If the `B` sample is negative, the investigation is discontinued.

Sania-Vesnina storm into French Open semis

                                                                




Paris: Seventh seed Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina stormed into the French Open semi-finals on Monday upsetting the top seed Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta 6-0, 7-5.

Seventh-seeded Sania and Elena won 6-0, 7-5 in 66 minutes.

They now play the winner of the match between fourth-seeded Americans Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond and fifth-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Maria Kirilenko of Russia.

This is for the first time that Sania has reached the women`s doubles semifinals in a Grand Slam event.

The quarter-final appearances in the 2007 US Open and 2008 Wimbledon were her best performances so far at the big stage.

Monfils beats Ferrer to reach last eight in Paris

Paris: Local favourite Gael Monfils reached the quarter-finals of the French Open with a 6-4 2-6 7-5 1-6 8-6 win over Spanish seventh seed David Ferrer on Monday.

The match was interrupted due to bad light on Sunday with the ninth-seeded Monfils 2-0 down in the fourth set.

He did not give much of a fight when play resumed on court Suzanne Lenglen, dropping the set in less than half an hour before regrouping.

Monfils opened a 5-2 lead in the decider but wasted two match points at 5-3 as Ferrer broke back. Monfils, however, ended the contest on his fourth match point by blazing a forehand passing winner on Ferrer's serve.