ICC to investigate Pakistan bookmaker claims

The Pakistan Cricket Board have asked the International Cricket Council to investigate reports bookmakers were staying in the same hotel as the team in Sri Lanka.

The PCB have ruled out holding their own inquiry but have passed the matter on to the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU).

PCB chief operating officer Saleem Altaf said: "The ACU representative in Sri Lanka is investigating the matter.

"The ACU follows a proper procedure and they investigate suspicious incidents in great detail.

"So we are not expecting them to come up with a report very soon."

Pakistan, recent winners of the Twenty20 in England, lost the three-Test series in Sri Lanka 2-0 and are currently 3-0 down in the best-of-five one-day international series.

Former Pakistan head of selectors Abdul Qadir is mystified by Pakistan's recent performances.

"It is strange the way we are losing matches," Qadir said.

"When the bowling clicks the batsmen don't perform.

"When the batsmen perform the bowler's don't perform. Something is wrong somewhere.

"This has been one of our worst tours to Sri Lanka."

Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed confirmed the presence of some suspicious people at the team hotel.

"There are usually many guests at the hotel who want autographs and want to be photographed with the players," Saeed said.

"There were some people who wanted to meet the players and invited them for tea but the players refused and reported the matter to us.

"We had already instructed them not to meet any unwanted people."

Pakistan captain Younus Khan said he had not been propositioned by any bookmakers.

"No bookie has approached me," Younus said.

"If ever one does, I will catch him and hand him over to ICC because these people have destroyed the game."

The ICC have confirmed they were investigating the issue.

"The ICC is aware of the media reports on attempted match-fixing allegations," ICC communications officer James Fitzgerald said.

"Appropriate action is being taken by the ICC on this regard."

Nicol raring to go in S'pore Squash Masters

Nicol David has ruled out the fatigue of entering her third tournament as many weeks and is keen to shine in the CIMB Singapore Women’s Squash Masters.

David is set to take on her first opponent on Wednesday evening against a qualifier that is to be decided later on Tuesday, and the World No. 1 isn't feeling exhausted from her tight schedule.

"With the World Games [in Kaohsiung] and the Malaysian Open being the start of the second half of the season, the girls and I have been training for the buildup in this time of the year," said David. "And this is the last of the three tournaments, so I'm ready to go for the Singapore Masters and I'm going to bring the same effort as I did for Malaysia and the World Games."

The 25-year-old also added that she was feeling pressure going into the Gold 45 tournament but believed that her preparation will see her through.

"I think there's pressure everywhere, in whatever you do," added the two-time Singapore Masters champion. "So you just have to know that you've put the work in, and all you can expect for yourself is to do well as such; to do your best."

"You can't expect anything more than that. All I know is that if I focus on my performance and play consistently, then the results will show."

And Nicol was not going into the Singapore Masters thinking that it'll be a walk in the park.

"It's great to be back in Singapore and the tournament is on thanks to CIMB. No doubt it's still a new tournament, but all the world's best players are here, so I have to be ready from the first round onwards," concluded the three-time World Open winner.

Grinham sisters in Lion City to compete

Natalie and Rachel Grinham are looking to compete in Singapore, and hopefully banish some demons along the way.

Both the World No. 3 and No. 4 were finalists in the first two editions of the CIMB Singapore Women's Squash Masters, but Nicol David and injuries stood in their way to being crowned champions of the Gold 45 event.

"I've got mixed feelings, I feel happy to be back. Last year, I went out with an ankle injury, in my first round match so I have a few bad memories of last year," said Natalie Grinham in the press conference ahead of her first round match against Kasey Brown of Australia. "So, I hope this year I can stay healthy and do well."

"It's good to be back, it's great that Singapore keeps organising a tournament," said her sister Rachel Grinham. "I'm happy to be here and it's great to be at one of our major events. We're all just here hoping to do well, really."

Both Toowoomba natives were, however, cautious about rating their chances in the Singapore competition this year.

"I rate my chances about as good as everyone in the tournament. My results in the past twelve months haven't been that great," added the Helioplis Club-based Rachel. "So going into the tournament, I'm going to take it one match at a time."

"Like [Natalie] said, you've just got to take the tournament one match at a time and see how it goes," said the younger Grinham. "The conditions here can be quite warm, and the girls are quite fit, there will be quite a few battles on the court. I'll need a lot of mental and physical strength and we'll see how it goes."

The Grinham sisters did admit that playing back-to-back tournaments (in Natalie's case, playing back-to-back-to-back competitions, including the World Games in Taiwan) did leave them a little fatigued both physically and mentally, especially when they were not training like they did usually.

"It does get tough when there are more than two [tournaments], as you are not getting much training," continued Rachel. "So in a way you are not doing much work, so you might lose a bit of fitness.

"I played in the World Games, so going into the Singapore Masters, it's three weeks away from home so, mentally, being away from home for so long does get to you, especially now that I like to be home a little bit more," concluded Natalie. "You lose a little physically as you aren't training as hard.

"Hopefully you've got enough pre-training to get you through the weeks, but it can be a little tough mentally."

Both Rachel and Natalie Grinham begin their first round matches at the Kallang Squash and Tennis Centre on Wednesday evening.

Everton confirm talks to sign Arsenal's Philippe Senderos

Everton have confirmed they are in talks with Arsenal over the £6 million signing of Swiss international centre-back Philippe Senderos as they begin to prepare for life without Joleon Lescott.

The Goodison Park club’s chairman, Bill Kenwright, this morning revealed talks are “ongoing” between the two clubs, though contrary to reports in Switzerland, “nothing has been concluded”.

Senderos, who spent last year on loan at AC Milan, is surplus to requirements at the Emirates after the arrival of the Belgian international Thomas Vermaelen and thanks to the emergence of John Djourou.

Senderos would be a direct replacement for Lescott, who yesterday informed manager David Moyes of his desire to move to Manchester City.

The player is expected to write to Kenwright this week to explain his reasons for wishing to bring his three-year spell on Merseyside to an end, though he has, so far, stopped short of handing in a formal transfer request.

Lescott may be forced to do so, though, thanks to Moyes’s unwillingness to part with a player who has developed from a Championship-level hopeful to England international regular under his guidance.

It is believed Moyes informed the player yesterday that he would not be allowed to leave.

City, who have already had two bids, worth £15 million and £18 million, turned down by Everton, will wait until the player has formalised his intentions before returning with a third bid.

Sources at Eastlands have confirmed that Mark Hughes’s interest in the player is “still alive” but admit they are waiting to see how the dispute between player and club resolves itself before acting.

Should Everton refuse to allow Lescott his move, Hughes is likely to switch his attentions to Roma defender Philippe Mexes or Chelsea’s Brazilian international centre-back Alex.

Moyes, though, may find the prospect of around £22 million, the amount City are prepared to offer, too good to turn down for a player who wishes to leave.

As well as Senderos, the Scot has been offered the versatile Toulouse defender Albin Ebondo and is thought to be tracking Standard Liege midfielder Steven Defour - a target for Real Madrid and Liverpool - as well as Swedish U21 international Rasmus Elm.

Nothing predictable about Women's golf

Most of the coverage - on screen and in print - of last week's Buick Open in Michigan was fairly easy to follow from a distance.

Day One. Tiger Woods is eight behind after a 71. Coming after his missed cut in The Open at Turnberry, what's wrong with the world number one?

Day Two. Tiger plays his first seven holes in seven under, shoots 63, is only four back. Is there anything he is not capable of?

Day Three. Tiger has eight more birdies, shoots 65, leads by one. He is back where he belongs.

Day Four. Tiger wins by three. Easy.

There were, by the way, 155 other players in the tournament. But they know their place and not one of them can argue that Woods does not deserve the attention he gets.

They benefit, after all, from prize money going through the roof since he arrived on the scene.

Somebody like Brett Quigley, for example, has earned more than 10 million dollars (£6million) on the circuit without winning in more than 350 starts.

And nearly 60 players are already through the one million dollar (£600,000) mark for this season alone. They include Jason Dufner, John Mallinger, Bo Van Pelt, Bob Estes and Quigley, who between them do about as many press conferences and television interviews in a year as Woods does in a week.

There is a debate to be had about whether such a level of dominance by one player is entirely healthy for a sport or not.

But what cannot be argued is that Woods has changed the face of golf by drawing in people to either play or watch who would not otherwise have the slightest interest.

And that has to be good.

Certainly it is a situation which the women's game wishes it had at the moment.

Annika Sorenstam's retirement at 38 last year took one of the leading lights out of the scene.

The Swede had been overtaken and left behind as world number one by Mexican Lorena Ochoa by then, but while she was regularly winning majors - 10 of them - there was a comparison to be drawn between her and Woods.

When Ochoa broke her major duck at the British Open in a ground-breaking week at St Andrews in 2007 and then made it back-to-back titles at the start of last season a new era of domination looked to be dawning.

But she has failed to win any of the last seven and has not even come close in any of this season's four.

Ochoa is now engaged to the chief executive officer of Aeromexico and has talked already of ending her playing career in a few years.

Asked if she wanted to emulate what Sorenstam had done before stepping away the 27-year-old replied: "No, I have a very different way of seeing life, a different path, and that's why I don't want to necessarily win the same number of tournaments she won or play the same amount of years.

"I'm a little bit younger, I'm aware of that, and life is too short. There are many things I would love to do also outside of golf.

"My foundation is very important. That's my priority and I want to be there 100% and really work there and to make sure that those kids that are in need receive help and support.

"It's an opportunity to change people's lives. That's what I want to do - and maybe golf course design."

She also said she wants to quit as number one. She remains there for the time being, but the gap is closing.

While Ochoa tries to hang on to her position the search for the next superstar goes on.

Michelle Wie was the obvious candidate once she captured the attention of the sporting world by appearing on the PGA Tour at 14 and missing the cut by only one, with Adam Scott among the players she finished ahead of.

Then came injury and a dramatic loss of form and while she has come back to prominence this year and on Sunday night fully deserved a Solheim Cup wild card she has still to win a 72-hole event - not just this season, but in her entire life.

Perhaps what the women's game needs most is a Sorenstam comeback story.

She is expecting her first child next month, but as she prepares for that Sorenstam cannot have failed to notice what Scotland's Catriona Matthew achieved at Royal Lytham last week 11 weeks after giving birth to her second daughter.

Sorenstam is the younger of the two by a year, but with a baby on the way and "Brand Annika" well established does she need to actually play the game competitively again?

Time will tell on that one, but if she does feel the urge nobody will be happier than Marsha Evans, the new acting commissioner of the LPGA Tour in the States.

After the resignation last month of the beleaguered Carolyn Bivens, Evans appears well qualified to step into the breach.

After serving as a Rear Admiral in the US Navy she led the Girl Scouts movement and then became president of the American Red Cross.

Maria Sharapova takes another comeback step with Los Angeles win

Maria Sharapova took another tentative step in her comeback by beating Jarmila Groth of Australia 6-0, 6-4 in 63 minutes at the Los Angeles Women's Tennis Championships.

Sharapova, absent from the tour for 10 months due to right shoulder surgery, breezed through the opening set in 20 minutes and lost just 9 points.

In the second set, however, she struggled with her rebuilt serve, double-faulting twice to lose serve in the third game and falling behind, 3-1.

She regrouped by breaking Slovakian-born Groth, made it 3-all and closed the match with her fifth break of Groth's serve.

The 22-year-old Russian now plays a second-round date with third seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.

Russia's Anna Chakvetadze defeated 11th seeded Virginie Razzano of France 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 Monday. Unseeded Chakvetadze advances to face fellow Russian Alisa Kleybanova.

Elena Vesnina cruised past Agnes Szavay of Hungary 6-1, 6-0 and Kleybanova beat compatriot Alla Kudryavtseva 6-1, 6-3.

In other matches Monday, China's Peng Shuai outlasted Michaella Krajicek 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3 and Italy's Flavia Pennetta, seeded 10th, needed three sets to top unheralded American Varvara Lepchenko, 6-2, 5-7, 6-0. Pennetta was last year's runner-up to Dinara Safina, the top seed here.

The tournament features five of the world's top 10 players including world number one Safina of Russia.

The 23-year-old Safina is fresh off her third title of the year, winning a marathon three-hour match in the Portoroz final.

Arsenal's needs come before Patrick Vieira's World Cup dream insists Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger has stressed that any decision regarding Patrick Vieira will be made for the benefit of Arsenal and not to help his former captain play first-team football ahead of next year's World Cup.

The France manager Raymond Domenech has made it clear to Vieira that he needs to be playing regularly in order to fulfil an ambition of captaining France in South Africa next summer.

Vieira was a peripheral figure for Inter Milan last season and is now keen on a return to Arsenal, something Wenger will only contemplate if he feels that it will benefit his own emerging squad.

"My target is Arsenal Football Club – I don't care about the World Cup," said Wenger. "I work for Arsenal Football Club, I do not work for the French Football Federation."

Domenech, though, has stressed the importance of regular football at this stage of Vieira's career.

Wenger is still assessing what he may need to strengthen his squad going into the new season, but regards reinforcements as less urgent given the encouraging returns to fitness of both Tomas Rosicky and Eduardo.

"I'm thinking about the whole squad because two weeks we didn't know if we would have Rosicky or not, Eduardo or not," he said. "They both look to be completely back and that makes the squad to be quite big."

Wenger also appears likely to continue with the 4-3-3 formation that he used towards the end of last season that would see two from Andrei Arshavin, Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky and Theo Walcott used in support of a main central striker, most likely Robin van Persie or Eduardo.

"When you play with Arshavin you are never on your own, when you play with Theo Walcott you are never on your own," said Wenger.

"Playing with strikers depends on the support you will get from rest of the team.

"I wanted to see how it works because we have many offensive players and maybe we have to tighten up a bit in midfield to keep balance between offence and defence and I wanted to see how it works. I am quite happy with it."

Stuart Pearce set to promote Arsenal's Jack Wilshere to England Under-21 squad

Stuart Pearce is expected to promote Jack Wilshere into the England Under-21 set-up when he announces his squad on Wednesday for the match against Holland next Tuesday.

The Arsenal midfielder was close to being selected for the European Championship earlier this summer but almost half of that squad are now ineligible, while Wilshere has been outstanding in pre-season.

Fabio Capello and his right-hand man, Franco Baldini, watched Wilshere excel for Arsenal against Atletico Madrid and Rangers during the Emirates Cup last weekend and have earmarked the 17 year-old to be potentially fast-tracked into the England senior squad.

There has already been excited talk of Wilshere possibly featuring in the World Cup next year but that would be dependent upon him playing regularly for Arsenal over the forthcoming season. Unlike Sven-Goran Eriksson with Theo Walcott in 2006, Capello would not select any player who was not in form for his club.

Further down the line, Arsene Wenger would oppose any repeat of the way Walcott was used this summer for both the Under-21s and the senior squad.

"I was not a supporter of Theo's experience with the Under-21s for one simple reason: the youth teams are there to promote the players into the first team and once they are there, especially at national level, I don't see why they go back again," Wenger said.

The impact of Wilshere has certainly enthused his Arsenal team-mates, with Tomas Rosicky saying: "I don't think the best players left. There is still Arshavin, there is still Fabregas, you've got still great players. Jack Wilshere is very gifted. He's an exciting prospect for all English football. I think we can be stronger than last season because the boss will have more options."

Arsenal, meanwhile, have been told they will need to pay in excess of £12 million for Marouane Chamakh. The Bordeaux forward missed Sunday's friendly against Valencia and launched an outspoken attack on his club after they said they had rejected a bid of around £6 million.

"I am angry. I am even disgusted. I don't understand why people are doing this," Chamakh said. "To go to Arsenal, it's my dream. I am a year from the end of my contract and the club [Bordeaux] wants to make it all about money. What the club is asking for isn't fair."

Bordeaux president Jean-Louis Triaud said that he had not heard back from Arsenal since the initial offer.

"We said we would facilitate his transfer to a big club," Triaud said. "But if Bafetimbi Gomis is worth €15 million [£12.7 million], Marouane is worth at least as much. Arsenal made an offer of €7 million on Monday [last week]. Since then I have not had any contact with them. It is up to them."

South Korea take doubles title

South Korea have won the Team gold at 2009 WTBA.

For the second time this week, the bowlers from Korea stood atop the medal stand at the World Tenpin Bowling Association World Women's Championships and celebrated a hard-earned gold medal.

This time, they stood together as a team after defeating Team USA, 1,175-1,071, to win the five-player team event at Cashman Center on Saturday night. Their previous win came in doubles two nights earlier.

"I feel incredibly proud and happy right now," Kim Yeau-Jin said. "We work so hard together, and team success is our biggest goal. It has been a long road, and this is a great prize."

Kim and Jeon Eun-Hee led the way in the championship match, each rolling 258 games, and they were followed by Son Yun-Hee (257), Hwang Sun-Ok (212) and Gang Hye-Eun (190). It was Hwang and Gang who claimed the doubles gold medal with a win over Australia's Carol Gianotti and Ann Maree Putney on Thursday.

The Korean team started Saturday with the highest three-game team effort in WTBA World Women's Championships history and never looked back. The group opened with 3,433 on the short oil pattern (WTBA Stockholm, 34 feet) and added 3,171 on the medium pattern (WTBA Athens, 40 feet) in the afternoon to earn the top seed with a record 6,604 six-game effort.

Team USA found itself in familiar territory after six games of team competition, qualifying second behind Korea with 6,451, but hoped the tournament's new format would work in its favour.

In previous years, the winners were determined by total pinfall, so instead of settling for a third-consecutive team silver medal without a fight, the format change gave Team USA a chance to battle for the gold.

After six qualifying games, the field of 35 teams was cut to the top four for head-to-head match play. Team USA defeated No. 3 Singapore, 1,035-934, in one semifinal, while Korea downed No. 4 Sweden, 1,041-974, in the other.

Korea struck early and often in the championship match, and Team USA couldn't gain any momentum. Liz Johnson led the way with a 259 game and was followed by United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer Carolyn Dorin-Ballard (232), singles gold medalist Stefanie Nation (225), Kim Terrell-Kearney (189) and 12-time Team USA member Lynda Barnes (166). USBC Hall of Famer Wendy Macpherson helped the team to the semifinal win against Singapore.

"We did all we could do, and we just weren't supposed to win tonight," said Barnes, who earned her third-consecutive team silver medal. "Of course I'm disappointed, but we couldn't have worked any harder, and we couldn't have been any more prepared."

At the 2005 event in Aalborg, Denmark, Team USA finished 12 pins behind Chinese Taipei, and two years later in Monterrey, Mexico, it was silver again, just seven pins behind Malaysia. The last time the United States claimed the team gold medal was at the 1987 event in Helsinki, Finland.

This year's tournament marks the first time professionals are allowed to compete at the World Women's Championships, and competitors from 45 countries have competed in singles, doubles, trios and team so far this week. The final event is the Masters competition, which starts Sunday morning and includes the top 16 players in the all-events standings.

Colombia's Clara Guerrero won the all-events gold medal with a 5,330 total for 24 games and will lead the top 16 players beginning Sunday morning at 11 a.m. EDT. Sweden's Helen Johnsson claimed the silver medal with 5,278, and Dorin-Ballard won bronze with 5,195. Team USA's Nation and Johnson also qualified for Masters competition, finishing 10th and 12th, respectively.
Competition will be broadcast live on bowl.com throughout the day.

Joleon Lescott tells Everton he wants to move to Manchester City

Joleon Lescott met Everton manager David Moyes on Monday to express his desire to move to Manchester City.

The England international stopped short of formally handing in a transfer request but he is expected to write to chairman Bill Kenwright in the coming days to outline his reasons for wanting to leave.

Moyes has already rejected two bids, worth £15 million and £18 million, from City for the former Wolves player and sources at Goodison Park have confirmed that the Scot told Lescott he would not be allowed to leave the club. The player, who lives in the Manchester area, will now have to put his request in writing if he is to force a transfer through.

City’s interest remains very much alive but the club are thought to have been waiting for a signal from the player that they should reignite their interest. Mark Hughes insisted last week that the deal was now “up to Everton, as he is their player” as both Moyes and Phil Neville, the Everton captain, questioned City’s conduct in their pursuit of Lescott.

Hughes has always been adamant he tries to conduct his transfer dealings “in the right way” and the club will not lodge a third bid, worth around £22 million, until Lescott has formalised his intentions. That is some way short of Everton’s initial £30 million asking price, but represents a healthy profit on a player bought from Wolves for just £5 million three years ago.

Everton are under no financial pressure to sell, despite funds being tight at Goodison Park, but Moyes knows such a sum would be invaluable as he tries to strengthen his squad. Everton are currently discussing terms with Arsenal with a view to completing a £6 million move for Philippe Senderos, the Swiss international, as a direct replacement for Lescott, while they have also been linked with Albin Ebondo, of Toulouse, and Miguel, of Valencia. Moyes may also use the money to increase his £13 million offer for Steven Defour, the Standard Liege captain.

Hughes has targeted Lescott since the start of the summer, making the Everton player and John Terry, his international colleague, his first-choice defensive targets, as well as returning as expected to sign Arsenal’s Kolo Toure, a player he first tried to sign in January. His arrival would take City’s summer spending to around £125 million.

Meanwhile, Hajduk Split confirmed the sale of striker Nikola Kalinic to Blackburn for £6 million. Sam Allardyce, the Ewood Park club’s manager, has also signed Chelsea striker Franco Di Santo on a season-long loan.

Real Madrid insure Cristiano Ronaldo's legs for £90 million

Cristiano Ronaldo's legs have reportedly been insured for £90 million by Real Madrid.

Real paid a world record £80m for the Portuguese winger when they signed him from Manchester United in June.

The fear is that teams will target the 24-year-old World Player of the Year for rough treatment on the pitch and so the Sun reports that Real have moved swiftly to protect their investment should Ronaldo pick up a long-term injury.

Real president Florentino Perez has spent almost £200m on new signings in an attempt to wrestle the La Liga and Champions League titles away from fierce rivals Barcelona.

Kaka, Karim Benzema, Raul Albiol and Alvaro Arbeloa have also been brought to the Bernabeu, while Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso is the subject of a £25m bid.

However, Ronaldo is the icing on the cake for Perez and with the player having been fouled 34 times already in just three pre-season friendlies, Perez needs to ensure the club is covered in case of a serious knock.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo's £5.5m former home in Cheshire has been bought by new Manchester City signing Emanuel Adebayor.

Kolo Toure, Gareth Barry, Carlos Tevez and Antonio Valencia also put in bids for the property in Alderley Edge, which has an indoor pool, jacuzzi, gym and cinema room.

Two-year-old tennis prodigy hailed as future champion

Jonah Ziff is being hailed as a future Wimbledon champion after mastering tennis aged only two.

The toddler, who still wears nappies and sucks a dummy while he plays, has already mastered forehands, backhands and the over-arm serve.

He has beaten players four years older than him and has even been known to ace his opponents.

Jonah takes lessons four times a week and is being tipped as a future talent to hit British tennis.

Father Jonathan, 45, of Stoney Stanton, near Leicester, said: "I'm told Jonah is some kind of wonder kid, which is pretty amazing.

"He just picked up a racket that was lying around and he started whacking a ball against a wall.

"Most kids his age wouldn't know how to hold a racket, let alone hit it like he does. They just don't have that level of co-ordination.

"Apparently his technical ability is way beyond his years."

Jonah was first spotted at his parent's local David Lloyd Leisure Club in Leicester in May when they took his brother, Hugo, five, and five sisters aged between six and 15 for tennis lessons.

Parents Jonathan, a dentist, and Danielle, both 35, gave Jonah a racket to play with and were stunned by the results.

Mrs Ziff said: "We were totally gobsmacked. The ball came to him and he swung a perfect shot right over the net and past our eldest daughter.

"We thought it must have been a fluke but he did it again and again. He was a natural.

"People were stopping their games and watching in disbelief and Jonah pottered round the court hitting the ball all over the place."

Henry Newball, 36, who coaches Jonah's whole family, praised Jonah's "natural ability".

"At two it's hard to even get a child's concentration for 10 minutes," he said.

"Jonah is obsessed with tennis, which is very unusual for a child his age.

"He started off watching his brother play and wanting to copy him.

"People may see him play and put it down to me but at two it's very difficult to tell them what to do.

Jonah now plays in short 'best of three' games against other youngsters at the club.

He is expected to compete at a junior competition later this year.

Andy Roddick ready to return after Wimbledon heartache

Andy Roddick declared himself mentally and physically ready for his return to competition after a month off following his heartbreaking loss to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final.

The fifth-ranked US star will be back on the court Wednesday after a first-round bye at the $1.4 million ATP Washington Classic, having found perspective about the Swiss star's historic marathon five-set victory.

"Heartbreaking for me, but at the same time not a lot of people get a chance to play for that title. That was not lost on me," Roddick said Monday.

"Was it the greatest loss I've had as far as afterward?... Yeah, that hurt. But at the same time it's still a pretty good existence to play matches like that.

"I don't sit back and cry in my Cheerios."

Federer won his sixth Wimbledon title and career record 15th Grand Slam crown 5-7, 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 16-14. Roddick pushed him for four hours and 16 minutes, holding 37 service games in a row before dropping the last in the July 5 epic.

Asked how he got over the loss, Roddick replied, "I'll keep you posted."

Putting the defeat in perspective has proven elusive as Roddick, whose only Grand Slam title came at the 2003 US Open, sees himself little differently than before.

"It changes daily. I don't think I really understand," Roddick said. "For me it's probably not the same but I understand it might be a good story.

"I've been a pretty good player throughout my career regardless of what has taken place in the last six weeks."

A day after the longest fifth set in Grand Slam final history, Roddick withdrew from a US Davis Cup quarter-final tie at Croatia with a right hip flexor, an injury Roddick said no longer troubles him.

"I feel great. I decided not to make the error of coming back until I was physically ready to play an event," Roddick said. "It's not the type of injury where I expect anything lingering."

The only thing Roddick expects to linger from the thriller loss to Federer as he begins hardcourt matches ahead of the US Open is the emotional lift brought by the entire Wimbledon fortnight's work.

"It does help my confidence going into the US Open that I was able to navigate my way through a major tournament," Roddick said.

"I'm not going to come in expecting to pick up where I left off a month ago. It's a process. This is the start of the process for the US Open. It would be presumptuous of me to expect that in my first match back after a month."

Roddick, who turns 27 on the eve of the US Open, will play fellow American Robby Ginepri or Germany's Benjamin Becker in his first match. Hot-handed US rival Sam Querrey, the champion Sunday at Los Angeles, could await after that.

Roddick has worked to keep his emotions in balance better than in the early days of his career, saying his normal evolution has played out before the world step by step.

"I've pretty much been portrayed as every style thing you can be," Roddick said. "After Wimbledon you are Andy Everyman, who everybody is rooting for. I think the meat and potatoes of who I am hasn't been covered yet."

Roddick, 39-9 this year and two wins shy of 500 career ATP triumph, won his 27th career title at Memphis in February. He won titles at Washington in 2001, 2005 and 2007.

Roddick, who married model Brooklyn Decker on April 17, credits improved nutrition and fitness for better position on the court to enable superior shotmaking.

"It was just a matter of what avenues hadn't I explored," Roddick said. "Once confidence is there, it makes the decision-making process a lot easier when you want to pull the trigger on shots.

"I wasn't playing amazing at Wimbledon until the semis and final. There's still a lot of work to be done."

World No 2 Rafael Nadal will return to action at next week's Montreal Masters event after a two-month lay off with injury, his coach and uncle Toni Nadal said on Monday.

The Spaniard has been suffering from tendinitis in both knees and has not played a competitive match since being knocked out in the fourth round of the French Open by Robin Soderling on May 31.

"Rafa will play in Montreal. It is good news for us," Toni Nadal told Radio Marca.

"It's another thing to know what standard he will be at. I imagine he won't be in very good condition. He has been training but without really pushing it very much.

"To see what form he's in we'll have to see how he copes in a proper match."

During his time away from the court, Nadal lost his French Open and Wimbledon titles and his number one ranking to Swiss rival Roger Federer.

In an interview last week, Nadal cast doubts as to whether he would be fit to defend his title in Montreal.

"There is no particular objective at present," Nadal's coach continued. "The challenge is to get back into form and to be in good shape for the US Open."

The US Open starts on Aug 31.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum handed six-month endurance race ban

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai and the world's most influential racehorse owner, has been banned from riding in endurance races for six months.

The punishment by the International Equestrian Federation comes after one of his horses tested positive for banned substances in two competitions.

Sheikh Mohammed accepted that his horse, Tahhan, tested positive for guanabenz and steroid stanozolol, the FEI said on Monday. His wife, FEI president Princess Haya of Jordan, is leading a clean-sport campaign, and Sheikh Mohammed stood down from competing in April when the test results became known.

His ban runs to Oct 3, which means he will miss the European season, and he must pay 4,500 Swiss francs (£2,500) in fines and costs.

In FEI competition, the rider is considered the 'person responsible' but the FEI recently widened its powers, enabling the 12-month ban of Tahhan's trainer, Abdullah bin Huzaim, who admitted medicating Tahhan without Sheikh Mohammed's knowledge.

Princess Haya stood aside from this process. But in briefings in London last month, she stressed that although trainers have the bigger influence in day-to-day care of endurance horses, "it is up to the rider to know how his horse is being managed".

Sheikh Mohammed's lawyers informed the FEI on April 3 that Tahhan had failed dope tests taken at home. However, it later emerged that the FEI had positively tested Tahhan in January and that case details were available on its website.

In a statement, Sheikh Mohammed said he had an stake in 700 endurance horses and could not be expected to be aware of each one's medication protocol.

Alexandre Vinokourov to return after two-year ban

Kazakh cyclist Alexandre Vinokourov will return to racing on Tuesday after serving a two-year doping ban which followed a positive test on the 2007 Tour de France.

Vinokourov will get back in the saddle for Tuesday's criterium race at Castillon-la-Bataille in south-western France, organisers said.

"It is his first race after a two-year suspension, the return of a well-known rider who has turned in some performances" but also "someone whose image has become tarnished and who wants to prove something," said organiser George Barriere.

Vinokourov, 35, has been free to race since the end of his blood doping ban on July 23 and the possibility remains that he will rejoin his former team, Astana.

Vinokourov said at the start of the Tour de France last month he would be welcomed back to the Kazakhstan-backed team, which was created by and for him in 2006.

"Astana was created in 2006, it is our baby, I would not want to join another team," Vinokourov said on July 2 in Monaco.

"I am negotiating with Johan Bruyneel, but the Kazakhstan cycling federation wants me to ride in this team.

"This team was created for me and it is down to me and I don't see why I should not return."

Bruyneel, who led Lance Armstrong to his seven Tour de France triumphs and was at the helm when Spaniard Alberto Contador won this year's race, took over management of Astana after Vinokourov's drug scandal.

However the team may be heading for a revamp. Contador is now set to join a new team while Astana team-mate Armstrong has already signed a deal to ride for new outfit RadioShack.

Rio grand for victorious Charles Dunstone

The big-boat contest at Cowes Week turned into a one-horse race after Charles Dunstone's TP52, Rio, swept to a third consecutive victory, leaving the rest of the fleet relegated to a battle for second in IRC Class 1.

Having led at the start, Johnny Vincent's Pace, the only other TP52 in the fleet, looked set to match Rio for speed as the fleet headed west down the Solent in 12 knots of breeze, but the difference in performance between the two boats soon became obvious.

"It is really annoying but Dunstone has a 2007 generation boat that has been highly optimised and is very quick. But we are closing the gap. We lost by nine minutes in the first race, while today it was four minutes and it was nice to see them behind us, even if it was only for an hour," said Vincent, who finished third behind Tonnerre de Breskens 3, owned and campaigned by Dutchman Piet Vroon.

The fleet will compete for the prized Britannia Cup on Tuesday, while four of the biggest and fastest boats in next week's Rolex Fastnet Race will begin three days of racing in IRC Class Zero as part of their preparations.

They include the brand new Beau Geste, an IRC80 owned by Hong Kong businessman Karl Kwok, Niklas Zennstrom's Ran and the Italian Luna Rossa, with recent Volvo Ocean race winner Torben Grael on board.

No upsets in Singapore Women's Masters

There were no surprises when all the seeded players made it to the second qualifying round at the CIMB Singapore Women’s Masters 2009.

A late pullout by Egypt's Raneem El Weleily due to visa issues resulted in a mini-reshuffle. Samantha Teran gained a bye, going through to Round Two without effort.

In the remaining seven ties, only one went beyond a 3-0 scoreline, and that was the evening's highlight. A 60-minute tussle between World No. 28 Line Hansen and Malaysia's Low Wee Wern who's ranked five places below the Dane.

Hansen took a two-game lead (11-8, 12-10) only to see the 19-year-old from Penang coming back to take the next two. Hansen found it hard to keep her composure, tossing her racket in frustration on several occasions, and drawing a stroke from the umpire.

Game Five was nip and tuck as the duo exchange points, but Hansen's court command paid off, taking the decider 12-10.

Despite the loss, Low was upbeat with the result: "Line played two great shots at the end of Game Five and she deserve the win. I knew I had to hang in there and if I could get her to the fifth game, I would have a chance. I've been training well in the past three months in Penang, so this is an improvement to the 3-0 loss to Line the last time we met."

Sharon Wee edged out Jerryca Teo and will meet Hansen for a place in the Main Draw.

Delia Arnold brushed aside Singapore's Mao Shi Hui in 28 minutes (11-4, 11-6, 11-2) to set up a meeting with Joey Chan from Hong Kong. Chan disposed of Malaysia's Hooi Wei Lin 11-3, 11-3, 11-4.

Donna Urquhart ended Singapore's hopes of sending a second player into the Main Draw by defeating Koh Kar Yan 11-8, 11-4, 11-4 and will meet England's Sarah Kippax who beat India's Joshna Chinappa.

Ireland's Aisling Blake ended the hopes of Japanese veteran Yuko Ikeda.

Pursley cautious despite medal haul

Dennis Pursley sounded a note of caution after Great Britain concluded the World Championships in Rome with seven medals.

Tom Daley also won a shock gold in the 10metre platform diving while Keri-Anne Payne went one better than Beijing to take the 10kilometre open water title.

The event in Barcelona in 2003 remains the most successful to date in the pool in terms of the number of medals, with British swimmers reaching the podium on eight occasions - although the gold medal haul of two was the same at both events. However, this year's haul represents an improvement on the previous two World Championships.

While Pursley acknowledged progress was being made, the American remained cautious, saying: "Overall I am very pleased. I wouldn't say it's been a great meet for us.

"In my view, there is one record I don't want ever to break and that is the number of fourth-placed finishes.

"If we had fewer of those and more medals we could call it a great meet for us but we were close. "The good news is we are knocking on the door in more events than we ever have before.

"Overall it is progress and I continue to be very impressed with our coaches and swimmers.

"My observations are our swimmers are as well prepared and focused as handled. "The key is we are getting better and we are progressing."

Gemma Spofforth and Liam Tancock won gold in the 100m and 50m backstroke, both in world record time.

Jo Jackson claimed silver in the 400m and 800m freestyle as well as a bronze as part of the 4x200m relay and Fran Halsall took a surprise silver medal in the 100m freestyle.

While Rebecca Adlington was third in the 400m free and the relay alongside Jackson, the 20-year-old finished out of the medals in the 800m freestyle, her favourite event.

Pursley put that down to the pressure of being Olympic champion and her decision to remain with the Speedo LZR rather than use one of 2009's supersuits and backed the Mansfield-born swimmer to come back stronger.

With all but one of the medals claimed by women, Pursley did not express concern but acknowledged he wanted more men on the podium by 2012, pointing to apparent strength in depth in the world rankings.

National performance director Michael Scott admitted disappointment that those who had been successful at European junior level had not made the breakthrough. The championships were dominated by the effect of the polyurethane suits with 43 world records falling, some - such as Ian Thorpe's 400m freestyle mark - previously untouchable.

As a result, both Pursley and Scott described talk of records as irrelevant.

Scott also revealed 90-95% of swimmers made their choice of which suit to wear when they arrived in Rome following trials with different swimwear at their training camp in Sardinia with a number changing their minds as the competition went on.

There were a number of wardrobe malfunctions with suits ripping although such occurrences will soon be a thing of the past with the return to textile suits covering far less of the body to come into force on January 1, 2010.

Tiger extends world rankings lead

Tiger Woods has widened his lead at the top of the world rankings after capturing the Buick Open by three shots.

Woods has now been number one for the last 217 weeks and for a total of 559 weeks in his career.

Latest leading positions:

1 Tiger Woods 11.25pts
2 Phil Mickelson 8.41
3 Paul Casey 6.73
4 Kenny Perry 6.17
5 Sergio Garcia 5.93
6 Steve Stricker 5.84
7 Henrik Stenson 5.84
8 Geoff Ogilvy 5.66
9 Stewart Cink 5.02
10 Jim Furyk 4.92
11 Vijay Singh 4.85
12 Martin Kaymer 4.78
13 Lee Westwood 4.59
14 Camilo Villegas 4.57
15 Anthony Kim 4.33
16 Sean O'Hair 4.27
17 Padraig Harrington 4.24
18 Robert Karlsson 4.23
19 Retief Goosen 4.20
20 Lucas Glover 3.97

Henningsson breaks his duck

Sweden's Oskar Henningsson has put himself in some elite company by winning his first European Tour title in the Czech Republic.

The 23-year-old was triumphant at the Tour qualifying school last November and the only other players to win there and then taste victory in the following season were Scot Gordon Brand Jnr and Spanish great Jose Maria Olazabal.

Both went on to Ryder Cup honours, of course, and Henningsson said: "If I could achieve the same things I would be more than happy."

Two superb closing rounds of 67 brought him from five behind at halfway to a two-stroke victory over England's Sam Little and Steve Webster in the Moravia Silesia Open.

It was worth more than £285,776 to a player who had previously stood only 154th on the circuit's "Race to Dubai" money list and it also earns him a two-year exemption.

Henningsson's previous best peformance was fourth - just one week earlier at the SAS Masters in his home country.

"I've had some sinus trouble and have been feeling really tired," he added. "I've not been able to work out as much as I need to. I still don't know what is wrong, but I've started to feel better and this means a lot."

Webster led after 54 holes, but fell back with a 72 and Spanish Ryder Cup player Ignacio Garrido, having taken over top spot with nine to play, bogeyed the next three to open the door.

Little was celebrating too after lifting himself to safety on the money list after being 182nd going into the tournament.

There was disappointment for Northern Ireland's Gareth Maybin. He was joint leader with five to go, but dropped back to seventh.

Williams sisters conquer Standford

Serena and Venus Williams steamrolled Chan Yung-Jan and Monica Niculescu 6-4, 6-1 to win the Bank of the West Classic doubles title.

The sisters didn't lose a single set in their quest for their third Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title of the year, having won the Australian Open and Wimbledon, their eighth and ninth Grand Slams together.

The second-seeded pair's only loss in 2009 came at the hands of to Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Nadia Petrova in the round of 16 at Roland Garros.

The Stanford title was the first non-Grand Slam title for the pair since Hannover in 1999. Serena now has 16 doubles titles, while Venus, who was the runner-up in the singles event, has 15. Chan and Niculescu scored the biggest upset of the tournament, taking out Cara Black and Liezel Huber, co-ranked No.1 in the world and the No.1 seeds, in straight sets in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, Lucie Hradecka and Renata Voracova outlasted Julia Goerges and Patty Schnyder in the Istanbul Cup final, 2-6, 6-3, 12-10.

The Czechs also needed a match tie-break to get through their semifinal against top seeds Yaroslava Shvedova and Ipek Senoglu. Hradecka, the runner-up in singles, and Voracova now have four Tour doubles titles together. Hradecka has seven as an individual, while Voracova has five.

"We had a bit of a slow start, but were better from the beginning of the second set. It wasn't easy winning the second set, but we kept fighting and in the end we won," Voracova said. "The match tie-break is always difficult. The nerves are in the game too and it's not always easy to play your best."

Hewitt winning in Washington

Lleyton Hewitt began his hard-court season with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Donald Young at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.

Hewitt was playing in the ATP World Tour 500 hard-court tennis tournament in Washington, his first in three years, and dropped serve three times but won three of five point break opportunities in each set to edge out the American wildcard.

The 28-year-old won the Washington tournament in 2004 and played in the quarter-final in 2007. Hewitt's last win in the US was at Houston in April.

Young, in just his second ATP World Tour appearance this season, was trying to win for the first time since last year's tournament.

Meanwhile, Mikhail Youzhny made his debut in Washington, defeating Robert Kendrick 7-5, 3-6, 6-1. The Russian dropped his first service game, but made a comeback with his American opponent serving for the first set. Youzhny built on his two break point chances, winning four consecutive games to take the lead. The 27-year-old then finished off Kendrick in the third set, limiting him to nine points in total.

Youzhny, whose best world ranking was eighth in early 2008, is searching for the form that catapulted him into the semi-final of the US Open, and now faces Robin Soderling next. The World No. 65 beat the Swede in their only previous meeting a couple of years ago in Dubai.

The Russian player just snapped a seven-match losing streak last week, a run that started with a quarter-final exit to James Blake at the Queen's Club in London. Youzhny had battled his way to his his ninth ATP World Tour final on clay at Munich just before his arrival in England.

Yen-Hsun Lu outlasted Michael Russell 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 to win for the first time since June in a two-hour- 47-minute thriller. He converted all three of his break point chances in the decisive set and set up a second-round clash with defending champion and No. 2 seed Juan Martin del Potro.

In other first-round matches Monday, Indian Somdev Devvarman defeated fellow qualifier Yuichi Sugita of Japan 6-0, 7-6(6) and German Philipp Petzschner rallied past Russia's Teimuraz Gabashvili 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Cabrera stars in Yankees success

Melky Cabrera became the first Yankees player in 14 years to hit for the cycle, in the 8-5 AL win over the Chicago White Sox.

Cabrera hit a three-run homer in the second inning, doubled in the fourth, and singled home a run in the fifth.

Cabrera then grounded out in the sixth, but was given a final chance with one out in the ninth and hit a triple to right.

He finished the day 4-for-5 with four RBI and three runs scored, becoming the 11th different Yankee to hit for the cycle and the fourth player in the majors to do it this year.

Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome hit back-to-back homers in the third for Chicago.

Boston White Sox kept in touch at the top of East division with an 18-10 defeat of the Baltimore Orioles.

Boston's batters recorded 23 hits, with eight of the nine members of the starting line-up connecting, while Baltimore's 15 hits couldn't avert a series sweep.

Kansas City Royals recorded a 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

James Shields held the Royals hitless until the eighth, when John Buck led off with a single and Tampa Bay's troubles began. KC scored twice, then added on and held on.

Toronto Blue Jays were too hot for Oakland Athletics, winning 7-2.

Aaron Hill crushed a two-run home run - his 26th homer of the season - and Alex Rios hit a three-run double in the first inning as the Blue Jays started strongly and maintained their advantage.

Toronto starter Ricky Romero allowed two runs in seven solid innings, with Mark Ellis and Kurt Suzuki each getting an RBI single.

Los Angeles Angels were too strong for the Minnesota Twins in their series finale, winning 13-4.

Rookie Sean Rodriguez blasted a two-run homer in the second inning and Kendry Morales had a breakout game with two three-run homers.

Asdrubal Cabrera and Grady Sizemore went deep, and Cabrera had three knocks, finishing a triple shy of the cycle to lead the Cleveland Indians' 13-hit attack in the 11-1 win over the Detroit Tigers.

Carl Pavano did not need much support, allowing four singles through seven innings before giving up a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia broke a tie with a two-run homer in the seventh and Scott Feldman bounced produced seven strong innings as the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 7-2 in Arlington - their 11th win in 14 games.

With the score tied, Nelson Cruz led off the seventh with a single off reliever Jack White and one out later Saltalamacchia clubbed White for his ninth homer of the season.

Williams block Michael Schumacher from testing Ferrari's 2009 car

Red Bull and Williams are opposed to Ferrari's request to let Michael Schumacher test in Felipe Massa's F60 car as the seven-times world champion prepares to return to Formula One in place of the injured Brazilian.

Formula One regulations do not allow track testing during the season, although Schumacher completed 70 laps in a 2007 version Ferrari at Mugello near Florence last Friday and there has been speculation the sport's bosses may bend the rules given the circumstances.

Red Bull's team principle Christian Horner said on Monday the 40-year-old Schumacher should not be treated any differently to Spanish teenager Jaime Alguersuari who made his F1 debut for Toro Rosso in Hungary last month despite previously only having driven the car in a straight line speed test.

"Jamie Alguersuari had never sat in a Formula One car before his first race last weekend in Hungry. I am sure that Michael Schumacher who is a seven times world champion and has won 91 races won't have a problem getting up to speed," he said.

"Also Michael has driven a two-year-old Ferrari last week in Mugello so I have no doubt that he will be on the pace quickly."

In a statement, Williams chief Frank Williams said the FIA would be setting a precedent if Schumacher was allowed to test.

"While we welcome Michael Schumacher back to Formula One, the fact is that any form of in-season circuit testing is strictly prohibited; a regulation clearly laid out by the FIA and adhered to by all of the teams," Williams said.

"It was for this reason that Alguersuari, who drove an F1 car for the very first time in Hungary, did not have the opportunity to familiarise himself with the Toro Rosso before he made his race debut.

"Williams F1 sees no distinction between Alguersuari's situation and Schumacher's and feels that any deviation from the rule would create a precedent for the future."

So far Williams and Red Bull have received little support from the other teams, with McLaren confirming on Monday they would go along with whatever FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) decides.

German Schumacher came out of retirement after Massa's horrifying accident at the Hungarian Grand Prix last month, which left him with a fractured skull, and is expected to drive for Ferrari at the European Grand Prix in Valencia on Aug 23.

Tiger Woods's victory makes him hot favourite for US PGA Championship

The businesslike nature of Tiger Woods's Buick Open victory showed that the world No 1 had come to terms with his Open Championship disappointment and got his game back on track for the US PGA Championship.

Almost overlooked in the outpouring of emotion that surrounded what might have been the final Buick Open, was a superb week of improvement from Woods, which established him as the odds-on favourite going into the year's final major at Hazeltine later this month.

For the first time in his career Woods will play back-to-back events before heading into a major, and he now moves on to Akron, Ohio, for the World Golf Championship event at Firestone, where he has won six times.

"I know what I'm doing wrong," Woods said after collecting his fourth win of the season and 69th of his career. The solution, he said, would come with practice.

"It's just a matter of getting enough reps in. Next few days I'll be able to do that and hopefully solidify come Thursday.

"Firestone's always a difficult track. If we don't get any rain down there, it'll be hard and fast."

Back in action for the first time since the Open at Turnberry, where he missed the cut in a major for only the second time as a professional, Woods appeared to be feeling the effects when he arrived at Warwick Hills.

An erratic opening round of 71 left him eight shots off the pace, but Woods hit back with a 63 – his lowest round of the year – on Friday, followed by a 65 and a bogey-free 69 on Sunday.

"I didn't do a very good job the first day but after that I got it going pretty good," said Woods. "I've got a few things to work on but I can use this as a little momentum going into the next two weeks."

Aston Villa agree fee for Leeds midfielder Fabian Delph

Aston Villa have agreed a fee, understood to be just over £6 million, with Leeds United for Fabian Delph.

The 19-year-old midfielder will discuss personal terms with the Midlands club and, depending on an agreement being reached, undergo a medical on Tuesday.

It is something of a coup for Villa, who have made no secret of the need to make a number of signings before the start of the season a week on Saturday. Martin O’Neill, the manager, has had Delph in his sights for some time, but it had looked as though they would miss out, unwilling to meet Leeds’ high valuation of the player.

However, when Manchester City and Tottenham registered their interest last week, Mark Hughes saying he was "a young player who has been brought to our attention", O’Neill was compelled to increase his offer.

It is understood that the way in which negotiations were conducted played a decisive role in the decision of Leeds to accept Villa’s bid. In a thinly veiled dig at both City and Spurs, Leeds praised the “honourable manner” in which Villa made their approach.

“Leeds United can confirm that a fee has been agreed with Aston Villa for Fabian Delph,” said the club in a statement posted on their official website. Leeds United wishes to place on record our appreciation for the honourable manner in which Aston Villa have conducted their interest in the player.

“The club has resisted approaches from other Premier League clubs since agreeing terms with Aston Villa. Having given Villa our commitment to transfer the player (subject to medical), we had no intention of going back on that.”

Where Delph will fit into the side, once Downing returns to fitness, is less certain. The midfielder, who was the Football League's Young Player of the Year last season, is predominantly left-sided, but he can also play in a more central role.

Meanwhile, reports have suggested that Newcastle right-back Habib Beye is being targeted as cover for Luke Young. The 31-year-old Senegal defender would cost in the region of £2.5 million.

Liverpool's Xabi Alonso relieved as Real Madrid transfer nears completion

Xabi Alonso has admitted his “relief” that Real Madrid and Liverpool are in negotiations over his future as the long-running saga over the Spanish international’s possible £30 million move to the Bernabeu draws closer to a conclusion.

Christian Purslow, the Liverpool managing director, met Jose Angel Sanchez, his Real Madrid counterpart, before the Premier League side’s 3-0 defeat to Espanyol in Barcelona last night to discuss the move after Real requested face-to-face talks.

“It is a relief Madrid and Liverpool are speaking seriously,” said the player. “I decided a long time ago to keep on the fringes of everything that’s happened, and I’ve made that clear to everyone.

"I am a professional and I am just waiting to see if they come to an agreement. I hope, though, that it is resolved soon, for better or worse.”

The two parties remain at stalemate at present, with Liverpool refusing to budge on their asking price of £30 million, plus £3 million dependent on Real’s success in the first two years of Alonso’s contract, while the Spanish side have previously been unwilling to pay more than a total of £26 million. No bid was lodged as a result of yesterday’s meeting.

Sanchez, though, is believed to have intimated to Purslow that Real will increase their offer to break the deadlock.

A new bid, worth a total of around £30 million, is likely to be lodged this week, and it is believed Liverpool are prepared to accept the compromise figure.

Florentino Perez, the Real Madrid president, has come under increasing pressure from Manuel Pellegrini, his manager, and Jorge Valdano, his technical director, to seal a transfer for a player seen as vital in giving Real’s side some much-needed balance, although Perez is unhappy at being forced into a corner.

His briefings to the Spanish media have increasingly caricatured Benitez as being unrealistic in his valuation of the Basque midfielder as Real’s frustration has grown.

Benitez is determined to receive enough money from the sale of a player he would like to keep to enable him to make two signings to replace Alonso.

Tottenham striker Darren Bent undergoes medical at Sunderland

Darren Bent's protracted move from Tottenham to Sunderland is nearing its end after the former Charlton striker arrived in the North East for a medical.

Bent, who joined Tottenham for £16.5 million two years ago, was at the Stadium of Light on Monday morning and a deal is expected to be formally completed within the next 24 hours.

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has been trying to sign the 25 year-old, who has four England caps, for some time but the clubs have been unable to agree a fee.

The impasse now looks to have been broken – reportedly for a £12 million fee – allowing Bent to finally move and become Sunderland's record signing.

Bent would join England Under-21 striker Fraizer Campbell, who has moved from Manchester United, Albanian midfielder Lorik Cana from Marseille, and Paraguay defender Paulo da Silva as new signings at the Stadium of Light.

The fee would eclipse the £9 million spent by Sunderland on Scotland keeper Craig Gordon who they bought from Hearts.

Bent has been pushing hard for a move from Tottenham to the Black Cats and caused controversy last week by posting an entry on his Twitter account to criticise Spurs chairman Daniel Levy for holding up the move.

He later apologised saying: "I appreciate that transfers are seldom straightforward.

"I regret my actions and did not intend to offend Daniel Levy or anyone with the nature or the content of my posting."

Meanwhile, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has rubbished reports that he has submitted a bid for Newcastle defender Sebastien Bassong, although he admitted the defender is a player he is interested in.

Mark Cavendish on top again in Germany

Mark Cavendish, clearly not sated by his six stage wins in this year's Tour de France, returned to the top of the podium when he defeated local hero and former Columbia colleague Gerald Ciolek to win the prestigious Sparkassen Giro.

At the climax of a demanding one-day 177-kilometre stage race held in the city of Bochum, Cavendish produced his trademark late surge to to claim the 20th win of a remarkable season and his 48th career win as a professional in under three years.

"It's an impressive result for Mark," said Rolf Aldag, the Columbia directeur sportif.

"He had a tough Tour de France and he's been winning all season, but the victories just keep coming. And this was not an easy race at all.

"It was held on a tough little circuit, with two short but hard climbs and then a fast descent to the finish, and on top of that it was raining most of the day. A break of five guys got away but in the last lap and a half we managed to bring things back together for Cavendish. He seems to be totally unbeatable in the sprints right now."

With resources stretched at the end of a long season Columbia fielded just five riders which Aldag said had forced the team to race defensively. Even so, they covered all the attacks, and kept control of the race for Cavendish.

"It's really impressive when you consider we've just come out of a really successful Tour and all of the riders who took part for us in this race had taken part in the Tour. Some guys just lose their way a little if they've done well there, but not Mark and not our team. So even if it's not a huge surprise when Cav wins a sprint, this victory shows he's still focused and concentrating on winning."

Among other things Cavendish, who would be well entitled to finish a historic and tiring season early, must soon decide whether he feels strong enough and motivated enough to keep going another six or seven weeks to contest the World Championships for Britain in Switzerland at the end of next month.

The course in Mandrisio is far from flat but Cavendish has shown signs this season of being able to take such tough terrain in his stride, certainly in one-off races with a team willing to work for him. And even if the course is not ideally suited the British team want to get him involved again in the national set up as opposed to the British based Sky Pro-Tour team next season.

With definite World Championship shots in Australia and Denmark in the next two seasons and a flattish Olympic course expected in London 2012 now could be a good time to start building that national team around such a proven winner.

Jayawardene ton gives SL series win

Mahela Jayawardene hammered a superb century as Sri Lanka took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the ODI series against Pakistan.

Lankans prevailed over the visitors with a six-wicket triumph in the third match in Dambulla.

Jayawardene, promoted to the opening slot in place of the dropped Sanath Jayasuriya, hit 123 and put on 202 for the opening wicket with Upul Tharanga (76) as the home side cruised to their target of 289 with three and a half overs to spare.

The visitors, led by a knock of 66 from 19-year-old Umar Akmal, had turned in their best batting display in the series - they played out the full 50 overs for the first time - but it proved to be still some way short.

Jayawardene and Tharanga hammered the bowlers around the park, reducing the contest to a one-sided affair even before the halfway stage in the innings.

Click here for all the action as it unfolded

The duo hit Abdul Razzaq, who had shared the new ball with Mohammad Aamer, out of the attack by plundering 24 runs from his first three overs and the runs continued to flow when Razzaq gave way to Naved-ul Hasan.

Jayawardene reached his 11th one-day century off just 91 deliveries by pulling Razzaq to fine leg for four and he continued to bat on with the aid of a runner due to a bout of cramp.

He eventually fell to Razzaq as a tired swipe went high into the air and straight to Fawad Alam at extra cover.

Tharanga, who had achieved his 10th one-day half-century with a single, had departed just prior to the fall of Jayawardene, a leg before victim to off-spinner Saeed Ajmal.

Replays, however, showed Ajmal was lucky with his appeal.

Sri Lanka's chase faltered slightly thereafter as Thilan Samaraweera was caught by Ajmal off his own bowling for a second ball duck.

Kumar Sangakkara and Thilina Kandamby, elevated to the XI at the expense of Jayasuriya, rebuilt the innings with a 56-run stand for the fourth wicket but Aamer broke that partnership by bowling Kandamby for 32.

Sri Lanka needed a further 21 to win at that stage and Sangakkara hit the winning runs to finish with an unbeaten 37 off 29 deliveries as the home side secured victory inside 47 overs.

In the morning, Umar, brother of Kamran and playing in only his second one-dayer, staved off the threat of a Pakistan collapse with a 65-ball 66.

He anchored the lower half of the order, building useful partnerships with Shahid Afridi (32) and Alam (13) and helping revive an innings which had wobbled following a second-wicket stand of 71 between Younus Khan (44) and Kamran (45).

Pakistan lost opener Nasir Jamshed cheaply and although Younus and Kamran revived the innings and built a solid launch-pad, the visitors appeared to crumble as the middle-order caved in.

Kamran had begun belligerently on a fresh pitch which offered the bowlers little throughout and stepped out of his crease to cart new-ball bowler Nuwan Kulasekara for a boundary in the first over.

Kamran hit seven boundaries in his 45 and just when he looked set to really turn on the heat, he top-edged Angelo Mathews to Sangakkara while attempting to cut.

His replacement, the underperforming Shoaib Malik, followed him quickly back to the dressing room after contributing just 12.

Then, Younus was run out as Pakistan fell from 80 for one to 107 for four.

Umar, who had walked in at the fall of Malik's wicket, had painstakingly rebuilt the innings in the company of Alam (13).

But the latter's inability to rotate the strike against an accurate attack finally consumed him as he stepped out to pull Mathews and instead only presented the all-rounder with his second wicket.

Afridi injected life into a flagging innings with a 20-ball 32 and pyrotechnics from Razzaq (30) and Naved (30) at the death helped Pakistan finish the innings with a flourish.

The action now shifts to Colombo for the remainder of the series.

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The Ashes: third Test, day five

Third Test, day five (close): Australia (375-5 & 263) drew with England (376).

Australia saved the third Test at Edgbaston thanks to a century from Michael Clarke to leave England 1-0 up in the series with two matches to play.

Clarke scored an unbeaten 103 and Marcus North 96 as Australia thwarted the England bowlers and silenced the Edgbaston crowd with some resolute batting.

It meant the rain affected third Test petered out into a tame draw as Australia batted comfortably after the day started with England harbouring hopes of forcing victory.

Clarke and North added 185 in 50 overs for the fifth wicket before Stuart Broad claimed his second dismissal of the day when North fell four ashort of his second hundred of the series. James Anderson dived acrobatically to his right to claim a catch in the gully.

But the dismissal arrived far too late in the day to change the outcome of the match and once Clarke reached his century the umpires halted play when it became clear there would be no prospect of a result with Australia holding a commanding lead.

An overcast day in Birmingham failed to produce conditions for England's swing bowlers to exploit and batting was rarely a troublesome occupation. England bowled too many poor deliveries and failed to exert pressure as they once again struggled to bowl on a slow pitch.

Anderson and Broad took the only wickets to fall on a day which proved how close the two sides stand in terms of talent and ability. Anderson had Shane Watson caught behind off a straight and full delivery while Broad took the wicket of Mike Hussey for 64 when he played at a ball that swung late.

Those two dismissals left Australia 161 for four holding a slender 48 run lead. It was a parlous position for Australia and with Test debutant Graham Manou due in next North and Clarke held the key to the outcome of the match.

Both batted sensibly and were solid in defence forcing England captain Andrew Strauss to employ Ravi Bopara's trundlers in an effort to find a way through.

It so very nearly worked with Bopara's second ball pulled hard straight to Strauss at short midwicket by Clarke but he spilled the chance and with it England's hopes of winning the match. It was not Bopara's day. As the match fizzled out and the crowd became restless he had Clarke caught at second slip off a no-ball for 96.

Flintoff bowled England's most dangerous spell at the start of the day but Graham Onions and Anderson rarely threatened as the ball failed to move off the straight and narrow.

Graeme Swann bowled too many loose deliveries and was wicketless today despite the presence of heavy rough outside the off stump. He finished with expensive figures of one for 119.

Clarke is a fine player of spin and he was particularly brutal when Swann dropped short and in total he struck ?? fours on his way to a second hundred in as many Tests.

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