Davydenko sees room for improvement

Estoril, May 06: Former champion Nikolay Davydenko ran away with the opening set but was made to work harder in the second to record a 6-1, 7-6 (7/4) victory against Andrey Golubev of Kazakstan at the Estoril Open.

The second-seeded Russian who claimed the trophy in 2003 and lost last year's final to Roger Federer and the 2006 edition to David Nalbandian, feared a first-round exit after trailing 4-1 in the second set despite sweeping the first.

"I'm just happy to be out of the first round," said the player who missed several months this season with a heel injury and only returned to action in April. "I was afraid at 4-1 down.”

"I'm only just back on court and I'm not playing my game yet. My brother (coach) told me that I really need more training."

Davydenko, ranked 11th, has played in only five tournaments this year but won his eight 2009 match against four defeats through the narrow victory.

He next faces a second-round battle after improving his Estoril mark to 14-5 as he plays 2001 champion Juan Carlos Ferrero.

The Spanish veteran last month snapped a six-year pause between titles as he won in Casablanca.

"I'm not looking so far ahead," said title favourite Davydenko. "Only to the next round. After my injury I just need to play matches, the more the better.

Safina blasts organisers as Jankovic struggles through

Rome, May 06: World number one Dinara Safina blasted organisers for making her play on a treacherous court after she reached the third round of the WTA Rome International.

The Russian was initially made to work hard before coming through 7-6 (7/1), 6-1 against France's Virginie Razzano yesterday.

Double reigning champion Jelena Jankovic was pushed to the brink by Argentine Gisela Dulko before going through 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) after her match had been delayed for three and a half hours by a torrential downpour.

But Safina, whose match started after the rain, complained that the weather had made the courts too soft and dangerous as it was difficult to slide.

"I was just so angry because you can get injured," said Safina, who fell over twice during her match.

"I mean, it's not funny. They tell us go and play because they think the court is fine but they are not playing on that court. Thank God I didn't break anything but if I broke something, I mean, so many players get injured.”

"Then what should I say to the tournament? I (should) say thanks for pushing us to play? I mean, they would say: oh, we are sorry. But it's my career, it's three months off court (if you're injured). So they have to have a little bit of respect for us as players."

Safina struggled throughout the first set, dropping serve in the first and seventh games but breaking straight back on both occasions.

However, once she entered the tie-break it was a different matter as she took total command.

She sealed the tie-break 7-1 with a service winner and then romped through the second set for the loss of only one game.

The top seed will play Chinese 14th seed Zheng Jie in the 3rd round after she defeated Russian Elena Vesnina 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2.

Third seed Jankovic was far from her best and was forced to stay on court for almost two hours by a dogged opponent who had been a first round loser here in four out of five previous appearances.

The Serbian, the world number four, ultimately gained revenge on Dulko, who beat her in the second round in Miami last month.

But Jankovic was disappointed she had not wrapped up the match earlier having been up a break in the second.

"I just let her come back into the match. I was angry at myself because I was thinking that I should have already finished this match," she said.

"It was very difficult for me because I let her come back and she almost won that second set because I made mistakes and I kind of stopped playing.

Hewitt beats Petzschner to bring up 500th win

Munich, May 06: Australian Lleyton Hewitt clinched his 500th tour-level singles match win in dramatic fashion as he moved into the second round of the German Open on Tuesday.

Hewitt, a two-time ATP World Tour Champion, saved two match points before prevailing 6-2, 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (10/8) against German Philipp Petzschner.

"I think there are only two other active players have won that many," said the 28-year-old Hewitt about reaching the 500 wins milestone.

"That obviously means I'm getting old. I've been around for a long time. It's something I guess you retire and you look back on it and realise you've had a pretty good career.”

"It's nice to bring up those milestones and be among those calibre of players as well."

Hewitt's 500 match wins include two Grand Slam titles at the 2001 US Open and Wimbledon in 2002, and back-to-back Tennis Masters Cup titles in 2001 and 2002.

He finished as the youngest ATP World Tour Champion in 2001 at 20 years and eight months of age, overtaking Gustavo Kuerten who had come into the circuit finale in Sydney with a 48-point lead in the Rankings. In 2002, he became only the fourth player to rank No. 1 for every week during the season.

The Australian looked set for a comfortable victory as he held two match points when serving for victory at 6-2, 5-4, 40/15 but 70th ranked Petzschner hit back to level at 5-5 before taking the tie-break to even the match at one-set all.

Hewitt opened up a 4-2 lead in the deciding set but was once again pegged back as Petzschner levelled at 4-4.

He held two more match points when Petzschner trailed 4-5, 15/40 and a fifth at advantage later in the same game, but the Adelaider failed to convert and was nearly made to pay the price as Petzschner earned two match points at 6-5 and 7-6 in the tie-break.

Hewitt denied the German the chance for victory though before sealing the win himself on his seventh opportunity at 9-8 after two hours and 36 minutes.

"I was lucky to get out of there in the end," said Hewitt.

"I just kept hanging in there. Saved a few break points early in the third set and then he played a lot better when he was down in the match. He started going for his shots a lot more.”

"He used his forehand a lot heavier and didn't make as many easy mistakes. He gave me a lot early mistakes, especially in the first set."

Hewitt continues to make his comeback from the left-hip surgery he underwent in August 2008. This season he has compiled a 14-9 match record, highlighted by winning his 27th tour-level title at Houston last month

Force India put KERS system on hold

London, May 06: Force India have put on hold the new KERS system they had planned to introduce at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, team owner Vijay Mallya said.

The optional kinetic energy recovery system offers drivers a power boost at the push of a button but only a handful of Formula One teams have used it so far this season.

Mallya, whose team have yet to score a point since their debut last season, said in a preview for the first European race of the year that Force India wanted to concentrate on other areas.

"We will not be running KERS in Spain," he said.

"At the beginning of the year, it was our provisional plan to introduce the system for the start of the European season, but we have decided to put the emphasis on aero development where we feel the greater gains can be found.”

"As we've seen, many other teams are not running KERS so we do not feel we are at a disadvantage," he added.

"We still plan to use it later in the season but this will be reviewed after each race in line with the other work we have going on in the background."

Force India introduced a new rear diffuser and aerodynamic developments to their Mercedes-powered car at the previous race in Bahrain and plan further upgrades for Barcelona.

Super Aguri mull return to F1

Tokyo, May 06: Japan's Super Aguri could be set for a surprise return to Formula One in 2010, after withdrawing a year ago due to financial difficulties.

Former Super Aguri team chief Aguri Suzuki told reporters that he was tempted to rejoin the sport he once labelled a "club full of piranhas."

"If it's physically possible I would certainly like to (return to Formula One)," Suzuki said.

Super Aguri quit the glamour sport after a promised major sponsorship deal collapsed and backers Honda were not prepared to offer long-term support.

The sport's governing body FIA has since set an optional cap of 40 million pounds on teams to allow entrants that might otherwise struggle to compete against big-spenders like Ferrari and McLaren.

Although the optional cap is barely a quarter of what some teams have been spending, those that accept the cap would have more technical freedom in 2010 than those with unlimited budgets, the FIA said last week.

The FIA also announced there would be space for three new teams on next year's grid, potentially increasing the number of cars to 26 -- six more than at present.

With the global economic downturn biting hard, Honda subsequently pulled out of Formula One themselves to cut costs amid slumping car sales.

Suzuki slammed Formula One at an emotional news conference last year, saying: "It's a club full of piranhas and I don't want to put my fingers back in.

Patrick returns to Indy seeking breakthrough win

Indianapolis, May 06: Danica Patrick has already become the first woman to win an Indy-car race. Now she hopes to become the first to capture the sport's ultimate prize - the Indianapolis 500.

The 27-year-old American beauty won last year's Indy Japan 300 for her series breakthrough and will begin her quest to conquer the famed 2 1/2-mile Indy oval when practice starts here on Wednesday for Saturday's pole qualifying.

"It's a good opportunity to really just focus on qualifying," Patrick said. "All the rest of the year we tend to not really be so heavily focused on it, and we kind of do maybe a qualifying practice run or two, but that's about it.”

"Here we get a few days to really focus on it. It's about getting the car comfortable. You want to start out with a good balanced car, and hopefully you can even take the downforce off and just get faster."

Patrick, coming off a fifth-place effort at Kansas in the final tuneup for the May 24 race, has put a check on her notorious temper, which saw her pick a fight with England's Dan Wheldon and march down the Indy 500 pit lane after Australian Ryan Briscoe.

"I've learned from the past," Patrick said. "Look, the emotional Danica is still there, but there's a time and a place. The time and place is not every weekend. So it's just easier.”

"I always felt in the past like I had to prove to people that I cared and that I wasn't happy being fifth or 12th or something by being mad. It just doesn't really pay off, and it turns people off.”

"It's a lot easier and a lot more fun to be relaxed. It's all bunnies and rainbows around here

Clean sweep for China at World Table Tennis

Yokohama, May 05: China completed a clean sweep of all five titles at the World Table Tennis Championships Tuesday, with world number ones Wang Hao and Zhang Yining claiming the men's and women's singles events.

The Chinese team dominated the event -- held every two years -- for the third straight time, with all-Chinese finals in each discipline. China also notched a clean sweep at the Beijing Olympics.

Wang Hao, who won the men's doubles title with Chen Qi on Monday, made it a double victory with a 11-9, 13-11, 11-5, 11-9 win over three-time world champion Wang Liqin in the singles final.

Zhang, the Beijing Olympic gold medallist and the favourite here, stormed back from two games down for a 10-12, 3-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9 victory over world number two Guo Yue.

Guo and Li Xiaoxia took the women's doubles title, while Li Ping and Cao Zhen clinched the mixed doubles title.

Wang Hao, who won silver in Beijing, said his mental toughness had made the difference here in Yokohama.

"I was very disappointed in the past championships and the two Olympic Games. But this time I prepared very well, since the Beijing Games. This is the result of that," said the 25-year-old champion.

"Of course, it's important to practice, but I learned that it's also important to prepare well mentally. I'm in pretty good form since 2007 and I won the World Cup as well. I'm very confident right now.”

"I'm very happy to become the singles world champion. My next goal, or dream, is to win the gold medal at the London Olympics in 2012," added Wang Hao, who improved his record against rival Wang Liqin to 10-11.

Wang Liqin said: "I hadn't expected that I would finish runner-up, so I'm quite happy with the result."

On the women's side, Zhang -- who lost to Guo in the 2007 championships -- stretched her head-to-head record against Guo to 10 wins and four defeats.

"When I won the Athens Olympic singles and doubles gold medals, I was more excited. I'm not so excited this time, but still I'm happy about it," said Zhang, 27.

"This is the first big tournament since the ITTF changed the rules and I didn't know how far I could reach with the speed of the ball reduced. I just tried to play my usual game and it was a big success to win the title.” "Guo Yue is young and she has good skills as well. She is a tough opponent to play against. When I was 3-6 down in the last game, I just tried to do my 100 percent until the end."

Meanwhile, Guo said: "I did my best. But sometimes I rushed too much. I tried to attack too quickly. She started to attack me in the third game and I was a bit late to cope with her attacks.

Yuki jumps 619 places in ATP rankings

New Delhi, May 05: India's tennis sensation Yuki Bhambri's maiden ITF title win last month has helped the teenager jump 619 places to a career best 839 in the latest Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings.

Yuki won back to back ITF tournaments and his first win was only taken in account for the rankings this week. He is expected to gain more ground when the next ATP rankings come out because his second ITF title's points will be considered.

"Winning two USD 15,000 tournaments at the age of 16 is a big achievement. I definitely feel that I have arrived on the scene. I have worked very hard and had been training a lot after my Australian Open win to iron out flaws. That gave me a lot of confidence in taking on the seniors in the two tournaments," Yuki said.

Amongst the other Indians, Somdev Dev Varman moved up one position to be ranked 146 in the singles and has 552 points in his kitty. Prakash Amritraj and Rohan Bopanna also moved up. Amritraj jumped 12 places to 166 while Bopanna has gained 33 places to be ranked 293.

In doubles, Mahesh Bhupathi has moved up two places to be ninth with 5,560 points while Leander Paes remained static at fifth spot with 7,010 ranking points. Bopanna moved up two places to be at 68th.

In the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) singles rankings, Sania Mirza managed to stay within the top 100, gaining one place, at 92 with 692 points. Sania, however, remains constant at 60 in the doubles chart.

Sania Mirza rises in WTA rankings

New Delhi, May 05: In the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) singles rankings, Sania Mirza managed to stay within the top 100, gaining one place, at 92 with 69 2 points. Sania, however, remains constant at 60 in the doubles chart.

Whereas, Yuki Bhambri's maiden ITF title win last month has helped the teenager jump 619 places to a career best 839 .

Yuki won back to back ITF tournaments and his first win was only taken in account for the rankings this week. He is expected to gain more ground when the next ATP rankings come out because his second ITF title's points will be considered.

"Winning two $15,000 tournaments at the age of 16 is a big achievement. I definitely feel that I have arrived on the scene. I have worked very hard and had been training a lot after my Australian Open win to iron out flaws. That gave me a lot of confidence in taking on the seniors in the two tournaments," Yuki said.

Amongst the other Indians, Somdev moved up one position to be ranked 146 in the singles and has 552 points in his kitty. Prakash Amritraj and Rohan Bopanna also moved up. Amritraj jumped 12 places to 166 while Bopanna has gained 33 places to be ranked 293.

In doubles, Mahesh Bhupathi has moved up two places to be ninth with 5,560 points while Leander Paes remained static at fifth spot with 7,010 ranking points. Bopanna moved up two places to be at 68th.

Australia face World Twenty20 dilemma over Lee, Watson

Abu Dhabi, May 04: Australian cricket team coach Tim Nielsen believes that the selectors will be taking a chance on Brett Lee and Shane Watson when it comes to choosing the World Twenty20 squad on Tuesday.

Both Lee and Watson are planning to make their competitive bowling comeback in Australia’s Twenty20 match against Pakistan in Dubai on Friday.

For 32-year-old Lee, it will be his first game since surgery to repair ankle stress fractures after last year’s Boxing Day Test, reports Fox.

Watson has played as a batsman during the five-game one-day series against Pakistan, but he has not bowled since last November as he returns from back stress fractures.

“It’s not ideal obviously,” Nielsen said of the timing.

The good news for Australia is that they should be able to replace the players in the squad - at the discretion of the event’s technical committee - if the pair’s injury comebacks do not progress as planned.

Lee and Watson are not the only comeback players with whom selectors face an interesting decision.

All-rounder Andrew Symonds, who returned for the one-day series against Pakistan after missing much of the previous eight months through suspension and injury, has not entirely convinced in his return.

His only innings of note was a match-winning 58 in game two, with just 24 runs in three other innings for a series average of 20.5.

But his game-changing potential with the bat, as well as handy off-spin and brilliant fielding is likely to see him selected.

The bulk of the squad is expected to come from the 15 one-day squad members in the United Arab Emirates, plus the resting Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey and Mitchell Johnson.