Should Kyle be sacked? Austereo canvas listeners

Southern Cross Austereo is reportedly surveying its listeners to ask them whether Kyle Sandilands should be sacked, after his recent on-air spray about a journalist sparked an exodus of advertisers and an online furore.

Listeners have been asked if the radio host should be fired and whether they had stopped tuning in to 2DayFM or had boycotted advertisers after Sandilands verbally attacked a News Ltd journalist, The Australian's website reported.

A spokeswoman for Austereo, which owns 2DayFM, confirmed the company had been conducting a survey.

"We're doing a lot to gauge the reaction of our clients and listeners," she said.

"We're doing it as due diligence for our stakeholders."

The spokeswoman did not return a call by smh.com.au about the reported survey.

The news comes a day after major Australian companies, including Coles, Bunnings, Vodafone, McDonald's, Ford and Blackmores, said their boycott of Sandilands' show would continue into 2012.

A raft of companies pulled their advertising support from the Kyle and Jackie O Show in the days after Sandilands called entertainment journalist Alison Stephenson a "piece of shit" and threatened to "hunt her down" when she wrote a critical article about his Channel Seven television special late last month.

But the show went on, with Sandilands defending his comments as "freedom of speech".

A campaign to get him off the airwaves swept Twitter, with the hashtag #vilekyle, along with a petition at Change.org.

Source http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/should-kyle-be-sacked-austereo-canvas-listeners-20111207-1oik6.html

Ling hangs up the boots

Geelong's premiership captain Cameron Ling has announced his retirement from the AFL, just days after leading the Cats to a third flag in five years.

The 30-year-old Ling kicked the final goal of Geelong's 38-point win over Collingwood in the AFL grand final on Saturday, seen as the perfect finish to his 246-game career.

Joel Selwood is the favourite to take over the Geelong captaincy and lead the next generation of Cats under premiership coach Chris Scott.

Ling, a Geelong native, was drafted by the Cats in 1999 and went on to become one of the competition's best taggers, renown for his tireless workrate and physicality in shutting down the AFL's best midfielders.

Fellow veterans Cam Mooney and Darren Milburn, who both missed selection for the grand final, are also expected to confirm their departures from the club.

Source http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-10-05/ling-hangs-up-the-boots/3299960

Aussie Ricciardo prepares for Nurburgring

Daniel Ricciardo is out to tick the second box in his fledgling Formula One career in Germany this weekend.

The young West Australian successfully negotiated his maiden grand prix for Hispania Racing in England earlier this month and is now moving on to the second goal.

For the 22-year-old, on loan to Hispania from Red Bull, that means closing the gap on the field.

Ricciardo drove cautiously and kept out of trouble as he trundled home last at Silverstone and now aims higher.

He has to try to get a better handle on the tricky Pirelli tyres, which stablemate Mark Webber has also struggled with this year.

"I have learnt that there is a lot more to the tyres and managing them than I thought. For now this is one of the main things I need to learn quickly about," said Ricciardo, confident he will feel comfortable at the historic Nurburgring layout, where he has competed in lesser categories.

"I know the track reasonably well even if my worst souvenir was in 2008 when I raced in F3 Euro Series and I stalled on the start of the second race (of the weekend)," he said.

"But in the first race I finished sixth in the points.

"Recently, I drove there last month in the World Series by Renault. I had a great race there with Robert Wickens in dramatically changing weather conditions.

"I didn't win the battle, but it was still a great race because I enjoy the track so much."

The conditions might be a help for Ricciardo, with bad weather forecast for Sunday's German GP.

Source http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/aussie-ricciardo-prepares-for-nurburgring-20110722-1hsjo.html

Queensland's Darren Lockyer targets triumphant State of Origin finale

QUEENSLAND great Darren Lockyer will aim to steal a line off 'the King' in his State of Origin farewell tonight.

A packed Suncorp Stadium, in Brisbane, is set to send off one of the Maroons' greatest servants, while NSW is out to play party poopers as they seek to capture a first series since 2005.

The home side is heavily favoured to win on its home turf, but Suncorp Stadium hasn't been a happy hunting ground when it comes to Origin deciders.

Queensland haven't won a decider at 'The Cauldron'' since 1991, the game which proved to be Wally Lewis Origin farewell.

Since then there have been three deciders at spiritual home of Queensland rugby league, with NSW winning two of them and the other in 1999 ending in a draw.

Lockyer will be out to ensure a winning send-off in his 36th game.

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NSW coach Ricky Stuart hopes to spoil the party, even if he says Lockyer deserves a triumphant farewell.

"He deserves a big send-off. That's the sort of person you stand and applaud in regards to what he has done for the game,'' Stuart said.

Stuart has done his best throughout the build-up to the pivotal clash to remove the 'Lockyer factor' from his players' thoughts.

This Blues camp has been about his side, with the team locked away from the prying eyes of the media and general public to ensure his players retain their focus.

From naming a 20-man squad to failing to reveal the make-up of his final 17 to a secret training session on match eve, Stuart has gone to great lengths to shield his squad.

And all while attempting to convince them there is no pressure on them heading into tonight's blockbuster.

"We're not expected to win this and there's no pressure on us about winning,'' Stuart said.

"We just need to play a good game of football to try and be in the competition.

"They've got the best players in the world which is why they should win the match.''

Source http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/queenslands-darren-lockyer-targets-triumphant-state-of-origin-finale/story-e6frg7mf-1226089028435

Carissa Moore wins Beachley Classic

Hawaii's Carissa Moore jumped to the top of the world surfing rankings when she scored her second win of the year in the Beachley Classic.

Moore, 18, has made the final of all four events this year, claiming victories on Gold Coast and at Dee Why.

The Hawaiian defeated 2004 world champion Sofia Mulanovich in the final after coming into the tournament ranked No.2 behind Australia's Sally Fitzgibbons.

Fitzgibbons dropped to second on the world ratings after she was beaten in the semi-finals by Mulanovich.

'Thanks to all the girls for surfing so well this week and pushing me so hard,' Moore said.

'This is a great event and thanks to Layne (Beachley) for being such an inspiration and organising such a great event.'

Fitzgibbons had a nerve-wracking wait at the end of her semi with Mulanovich's last wave of 6.53 calculated well after the final hooter to get the Peruvian home to a 14.03 to 13.6 win.

Australia's other main hope Stephanie Gilmore, the reigning world and Beachley champion, jumped one place in the rankings to four after she was a beaten semi-finalist.

Gilmore fell to Moore after opening up her semi with a 9.6 but her next best wave was a 6.4 while Moore had two solid scores of 8.33 and 8.17 to give her a 16.5 to 16 victory in difficult three-foot waves.

The Gold Coast surfer admits she lost concentration after her big early score.

'I felt like I was surfing really good, it just came down to wave selection in that heat,' Gilmore said.

'I think I got a little too relaxed when I got a really high score. I just let my guard down.'

Source http://www.skynews.com.au/sport/article.aspx?id=609538&vId=2382262

Jo Edwards win third World Cup title

New Zealand lawn bowler Jo Edwards has landed her third World Cup success after claiming the final of the women's singles at Warilla, New South Wales today.

Edwards, the world No 1 and reigning World Cup champion, downed world No 3 Alison Merrien 9-4 7-7 to avenge a fourth round defeat by the Guernsey bowler.

The triumph gave Edwards, who bowls out of the Burnside club in Christchurch, her third successive World Cup title.

Source http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/4911407/Jo-Edwards-win-third-World-Cup-title

Green expects tough fight against Tarver

Danny Green is expecting the toughest fight of his career after announcing he'll defend his IBO cruiserweight world title against American Antonio Tarver.

Green will fight the former multiple light heavyweight world champion at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on July 20.

The West Australian declared he was totally over the appendix problem which required surgery in a Perth hospital back in January.
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"My health is fantastic, I'm feeling in good condition," Green told a media conference on Wednesday.

"I lost 13 kgs. To be honest, when I was lying in hospital, I didn't think that I would be able to fight again, which was obviously fairly scary for me.

"I've recovered well and put most of my weight back on and I'm in the process to go into a training camp in about four or five weeks to get ready for the toughest test of my career.

"Antonio Tarver is a monster of a bloke and his credentials are impeccable."

Tarver, 42, (28-6) is dropping down after one fight in the heavyweight division.

Both Tarver and 38-year-old Green (31-3) have knocked out former multiple-division world title winner Roy Jones jr.

Tarver wasn't worried about Green's impressive knockout record and planned to arrive at least two weeks before the bout to ensure he's fully acclimatised and ready.

"I've faced punches before, they have to land in order to be effective so I'm not worried about that," Tarver said from the United States.

"I know Danny Green is going to bring his attitude, his aggression. He's a proud fighter, so am I. So this fight makes to be a great fight."

Source http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/green-expects-tough-fight-against-tarver-20110406-1d3pj.html

Sehwag's knee problems keep India on tenterhooks

Opener Virender Sehwag's knee injury will keep India on tenterhooks as the co-hosts aim to end Australia's World Cup domination with a quarter-final victory on Thursday.

Sehwag missed India's last Group B match against West Indies on Sunday following an allergic reaction to an injection on his right knee but more than one billion home fans will want him to show up against Australia as he has the ability to blunt their formidable pace attack.

However, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni could not announce him fit for what is a repeat of the 2003 final.

"On Viru (Sehwag) we are taking a call late in the evening or tomorrow morning before the start of the game," Dhoni told reporters on Wednesday.

Australia's aura of World Cup invincibility was punctured by Pakistan when they beat the four-times champions on Saturday, ending a 34-match unbeaten run.

However, while that defeat did not have much riding on it since it was a round-robin match, a loss on Thursday will mean Australia will not feature in a World Cup final for the first time since 1992.

Determined to avoid suffering that fate, Ricky Ponting will let loose his battery of pacemen, who will literally aim high at the Indian batsmen's body.

In Australia's last match at the same venue, the pacemen -- Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson -- crushed Zimbabwe by 91 runs with the trio claiming seven of the 10 wickets.

At the same time, Ponting's men can expect the co-hosts to spin a web around their batsmen with a combination of their frontline and part-timer tweakers.

"No doubt we rely on our fast bowlers to take the wickets and India are probably the exact opposite of that," Ponting, seeking a hat-trick of World Cup titles as captain, told reporters.

"We could be facing 30 overs of spin bowling and they will probably... face 30 overs of fast bowling."

Thursday's quarter-final, in all likelihood will be the last World Cup appearance for either Ponting or Sachin Tendulkar -- the two most prolific run-scorers in international cricket.

While the 36-year old Ponting is battling a slump in form, the Indian batting maestro, 37, has been in a rich vein of form with already two centuries in the tournament.

The partisan crowd at the 48,000-strong Sardar Patel Stadium will throng the stands with two wishes -- Tendulkar gets to his 100th ton in international cricket and India set up a semi-final clash with Pakistan in Mohali.

"It is a big advantage. You have 30,000-40,000 people coming on to the ground to cheer for you. If they are cheering for you then it definitely makes a difference," Dhoni said.

Source http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/sports/sehwag%60s-knee-problems-keep-india-tenterhooks_531574.html

AFL does best to match NRL in bad publicity

The NRL season kicks off in a blaze of self-destructive publicity - nothing new in that.

But this time AFL has done its best, or worst, to match it.

Who could guess the rival codes were spending tens of millions of dollars to outdo each other in the quest for long-term domination of Australia's football market?

While the AFL has been embarrassed for months by a 17-year-old girl, and the latest sacking of serial headline Brendan Fevola, the NRL season kicks off under the pall of a betting scandal and drink-driving and assault charges against two of its leading players, Todd Carney and Benji Marshall respectively.

Convicted drug dealer Danny Wicks, meanwhile, awaits sentence over the sale of ecstasy pills while he was a player with the Newcastle Knights.

The truly staggering aspect of rugby league's self-inflicted misery is how its colours are continually lowered by the players it chooses to be its poster boys.

The supposed honour seems to have become a poisoned chalice.

In 2009 it was Brett Stewart, the Manly flier suspended by the NRL for allegedly being drunk at his club's boozy season launch, and charged by police with sexually assaulting a teenage girl later the same day.

The NRL dropped him like a hot potato from its pre-season publicity campaign.

Stewart was eventually cleared the following year of the sexual assault charge.

By season's end, Stewart's replacement as poster boy was in trouble, too.

Greg Inglis, the Melbourne Storm and Queensland Origin star, was charged by police over an incident that reportedly left his girlfriend with a black eye.

Inglis avoided a conviction after admitting to an assault, agreeing to attend a behavioural amendment group and paying $A3000 ($NZ4080) to a women's health group.

Now it's Benji Marshall's turn.

He, too, was selected to be the "face" of rugby league.

It seemed like a safe choice, if there is such a thing in rugby league; he was a model on and off the field.

But days after helping to launch the 2011 season, the Wests Tigers captain was charged with assault after allegedly throwing a punch outside a McDonald's restaurant in central Sydney.

The 3.20am hamburger, it seems, is always going to be more problematic than the 3.20pm hamburger.

Marshall's manager says the player was the target of racial abuse.

Other reports claimed Marshall was taunted by comments that Darren Lockyer was a better player.

Either way, someone still ended up with a split lip.

Marshall had spent the previous evening helping to raise $A250,000 for a cancer charity, a generosity of spirit which speaks wonderfully well of him even if it has nothing whatsoever to do with the issue of assault.
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Marshall's problems coincidentally served to take the heat off Todd Carney, the reigning Dally M player of the year, who had marked the onset of the 2011 season by being charged with drink-driving.

His club fined him $A10,000, which some suggested amounted to a tickle with a feather duster for a $A400,000-a-year player.

Carney, who has admitted he has an alcohol problem, was sacked by Canberra in 2008 and deregistered by the NRL in 2009.

League boss David Gallop said Carney had "dodged a bullet" and that one more indiscretion would spell the end of his career.

Others were not so understanding, notably Manly coach Des Hasler, who recalled the suspension the league slapped on Stewart two years ago.

All of this would be bad enough in isolation, but this week's NRL kick-off comes after police laid more charges over an alleged exotic bet scam gone wrong in last year's Canterbury-North Queensland match in Townsville.

With Bulldogs player Ryan Tandy already facing up to five years in jail if convicted of giving false evidence to a police inquiry, further charges have now been laid against prominent player agent Sam Ayoub and former player John Elias.

David Gallop described this as a "seriously alarming development".

"These issues are at the most serious end of the integrity of the game," he said in what amounted to a considerable understatement.

The match-fixing allegations, on top of Melbourne Storm's salary-cap cheating, could represent a graver threat to the game's credibility than any disgusting off-field player behaviour.

League's great rival AFL, meanwhile, has been twisting itself in knots all summer over a teenage girl.

Kim Duthie firstly published naked photos of St Kilda AFL players Nick Riewoldt and Nick Dal Santo on the internet.

Then she claimed she had been pregnant with twins to St Kilda player Sam Gilbert, saying one twin miscarried and the other was stillborn.

But in an interview that reportedly earned the teenager a five-figure sum, she told Channel Nine's 60 Minutes programme last Sunday she had lied about the pregnancy and owed Gilbert an apology.

The teenager has also claimed she had a sexual relationship with player manager Ricky Nixon at a hotel room paid for by the St Kilda Football Club, and that the pair used cocaine and alcohol there.

Nixon has strongly denied all claims, though he stepped down voluntarily as a player agent this week, saying he would be undergoing rehabilitation for substance problems.

The girl's admission of pregnancy lies raises questions about her credibility, but she has nevertheless been the central figure in a period of havoc for three players, an agent, a club and a code.

Serial bad boy Brendan Fevola, meanwhile, is back in Melbourne to try his luck in the VFL after a nine-week stint in a Brisbane rehabilitation clinic.

The first bounce and kick of 2011 can't come soon enough for administrators in both the AFL and NRL, not to mention fans suffering football's latest debilitating ailment, atrocity fatigue.

Source http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/4749076/AFL-matches-NRL-in-bad-publicity

Bernie Ecclestone returns millions to Bahrain rulers

BERNIE Ecclestone returned a multi-million dollar cheque to the Royal Family of Bahrain yesterday as the struggling nation faced up to the loss of its biggest showpiece sporting event.

The Formula One commercial rights-holder took the unprecedented step of waiving Bahrain's rights fees in the wake of the civil unrest that forced the first grand prix of the new season to be abandoned late on Monday.

Ecclestone told The Times it was an act of loyalty and good faith in a ruling family that had supported Formula One, despite the problems containing the unrest that filled the streets of Manama, the capital, with protesters again yesterday.

But it was also an act of generosity that flies in the face of Ecclestone's reputation for driving the hardest of bargains. Ecclestone's Formula One Management company and the teams stand to lose huge sums from the postponement of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

"Nobody gains from this," Ecclestone said. "I want to be loyal to the King [of Bahrain], because he is doing everything he can to put things right with his people. He doesn't need people like me stabbing him in the back.

"Right from the start, we talked about the problems there, and he was straight with me. I am not there and I do not know properly what problems they are having. But the King was concerned about Formula One and our safety, which is why he took the decision to call off the race."

Ecclestone refused to say how big the commercial fee agreed with Bahrain had been, but dismissed speculation that it was as much as £37 million ($60m). However, losing Bahrain will put a substantial dent in Formula One's takings.

Ecclestone had committed to Bahrain by paying for tonnes of freight to be sent to the tiny Gulf state before the race, which was scheduled for March 13. That has to be redirected to Australia, which will host the first race on March 27.

There is also the problem of when, or even whether, Bahrain could rejoin the calendar. Although Ecclestone has pledged to find a slot, that is going to be a hard task in a packed season.

Source http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/bernie-ecclestone-returns-millions-to-bahrain-rulers/story-fn69qwst-1226010810143

Aussies stuggling early against Proteas

AUSTRALIA has lost two early wickets in it final World Cup warm-up game against South Africa in Bangalore.

Australia were 2-27 after 10 overs with skipper Ricky Ponting on six and Michael Clarke on 19.

Openers Shane Watson and Brad Haddin both made ducks, with Watson out lbw to Dale Steyn and Haddin run out.

Ponting had earlier chosen to bat first. Both teams are allowed to use up to 15 players each in the match.

Australia recalled Steve Smith, Shaun Tait and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, who were rested on Sunday, leaving out back-up paceman Doug Bollinger and reserve wicketkeeper Tim Paine.

Teams: Australia (squad of 13): Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, John Hastings, Jason Krejza, David Hussey, Callum Ferguson, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Steve Smith, Shaun Tait, Shane Watson, Cameron White.

South Africa (squad of 15): Graeme Smith (capt), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Colin Ingram, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Morne van Wyk.

Source http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/cricket-world-cup/aussies-to-bat-first-against-proteas/story-fn67w6pa-1226006552646

CA praises Geelong Twenty20 bid

The lack of floodlights at Skilled Stadium and the underdeveloped market in Melbourne's west were critical factors that went against Geelong's bid for a Twenty20 team.

But Cricket Australia praised the bid as "outstanding" and said the strength of Geelong's submission had encouraged them to look at a further expansion of the domestic Big Bash competition.

Geelong was among three bids that Cricket Victoria submitted to CA for the two teams in the expanded Big Bash Twenty20 competition.

The league will expand from six to eight teams next summer, with Victoria's sides playing out of the MCG and Docklands.

NSW will also have two teams, based out of the SCG and Homebush.

"Our job is to make sure we take cricket to as many people as possible," said CA's marketing general manager Mike McKenna.

"When you split (Melbourne) in half, along a natural east-west divide that we have in the city, there's two really strong, growing markets.

"The west of Melbourne which is probably under-'specced' in terms of cricket at the moment, has tremendous growth and potential for us.

"It made a hard decision a little bit clearer when you looked at some of the facilities provided in those two venues (the MCG and Etihad Stadium) and I guess the critical issue was there's not lights yet at Skilled Stadium."

CA decided on the team locations at its Tuesday board meeting.

The board also asked CA management to look at further expansion of the league, given the strength of the Geelong bid.

CA will also keep the Sheffield Shield in its current form, but reduce the domestic one-day competition from 10 rounds to eight to accommodate the enlarged domestic Twenty20 schedule.

The Big Bash will start around December 15-17 and run for six weeks, with no other domestic cricket in that time.

Each team, which can have part private ownership, will play the others once before two semi-finals and a final.

"The Big Bash league will not be an exclusive window, it will be run in parallel with international cricket," said CA chief executive James Sutherland.

"Australian players who are playing Test cricket at the time won't be available to play in the Big Bash."

But CA is yet to announce other details of the expanded Big Bash, including whether it will involve player free agency.

"Most of (the questions) will be answered over the next couple of months, we're in discussions with State associations, final discussions around names and colours and with the ACA (Australian Cricketers' Association) around player rules," McKenna said.

Source http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/08/3133545.htm?site=sport&section=cricket

McEwen takes TDU lead as Swift claims stage

The longest stage of the Tour Down Under has seen victory to Sky rider Ben Swift, ahead of Australians Robbie McEwen and Graeme Brown.

But McEwen's third placing in stage one means he is now in the Ochre jersey as overall race leader.

Swift said after the race he was not meant to be sprinting until 500 metres to go but when main team rider Greg Henderson was not there for the lead-out, he got the order to go.

The day's first sprint stage went to David Tanner, ahead of Yuriy Krivstov and Mitchell Docker.

Docker, Krivstov and Tanner went over first for the King of the Mountain (KOM) climb, and Luke Roberts picked up valuable points for fourth to lead the KOM standings overall.

The second sprint was taken out by Simon Zahner, ahead of Docker and Tanner.

A five-rider breakaway group had a small lead with about 50 kilometres to go, but four fell back into the peloton to leave Tim Roe alone at the front.

He was hauled in just a few kilometres from the end of the 146km stage from Tailem Bend to Mannum.

Sprint star Mark Cavendish, Australian Matthew Goss and several other cyclists were involved in crashes in the final minutes of the stage.

So was defending champion Andre Greipel but he got back on his bike.

Uni SA rider Bernard Sulzberger suffered a broken collarbone.

Thursday's stage three covers 129 kilometres from the Adelaide suburb of Unley to Stirling in the Adelaide Hills.

Source http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/01/19/3116681.htm

Federer can win 20 majors, says coach

Roger Federer's coach sees no reason why the Swiss maestro won't wind up with 20 grand slam titles before he calls it quits.

Acclaimed mentor Paul Annacone, who coached Pete Sampras to half of his 14 career majors, linked up with Federer last August and says the 16-times grand slam champion is showing no signs of slowing down.

"I don't see an end in sight," Annacone said on Wednesday.
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"One of the most amazing things about Roger is he so loves it still. It's not a grind to go play small tournaments."

"If you look at other athletes, 29 years old - he's not ready for a walker yet.

"He's not in a place where his skills are deteriorating yet. That's not an issue."

Federer's sweet 16 is already the grand slam benchmark in tennis, but Annacone believes his charge could well surpass the magical number of 18 golf majors that Jack Nicklaus amassed.

"Is 20 a realistic number? Why not," he said.

"I haven't thought all that much about it and I don't think Roger spends a lot of his waking hours dwelling on it.

"I think when you're as gifted as an athlete as he is, you can play at such a high level without expending an incredible amount of energy.

"I mean, he works hard at it but if you watch him play matches, it's pretty amazing to watch how he glides through things.

"When you combine all those things, he can win a lot. It's hard for me to put a number on it.

"He can win every tournament he plays. He's probably not going to, but if you look at how good he is, he can win every time he plays.

"There's not a lot of guys you could say that about. So if he can stay healthy and happy and eager and continue on the process that he's on, I don't know what the end number would be.

"But is 20 realistic? Sure, why not."

While Annacone spent from 1995-2001 and part of 2002 coaching Sampras and has only been working with Federer for five months, the American can already see similarities between arguably the two greatest players of the open era.

He said the pair's ability to "deal with adversity in a pretty mild mannered, no big deal type of way" couldn't be coached in a player.

"Whether it's physical or mental, they'll drain the sensationalism out of situations and just execute what they're trying to play.

"They accept what they can accept and control what they can control and the things that they can't, they just keep on about their business and they just play.

"I think in today's athletic world you don't see a lot of people that do that very much.

"They tend to lose focus on what they're doing and can get caught up on things on the side.

"In particular, Pete and Roger are both very good at keeping things very simple and keeping it very clear in their own mind of what they need to do."

Not surprisingly, Annacone was reluctant to say who he thought was the superior player of the two living legends.

"The tennis game changed so much within the 24 months after Pete stopped - in terms of speed of the court, style of play, conditions of balls, racquets, equipment strings," he said.

"So in actuality for me, it's like comparing apples and oranges. It's a totally different game now, it's amazing.

"The sad part is, I would have loved to have seen these guys play each other in their prime for like five or six years in a row.

"Great players - and I just go back with Pete and Andre (Agassi), who I saw play each other so much and they pushed each other to such incredible heights - and I would love to have seen Roger and Pete do that with each other."

Source http://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/federer-can-win-20-majors-says-coach-20110112-19nu9.html

Dokic finds positives among the rubble

By her own admission, Jelena Dokic had nothing left to give. This was just in one match, a brutal hiding from rising German star Andrea Petkovic, but what about the rest of the summer?

At 26 and with all signs pointing to her best days being anchored in the past, Dokic is still trying to maintain the rage on a professional circuit she has graced on and off since she was just 16.

A decade later, she is desperately trying to fossick for positives ahead of next week’s tournament in Sydney but after being unceremoniously hammered by Petkovic, who celebrated her 6-0 6-1 blitzkrieg victory with a signature on-court shimmy, the shards look too plentiful to put back in place.

It took just 46 minutes for Dokic to depart in the second round of the Brisbane International. Petkovic fired all her guns and rather than return with some artillery of her own, a sluggish Dokic took cover until the barrage ceased.

There were mitigating circumstances, she said, citing a stomach illness that has slowed her for the past few days and sapped her of speed, stamina and power.

Even so, anyone expecting to see Dokic recreate her inspiring Australian Open quarter final run of 2009 over the coming weeks would have left disillusioned. Two years ago, she would have us believe there was something left in the tank. Today, it looked bone dry.

“I think it’s very simple. I was flat. I had nothing to give from the beginning. That’s basically it. I wasn’t in the match at all. I’ve been sick for a couple of days. It’s taken its toll,” Dokic said.

“I went to a doctor and he thinks it’s a stomach virus I’ve had for a few days. I already had it in the first match. I struggled but I don’t like to make excuses. But if you’re playing a top 30, top 35 player, you’ve got to have everything to give.

“I think it was obvious from the first point I couldn’t hit the ball so well or move well and my power was down.”
It’s difficult to find any trinket of optimism in the rubble of such a one-sided demolition. The first set took 18 minutes to complete, barely enough time for the fans to file in the doors.

As professional athletes are obliged to do, Dokic was frantically trying to convince herself there had been some good in her visit to Brisbane and more was to come in Sydney and Melbourne.

To do that, she had to banish all thoughts of Cyclone Petkovic and rewind to her first match, a straight sets win over qualifier Anastasia Pivovarova. The only other scrap of good news was that her wrist, injured in the opening round, held up, even if her form didn’t.

“It’s the beginning of the year. I got a lot of confidence from that first match. I’m really happy about that. But there is a lot of work to do,” Dokic said.

“It’s tough. I really wanted to play well here. The crowd is always behind us and a lot of people come out to watch. I’ve got to just forget about the tennis and try to take positives out of this week. I think there’s quite a few of them.

“It’s not a big deal. I’ve got to move on from this and take all the best things I did well this week, work on the things that are my weaknesses and try to have a good week next week.

“Even though the score was the way it was, on certain points I hung in there. I still got to see some things, what level I’m up against. I take a lot of positives from the first match.”

Dokic has already made impressive inroads in returning from the tennis badlands, which saw her ranking blow out past 600 at the end of 2006 through a combination of injury, poor form, personal turmoil and disinterest.

Citing new motivation and a body free from serious ailments, Dokic was hoping to gain some momentum in Brisbane and try and ambush some of the fancies at the year’s first Grand Slam.

With illness undercutting her preparations, that would now appear to be a bridge too far.

The 23-year-old Petkovic , who made the quarter finals of the US Open last year, will now play Australian Jarmila Groth in the quarter finals. Groth shocked top seed Sam Stosur on Tuesday night.

Source http://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/dokic-finds-positives-among-the-rubble-20110105-19fri.html