₦airaland Forum

Man Utd  4 - 1  Blackburn  (Old Trafford)
                   29' M Derbyshire
61' P Scholes
73' M Carrick
83' J Park
90' O Solskjaer

Bolton  1 - 0  Sheff Utd (Reebok Stadium)
80' K Davies 

Newcastle  0 - 1  Man City (St James' Park)
                    80' E Mpenza

Charlton  1 - 0  Wigan (The Valley)
86' D Bent (pen)

West Ham  2 - 0  Middlesbrough (Upton Park)
2' B Zamora
45' C Tevez

Fulham  1 - 1  Portsmouth  (Craven Cottage)
                   4'  N Kranjcar
90' I Pearce 

Watford  0 - 1  Chelsea (Vicarage Road Stadium)
                   90' S Kalou

https://img524.imageshack.us/img524/6401/swilliamshq2.jpg        https://img238.imageshack.us/img238/9254/serenaheninzl5.jpg

Blanked in the first set and down two match points in the second to world No. 1 Justine Henin, Serena Williams rallied for her fourth Sony Ericsson Open title with a 0-6, 7-5, 6-3 win on Saturday.

It was Williams' fourth victory in Miami and her first match against Henin since Williams beat the Belgian at Wimbledon nearly four years ago.

Liverpool  4 - 1  Arsenal (Anfield)
4' P Crouch
35' P Crouch
60' D Agger
                    73' W Gallas
81' P Crouch

Well, Nadal said he had a foot injury before his match with Djokovic that had been bothering him for some time.

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=2815919

Djokovic does not need the media to tell him his capabilities. The guy is just a wonder. The guy simply silenced the british media. Murray, on the other hand, has a great future too, if only he doesn't allow the press to manipulate him. He is a very good player. no doubt. He's just not 'there' yet.

Who's his opponent in the final gonna be? Canas?

World number one Justine Henin and three-times champion Serena Williams scored contrasting semi-final wins at the Sony Ericsson Open, setting the stage for the renewal of a great rivalry.

While Henin stormed into the final with a crushing 6-2 6-3 win over Russian Anna Chakvetadze, Williams needed almost two hours to tame gritty Israeli Shahar Peer 7-6 (7-4) 6-1.

Henin and Williams have met eight times in their careers but Saturday's clash will be the first since the muscular American won a semi-final meeting with the Belgian at Wimbledon nearly four years ago.

Williams leads the series 5-3 with all three of Henin's victories coming on clay.

Number seven seed Ivan Ljubici[/b]c delivered a composed performance to move past Juan Ignacio Chela 6-3 7-5 and into the semi-finals of the Miami Masters.

He will now go on to meet [b]Guillermo Canas in the last four after Roger Federer's conqueror battled past Spanish sixth seed Tommy Robredo 7-6 6-1.

Back on the ATP Tour after serving a 15 month drugs suspension, Canas had eight break points in the opening set and could not convert any of them but prevailed in the tiebreak 7-5.

The Argentine then pounced on the dejected Spaniard, sweeping through the opening four games of the second set to take control of the match.

I couldn't also believe in-form Nadal could be dismissed in straight sets by Djokovic. Yea. . . it's only a matter of time before he reaches the top 5, provided he remains injury-free.

with Hargareaves as a standing defensive midfielder who does the dirty job like the likes of Gilberto, Mac4, Alonso, etc,  Gerrard will be a better playmaker for the English team.

if i would have to use lampard at all ooooo, i'll play him as a supporting striker (i'll think he'll fit in),  cos he provides and scores goals when close to the goal area, or maybe I'll play him as a substitute to Gerrard.

betterstill a 4-5-1, or 4-3-3 formation might encourage lampard's place in the english national team with a brainy coach

After losing to Rafael Nadal in last week's final at Indian Wells, Serb Novak Djokovic took quick revenge, shocking the Spaniard 6-3 6-4 to advance to the Miami Masters semi-finals without dropping set.

The men's draw took a surprising turn for the second successive day with second seed Nadal and number three Andy Roddick joining world number one Roger Federer on their way out of the tournament.

The 19-year-old Serbian will now meet Britain's Andy Murray, who reached the final four when Roddick was forced to retire with a hamstring injury trailing 5-3 in the first set.

Earlier in the week, Nadal ruled himself out of Spain's Davis Cup tie because of a sore foot but refused to use the nagging injury as an excuse for his loss.

Federer lost to Argentine Guillermo Canas on Tuesday.

@9ja4eva. . . yea, she won.

Quarter Final Results:

Williams - Vaidisova 6-1, 6-4
Peer - Garbin 6-0, 6-3
Chakvetadze - Li 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
Henin - Petrova 7-6, 7-6


Semi-Final Fixtures:

Serena Williams (USA) vs. Shahar Peer (ISR)

Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) vs. Justine Henin (BEL)

Quarter Final Fixtures:

Serena Williams (USA) vs. Nicole Vaidisova (CZE)
Shahar Peer (ISR) vs. Tathiana Garbin (ITA)
Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) vs. Na Li (CHN)
Justine Henin (BEL) vs. Nadia Petrova (RUS)

American number one Serena Williams easily disposed of top seed Maria Sharapova 6-1 6-1 to reach the Miami Masters quarter-finals in an imperial repeat performance of the pair's Australian Open final result.

Williams, playing her first event since beating Sharapova in January to lift her eighth grand slam title, brushed past the world number two in 58 minutes.

The target of racial abuse by a heckler on Monday, the American heard only cheers as she finished off her opponent with a forehand winner.

Williams's victory also avenged her sister Venus's defeat by Sharapova in the third round.

The 13th seed, three times a winner of this trophy, next meets eighth-seeded Czech Nicole Vaidisova.

"I know her game pretty well. We've played each other a few times and I like her style," said Williams.

Sharapova acknowledged that she had been demolished in the match.

"Once she gets up in the set or the match she seems to steamroll," the 20-year-old Russian said.

"I'm definitely going to be out on the practice court and working hard."

"I'm not going to look at it as a confidence thing. I have to look at what I'm doing and how I'm going to improve it so it gets better."



Fourth Round Results:

Williams - Shaparova   6-1, 6-1
Vaidisova - Dushevina   6-2, 6-4
Peer - Kuznetsova    6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Garbin - Radwanska   6-4, 6-2
Chakvetadze - Santangelo   6-1, 7-5
Li - Clijsters    4-6, 6-4, 6-2
Petrova - Safina    3-6, 6-2, 6-4
Henin - Zvonareva    6-3, 6-2

QuarterFinal Fixtures:

Guillermo Canas (ARG) vs. Tommy Robredo (ESP)
Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) vs. Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)
Andrew Murray (GBR) vs. Andy Roddick (USA)
Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. Rafael Nadal (ESP)

Argentine Guillermo Canas stunned world number one Roger Federer for the second time in a fortnight in a 7-6 (7-2) 2-6 7-6 (7-5) classic to advance to the Miami Masters quarter-finals.

The two-time defending Miami champion, who lost to Canas 7-5 6-2 in the second round of Indian Wells two weeks ago, made an uncharacteristic 51 unforced errors as the Argentine played the back of the court brilliantly to defeat the 25-year-old Swiss.

"I really expected to win, it was one of those matches I shouldn't have lost," Federer said.

"But he's a great competitor. He played well both times and I just couldn't put him away."

Canas advances to face Tommy Robredo in the quarter-finals after the Spaniard eliminated Czech Radek Stepanek in another dramatic clash 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 7-6 (7-3).

"I don't know what it is the key to beat him, I fight for every point and I think for that I beat him," said Canas, who had to qualify for his place in the last two events.

"I think I have luck because I played very well the two matches.

"I think I played great tennis today, for me it's like a dream. To beat two weeks in a row the world number one, it's amazing.

"I don't know what I do, I just know I played very good tennis."

The 29-year-old claimed two tension-filled tie-breaks in the first and third sets after Federer routed his opponent with normal precision in the second.

When Canas beat Federer in Indian Wells he ended a near-record 41-match winning streak by the Swiss, and with the Miami victory he keeps Federer from becoming only the second man to win the tournament three consecutive years.

In addition to numerous unforced errors, Federer failed to take an enormous number of break chances against the Argentine only converting only four of 16 break points.

"I was in almost total control for almost all the match once I broke back in the first set," said Federer.

"I thought it was a great match, so it was disappointing to lose.

"He dug deep and played well, I was just not in the end very happy with the way things went. I could have won but I didn't do it."

Though Canas won just two of five on break chances, most of Federer's breaks came in his dominant second set, while Canas took the first break in the opening set and responded wonderfully to Federer's challenge in the third rallying back from a break down.


Fourth Round Results:

Canas - Federer 7-6, 2-6, 7-6
Robredo - Stepanek 7-6, 5-7, 7-6
Chela - Delic 6-3, 6-2
Ljubicic - Nieminen 7-6, 6-4
Murray - Mattieu 2-6, 7-5, 6-3
Roddick - Ferrer 7-5, 6-3
Djokovic - Lopez 6-0, 6-3
Nadal - Del Potro 6-0, 6-4

Fourth Round Fixtures:

Guillermo Canas (ARG) vs. Roger Federer (SUI)
Tommy Robredo (ESP) vs. Radek Stepanek (CZE)
Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) vs. Amer Delic (USA)
Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) vs. Jarkko Nieminen (FIN)
Andrew Murray (GBR) vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)
Andy Roddick (USA) vs. David Ferrer (ESP)
Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. Feliciano Lopez (ESP)
Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Juan Marin Del Potro (ARG)

ATP Awards 2006

Player of the Year         -       Roger Federer

Doubles Team of the Year - Bob and Mike Bryan

Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship - Roger Federer

Most mproved Player - Novak Djokovic

Newcomer of the Year - Benjamin Becker

Comeback Player of the Year - Mardy Fish

ATPTennis Fans' Favourite(Singles)
                                 1st - Roger Federer (10,772 votes)
                                 2nd - Fernando Gonzalez (8,064 votes)
                                 3rd - Rafael Nadal (6,347 votes)

ATPtennis.com Fans' Favorite (Doubles)
                                 1st - Bob and Mike Bryan (17,709 votes)
                                 2nd - Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi (10,498 votes)
                                 3rd - Fabrice Santoro and Nenad Zimonjic (5,627 votes).

Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year - Roger Federer

Source

Serena Williams sets up a replay of the Australian Open final against Miami Open top seed Maria Sharapova beating Lucie Safarova 6-3 6-4.

In the other matches, Clijsters, Kuznetsova, Safina have crashed out.

Some Third Round Results:

Petrova - Safina 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
Li - Clijsters 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
Chakvetadze - Santangelo 6-1, 7-5
Henin - Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2
Garbin - Radwanska 6-4, 6-2
Peer - Kuznetsova 6-4, 4-6, 6-3

Argentina's Guillermo Canas sets up a fourth round clash with Roger Federer at the Miami Masters in a replay of their match at Indian Wells, where Canas ended the world number one's 41-game winning streak. Canas beats Frenchman Richard Gasquet 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 to advance.

Fourth Round Fixtures:

Maria Sharapova (RUS)  vs.  Serena Williams (USA)
Vera Dushevina (RUS)  vs.  Nicole Vaidisova (CZE)
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)  vs.  Shahar Peer (ISR)
Tathiana Garbin (ITA)  vs.  Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)
Mara Santangelo (ITA)  vs.  Anna Chakvetadze (RUS)
Na Li (CHN)  vs.  Kim Clijsters (BEL)
Nadia Petrova (RUS)  vs.  Dinara Safina (RUS)
Vera Zvonareva (RUS)  vs.  Justine Henin (BEL)

The russians are well represented in this round, shows how dominant they are.

Third Round Results:

Sharapova - V. Williams   2-6, 6-2, 7-5
S. Williams - Safarova   
Dushevina - Kanepi   6-1, 6-1
Vaidisova - Azarenka   6-3, 6-3
Kuznetsova - Kostanic Tosic   6-4, 6-2
Peer - Vakulenko   7-6, 7-5
Garbin - Shvedova   4-6, 6-3, 6-2
Radwanska - Hingis   4-6, 6-3, 6-2
Santangelo - Jankovic   2-6, 7-6, 6-4
Chakvetadze - Golovin   6-1, 6-3
Li - Srebotnik   6-0, 6-1
Clijsters - Stosur   6-4, 6-2
Petrova - Bychkova   6-1, 6-1
Safina - Sugiyama   6-4, 3-6, 6-1
Zvonareva - Hantuchova   6-2, 6-4
Henin - Razzano   6-2, 2-6, 7-6

Serena Williams was due to face Lucie Safarova in the last match of the day but that contest was rained out.

@9ja4eva, abi now?

Maria Sharapova rallied from a set down to defeat Venus Williams 2-6 6-2 7-5 in Miami in a mistake-marred match in which the pair combined for 25 double-faults and 91 unforced errors.

Second-seed Henin also looked to be heading out but she came back from the dead to defeat Virginie Razzano 6-2 2-6 7-6.  The Belgian was 5-1 down in the final set but some how managed to take four games in a row before taking the winner-takes-all tie break 7-5.

Jelena Jankovic, Martina Hingis, Daniela Hantuchova have all been surprisingly dumped out.

Some Third Round Results:

Mathieu - Gonzalez 6-3, 7-6
Murray - Kendrick 6-3, 6-1
Ferrer - Bolelli 7-6, 6-2
Roddick - Simon 6-4, 6-4
Lopez - Serra 7-6, 6-3
Djokovic - Llodra 6-4, 6-1
Del Potro - Youzhny 7-6, 6-4
Nadal - Rochus Retired

Rafael Nadal was given a walkover into the fourth round, after Oliver Rochus confirms that a foot injury will prevent him playing last night.

Federer, Ljubicic, Davydenko play later in the day.

@ rof-lmao. . . your first contribution on this thread shows u know the sport very well. I'm sure many of us would love to read more of such intelligent inputs as often as possible.

randa:
kanu (utaka)
obodo

Correction:  Utaka came in for Obodo.

We didn't deserve to win the match one bit; a draw would have been just okay.  They played as if they ate a heavy food minutes to the start of the match. The game was charaterised by sluggish moves, inaccurate passes, and what have u. I hope they don't recall Papa Okoronkwo to the team for our subsequent matches.

Imagine throwing long balls to our short lone striker, who had giants blocking him?

BTW,  what happened to Uganda's equalizer?

Third Round Fixtures:

Maria Sharapova (RUS) vs. Venus Williams (USA)
Lucie Safarova (CZE) vs. Serena Williams (USA)
Kaia Kanepi (EST) vs. Vera Dushevina (RUS)
Victoria Azarenka (BLR) vs. Nicole Vaidisova (CZE)
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) vs. Jelena Kostanic Tosic (CRO)
Julia Vakulenko (UKR) vs. Shahar Peer (ISR)
Yaroslava Shvedova (RUS) vs. Tathiana Garbin (ITA)
Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) vs. Martina Hingis (SUI)
Jelena Jankovic (SRB) vs. Mara Santangelo (ITA)
Tatiana Golovin (FRA) vs. Anna Chakvetadze (RUS)
Na Li (CHN) vs. Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)
Samantha Stosur (AUS) vs. Kim Clijsters (BEL)
Nadia Petrova (RUS) vs. Ekaterina Bychkova (RUS)
Ai Sugiyama (JPN) vs. Dinara Safina (RUS)
Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) vs. Vera Zvonareva (RUS)
Virginie Razzano (FRA) vs. Justine Henin (BEL)

Other Second Round Results:

Sharapova - Chan 6-3, 6-2
V. Williams - Kirilenko 6-3, 6-3
Safarova - Loit 6-0, 7-5
S. Williams - Rodionova 6-3, 6-3
Kanepi - Schnyder 6-1, 6-4
Dushevina - Bartoli 7-6, 2-6, 6-4
Azarenka - Medina Garrigues 6-4, 7-5
Vaidisova - Krajicek 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
Kuznetsova - Bondarenko 7-6, 6-7, 6-3
Kostanic Tosic - Bondarenko 6-3, 7-5
Vakulenko - Schiavone 3-6, 7-6, 6-4
Peer - Castano 6-2, 6-1
Shvedova - Ivanovic 7-5, 6-4
Garbin - Harkleroad 6-3, 6-2
Radwanska - Zheng 6-3, 6-4
Hingis - Benesova 6-3, 6-2

Third Round Fixtures:

Roger Federer (SUI)  vs.  Nicolas Almagro (ESP)
Guillermo Canas (ARG)  vs.  Richard Gasquet (FRA)
Alejandro Falla (COL)  vs.  Radek Stepanek (CZE)
Fernando Verdasco (ESP)  vs.  Tommy Robredo (ESP)
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)  vs.  Jose Acasuso (ARG)
Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG)  vs.  Tomas Berdych (CZE)
David Nalbandian (ARG)  vs.  Jarkko Nieminen (FIN)
Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)  vs.  Fabrice Santoro (FRA)
Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)  vs.  Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)
Robert Kendrick (USA)  vs.  Andrew Murray (GBR)
David Ferrer (ESP)  vs.  Simone Bolelli (ITA)
Gilles Simon (FRA)  vs.  Andy Roddick (USA)
Florent Serra (FRA)  vs.  Feliciano Lopez (ESP)
Michaël Llodra (FRA)  vs.  Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)  vs.  Juan Marin Del Potro (ARG)
Olivier Rochus (BEL)  vs.  Rafael Nadal (ESP)

Ajejandro Falla caused a major shock in the Miami Masters, as he knocked out an in-form Tommy Haas 6-4 6-4.
The 23-year-old Falla replaced Philipp Kohlschreiber in the draw after the German withdrew with gastroenteritis, and is making his debut in Miami.

Top-seeded and defending champion Roger Federer regained his winning touch after his surprise second round defeat at last week's Pacific Life Open, easing past American teenager Sam Querrey 6-4 6-3.

Canas is also through to the third round, and could set up a potential meeting with Federer in the fourth round, should he win his match against Gasquet.

Other Second Round Results:

Federer - Querrey   6-4, 6-3
Almagro - Starace   7-6, 6-3
Canas - Carlos Ferrero   6-7, 6-3, 7-5
Gasquet - Grosjean   6-4, 0-6, 6-2
Falla - Haas   6-4, 6-4
Stepanek - Gaudio   6-3, 6-2
Mayer - Verdasco   7-6, 6-1
Robredo - Kim   6-2, 6-4
Davydenko - Greul   6-4, 6-0
Delic - Acasuso   6-0, 6-3
Chela - Tipsarevic   6-2, 6-2
Berdych - Clément   6-4, 6-1
Nalbandian - Spadea   6-3, 6-4
Nieminen - Korolev   6-0, 6-0
Santoro - Moya   7-6, 6-2
Ljubicic - Volandri   6-3, 6-2

Some Second Round Results:

Gonzalez - Johansson 7-5, 6-3
Mathieu - Melzer 6-0, 7-5
Kendrick - Sluiter 6-4, 6-4
Murray - Goldstein 6-2, 7-6
Ferrer - Monaco 6-2, 6-2
Bolelli - Tursunov 6-7, 6-3, 6-4
Simon - Horna 6-3, 7-6
Roddick - Vassallo Arguello 6-3, 6-2
Serra - Blake 7-6, 2-6, 6-3
Lopez - Safin 7-5, 7-6
Llodra - Hrbaty 6-3, 6-2
Djokovic - Bracciali 7-6, 6-4
Youzhny - Gabashvili 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
Del Potro - Baghdatis 6-2, 5-7, 6-0
Rochus - Garcia-Lopez 6-3, 6-4
Nadal - Mello 7-6, 6-2

Nadal, Roddick, Youzhny, Djokovic, Murray, Gonzo all progress to the third round.

Some Second Round Results:

Jankovic - Peng 6-2, 6-4
Santangelo - Craybas 6-3, 6-1
Golovin - Poutchek 6-1, 7-6
Chakvetadze - Bardina 6-1, 6-0
Li - Paszek 6-2, 6-0
Srebotnik - Jidkova 6-4, 6-3
Stosur - Poutchkova 6-2, 6-2
Clijsters - Morigami 4-6, 6-0, 6-0
Petrova - Dechy 6-4, 3-6, 7-6
Bychkova - Brémond 6-4, 7-5
Sugiyama - Yakimova 6-4, 6-0
Safina - Granville 6-1, 6-1
Hantuchova - Larcherde Brito 7-5, 6-0
Zvonareva - Tu 6-4, 6-2
Razzano - Muller 6-4, 7-6
Henin - King 6-4, 6-1

Serena, Hingis, Kuznetsova, Sharapova all play later in the day.

They can't both win that's for sure. Should Venus win her second round match, she could face Sharapova in the third round. If she scales through, she might meet her sister in the fourth round, that's if Serena herself wins her second and third round matches. So only one of the sisters can advance to the round of 16. How I wish they are in different halves of the draw.