finals at wimbledon but after cincinatti he made the semis at the us open and
won in beijing basel and paris
it means he made four finals in his last seven tournaments and won of his
last matches for the year
djokovic finished with five titles and career high finals marking him
as one of the players to watch in
he is reaping the rewards of working with american todd martin the former
serve volleyer cool temperament offering nice balance for the passionate serb
he obviously brings his big knowledge and experience and great calmness said
djokovic
he very positive person and that what like
temperament player and emotionally show my emotions even in practice
when get frustrated throw my racquet
then look at him and kind of scared of his reaction what he going to
say and he always goes but the shot you made before the mistake was good so
keep it going
djokovic who chose to round out his preparation for the australian open by
playing in the kooyong classic also believes martin has helped greatly with his
volleying and slice giving him much more variety
some day hope it will work into my routine that get in there naturally
without any forcing he said
djokovic has vowed there will be no repeat of his inglorious exit here last
year giving himself days in melbourne to acclimatise before the action
begins
tennis venus looking to break long running aussie drought
melbourne jan afp
venus williams has played australian opens but is yet to win the singles
crown in stark contrast to sister serena who is four time champion and
defending her title this year
but she is not beating herself up about her comparative lack of success in
melbourne insisting major part of her game plan was staying positive
know how to play tennis and now just have to do it in melbourne she said
judging by past performances she is unlikely to break her duck this year up
against strong field led not just by serena but returning belgian pair kim
clijsters and justine henin as well as maria sharapova
ranked six in the world she is likely to be pitted with dinara safina jelena
jankovic and sharapova in her side of melbourne draw making her task doubly
difficult
williams crashed out in the second round last year to spaniard carla suarez
navarro and getting past that stage will be her initial aim
while she has won five wimbledons and two us open titles the australian and
french opens have alluded her and she only ever made the melbourne final once
before in when she lost to serena
she explains that she has often entered the first grand slam of the season
carrying injuries and only settles into her game later in the year in time for
wimbledon and the us open
but this year she has worked hard in the off season to get in shape and warmed
up last week at the hong kong classic beating caroline wozniacki and zheng jie
have been training really hard on and off the court it was nice to have some
time off but definitely ready to get back on the grind the time grand
slam winner seven in singles said on her website
have been trying to get back in shape with hard core training programme my
main focus has been trying to get stronger and build up my strength to get me
through the whole season
having earned over million us dollars in prizemoney over the years williams
could afford to sit back and take it easy
but despite struggling for much of she is not ready to take her foot off
pedal just yet
there no timeline if playing well as long as keep playing well
ll stay she said last week when asked about possible retirement
with career titles williams didn fly as high last year as she did in
there was no grand slam title although she did make it to the final at
wimbledon for the eighth time only to be beaten by serena
but she did win her th and st wta tour singles titles spurring rise to
number three in the world for the first time since she also collected
three grand slam doubles crowns
despite now being williams is still one of the most powerful baseliners on
tour and packs wicked serve holding the record for the fastest at the open
achieved in when she sent one down at kmh mph
she is also expected to play doubles with serena having won the title here last
year
tennis federer in familiar territory ahead of open
melbourne jan afp
roger federer has missed playing in only one of the last grand slam finals
and given his extraordinary consistency of performance it hard to bet against
him winning the australian open
bookmakers have again made the swiss legend the favourite to capture his th
grand slam in the year opening major tournament in melbourne and given his
renaissance last year few if any are quibbling with his odds
just when doubts were starting to creep in that federer time at the top was
coming to an end given the ascendancy of rafael nadal he just kept on winning
the big ones that mattered
federer finally broke through at roland garros clinching the french open at his
th attempt and followed up with sixth wimbledon crown in seven years
he became the all time grand slam leader in men tennis in the process passing
the won by american pete sampras and retrieved the world number one ranking
off nadal after period of weeks at an unaccustomed number two
while nadal struggled with injuries and dip in confidence federer star was
again on the rise and he finished the year end atp top ranked player for the
fifth time in six years
as federer still only prepares for his rd career grand slam tournament
he believes he may enjoy an even better year than last
think can definitely if my body allows me win many more tournaments than
did last year he claimed this month
really just had to focus on the big tournaments the major events last year
obviously those are the hardest ones to win and it reflects in the
tournaments was able to win hardly played any smaller events
but if am healthy this year can win many more tournaments and that could
also get me more confident more momentum and even more things could also
become possible even though last year was fantastic
federer has only missed playing in one grand slam final since his wimbledon
triumph his sole blemish coming when he went down to russian marat safin in the
semi finals of the australian open
he lost to russian nikolay davydenko in doha on his way to melbourne and
altered his usual preparation by skipping the eight man kooyong classic
exhibition tournament opting to practise in private in the final week
federer longevity in the sport has been one of his strengths and he puts it
down to his smooth court coverage which is less destructive to the body as
opposed to some of major rivals
it just important to listen to your signals think that is also one thing
did really well when became number one in the world he said
had all the things going for me and huge opportunities to go and chase money
or tournaments around the world said not going to do it
said am going to look at the big picture and it been paying off so
very happy with my decisions over the years
tennis australian open advisory
melbourne jan afp
the australian open the first grand slam of the season starts in melbourne on
monday with rafael nadal and serena williams defending their titles
afp is moving series of previews and profiles we will shortly file the
following
tennis open aus federer
melbourne
roger federer has missed playing in only one of the last grand slam finals
and given his extraordinary consistency of performance it hard to bet against
him winning the australian open
words by robert smith
tennis open aus sharapova
melbourne
russian maria sharapova has had frustrating year to forget but feels her
fitness is returning and is confident of making big splash at next week
australian open
words by martin parry
tennis open aus djokovic
melbourne
it is an older and more importantly wiser novak djokovic that returns to the
scene of his greatest triumph at the upcoming australian open
words by scott coghlan
tennis open aus roddick
melbourne
andy roddick knows all about roger federer induced heartbreak with his tennis
career littered with demoralising loses in grand slam finals to the man he calls
the greatest player of all time
words by robert smith
tennis open aus venus
melbourne
venus williams has played australian opens but is yet to win the singles
crown in stark contrast to sister serena who is four time champion and
defending her title
words by martin parry
tennis open aus henin
melbourne
she smiles lot more and insists she is calmer more relaxed person but
justine henin has shown everyone she still has the game to stun the tennis world
and win the australian open
words by andrew dent
already moved
tennis open aus men
tennis open aus women
tennis open aus asia
tennis open aus winners
tennis open aus nadal
tennis open aus serena
tennis open aus murray
tennis open aus clijsters
tennis open aus safina
tennis open aus delpotro
tennis australian open women singles draw
melbourne jan afp
the draw friday for the women singles at the australian open beginning on
monday denotes seeding
women
serena williams usa urszula radwanska pol petra kvitova cze jill
craybas usa qualifier andrea petkovic ger ayumi morita jpn carla
suarez navarro esp sabine lisicki ger petra martic cro varvara
lepchenko usa alberta brianti ita kristina barrois ger akgul
amanmuradova uzb qualifier samantha stosur aus vera zvonareva rus
kristina kucova svk chang kai chen tpe iveta benesova cze
qualifier gisela dulko arg qualifier ana ivanovic srb elena
vesnina rus tathiana garbin ita kimiko date krumm jpn yaroslava
shvedova kaz stefanie voegele sui melinda czink hun stephanie cohen
aloro fra victoria azarenka blr caroline wozniacki den
aleksandra wozniak can tamira paszek aut julia goerges ger galina
voskoboeva kaz tsvetana pironkova bul lucie hradecka cze shahar peer
isr daniela hantuchova svk viktoriya kutuzova ukr jarmila
groth aus qualifier stephanie dubois can agnes szavay hun marina
erakovic nzl li na chn agnieszka radwanska pol tatjana malek
ger melanie oudin usa alla kudryavtseva rus julie coin fra alicia
molik aus alize cornet fra francesca schiavone ita anabel medina
garrigues esp karolina sprem cro anastasiya yakimova blr casey
dellacqua aus arantxa parra santonja esp sybille bammer aut lucie
safarova cze venus williams usa elena dementieva rus vera
dushevina rus kirsten flipkens bel justine henin bel sorana cirstea
rom olivia rogowska aus jelena dokic aus alisa kleybanova rus
virginie razzano fra ekaterina makarova rus klara zakopalova cze
sara errani ita qualifier alexandra dulgheru rom anna chakvetadze rus
flavia pennetta ita kim clijsters bel qualifier sesil
karatantcheva kaz tamarine tanasugarn tha chan yung jan tpe kaia
kanepi est edina gallovits rom nadia petrova rus aravane rezai
fra sania mirza ind olga govortsova blr qualifier anastasia
pavlyuchenkova rus anastasija sevastova lat anastasia rodionova aus
svetlana kuznetsova rus jelena jankovic srb monica niculescu rom
patricia mayr aut katie brien gbr qualifier polona hercog slo
qualifier alona bondarenko ukr maria jose martinez sanchez esp
evgeniya rodina rus zheng jie chn peng shuai chn coco vandeweghe usa
sandra zahlavova cze rossana de los rios par marion bartoli fra
maria sharapova rus maria kirilenko rus qualifier timea bacsinszky
sui anna lena groenefeld ger roberta vinci ita vania king usa
dominika cibulkova svk kateryna bondarenko ukr ioana raluca olaru
rom pauline parmentier fra elena baltacha gbr barbora zahlavova
strycova cze qualifier magdalena rybarikova svk dinara safina rus
afp
tennis australian open men singles draw
melbourne jan afp
the draw friday for the men singles at the australian open beginning on
monday denotes seeding
men
roger federer sui igor andreev rus juan ignacio chela arg victor
hanescu rom stephane robert fra potito starace ita oscar hernandez
esp albert montanes esp lleyton hewitt aus qualifier
christophe rochus bel qualifier paolo lorenzi ita marcos baghdatis
cyp frederico gil por gilles simon fra fernando verdasco esp
carsten ball aus qualifier dudi sela isr rajeev ram usa qualifier
qualifier juan carlos ferrero esp juan monaco arg ernests
gulbis lat martin vassallo arguello arg michael llodra fra carlos moya
esp qualifier qualifier nikolay davydenko rus novak djokovic srb
daniel gimeno traver esp marinko matosevic aus marco chiudinelli
sui kristof vliegen bel michael berrer ger denis istomin uzb
jeremy chardy fra mikhail youzhny rus richard gasquet fra jan
hajek cze robby ginepri usa lukasz kubot pol mischa zverev ger
santiago giraldo col tommy robredo esp jo wilfried tsonga fra
sergiy stakhovsky ukr fabio fognini ita taylor dent usa ryan harrison
usa janko tipsarevic srb simon greul ger tommy haas ger
nicolas almagro esp qualifier benjamin becker ger qualifier
alejandro falla col marcos daniel bra marcel granollers esp robin
soderling swe andy roddick usa thiemo de bakker ned teimuraz
gabashvili rus thomaz bellucci bra feliciano lopez esp pablo cuevas
uru rainer schuettler ger sam querrey usa tomas berdych cze
robin haase ned daniel brands ger evgeny korolev rus sebastien
grosjean fra qualifier olivier rochus bel fernando gonzalez chi
marin cilic cro fabrice santoro fra qualifier bernard tomic aus
igor kunitsyn rus jose acasuso arg guillermo garcia lopez esp
stanislas wawrinka sui viktor troicki srb nicolas lapentti ecu
philipp petzschner ger florian mayer ger james blake usa arnaud
clement fra michael russell usa juan martin del potro arg andy
murray gbr qualifier marc gicquel fra simone bolelli ita jarkko
nieminen fin nick lindahl aus florent serra fra jurgen melzer aut
david ferrer esp andreas seppi ita qualifier lu yen hsun
tpe daniel koellerer aut qualifier qualifier gael monfils fra
radek stepanek cze ivo karlovic cro julien benneteau fra
qualifier mardy fish usa andrey golubev kaz jason kubler aus ivan
ljubicic cro philipp kohlschreiber ger horacio zeballos arg
john isner usa wayne odesnik usa lukas lacko svk leonardo mayer
arg peter luczak aus rafael nadal esp
dollar mixed in asia as investors eye data
tokyo jan afp
the dollar was mixed in asian trade friday as lacklustre us economic data cooled
speculation that the federal reserve might raise interest rates sooner than
previously expected dealers said
at the same time the euro was also weighed down by uncertainty surrounding the
economic outlook in europe and prospects of monetary policy tightening in the
region
the dollar dropped to yen in tokyo morning trade from in new york
late thursday the euro slipped to dollars from and to yen
from
traders scaled back their expectations of fed rate hikes following disappointing
retail sales and jobless claims data in the united states nab capital
strategist john kyriakopoulos said
new york federal reserve bank president william dudley said that the fed funds
rate could remain low for an extended period between six months and as long as
two years
investors were waiting for fresh leads on prospects for the us economy from
slew of data out later in the day including consumer prices manufacturing
activity and consumer sentiment numbers
these data should do nothing to hurry the fed from exiting too quickly from
accommodative policies calyon analyst sebastien barbe said
us retail sales major indicator of the consumer spending that drives two
thirds of us economic activity fell unexpectedly by percent in december
overturning analyst expectations for percent gain
the labor department meanwhile reported initial claims for unemployment
insurance benefits rose more than expected last week
the single european currency was bogged down after european central bank
governor jean claude trichet warned that an economic recovery in the euro
sharing region was subject to uncertainty due to greece debt woes
the comments came after the bank kept its main refinance rate unchanged at
record low of percent
against such backdrop the euro dollar exchange rate may lack clear
direction in the near term said barbe
figure skating canadian championships results
london canada jan afp
selected results here on thursday in the canadian figure skating championships
qualifier for the vancouver olympics
ice dance
compulsory dance
tessa virtue scott moir
vanessa crone paul poirier
kaitlyn weaver andrew poje
andrea chong guillaume gfeller
allie hann mccurdy michael coreno
mylene girard jonathan pelletier
china says google case will not affect trade ties with us
beijing jan afp
china said friday that google threat to pull out of the country over
cyberattacks and official censorship would not affect beijing overall trade
and economic ties with the united states
no matter what decision google makes it will not affect overall trade and
economic relations between china and the united states commerce ministry
spokesman yao jian told reporters
the two countries have multiple communication channels we are confident in the
healthy development of economic and trade relations between china and the united
states
cycling armstrong opens tour de france bid down under
adelaide australia jan afp
lance armstrong will launch second attempt at an age defying tour de france
comeback win when he headlines next week tour down under the curtain raiser
for the new cycling season
armstrong is playing down his chances in the sprint heavy south australia race
despite gruelling pre season of six hour road sessions in hawaii coupled with
extended yoga training
but the year old american says he is in far better condition than last year
when he ended three and half year retirement here and finished th later
placing creditable third in france
and he admits coveting spectacular new chapter in his fairytale career which
includes surviving testicular cancer to win record seven tour de france titles
in consecutive years from to
for us as athletes the tour de france is the most important race of the
year for me as an individual athlete it the one know and love the most
he said
know what it like to win the tour know what it takes to win the tour
ve got seven of them but like to have an eighth
armstrong will lead the all new team radioshack in adelaide after dumping
astana where he cultivated fabled rivalry with spain reigning tour de
france champion alberto contador
he will be in the sights of several big names including australia cadel evans
who is ending four year absence from his country signature race in hopes of
avenging two runner up tour de france finishes to the american
evans will race in rainbow jersey after winning the coveted road race at
september cycling world championships in switzerland the first australian to
do so
it privilege to be able to present my new jersey and my new bmc racing team
to the australian public and the rest of the world he said
last year winner australia allan davis heads astana along with tour
de france winner oscar pereiro while sprint specialist robbie mcewen is also
considered serious contender
armstrong will be keeping close eye on spain alejandro valverde who is in
strong form despite the distractions of his appeal against two year doping
ban
valverde is already serving two year suspension in italy over alleged links to
the operation puerto scandal the court of arbitration for sport is currently
considering his appeal against worldwide ban
from what ve heard think valverde is riding very good he also fast and
he can be factor on some of the tough stages armstrong said
yeah see him being factor here
meanwhile the newly created team sky may spring surprise as they pursue their
ambitious campaign to produce british tour de france winner
the six stage tour down under which finishes on sunday january is the
first leg of this year stop uci protour featuring teams
urgent china says google case will not affect trade ties with us
beijing jan afp
china said friday that google threat to pull out of the asian nation over
cyberattacks and official censorship would not affect beijing overall trade
and economic ties with the united states
one in five filipino women suffer abuse survey
manila jan afp
one in five filipino women aged under have suffered physical abuse since the
age of according to government survey released friday
the survey of women conducted in found that women with no education
or only primary education were physically abused almost twice as much as those
who were better educated
it also found that nine percent of women had experienced sexual violence
often involving either husband or boyfriend the national statistics office
said
they were asked at any time in your life as child or as an adult has
anyone ever forced you in any way to perform any sexual acts against your will
the chance of experiencing sexual violence was also found to be greater for
poorer women and those with less education the statement said
figure skating virtue and moir skate into lead
london canada jan afp
two time defending champions tessa virtue and scott moir were in their familiar
spot atop the standings thursday after the compulsory dance at the canadian
figure skating championships
the ice dance duo who earned world championships silver in and bronze at
last year worlds won both of their grand prix events this season and are
firmly on track to represent canada at the vancouver olympics next month
they earned points for their performance to tango romantica with vanessa
crone and paul poirer lying second on
kaitlyn weaver and andrew poje were third with score of after the first
phase of ice dance competition which will continue with original and free
dance
canada will be sending two entries in each of the four disciplines to the
vancouver olympics with the tickets to be finalized here
world silver medallist patrick chan and five time reigning national champion
joannie rochette will headline strong men and women fields at the john
labatt centre
in pairs jessica dube and bryce davison will seek to retain their national
title and secure their olympic spot
chan who turned last month and coach don laws rocked the canadian figure
skating community by deciding last week to cut ties just five weeks prior to the
start of the olympics
for chan the competition will show if that move is paying off and also whether
he has recovered physically from recent calf injury and mentally from
disappointing sixth place finish at skate canada in november
competition continues on friday with the short programmes for men women and
pairs along with the ice dance original dance
alert
china says google case will not affect economic relations with us
us boosts airline security amid al qaeda threat
washington jan afp
the united states stepped up airport security on thursday as intelligence warned
al qaeda affiliate in yemen was planning more attacks to follow failed
christmas day bombing
officials warned of chatter hinting at further strikes as homeland security
secretary janet napolitano announced us bound passengers would see increased
airport security screening and armed marshals on flights
we must remain vigilant about the continued threat we face from al qaeda
napolitano said we are taking an additional set of aviation security
precautions to protect the american people
some of these measures include enhanced random screening additional federal
air marshals on certain routes and adding individuals of concern to our
terrorist watch list system she said without giving details
the measures follow wide ranging security review ordered by president barack
obama in the wake of christmas day attempt to bomb trans atlantic jet
the obama administration has faced fierce criticism for intelligence failures
that allowed young nigerian man to board detroit bound airliner allegedly
armed with explosives sewn into his underwear
yemen trained umar farouk abdulmutallab ufa has been charged with
attempted murder and trying to use weapon of mass destruction on board the
northwest flight carrying people from amsterdam
administration officials who asked not to be named said thursday measures
responded to continued threats from yemen based operatives despite series us
backed strikes against senior militants based in the gulf state
we do know aqap al qaeda in the arabian peninsula sent ufa our way and it
would not be prudent to suddenly think that threats like this have passed with
his failure an administration official told afp
am sure there will be more security measure announcements in the future as we
constantly review all the information available to us
earlier this week canada put its airlines and airports on high alert after
receiving specific information about new threats
meanwhile napolitano warned those visiting the united states of more airport
delays travelers should allot extra time when flying particularly into the
united states from overseas she said
since the christmas day attack the united states had already ramped up security
on flights from countries including yemen
while laborious airport screening irks many visitors to the united states
tougher measures are popular with americans according to recent polls
on thursday quinnipiac university survey showed percent of respondents
said us anti terror policies leaned too far toward protecting civil rights
rather than national security
industry representatives said the tougher measures had been widely expected
we will have to come to grips with the reality that the air travel experience
will be different said david castelveter of the air transport association
us trade association
it will not be the same tomorrow as it is today we will have to turn up
earlier and pack differently
but there are lingering concerns that security related delays will cost already
struggling airlines
to address those concerns napolitano is scheduled to meet airline executives
next week in geneva at the headquarters of the international air transport
association an official for the organization said
the meeting will come as airlines report their forth quarter earnings which are
expected to reflect the full price of delays related to the thwarted christmas
day bomb plot
china foreign investment doubles in december
beijing jan afp
foreign direct investment in china doubled year on year last month as global
demand perked up from the depths of the financial crisis officials said friday
china attracted billion dollars in fdi last month rise of percent
from december when the global crisis was taking hold the commerce ministry
said
ministry spokesman yao jian said the strong rebound the fifth straight
monthly increase for china fdi showed the world third largest economy was
still attractive to foreign investors
but in all of fdi in china fell percent from to billion
dollars
in before the worldwide slump set in investment into china had gone up
percent from the year before
obama thanks dominican leader for helping americans in haiti
washington jan afp
president barack obama thursday called his counterpart from the dominican
republic leonel fernandez to thank him for helping evacuate us citizens from
quake stricken haiti the white house said
at pm gmt friday the president spoke with president
fernandez and expressed his appreciation for the role the dominican
republic has played in facilitating the evacuation of us citizens and in the
flow of relief teams and supplies into haiti through the dominican republic
the white house statement said
president fernandez conveyed his assessment of the situation in haiti following
his visit today to port au prince it added
fernandez whose dominican republic makes up the richer two thirds of the island
of hispaniola it shares with haiti was the first foreign head of state to visit
the devastated haitian capital
part of the us relief effort in haiti is aimed at helping the estimated
americans in that country some of whom were injured in the disaster
over us citizens were evacuated thursday and more were to be rescued
later in the day the state department said
japanese stocks narrowly mixed in morning
tokyo jan afp
japanese share prices were narrowly mixed in morning trade on friday as
investors digested recent upbeat corporate earnings along with disappointing
retail sales data in the united states
