Peng doesn't like grass for Olympics

China’s Peng Shuai says she is excited about playing the London Olympics, but not on grass at Wimbledon. Peng reached the fourth round of Wimbledon last year. "It will be held on grass and I don't like playing on it,” she told the New Straight Times. "Furthermore, it will be tough for me as there are no grass courts in China.
 The Olympic Games is a big event for China and everyone in the national team will want to do well as winning medals mean a lot."

Anderson advances to quarters at Delray Beach

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (AP)â€"Seventh-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa topped Xavier Malisse of Belgium 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the second round of the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships on Thursday.

The 6-foot-8 Anderson had nine aces and won 77 percent of his first serve points, although his first serve percentage was only 55 percent.

Malisse was a two-time former Delray Beach champion (2005 and '07) and came into the match with a 25-9 record at this tournament. He did well when his forehand was kicking in, but otherwise struggled.

Anderson will play the winner of Thursday night's match between fourth-seeded Andy Roddick and Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals.

Verdasco upsets top seed Almagro in Acapulco

ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP)â€"Fernando Verdasco defeated fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 6-4, 7-6 (5) to reach the semifinals of the Mexican Open on Thursday.

Verdasco trailed 4-1 in the second-set tiebreaker, but won six of the last seven points to close out the match against the second-seeded Almagro.

The eighth-seeded Verdasco will next play Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, who advanced by beating Jeremy Chardy of France 7-5, 6-1. Wawrinka had 11 aces and saved the only break opportunity he allowed to the 64th-ranked Frenchman.

In the women's quarterfinals, top seed Roberta Vinci of Italy defeated Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands 6-2, 6-0, while fellow Italian Sara Errani ousted Estrella Cabeza Candela of Spain 6-4, 6-3.

Berdych on Big 4: 'They are just too strong'

Tomas Berdych says that the so-called Big 4 of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray have eclipsed the rest of the field. Three of the fourâ€"Djokovic, Federer, and Murrayâ€"have reached the Dubai semis. Nadal skipped the tournament. No player outside of the Big 4 has won an ATP Masters Series title since Robin Soderling took the 2010 Bercy/Paris Indoors title.

"When you look at the results, it's going to be still about those four guys," Berdych told reporters. "If we going to be able to, step there a little bit often and take some titles from them, then I think we going to get the right view. But they are just too strong. They're able to hold it for all the year, which that's the biggest strength of them."

Roddick tops Istomin to reach Delray quarterfinals

DELRAY BEACH, Florida (AP)â€"Andy Roddick reached his second quarterfinal of the year with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championship on Thursday.
 
Roddick avenged his loss to Istominâ€"in his other 2012 quarterfinal appearanceâ€"at last month’s San Jose tournament.
 
Roddick is currently ranked No. 30, which is the lowest he’s been since he held that same ranking in 2001. He’s been dealing with hamstring and ankle problems this year and he’s struggling to find a range with his game.

Roddick only got half his first serves in against the 51st-ranked Istomin.
 
“I’m feeling better than I did a couple of matches ago,” Roddick said. “I served horrendously and still won and was still able to break serve.”
 
In the second set, Istomin led the penultimate game 40-15 but then made four consecutive unforced errors to hand Roddick the service break.
 
Roddick eventually managed to serve out the match in the next game, but only after seeing off three break points and needing two match points.
 
“I got it done in the end,” Roddick said. “You want to close. The misses I had were positive misses because they were played on my terms. That was a big step.”
 
Roddick will play seventh-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa in the quarterfinals.
 
Anderson topped Xavier Malisse of Belgium 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. The 2.01-meter (6-foot-8) Anderson had nine aces and won 77 percent of his first serve points, although his first serve percentage was only 55 percent.
 
“I thought it really gusty, really windy, and it wasn’t easy to get a good rhythm,” Anderson said. “It was tough for both of us because we couldn’t play the kind of tennis we wanted to play.”
 
Malisse was a two-time former Delray Beach champion (2005 and ’07) and came into the match with a 25-9 record at this tournament. He did well when his forehand was kicking in, but otherwise struggled.
 
Fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany also advanced to Friday’s quarterfinals. He defeated 57th-ranked Ivan Dodig of Croatia 6-2, 6-2.
 
Kohlschreiber saved both break points he faced on serve and took advantage of four of 10 break point opportunities he had on Dodig’s serve. Kohlschreiber broke serve in the fifth and seventh games of the first set and the third and seventh games of the second set.
 
Kohlschreiber is now 12-5 in 2012 and has reached the semifinals in Auckland and Montpellier, France.
 
The German’s quarterfinal opponent will be Dudi Sela of Israel, who earned his quarterfinal spot with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Jarkko Nieminen of Finland.
 
Sela, who also reached the Chennai quarterfinals this season, won 25 of the 30 points when his first serve went into play.
 
“It was difficult conditions because the wind was swirling,” said Sela, who said the weather is similar to what he’s used to in Israel.
 
“It was tough to serve and you had to put your first serves in. I think I served very well and I didn’t give him any presents.”

Verdasco Ousts Almagro; Ferrer Extends Acapulco Streak To 13 Wins

Eighth seed Fernando Verdasco knocked out fellow Spaniard and two-time champion Nicolas Almagro 6-4, 7-6(5) on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.

[[More Tennis News on ATPWorldTour.com]]

Formula One’s social media plan

As we head into the 2012 Formula One season, I wanted to share with you some thoughts I had about the series and it’s burgeoning social media, as well as online approach, to the world. Formula One is behind the curve of adoption. I won’t belabor the point on all the things it hasn’t done

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Roddick Avenges Loss To Reach Delray Beach QFs

No. 5 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber dismissed Ivan Dodig 6-2, 6-2 at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships Thursday to advance to the quarter-finals.

[[More Tennis News on ATPWorldTour.com]]

Berdych: Big Four 'just too strong'

Tomas Berdych says that the so-called Big 4 of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray have eclipsed the rest of the field. Three of the four â€" Djokovic, Federer and Murray â€" have reached the Dubai semis. Nadal skipped the tournament. No player outside of the Big 4 has won an ATP Masters Series title since Robin Soderling took the 2010 Bercy/Paris Indoors title.

"When you look at the results, it's going to be still about those four guys," Berdych told reporters. "If we going to be able to, step there a little bit often and take some titles from them, then I think we going to get the right view. But they are just too strong.  They're able to hold it for all the year, which that's the biggest strength of them."

Berdych: Big 4 just too strong

Tomas Berdych says that the so-called Big 4 of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray have eclipsed the rest of the field. Three of the four â€" Djokovic, Federer and Murray â€" have reached the Dubai semis. Nadal skipped the tournament. No player outside of the Big 4 has won an ATP Masters Series title since Robin Soderling took the 2010 Bercy/Paris Indoors title.

"When you look at the results, it's going to be still about those four guys," Berdych told reporters. "If we going to be able to, step there a little bit often and take some titles from them, then I think we going to get the right view. But they are just too strong.  They're able to hold it for all the year, which that's the biggest strength of them."

Barrichello: Indycar’s newest ‘rookie’

The good news from the ruben Barrichello camp is that the veteran of 326 races in Formula One will be joining KV Racing and his best mate Tony Kanaan for the Indycar 2012 season. Photos of Barrichello and Kanaan together are stark reminders that Rubens, while a veteran in F1, is right at home with

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Williams and Audi, together at last

We were just speaking of the Williams folks this week in regards to Adam Parr as a likely successor of Sir Frank Williams and one of the components of that conversation was centered around the fact that Parr isn’t a racer in the classic sense that Sir Frank is. The Veteran namesake and Team owner

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Driver Quotes: Day 1 at Barcelona

BARCELONA PRE-SEASON TESTING CIRCUIT DE CATALUNYA  DAY 1 DRIVER QUOTES  01 MARCH 2012 Red Bull Racing  Mark Webber “We’re here at the last test now, it’s starting to build up for the first race and we’re pretty excited for that. However, we still have plenty to go through this week but so far so good.

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Verdasco Ousts Former Acapulco Champ Almagro

Eighth seed Fernando Verdasco knocked out fellow Spaniard and two-time champion Nicolas Almagro 6-4, 7-6(5) on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.

[[More Tennis News on ATPWorldTour.com]]

Kohlschreiber, Anderson Into Delray Beach QFs

No. 5 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber dismissed Ivan Dodig 6-2, 6-2 at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships Thursday to advance to the quarter-finals.

[[More Tennis News on ATPWorldTour.com]]

Kohlschreiber, Sela Reach Delray Beach QFs

No. 5 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber dismissed Ivan Dodig 6-2, 6-2 at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships Thursday to advance to the quarter-finals.

[[More Tennis News on ATPWorldTour.com]]

Nadal, Djokovic, Bryans Headline Indian Wells Doubles Field

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and other top-ranked singles players join the World No. 1 Bryan Brothers and other talented doubles teams in the BNP Paribas Open men’s doubles draw.

[[More Tennis News on ATPWorldTour.com]]

Llodra/Zimonjic, Lindstedt/Tecau Fall In Dubai

Julian Knowle and Alexander Peya edged past top seeds Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimonjic 7-6(3), 7-6(2) in one hour and 40 minutes on Thursday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

[[More Tennis News on ATPWorldTour.com]]

Berdych upset with chair umpire's ruling

Tomas Berdych became furious with chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani during his 6-3, 7-5 quarterfinal loss to Andy Murray today in Dubai. Berdych argued with Lahyani about a Hawk-Eye decision when he appeared to have broken Murray back for 6-6 on a double fault. But the replays showed that Murray’s unreturned serve had actually been in. Berdych claimed the point should have been replayed because the line judge's call had interfered with his return of serve, when he did make contact with the ball. Lahyani disagreed.

"If we look at all the rule books we going to see that if it's not a clear ace there is a repeat of point actually," Berdych said, "I have no idea what Mohamed did. He is the best referee on tour and I never had anything like that with him."

Federer, Murray, Djokovic win Dubai QFs

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)â€"Novak Djokovic defeated fellow Serb Janko Tipsarevic 6-1, 7-6 (6) Thursday to set up a Dubai Championships semifinal with Andy Murray, who he beat in a marathon five-setter at the Australian Open last month.
 
Roger Federer will face Juan Martin del Potro in the other semifinal at Aviation Club. Del Potro beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (1), 6-2 for the second time in two weeks.
 
Murray advanced by defeating fifth-seeded Tomas Berdych 6-3, 7-5. Roger Federer had another routine encounter, stopping Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-4.

The top-ranked Djokovic, gunning for his fourth Dubai title in a row, broke the seventh-seeded Tipsarevic twice and closed out the first set when his opponent returned long. Tipsarevic rallied the second set, holding his serve throughout and taking a 4-1 lead in the tiebreaker. Tipsarevic missed a set point at 6-5 when he double-faulted, and Djokovic won the next two points.
 
“We know each other really well,” Djokovic said. “We both got a little bit nervous toward the end, I guess, and it was just luck to prevail.”
 
Tipsarevic admitted nerves got the better of him in the second-set tiebreaker, but not because he was facing a friend.
 
“Obviously, it’s like little butterflies in the stomach having the set point on 6-5 in the tiebreak after a one-hour set,” Tipsarevic said. “It’s not only against Novak. It would have happened against anyone. Normally you’re trying your best on this point. It’s just that I tried too much for no reason.”
 
Murray has lost his last three matches against Berdych but broke early to take control of the first set.
 
In the second, the players twice traded breaks of serve. Murray broke to go up 6-5 but squandered six match points before clinching it when Berdych hit long.
 
“That’s one thing I’ve always been very comfortable with, closing matches out,” Murray said. “I played three great serves to bring it to 40-Love and then missed a few first serves in a row and he went for some big shots. Then once you’re back at deuce you’re thinking, ‘God, I’ve just blown three match points.’ So you kind of just want to try get through it if you can.”
 
Berdych had a chance to break to take the second set to a tiebreaker. Murray delivered a serve that was initially called out but overturned on review. Umpire Mohammed Lahyani gave the point to Murray, leaving Berdych angry because he felt the point should have been replayed.
 
Lahyani argued that Berdych had already played his return into the net when the call came.
 
“When the point end up like this, actually this is something you don’t expect at all,” Berdych said. “You just trying to be focus on the game and go point by point, and then something like that came and you know you are right. What you can do?”
 
Murray said he was looking forward to his semifinal clash against Djokovic.
 
“I would like to get a chance to play him again,” Murray said. “Before the Indian Wells-Miami stretch it would be good to see exactly what I need to work on, where my game is. I had a great match with him in Australia, and hopefully I can reverse the result tomorrow.”
 
Federer, who is looking for his fifth Dubai title, defeated Youzhny for the 12th straight time. He has had similar success against Del Potro, carrying a 9-2 record into their match. But one of those losses was in the 2009 U.S. Open final, a win that will be on the Argentine’s mind Friday.
 
“I always think about that final. After the final in Rotterdam (last month), he (Federer) told me ‘You have the big one, so don’t be sad,”’ Del Potro said. “All the matches are different, all tournaments are different, and I’m trying to find a way to beat him again. It’s really difficult for me, his game. He plays slices, drop shots, and he’s one of the best in history. So I just want to be ready for a fight.”

Radwanska wins twice in Kuala Lumpur

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP)â€"Top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska completed two wins on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the rain-affected Malaysian Open.

Radwanska returned to finish off a 6-2, 6-4 win over Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan after their first-round match was suspended by rain on Wednesday at 3-3 in the second set.

After a break to rest, she then beat Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-4 to reach her fifth quarterfinal of the year.

Pliskova’s twin sister Kristyna also lost Thursday, going down 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 to third-seeded Peng Shuai of China.

Second-seeded Jelena Jankovic beat Jill Craybas of the United States 6-2, 6-0 to set up a quarterfinal against sixth-seeded Ayumi Morita, who defeated fellow Japanese Misaki Doi 7-6 (6), 6-2.

In a match between two Australians, Olivia Rogowska knocked out defending champion Jelena Dokic 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) after more than two hours on court at the Bukit Kiara Equestrian and Country Resort.

Djokovic to face Murray in Dubai semifinals

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)â€"Novak Djokovic defeated Serbian compatriot Janko Tipsarevic 6-1, 7-6 (6) and set up a Dubai Championships semifinal with Andy Murray on Thursday.

Roger Federer will face Juan Martin del Potro in the other semi at Aviation Club.

Murray advanced by beating fifth-seeded Tomas Berdych 6-3, 7-5. Federer had another routine quarterfinal, beating Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-4.

Del Potro ousted Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (1), 6-2 for the second time in two weeks.

The top-ranked Djokovic, gunning for his fourth Dubai title in a row, broke Tipsarevic twice in the first set. The No. 9-ranked Tipsarevic came to life in the second set, holding his serve throughout and taking a 4-1 lead in the tiebreaker. Tipsarevic missed a set point at 6-5 when he double-faulted, and Djokovic won the next two points.

“It’s always difficult I guess for both of us. We know each other really well,” Djokovic said. “We both got a little bit nervous toward the end, I guess, and it was just luck to prevail.”

Tipsarevic admitted nerves got the better of him in the second-set tiebreaker, but not because he was facing a friend.

“Obviously it’s like little butterflies in the stomach having the set point on 6-5 in the tiebreak after a one-hour set,” Tipsarevic said. “It’s not only against Novak. It would have happened against anyone. Normally you’re trying your best on this point. It’s just that I tried too much.”

Murray had lost his last three matches against Berdych but broke early to take control of the first set.

In the second, the players twice traded breaks of serve. Murray broke to go up 6-5 but squandered six match points before clinching it when Berdych hit long.

“That’s one thing I’ve always been very comfortable with, closing matches out,” Murray said. “I played three great serves to bring it to 40-love and then missed a few first serves in a row and he went for some big shots. Then once you’re back at deuce you’re thinking, ‘God, I’ve just blown three match points.’ So you kind of just want to try get through it if you can.”

Berdych had a chance to break to take the second set to a tiebreaker. A Murray serve was initially called out but overturned on review. Umpire Mohammed Lahyani gave the point to Murray, leaving Berdych angry because he felt the point should have been replayed.

Lahyani argued that Berdych had already played his return into the net when the call came.

“When the point ends up like this, this is something you don’t expect at all,” Berdych said. “You’re just trying to focus on the game and go point by point, and then something like that comes and you know you are right. What can you do?”

Murray said he was looking forward to his semifinal against Djokovic. The Serb leads their matchups 7-4, including a five-set semifinal at the Australian Open.

“I would like to get a chance to play him again,” Murray said. “Before the Indian Wells-Miami stretch it would be good to see exactly what I need to work on, where my game is. I had a great match with him in Australia, and hopefully I can reverse the result tomorrow.”

Looking for his fifth Dubai title, Federer beat Youzhny for the 12th straight time. He has had similar success against del Potro, carrying a 9-2 record into their match. But one of those losses was in the 2009 U.S. Open final, a win that will be on the Argentine’s mind on Friday.

“I always think about that final. After the final in Rotterdam (last month), he (Federer) told me ‘You have the big one, so don’t be sad,”’ del Potro said. “But tomorrow … all the matches are different, all tournaments are different, and I’m trying to find a way to beat him again. It’s really difficult for me, his game. He plays slices, drop shots, and he’s one of the best in history. So I just want to be ready for a fight.”

Murray To Face Djokovic in Blockbuster Semi-final

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic withstood a late fightback from fellow Serbian Janko Tipsarevic to prevail 6-1, 7-6(6) on Thursday night and book his place in the semi-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

[[More Tennis News on ATPWorldTour.com]]

Federer Extends Perfect Youzhny Record; Del Potro Defeats Tsonga

World No. 3 Roger Federer improved to a perfect 12-0 record against Mikhail Youzhny on Thursday as he defeated the Russian 6-3, 6-4 in a repeat of the 2007 final to reach the semi-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

[[More Tennis News on ATPWorldTour.com]]

Federer, Murray win Dubai quarterfinals

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)â€"Roger Federer and Andy Murray both advanced to the semifinals of the Dubai Championships on Thursday, each winning in straight sets.

Federer, who is looking for his fifth Dubai title, beat Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-4, defeating the Russian for the 12th straight time. Murray advanced by beating Tomas Berdych 6-3, 7-5.

With his serve working as good as it has all week, the second-seeded Federer again won without losing a set.

“I thought, again, on my serve I was doing many of the right things,” said Federer, who had five aces and won 80 percent of the points on his second serve.

“It’s quick out there, so you got to be really focused,” he said. “He was obviously taking a lot chances for one set and a half. Maybe his energy wasn’t quite up. You know, at the end he really got pumped up a bit, but it was almost too late for him.”

The 16-time Grand Slam champion will next face either eighth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro or fourth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga match.

Murray broke early in the first set, and later saved four break points to advance.

“That’s one thing I’ve always been very comfortable with, closing matches out,” Murray said. “I played three great serves to bring it to 40-Love and then missed a few first serves in a row and he went for some big shots. Then once you’re back at deuce you’re thinking, God, I’ve just blown three match points. So you kind of just want to try get through it if you can.”

Berdych had a chance to break to take the second set to a tiebreaker. Murray delivered a serve that was initially called out but overturned on review. Umpire Mohammed Lahyani gave the point to Murray, leaving Berdych angry because he felt the point should have been replayed.

Lahyani argued that Berdych had already played his return into the net when the call came.

“When the point end up like this, actually this is something you don’t expect at all,” Berdych said. “You just trying to be focus on the game and go point by point, and then something like that came and you know you are right. What you can do? I was at least trying to focus back, to not lost straight away the points. But this quite affects the concentration.”

Murray could now play top-ranked Novak Djokovic in a repeat of the Australian Open semifinals, which the Serb won in five sets. Djokovic faces seventh-seeded Janko Tipsarevic later Thursday.

“It should be obviously a great challenge. Any time you play against the top players, that’s the case,” Murray said. “I would like to get a chance to play him again. You know, before the Indian Wells-Miami stretch it would be good to see exactly what I need to work on, where my game is. I had a great match with him in Australia, and hopefully can reverse the result tomorrow.”