Wimbledon: Men Singles 2ND Round Up

The Men Singles 2ND Round Has Been Completed And Results Are The Following:

Lukas Rosol Upsets R.Nadal

Lukas Rosol B. Rafael Nadal 6-7 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4


If someone had predicted that Rafael Nadal would be released in the second round of Wimbledon against the world number 100, the majority would probably burst out laughing. But this is precisely what happened on the fourth day of the tournament in London. The grass is not the surface of the Majorcan favorite, yet she won Wimbledon twice, in 2008 and 2010, so it was expected that Lukas Rosol not be a problem. Not so, because the blind is one of those who refuse to be cowed and quickly makes it clear to the number 2 in the world who does not want to give gifts. The match that comes out is really interesting, because the lefty Manacor is now in difficulty in having to deal with someone that howls, and as he angled.

Andy Murray

Andy MURRAY b. I. Karlovic 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (5)

The world number 4 leads to the third round of Wimbledon after four sets (poca!) game against the giant Croat Ivo Karlovic and will play Saturday against Marcos Baghdatis, who beat the Bulgarian Dimitrov to withdraw. As expected, a little game for Murray and a superhuman effort to put the bat on the slings Karlovic (17 aces and 83% of points on first serve) which forces the second time, but just a chance to tie-break of the fourth (plus a third set sold soon) Croatian forces to double fault giving the mini-decisive advantage in Murray.The Scot, after playing well against Davydenko, he played a game of sacrifice winning through to the many winners (43): Most, of course, by passing on the Karlovic serve and volley.

Andy Roddick

Andy RODDICK b. Bjorn Phau 6-3, 7-6 (1), 6-3

Andy Roddick, after the Queen's, Eastbourne final (won against Seppi) and "48 hours" in the first round against the Englishman Jamie Baker - match interrupted three times in as many days due to rain / darkness - celebrates its fourth day on fields of the All England Club by beating German Bjorn Phau without worries. It will be a great third round of the U.S., a finalist at Wimbledon three times between 2004 and 2009, against David Ferrer, seeded No. 7 and the protagonist of a great first half of 2012. Last Sunday, the Spaniard has won the tournament in 's-Hertogenbosch on grass.

David Ferrer

David FERRER b. Kenny de Schepper 7-6 (1), 6-2 6-4

It's fun and balanced match between David Ferrer and the Kenny De Schepper: Spanish demonstrates a good shape even on the grass, while the French did not take itself too seriously and is willing to smile when fortune does not smile at him . The tiebreak in the first set is almost exclusively a soliloquy of Valencia, which leaves the opponent to only 1 point in a set that proceeds without break. In the other two partial Ferrer has a poo life easier, even if the final ripping service to the French only in closing.

Xavier Malisse

Xavier Malisse b. Gilles Simon 6-4 6-4 7-6 (5)

The grass is not his area, but Gilles Simon is definitely on the day and gives viewers the show is not worthy of a field 3 of its value. The seeded number 13 then comes out of the scene against the Belgian owner of an aggressive tennis that often sends the opponent off the court. In the third set, Simon saves twice going to serve to stay in the match, but the tiebreaker is fatal.

Dolgopolov

Benoit Paire b. Alexandr DOLGOPOLOV 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-1

There was a long waiting list for Alexandr Dolgopolov, seeded 22, but the Ukrainian leaves the stage to the second round against Benoit Paire, French born in 1989 and No. 55 of the ATP ranking. For Dolgopolov, that in the first round he defeated Alex Bogomolov, percentages are too low in the service (only 45% of the points on the second); Paire, 47 winners in 3 sets, is a nice surprise of the tournament and will face the third round the American Brian Baker.

Tsonga

Jo-Wilfried TSONGA b. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-7 (3), 6-4 6-1 6-3

It was started in an unusual match of Tsonga: was expected to see the domination of the French du Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, and is not so. The Spanish play good tennis and is not intimidated by strong, deep strokes of the Alps, which is struggling through the first set and was finally able to win the tiebreak. The level of play, however, remains high and Garcia-Lopez continues to push, but gradually the values ​​are reversed in the field makes the break and Tsonga in the final set, bringing the count in balance. The third set is cut short, the French said the pace of the game and partially closes in just 25 '. Garcia-Lopez in the fourth set grows again, but it is transformed from a decisive break point at 4-3 Tsonga. Become 5-3, the Frenchman goes to serve for the match and made no mistake, despite the strenuous defense of the opponent. Ace in the third round meeting with Lacko.

OTHER RESULTS:

Juan Martin Del Potro B. Go Soeda: 6-2, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4

 Marin Cilic B.Kubot: 7-6, 6-2, 6-1,

 B. Baker b. J. Nieminen 6-0, 6-2, 6-4;

 K.Nishikori b. F. Serra 6-3, 7-5, 6-2,

 F. Verdasco b. G. Zemlya 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3;

 D. Goffin b. J. Levine 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3;

 B. Becker b. R. Stepanek 6-2, 7-6, 6-3; 

A. Falla b. N. Mahut 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 7-5;

 L. Lacko b. J. Melzer 6-4, 6-7, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 

P. Kohlschreiber b. M. Jaziri 6-1, 7-6, 6-1;

 M. Baghdatis b. G. Dimitrov 7-5, 4-1 (rit);

 M. Fish b. J. Ward 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3

Wimbledon: Women's Singles 2ND Round Up

Women's Singles 2ND Round Has Been Completed And The Results Are The Following:

Victoria Azarenka

Victoria AZARENKA b. Romina OPRANDI 6-2, 6-0

The head of the No. 2 and the holder of the Australian Open is a trip of 50 minutes on Court 2 to get rid of with strict Swiss Romina Oprandi 6-1, 6-0. Gap and no huge game, for this further comment seems superfluous.

Serena Williams

S.WILLIAMS b. Czink 6-1, 6-4

Should not force too much for Serena Williams through the round, although Melinda Czink opposes more resistance than expected. The first set is quick and painless, with the Hungarian holding his first turn at bat and then gets overwhelmed by the broadsides of Serena.In 20 'the U.S. is already 1 set to 0. Pippa Middleton seems to still have fun and actually the second part is more balanced. There are no breaks until the Czink 4-4 and takes the field much better. But when Serena decides to quit, it becomes more difficult for his opponent, who loses his service in the ninth game of the second set and sends Williams to serve for the match. Serena does not stick and closes the meeting with a violent straight, which sends it to the third round with 10 aces and three breaks.

Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova b. Tsvetana Pironkova 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (4-7), 6-0

It takes two hours and twenty to Maria Sharapova to reach the third round of Wimbledon beating the excellent Tsvetana Pironkova: could not be simpler, because the Bulgarian Class 1987 (No. 38 of the WTA rankings) has played a semifinal at Wimbledon in 2010 and defeated Venus Williams in the last two editions. Indeed, the last Pironkova started strong going 3-0 and forcing Sharapova to difficult times at bat to the set-point on the 5-3 and 5-4 (after the break-back) canceled their feet into the field and a perfect angle with the back and attacked the answer. 3 more set points at 6-5, Masha is deep and winning the first fraction and prolongs the tiebreak winning it down, but after 62 minutes of soffertissimo September 1 The second game is interrupted by darkness on Field 1: Partial Sharapova 3-1 with the final break. The great tennis encounter more beautiful, so far, the women's tournament started today with the break-back "immediately" and the other seven games Pironkova level altissimio the second tiebreaker wins the Pironkova, because Mary suddenly loses Service and 3 double faults is a pity that the Bulgarian side in the third set unconditional surrender undergoing a severe and undeserved 6-0.

Petra Kvitova

Petra Kvitova b. Elena Baltacha 6-0, 6-4

There is little to say about the match of Petra Kvitova. The czech does his duty and indeed grant something too Elena Baltacha. The first set beat it smooth and in 22 'is already 60. History seems to repeat itself in the second, when, after a first fought game, the czech flies on 4-0. The British, however, has a reaction of pride and comeback to 4-3, then go and lose 6-4. In the third round will face Varvara Lepchenko.

OTHER RESULTS:

Angelique Kerber,  b.  Elena Makarova   7-5, 6-3;

 Tamira Paszek b. Alize Cornet 6-2 6-1 

 Ana Ivanovic  b. Kateryna Bondarenko 6-3, 7-6, 

Marion Bartoli b. Mirjana Lullic  6-4, 6-3.

 J.Zheng b. A. Wozniak 6-4, 6-2,

 C. McHale b. M. Johansson 7-5, 7-5;

 J. Goerges b. A. Yakimova 7-6, 6-2;

 Y. Shvedova b. K. Bertens 6-4, 6-4;

 K. Zakopalova b. O. Govortsova 2-6, 6-1, 6-2;

 Y. Wickmayer b.G. Voskoboeva 4-6, 6-3, 8-6;

 N. Petrova b. T. Babos 6-4, 6-7, 9-7; 

V. Lepchenko b. A.Pavlyuchenkova 7-6, 6-4

2nd Semi Final: Italy beat Germany 2-1 at Euro 2012 reach Final will face Spain

Italy Celebrated.

Italy beat Germany 2-1 at Euro 2012  in Warsaw to advance to face Spain in the final of Euro 2012 thanks to a fine brace from Mario Balotelli.Germany started the game well and forced Andrea Pirlo to clear off his own line inside five minutes, but soon after Italy went ahead as Antonio Cassano crossed for Balotelli to head home from close range.With Germany struggling, Balotelli then latched on to a long through ball to smash home a second past Manuel Neuer and put the game to bed before half-time. Mesut Ozil's last-minute penalty was not enough to prevent Germany's suffering their first defeat in a competitive game since their World Cup semi-final loss to Spain two years ago.Indeed, it was their third semi-final loss in their past four tournaments, one of which, in the 2006 World Cup, came against tonight's opponents, who have still never lost to Germany in a competitive game, and now face Spain in Kiev on Sunday.Germany had started the match as favourites, mainly thanks to their world record run of 15 successive victories. Having seen how hard England had found it to subdue Andrea Pirlo, it was anticipated they would deal with him much better. Instead, it was worse.Sitting deep on the halfway line, Germany allowed Pirlo the time to pick out returning full-back Giorgio Chiellini with a brilliant pass to the touchline. From there, it went downhill rapidly for Joachim Low's side. Chiellini nudged the ball onto Cassano, who swivelled past Mats Hummels with the minimum of fuss. Balotelli immediately got himself some space behind Holger Badstuber and when the cross came, he rose to power the ball home from six yards.If that was efficient in its execution, Balotelli's second was brutal. Advancing from deep inside his own half, Riccardo Montolivo could scarcely believe the room he was given. Twice he looked up to see if anything was on. On the second occasion he spotted Balotelli making his run, exploiting Philipp Lahm's failure to maintain the offside line.It took Balotelli a bit of time to get himself into a shooting position. However, as the ball sat up nicely, he smashed it past Manuel Neuer. The Germany keeper had set himself to make a save. In the end, there was nothing he could do but stick out a limp hand and fall to the ground, powerless to do anything to prevent his goal being breached a second time. Balotelli was booked for removing his shirt as he attempted to celebrate with a moody pose.He could not keep it up though and broke into a broad smile as he was engulfed by ecstatic team-mates. It was a performance that put English efforts - and Ireland's for that matter - into some kind of perspective. Germany though were a shadow of their normal selves. Twice in the opening stages Gianluigi Buffon had fumbled close to his own line but they could not take advantage.Sami Khedira did launch a volley towards goal in between Balotelli's brace, but on that occasion Buffon was able to make the save. Low took decisive action at the interval, introducing Miroslav Klose and Marco Reus for Mario Gomez and Lukas Podolski, whose fitful contribution cannot have impressed watching Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.The change brought some much-needed life into German ranks. However, their efforts at hauling themselves back into the contest were repeatedly thwarted. Lahm failed to hit the target after running onto Toni Kroos' return pass before Buffon pushed Reus' free-kick against his own bar and away to safety.A disappointing Ozil surged to the by-line but, with hardly any room, Khedira needed to react far quicker than he did to the near-post cut-back. Balotelli's exit with cramp meant he was denied the opportunity to become the first player to score a semi-final hat-trick since Gerd Muller did it in 1976. His replacement, Antonio Di Natale, should have wrapped up victory when he found himself in acres of space inside the box, but dragged his effort wide of the far post, much to Balotelli's frustration.Federico Balzaretti's handball in the final minute did provide a few nerves for Italy as Ozil fired home from the spot. But Prandelli's men were able to reach the final whistle and celebrate their triumph.

Australians Depart Wimbledon And Other Results And News Of Wimbledon

Bernard Tomic, Lleyton Hewitt and Matthew Ebden The Three Australians Has Departed From Wimbledon Following Their Defeats From Opposition.

Bernard Tomic 

David Goffin Beat Bernard Tomic 

The defeats follow the previous night's loss by Marinko Matosevic and mean the second round at the All England Club will be without any male Australian players for the first time since 1938.Samantha Stosur remains the only Australian left in the singles draw.Tomic, seeded 20th, went down to Belgian wildcard David Goffin 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, and admitted afterwards he had "slacked off a bit" in recent times.Later, Hewitt - who was also a wildcard - was beaten by Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.Tomic, the 20th seed and a Wimbledon quarter-finalist last year, arrived at the All England Club in the midst of a woeful run which had seen him fail to get past the second round in 11 of his last 12 tournaments.That dispiriting sequence included withdrawing from the Wimbledon warm-up in Halle with a stomach virus, then losing in the first round at Eastbourne last week.The 19-year-old's misery showed no signs of relenting on court two as he failed to emulate last year's impressive run, when he shocked stars Robin Soderling and Nikolay Davydenko en route to becoming the youngest player since Boris Becker in 1986 to reach the last eight.Tomic won the first set against Goffin but after that the match quickly slipped away and the Australian took out his frustrations on his equipment, destroying two racquets.He was later booed off the court.Bernard Tomic Said"I'm not normally like that, but it's a good way to get relief when you smash a racquet"."I don't normally do it and it's not like I'll be continuing to do it."Explaining his loss to Wimbledon debutant Goffin, Tomic told a news conference he has the talent but he has not been working hard enough."To have talent is one thing, it's huge for any sport," 20th seed Tomic said."But I have sort of slacked off a little bit and look what it's costing me. Last eight, nine weeks I'm losing a lot of first, second rounds. So it's not my quality of tennis."My quality of tennis should be getting me to a lot of semi-finals, finals at tournaments or even winning, but lack of concentration, not working hard, it costs you."Goffin debuted at Wimbledon inspired by his performance at Roland Garros. The Belgian reached the fourth round in Paris as a lucky loser."Well, look, he's 21. I'm 18, 19. I've gotten into the top 30," Tomic said. "It's different. He has time and he's going to obviously be a top-30 player. He has great groundstrokes."But I think what I've lacked the last few weeks is the consistency and it's tough to get."Against Goffin, Tomic secured an early break that settled the first set with the minimum fuss.But there were still too many signs of Tomic's inconsistency in the second set as he dropped serve twice either side of a break of his own.That was enough for Goffin to level the match and he kept the pressure on Tomic with another break in the first game of the third set.With Goffin's serve holding up well, Tomic was starting to look increasingly frustrated as the Belgian moved two sets to one ahead.Tomic's angst only increased in the fourth set as Goffin, who took a set off Roger Federer before losing to 16-time Grand Slam champion in Paris, landed another blow with an early break.That was enough to shatter Tomic's spirit for good and Goffin was soon celebrating his first ever win on grass.Tomic was booed off after smashing two racquets during the match, but he says his behaviour was uncharacteristic."I'm not normally like that but it's a good way to get relief when you smash a raquet. I don't normally do it and it's not like I'll be continuing to do it."

Hewitt

Tsonga Beat Hewitt

Tsonga Out-Busted Hewitt By  6-3, 6-4, 6-4 .Former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt, reduced to being a wildcard at the tournament he won 10 years ago, could never match the firepower of number five seed Tsonga.He said it was a bad day for the Australian men. Matthew Ebden also bowed out following a 1-6, 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 loss to France's Benoit Paire."There's a lot of different reasons it could have been," Hewitt told reporters."Draws, matchups, whatever. But at least three of us, the three guys that played today, I know we could have beaten a lot of guys that are still going in the tournament. That's just how it falls."

Hewitt empathised with Tomic who had done so well at Wimbledon last year."It's tough I think that sort of next year after you sort of break through to keep it up and continue doing it," he said."Everybody obviously had massive expectations for him to do well. This is his best surface."Training-wise I don't know what he's been doing. I wouldn't have a clue. But obviously he's had a frustrating last couple of weeks."Both Tomic and Hewitt will be back at Wimbledon to represent Australia in the Olympics.In the women's draw Queensland teenager Ashleigh Barty lost 6-2, 6-4 to Italian 21st seed Roberta Vinci in her first year in the women's singles.Barty was the 2011 Wimbledon junior girls champion and was not too despondent by the loss."I've still got a good record here so I'm looking to improve and come back," Barty said.Casey Dellacqua also lost 6-2, 6-4 when she went up against ninth seed Marion Bartoli of France.Stosur, the only remaining Australian in the singles, takes on Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands at 10pm Wednesday night (AEST).

Matthew Ebden

Benoit Paire Beat Matthew Ebden

Ebden lost 6-1 6-3 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 to 55-ranked Frenchman Benoit Paire, while Tomic wasted a strong early start to go down to 70-ranked Belgian David Goffin 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.Marinko Matosevic, ranked 72 and Australia's second-highest rated player after Tomic, had earlier complained that a cold or flu had left him feeling dreadful during his lacklustre and erratic effort against Belgian veteran Xavier Malisse, who is ranked three spots lower but had little trouble dismissing him 6-2 6-2 7-5.

THE OTHER NEWS ( WIMBLEDON ) THAT WERE NOT POSTED YESTERDAY

Nole

Novak DJOKOVIC b. Ryan Harrison 6-4, 6-4, 6-4

Novak Djokovic wins the second round by closing the program of the Centre Court with a 6-4 triple within two hours of play against Ryan Harrison, an American born in 1992 and already number 48 ranking in the ATP tennis brilliant and diversified by the holder and world leader with a set against a bold break for Harrison, who did not go over 6 break points at 3-3 Nole canceled by the second set. Djokovic awaits the opponent's third-round match interrupted by darkness on the All England Lawn Tennis Radek Stepanek in the U.S. and Benjamin Becker.

Janko Tipsarevic

Janko Tipsarevic b. Ryan Sweeting 5-7, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2

The top-seeded No. 8, Janko Tipsarevic, defeated the American Ryan Sweeting, No. 130 ATP, and qualifies for the third round of Wimbledon where he will face the winner between Youzhny and Cervantes. First two sets with the same script and score, but the opposite outcome: no one ever goes to benefits with brisk innings, but before Tipsarevic Sweeting and then tear the last service game to the opponent to close the surroundings. There is another analogy between the third and fourth set, but this time only in favor of Tipsarevic, ripping the cover 1-1 service to the opponent of the last fractions and does not lose his turn at bat for close the meeting. Sweeting plays a match, and generous with a big serve (16 aces with 70% of points on the first), but the Serbian is another category.

Stanislas Wawrinka Unlucky

Jurgen Melzer b. Stanislas Wawrinka 3-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-4, 8-6

Falls another head of the series. Switzerland's Wawrinka, seeded 25, has to give five-set Austrian Melzer in the continuation of the first round match interrupted by rain yesterday. The Austrian's time to open the board: for him the next round slovak Lacko.

OTHER RESULTS 

 David Ferrer Beat  German Brown 7-6, 6-4, 6-4. 

Ernests Gulbis, Beat  t. Jerzy Janowicz: 2-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 9-7  

 M.Raonic b. S.Giraldo 6-4, 6-4, 6-4; 

L. Kubot b. T.Ito 7-6, 6-3, 6-3; 

J.Monaco b. J.Chardy 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6

,

 F. Mayer b. P. Petzschner 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4;

 B. Phau b. W. Odesnik 6-3, 3-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4;

 I. Karlovic b. D.Sela 6-4, 6-4, 7-6; 

Benneteau b. M. Russell 7-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5; 

M. Youzhny b. I. Cervantes 6-1, 6-3, 6-4;

 D. Istomin b. I. Andreev 6-3, 7-6, 4-6, 6-2; 

N. Almagro b. G. Rufin 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4;

R. Gasquet b. R. Benelmans 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Match Interrupted

It was completed on the All England Club for darkness meetings between Alejandro Falla and Nicolas Mahut (6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 3-3) and between Radek Stepanek and Benjamin Becker on 6 partial -2, 5-6 the second set.

Florent Malouda Suggests That "He Could Leave"

Flourant Malouda may be on his way out of Stamford Bridge after being told that he may move. Suitors are believed to include clubs in Brazil where Malouda's wife hails from

Florent Malouda Has Said That He May Leave Chelsea And Is Interested To Play For Brazilian Club.Malouda has one year left on his contract and has been informed that he can move. The 32-year-old is considering a number of offers including at least one from Brazil where he has already expressed an interest in playing.The French international, who signed for Chelsea for £13m in 2007, has a Brazilian wife and is wanted by Vasco Da Gama where he reunite with his former Lyon team-mate Juninho Pernambucano.Brazilian football is receiving a huge financial boost with money flowing into the game ahead of the 2014 World Cup Finals.It’s believed that Michael Essien is also hoping to leave Chelsea this summer but another midfielder, Meireles, is keen to stay.The Portuguese international was unsettled by the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas and has struggled to command a regular first-team place. He has been linked with a several clubs but would prefer to remain at Stamford Bridge.Chelsea have already released Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou and Jose Bosingwa, after their contracts expire, and there are expected to be more departures. The future of Daniel Sturridge, for whom Chelsea could command a sizeable fee, remains the most interesting.Drogba has signed for Shanghai Shenhua and both his representatives and Barcelona president Sandro Rosell were quick yesterday to dismiss suggestions that he may be trying to move to Catalan club instead.“Drogba to Barca story complete nonsense. As we told you he joins Shanghai in July,” reported the Sports PR Company, his media representatives, using the social network site Twitter. Drogba agreed to join the Chinese club several months ago and it’s understood that if he attempted to release himself from the deal it would involve significant compensation being paid.Chelsea are in the process of reshaping their squad, having already signed Eden Hazard and Marko Marin although their interest in Hulk has cooled for now. Manager Roberto Di Matteo also has to juggle with players coming back from the European Championships and John Terry’s trial as he plans for next month’s pre-season tour to the United States.It was also announced yesterday that defender David Luiz would be one of the over-age players in Brazil’s squad for the Olympics. Spain are also considering selecting Juan Mata even though he is part of the Euro 2012 squad.

Giroud Signs for Arsenal Over Chelsea

Giroud Signs For Arsenal

French Star Giroud Has Snubbed Chelsea To Join Arsenal For £13 million.Giroud told French newspaper L'Equipe: 'Why did I choose Arsenal rather than Chelsea? Because it is a club I love. And I thought it would be easier for my adaptation.'Arsenal is a great club, the facilities are wonderful, but I feel it is a club that takes big care before signing a player, notably considering human values.'There are French players. There is also Arsene Wenger who let me understand he really wanted me.'Chelsea is very nice, it is a great club, but I am not convinced (coach Roberto) Di Matteo knows who I am.'Giroud also denied he has been signed as a replacement for Robin van Persie, who has been linked with Manchester City and Juventus after putting contract talks on hold.'When you make the decision to join a great club, you know there is already a great forward,' he added.'I know what to expect.'Van Persie is a fantastic player who was outstanding last season.He has been at Arsenal for eight years, I hope I will have time to adapt and improve.'Anyway, I don't go there to take his place.'

1st Semi Final: Spain beat Portugal 4-2 in Penalties reach Final of Euro 2012

Spain Celebrates.

Spain beat Portugal 4-2 in Penalties at Euro 2012 after they played out a 0-0 draw in the first semi-final of Euro 2012, as Joao Moutinho and Bruno Alves missed.Earlier, Cristiano Ronaldo had missed a good chance to put Portugal through in the last minute of normal time while Portugal keeper Rui Patricio made superb saves to deny Jesus Navas and Andres Iniesta in extra-time.The Spaniards had started better, and ought to have gone ahead from their first chance in the ninth minute when Manuel Negredo pulled the ball back for Alvaro Arbeloa to fire over the bar from the edge of the box.Andres Iniesta blazed over from long range a minute later, but Portugal threatened in the 13th minute through Ronaldo, who beat Gerard Pique down the left before crossing towards Nani, with Iker Casillas jumping to make a crucial interception.Paulo Bento's men had clearly wrested the upper hand, suffocating the Spanish midfield and worrying their opponents through the persistent threat of Ronaldo and Nani up front. But Spain still almost contrived the grab the lead against the run of play in the 29th minute, when Xavi's clever ball found Iniesta on the edge of the box,who rolled the ball onto his right foot before floating a shot inches over Rui Patricio's goal.Within two minutes, Portugal had responded with an even better chance, Joao Moutinho's persistence paying off on the edge of the box as he set free Ronaldo to drill a low shot just wide of Casillas left hand post. Portugal's control continued into the second half, with Nani almost picking out the head of Hugo Almeida from a dangerous right wing cross, and it proved enough for Vicente Del Bosque, who replaced Negredo with Fabregas up front.Almeida wasted a good chance in the 58th minute when he fired ambitiously over the Spanish bar instead of picking out Ronaldo or Nani, who were unmarked to his left and right respectively. Belatedly, Spain started to show signs of stirring, Xabi drilling a shot straight at Patricio from long range, but despite beginning to edge possession, chances continued to be few and far between.Ronaldo, still terrorising the Spanish defenders at every opportunity, fired a free-kick just over from 30 yards, but a game that had started brightly drifted into a dull spell in which neither side could serve up much of a threat.Then came a glorious chance for Ronaldo in the last minute of normal time, when a Portuguese counter-attack saw Raul Meireles feed the Real Madrid man who fired over the bar from the left side of the box. The introduction of Pedro lent some urgency to the Spanish attack in extra-time, and his run set up a chance for Iniesta in the seventh minute of the extra half hour, but his low shot was blocked in the box.The Portuguese were plainly tiring, and Spain had an even better chance in the 104th minute, when Jordi Alba's cross found Iniesta in front of goal but Patricio managed to flap his shot wide from six yards. Sergio Ramos slammed a long-range free-kick just over the bar before the end of the first period of extra-time, and Ramos was soon in critical action at the other end when cutting out a Fabio Coentrao ball meant for Ronaldo.Substitute Jesus Navas was next to get the chance to break the deadlock in the 22nd minute of extra-time, picking up a ball from Arbeloa in the box and hitting a shot which Patricio did well to save down low. As Spain kept pressing, Pedro briefly burst clear before being caught by Fabio Coentrao, but by then there was a certain inevitability about a match that promised much but offered little heading to penalties.Alonso had the first spot-kick saved by Patricio but Casillas evened things up by saving the first Portuguese penalty from Moutinho. Iniesta, Pepe, Pique, Nani and Sergio Ramos (who calmly copied Andrea Pirlo's 'Panenka' style spot-kick) all put away their penalties before Alves - who had inadvertently stepped up for the previous penalty which was eventually converted by Nani - hit the bar, leaving Fabregas to put Spain through.

Federer,raonic,watson,Pasek,Sharapova,Ivanovic in 3rd round Of Wimbledon

Roger Federer cruised cruised into the third round, while three-time runner-up Andy Roddick notched an opening-round victory Wednesday at Wimbledon.Playing in front of Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, the third-seeded Federer, a six-time Wimbledon champion, gained a 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Italian Fabio Fognini on the famed Centre Court. The super Swiss fired 13 aces and needed 1 hour, 14 minutes to swiftly advance to the next round, where the 16-time major champ will meet either 29th-seeded Frenchman Julien Benneteau or American journeyman Michael Russell on the hallowed lawns at the All England Club.The Prince of Wales, who applauded Federer after his Day-3 victory, had not attended Wimbledon since 1970.Federer also kept up his incredible second-round streak, having never lost in that round at a Grand Slam. The last time he failed to reach the third round at a major was when he fell in the opening round at the 2003 French Open.The 30-year-old Federer is in a bid to tie William Renshaw and Pete Sampras' record of seven Wimbledon titles, but his last major championship came in 2010 at the Australian Open.

Andy Roddick snuffed out Jamie Baker's Wimbledon dreams as the American finished off the plucky Scot in three sets.Resuming a set and a break up after a rain delay from yesterday, Roddick clinched the second set of this first-round match with ease before edging a nervy third to run out a 7-6 (7/1) 6-4 7-5 winner.Despite losing in straight sets, Baker, who was diagnosed with a deadly blood disorder four years ago, will take heart from his performance.The 25-year-old was Roddick's equal for much of the encounter, trading powerful blows with the three-time champion to earn five break points that he could not ultimately convert.Baker, ranked 161 places below Roddick, started off confidently when the players returned to Court One this evening, but he could not prevent the American moving 2-0 ahead, the 30-year-old clinching the set with a fine ace.Baker double-faulted but still managed to hold his serve at the start of the deciding set and the Glaswegian then engineered a break point in the fourth game.He was unable to convert it, though, clearing the baseline after a powerful serve from Roddick.The British number three had another two break points in Roddick's following service game but his opponent upped his game and used all his experience to see off the threat to leave the set at 3-3.Roddick moved in for the kill in the ninth game but Baker dug deep and survived three break points, much to the delight of the partisan crowd.Baker offered Roddick a break point in the 11th game after going long with a forehand and the Scot collapsed under pressure, failing with a cheeky drop shot after a long rally.Serving for the match, Roddick showed his class by holding to love to set up a second-round clash with 19th seed Kei Nishikori.

Rising Canadian phenom Raonic needed only 80 seconds to advance on Wednesday at Wimbledon after his match was suspended on Tuesday night.Raonic, of Thornhill, Ont., downed Colombian Santiago Giraldo 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 and will face American Sam Querrey, who eliminated fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil on Tuesday.

Heather Watson  UK's 10 year Wimbledon wait, she admits she is happy  to endure more sleepless nights if it means she can continue her fairytale run at Wimbledon.Watson ended Britain's 10-year wait to have a woman in the third round at Wimbledon as the youngster swept to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Jamie Hampton of the United States on Wednesday.For the first time since Elena Baltacha made it to the last 32 at the All England Club back in 2002, there will be a British female presence late in the first week.It is uncharted terrority for Watson, whose reward for reaching the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time is a clash against third seed Agnieszka Radwanska or Elena Vesnina who put out Venus Williams in the first round.The only downside of the success for Watson has been a lack of sleep caused by anxiety before her matches and a rush of adrenaline afterwards."This whole week I've been sleeping pretty bad. Actually last night wasn't great either. But if I keep playing like this, I don't really mind," she said."As soon as that last point was over, it's kind of like an explosion of happiness and relief."All that tension's gone. I just love when the crowd is so loud at the end. It's an amazing feeling. That's why I play tennis, for those moments."When Watson came off court she wasn't aware of the historic nature of her achievement, but -- with British female success so rare -- it didn't take long before she was made aware by legions of well wishers."I was completely unaware. I don't really look or think about things like that. I just focus on myself and my next match," Watson said."But as soon as I come off the court, everybody seems to let me know all the previous stats. I've been told about five times already."The joyous back-slapping was a stark contrast to Watson's 2011 Wimbledon campaign, which ended with her in tears during a press conference as she struggled to come to terms with an arm injury that allowed Mathilde Johansson to come from a set down to win their first round match."Last year I was feeling really down and right now I'm feeling pretty good," she said."It was tough last year because I was winning the match and then I got injured early in the second set."It was horrible for that to happen in basically my biggest tournament of the year, but it's turned out for the better this year."Watson, ranked 103rd, showed impressive poise on Monday when she demolished the higher ranked Iveta Benesova to become the first British woman to win on Centre Court since Jo Durie in 1985.The 20-year-old picked up where she left off against Hampton with another formidable effort, this time out on Court Two.Watson broke the world number 100 twice en route to taking the first set and held her nerve to save four break points in the second before wiping away tears of joy as she closed out the most important win of her career.

Caroline Wozniacki believes her recent slump and slide in the rankings has more to do with bad luck than bad tennis.The former top-ranked Dane lost two match points in the second set before falling to Tamira Paszek of Austria a 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-4 in the first round of Wimbledon on Wednesday.Wozniacki has yet to win a title this year, was eliminated in the third round of the French Open and lost her first match at the grass-court warm-up tournament at Eastbourne.Having ended both 2010 and 2011 as the top-ranked woman — albeit without winning a major — she has fallen to No. 7.

Serbia Ana Ivanovic  savoured an increasingly rare taste of success on Wednesday as the former world number one moved into the Wimbledon second round with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Spain's Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.Ivanovic was once regarded as the female game's brightest young star after winning the 2008 French Open just months after reaching the Australian Open final.But the 24-year-old has been unable to fulfill her vast potential since then and has failed to get past the fourth round in her 16 Grand Slam appearances since that triumph in Paris.She arrived at the All England Club with her ranking down to 14 and little expectation of emulating her 2007 run in the semi-finals.This was a step in the right direction at least as her rain-delayed first round match was finally played to a conclusion on Court 14.Ivanovic has rarely gone deep in any tournament this year and she had to survive plenty of nervous moments before seeing off the world number 51 to set up a second round tie against Ukraine's Kateryna Bondarenko.The Serb broke in the second game of the opening set but promptly dropped her own serve.After another exchange of breaks, Ivanovic was finally able to take control of an error-strewn set with one final break for a 5-3 lead.Ivanovic's mental fragility resurfaced early in the second set when she allowed Martinez Sanchez to break in the second game.Ivanovic dug deep to break back in the fifth game, but carelessly surrendered her serve again and this time the left hander made her pay by taking the set.The final set was a tense affair with both players scratching around for the momentum that would carry them to victory.It was Ivanovic who finally turned the match in her favour, breaking for a 4-2 lead and serving out the win. 

Maria Sharapova  will take one step closer to her first Wimbledon title in eight years if she overcomes Tsvetana Pironkova in her second-round clash on Court One.Sharapova, the number one seed, looked in imperious form as she cruised past Anastasia Rodionova on Centre Court on Monday, and has a 3-0 record over Pironkova, but will wary of the tricky Bulgarian who reached the last four here two years ago.Sharapova saw two of her main rivals for the Venus Rosewater dish move in to round two on Tuesday: Serena Williams made it through with a straight-sets victory against Czech player Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, while defending champion Petra Kvitova overcame a wobble to beat world number 96 Akgul Amanmuradova 6-4 6-4.Williamsadmits she has been impressed by the way Sharapova has rebuilt her game to move back to the top of the rankings."She had a lot of issues and it took her about five years to get back so I am really proud and happy for her," she said."I looked up to that because I've had some issues myself. I'm a year back and I'm already in the top 10. I'm trying to do like she does and just keep going."For Kvitova, her Uzbek opponent had her in trouble at 4-2 adrift in the first set, but she then won six successive games before closing out a rain-affected match."I was nervous," Kvitova said. "It was the first time for me to play as the defending champion of a grand slam. It was huge honour to come to Centre Court and I wanted to make people happy but it's not that easy."But I'm happy that I stayed calm inside and did not panic during the important points."Elsewhere on Wednesday, Kim Clijsters will hope she can make it into the third round of her last Wimbledon when she faces Czech Andrea Hlavackova second on Centre Court. Third seed Agnieszka faces Russia's Elena Vesnina on Court Three while Li Na takes on Romanian Sorana Cirstea on Court 12.