Another Sad News In the History of football

Stiliyan Petrov, the Aston Villa midfielder and club captain, has been diagnosed with acute leukaemia less than a week after complaining of feeling ill, following the defeat against Arsenal.  Aston Villa's Captain Stiliyan Petrov diagnosed with acute leukaemia. Petrov developed a fever shortly after the game at the Emirates and was sent to London earlier this week for extensive blood tests. The Bulgarian international was still hoping to be fit to play against Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday, while awaiting the results of the tests. As defeat against Arsenal last Saturday.

The 32-year-old club captain had been hoping to secure a new two-year contract with the club after telling manager Alex McLeish he still believes he can operateat the highest level until his 35th birthday, but now the hugely popular leader in the club dressing room faces a fare more daunting challenge.

His representatives Base Soccer Agency received a telephone call shortly after 12 noon on Friday afternoon and Petrov simply said: "I have got Leukaemia."That triggered a sequence of events with Villa executives being charged with the responsibility of handling the delicate situation regarding their captainand compiling an official statement to confirm the devastating news.

A statement issued on the club website confirmed: "The Villa Board received news today that our long-standing captain Stiliyan Petrov has been diagnosedwith Acute Leukaemia.

"Stiliyan developed a fever following the Arsenal game last Saturday and subsequently underwent tests conducted by Dr Ian McGuinness. Haematologyexperts confirmed the diagnosis today.

"We expect to learn more about Stiliyan's situation in due course and wehave moved quickly to support him and his family. During this time we ask thatStiliyan's privacy is placed ahead of all inquiries and trust that we willshare information as we receive it.

"Stiliyan is cherished by many and he will get from Villa every ounce oflove and support that we have to help bring this to a positive conclusion."

Petrov joined Villa in an £8m transfer from Celtic in 2006, when he becameMartin O'Neill's first signing as manager in and he was the central figure inguiding Villa to three top six finishes during the O'Neill era.

His existing contract with the club is due to expire in 2013 and his representatives werehoping to negotiate an extension at the end of the season, but are now chargedwith examining the details of termination of career payments and insurance payouts.

What A Pleasant Gift for Monaco Against The Fish

Monaco Defeated Mardy Fish Who is In top 10 rank And even though it was his Birthday And what a surprise  was it for him.Juan Monaco celebrated his 28th birthday in style Thursday, cruising into the Sony Ericsson Open semi-finals with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over No. 8 seed Mardy Fish.

The 21st seed dropped serve just once, and capitalized on five of his nine break point opportunities to dispatch the 2011 Miami semi-finalist in 83 minutes, moving ahead 3-2 in their FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series.

"It was unbelievable," said Monaco. "I think the way to celebrate my birthday, playing like this like I did today, [I] feel proud and very happy [to] be here on my birthday."

Monaco is through to his second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final, having advanced to the final four at the Shanghai Rolex Masters in 2010 (l. to Murray).

The loss marked Fish’s first defeat in seven Masters 1000 quarter-final appearances.

"He did a lot of things well today," said Fish. "I think more than anything else, he shrunk the court extremely well with his movement, and that's why I think you saw a ton of errors from me."

The Argentine will look to reach the title match at Crandon Park when he plays defending champion Novak Djokovic or fifth-seeded David Ferrer on Friday.

"I'm feeling great, playing well," Monaco said. "They're both such good players. I have to see the match, [as] I'm a friend of these two guys."

Sharpova in the finals

4-6 6-2 6-4  win for Sharapova against Carloine Wozniacki sends her to 4th final of The Sony Ericsson Open.The Russian will play Agnieszka Radwanska in Saturday's final after the Pole beat France's Marion Bartoli 6-4 6-2 to reach the biggest final of her career.

Second seed Sharapova, who has lost in all three of her previous finals in Miami, will start as clear favorite after another solid showing against Wozniacki.

The Russian was ahead early but lost the first set after her serve disappeared, allowing Wozniacki to win five consecutive games and take command of the match.

But the Russian recovered in the second set, striking the ball with impressive power.

"I could have easily, after losing a few straight games, let concentration down, I could have easily just gone down in the second set," said Sharapova.

"But I really stepped it up again. I went out there and started being aggressive. I didn't stop after I put myself in a good position. I'm extremely pleased that I pulled it out today."

Wozniacki stuck at her task however and with Sharapova serving for the match at 5-3 she broke, forcing two errors out of the Russian after winning a rally with a magnificent backhand cross-court winner.

The Dane held serve and then faced Sharapova serving for the match again.

There was a controversial finish when Sharapova's serve at 40-15 was initially ruled out but the call was overruled by the chair umpire, who ordered the point to be replayed.

Wozniacki, whose return had found the net, protested the decision but with no challenges remaining she was stuck with the verdict and Sharapova subsequently wrapped up the win with a smart volley.

"Overall I'm pretty happy with my game," said Wozniacki, who beat Serena Williams in the quarter-finals. "This week I have been playing some really good tennis. And obviously you love to win and I didn't do that today."

Radwanska dominated from the outset against a determined Bartoli and took advantage of the 35 unforced errors from her French opponent.

The Pole was well set at 4-2 in the second set when the lights went out on stadium court and there was a 20-minute delay before play resumed and Radwanksa booked her place in the final.

Sharapova has won seven of the eight previous meetings with Radwanska.