Roger Federer advance at Wimbledon

Roger Federer.

Roger Federer had a familiar result  on an unfamiliar court in the first round at Wimbledon. The Swiss six-time champion was assigned to play his opening game on Court 1 instead of Centre Court at the All England Club for the first time since 2003 but was his usual dominant self in beating Albert Ramos 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 on Monday.Federer broke Ramos eight times while losing his serve once in the first set.The 16-time Grand Slam champion is looking to equal the record of seven Wimbledon titles held by Pete Sampras and William Renshaw.

Djokovic,Sharapova Wins Venus lost

Novak Djokovic.
.Djokovic opening business on centre court, reached the second round with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win over Spanish veteran Juan Carlos Ferrero.Djokovic, playing for the first time since his French Open final defeat to Rafael Nadal, will next face either America’s Ryan Harrison or Lu Yen-Hsun of Taiwan.The 25-year-old had seen his hopes of becoming just the third man to hold all four Grand Slam titles at once shattered by his defeat at the hands of Nadal in Paris.

Maria Sharapova.

Sharapova, who completed a career Grand Slam with victory at the French Open, was second-up on Centre Court and eased past Australia’s Anastasia Rodionova 6-2, 6-3.Sharapova, the 2004 champion, has now beaten Rodionova five times in five meetings without dropping a set.The 25-year-old world number one will face Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova, who reached the semi-finals in 2010, in the last 64.“It’s always difficult when you have had no matches on grass before Wimbledon,” said Sharapova. “It can be tricky but you just focus on what you have to do.”US Open champion Samantha Stosur and ex-French Open winner Li Na also reached the second round.Stosur, the fifth-seeded Australian, had the honour of being the first woman into the last 64, cruising past Spain’s 40^th-ranked Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1, 6-3.The 28-year-old Stosur, who was a semi-finalist at the French Open earlier this month, has never got beyond the third round at the All England Club and had been beaten in the first round in 2010 and 2011.Her win earned her a second round match with Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands.Chinese 11^th seed Li Na, the 2011 French Open winner, enjoyed an emphatic 6-3, 6-1 victory over Ksenia Pervak of Kazakhstan.Li had beaten Pervak by the same score at the same stage of the Australian Open and next faces Romania’s Sorana Cirstea.Radwanska, a quarter-finalist in 2008 and 2009, made the second round with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova.Sabine Lisicki, the 15^th seed and a semi-finalist last year, enjoyed a 6-4, 6-2 win over Croatia’s Petra Martic.Flavia Pennetta, the 16^th seed, was knocked out by compatriot and qualifier Camila Giorgi, 6-4, 6-3.Later Monday, six-time champion Federer begins his campaign against Spanish left-hander Albert Ramos.Unseeded Kim Clijsters, a four-time Grand Slam title winner, who will retire after the US Open, meets fellow former world number one Jelena Jankovic, the 18^th seed. Five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams suffered her worst All England Club defeat in 15 years on Monday, but top seeds Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova powered into the second round.

Venus Williams.

Venus Williams lost 6-1, 6-3 to 79^th-ranked Russian Elena Vesnina in what was the 32-year-old’s first opening round loss since her 1997 debut.But the former world number one — the champion in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008 — believes she can still compete at the top level despite her ranking having slipped to 58 after a six-month absence fighting serious illness.“There’s no way I will give up just because I have had a hard time in the first four or five friggin’ tournaments back. That’s not me,” said a fiesty Williams at a post-match news conference.When asked if she will play at Wimbledon in 2013, she was adamant.“Sure,” she said. “I feel like I am a great player who has had to deal with exceptional circumstances. I don’t have time to feel negative. It doesn’t feel good. I am as tough as nails, I don’t have time to be sorry for myself.”The American star arrived at Wimbledon, where she was unseeded for the first time since her 1997 debut, short of confidence having been sidelined with Sjogern’s Syndrome, a disease which causes joint pain and fatigue.Monday’s defeat was just her fourth loss at the first round stage of a Grand Slam against 52 wins.Vesnina, who had lost in the first round of nine of her last 10 Grand Slam appearances, will face Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska for a place in the last 32.

Wimbledon Championship Starts From Today

Defiant Federer targets Djokovic, Nadal dominance.

Roger Federer insists he can still match Pete Sampras’s record of seven Wimbledon triumphs despite Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal having developed an iron grip on Grand Slam glory. Federer is fighting time as well as the unwavering dominance of Djokovic, the defending champion, and Nadal, who have won nine of the last 10 majors between them and contested the last four Grand Slam finals. World number three Federer, who celebrated the last of his record 16 Grand Slam crowns at the 2010 Australian Open, will be 31 in August.Sampras was 28 when he won the seventh and last of his Wimbledon titles in 2000. Adding to Federer’s headache is the knowledge that Djokovic is still only 25 while Nadal is 26. It wasn’t long ago that Wimbledon represented Federer’s traditional bolt-hole, winning five successive championships between 2003 and 2007, then adding a sixth in 2009. But even in his London safe haven, the shadow of Nadal has loomed large.The Spaniard, who has just collected a record seventh French Open title, deposed Federer in a five-set epic in 2008, having been runner-up in the two previous years. Federer’s last triumph in 2009 came when Nadal was sidelined with a knee injury. In 2010, Tomas Berdych knocked him out in the quarter-finals while in 2011, the Swiss lost his first ever Grand Slam match from two sets to love up when he was bludgeoned to defeat in the last eight by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.Two months later, Djokovic overcame the loss of the first two sets, and saved two match points, to beat Federer in the US Open semi-finals. The Serb’s straight sets win over Federer in the semi-finals at Roland Garros earlier this month only served to darken the Swiss player’s mood. His Wimbledon chances weren’t helped by a loss in the Halle final to 34-year-old Tommy Haas. But Federer, who faces Spanish left-hander Albert Ramos in the first round, believes only a fool would write him off. “My confidence is very good. I’ve won many tournaments, so many matches the last year or so that I feel perfect in this regard,” Federer said on the eve of his 14th Wimbledon appearance. “I’m match fit and I’m match tough right now. That’s also key going into a Grand Slam. The hunger is big. I don’t think I need to elaborate too much on that.” Djokovic heads for Wimbledon with the burden of history now off his shoulders after his bid to become just the third man to hold all four Grand Slam titles at once was shattered by Nadal in Paris.“You’re living to play the final of a Grand Slam, and sometimes you win; sometimes you lose. I believe that there are still many years to come,” said Djokovic who faces former world number one and French Open winner Juan Carlos Ferrero in the first round. Nadal, meanwhile, has played in five of the last six Wimbledon finals – winning in 2008 and 2010 – missing the 2009 tournament only because of injury.After winning a record seventh French Open, the Spaniard suffered a shock Halle quarter-final exit to Philipp Kohlschreiber. He also remains cautious on his Wimbledon chances. “I’m very happy the way things have gone since the beginning of the season. But thinking about winning another title at Wimbledon is arrogant and crazy,” Nadal said ahead of a Tuesday opener against Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci.British hopes of a home champion – the first since Fred Perry in 1936 – once again reside with world number four Andy Murray whose build-up has been hampered by a back injury. Murray, a semi-finalist at Wimbledon for the last three years, looked well below par in a second round loss to Nicolas Mahut at Queen’s last week. Federer can retake the number one spot for the first time in three years if he wins the title and Djokovic does not advance beyond the semi-finals.Meanwhile, Nadal, who lost the world number one ranking to Djokovic after the Wimbledon final last year, can reclaim top spot if he wins the title for a third time and the Serb does not go beyond the quarter-finals. 

4th Quarter Final: Italy beat England 4-2 on Penalties at Euro 2012 and are in Semi finals

Italy outclass England on Penalties.

Italy beat England 4-2 on Penalties at Euro 2012 England's penalty shoot-out misery continued in Kiev as they crashed out of Euro 2012 to Italy, who deserved to progress after dominating the match.Still, after Mario Balotelli's talk of Peter Pan, the semi-finals of a major tournament are becoming the equivalent of Never Never Land for the Three Lions. Six times now they have lost in such fashion, the last four at this stage of the competition.Tonight it was the turn of Ashley Young and Ashley Cole to join the unhappy list of those whose nerve failed them when it mattered. Both men needed consoling as Italy began their celebrations as, outplayed for long periods of an absorbing game, all England's defensive effort proved in vain.It means Italy march onto Thursday's semi-final with Germany in Warsaw and leaves Roy Hodgson to pick the bones from an otherwise impressive tournament in time for next autumn's World Cup qualifiers.Before the drama, all those pre-match predictions of a tight, cagey affair had been blown to bits inside the opening five minutes. Claudio Marchisio picked out Daniele de Rossi with a peach of a cut-back. From 25 yards, De Rossi let fly with a spectacular first-time volley, which curved away from Joe Hart's despairing dive, only to crash back off the post.Starved of possession in those early stages, England eventually countered through Glen Johnson. The Liverpool defender continued his run after laying a pass off to Ashley Young and was picked out inside the box by James Milner. Had the chance fallen to a striker, England surely would have scored.As it was, Johnson took vital seconds manoeuvring the ball into a position from which he could shoot, and when he did, Gianluigi Buffon stood firm to make an excellent one-handed save. They were the most notable efforts of a surprisingly open start, during which Wayne Rooney sent a diving header over and Andrea Pirlo released Mario Balotelli, only for John Terry to rescue the situation with a vital tackle.No-one could help when Riccardo Montolivo's disguised pass looped over the England defence and dropped invitingly for Balotelli, whose volley went straight to Hart.At the other end, Danny Welbeck's precise effort sailed over after he had run onto Rooney's return pass. It was spellbinding stuff, with Italy having the edge in craft and guile, whilst also looking vulnerable when England attacked at pace.Balotelli's notoriously fragile temperament resulted in him lashing out at a post after spurning another opportunity, which Pirlo and Antonio Cassano combined to provide. He ended the half driving over from long-range, extending a contribution substantially more effective than Rooney, whose failure to pick out a team-mate with a cross under no pressure was symptomatic of a player struggling to find his form.England were caught cold straight after the interval when Marchisio found De Rossi in the box, only for the midfielder to mis-kick a volley wide from barely four yards when he had the time to do much better.It was the start of an onslaught that had England teetering on the brink as Pirlo took command in imperious fashion. At 33, the midfielder now assumes the Paul Scholes-role for his country, dropping deep and dictating the tempo, and for a while, England were powerless to stop him.Terry denied Balotelli at the far-post with a thunderous clearing header, then Hart repelled De Rossi's long-range effort and also Balotelli's follow-up. Montolivo got to the loose ball first but his shot sailed over. Hodgson had seen enough and after Balotelli's overhead kick had gone over, Andy Carroll and Theo Walcott were introduced.With Italy making changes as well, the game lost its shape, so, as had been imagined, extra-time was required. After their defiant rearguard action, it would have been galling in the extreme for England's defences to be breached by a fluke. Fortunately, what was intended as a cross by former West Ham man Alessandro Diamanti clipped the far post after Hart reacted too late to the danger it was posing.Antonio Nocerino thought he had won it six minutes from the end but his header was correctly ruled out for offside. It merely delayed the inevitable. That England led after the first two rounds of penalties to give hope, only made defeat all the more crushing as Pirlo chipped one down the middle brilliantly only for Young and Cole to miss before Diamanti delivered the final blow.