Winning the French Open for the fourth time meant more to Justine Henin than simply lifting the Suzanne Lenglen trophy again — it proved to her that she could go it alone. The Belgian had won her previous five grand slam titles while married to Pierre-Yves Hardenne.
The historians wanted it, the fans demanded it and Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal duly obliged on Friday by setting up a dream final at the French Open. Federer earned the chance to reignite the most intriguing rivalry in the sport when he wore down the dogged resilience of Nikolay Davydenko 7-5 7-6 7-6 in a three-hour duel.
Amelie Mauresmo’s fragile hopes of winning her home grand slam tournament ended once more in heartache on Saturday when her French Open dreams were shredded by a familiar Czech foe. ”It was very close and it could have gone either way,” said the Wimbledon champion.
Champion Rafael Nadal pulled rank over a teenage pretender and Roger Federer enjoyed a brisk workout when the world’s top two players began their pursuit of the French Open crown on Tuesday. World number one Federer completed a clinical 6-4 6-2 6-4 first-round win over American Michael Russell.
In an era when records, money or the cult of celebrity have driven many athletes to prolong their careers long after they have passed their peak, Kim Clijsters proved there is more to life than being a professional athlete. Not since Swedish great Bjorn Borg turned his back on the sport in 1982 aged just 26 has a top player walked away from tennis at such a young age.
South Africa will have an extra incentive to beat Sri Lanka in their World Cup match on Wednesday as victory would allow them to hold on to their number one status and land them a  000 windfall. South Africa would have to secure the top spot in the International Cricket Council one-day rankings by April 1 to receive the cash boost.
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When Bob Woolmer was appointed Pakistan coach in 2004 he entered a part of the world where only religion exceeds the importance of cricket. In the sub continent where the annual per capita income amounts to just , cricket offers one of the few distractions from the daily grind of surviving on or below the breadline.
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/ 25 January 2007
Maria Sharapova gate crashed Kim Clijsters’s farewell party at the Australian Open on Thursday to set up an historic final showdown with Serena Williams. Comeback queen Williams proved that she still belonged among the elite as she doused the youthful exuberance of Czech 10th seed Nicole Vaidisova 7-6 6-4 with a ruthless exhibition of power-hitting.
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/ 11 October 2006
United States women will be out to gain a psychological edge over their rivals when the gymnastics world championships begin in Aarhus, Denmark, this weekend. With the 2008 Beijing Olympics less than two years away, the leading nations will be determined to prove their worth under a new scoring system, which will be used at a major global event for the first time.