Top-ranked Roger Federer reached another measure of tennis greatness on Sunday, winning his 50th tournament title by beating James Blake 6-1, 6-4 in the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters final. The 26-year-old Swiss star became the fifth-youngest player in history to reach 50, and only the ninth overall in the open era to win at least 50 tournaments.
Manchester City edged defending champions Manchester United 1-0 on Sunday, giving Sven-Goran Eriksson his third straight shut-out in three matches as a Premier League manager and a two-point lead at the top of the standings. Brazilian midfielder Geovanni, one of Eriksson’s eight pre-season signings, scored the winning goal in the 31st minute.
Sometimes referred to as the Sea Robbers, a discordant Orlando Pirates dutifully stole away with a 2-0 victory at Athlone Stadium on Sunday afternoon after being outplayed for most of the SAA Supa8 game by Ajax Cape Town. Late second-half goals against the run of play earned the Buccaneers a place in the semifinals alongside Mamelodi Sundowns, Jomo Cosmos and SuperSport United.
England coach Brian Ashton was left to rue a breakdown in the basics in his team’s tryless showing in the 22-9 defeat to France, the second loss in eight days against the World Cup hosts. The England squad now have 10 days off before gathering again in London on August 29 and Ashton and his coaching staff have been left with plenty to think about.
Jazz guitarist Johnny Fourie (70) was a ”rare and dedicated” musician, friends said in a tribute following his death in Johannesburg on August 19, just months after releasing his debut album, Once upon a Time. ”His family, students and fans will sorely miss him,” they said in a statement.
A plane belonging to Taiwan’s China Airlines exploded and caught fire soon after landing on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa on Monday, but officials said all 165 people on board had escaped safely. The Boeing 737-800 plane, which had just arrived from Taipei, was already being evacuated when the left engine exploded.
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African National Congress (ANC) members should not be misled into believing that the media would assist and find solutions for the many challenges facing the organisation, party deputy president Jacob Zuma said on Sunday. He said the media’s only objective was to sensationalise ANC problems.
Armed with pistols and hair-trigger tempers, South Africa’s minibus taxi drivers are the undisputed kings of road rage, swerving through traffic and ignoring red lights as nervous motorists get out of the way. In a country struggling to prove its crime-ridden streets are safe before the 2010 Soccer World Cup, drivers often get caught up in gangland-style turf battles.
Hurricane Dean buffeted Jamaica’s southern coast on Monday, flooding the capital and littering it with broken trees and roofs after killing nine people earlier on its run through the Caribbean. Dean was an ”extremely dangerous” category four hurricane, the second-highest on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale.
South African Communist Party (SACP) general secretary Blade Nzimande on Sunday said he never received an alleged R500 000 cash donation for the party, which is said to be missing. ”I wish to place it on record that I have never received the alleged R500 000 from any person, as is alleged,” Nzimande said in a statement.