Nikolay Davydenko celebrated his 24th birthday a day early on Wednesday when he reached his first grand-slam semifinal with a dramatic 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win over Spain’s Tommy Robredo in a marathon French Open last-eight clash. The 12th-seeded Russian will now face Argentina’s unseeded Mariano Puerta.
Chelsea were fined £300 000 (R3,7-million) and handed a suspended three-point deduction for tapping up Arsenal left-back Ashley Cole, the Premier League announced on Wednesday. Cole himself was fined £100 000 (R1,2-million) and Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho received a fine of £200 000 (R2,5-million).
Ockert Cilliers, one of the candidates for the third 400m hurdles spot in the South African team to the World Athletics Championships, continued his winning ways on Wednesday when he recorded an impressive win at the Regione Lombardia International Association of Athletics Federations Grand Prix 11 meeting in Milan.
A six-year-old New Zealand racehorse named Rain, Hail or Shine died in its paddock on Wednesday after being struck by lightning, its trainer said. Ralph Manning, who trained the horse to two wins and five placings from 24 starts, said he found the horse dead after a thunderstorm.
Queensland Reds and Wallabies fullback Chris Latham has won his fourth Australian Super 12 player of the year award despite his team’s dismal performance in the competition. Latham polled 11 votes to win the award, decided by match referees, one vote ahead of Brumbies flanker George Smith.
Arsenal vice-chairperson David Dein may believe that the Premiership runners-up can return to a businesslike relationship with the team who deposed them as champions, Chelsea, but that is certainly not the line coming out of their London rivals. Arsenal and Chelsea must sit down together at the two-day Premiership conference on Thursday.
Leading industrial countries should look at the positive examples elsewhere in Africa and not concentrate solely on the crisis in Zimbabwe, British high commissioner designate to South Africa Paul Boateng told the World Economic Forum’s Africa Economic Summit in Cape Town on Wednesday.
Based on a World Economic Forum (WEF) study of 1Â 552 African-based companies presented at the Africa Economic Summit in Cape Town on Thursday, South African companies appear to be leading the way in the response to HIV/Aids, with up to 91% having an HIV/Aids policy in place, the WEF said in a statement.
With Africa expecting $25-billion by 2010 if the Commission for Africa’s recommendations are implemented, Tanzania’s President Benjamin Mkapa said each country should be assessed individually to see if previous aid was misused. Mkapa was part of a panel that spoke on how aid can be allocated and used effectively.
South Africa’s fixed-line monopoly Telkom will, with effect from August 1, cut ADSL and data prices — with the entry-level internet access product down to R270 per month, the dual-listed telecommunications group announced on Thursday. The company said this form part of its plan to reduce the cost of speedy internet service.