Lindsay Davenport has the experience, but teenage starlet Maria Sharapova believes she has the youthful ambition to make this year’s Wimbledon final. Sharapova, who at just 17 reached her first Grand Slam semifinal with a brave fightback against Japan’s Ai Sugiyama on Tuesday, is ready to take the next step.
Pow! A 167kph ace. Crack! A 182kph ace. Wham! A 203kph ace, the fastest serve to date hit by a woman at Wimbledon. When Serena Williams ends games that way, it’s easy to understand why she’s closing in on becoming just the third woman in 35 years to win three straight titles at the All England Club.
Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter on Tuesday axed Mbulelo Mabizela as captain of the national team for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Burkina Faso at the FNB stadium. At a media briefing on Tuesday, Baxter said that Aaron Mokoena has been named captain for Saturday’s match.
In a match that never lived up to expectations, two-time defending champion Serena Williams crushed a listless Jennifer Capriati 6-1, 6-1 on Wednesday to advance to the Wimbledon semifinals. Williams and Capriati have built up one of the best rivalries in women’s tennis, but this centre-court match was completely one-sided.
Western Province coach Carel du Plessis on Wednesday announced that scrumhalf Neil de Kock will succeed Corne Krige as captain. However, the captaincy will revert back to Krige until De Kock has completed his international commitments, which could extend until after the Tri-Nations.
Former Bafana Bafana striker George Koumantarakis is likely to join big-spending Castle Premiership side Mamelodi Sundowns. Koumantarakis is reported to have been negotiating with the Chloorkop-based side after his contract with English first-division side Preston North End expired at the end of last season.
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The South African Police Service will launch a crime prevention programme in the 63 areas of South Africa identified as experiencing the most contact crimes, Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula said on Tuesday. Nqakula also touched on the Firearms Control Act that comes into effect on Thursday.
The United States Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a law meant to punish pornographers who peddle dirty pictures to web-surfing kids is probably an unconstitutional muzzle on free speech. The high court divided five to four over a law passed in 1998 and now backed by the administration of President George Bush.
Apple’s iTunes launch may have hogged the world’s headlines but there were a couple of other very significant technology announcements made recently, both of which could play a huge part in the development of the cellphone and the digital music player. In Japan JP Morgan analyst Kazuyo Katsuma confirmed this: the first phone with integrated hard disk storage was on its way.