Healing Cesc feeling Fab

Cesc Fabregas admits he is feeling good both "physically and mentally" as he steps up his rehabilitation programme.

Fabregas is set to be out of action until at least April after suffering ligament damage in a tackle with Liverpool's Xabi Alonso at the Emirates Stadium last month.

It is the first long-term layoff for the 21-year-old, who was handed the captain's armband at Arsenal by manager Arsene Wenger earlier this season.

"The first two or three days after I was injured were really bad for me because something like this has never happened to me," Fabregas told Spanish sports newspaper El Mundo Deportivo.

"But now I feel really good both physically and mentally and I'm ready to work hard to get back to fitness.

"I'm going to be concentrating on regaining mobility in my knee, getting back flexibility again after being sidelined for four weeks and, above all, strengthening the injured ligament.

"In a couple of days I will be able to let go of one of my two crutches."

The Spain international added he is refusing to set a timescale for his comeback.
"I haven't fixed a concrete date for my return," he said.

"At the moment all I'm thinking about is recovering from my knee injury and being fully fit to finish the season."

espnstar

Federer and Roddick to the Fourth Round of Australian Open 2009

The world number two Roger Federer overpowered Russian Marat Safin in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(5). Federer only needed 26 minutes to take the first set 6-3. He will face Tomas Berdych, who beat Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka.

Andy Roddick showed no mercy to French Fabrice Santoro with 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory. He served 22 aces to Santoro's four.

Most seeded players had to struggle in four set before winning the match as what Juan Martin Del Potro and Novak Djokovic did to down unseeded Gilles Muller and Amer Delic.

4th round Saturday (01/23) results:
Men's singles
1-Roger Federer (SUI) def. 26-Marat Safin (RUS) 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(5)
20-Tomas Berdych (CZE) def. 15-Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-4
19-Marin Cilic (CRO) def. 11-David Ferrer (ESP) 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-4
8-Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) def. Gilles Muller (LUX) 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-3, 7-5
3-Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. Amer Delic (USA) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4)
21-Tommy Robredo (ESP) def. Yen-hsun Lu (TPE) 6-1, 6-3, 6-2
7-Andy Roddick (USA) def. Fabrice Santoro(FRA) 6-3, 6-4, 6-2

Women's singles
3-Dinara Safina (RUS) def. 25-Kaia Kanepi (ESP) 6-2, 6-2
15-Alize Cornet (FRA) def. 19-Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
16-Marion Bartoli (FRA) def. Lucie Safarova (CZE) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
Jelena Dokic (AUS) def. 11-Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
29-Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) def. 5-Ana Ivanovic (SRB) 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-2
7-Vera Zvonareva (RUS) def. Sara Errani (ITA) 6-4, 6-1
10-Nadia Petrova (RUS) def. Galina Vaskoboeva (KAZ) 6-1, ret
Jelena Jankovic (SRB) def. Ai Sugiyama (JPN) 6-4, 6-4

www.australianopen.com

Arsenal Back to the Winning Way

Arsenal's Johan Djourou challenges Hull City's Daniel Cousin during their English Premier League soccer match in Hull January 17, 2009. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis (BRITAIN).

Arsenal took revenge on Hull City 3-1 (Saturday, 1/17) when they visited KC Stadium. At first, it seemed a draw when, in the 65th minute, Daniel Cousin equalized Emmanuel Adebayor's first goal he had scored in the 30th minute. Nevertheless, Samir Nasri and Nicklas Bendtner relieved the Gunners after scoring in the last nine minutes (Nasri 82', Bendtner 86').

"When they scored to make it 1-1 I was a bit worried. But we stuck together and played some good football," Robin van Persie told Setanta Sports 1.
"The win was really important because this was a difficult away game. The first game was in our minds, it was tough for us to come back."

Other Barclays Premier League Saturday (1/17) results:

Manchester City 1-0 Wigan
Chelsea 2-1 Stoke City
Bolton 0-1 Manchester United
West Bromwich 3-0 Middlesbrough
Sunderland 1-2 Aston Villa
Blackburn 3-0 Newcastle
Hull City 1-3 Arsenal

Sunday (1/18) fixtures:

West Ham vs. Fulham
Tottenham Hotspurs vs. Portsmouth

Monday (1/19) fixtures:

Liverpool vs. Everton (COME ON EVERTON!)

http://www.espnstar.com/

Lee Yong-dae and Lee Hyo-jung Only Win the Mixed Doubles Title

In Korea Open final in Seoul, Lee Yong-dae played with Jung Jae-sung in the final against Danish Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen. The second seeded lost to Boe and Mogensen 12-22, 22-24 in 45 minutes. The first set was quick, mostly dominated by Boe/Mogensen. They led the first game without giving the Korean pairs a chance to have more points over Boe/Mogensen.

The second game was harder. After leaving Lee/Jung 12-8, Lee/Jung fighted back. However, they finally failed to be the better of the game, losing 22-24.

Lee Hyo-jung and Lee Kyung-won's fate was not better. They were even defeated easier by Chien Yu-chin/Cheng Wen-hsing of Taiwan 19-21, 8-21.

Lee Yong-dae and Lee Hyo-jung could cheer Korean fans by winning the mixed doubles event. They overpowered Songphon Anugritayawon and Kuchala Worawichitchaikul of Thailand without any difficulty. Lee Yong-dae/Lee Hyo-jung were always ahead in points, winning 21-8 and 21-7 in just 23 minutes.

Denmark grabbed two more titles from Peter Gade who defeated Malaysian Lee Chong Wei 21-18, 10-21, 21-17 in men's singles event, and from Tine Rasmussen, who subdued France's Chinese-born Pi Hongyan 21-19, 21-19.

Who Can Stop Roger Federer?

Federer raises his trophy in Kooyong Classic.

Roger Federer downed his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka 6-1, 6-3, in just 57 minutes. Wawrinka played nervously that he gave Federer three break points in the first set. Federer took the second set 6-3 to obtain his second AAMI Classic title. He will be a favorite for the Australian Open that started on Sunday.


Federer's forehand


Federer smiles at Kooyong Classic, when he competed against Wawrinka.


www.reuters.com

Korean Men's, Women's, and Mixed Doubles on Final

Lee Yong-dae's shot

Semifinal of Korea Open today was a success for local players. Men's doubles pair Lee Yong-dae and Jung Jae-sung thrashed third-seeded Lars Paaske/Jonas Rasmussen in 26 minutes. The Malaysia Open 2009 champions dominated the match as they took the first set 21-11. Paaske and Rasmussen didn't improved well in the second set that Lee/Jung left the Danish 14-7 and won 21-11, 21-7.

“Lars has been sick all week,” said Jonas Rasmussen. “He was shivering during the warm-up and I brought nothing to the match. You just can’t beat this team if you don’t bring you’re A-game."

In the women's doubles, Lee Hyo-jung and Lee Kyung-won, who had gained the Malaysia Open title last week, are too good for Olympic 2004 gold-medalist Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen. They subdued the Chinese 21-16, 18-21, and 21-10. Hyo-jung and Kyung-won will fight for the Korea Open title against top-seed Cheng Wen-hsing and Chien Yu-chin, who crushed Chinese Gao Ling/Wei Yili 21-15, 21-17.

Then, Lee Yong-dae/Lee Hyo-jung will play in the final after defeating Hong Kong's Wiratama/Chau Hoi Wah 21-16, 21-11. Songpol Anukritayawan and Kuchala Worawichitchaikul of Thailand is the Korean Olympic 2008 gold winners' opponent in the final tomorrow.

http://www.badzine.info/
http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/

Choong Tan Fook/Lee Wan Wah Crashes Out

In Yonex Korea Open, five-seeded Badminton players, Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah was out after the Taiwanese Fang Chieh Min and Lee Sheng Mu defeat them in straight set, 21-14, 22-20, taking just 25 minutes.

Choong/Lee were only ahead of Fang/Lee in the start of the first game. But soon, the Taiwanese found the way to stop Choong/Lee. They continued to prevail throughout the first game.

The second set was tougher. They raced to get points, but the senior players Choong/Lee was lost 20-22.

Semifinal, Saturday (1/17) Fixtures:

Zhou Mi (CHN) vs. Pi Hongyan (FRA)
Tine Rasmussen (DEN) vs. Wang Chen (HKG)

Lee Yong-dae/Jung Jae-sung (KOR) vs. Lars Paaske/Jonas Rasmussen (DEN)
Fang Chieh Min/Lee Sheng Mu (TPE) vs. Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen (DEN)

Lee Yong-dae/Lee Hyo-jung (KOR) vs. Johan Wiratama/Chau Hoi Wah (HKG)
Songpol Anukritayawan/Kuchala Worawichitchaikul (THA) vs. V Diju/Jwala Gutta (IND)

Lee Hyo-jung/Lee Kyung-won (KOR) vs. Zhang Jiewen/Yang Wei (CHN)
Gao Ling/Wei Yili (CHN) vs. Cheng Wen-Hsing/Chien Yu-Chin (TPE)

Lee Chong Wei (MAS) vs. Przemyslaw Wacha (POL)
Peter Gade (DEN) vs. Simon Santoso (INA)

Korea Open Seeded Players March On

South Korean mixed doubles Lee Yong-dae and Lee Hyo-jung progress into the quarter-final of Korea Open after defeating Mikel Delbo Larsen and Mie Schjoett-Kristensen of Denmark 21-15, 21-12. The second seeded only needed 23 minutes to down Larsen/Schjoett-Kristensen. The Danish pair never surpassed Lee/Lee's points except leading 2-1 in the second set.

Second-seeded Lee Yong-dae, paired with Jung Jae-sung in the men's doubles, also grabbed an easy win 21-13, 21-10 over Japan's Kenichi Hayakawa and Kenta Kazuno.

Quarter-final, Thursday (1/15) selected results:

Men's singles

1-Lee Chong Wei (MAS) def. Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk (THA) 21-14, 21-9
6-Park Sung-hwan (KOR) def. Sho Sasaki (JPN) 21-12, 21-4
7-Przemyslaw Wacha (POL) def. Arvind Bhat (IND) 11-21, 21-14, 23-21
Shon Wan-ho (KOR) def. 5-Joachim Persson (DEN) 21-14, 21-13
3-Peter Gade (DEN) def. Ng Wei (HKG) 21-10, 21-10
8-Simon Santoso (INA) def. Chong Wei Feng (MAS) 21-13, 21-15

Women's singles

1-Zhou Mi (HKG) def. Bae Seung-hee (KOR) 21-18, 21-10
6-Petya Nedeltcheva (BUL) def. Sayako Sato (JPN) 21-13, 21-9
4-Pi Hongyan (FRA) def. Sung Ji-hyun (KOR) 21-1, 21-17
7-Hwang Hye-youn (KOR) def. Bae Youn-joo (KOR) 21-13, 21-11
3-Wang Chen (HKG) def. Julia Wong (MAS) 21-14, 15-21, 21-5

2-Tine Rasmussen (DEN) def. Pia Zebadiah Bernadet (INA) 21-17, 21-16

Men's doubles

Fang Chieh-Min/Lee Sheng-Mu (TPE) def. 1-Markis Kido/Hendra Setiawan (INA) 21-10, 11-21, 21-18
5-Choong Tan Fook/Lee Wan Wah (MAS) def. Alven Yuliant/Hendra Gunawan (INA) 11-21, 21-16, 21-19
3-Lars Paaske/Jonas Rasmussen (DEN) def. Rupesh Kumar/Sanave Thomas (IND) 21-10, 21-15
Han Sang-hoon/Shin Baek-choel (KOR) def. 6-Chan Chong Ming/Chew Choon Eng (MAS) 21-16, 13-21, 22-20
2-Lee Yong-dae/Jung Jae-sung (KOR) def. Kenichi Hayakawa/Kenta Kazuno (JPN) 21-13, 21-10

Women's doubles

2-Lee Hyo-jung/Lee Kyung-won (KOR) def. Jenny Wallwork/Gabrielle White (ENG) 21-15, 21-4
5-Gao Ling/Wei Yili (CHN) def. Petya Nedeltcheva (BUL)/Mie Schjoett-Kristensen (DEN) 21-13, 21-17

Mixed doubles

V Diju/Jwala Gutta (IND) def. 1-Nova Widhianto/Lilyana Natsir (INA) 10-21, 21-16, 21-9
2-Lee Yong-dae/Lee Hyo-jung (KOR) def. Mikel Delbo Larsen/Mia Schjoett-Kristensen (DEN) 21-15, 21-12

Federer is Second Seeded in Aussie Open

Swiss tennis star Roger Federer believes he can still win a grand slam to equal Pete Sampras 14 grandslams winner record.

"I feel like I'm fit enough, motivated enough, experienced enough that I can win many more," he said.

He is also optimistic to win all four grand slams in one year, as what Rod Laver did in 1969.

Federer said that it is possible still, to be quite honest, because conditions have kind of slowed down."

"I don't think Wimbledon is that terribly fast any more and the US Open and the Australian Open feel pretty similar.

"If you are on top of things they can fall your way. Obviously you've got to win the Australian to start off with a chance but I think it is still possible," said Federer.

Federer now played in AAMI Classic, and won 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-5) against Fernando Verdasco.

"I'll play enough tennis this week, it's better to be on the match court," he said. "The second set wasn't the best of levels, he was struggling with the sun and I couldn't capitalise."

Federer advanced to the final. He will face the winner of Friday's Promotion round match.

Good News and Not-So-Good News

It's football first. Arsenal won 1-0 over Bolton Wanderers in Emirates Stadium. Nicklas Bendtner scored the only goal at the 84th minute. Stoke City held Liverpool without any goal. It makes the distance between Arsenal and Liverpool eight points now.

In Old Trafford, Manchester United will play against Chelsea. This would be a big match for the second and third-positioned team. Man Utd has a good record at home while Chelsea has a good record at away.

"Losing the Champions League final to any team is difficult but to lose to one of your big rivals is hard to take," Rooney told United Review.
"The next game against that team is always going to be a big one, with people talking about the final and the players no doubt thinking about it as well.
"You could definitely tell it was still on their minds and I am sure it will be the case again tomorrow - I bet our fans will be reminding them." espnstar.com



Now for tennis, top seed Serena Williams makes strenous effort to beat Australian Samantha Stosur at the Sydney International 6-3, 6-7 (4), and 7-5. In the final set, Stosur led 5-4 and 40-0, but she failed to take advantage. Serena finally won 7-5.

British Andy Murray triumphed at Qatar Open after downing Andy Roddick 6-4, 6-2, even though he was injured when he faced Federer in the semi-final. How sad!

Elena Dementieva beat her compatriot Elena Vesnina to grab Auckland Classic title. In Brisbane, teenager Victoria Azarenka won over Marion Bartoli to achieve her first WTA Tour title.



Badminton Malaysia Open results:

Lilyana Natsir/Nova Widhianto (INA) def. Lee Hyo-jung/Lee Yong-dae (KOR) 22-20, 21-18
Tine Rasmussen (DEN) def. Zhou Mi (CHN) 21-17, 15-21, 21-16
Lee Chong Wei (MAS) def. Park Sung-hwan (KOR) 21-14, 21-13
Lee Hyo-jung/Lee Kyung-won (KOR) def. Zhang Jiewen/Yang Wei (CHN) 21-15, 21-12
Lee Yong-dae/Jung Jae-sung (KOR) def. Alvent Yulianto/Hendra Aprida Gunawan (INA) 18-21, 21-14, 21-14

Qatar Open, Hopman Cup, and FA Cup

News from Qatar ExxonMobil Open:



The tournament begins tomorrow. After Roger Federer's failure in Abu Dhabi, he seeks his first title this year here. If Federer and top seed Rafael Nadal pass all their opponents, they will meet in the final for the first time after Wimbledon 2008, where Federer lost in five sets. This will be a good opportunity for Federer's revenge. Besides them, third-seed Andy Murray and fourth-seed Andy Roddick will heat the tournament atmosphere. Hope you're on top of your performance and win it, Rogi!



See official draw from http://qatarten.msoutlookonline.net/Qatar%20Open%202009%20Forms/Maindraw%20Singles.pdf



Hopman Cup, Perth



France was too tough for Asian Hopman Cup winners Taiwan. France, represented by world number seven Gilles Simon and France's best women's singles player Alize Cornet, overcome Taiwan 3-0.

In the first match, eighteen-year-old Cornet gave the first point for her country after defeating Hsieh Su-Wei 6-4, 6-4. This is Cornet's debut in this mixed tournament.

"It's a good feeling. It was really tough because I just arrived yesterday in Australia so I’m not really in the time zone because it’s three o’clock in the morning in France. I’m playing in the night and sometimes I was completely out of breath," Cornet said.

Next, Simon beat Lu Yen-Hsun 6-3, 7-6 (6). He took the first set easily, but the fighting Lu made it harder for Simon to take the second set. He tied the score 3-3 and forced Simon in a tie-breaker.

Simon and Cornet subdued the Taiwanese pair 6-4, 7-6 (9), completing the first two matches.

Today, Russia played against Italy and win 2-1. Dinara Safina won 7-5, 6-3 over Flavia Pennetta, and her brother Marat Safin defeated Simone Bolelli 7-6 (5), 6-4 on the back of 14 aces. It was the first time for the Safins to play together in Hopman Cup, and the Italians took their revenge by winning the last match 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (10/2). They still have an opportunity to reach the final.

http://hopmancup.com/?id=1

FA Cup (1/3) results:


reuters: Aaron Ramsey and Samir Nasri challange Plymouth's Chris Clark

Hartlepool 2-0 Stoke City
Cardiff 2-0 Reading
Kettering 2-1 Eastwood Town
Macclesfield 0-1 Everton
Hull City 0-0 Newcastle
Coventry 2-0 Kidderminster
Chelsea 1-1 Southend
Arsenal 3-1 Plymouth (van Persie 47', 85', Bendtner/Gray o.g. 50')
Forest Green 3-4 Derby County
Charlton 1-1 Norwich
Leicester 0-0 Crystal Palace
Watford 1-0 Scunthorpe
Ipswich 3-0 Chesterfield
West Brom 1-1 Petersborough
QPR 0-0 Burnley
Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Fulham
Milwall 2-2 Crewe
West Ham United 3-0 Barnsley
Sunderland 2-1 Bolton
Torquay 1-0 Blackpool
Portsmouth 0-0 Bristol City
Manchester City 0-3 Nottingham Forest
Middlesbrough 2-1 Barrow
Preston 0-2 Liverpool

(http://www.espnstar.com/football/fa-cup/results/)

Federer lost to Murray

Roger in Dubai for training

Again in Abu Dhabi exhibition, world number two Roger Federer was beaten by British Andy Murray 6-4, 2-6, and 6-7 (6). Murray had failed in the deciding set 0-3 and Federer left Murray 4-1 and then 6-3 in the tie-breaker. Murray struggled to win the third set 7-6.

"I think it's just that I haven't played a match in six or seven weeks. Today was pretty physical, I did a lot of running, so I'm sure it's just a bit stiff," he told Sky Sports. (espnstar.com)

Murray had beaten Federer in the last two matches of Madrid Masters 2008 and Tennis Masters Cup 2008.

It was hard for Federer to be the winner of Australian Open if he keeps playing like this.