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With Serena Williams preparing for the birth of her first child and Maria Sharapova sidelined by a thigh injury, the race to be crowned Wimbledon champion is the most wide-open in a generation.

Having stepped away from the court as she waits to become a mother in September, Williams, who won Wimbledon in 2015 and 2016, has created a power vacuum at the top that Sharapova was expected to fill when the Russian returned from her doping suspension.

Instead, Sharapova lasted just three tournaments before a muscle injury in Rome forced the five-time major winner to withdraw from the Wimbledon qualifying tournament.

In the absence of American great Williams, who has 23 Grand Slam titles on her CV, and the headline-grabbing Sharapova, women's tennis has an undeniable lack of star power heading into Wimbledon, which gets underway on Monday.

But the flip-side is the opportunity for the sport's less heralded names to seize the spotlight, as Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko showed with her unexpected breakthrough triumph at the French Open.

 

 

It was 1977: The Sex Pistols' 'God Save the Queen' was banned, Elvis Presley died and Luke Skywalker faced down a black-clad inter-galactic megalomaniac with breathing difficulties who was later revealed to be his father.

It was also the last time a British woman won Wimbledon... or any Grand Slam title for that matter.

Little could Virginia Wade, resplendent in her modest white dress, homely pink cardigan and energised only by occasional sips of barley water, know that 40 years on, members of the British royal family would have had their hands on the Venus Rosewater Dish more times than a homegrown player.

However, there is hope that 2017 might end the long wait for a British women's champion as this year's Wimbledon, stripped of the likes of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, looks the most open in years.

 

Andy Murray suffered an injury scare ahead of Wimbledon as the world number one pulled out of an exhibition match at the Hurlingham Club due to a sore hip on Tuesday.

Murray had scheduled two matches at the Aspall Tennis Classic event following his shock first round exit against Australian world number 90 Jordan Thompson at Queen's Club last week.

The 30-year-old Scot had been due to face Lucas Pouille, but his management announced on Tuesday that he would not take to the court because his hip was "a bit sore".

 


Fiction:


Russian football hooligans are getting ready to attack and kill Europeans if authorities order them to. We talked to one of the leaders of so-called football firms (Zenit, St.Petersburg) and here is what he told us on conditions of anonymity.


Russia's large hooligan "firms" would be happy to take part and arrange brawls with foreign fans, but there are three catches at this point. First off, it does not go about mass scuffles  in central streets, because attacking drunk football fans is not a very honorable thing to do, plus it may lead to certain consequences with the participation of the police. Even if such scuffles may occur, they would most likely take place somewhere far from city centers, on city outskirts, where journalists, police officers and passers by are thin on the ground.


Secondly, this is not likely to happen anyway, because it is a duty for police officers to exclude such possibilities, let alone the fact that consequences are not going to be pleasant for those who may want to organize such attacks. Representatives of a special department for struggle against extremism have already talked to the leaders of large fan groups and warned them about possible reactions to any brawl that may erupt. In addition, state-run media have launched a large-scale campaign, the purpose of which is to prevent possible conflicts. Russia's Kremlin-controlled First Channel has recently aired a prime time talk show that discussed a possibility to introduce a special law that would entail criminal responsibility for any orchestrated brawls, even if they leave no victims and no complains. Criminal cases have already been filed against members of largest fan groups into incidents of mass clashes during the recent Russia Football Championship.


Thirdly, if clashes do occur, it is not only the police that may cause serious problems to hooligans. They will be barred from entering football stadiums, official fan organizations will be deprived of their financial support, and fans will loose and opportunity to conduct dialogue with official football organizations. In a nutshell, just a group of people may cause huge damage to tens of thousands of fans and culprits will become outsiders at once.


Truth:


Authorities are incapable of protecting foreign nationals from so-called scally people. If fans are organized it means that they are technically manageable, and domestic crimes are beyond the control of the authorities. Russia is one of the leaders on the number of domestic crimes, including beatings and killings with the use of improvised means. This is largely due to the low level of culture of those living in the country side and their addiction to alcohol.


St. Petersburg is no exception at this point. Authorities of the city will deploy many police units in the city and you will be protected from attacks. Yet, an opportunity to be attacked rises on the outskirts of the city, in such places as Kupchino, Rybatskoye, Prospekt Veteranov, Pionerskaya and the like. Therefore, our advice is not to go outside the center of the city and stick to basic tourist itineraries. Try to avoid using the services of unofficial taxi cab drivers.


We strongly recommend not to visit other neighboring towns during your stay in the city too as the number of police units in those areas is going to be minimized. Nearly all police units from cities of Pskov, Novgorod and Vyborg will be redeployed to St. Petersburg.


Fiction: Stay away from natives from the Caucasus

 

 

The game that always ‘stops two nations’ comes again to a third when title-holders India face Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final at London’s Oval ground on Sunday.

And the question millions of cricket fans around the world, possibly even a billion, are all asking is ‘which Pakistan will turn up?’

Will it be the team of their opening group match at Edgbaston on June 4, a 124-run thrashing by arch-rivals India, where their inept bowling and batting were outdone only by woeful fielding in what Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur labelled a "shambolic" display?

Or will it be the slick, skilled side who hammered England by eight wickets in the semi-finals, with Hasan Ali, the competition’s leading wicket-taker, spearheading a brilliant bowling effort as the previously unbeaten tournament hosts were dismissed for just 211 before the likes of Azhar Ali and Fakhar Zaman helped knock off the runs in dashing style?

Arthur is confident the India "aberration" is now behind Pakistan, who’ve also lost all three of their previous knockout matches at International Cricket Council tournaments against their fiercest foes.

"What we’ve produced after that doesn’t come as any surprise, because that’s how we trained, and that’s what we worked at," Arthur told reporters at The Oval on Saturday.

"It was very disappointing to see that go wrong in the Indian game...That was an aberration. We’re now moving forward."

 

Never far from the headlines, Diego Costa will look to bring a turbulent season to a doubly triumphant conclusion when Chelsea tackle Arsenal in Saturday’s FA Cup final at Wembley.

The quarrelsome Spain international looked to be on the brink of leaving Chelsea for the Chinese Super League in January, but stayed put and contributed 20 goals to their Premier League title success.

Saturday’s game is nevertheless widely expected to be his last in Chelsea’s colours and knowing Costa, he will not go quietly.

“Costa is an animal,” says former Manchester United captain Gary Neville.

“When he’s not scoring, he’s contributing. To play with a single striker, if he leaves it’s a huge void to fill.

“To replace that personality, that fight. How many balls has he headed out of his own box this season? How many times has he chased things down?”

 

 

Arsene Wenger insists Arsenal can still salvage their turbulent season by defying the odds to snatch a Champions League place on the final day.

Wenger’s side kept alive their faint hopes of qualifying for Europe’s elite club competition as Alexis Sanchez’s double clinched a 2-0 win over relegated Sunderland on Tuesday.

The Gunners’ sixth victory in their last seven games leaves them in fifth place, one point behind fourth-placed Liverpool and three adrift of third-placed Manchester City.

For Arsenal to avoid missing out on the Champions League for the first time in 20 years, they must beat Everton at home on Sunday, while hoping for a slip from either Liverpool or City.

If Liverpool beat relegated Middlesbrough and City avoid defeat at Watford, then Arsenal are consigned to the Europa League, but Wenger hasn’t given up yet.

“We want to get in there, let’s give ourselves every chance,” he said. “If you have only a one percent chance you still have to give everything.

“I think we have a good chance. If we win we know the most we will be behind is one point, so let’s see what happens.”

 

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte dismissed persistent rumours linking him with a move to Inter Milan as his side prepared for a match at West Bromwich Albion on Friday that could give the Blues the Premier League title.

Victory at The Hawthorns will see Chelsea crowned champions in former Italy manager Conte's first season in charge of the London club and leave them halfway to a domestic 'Double' ahead of their FA Cup final against capital rivals Arsenal.

Chelsea are seven points clear of second-placed Tottenham Hotspur, another London club, and need just three points from their final three league games this season to be sure of lifting the Premier League trophy.

Yet despite Conte's excellent start at Stamford Bridge, there has been continued speculation he could return to his native Italy.

He has been linked with a move to Inter ever since the Italian giants sacked Stefano Pioli earlier this season.

"I have two years (remaining under) contract with Chelsea," Conte said Thursday. "It's logical when you start the work in a new club the will is to continue to work, to try to improve your work in many years. For sure, this is my will.

"In this moment for me or for my players, the most important thing is to be focused on the moment."

He added: "Now the most important thing is to reach our target. The most important thing is to write the history of the club. It's important now, don't lose the concentration, be focused.

"My players are totally focused on the moment. We mustn't forget that we must take three points to reach this target."

Chelsea announced they had appointed Conte on a three-year contract in April 2016 and he took up his post at Stamford Bridge in July after managing Italy at Euro 2016.

The 47-year-old Conte is now on the verge of winning his fourth domestic title after capturing three successive Serie A crowns with Juventus before moving on to the Italy job.

He is widely credited with reviving Chelsea after the then champions suffered a dramatic slump in form during the 2015/16 that led the Blues, owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, to sack Jose Mourinho, now the manager of Manchester United.

Chelsea eventually recovered to finish tenth as 5,000/1 pre-season outsiders Leicester City completed a remarkable title triumph.

- 'Problems' -

"This could be another big, big step for me," Conte said. "In my career I enjoy to have this type of big challenge. I need to have this type of situation where you arrive and you have to work a lot and also to transform the situation in the right way.

"At the start of the season it wasn't easy. We faced a lot of problems and we had to solve a lot of problems.

"When you finish 10th in the league it means that the problem is not only one, but there are a lot of problems. The problem is not only one person.

"I have to say thanks to my players because it's not easy to adapt to a new method, new philosophy and also to work very hard, to change totally your work, if you compare the work this season to the past."

Chelsea beat Middlesbrough on Monday to move seven points clear after Tottenham suffered a major slip-up in losing to West Ham on Friday.

Even if West Brom deny Chelsea victory on Friday, it will likely merely delay the inevitable given the Blues remaining league games are at home to mid-table Watford on Monday and against relegated Sunderland on May 21.

"It's not important where you win, it's important to win," said Conte. "Then you will have the time to celebrate the win where you want.

"Tomorrow's game is the most important game for us. It's a final.

"I like to repeat: this is a good season. We want to become a great season." afp

 

 

Manchester City improved their prospects of Champions League qualification with a 5-0 demolition of Crystal Palace, while Swansea City's 1-0 win over Everton pushed Hull City into the Premier League relegation zone on Saturday.

Frustrated by damaging draws in their previous two games, City got back on track and climbed to third in the table after a stylish display inspired by David Silva's return from injury at Eastlands.

Silva, out for a fortnight after suffering a blow to his knee during the FA Cup semi-final defeat by Arsenal, opened the scoring after two minutes.

Vincent Kompany doubled City's lead in the 49th minute before Kevin De Bruyne's long-range strike made it three 10 minutes later.

Raheem Sterling's cool finish in the 82nd minute was followed by Nicolas Otamendi's diving header in stoppage time as City leapfrogged Liverpool on goal difference.

Chelsea took a significant step towards the Premier League title on Sunday with victory at Everton but Tottenham ensured the champagne will stay on ice for a bit longer with an impressive 2-0 win over Arsenal.

As well as the engrossing fight for the title the battle for the two remaining Champions League places has become a real dogfight -- Arsenal missing a chance to make up ground on the two Manchester clubs, who both stumbled on Sunday against relegation candidates.

Second-half goals by Dele Alli and Harry Kane, from the penalty spot, sealed the three points and ensured that Spurs will finish above their North London rivals Arsenal for the first time in 22 years.

But whether Spurs will ever hunt down relentless Chelsea is another matter, with just four games left and Chelsea still four points clear, and with an easier run-in.

"I am so pleased. It was a very important game and it was a complete performance," Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino told the BBC.

"The race for the title is down to four points and we will see what will happen.

"To be above Arsenal for the first time in 22 years is fantastic for our fans. it is fantastic for us too, but we want to win the title."

A superb second-half strike by Pedro and late goals from Gary Cahill and Willian ended Everton's run of eight successive home wins and had piled the pressure on Spurs, who were playing afterwards.

Chelsea took time to settle but once Pedro scored their opener -- his first goal in nine matches -- the floodgates opened and they ran out 3-0 winners.

"This gives us lots of confidence," manager Antonio Conte told Sky Sports. "Now it is important to prepare the final rush.

"If in the next game against Middlesbrough you don't win, you lose this victory. We must look step by step."

- 'Huge result' -

Cahill's eighth goal of the season and Willian's beautifully worked third inflicted only Everton's second home defeat of the season.

"It was convincing but we had to work hard for it," Cahill told Sky Sports, sensing this might be the win that delivers the title in Conte's first season at Chelsea.

"Pedro's goal was special, at times you need a bit of class to open up a team, that's what he did today. I'm buzzing with that, it's a huge result for us."

City had to come from behind twice to draw 2-2 at Middlesbrough and United drew 1-1 at home to Swansea on a bad day for the Manchester giants.

City relied on 20-year-old striker Gabriel Jesus to secure them a point in the final five minutes of their game against a Boro side scenting back-to-back wins in the Premier League for the first time since May 2008.

"We controlled the game and missed so many chances," Jesus told Premier League Productions.

"Today's result is disappointing but at least we have a point."

Arsenal's defeat in the last North London derby at White Hart Lane leaves manager Arsene Wenger's proud record of qualifying for the Champions League in real trouble.

They are sixth, five points behind United and six behind City in fourth, although the Londoners have a game in hand on both.

Only the top four get into the Champions League.

 

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