LONDON: Tomas Berdych clinched a place in the Wimbledon final for the first time as the Czech 12th seed defeated Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic 6-3, 7-6 (11/9), 6-3 on Friday.Berdych, the first Czech man to reach the Wimbledon final since Ivan Lendl in 1987, has been a dangerous force

CAPE TOWN: Mesut Ozil is determined to upstage Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi, in whose honour he has been nicknamed, by leading Germany into the World Cup semi-finals.The 21-year-old Ozil is a candidate to win the tournament`s best young player award and aims to boss the midfield in

JOHANNESBURG: South African President Jacob Zuma said Friday his country was ready to host the Olympics, after the World Cup inspired confidence in the nation`s ability to pull off major events."This has proved to the world that we are capable of hosting any international event, we have

PARIS: France`s World Cup and European Championship winning defender Laurent Blanc was officially named national team coach on Friday, announced outgoing French Football Federation (FFF) president Jean-Pierre Escalettes.The 44-year-old, who cut his teeth for the job in coaching Bordeaux

LONDON: Ricky Ponting has said a third Ashes defeat is likely to signal the end of his time as Australia captain. Ponting, skipper of the teams beaten in England in 2005 and 2009, could become the first Australia captain to lose three Ashes campaigns in more than a hundred years if the

JOHANNESBURG: Football governing body FIFA on Friday gave Nigeria just under two days to reverse its decision to ban the national football team from international matches following its poor showing at the World Cup.FIFA`s general secretary Jerome Valcke said he would meet the Nigerian

PARIS: Should Spain get to the World Cup final, in-form striker David Villa could write a new page in the tournament`s history and over-take Raul as his country`s all-time top scorer in one match.Whereas strike partner Fernando Torres has laboured in four scoreless appearances on his

SEOUL: Huh Jung-Moo Friday stepped down as South Korea`s coach, citing distress from scathing attacks over his leadership during the football World Cup in South Africa."I`ve decided not to seek a second term," Huh, 55, told journalists."My family members suffered a lot ... I want to have

CAPE TOWN: Football powerhouses Argentina and Germany reignite their intense rivalry on Saturday in an eagerly-anticipated World Cup quarter-final, with both sides boasting they will win.The two country`s met at the same stage in 2006 with Juergen Klinsmann`s side going through 4-2 on

LONDON: Vera Zvonareva has had to put her studies on hold for a few days as she prepares for her final exam at Wimbledon.Wimbledon finalist Zvonareva, the Russian 21st seed, has been spending her spare time studying for a master`s degree in international economic relations at the

JOHANNESBURG: Spain will be wary when they face Paraguay on Saturday in Johannesburg`s Ellis Park stadium of not making the same mistakes as in the past.Until two years ago when the Spanish finally delivered on their undoubted promise by winning the European Championships, they had been

ATHENS: Portugal`s Fernando Santos was named coach of the Greek national team Thursday, replacing Germany`s Otto Rehhagel who held the post nine years and guided Greece to victory at Euro 2004.The executive board of the Greek Football Federation (EPO) on Thursday unanimously voted to

LONDON: Russian 21st seed Vera Zvonareva reached the women`s singles final at Wimbledon with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over unseeded Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova on Thursday.Zvonareva fought back from a set down to subdue Pironkova in a hard-fought semi-final on Centre Court and will face

PRETORIA: German World Cup winning captain Lothar Matthaus revealed on Thursday that he is interested in becoming coach of Cameroon.The 49-year-old - who led West Germany to the 1990 World Cup title - told SID, a subsidiary of AFP, that he had been in touch with the Cameroon Football

LAGOS: There was a mixed reaction on Thursday to the government decision to suspend the Nigerian national football team from international matches following its disappointing first round exit at the World Cup.President Goodluck Jonathan slapped a two-year ban on the team from competing

JOHANNESBURG: The first of three World Cup last-eight collisions between South America and Europe pits Brazil against The Netherlands in a Port Elizabeth blockbuster on Friday. And Ghana, sole survivors in the tournament from outside the two most powerful football regions, face Uruguay

JOHANNESBURG: One-time football power Uruguay are on the verge of their first World Cup semi-final appearance in 40 years with African hope Ghana blocking their way at Soccer City here on Friday.Before Brazil and Argentina, Uruguay were the dominant South American team winning two World

ERASMIA: Diego Maradona thought Thomas Mueller was a ballboy when they first met, a demeaning snub which has fired-up the German star to plot Argentina`s downfall in Saturday`s World Cup quarter-final. The 20-year-old Bayern Munich midfielder scored twice in Germany`s 4-1 hammering of

PORT ELIZABETH: Brazil`s dreams of a sixth World Cup title were shattered as the Netherlands came from behind to claim a famous 2-1 win in an enthralling quarter-final here on Friday.An own goal by Felipe Melo - who was to be sent off later - and a Wesley Sneijder header enabled the Dutch

PORT ELIZABETH: For a team that was supposed to founder in the first round and that has come under attack for its reliance on style over substance, Dunga`s boys from Brazil aren`t doing too badly. Dunga`s class of 2010 head into Friday`s World Cup quarter-final clash against the