Chelsea beat Everton to win FA Cup

Chelsea gave Guus Hiddink the perfect farewell present as Frank Lampard's goal clinched a 2-1 win over Everton in Saturday's FA Cup final at John Terry and Frank Lampard hold the trophy after their English FA Cup final match victory against Everton at Wembley Stadium in London on May 30, 2009.

Blues interim boss Hiddink resumes his role as Russia coach on a full-time basis in June but he will always be fondly remembered at Stamford Bridge after leading Chelsea to their first trophy for two years.

Everton had made the perfect start when Louis Saha struck after just 25 seconds to claim the fastest goal in FA Cup final history. But Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba headed Chelsea level midway through the first half before Lampard's long-range effort sealed his club's fifth FA Cup success and ensured Hiddink would leave on a high.

It was also a memorable day for Chelsea defender Ashley Cole, who became the first player for more than 100 years to earn five FA Cup winners' medals. For Drogba it meant a welcome high after having been lambasted following his outburst when Chelsea were knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona.

"I am really delighted," gasped Drogba. "It took a lot of effort. We needed to win a trophy this season. We just had to believe in our expectations. Guus Hiddink has transformed us." Lampard said that his tribute when he scored was for his mother, who died last year.

"We showed a lot of character and dominated the match after half-time," said Lampard. "The winning goal tribute was how my father (Frank senior) celebrated when he scored a rare goal. My mother would have appreciated it." While Chelsea celebrated their first silverware of the post-Jose Mourinho era, Everton were left with the nagging sense of an opportunity missed.

It is over 20 years since Everton were last a major force in English football but this season has offered renewed hope that a club often forced to play second fiddle to local rivals Liverpool can finally emerge from the shadows.

Even so, Toffees boss David Moyes knew they needed a victory in a major showpiece to confirm their return as an elite side. Moyes' decision to start with Saha instead of midfielder Jack Rodwell underlined his determination to take the game to Chelsea and he was rewarded for his boldness after only 25 seconds.

Cristiano Ronaldo's prime concern is now his national team Portugal

Cristiano Ronaldo says his prime concern now is to see his national team Portugal back on rails for a spot in the World Cup finals and has refused to talk about his future with Manchester United. On return from Rome after Manchester United lost the Champions League final to Barcelona, Ronaldo disapproved of his team's strategy and performance in the 0-2 loss.

The 24-year-old was philosophical about the loss, but critical of his side's approach to the game. "It's always hard to lose finals but you must pay for not playing well," he was quoted as saying by the Guardian.

"Man United had only 10 good minutes in the game. After that, we didn't show up. We, the players, didn't play well. The tactics was not good either. Everything went wrong." He also had a swipe at Barcelona, saying the Spanish champions were lucky to be in the final.

"We must give credit to Barcelona but they were lucky to be there, because Chelsea deserved to win the semi-final and nobody mentioned that. I must congratulate Barcelona but that's football, you only talk about those who win."

"Everything went wrong in Rome," he said.

He did not want to talk about his reported shift to Real Madrid and said he did not want to talk about clubs as he would like to focus on his national team. "My future for now is the national team, we must win to be back on track in the world cup qualifiers," he said.

"I don't want to talk about clubs, I want to rest, to go on holidays because I'm very tired. I've played many games under a lot of pressure. The future... we'll see." "I'm a player used to great stages and I'm not upset by anything. The things I've won give me maturity to stand the pressure. There was no problem."

Sharapova battles into French Open 4th round

Maria Sharapova reached the last 16 of the French Open on Friday by defeating Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. Russia's Maria Sharapova returns a ball during her French Open third round match in Paris.

It was a hugely encouraging win for the the biggest name in women's sport in what was just her second tournament back after a 10-month injury lay off during which she underwent surgery to her troublesome right shoulder. And with a favourable draw, she can harbour realistic hopes of making it through to the semi-finals where top seeded compatriot Dinara Safina could be her opponent.

The 22-year-old Sharapova, who once likened her claycourt tennis to "a cow on ice", lived up to her own description in the first set as she sprayed shots left and right and allowed the Moscow-born Shvedova to dominate the exchanges.

She looked to be heading for a thrashing, but dug in and managed to grab a morale-boosting break of serve in the fourth game of the second set. Shvedova annulled that in the very next game, but Sharapova broke again to lead 5-3 and she served out to level the score.

The final set went with serve until 3-3 when Sharapova, who had gradually found her range and her shot-making scream, piled the pressure on her opponent's serve and forced her into a series of errors. From there the Russian served out for the win and a place in the last 16 where she will take on another player who has battled all year against injury - China's Li Na.

Federer survives Acasuso surge

Roger Federer survived a French Open second round scare on Thursday when unheralded Argentine Jose Acasuso threw away a golden opportunity to cause a major Roland Garros sensation.

World number two Federer, claimed a 7-6 (10/8), 5-7, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 win but Acasuso was left to regret wasting four set points in the opening set and another in the third where he twice served for a 2-1 lead.

Acasuso, who has only progressed beyond the second round of a Grand Slam once in 28 attempts, cut a weary figure by the end, worn down as much by his own physical shortcomings as the Swiss star's pinpoint hitting.

Federer, the runner-up to Rafael Nadal here for the past three years and still missing a French Open from his 13-title Grand Slam collection, now faces either French 32nd seed Paul-Henri Mathieu or Pablo Andujar of Spain for a place in the last 16.

Acasuso broke first to lead 4-2 before Federer immediately hit back. The Argentinian then squandered four set points in the first set tiebreaker and Federer made him pay when he secured the opener with a deft drop shot.

Despite going a break down early in the second set, the 26-year-old Acasuso roared back in the third and nipped ahead at 6-5. He levelled the tie when he drove deep with a crunching forehand which Federer could only push back into the base of the net.

Breaks in the first and third games of the third set gave Acasuso a 4-0 lead although his movement became affected when he twisted his right ankle trying to stretch to a Federer pass in the fifth game.

Acasuso wasted a set point in the eighth game as Federer sped from 1-5 down to 6-5 in front before the South American stopped the rot to take the set into another tiebreaker. Federer cruised through that and then the fourth set against a shattered Acasuso to keep his Roland Garros campaign on track.

Barcelona beat United to win Champions League

Barcelona stunned holders Manchester United to win their third Champions League crown with a 2-0 victory on Wednesday. Goals from star forwards Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi gave the Catalans a deserved victory and denied United from becoming the first team to retain the title since the European Cup became the Champions League in 1993.

It gave the Spaniards a unique treble having already won their domestic league and cup and meant they repeated a feat United achieved in 1999, which Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson had then claimed would never be matched. It crowned a marvellous debut season for his Barcelona counterpart Pep Guardiola, who at 38 becomes the youngest coach to take European club football's greatest prize.

Barca overcame early jitters to dominate large parts of the game as the English club never managed to get their usual high tempo game into gear. In a clash billed as the match of the century pitting the best two teams in the world - with each one boasting one of the best two players in the world - only one played to their full potential.

And Ferguson may be questioning his team selection having left both Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez on the United bench as Ryan Giggs played off lone striker Cristiano Ronaldo with Wayne Rooney and Park Ji-Sung confined to disciplined roles on the flanks.

Both sides may a nervy start with Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes and United's Park, the first ever Asian player to play in a Champions League final - playing passes straight into touch. But United settled quickest and Ronaldo had a purple patch in which he terrorised the Spaniards for 10 minutes.

He hit a 25-yard free-kick that Valdes couldn't hold and former United defender Gerard Pique had to dive in to deflect Park's follow-up away for a corner. Ronaldo then lashed a fierce long range drive wide and later, after controlling the ball on his chest, he hit a left-foot volley that sailed agonisingly inches past the post.

The reigning champions were enjoying all the ball and chances but out of the blue Barca took the lead. Andres Iniesta played in Eto'o who beat Nemanja Vidic inside the box and although Michael Carrick slid in to try to block his shot, he succeeded only in helping it past Edwin van der Sar.

That goal settled Barca into their usual stride and they started to weave the pretty patterns that have been mesmerising opponents all season, carrying them to the remarkable feat of scoring more than 150 goals. As the half wore on United gradually lost their shape and rhythm with Sir Alex Ferguson responding late on by pushing Rooney up alongside Ronaldo and Giggs out to the left.

Ronaldo at times looked like he wanted to take on Barca on his own and on 20 minutes he tried a shot for the second time when a pass out wide looked the better option. Xavi then tried his luck from a free-kick which, like Giggs's earlier, was too high but by now Barca had wrested control of the game and were keeping the ball with alarming ease.

Ferguson wasted no time in switching tactics, bringing on Tevez for Anderson at the break and reverting to a more regular 4-4-2, the Argentine playing alongside Ronaldo and Giggs dropping back into a deeper role. But Barca were first to strike on the counter as Thierry Henry cut in from the flank and left Ferdinand on the seat of his pants before shooting weakly at van der Sar on 48 minutes.

The Spaniards were totally in the ascendancy and Xavi fired a free-kick off the post on 53 minutes with van der Sar beaten as Barca threatened to run riot. The reigning champions steadied the ship and Ferguson signalled his intent when he threw Berbatov on for Park with a quarter of the match remaining.

But just as the tide seemed to be turning, Barca extended their lead from the most unlikely source as Xavi picked out Messi at the back post on the edge of the six yard box, the Argentine wizard's looping header arcing into the top corner on 70 minutes. Push as United might in the final minutes, though, they lacked their usual sparkle and Valdes's goal was rarely threatened.

World awaits classic as Man U take on Barca

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand is fit to start Wednesday's Champions League final and Barcelona's Thierry Henry and Andres Iniesta are also poised to shrug off knocks.

As hordes of well behaved fans descended on Rome and began to fill up the eternal city's ancient piazzas, the teams underwent leisurely training sessions at the Stadio Olimpico following another scorching hot day. The forecast is similar for Wednesday with pundits expecting the 1845 GMT kick off to be a sizzler on the pitch as well.

The majestic talents of Barca playmaker Lionel Messi and Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo have led fans to label the game as a dream final between English and Spanish champions who love to attack.

The two teams are hoping to thrill the 67,000 sellout in contrast to their cagey semi-final last season which United edged on their way to lifting the trophy. United's Ferdinand has recovered from a calf strain and is also eager for his team to go on the attack. "The injury is fine, I've been training for the last couple of days with the team and I feel good," the centre back said.

United's task of repelling the Catalans will be even tougher if Spain midfielder Iniesta recovers from a strained thigh muscle and France striker Henry shakes off a knee injury. Veteran counterpart Alex Ferguson said his team could enjoy even greater success than when they sealed their famous Treble exactly 10 years ago.

United hope to become the first side to retain the European Cup since the Champions League started in 1992-93. "When you get a bunch of players who are talented and don't want to lose then you are talking about a special team," the Scot said.

Ferguson was pleased his team would wear the same white strip they sported when beating Barca in the 1991 Cup Winners' Cup final. He also said it was fate the final was being played a day after what would have been the late Matt Busby's 100th birthday.

A huge facial image of United's 1968 European Cup-winning manager was laid out with card on a section seats at the Olimpico while the teams trained.

Federer buries his demons with clinical win

Roger Federer erased miserable memories by gliding into the second round of the French Open with a clinical 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Spaniard Alberto Martin on Monday.

The last time Federer had stepped on Philippe Chatrier Court, he was on the receiving end of a 6-1 6-3 6-0 mauling by his nemesis Rafael Nadal in the final 12 months ago. On Monday, he refused to cast his mind back to that black day in his illustrious career and instead focused on breaking down his opponent's resistance.

"I didn't even think about last year's match on the same court because I was so much concentrated," said the Swiss world number two, who is seeking to win the Roland Garros title to complete his collection of grand slam titles. "I wanted to do my best. I didn't want to lose my first match."

Federer said his clay court form this season, during which he has reached the semi-finals in Rome and beat Nadal to win his first title of the year in Madrid, has given him the belief that he can win in Paris.

"The (2008) final was very difficult. It was the very last match. But what counts is how you played after in Madrid, Monte Carlo and Rome and on clay surfaces, and what you look at is the matches you've won," said Federer, who has been left clutching the runner-up tray in Paris for the past three years.

"If you've lost, okay, no problem, because between then and now, you have played something like 60 matches, so that was okay today for me." On Monday there was no danger of Federer being humiliated by an opponent who had snatched just one game off the Swiss in their only previous meeting.

After dropping his opening service game, Federer conjured a endless stream of glorious winners and he drew gasps of admiration from the capacity crowd as he stroked an exquisite drop shot to conclude a straightforward victory. The 27-year-old Swiss will next face Argentine grinder Jose Acasuso.

Battling Sharapova wins on Grand Slam comeback

Maria Sharapova made a winning return to Grand Slam tennis when she came from behind to beat Belarus's Anastasiya Yakimova 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the first round of the French Open on Monday.

The Russian former world number one, who underwent surgery on her right shoulder last August and only returned to singles action in Warsaw last week, was contesting her first Grand Slam match since a second-round defeat to countrywoman Alla Kudryavtseva at last year's Wimbledon.

Sharapova, a three-time Grand Slam winner, made a shaky start, double-faulting at break point in her first service game and then conceding another break after rallying to lead 3-2.

The 22-year-old, wearing a blue dress and sporting strapping on her right shoulder, displayed flashes of her characteristically uncompromising ground strokes but struggled to find any consistency with her serve.

An over-cooked cross-court backhand from the Russian handed Yakimova another break and a 5-3 lead, with the world number 64 Belarusian tying up the first set when her opponent scooped a tired backhand into the net.

Sharapova responded assertively in the second set, breaking twice to race into a 4-0 lead and levelling the match after Yakimova had called for a medical time-out to receive treatment for a back problem.

The Sharapova radar was slightly off-kilter and she earned the ire of the French crowd for questioning a couple of third-set line calls before eventually securing victory to set up a meeting with compatriot and number 11 seed Nadia Petrova.

Sania gets easy draw at French Open

Sania Mirza, India's first female Grand Slam winner, will open her French Open campaign against Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboev, ranked 95 in the world.

Sania, ranked 91, is expected to cross the first hurdle but the Indian can run into a really tough opponent in the second round where she could meet formidable seventh seed Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, who is pitted against Claire Feuerstein of the host nation in her opening round.

Sania enjoys a 1-0 lead over Voskoboev with the Indian defeating her Kazak rival in straight sets in San Diego in 2005 in their only outing. The Indian ace had skipped the last French Open, in fact the entire clay court season, due to a wrist injury.

Sania has never moved beyond the second round here and it will be herculean task for her to improve her record. Sania has had a wonderful start to the season as she annexed her first Grand Slam title, winning the mixed doubles title at Australian Open with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi.

Benitez keen to keep Real target Alonso

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has insisted that he does not want to sell Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso in the close-season. Benitez, speaking after Sunday's season-ending 3-1 win over Tottenham at Anfield, was responding to fresh reports in England linking the influential Spanish midfielder with a move to Real Madrid.

And Benitez denied suggestions that his spending plans hinge on selling players like Alonso who would command hefty fees. Alonso played as though he had other things on his mind as Liverpool brought the curtain down on a bitter-sweet season.

Despite finishing without any major silverware for a third successive campaign, the disappointment of missing out to Manchester United after leading the table for so long has been cushioned by overwhelming evidence that their domestic form is improving under Benitez.

Not only did this result secure Liverpool's highest finish since the 2001-02 campaign, their final tally of 86 points is their best Premier League return.

They finished the season with nine wins in the last ten games and with an unbeaten home record, the first time they have achieved that for 21 years when Liverpool were in their pomp. Benitez's side hardly had to break sweat on a sun-baked Merseyside day to secure three points against Tottenham.

Former Liverpool striker Robbie Keane did make his point as he marked his Anfield return with a goal. But it made little difference after Fernando Torres and an own goal by Alan Hutton sent Liverpool into a commanding 2-0 lead.

Tottenham fans were still celebrating Keane's goal when Yossi Benayoun put the game beyond reach before the tears came. The Kop, who had politely applauded Keane's goal earlier, had spent the afternoon urging Benitez to send on substitute Sami Hyypia, who is joining Bayer Leverkusen after 10 years at Liverpool.

They finally got what they wanted seven minutes from time. As Steven Gerrard made way for the veteran defender, the captain handed his armband to Hyypia and the crowd stood to cheer him on to the pitch for the last time.

After referee Peter Walton had signalled the end of Liverpool's campaign, Hyypia, who leaves after 464 appearances, was lifted into the air by his team-mates, the emotion of the occasion proving too much for the player as tears streamed down his face.

Tottenham finish the campaign in eighth spot yet the London club could be pushing for a top six finish next season after enjoying a dramatic recovery under manager Harry Redknapp. He took over from Juande Ramos in October with Tottenham 20th in the table after failing to win their first eight games.

Nadal poised to claim French Open history

Rafael Nadal believes his game is almost perfect as he targets an historic fifth successive French Open title. The 22-year-old world number one, whose incredible Roland Garros record stands at 28 wins from 28 matches, has already written off losing his 33-match claycourt streak to old rival Roger Federer in Madrid last week.

He believes a combination of a draining four-hour semi-final victory over Novak Djokovic and the high altitude of the Spanish capital conspired against him.

"I am very happy with my claycourt season. I won in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome and made the final in Madrid. It's almost perfect," said Nadal, the top seed. "Madrid was a different tournament. The court was fast, the balls were flying and I didn't play that well."

Adding to his confidence is the knowledge that he has beaten Federer in the last three finals at Roland Garros. Federer, who is one title short of matching Pete Sampras's all-time mark of 14 majors, needs a French Open to become only the sixth man to complete a career Grand Slam.

But he's travelled this road before. Two years ago, Federer ended Nadal's 81-match winning streak on clay at Hamburg to instill fresh confidence of finally cracking the French code, but he was to be denied once the duo resumed hostilities in Paris.

On the evidence of the 2008 tournament, where Nadal didn't drop a set in seven matches and Federer won just four games in a brutally one-sided final, the Swiss star again looks doomed. But Federer refuses to concede defeat, believing that his win in Madrid, which was his 58th title, but first of 2009, could represent another launchpad.

"He has never lost in Paris so obviously his confidence is very high, but I think we have seen that if you play Rafa the right way there are chances," said the 27-year-old, world number two.

"In Madrid it was important that I played well when I had to which I wasn't doing before because there was something lacking in my game, just a lack of practice maybe." Sunday's meeting in Madrid was the pair's 20th career clash with Nadal holding the upper hand 13-7 overall, and 9-2 on clay.

Their rivalry is one of sports' most compelling with Nadal having dethroned Federer as Wimbledon champion in an epic final in 2008 before the Spaniard reduced the Swiss to a tearful wreck after victory in Australia this year in another five-set thriller.

In the unlikely event of the June 7 final not being a repeat of the last three, Djokovic, who had three match points against Nadal in his Madrid semi-final, would be the most likely beneficiary.

But the big-hearted Serbian, who turned 22 on Friday, has lost all nine claycourt meetings with Nadal, including four in 2009 - in Davis Cup, Monte-Carlo, Rome and then in Spain. Djokovic has reached the semi-finals in Paris for the last two years, losing to Nadal on each occasion without claiming a set.

"It's not that easy. I probably played one of the best matches of my life against him (in Madrid), but he made some unbelievable shots to win those points which he did - again," sighed the Serbian.

Britain's Andy Murray has lost both his claycourt meetings with Nadal and despite holding a 6-2 advantage over Federer, the two have never met on clay. In two visits to the French Open, Murray has yet to get beyond the third round. But he is confident he can make a deep run into the event.

"Against the real clay-courters that play a lot of top spin, you can almost try and make it a hardcourt match by playing a little bit flatter and coming to the net and bit an shortening the points," said Murray.

Nadal faces a qualifier in his first match before a possible third round clash with Australian former world number one Lleyton Hewitt. Federer opens against Spain's Alberto Montanes with old American rival Andy Roddick seeded to face him in the last eight.

Third seeded Murray renews his fierce rivalry with Argentinians when he meets Juan Ignacio Chela, while fourth seed Djokovic faces experienced Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador. If the seeding works to plan, then Nadal would face Murray in the semi-finals while Djokovic would take on Federer.

Spurs eye Europe as Liverpool settle for second best

Liverpool face Tottenham in the final round of Premier League matches on Sunday with the London club still holding out hopes of qualifying for Europe. If Harry Redknapp's side can win at Anfield and Fulham lose at Craven Cottage against Everton, Spurs will finish the season in seventh position.

That will be enough to see them qualify for the Europa League - the renamed Uefa Cup - next season. However, they face a formidable challenge as Liverpool are yet to be beaten in the league at home this term.

The Reds will also have their own incentive on the day as a win over the north London club will confirm that Liverpool finish the season in second place behind champions Manchester United, the first time they have been Premier League runners-up since 2002.

Liverpool assistant manager Sammy Lee said: "It's massively important that we finish second. We always go out to try and win, and this game is no exception.

"It is a massive game for us - it is our last home game and our last game of the season. It would be nice to finish it on a high. "We know it won't be easy - no game is, but it is going to be massive for us and we want to make sure that we get the three points needed to ensure that we keep second place.

"Spurs are a very professional team and they will come here wanting to win, so it won't be easy. "But we have got to be professional and focused because we go into each and every game trying to get the maximum out of it."

The match will be Sami Hyypia's last game for Liverpool after a decade at the club as he has signed a two-year deal to join German side Bayer Leverkusen next season. Hyypia has won every possible domestic trophy except the Premier League during his talismanic career at the heart of Liverpool's defence and Lee was quick to pay tribute to the Finnish defender's time on Merseyside.

He added: "It will be emotional for him - he is an emotional guy through that cool exterior. It will be difficult for him but he goes with our best wishes. "He is a thinker on the game and he understands the game, studies the game and knows the game. "He is looking to improve, move on and evolve and I think he has got all the characteristics needed to be a good coach."

The match is likely to be just as emotional for Tottenham striker Robbie Keane, who returns to Anfield for the first time since his disastrous spell at the club earlier this term. Liverpool paid Spurs 20.3 million pounds for the Ireland striker last year but he lasted just 28 matches as part of Rafa Benitez's squad before returning to his former club in the January transfer window.

However, the 28-year-old has tried to swerve all discussions relating to his time at Liverpool and insists he just wants to beat his old team so Spurs' dream of European football can come to fruition.

UEFA charge Drogba, Bosingwa and Chelsea

Chelsea players Didier Drogba and Jose Bosingwa have been charged with misconduct by UEFA after ugly scenes at the end of their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona on May 6.

The European governing body has also brought disciplinary proceedings against the Premier League club for the improper conduct of their players and the throwing of missiles by their fans.

Barcelona went through to the final against Manchester United next Wednesday on away goals after the match ended in a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Ivory Coast captain Drogba harangued Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo after the final whistle before directing a foul-mouthed tirade at a television camera while Bosingwa made disparaging remarks about Ovrebo in the media. Both face charges of bad sportsmanship.

"UEFA has today announced that it has instigated disciplinary proceedings against Chelsea FC and two Chelsea FC players, Didier Drogba and Joseph Bosingwa, following the UEFA Champions League second leg semi-final match at Stamford Bridge," a statement said.

"The disciplinary proceedings are based on the following charges: Chelsea FC for being responsible for the improper conduct of players and the throwing of missiles by their supporters. "Didier Drogba and Joseph Bosingwa for being in breach of the principles of sportsmanship by insulting the referee by making offensive comments."

A tense semi-final turned nasty when Barcelona's Andres Iniesta scored in the third minute of stoppage time to level an early goal by Chelsea's Michael Essien, sending Chelsea out on the away goals rule.

Drogba, and other Chelsea players, were furious that several strong penalty claims had been turned down during the match. Bosingwa later described the referee as "a thief" when talking to Portuguese television.

Both players apologised for their reactions while the club issued a statement saying that while the events were regrettable they were born out of the "high emotions and frustrations which arose from a controversial defeat".

Michael Ballack has escaped any charges despite charging after Ovrebo when another penalty appeal was waved away as Chelsea searched for a last-gasp winner. UEFA has asked Chelsea for statements from the club and the two players by May 29. The Control and Disciplinary Body will deal with the case on June 17.

Lampard scoops record hat-trick of Chelsea awards

Frank Lampard has been named Chelsea's Player of the Year for a record third time.he England midfielder is the first player to win the accolade three times, the English Premier League club said on Friday. Winner in 2004 and 2005, Lampard was again voted leading performer over the season by Chelsea fans.

The award was some consolation for the midfielder who, despite what he describes as his best season to date, failed to win awards from the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) or Football Writers' Association.

"When I came here I never expected to win it three times at all, I just wanted to establish myself, but getting this award and the recognition from your own fans is a huge thing in football. I am absolutely delighted."

Chelsea head to Wembley on May 30 to play Everton in the FA Cup final and Lampard is eager to send off popular outgoing manager Guus Hiddink with silverware. "I don't feel any pressure from the outside to do well in the FA Cup, I feel we have an inner pride to try to do well in it," he said.

Defender Ashley Cole was awarded Chelsea Players' Player of the Year while a Michael Essien volley at home against Barcelona was voted the fans' Goal of the Season. It was the second time in three years the Ghanaian has won the accolade.

Giggs sees United thriving long after he has gone

Ryan Giggs's contribution to Manchester United this season has been significant enough for him to have collected the English players' Player of the Year award.

But the veteran Welsh winger believes the current United squad will continue to thrive, long after he has called time on a career that has already delivered 11 Premier League winners' medals and a record number of appearances for his one and only club.

Sir Alex Ferguson's team have already wrapped up a third consecutive Premier League title and they are looking to retain their Champions League crown with another final against Barcelona.

Having already lifted European football's biggest prize twice, Giggs knows that, at 35, there will not be too many more evenings like Wednesday in Rome. But he is confident that the youthful nature of United's current squad means that the club could be in for several years of domestic and European dominance.

Aside from Giggs, Ferguson has regularly used veterans Edwin van der Sar, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes in recent years. But this season's progress has been notable for the emergence of several promising youngsters.

Brazilian full-back Rafael has made a major impression and Northern Ireland defender Jonny Evans has made more than 30 appearances. The United boss has also used the likes of Darron Gibson and Rodrigo Possebon in midfield and Federico Machedo and Danny Welbeck in attack. And it is that injection of youth that Giggs feels could set United up for years to come.

But Ferguson feels that the arrival of former Barcelona player Pep Guardiola as coach at the Nou Camp has brought an extra edge to the Spanish champions. Barcelona are known for their attacking brilliance but the United manager thinks that Guardiola has added a stronger defensive base.

Barcelona are hoping that Andres Iniesta and Thierry Henry can both overcome injuries to feature in Rome. And Ferguson believes that they are both crucial to the Spanish club's hopes. Ferguson is hoping that Rio Ferdinand can prove his fitness for the game in Italy by overcoming a calf problem in time to face Hull on Sunday.

The England defender has missed United's last three matches and Ferguson does not want to risk the centre-back against Barcelona if he has not had any match action for three weeks.

Kolkata Knight Riders beat Chennai Super Kings by 7 wickets

It all came back for the Knight Riders, albeit a little too late. All the gumption that Shah Rukh Khan expected from his Knights was there to be seen as Brendon McCullum's boys made a fabulous chase of a huge 189-run target to notch up their second win of the tournament.

Scorecard

The last over blues almost haunted them yet again, as they needed six off the last six balls. But Wriddhiman Saha and Brad Hodge held their nerves and did it on the last ball in spite of a brave effort with the ball by Suresh Raina.

The skipper led from the front and had some of the shots he played came off earlier in the tournament, Knight Riders may not have been languishing where they are at the moment.

The Kiwi just put his front foot forward and hit through the line as the Chennai bowlers struggled to keep him in check. Whenever anything was pitched short, he promptly went on to the back foot and pulled with ease.

It seemed that McCullum (81 off 48 balls) will run away with the game, but Shadab Jakati removed him to get Dhoni's boys back in control. But Brad Hodge was there to take charge. He launched a vicious attack on the Chennai bowling line-up which didn't look at their best on the day.

Chennai were in the mood to experiment just a bit in the game with a semis berth already booked. Hayden took a break, but with MS Dhoni and Raina around in the middle-order, it was difficult for the likes of Albie Morkel and Jacob Oram to get some batting practice. The duo carried on with their supreme form as Team Chennai looked set to close in on Delhi at the top.

Though the game was of academic interest, Raina was not in the mood to let the opportunity go. From the time he came to the crease, Raina looked to take on Ajantha Mendis and he did that with consummate ease.

A couple of his huge hits off Mendis disappeared into the stands and Chennai were on a roll. Even after Raina got out, Dhoni carried on with his breathtaking strokeplay. But all that fell flat following the Hodge-McCullum heroics.

Real Madrid to offer Ronaldo 200k pounds

Spanish football giants Real Madrid are prepared to offer Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo 200,000-pounds-a-week to move to the Bernabeu from Manchester United.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez will make the signing of Ronaldo his priority if, as expected, he is re-elected on June 14, The Mirror reports.

Perez wants talks with Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes to renegotiate the provisional deal he agreed with ex-president Ramon Calderon after last season's Champions League Final.

Federer stuns Nadal to win Madrid Masters

Roger Federer defeated world number one Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-4 to win the Madrid Masters on Sunday to strike a timely early blow in his campaign to lift an elusive French Open.

His win ended a five-match losing streak against the Spaniard, a run which included three Grand Slam finals and ended Nadal's 33-match winning streak on clay, a run stretching back over a year to the Rome second round in 2008.

Federer fired two aces, his fifth and sixth of the afternoon to wrap up the victory and lift his record in finals against his Spanish rival to 5-11.

Federer heads into the French Open starting in a week with a huge confidence boost after finally defeating the rival who stripped him of his Wimbledon title last summer.

Nadal, who had won claycourt titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome this spring, was visibly jaded from his semi-final on Saturday when he needed over four hours to defeat Novak Djokovic.

West Brom relegated from Premier League

Steven Gerrard masked the disappointment of not being able to get his hands on the Premier League trophy for yet another season by claiming one of the goals that eased Liverpool to a 2-0 victory on Sunday and confirmed West Bromwich Albion's relegation.

Sir Alex Ferguson's latest title success at Manchester United, 24 hours earlier, equalled Liverpool's collection of 18, which will have added to the pain at not being able to sustain their own, most concerted challenge since the inception of the Premier League.

This was a dead rubber for manager Rafael Benitez. Liverpool could have been forgiven for lacking the purpose and focus that had generated genuine title hopes. But it was still enough to despatch Albion back to the Championship, just 12 months after they had regained Premier League status.

Albion will return to the Championship because the spirited resistance they discovered came too late and because of their propensity for defensive mistakes that have been exploited throughout the campaign.

The errors have been ruthlessly punished and few have been more culpable than Shelton Martis. After 27 minutes of Albion dominance and reason for still dreaming about salvation - the central defender made another in his long litany of catastrophic errors.

He allowed himself to be caught in possession 30 yards from goal by Gerrard and he readily accepted the gift to chip over Dean Kiely. Tony Mowbray's side had no reasons to be de-motivated, they were still fighting for their lives and could easily have been ahead inside five minutes.

Chris Brunt's corner skimmed off the head of Fernando Torres and only Pepe Reina's double save at the far post prevented Jonathan Greening squeezing his shot home.

Albion have had little in the shape of good fortune this season and key decisions continued to go against them when referee Martin Atkinson refused to award a penalty against Lucas for a blatant foul on Marc Antoine Fortune - as the on loan striker from Nancy tried to slide Juan Carlos Menseguez' cross into an empty net.

There was to be no repeat of West Brom's great escape under Bryan Robson four seasons ago. That was confirmed when Dirk Kuyt ran unchallenged to the edge of the area before measuring a powerful shot beyond Kiely just after the hour mark.

Mowbray's difficult task now is to persuade key players, like Borja Valero, Robert Koren and Fortune to remain with the club next season to mount an attempt to regain their Premier League status at their first attempt.

He has already admitted that he fears his squad could be broken up by the instant return to the second tier of English football, although one player who will almost certainly not be part of their Championship campaign is Czech Republic international Roman Bednar. He has been suspended while the club conducts an internal enquiry into allegations of him being involved in purchasing drugs.

Bednar was pictured in The News of the World allegedly buying cocaine and cannabis near his home in Birmingham. He claims he was buying them for a friend and not for his own use, but now almost certainly faces being sacked by Albion chairman Jeremy Peace.

Rafa, Roger through in Madrid, Murray falls

World number one Rafael Nadal survived a second-set scare to beat Spanish compatriot Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 7-5 and seal his place in the sem
i-finals of the Madrid Open on Friday.

Nadal will play Novak Djokovic for a place in Sunday's final after the Serbian third seed stayed on course for a fifth straight final appearance with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Croatian wildcard Ivan Ljubicic.

Second-seeded Swiss Roger Federer also advanced, surviving a gritty Andy Roddick fightback to beat the American sixth seed 7-5, 6-7, 6-1 and set up a last-four clash against Juan Martin Del Potro, who ruined Andy Murray's 22nd birthday celebrations by beating the Briton 7-6, 6-3.

Nadal survived an epic five-setter against Verdasco in the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January and the seventh seed gave him another stiff test on the Mallorca native's favoured clay in the new Magic Box stadium.

Verdasco went long with a forehand to hand the first set to his Davis Cup team-mate but fought back to open up a 4-0 lead in the second. The French Open champion mounted an impressive comeback to reel off the next five games and Verdasco saved two match points on his serve before holding for 5-5.

Nadal, chasing a sixth title of the year, carved out three more match points at 6-5 and only needed one of them to seal his 149th win on clay in 153 matches since the beginning of 2005.

"I'm trying to find my rhythm, it's taking me quite a bit to adapt to the height of the bounce," Nadal said at a news conference, referring to the faster conditions in the higher altitude of the Spanish capital. Federer let slip a 3-0 lead in the second set tiebreak to drop his first set of the tournament against a gutsy Roddick.

But the Swiss maestro found a higher gear in the deciding set, on one point playing an extraordinary shot from the baseline between his legs with his back to the net and chasing down Roddick's drop volley to win the rally.

Federer had never faced Roddick on clay before and improved his record against the former number one to 18 wins and two defeats going back to 2001. Roddick, who has had six weeks off and got married in Texas last month, was not too downcast.

Murray let slip a 5-2 first-set lead before losing the tiebreak 7-4 and Del Potro grabbed the crucial break in the sixth game of the second set in a match that finished well after midnight local time.

Djokovic got frustrated with himself at times against the 30-year-old Ljubicic but saved two break points in the second set and wrapped up victory on his first match point when the Croat went long with a return.

Rajasthan Royals beat Mumbai Indians by 2 runs

Shane Warne is out of the bad dream called Sachin Tendulkar. And Team Rajasthan are on top of the world. Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne celebrates the dismissal of Mumbai Indians' Ajinkya Rahane at Kingsmead in Durban.

It’s the Aussie magician’s night to party as the Little Master fell to his guile and so did Mumbai Indians to hand a dramatic two-run win to Rajasthan with just a ball to spare in their IPL 2 contest on Thursday.

Mumbai Indians needed only four off the last over with three wickets in hand, but Munaf Patel bowled a dream over and Tendulkar’s boys lost their heads to get all out.

Sachin had got it all wrong in the initial stages of their batting with the ‘serious’ batsmen starting to come as late as No. 4. The pressure was on Tendulkar as Jayasuriya (coming at No. 4) and JP Duminy (No. 6) fell early. But the Little Master had decided that he would have the final say.

He tackled the three-pronged spin attack of Jaipur beautifully, coming down the the track and playing as straight as possible. 66 off 36 came down to 48 off 30 with a few brilliant straight drives off Ravindra Jadeja.

It was all looking well set for Mumbai but the master missed the line of a Warne top-spinner and found himself plumb in front. Harbhajan and Abhishek Nayar brought Mumbai Indians close, but once the left-hander got out with six to spare, Tendulkar’s men lost the plot.

Sania-Chuang enter Madrid quarters

India's Sania Mirza and Chia-Jung Chuang of Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) upset second seed Spaniards Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual 7-6(4), 4-6, 10-7 to enter the doubles quarter-final of the Madrid Masters.

Sania and Chuang next play Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Russia's Elena Vesnina who swept aside Russians Alla Kudryavtseva and Ekaterina Makarova 6-1, 6-1.

Sania, who failed to make it to the main draw of the singles after her 3-6, 3-6 loss to French Aravane Rezai in the first round qualifiers, is the sole Indian left in the tournament with the exit of Mahesh Bhupathi and his Bahamian partner Mark Knowles in the men's doubles second round on Wednesday.

Bhupathi-Knowles went down 4-6, 5-7 to Australian Stephen Huss and England's Ross Hutchins. Meanwhile, the third seeds Leander Paes and Czech Lukas Dlouhy, who got a bye in the first round, pulled out due to Dlouhy's illness.

Man United on brink of 18th English title

Manchester United moved to within a point of a third consecutive Premier League title with a 2-1 comeback win over Steve Bruce's Wigan on Wednesday.

Second-half goals from inspirational substitute Carlos Tevez and Michael Carrick overturned a first-half opener from the home side's Hugo Rodallega, meaning United will win their 18th English title if they take a point from either of their two remaining matches, against Arsenal at Old Trafford on Saturday or away to Hull on May 24.

But they know they almost suffered a serious setback at the JJB Stadium as they came up against a spirited and well-drilled Wigan side who attacked at every opportunity. Wigan had not won in six matches going into this encounter but were a comfortable - if not surprising - match for the visitors throughout and were the first to go forward after just 90 seconds.

Colombian Rodallega headed a throw-in over United's Jonny Evans which allowed Antonio Valencia to then skip past Nemanja Vidic. He sped into the box unmarked but shot wide from a good position after Vidic had managed to sprint back and put him off. United seemed sluggish early on but finally ignited in the 10th minute when they could have scored twice in less than 60 seconds.

Following some superbly fluent passing, Dimitar Berbatov crossed from the right byline but Wayne Rooney could not steer his header on target despite being completely unmarked four metres out.

Within a minute of that action, some slick one-touch football between Rooney, Paul Scholes and Berbatov helped to release Cristiano Ronaldo down the right and his incisive pass back inside was met by Carrick but he shot over.

Valencia then had another fine opportunity courtesy of a free-kick on the edge of the box and although his curling effort was heading for the top corner, United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar managed to punch it clear at full stretch. Any United fans believing Wigan would merely lie-down were in for a disappointment and Wigan proved that on 28 minutes as they took the lead.

Lee Cattermole launched the ball into the United penalty area where Rodallega challenged Vidic in the air and after the Serbian defender slipped, the ball fell for the Wigan frontman who slotted comfortably past van der Sar.

Just before half-time, United strung together another sequence of fine passes until the ball finally worked its way to Rooney inside the box but with only goalkeeper Richard Kingson to beat, Rooney smashed the ball well over the crossbar.

Wigan then emulated the visitors by moving the ball from one of the field to the other thanks to link-up play by Cattermole and Charles N'Zogbia but Rodallega could not make the move pay off as he finally shot wide.

The match kept up its breathless pace after the interval with Rooney believing he was due a penalty following a sliding challenge from Paul Scharner close to the penalty spot but his claims were waved away.

Tevez then replaced Andersen after 58 minutes and within three minutes of his introduction, the striker made the crucial intervention that United were looking for. Carrick hit a poor shot across the box which was going comfortably wide until Tevez managed to cleverly backheel the ball in the opposite direction, leaving Kingson little chance.

A draw looked the more likely prospect but United are justifiably renowned for their ability to turn matches late on and so it proved again. With just three minutes remaining, John O'Shea passed to Carrick on the edge of the box and he struck a controlled left-foot drive into the top corner for an emphatic winner.

Mumbai Indians beat Kings XI Punjab by 8 wickets

The VIP boxes at Supersport Park gave an exact picture of what happened on the field in the match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Mumbai Indians' Dwayne Bravo plays a shot against Kings XI Punjab in Centurion.

Scorecard

The blue flags were all over the place, the red and white ones slowly kept disappearing. Mumbai Indians owner Nita Ambani sat in the dugout celebrating through the evening while Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia, co-owners of Kings XI, were hardly noticed anywhere around.

It was a crucial encounter here that went in favour of Mumbai easily as West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo smashed a sizzling half-century to help his side easily chase a mere 120 runs.

Sachin Tendulkar’s team won the match by eight wickets, thus climbing up the points table to share the fourth spot with Team Jaipur. Yuvraj Singh’s team, on the other hand, had only themselves to blame for a poor display batting first, going down to the sixth spot in the rankings.

The last time these two teams met in this tournament, on April 29, Kings XI had scored exactly the same total as they did on Tuesday - 119 - and still won by three runs in a scintillating encounter.

On Tuesday though, Bravo had other ideas and he spelt it out for all those who were expecting the Kings to get lucky again. The right-hander clubbed seven fours and three sixes in his knock of 70 and remained unbeaten as Mumbai romped home.

Federer opens at Madrid with victory

Roger Federer began his final warmup for the French Open with a convincing 6-1, 7-5 win over Robin Soderling at the Madrid Open on Tuesday, while new No. 3 Andy Murray scored a tough 7-6 (9), 6-4 win against Simone Bolelli.

The Swiss star hit 24 winners and took advantage of the Swedish player's 25 unforced errors to capture four break points. Federer fired down 11 aces, including on the final point to clinch his place in the third round.

"It's about playing well and getting ready for Paris," said Federer, who has lost to Rafael Nadal in his last three trips to Roland Garros. "It's good to get the first match." Federer, who had a bye for the first round, could lose his No. 2 position in the rankings to Murray without a good showing at the joint ATP and WTA event.

Bolelli hit 30 winners to Murray's 22, but the 61st-ranked Italian also had 50 unforced errors, including a forehand long to give Murray the first set tiebreaker after 1 hour, 17 minutes.

Murray, the defending champion, clinched the win with the only break of the match in the final game when Bolelli netted a forehand. Murray will next play No. 16 Tommy Robredo after the Spaniard rallied to defeat Mardy Fish of the United States 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2. Earlier, Ivan Ljubicic scored the first upset after beating ninth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 7-5.

The Croatian wildcard broke ninth-ranked Tsonga three times, with two of those coming in the second set when Ljubicic rallied from 5-2 down to take it. Madrid's conversion from a fast-playing hardcourt to a clay surface looked to benefit 14th-seeded James Blake, who beat Romania's Victor Hanescu 6-2, 6-4 for his first victory in the Spanish capital after six appearances.

Hanescu hit 27 unforced errors with most coming on his second serve where he scored only six of 18 points and hit three double faults. The 16th-ranked American player seemed to carry over his good form from Sunday's Estoril Open final loss.

"I just started playing my game instead of just trying to be a clay courter," said Blake, who will face another big-serving opponent in Ivo Karlovic next with the winner playing Federer. "I've got to play my style and play aggressive when I get the chance."

Other seeded players to advance included No. 7 Fernando Verdasco, No. 10 Nikolay Davydenko and No. 13 Marin Cilic, while Italian pair Andreas Seppi and Fabio Fognini plus Tomas Berdych also won.

On the women's side, fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic overcame a stubborn challenge from Daniela Hantuchova to win 7-5, 6-2. The fourth-ranked Serb got off to a slow start with Hantuchova slapping a forehand wide down the line as Jankovic broke to even the first set at 5-5. Jankovic took the first set when the 39th-ranked Slovakian netted.

Jankovic then broke Hantuchova early in the second frame but couldn't shake her opponent, who couldn't convert any of her seven break chances in the second set. Jankovic broke Hantuchova five times in the match to set up a third round match with Elena Vesnina of Russia.

Ninth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki advanced to play either Venus Williams or Alisa Kleybanova, while France's Amelie Mauresmo will play third-seeded Elena Dementieva after a 6-2, 7-5 win over China's Jie Zheng.

Italy's Francesca Schiavone, Agnes Szavay of Hungary and Russia's Vera Dushevina were also winners on Tuesday.

India out of semi-final race in Asia Cup

Needing an outright win to book a place in the semi-finals, India squandered a two-goal lead and settled for a 2-2 draw against China to see their title defence go up in smoke in the Asia Cup tournament on Tuesday.

Skipper Sandeep Singh (31st, 34th minutes) converted two of India's four penalty corners to put the side ahead but the Indian defence crumbled at crucial junctures to allow China escape with a draw.

For China, Lu Feng Hui (45th) and Yu Yang (59th) sounded the boards. India were beaten 2-3 by Pakistan in their tournament opener. China's tenacity and their ability to slow the pace of the game won the day for them against an inconsistent Indian side which played well in patches.

The Indians wingers, especially Arjun Halappa, was impeccable with his crosses but the forward line, comprising Rajpal Singh and Prabhjot Singh, was guilty of fumbling and mis-trapping the ball on a number of occasions.

However, Sandeep, who was off-colour in the first match against Pakistan, answered his critics in style, converting two short corners in a span of three minutes to see the defending champions go into the breather with a comfortable 2-0 lead.

Sandeep opened the scoring in the 31st minute with a fierce drag-flick that beat the Chinese custodian hands down after Tushar Khandekar had earned India's first penalty corner. Three minutes later, he doubled the lead with another immaculate short corner conversion.

With a 2-0 cushion, the Indians came out all attacking in the second half but the strategy backfired as it created open spaces in the mid-field and the nimble-footed Chinese were quick to cash in on the opportunity with swift counter-attacks.

The Chinese, who spoilt India's medal hopes in 2006 Asian Games beating them 3-2, reduced the lead in the 45th minute when Hui found the net with an indirect variation from their first penalty corner.

But it was rival forward Yang who drove the final nail in India's coffin in the 59th minute with a delicate touch from a free hit following a costly defensive lapse. A desperate India worked hard for the elusive winner but the Chinese defence stood tall to thwart any threat to their place in the last four stage.

Just 50 seconds from the hooter, Sandeep did get an opportunity to seal the match and a semi-final place for India but this time his drag-flick was stopped by a diving Chinese goalkeeper Su Ri Feng to dash India's hopes.

Delhi Daredevils beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 7 wickets

Delhi Daredevils thrashed Kolkata Knight Riders by 7 wickets to win the 39th match of the second edition of the Indian Premier League at New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Sunday.

Delhi achieved the victory target of 124 runs in 17.1 overs with AB de Villiers top scoring with an unbeaten 40 that came off 32 balls and was studded with 5 fours. Delhi leg-spinner Amit Mishra was adjudged the Man of the Match for taking 3 wickets. Dinesh Karthik too remained not out on a 22-ball 17.

Delhi Daredevils were 72/3 in 10 overs.

Delhi got off to a steady start with captain Gautam Gambhir and David Warner putting up a 53-run stand. Gambhir hit 3 fours in his 18-run knock that came off 24 balls before he edged a Moises Henriques delivery to point for Brad Hodge to take the catch. Warner hit a six and 5 fours in his 36-run knock off 23 balls before edging a Ishant Sharma delivery to keeper Morne van Wyk for the catch.

Three deliveries later, Ishant took his second wicket having Tillakaratne Dilshan(1) caught at fine leg by Henriques. Earlier, Sourav Ganguly and Ajit Agarkar came up with useful knocks as Kolkata Knight Riders scored 123/8 in 20 overs.

Ganguly, who came to open the innings with McCullum, hit 2 sixes and a four in his 45-ball 44, while Agarkar chipped in with a 39-run knock that came off 29 balls and was studded with 2 sixes and 3 fours to take Kolkata to a respectable total.

For Delhi, leg-spinner Amit Mishra took 3 wickets, while Ashish Nehra and Dirk Nannes took 2 wickets each.

Put in to bat, Kolkata got off to a poor start losing two wickets in the first over. Nehra was lucky to get a leg before decision in his favour to dismiss Kolkata captain Brendon McCullum (6) even though the ball was going over the stumps.

Three deliveries later, Nehra had Brad Hodge (0)caught at first slip by AB de Villiers to reduce Kolkata to 7/2. Nannes struck in the next over when Morne van Wyk (0) pulled to square leg for Rajat Bhatia to take the catch.

Mishra then struck twice in his first over to increase Kolkata's misery. He first had Yashpal Singh (13) caught by Bhatia at deep extra cover and three deliveries later, had Wriddhiman Saha (0) caught behind by Dinesh Karthik.

Nannes dismissed Ganguly by having him caught by David Warner at backward point, while Pradeep Sangwan had Agarkar caught by Mithun Manhas at mid-wicket on the last ball of the Kolkata innings.

Kolkata have replaced Ashok Dinda with debutant Sourav Sarkar, while Delhi are unchanged from their last match.

Teams:

Delhi Daredevils: Gautam Gambhir (Capt.), David Warner, AB de Villiers, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dinesh Karthik, Mithun Manhas, Rajat Bhatia, Amit Mishra, Pradeep Sangwan, Ashish Nehra, Dirk Nannes.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Brendon McCullum (Capt.), Morne van Wyk, Brad Hodge, Moises Henriques, Sourav Ganguly, Yashpal Singh, Wriddhiman Saha, Ajit Agarkar, Murali Kartik, Ishant Sharma, Sourav Sarkar.

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Gerrard keeps Liverpool's faint title hopes alive

Steven Gerrard's double kept Liverpool's slim title hopes alive with a 3-0 victory at West Ham on Saturday, but Manchester United could still have retained its title by the time the Reds next play.

The Liverpool captain rolled the ball into an open net inside two minutes and added another in the 38th, slotting in the rebound after having a penalty saved. Substitute Ryan Babel rounded off the victory in the 84th. The win moves Liverpool back atop the Premier League standings, although it only leads United on goal difference with the defending champions having two games in hand.

If the Red Devils beat Manchester City on Sunday, Wigan on Wednesday and take at least a point off Arsenal next Saturday, they will have matched Liverpool's haul of 18 titles by capturing a third straight title. Liverpool plays West Bromwich Albion next Sunday.

Saturday's match at Upton Park was just the 12th time that Gerrard and striker Fernando Torres started a Premier League match together this season, and it took just 76 seconds for the duo, who have struggled with injuries, to rip through West Ham's defense.

Returning after a recurrence of hamstring problems, Torres slipped the ball beyond the back four through to Gerrard. The England midfielder was onside and able to skip around Robert Green before coolly slotting home.

But Liverpool then eased off, and striker Diego Tristan was able to test goalkeeper Pepe Reina with a glancing header. Reina came off his line in the 27th to meet Mark Noble's free kick and was beaten in the air by Radoslav Kovac, but the Czech's header had too much elevation.

Ten minutes after that missed chance to equalize, the Hammers fell further behind. Their former midfielder, Yossi Benayoun, lofted the ball over the defense and Luis Boa Morte dragged Torres down in the penalty area.

While Gerrard's spot kick was saved by the diving Robert Green, the midfielder raced forward in time to meet the rebound. Jamie Carragher then made a mistake two minutes before the break that nearly gifted the home side a goal. The stalwart defender gave the ball away, allowing David di Michele to seize possession.

But with only Reina to beat, Di Michele tripped over his own feet while trying to round the Spaniard. Believing he had been tripped, Di Michele appealed for a penalty only to receive a yellow card instead for diving.

There was still time in the half for Torres send a looping header wide. Liverpool pushed for a third in the second half, with Benayoun volleying over, Torres sending another header above the target, and Dirk Kuyt denied by the onrushing Green before the goal finally came.

With six minutes remaining, Gerrard took the ball out of his own half and dispatched it to Kuyt on the right flank.

The Netherlands forward crossed to his compatriot Babel, and while the initial downward header was parried by Green, he found the net with the rebound to score a goal that gives Liverpool a six-goal advantage over United.

Djokovic the avenger eases into Serbia Open semis

World number three Novak Djokovic beat compatriot Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-2 on Friday to set up a semi-final against Italian Andreas Seppi at the inaugural Serbia Open.

Djokovic dominated the all-Serb clash, which started 40 minutes late because of a floodlight failure, to avenge defeat in his only previous meeting with Troicki in the Croatian resort of Umag in 2007.

Fifth seed Troicki broke in the opening game but the top seed replied with a barrage of cross-court winners and powerful serves to take the first set. Djokovic raced into a 3-1 lead in the second before sweeping his close friend and Davis Cup team-mate off the court to complete a 71-minute victory.

"Breaking back in the second game and again in the sixth game of the opening set was crucial, it means a lot against players of Viktor's quality," Djokovic said in a courtside interview.

"I am delighted that a huge crowd turned up for our match and I hope they will come back for the remainder of the tournament." Fourth seed Seppi progressed with a 6-4, 7-5 triumph over Marcos Daniel of Brazil.

'Lucky loser' Lukasz Kubot of Poland will meet Croatia's Ivo Karlovic in the other semi-final. Kubot, allowed into the tournament when Belgian Steve Darcis pulled out with a shoulder injury, beat Darcis's compatriot Kristof Vliegen 7-6, 6-3. Second seed Karlovic cruised into the last four with a 6-3, 6-3 defeat of Italian Flavio Cipolla.

Manchester United appeal to UEFA over Fletcher ban

Manchester United have asked UEFA to overturn the controversial red card that will keep midfielder Darren Fletcher out of the Champions League final, British newspapers reported on Friday.

Fletcher was sent off for what looked a fair challenge on Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas late in Tuesday's semi-final second leg at the Emirates, which United won 3-1 to progress 4-1 on aggregate. UEFA said the only grounds for appeal were in a case of mistaken identity, which is not an issue with Fletcher.

However, British newspapers said United, encouraged by comments from the European governing body's general secretary David Taylor, have asked if UEFA believes referee Roberto Rosetti's decision was correct in the hope it may be reviewed.

"I've spoken with Alex Ferguson personally on this as fate would have it we shared a car after the match," Taylor told Thursday's Sun newspaper. "Strictly speaking there is no appeal process but representation can be made.

"If the club want to write to us with information such as video evidence explaining why they think this is a harsh punishment then they can do that. "The likelihood is we'd refer it to our disciplinary body. They would then look to see if there were any special circumstances to justify any departure from established procedures."

A UEFA spokesman was quoted by British newspapers on Friday saying: "The letter will go to our control and disciplinary body and they will decide whether the protest is admissible and, if it is, whether it is accepted or rejected.

"The chances of an appeal being successful are quite slim because a protest is only admissible on the grounds of mistaken identity and that is not the case in this instance.

"The referee made it clear in his report that the red card was for denying a goal scoring opportunity. That was a factual decision by the referee and you cannot change factual decisions by the referee." United will play Barcelona in the final in Rome on May 27, when the Spaniards will have two players suspended Daniel Alves and Eric Abidal.

Rampant United crush Arsenal to reach final

Manchester United swept back into the Champions League final as the holders produced a stunning 3-1 win over Arsenal in Tuesday's semi-final second leg.

Sir Alex Ferguson's side arrived at the Emirates Stadium holding only a slender 1-0 lead from last week's first leg, but United scored twice in the first 11 minutes to set up a 4-1 aggregate triumph that booked their place in the final against Chelsea or Barcelona, who meet in their decider Wednesday. Ferguson said that he had been pleased with his side's display.

"Obviously we got a big break for the first goal with the lad (Kieran Gibbs) slipping and Park Ji-Sung took advantage. However, in terms of how we played and our confidence and willingness to run it was overall a terrific display," said Ferguson.

United, who beat Chelsea in last year's final, were given a helping hand from Arsenal as South Korea winger Park Ji-Sung punished an embarrassing slip from Kieran Gibbs to open the scoring.

Cristiano Ronaldo then deceived Manuel Almunia with a long-range free-kick, and the Portuguese striker put the result beyond doubt when he added his second goal after half-time.

Arsenal barely tested United keeper Edwin van der Sar until Robin van Persie converted a late penalty after Darren Fletcher was sent off, ruling him out of the final, for a foul on Cesc Fabregas.

Ferguson was upset for the Scotland star. "I think he was unlucky, because the ball certainly moved in a different direction after the contact in the area. He was terribly unlucky. "However, the referee (Roberto Rosetti, who took charge of the Euro 2008 final) is one of the best in Europe. Darren would probably have played a large part in the final."

Even that couldn't detract from a fantastic display from United, who are the first defending champions to reach the final since Juventus in 1997. They were simply outstanding and exposed the flaws in Arsene Wenger's inexperienced, injury-hit team with ruthless efficiency.

No team has retained the trophy in the Champions League era, but United are hitting new heights and, with the Club World Cup and League Cup already won and the Premier League within touching distance, Ferguson and company are close to a memorable quadruple.

Arsenal were fortunate to be trailing by just one goal after a timid display at Old Trafford and the onus was on Wenger's side to make a fast start. For once the normally subdued Emirates crowd were at fever pitch, but Ferguson had talked up United's intention to press for a crucial away goal and they were true to his word.

In the eighth minute, Anderson slipped a pass to Ronaldo down the left and the Portugal winger proved he had adapted to his new role as a lone foward by finding space in the penalty area to whip in a low cross.

Even then Arsenal should have cleared the danger but Gibbs, a teenage midfielder pressed into service at left-back in the absence of Gael Clichy, slipped over and could only watch from a prone position as Park took a touch before guiding his shot past Almunia.

As Ferguson and his staff danced a jubilant jig you could feel the momentum draining from Arsenal. There was worse to come three minutes later. When van Persie fouled Ronaldo way out on the right flank, there appeared little danger.

But Almunia had reckoned without Ronaldo's flair for the unexpected. Ronaldo had scored from 40 yards to beat Porto in the last round and, from a similar distance, he took aim and launched a thunderous strike towards Almunia, who appeared to lose sight of the ball as it flashed past him at the near post.

Wenger sat ashen-faced on the bench as Arsenal's proud record of 27 home European matches without defeat fell apart, and the match had barely begun. United were rampant and it took a superb finger-tip save from Almunia to stop Wayne Rooney curling in a third goal.

The visitors continued to counter-attack imperiously after half-time and in the 61st minute Ronaldo capped a sublime break in clinical style. He started the move with a backheel to Park, who cleverly spread play wide to Rooney on the left. Rooney's cross was perfectly weighted for Ronaldo to drive past Almunia.

Game over, and Ferguson could even afford the luxury of substituting Rooney and Patrice Evra to ensure the duo didn't earn a booking which would have ruled them out of the final - Fletcher was not to be so lucky.

Accurate O'Hair wins in Quail Hollow by one stroke

Sean O'Hair used a rock-solid long game to win the $6.4 million Quail Hollow Championship by one stroke on Sunday. Despite failing to hole a putt from outside 10 feet during the entire tournament, the 26-year-old edged fellow Americans Lucas Glover (71) and Bubba Watson (70) in a battle of attrition.

World number one Tiger Woods finished two shots behind O'Hair alone in fourth place, after parring the final 10 holes. O'Hair carded 69 to finish at 11-under-par 277, just holding on after bogeying the final two holes in a testing breeze.

"I struck the ball phenomenal this week," said O'Hair, who collected $1,152,000 for his third PGA Tour victory. "Yesterday was probably the best I've struck it ever and today was pretty solid, especially coming down the stretch. "This is one of those courses you have to have the whole package."

O'Hair's victory came barely a month after he frittered away a big lead before finishing second to Tiger Woods at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Florida. "Losing sucked at Bay Hill," O'Hair said.

"Even though it's tough to lose a five-shot lead against Tiger, you still learn a lot from it. I think it's just experience. "I talked to my coach and my caddie and we all said that all I have to do is keep putting myself in those situations and at some point I'll learn how to win."

O'Hair seized the advantage on Sunday with birdies at the 15th and 16th holes, but promptly gave them back by bogeying the final two holes, including a three-putt at the last.

That gave Glover a chance to possibly force a playoff but his approach went over the green at the par-four 18th and he missed his chip back for birdie, ending his chances.

Earlier, third rounder leader Zach Johnson triple-bogeyed the par-three second, and he faded to finish tied for 11th on seven-under 281, while New Zealand teenager Danny Lee tied for 38th at two-under in his second start as a professional.

Woods, who nearly won the tournament despite clearly being nowhere near his best, was perplexed at his performance.

Liverpool beat Newcastle 3-0 to keep title hopes alive

Liverpool beat Newcastle United 3-0 at Anfield on Sunday to maintain their pursuit of Manchester United at the top of the Premier League table and send Newcastle deeper into relegation trouble at the bottom.

A goal off Yossi Benayoun's knee and a diving header from Dirk Kuyt put Liverpool in control in the first half and substitute Lucas headed in the third three minutes from time.

Second-placed Liverpool moved to 77 points with three matches to play. Leaders United have 80 points and four matches remaining. Newcastle, who had Joey Barton sent off in the second half for a wild challenge on Xabi Alonso, remain in the relegation zone with 31 points from 35 matches.

With three games to play they are three points behind Hull City, who occupy the safe 17th spot. Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said he was happy with the victory but added his side could have scored more goals as they chase their first title since 1990.

"We have to wait for United to make a mistake and just have to keep going and we will," he said after the game. "We have the right mentality and we will keep fighting."

Asked if Barton had deserved the straight red care, Newcastle's interim manager Alan Shearer said: "Yes. He apologised. He is now suspended for the rest of the season. We placed our trust in him and yes we feel let down."

Liverpool, starting the match six points behind United, had skipper Steven Gerrard back in midfield after missing three games with injury, but were without striker Fernando Torres, sidelined with a hamstring strain.

Shearer dropped former England striker Michael Owen to the bench after nine matches without a goal. He came on for the last 10 minutes, got a mixed reaction from his former fans and made little impact on the match.

Liverpool went ahead after 22 minutes, although there was a touch of fortune about the goal. Kuyt provided the cross and Benayoun, who looked to be marginally offside, scored with the ball bouncing in off his knee.

Six minutes later Kuyt escaped Newcastle's defenders and scored with a brave diving header which gave Newcastle keeper Steve Harper no chance. Lucas headed in the third goal which sent Newcastle to their third defeat under Shearer, whose two other games in charge have ended in draws.

Alonso's involvement ended early when he was carried off on a stretcher after being clattered by Barton, back in the side for the first time since January 28.

Nadal wins record 4th Rome Masters title

Rafael Nadal won his record fourth Rome Masters title Sunday, beating defending champion Novak Djokovic 7-6 (2), 6-2. It's the third clay-court title in three weeks for the top-ranked Spaniard, following victories at the Monte Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open.

Nadal extended his winning streak on clay to 30 matches, stretching back to an opening-round loss to Juan Carlos Ferrero in Rome last year. By failing to defend his title, Djokovic will lose the No. 3 ranking to Andy Murray on May 11, when last year's points drop out. The 21-year-old Serb has been No. 3 since August 2007.

Nadal broke an Open Era tie with Thomas Muster, who won three Rome titles in 1990, 1995 and 1996. Jaroslav Drobny and Martin Mulligan also each won three titles before the Open Era.

Chris Evert holds the women's record at the Foro Italico with five titles. Rome is a key warmup for the French Open, which begins in three weeks with Nadal the four-time defending champion.

Nadal broke serve in the opening game of the match but Djokovic had his chances in the first set before losing control for good in the tiebreaker, sending a weak backhand drop-shot attempt into the net on Nadal's third set point. Djokovic then double faulted to hand Nadal a 4-2 lead in the second set.

The match was a far cry from the Monte Carlo final two weeks ago, when Djokovic became the only player to take a set from Nadal on clay this year. The match was played in alternating conditions, with wind swirling around inside the stadium when the sun disappeared for periods behind clouds.

Djokovic started off with a series of errors as he tried to flatten out his groundstrokes and go for winners to end rallies early. As the match wore on, he waited longer in rallies before going for winners with approach shots to the corners.

Still, Djokovic appeared unsure of his tactics at times. On one occasion in the first set, he attempted a serve-and-volley, but then retreated and watched Nadal's winner sail by him, out of reach.

Nadal uncharacteristically missed a few forehands at the end of the first set to let Djokovic pull even at 5-5, but Djokovic then missed a routine backhand into the net to drop his serve again and smashed his racket onto the clay, drawing a racket abuse warning from the chair umpire.

Nadal improved his Rome record to 22-1. His won his first two titles at the Foro Italico in 2005 and 2006 with epic 5-hour victories over Guillermo Coria and Roger Federer, respectively, then beat Fernando Gonzalez in straight sets in 2007.

Nadal improved his tour-best record to 38-3 this year, winning five of the eight tournaments he's entered. It was Nadal's 15th Masters Series title, one more than Roger Federer and two shy of Andre Agassi's record of 17.

Federer beats Zverev to set up clash with Djokovic

World number two Roger Federer fended off a feisty challenge from German qualifier Mischa Zverev on Friday to win 7-6, 6-2 and set up a semi-final against defending champion Novak Djokovic.

Serbian Djokovic eased confidently into the last four with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Argentine fifth seed Juan Martin Del Potro. Zverev, 21, served superbly, attacked the net well and showed character in the first set to save two break-and-set points in a game that was interrupted for a few minutes, apparently because a spectator was taken ill.

He was unable to trouble Federer on his serve, however, and the Swiss eventually took the first set in a tiebreak with a splendid cross-court forehand pass. Federer cruised home in the second set although Zverev had the satisfaction of saving two match points before going out.

Earlier, Djokovic dug up some fine returns to take Del Potro's big serve in the fourth game after an early trade of breaks and went on to seal the first set with an ace. Del Potro saved three match points before firing into the net to let Djokovic through.

Del Potro had Djokovic under pressure on his serve at the start of the second set but, after failing to convert two break points in the fourth game, he dropped his head and his third-ranked opponent ruthlessly capitalised to get another breakthrough.

Later on Friday, world number one Rafael Nadal takes on his sixth-seeded Spanish compatriot Fernando Verdasco for the right to meet Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, the 12th seed, or Argentine qualifier Juan Monaco in the last four.

Nadal advances to semi-finals of Rome Masters

World number one and top seed Rafael Nadal progressed to the semi-finals of the ATP Rome Masters clay court tournament after a gruelling 6-3, 6-3 victory against sixth seed Fernando Verdasco on Friday.

The scoreline did not do justice to a keenly contested match that lasted 1hr 50min and in which Verdasco had more than enough chances to cause an upset. The final statistics told the story of a match in which the former three-time champion Nadal took his opportunities while Verdasco let his slip by.

Verdasco hit 20 winners to just six by Nadal but made more than twice as many unforced errors -- 41 to just 20 from the world's best player. And both men forced six break points throughout the match but while Nadal converted four of his, Verdasco managed only one break.

The 25-year-old sixth seed started badly, double faulting to hand Nadal a break in the opening game. However, he hit straight back as Nadal played a dreadful service game and was broken to love. The top seed soon clicked into gear, though, and broke Verdasco twice more to take the set.

The main difference in the opener was that Nadal was massacring Verdasco's second serve, winning 78 percent of the points when his compatriot missed his first service. In the second set Verdasco had plenty of opportunities to get his nose in front but he missed three break point chances in the first game and two more at 2-2.

Even so, he was trading wilfully with Nadal from the back of the court and but for his high unforced error count he looked capable of beating the king of clay. But at 4-3 to Nadal, Verdasco missed two simple volleys as he gifted his compatriot a break, despite having led 40-15.

He called for the trainer at the change of ends and his knee seemed to be giving him some pain, so it was unsurprising that he wilted easily in the final game. Nadal took his win streak on clay to 28 matches since he was beaten here a year ago in the second round by Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Federer, Djokovic advance to quarters at Rome Masters

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic both advanced to the Rome Masters quarter-finals with routine straight-set wins on Thursday.

Federer avenged last year's quarter-final loss to Radek Stepanek by beating the 16th-seeded Czech player 6-4, 6-1. Djokovic had an even easier time with 13th-seeded Tommy Robredo, winning 6-1, 6-1.

Also advancing were No. 5 Juan Martin Del Potro, No. 12 Fernando Gonzalez, and Argentine qualifier Juan Monaco. Later, three-time Rome champion Rafael Nadal faced Robin Soderling of Sweden.

Federer jumped out to a 3-0 lead before being broken when he served for the first set at 5-3. But the newlywed Swiss player broke right back when he forced Stepanek to hit a low volley that landed in the net.

Federer cruised in the second set, serving his fifth ace on his first match point. But Federer managed to get only 43 percent of his first serves in, and he will likely have to improve to avoid extending his title drought to eight tournaments.

Djokovic needs to defend his title at this clay-court warm up for the French Open
to prevent Andy Murray from taking the No. 3 ranking from him, even though Murray was eliminated by Monaco on Wednesday.

Djokovic began working with Thomas Muster's old trainer, Gebhard Phil-Gritsch, last week, and kept his level high from start to finish against Robredo, despite rain drops falling in the second set.

Djokovic has won his last five matches against Robredo, who leads the tour with 19 wins on clay this year. Del Potro defeated last year's runner-up, No. 10 Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3.

Monaco produced another upset by beating 15th-seeded Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-4, improving to 14-6 on clay this year, including a runner-up result in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in February. He will next face Gonzalez, who rallied to beat net-charging Jurgen Melzer of Austria 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Gonzalez was the runner-up in Rome two years ago and is 10-1 on clay this season. Melzer won 40 of 65 points at the net but dropped his serve late in the third set when Gonzalez hit a backhand return winner up the line.

Gonzalez snapped his racket in half early in the match when he was struggling to counter Melzer's attacking game.