It's do or die for Liverpool

It's do or die for Liverpool in the English Premier League this weekend as they look to keep alive their flickering hopes of winning the title for the first time in 19 years.

Rafael Benitez's side go to relegation-threatened Middlesbrough, knowing only victory will be enough to convince leaders Manchester United that the title race is not already over.

With United playing Tottenham Hotspur in the Carling Cup final on Sunday, Liverpool can close to within four points of their rivals by winning at Middlesbrough 24 hours earlier.

While their 1-1 draw at home with Manchester City last weekend was typical of the problems they have had finishing sides off at Anfield this season, their away form has been superb and they go into the match on the back of a well-earned 1-0 win at Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Captain Steven Gerrard, who returned for the last few minutes in Madrid, is likely to start, though Benitez has to wait on the fitness of striker Fernando Torres, who turned his ankle in midweek.

"I was told by the doctor that Torres's ankle wasn't that bad and we could keep him on the pitch," Benitez said after the Spaniard stayed on until the hour mark at the Bernabeu.

"He was struggling in the second half so we took him off for fresh legs. Torres will probably now miss some games. We have a game in three days so it will be difficult for him to make that."

Chelsea, three points behind Liverpool in third place, have looked a different side since the arrival of Guus Hiddink to replace Luiz Felipe Scolari as manager.

The London side play Wigan at Stamford Bridge with renewed belief that perhaps the gap between themselves and United may not be insurmountable.

"We're 10 points down on Manchester United, which will be very difficult but we will give it a try," the Dutchman said.

"The players are used to winning trophies so let's try and repeat it. If they don't you can't be happy."

Aston Villa, one point behind Chelsea, continue their quest for a Champions League spot with a home clash against Stoke City on Sunday, while Arsenal can close to within three points of them if they see off Fulham at the Emirates Stadium the day before.

At the other end of the table, bottom side West Bromwich Albion face a tricky task as they play Everton at Goodison Park, while Hull City, without a win in 10 league matches, entertain Blackburn Rovers.

Bolton Wanderers play Newcastle United and West Ham take on Manchester City in the weekend's other games.

Djokovic reaches Dubai semis

Novak Djokovic reached the semi-finals of the Dubai Championships with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Marin Cilic on Thursday. Top-seeded Djokovic survived an onslaught from big-serving Croatian Cilic to secure victory.

"I think the key today was movement and focus," Djokovic said. "I was really trying to move well in the point, be patient, and just wait for the chances that have been given to me throughout the whole match because I was returning well.

"I knew he was going to be very aggressive... so I needed to be aggressive... and then (be) patient at the same time, which I think I did well."

Djokovic did not concede a point in his first three service games and at one stage he won three consecutive love games to earn a 4-1 lead.

But Cilic piled on the pressure as the Serb struggled to hold serve, fighting off two break points as he served for the set.

The first three games of the second set lasted 22 minutes as both players earned and lost break points before Djokovic sneaked ahead 3-2 with a crosscourt winner.

Djokovic failed to convert a match point on the Cilic serve at 5-3 when he was outwitted in a long rally. But one game later he clinched victory with a crosscourt backhand volley.

Third seed Gilles Simon ended fellow Frenchman Fabrice Santoro's run with a 7-6, 6-1 win, while fourth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer defeated Russian Igor Andreev 7-5, 6-1.

Set to retire at the end of this season, the 36-year-old Santoro reflected on his fortunes at the Middle East event.

He reached the final of the first Dubai Championships in 1993 and won a remarkable final seven years ago when he climbed out of his sick bed to defeat Morocco's Younes El Aynaoui.

Arsenal wins continued

Arsenal will take a slender 1-0 advantage over Roma to the Olympic Stadium after Robin van Persie's penalty gave them victory in the first leg of their Champions League, last 16 tie on Tuesday.

The livewire Dutchman was bundled over by French defender Philippe Mexes after 37 minutes and got up to smash a low spot kick past keeper Doni.

Roma, knocked out of the competition for the last two seasons by Manchester United, had a handful of chances to pocket an away goal, but Arsenal should have built a bigger lead for the return leg.

Nicklas Bendtner wasted their best chance shortly after halftime, blazing wastefully over the crossbar while Roma's best effort came from a John Arne Riise drive that shaved the post.

After three consecutive 0-0 draws in the Premier League Arsenal began with real purpose at the Emirates.

Sania to work with Agassi's trainer

Sania Mirza will be in Las Vegas, the entertainment capital of the world, for a week starting March 2. Famous for its casino resorts, the 22-year-old Indian, however, will have little time for that as she heads to Gil Reyes' training centre for a stint of energy-sapping workouts.

Reyes, incidentally, is the man credited with turning around Andre Agassi's career as a perennial top-10 power. Agassi went on to join Aussie legend Rod Laver as the only man to win five Grand Slam titles after celebrating his 29th birthday.

Reyes has been more than a trainer for Agassi. He's been a trusted friend in a two-decade partnership that saw the great American name his first-born, Jaden Gil, after Reyes.

"It's going to be a new experience and I'm looking forward to it," Sania told TOI. "I've heard so much about it from Ana (Ivanovic) and (Fernando) Verdasco, who had trained there before he made the semi-finals of the Australian Open. This is going to be a short stint because I'll be playing tournaments in the following week. If it works well for me I want to go over for a longer stint in the near future."

Sania will be joined by coach Sven Groeneveld at Reyes' centre, where she's expected to work both on and off the court.

"The schedule hasn't been drawn up as yet," Sania's father Imran said. "As in, how much time she spends in the gym and how much working out, but we should have that finalized in the next couple of days," he added.

After the week-long session in Las Vegas, the Hyderabadi is expected to play two top tier tournaments in Indian Wells, starting March 11, where she defends 130 ranking points, and Miami. Sania, who has risen 12 places in the ranking this week to 75, however, stands to lose 60 points when the new rankings are announced on Monday.

The Indian ace is hoping to get wildcards in both Indian Wells
and Miami. Groeneveld will accompany her to both events. Sania, whose ranking had fallen out of the 120s at the start of the season, is coming back from a long injury lay-off.

Knockout blackjack card counting strategy

There's a large variety of card counting techniques employed by professional players all over the world. And while some are very easy and can be learned within a few minutes, other strategies may take weeks or even months of real game practice to be mastered. For those of you who just want to beat the casino's house edge while playing blackjack there's no better strategy than the KO card counting technique. 'KO' as you probably know stands for 'Knock Out,' which is exactly what will happen to the dealer and the casino if you imply the technique successfully.

You walk in, knock them out and get back home with more money you've left with. The name of the strategy, KO, also refers to the initials of its creators - Ken Fuchs and Olaf Vancura. When they have first revealed this strategy in their book, Knock-Out Blackjack: The Easiest Card-Counting System Ever Devised, the system has faced high criticism from professional players, because it seemed way too simple to be effective. The fact is, the strategy really works! It is even more effective when used together with perfect play on each hand strategy.

When compared to other card counting techniques, KO is regarded as an "unbalanced" system. This means that KO doesn't involve assigning values to different card amounts that are added up to zero. In KO card strategy, the values are distributed as follows: 2-7 count as +1 each; 8-9 count as zero each; 10-A count as -1 each. This difference from conventional card counting systems means that the total value of all 52 cads in the deck is outweighed by positive values (cards 2-7) outweigh the negative. Thus, the system is unbalanced. In a real game setting KO works very easy yet effectively.

When playing, all you have to do is keep the count in your head, starting with zero and adding/subtracting each played cards value. When the dealer stops shuffling, the count should be zeroed and started all over. The betting strategy in KO counting system is based around the count of +2. When you reach this count it is time to raise or lower your bets. The higher is the count over+2 the more aggressive your betting should be. Correspondingly, the lower your count is below +2 the less you should bet. An important aspect of any card counting system like KO is that you master the Basic Strategy Card technique.

It may come as surprise but casinos actually allow players to use this technique and are fully aware of it. So as long as you keep up the phase and continue playing, casinos won't restrict you from using this strategy. The KO counting system has a derivative form the official Basic Strategy Card in what concerns the aspect of insurance. Basic Strategy notes that you should never take insurance if the dealer has an Ace face up.

When applying the KO system, you should always take insurance when your count is +3 or higher, and never - if you have a count of +2 or lower. As a conclusion, we can note that the KO card counting system is a potentially successful strategy. It's quite easy to learn, gives you an advantage in the long run and can be applied in real life situations. Don't expect to win every time you use it, but it will still give you a good advantage over the house.

United surge on despite rare defensive glitch

Cracks finally appeared in Manchester United's defensive armour on Saturday although the champions still rolled on towards the Premier League title with a 2-1 home victory over struggling Blackburn Rovers.

Roque Santa Cruz's first-half equaliser for Blackburn after Wayne Rooney had put United ahead ended a record run of 14 consecutive clean sheets in the league before Cristiano Ronaldo's firecracker free kick sealed victory after the break.

United badly missed Edwin van der Sar in goal and Nemanja Vidic at the heart of their defence, both of whom were rested.

Rooney struck early with a close-range finish but Rovers stunned the Old Trafford crowd when Santa Cruz nudged the ball past keeper Tomasz Kuszczak and rolled it into the net from a tight angle.

United defender Jonny Evans had a headed goal unluckily disallowed by referee Howard Webb just before halftime while Rovers' Ryan Nelsen stabbed a shot against the post shortly after the interval.

United were not themselves, but Ronaldo can usually be relied upon to provide some inspiration and he did it again on the hour when he whipped a fierce free kick past the flailing arms of Rovers keeper Paul Robinson.

Rovers manager Sam Allardyce was annoyed that Ronaldo had escaped a possible sending off for a kick at David Dunn moments earlier and enraged when his side were denied a late penalty after Morten Gamst Pedersen was pulled back by United's young right back Rafael.

United's 10th consecutive league win, achieved despite a ragged performance, moved them to 62 points, eight ahead of second-placed Liverpool who face Manchester City on Sunday.

LA Galaxy say Beckham deal not imminent

Los Angeles Galaxy chief executive Tim Leiweke has denied a deal was imminent to allow David Beckham to join AC Milan.

"We are not close. Two weeks ago, Milan made a ridiculous offer, to which I replied 'no' in a few seconds," Leiweke told the Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport published on Friday.

"With that figure, Galaxy don't even cover the damages deriving from the shortfalls of not selling his shirts. Since then, no-one has made any moves. There are no meetings arranged."

Reports have put Milan's offer for the 33-year-old England midfielder at 5 million euros ($6.4 million).

AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani was quoted by Italian media on Thursday as saying his club was now close to convincing LA Galaxy to switch Beckham's loan deal to full ownership.

Beckham is due back to the US club March 8, but has made enough of an impact in Serie A to persuade Milan to seek a permanent deal.

Leweke said he had decided to speak up "because I have read too many inaccurate stories."

He added: "If David doesn't return, who will replace him? Our transfer market is already closed. If Milan are so determined to keep him, why are they taking so long? Do they think that we will settle for less money? They are mistaken."

Nadal pulls out of Dubai tournament to rest knee

World number one Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from next week's Dubai tournament
to continue his recovery from a knee complaint, he said on T
hursday.

"I am very disappointed not to be able to compete in Dubai but the doctor has advised me to stay home and rest after the pain in my knee in Rotterdam last week," the Spaniard said in a statement on his website.

"It's nothing to be worried about but it needs some rest. I ask my fans and the tournament organisers to understand and I am sorry for this. Dubai is one of my favourite tournaments and I have always played there.

"I expect to be back in competition the following week for the Davis Cup tie in Benidorm against Serbia and then for Indian Wells and Miami after that."

Nadal's knee problem surfaced during last Sunday's World Indoor Tournament final in Rotterdam when he was beaten 6-3 4-6 6-0 by Briton Andy Murray.

The next day Nadal told reporters in Madrid he had a problem with a tendon just below his knee but was not worried about it.

Spain's Davis Cup opener against Serbia starts on March 6.

Hewitt ousts Blake as Roddick drops Darcis

Australian veteran Lleyton Hewitt sent third-seeded American James Blake tumbling out of the first-round of the $1.22 million ATP and WTA hardcourt tennis tournament on Wednesday.

Hewitt notched the upset of the day with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 triumph over Blake.

Hewitt, a former world number one, bounced back from a sloppy first set to improve to 8-1 lifetime in head-to-head matchups with Blake.

Despite the weary history, Blake entered as a heavy favorite to pull off his second victory over Hewitt, who had battled a myriad of injuries throughout 2008 and has dropped to 103rd in the world rankings.

Instead Hewitt booked a second-round clash with compatriot Chris Guccione, who was called up along with Hewitt Wednesday for Australia's Davis Cup tie against Thailand in March.

Top-seeded American Roddick launched his quest for a first title of 2009 by dispatching defending champion Steve Darcis of Belgium 7-6, (7/1), 6-2.

Roddick has reached three finals over his previous eight appearances at this hardcourt event, but has only the 2002 crown to show for it.

Although Roddick has yet to lift a trophy this year, he boasts a runner-up finish in Doha and semi-final showings at the Australian Open and San Jose.

Darcis, the shock winner here last year, remains in search of his first match win of the year after first-round departures at Brisbane, Auckland, the Australian Open and San Jose.

Roddick, ranked sixth in the world, was one of six American men in action on Wednesday.

He advanced to a meeting with compatriot Robby Ginepri, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over German qualifier Simon Greul.

Fifth-seeded Czech Radek Stepanek, who won the title in San Jose on Sunday, also reached the second round, beating American qualifier Kevin Kim 6-4, 6-2.

Seventh seed Mardy Fish also benefited from the partisan crowd as he topped Taipei's Lu Yun-Hsun Lu 6-1, 7-5.

Eighth-seeded Sam Querrey - in the same half of the draw as compatriots Roddick, Blake and Fish - downed German veteran Tommy Haas 7-6, (7/4), 6-4.

On the women's side, Danish top seed Caroline Wozniacki advanced to the quarter-finals by defeating France's Severine Bremond 6-1, 7-6 (7/1).

Wozniacki will next face Dutch qualifier Michaella Krajicek, the only unseeded player in the women's final eight.

Also claiming quarter-final spots were Czech third seed Lucie Safarova, British fourth seed Anne Keothavong, German sixth seed Sabine Lisicki and eighth seed Pauline Parmentier of France.

Britain's Keothavong defeated Portugal's Michelle Larcherde Brito 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 to book a date against New Zealand's fifth-seeded Marina Erakovic.

Parmentier eliminated South African qualifier Chanelle Scheepers 6-4, 6-1 and will next meet second seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.

Safarova ousted American Vania King 7-6 (7/1), 6-3, to book a final-eight date with Lisicki, who defeated France's Stephanie Foretz 6-2, 6-4.

Federer scratches from Dubai, Davis Cup tie against USA

World number two Roger Federer said on Tuesday he will miss Switzerland's Davis Cup encounter against the United States as well as next week's ATP event in Dubai as he recovers from a niggling back injury.

Federer said on his official internet site he had not had sufficient time to strengthen his back after hurting it last autumn and was skipping from his two upcoming engagements as a precautionary measure.

"Today, I am disappointed to announce that I am withdrawing from both Dubai and the Davis Cup tie in the United States," Federer said.

"This was a hard decision to make as I am missing not only one of my favourite events on tour in Dubai but I am also missing out on an opportunity to help my country try and move on to the next round of Davis Cup.

"After injuring my back last fall, I did not have enough time to strengthen it completely. As a precautionary measure, I will use the next few weeks to make sure the back injury is fully rehabilitated and I am ready for the rest of the 2009 season."

Federer needs to target tip-top condition as he tries to wrest back the initiative from world number one Rafael Nadal, who reduced him to tears when he beat him in the Australian Open final last month.

The loss, his fifth on a roll to the Spaniard, ensured Federer must wait to equal Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slams.

The Basler Zeitung newspaper quoted Swiss team captain Severin Luethi as saying on its website: "We are very sorry that Roger will not be able to travel with the team to the USA. But obviously the health of a player is paramount and we hope that Roger will be back for the next tie."

The USA will host the Davis Cup World Group first round match starting March 6 in Birmingham, Alabama while Dubai starts on February 23.

Sania in Dubai Open second round

Wild card Sania Mirza overcame a sluggish start to beat Russian Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets and enter the second round of the $2 million Dubai Tennis Championships.

The in-form Indian, who finished runners-up at last week's Pattaya Open in Thailand, defeated Makarova 7-5, 6-2 after slogging it out for one hour and 27 minutes in the opening round of the hard court event.

Sania will now be up against 16th seed Spaniard Kaia Kanepi in the second round.

The error-prone Indian lost her serve twice in the opening set and committed three double faults but with Makarova being as rusty, Sania managed to clinch it breaking the Russian thrice in the process.

The Hyderabadi player was in control in the second set and broke Makarova thrice out of the nine chances she got to wrap up the match.

In doubles, Sania and her Italian partner Mara Santangelo would open their campaign against the Swiss-Polish pair of Stefanie Voegele and Urszula Radwanska on Tuesday.

The first Briton to win Rotterdam

Andy Murray survived a contest riddled with seven breaks of serve in the second set to win the Rotterdam Open 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 over Rafael Nadal on Sunday.

The erratic victory marked the second successive one for Murray over the Spanish world number 1 following a US Open semi-final win last September.

Murray showed no sign of his existing ankle problem as he lifted his tenth career title and improved his record against Nadal to 2-5.

Nadal was treated on his right thigh after the third game of the second set, sure signs of a week which has taken a toll on the Australian Open winner.

Murray became the first Briton to win Rotterdam after three runner-up finishes by Tim Henman. He improves to 13-1 on the season with titles in Doha and here.

Man Utd stroll into FA Cup quarter-finals

Manchester United's bid for a remarkable haul of five trophies in one season remains on course after Sunday's 4-1 win over Derby in the FA Cup fifth round.

Having already won the Club World Cup in December, Sir Alex Ferguson's side sit top of the Premier League, face Tottenham in the League Cup final and take on Inter Milan in the Champions League second round.

Now they are through to the FA Cup quarter-finals as well thanks to goals from Nani, Darron Gibson, Cristiano Ronaldo and Danny Welbeck at Pride Park.

Ferguson made seven changes to the side that won at West Ham last weekend, but that was little encouragement for their Championship opponents as United's starting line-up still included Ronaldo, Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs.

United took the lead in the 29th minute when Giggs slipped a pass to Nani on the edge of the Derby area. The Portuguese winger cut inside and lashed a superb strike past Stephen Bywater.

Gibson added a second goal in the 44th minute when he volleyed home from Ronaldo's deflected free-kick. Ronaldo got on the scoresheet himself three minutes into the the second half with a powerful header from Giggs' corner.

Miles Addison's 56th minute header was no consolation for Nigel Clough's Derby, who also lost to United in the League Cup semi-final earlier this season, and highly-rated young winger Welbeck curled home a sublime fourth in the 81st minute.

Sania finishes runner-up at Pattaya Open

Sania Mirza's quest for her second WTA singles title continued after the Indian ace went down fighting 5-7, 1-6 against world number five and top seed Vera Zvonareva in the final of the $220,000 Pattaya Open on Sunday.

Sania fought her heart out against her formidable opponent but the Russian drew from her vast experience to halt the India's brilliant run in the one hour and 17 minutes contest.

The first set was fiercely fought and both the players traded many a breaks but unforced errors in pressure situations did Sania in. Once she lost the first set, and squandered the chance to break Zvonareva in the opening game of the second set, Sania was all but out of the match.

Nevertheless, Sania's sizzling run in the event will boost her confidence and give a fillip to her plummeting WTA ranking which is currently 126th.

Sania could have got an early lead at the start of the match as she had two break points in the opening game but squandered both. Sania then broke Zvonareva in the third game but the Russian did not allow Sania to run away with the lead as she fought back and broke the Indian in the very next game.

After trading breaks in the ninth and 10th games, Zvonareva held her serve in the 11th to make it 6-5. It was imperative for Sania to win the next game and stretch the set to a tie-breaker but the Russian pounced on the second breakpoint to wrap it up in her favour.

Sania made a good start to the second set, earning a breakpoint in the opening game but Zvonareva warded off the danger. The first three games went with serve before Zvonareva converted a breakpoint in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead and consolidated it further by holding her serve in the next game.

Trailing 1-4, a comeback looked difficult for the Indian. The Russian broke Sania once more and then held her serve to claim the title.

Sania enters Pattaya Open final

Sania Mirza earned a shot at her second WTA singles title after edging past world number 51 Magdalena Rybarikova in the semi-finals of the $220,000 Pattaya Open on Saturday.

The unseeded Indian, ranked 126th in WTA charts, defeated her eighth seeded Slovakian opponent 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 in a two-hour long contest. The last time Sania reached the singles final of a WTA event was in 2007 when she made the summit clash of the Stanford classic.

This is for the fourth time in her career that Sania has reached the singles final of a WTA tour event.

She had become the first Indian player to win a WTA title when she won the Hyderabad Open in 2005. In the same year, she had reached the finals of the Forest Hill event in United States.

Sania broke Rybarikova in the fourth game of the deciding third set to give herself a 3-1 lead. She converted first of the three breakpoints, which she earned after the Slovakian double faulted.

Sania consolidated the lead after holding her serve in the next game before breaking Rybarikova to make it 5-1. The Indian then served out the match, converting her third match point.

Nadal survives teenage test in Rotterdam

Rafael Nadal defeated world number 490 Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 on Thursday to reach the Rotterdam Open quarter-finals, but the Bulgarian teenager demonstrated his exciting potential as a future star.

World number one Nadal had plenty of problems with the 17-year-old junior Wimbledon and US Open winner who broke the newly-crowned Australian Open champion in the eighth game of the second set on his way to levelling the match.

But Nadal, who has struggled all week on the ultra-fast court here, quickly recovered his poise to reach the last eight although Dimitrov twice had chances in the final set to grab a break before running out of steam.

Nadal, who now faces either French seventh seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Dmitry Tursunov of Russia for a semi-final spot, said Dimitrov reminded him of his own early days on the tour.

Andy Murray overcame a raft of errors in a hit-or-miss opening set before posting a gruelling 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 win over Italy's Andreas Seppi.

The second seeded Scot struggled to impose himself in the first set which dragged on for nearly an hour with the world number four needing seven set points, spread over four games, to finally take the lead.

Things improved slightly in the second set with Murray and 36th-ranked Seppi trading breaks in the fourth and fifth games.

Murray benefitted from a Seppi double-fault to take a 6-5 lead and finally got off court on his second match point and after an hour and three-quarters. Murray will next face French lucky loser Marc Gicquel, who defeated compatriot Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-3.

French fifth seed Gael Monfils, who put out compatriot and defending champion Michael Llodra 6-4, 6-4, will tackle fellow Frenchman Julien Benneteau who booked his last-eight place on Wednesday with an upset win against Russian third seed Nikloay Davydenko.

Croatia's Mario Ancic, a runner-up at Zagreb last weekend, beat French fourth seed Gilles Simon 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Ancic has had a troubled few seasons with illness and injury but feels he is now back on his feet. His defeat of Simon was only his 13th victory against 39 losses when facing top ten opponents. Against the elite, the win was only his second since 2007.

Ancic next faces Russian Mikhail Youzhny.

Sania storms into Pattaya Open quarter-finals

A vintage Sania Mirza steamrolled Russian qualifier Vitalia Diatchenko 6-4, 6-0 to storm into the quarter-finals of the $ 220,000 Pattaya Open tennis tournament on Thursday.

Sania played perhaps her best tennis after comeback from a wrist surgery and sent the Russian opponent packing in one hour and two minutes in her second round match.

The Russian surrendered meekly to her Indian opponent after the two held their serves till the eighth game of the first set.

Sania broke the Russian in the ninth game to go up 5-4 and then sealed the first set by holding her serve. The Indian then showed her ruthless form by winning all the six games of the second set, finishing off each game with ease.

The only game of the second set which saw some opposition from the Russian was the fifth one but Sania won it, breaking her opponent's serve. Sania will next play six seeded Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand who beat Neuza Silva of Portugal 6-3, 6-2 in another second round match.

Partnering Italian Mara Santangelo, Sania had also made it to the semifinals of the doubles event.

Brazil turn on style to beat Italy 2-0

Brazil turned on the style to beat world champions Italy 2-0 in a friendly on Tuesday thanks to first-half goals by Elano and Robinho.

Italy's World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi missed out on a record 32 unbeaten matches in charge as Brazil made light of Kaka's absence to put on a performance which belied their coach Dunga's reputation as a dour tactician.

The defending was not good on either side but the capacity crowd at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium decked in Brazilian and Italian colours were not complaining about the open match.

Elano added to the two goals he scored for Brazil against Argentina at the same stadium in 2006 with a fine opener in the 13th minute after laying the ball back to Robinho and picking up the return pass to slot it past Gianluigi Buffon. Robinho then had the Brazilian section of the crowd in raptures with a brilliant solo goal.

Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro's attempted overhead shot was cleared and his opposite number Lucio broke fast downfield before laying the ball off to the right.

Ronaldinho, who mixed silky skills with wayward passing all night, crossed poorly and Italy's Andrea Pirlo appeared to have control of the situation. But Robinho robbed him of possession and tricked his way past two other defenders before shooting clinically into the far corner.

Italy twice had he ball in the net but were denied first when a high Pirlo ball into the Brazil box was brilliantly volleyed past Julio Cesar from an offside position.

Substitute striker Luca Toni had a second-half effort ruled out after he controlled the ball with his arm under pressure from Lucio and Juan before steering the ball into the net.

Toni might have pulled one back near the end but Julio Cesar blocked his neat close-range flick from a low cross.

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Milner ready to step out of Rooney's shadow

As James Milner was mobbed by his Leeds team-mates after becoming the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history it seemed English football would be dazzled by the teenager winger for years to come. Milner was just 16 when he smashed home a Jason Wilcox cross after coming on as a substitute in Leeds' 2-1 win at Sunderland on Boxing Day 2002.

The strike meant Milner eclipsed Wayne Rooney as the youngest name on a top-flight scoresheet. It was the last time he would take the spotlight from his contemporary, until now as Milner prepares to make his England debut in Wednesday's friendly against Spain in Seville.

Milner and Rooney were seen as the future of English football when they burst onto the scene in 2002. But, while Rooney went onto make his full England debut less than three months after Milner's record breaking goal, Milner himself suffered from being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Leeds were at the tail-end of their financially ruinous attempt to chase the European dream and Milner was sold to Newcastle for three million pounds in 2004 after the club were relegated.

Milner, a boyhood Leeds fan, was unhappy to leave and must have cast envious glances at Rooney, who was completing a 30 million pounds move to Manchester United after starring for England at Euro 2004.

The winger's experience at Newcastle was just as chaotic as his time with Leeds and he struggled to cope with the constant turmoil off the pitch at St James' Park. Eventually Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill came calling before the start of this season to offer him a return to the club where he had a successful loan spell in 2005.

Milner jumped at the chance and has flourished in the Premier League's most upwardly mobile team. Such has been his improvement in the last year that Fabio Capello recently described Milner as the future of English football. Now Capello has backed up those words by calling Milner into his squad for England's trip to Spain.

Seven years after that dramatic introduction at Sunderland, Milner is finally the centre of attention again and, speaking at England's team hotel ahead of the friendly, it was no surprise to hear him admit this moment has been a long time coming.

Arsenal hang on at Spurs after Eboue red card

Arsenal hung on for a 0-0 draw away at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday despite playing for nearly an hour with 10 men after Emmanuel Eboue's red card.

The Gunners, in danger of losing touch with the Premier League's top four, had midfielder Eboue sent off in the 36th minute, shortly after striker Emmanuel Adebayor went off injured.

Tottenham, with Robbie Keane starting as captain following his return to the north London club from his ill-fated spell at Liverpool, had two good chances in the second half while Luca Modric wasted the home side's best opportunity in stoppage time.

Arsenal were content to soak up pressure after Eboue was dismissed for a petulant kick at Modric although they were occasionally threatening.

Arsenal remain in fifth place, five points behind fourth-placed Chelsea while Spurs are 15th, just two points above the relegation places.

Chelsea slide out while Liverpool ride up

Fernando Torres kept Liverpool's dream of a first English title in 19 years alive with a stoppage-time winner at Portsmouth on a day that saw Chelsea's title hopes suffer a potentially fatal blow.

Rafael Benitez's side twice came from a goal down at Fratton Park before Torres, left on the bench until 15 minutes from time, met Yossi Benayoun's cutback with a bullet header to seal a 3-2 win that lifted the Reds a point clear of Manchester United at the top of the table.

The champions have played two games less but the resilience displayed by Liverpool on Saturday suggests the title battle is far from over.

Liverpool looked destined to drop points for the entire 90 minutes at Fratton Park. Fabio Aurelio's strike cancelled out David Nugent's 62nd-minute goal but Pompey restored their advantage with only 12 minutes left thanks to a Hermann Hreidarsson header.

But Dirk Kuyt took advantage of some shoddy defending to lash in an 85th-minute equaliser, setting the scene for Torres to floor Tony Adams's side with virtually the last touch of the match.


Chelsea, though, appear to be out of the reckoning after a goalless draw at home to Hull left Luiz Felipe Scolari's side languishing in fourth place.

The Stamford Bridge stalemate meant the Blues have won just two of their last six matches in the league and enabled Aston Villa, 2-0 winners at Blackburn, to leapfrog them into third place.

If United win at West Ham on Sunday, Chelea will find themselves eight points adrift of the leaders having played a game more and the jeers of their own fans told their own story.

Chelsea have now dropped 16 points at home this season and Scolari was conspicuous by his absence from the post-match inquest in the press room, leaving assistant Ray Wilkins to defend the man who guided Brazil to World Cup glory in 2002.

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Sania back on the recovery road

She started a little tentatively but soon the Sania Mirza forehand was in full flow . A 25-minute hit at the DLTA courts with Davis Cupper Vivek Shokeen, wherein she practiced a few serves as well, was enough indication that Sania is back on the road to recovery after a successful treatment session with 'miracle man' Jatin Chaudhry on Thursday morning.

Diagnosed with a three-and-a-half centimetre tear in Melbourne before the mixed doubles final, Sania chose to skip the ongoing Fed Cup in Perth and travelled to Delhi to meet her favourite 'doctor' who as usual performed his magic on the tennis star.

"It's like magic isn't it? I could feel the soreness in the very first match but you know, I don't like getting a scan done mid-tournament. In Melbourne they were saying I would need five weeks off but here I'm serving without any discomfort. This is the first time I've attempted to serve since Sunday and I'm not wearing any tape. It might be a little sore tomorrow but as of now there's no pain," said Sania.

It was Choudhary who helped Sania recover from the painful wrist injury that kept her off the court for a large part of 2008. And the wrist, according to Sania, has held up beautifully. "There's been no pain and I haven't had to ice it even once. I was playing against men and the wrist didn't give me any trouble," she explained.

Choudhary, introduced to Sania by Indian cricket hotshot Yuvraj Singh, also gave her a thumbs up. "She's absolutely fine. We did a session in the morning. It wasn't a tear as such but a Grade 2 muscle pull or a partial tear. She hit without any problem and I did some physical tests with her later. I would say she's ready to play from next week," he delivered his verdict after watching two of his patients, Sania and Shokeen, hit without grimacing.

Choudhary's specialisation, spiral therapy, has found many celebrity clients like Sania and Yuvraj but these aren't the only famous names on his list.

"I'm working with Bishen Singh Bedi's cricket academy and that's how a lot of cricketers like Yuvraj, Sachin (Tendulkar), Pradeep Sangwan and many international crickets and athletes know me. I've worked with a lot of them," he said matter-of-factly.

Next on Sania's tournament list is either the Pattaya Open or the Dubai Open, after two weeks.

Gosling knocks Liverpool out of FA Cup

Teenager Dan Gosling was Everton's hero as they knocked city rivals Liverpool out of the FA Cup with a 1-0 extra-time fourth round replay win at Goodison Park on Wednesday.

There were only two minutes of extra-time remaining when Gosling, who only turned 19 on Monday, curled the ball past Pepe Reina to end the interest of Liverpool, currently second in the Premier League, in this season's FA Cup.

A miserable night for Liverpool was made worse by the sight of inspirational captain Steven Gerrard going off in the first-half with what appeared to be a hamstring injury while Lucas was later sent-off for a second bookable offence.

Everton, sixth in the top-flight, will face Aston Villa in the last 16 after the team fourth in the Premier League beat Championship side Doncaster 3-1 in a fourth round replay earlier Wednesday.

South Africa's Benni McCarthy was Blackburn's hero as they on with just two minutes of extra-time remaining in their 2-1 all Premier League replay victory over Sunderland. Blackburn now face 1987 Cup winners Coventry in the fifth round.

In another replay, Derby came from 2-0 down to beat East Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest 3-2 and so secure a glamour fifth round tie at home to English, European and world champions Manchester United.

At Goodison, the first-half was notable only for the sight of inspirational Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard limping off with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Leon Osman with 20 minutes left in the match, had a chance to win the tie for Everton but his close-range shot hit the near post.

Villa scored twice in the space of four minutes against Championship strugglers Doncaster. Steve Sidwell put them ahead in the 15th minute when he followed up after Neil Sullivan blocked Craig Gardner's initial shot.

Former Wimbledon keeper Suliivan was then left stranded when Norway striker John Carew's 20-yard shot took a deflection and looped into the net. But Doncaster hit back on the stroke of half-time when Jason Price's miscued shot beat Brad Guzan in the Villa goal. However, Nathan Delfouneso settled the hosts' nerves by making it 3-1 with a header from Nicky Shorey's cross.

Sunderland took the lead when David Healy was ruled onside before beating Paul Robinson in the seventh minute. But South Africa defender Aaron Mokoena drew Blackburn level before half-time with a spectacular 25-yard strike before his compatriot McCarthy headed home the decisive goal.

A see-saw match at the City ground saw Forest build an early lead. Chris Cohen put the hosts in front in the second minute with a powerful shot before Nathan Tyson made it 2-0 from the penalty spot 12 minutes later after being brought down by Derby keeper Stephen Bywater, who avoided a red card.

But Derby, managed by former Forest favourite Nigel Clough, got back into the game before the break with a powerful Rob Hulse header.

And Clough, whose late manager father Brian won the English title with both clubs back in the 1970s, saw Paul Green draw Derby level on the hour mark before Kris Commons put the Rams in front against his old club.

The fifth round ties will be played on the weekend of February 14 with Arsenal's delayed fourth round replay at the Emirates against Cardiff taking place on February 16.

Nadal the undisputed king of tennis

Newly crowned Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal said the fear of a sudden end to his Grand Slam spree is inspiring him to take his tennis to another level after his titanic victory over Roger Federer.

The Spaniard is the undisputed king of men's tennis after he surged home to prevent Federer from equalling the all-time majors record in an epic five-setter in Sunday's final in Melbourne.

The 22-year-old holds a special place in tennis, capturing his sixth major title in only his 20th Grand Slam tournament, second only to the strike-rate of Sweden's Bjorn Borg.

By comparison, American Pete Sampras, who holds the record number of 14 Grand Slam wins, won his sixth major in his 25th Grand Slam while Federer reached that mark in his 26th major.

Nadal also became the first Spanish man to win the Australian Open. His gripping 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-2 triumph in four hours and 23 minutes improved his record over Federer to 13-6 and stretched his lead over the Swiss in the world rankings to more than 3000 points.

But although the world number one is at the height of his tennis powers and holds three of the four Grand Slams, he is cautious about mapping out what he can achieve in the game.

The Spaniard is bidding for his fifth consecutive title at Roland Garros at the season's next Grand Slam, starting on May 24, and weeks later will defend his Wimbledon crown after ending Federer's run of five titles at the All England club last year.

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Sania-Bhupathi win mixed doubles title

Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza registered their first Grand Slam title together, crushing Andy Ram and Natalie Dechy in straight sets in the mixed doubles final of the Australian Open on Sunday.

The Indian wild card pair proved too good for the Israeli-French duo, thrashing them 6-3, 6-1 in 55 minutes.

The win also gave Bhupathi his 11th Grand Slam title -- seventh in mixed doubles. This was also Bhupathi's second mixed doubles title here, following his 2006 triumph with Martina Hingis.

For Sania, it was her maiden Grand Slam title. They also got richer by $1,34,460. In the summit clash, Bhupathi was solid with his service and displayed great hands at the net throughout the match. Sania complemented him with powerful forehands.

The Indians started the match on a confident note, breaking Ram in the opening game and then Bhupathi holding his serve to go 2-0 up. They, however, could not hold on to their lead for long as Mirza lost her serve in the fourth game to hand Ram-Dechy duo the opportunity to level the scores at 2-2.

Bhupathi and Sania were soon in their elements, breaking Dechy and going 4-3 up. Subsequently, Sania held her serve and then rounded off the set with an immaculate forehand volley on Ram's serve.

Despite the comforting lead, the Indians showed no mercy to Ram and Dechy in the second set and breezed their way to the title. The only moment when they looked under some sort of pressure was in the third game of the second set but Sania weathered Ram's full-blooded shots to held her serve.

The Indians broke their opponents twice in the second set -- first Dechy in the fourth game and then Ram in the sixth game -- to go up 5-1. Sania then rounded off the encounter on her service game to pocket the title.