Теннис

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Defending Champion Moves On

Defending champion Amelie Mauresmo moved one step closer in retaining her Telecom Italia Masters Roma title, defeating Conchita Martinez 61 62. Her opponent will be No.6 seed Vera Zvonareva (left), who survived Italian Francesca Schiavone and the Italian crowd, 75 76(4).

The second semifinal will be determined later in the day, as No.1 seed Maria Sharpova meets Elena Bovina and No.8 seed Patty Schnyder meets first time Tier I quarterfinalist Evgenia Linetskaya.

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Rome, Italy: Alina Jidkova proudly displays the dish she made at the Whirlpool booth.

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Rome, Italy: A Whirlpool chef teaches Alina Jidkova a couple of cooking tips at the Whirlpool booth.

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BBC может сорвать трансляции Уимблдона

Аудиторию телекомпании BBC в ближайшее время ожидает ряд неприятных неожиданностей. Например, они могут не увидеть один из четырех турниров Большого шлема по теннису, поскольку именно Британская радиовещательная корпорация осуществляет прямую трансляцию соревнований в Уимблдоне.

Как сообщает Lenta.Ru со ссылкой на газету Guardian, члены профсоюзов в ходе всеобщего голосования подавляющим большинством проголосовали за объявление забастовки в знак протеса против планируемого сокращения персонала, затеянного новым генеральным директором Марком Томпсоном.

Он готовится сократить около 4 тысяч рабочих мест в попытке сэкономить 355 миллионов фунтов стерлингов в ближайшие три года. Если же будет принято решение о продаже коммерческих подразделений корпорации - BBC Broadcast и BBC Resources, то число увольняемых может вырасти до 6 тысяч человек.

В четверг представители трех профсоюзов, члены которых работают на BBC, должны решить, какую форму примет забастовка. Основная идея заключается в проведении 48-часовой забастовки с последующими однодневными забастовками в мае и начале лета.

Самый ранний срок начала акции протеста - ближайшая пятница, накануне финала Кубка Англии по футболу. Под угрозой может оказаться и трансляция таких мероприятий, как Шоу цветов в Челси и фестиваль в Гластонбери. В общем речь, идет о всех новостных поводах, для съемок которых необходима срочная мобилизация большого количества сотрудников.

Предполагаемая забастовка - это первая крупная акция протеста ан BBC с 2000 года, когда из-за однодневной забастовки были сорваны трансляции футбольного Матча дня и розыгрыша Национальной лотереи. В мае 1994 года, также из-за однодневной забастовки, пришлось заменить мультфильмами ряд новостных программ.

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Давыденко посчитался за Марата

В третьем круге турнира "Мастерс-серии" в Гамбурге россиянин Николай Давыденко встретился с обидчиком Марата Сафина испанцем Хуаном-Карлосом Ферреро.

Матч продолжался три сета, и Давыденко удалось все-таки посчитаться за товарища по сборной - 3:6, 6:2, 6:1. Теперь в четвертьфинале Николай сыграет с итальянцем Филиппо Воландри, сообщает РТР-Спорт.Ru.

Тем временем, на турнире 1-й категории ВТА в Риме состоялись матчи 3-го круга. Ударно выступили российские теннисистки, которые выбыли из сетки всех оставшихся там южноамериканок, причем всем им пришлось провести на корте по три сета. Елена Бовина (9-й номер "посева") и Евгения Линецкая победили аргентинок Паолу Суарес - 3:6, 6:3, 7:6 (7:5) и Гиселу Дулко - 5:7, 6:4, 6:4, а Вера Звонарева (6) - колумбийку Каталина Кастано - 6:1, 5:7, 6:2.

К сожалению, не смогла выйти на матч против испанки Кончита Мартинес 7-я ракетка соревнований Надежда Петрова. Из-за травмы бедра она снялась с турнира.

В последнем поединке дня встречались француженка Мари Пирс и Мария Шарапова, претендующая на звание 1-й ракетки мира. Маша победила и теперь сыграет в четвертьфинале с Бовиной. Остальные пары выглядят так: Линецкая - Шнидер, Звонарева - Скьявоне и Мартинес - Моресмо.

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adal Wins Back-to-Back ATP Masters Series Crowns

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Rafael Nadal won his third consecutive ATP title and second consecutive ATP Masters Series shield by beating Guillermo Coria 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6) in a thrilling 5-hour 14-minute final at the Telecom Italia Masters Roma 2005, the longest final since records have been kept (1990)

Coria and Nadal played a superb match in front of a sell-out crowd at the Foro Italico, with the Spanish teenager repeating his four-set win over the Argentine in the Masters Series Monte-Carlo final

Coria seemed to have the upper hand when he led 3-0 with a double break and had a game point for 4-0 in the final set, but the Spanish teenager came back to lead 4-3. They then held serve until the tiebreak where Nadal won on his fourth match point

Nadal becomes the third consecutive Spanish winner in Rome after Felix Mantilla (2003) and Carlos Moya (2004) and the first player to win the Monte Carlo and Rome title in the same year since Thomas Muster in 1996

Nadal has won his last 17 matches and has a 41-6 record in 2005 (31-2 on clay) with the most match wins on the ATP circuit, and has five ATP titles in 2005 the most together with Roger Federer

Nadal will consolidate his hold on second place in the INDESIT ATP 2005 Race (behind Federer) and move to No. 5 in the INDESIT ATP Entry Ranking when the new rankings are issued on Monday.

He is the youngest player, at 18 years, 11 months, to break into the Top 5 in the INDESIT ATP Entry Ranking since Michael Chang (17 years, 5 months) on Aug. 7, 1989. The last player to win five clay court titles in a season was Gustavo Kuerten in 2001 and prior to that countryman Felix Mantilla in 1997.

On his way to the final, Nadal defeated Mikhail Youzhny, Victor Hanescu, Guillermo Canas, Radek Stepanek and David Ferrer

On his way to the final Coria defeated Fernando Gonzalez, Nicolas Kiefer, Davide Sanguinetti, Fernando Verdasco and 2002 Rome champion Andre Agassi

In doubles, Michael Llodra and Fabrice Santoro claimed their first title of the year with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan

Llodra and Santoro won their first career ATP Masters Series title after losing in three finals, Llodra now has six career doubles titles and Santoro 15

The Frenchmen had lost to the Bryans in the Masters Series Monte-Carlo semifinals last month

The Bryans were looking to win their second title of 2005 (Scottsdale) and the 25th of their career

FIVE TITLE TEENS

Nadal is the first teenager to win five ATP titles in a season since Andre Agassi won six in 1988. Here is a list of players who won five or more titles in a season as a teenager:

Mats Wilander 9 1983

Bjorn Borg 7 1974

Andre Agassi 6 1988

Boris Becker 6 1986

Rafael Nadal 5 2005

John McEnroe 5 1978

Bjorn Borg 5 1975

Jimmy Connors 5 1972

MOST TITLES WON BY TEENAGERS

Nadal captured his sixth career ATP title as a teenager by winning Rome The most titles won by teens:

Bjorn Borg 16

Mats Wilander 13

Boris Becker 12

Andre Agassi 10

Andrei Medvedev 8

Lleyton Hewitt 7

Rafael Nadal 6

Michael Chang 6

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

Nadal: “It’s the toughest match I have ever played in my life, more than five hours, I won thanks to the support of the crowd. It was unbelievable out there.”

“When you’re in a(n ATP) Masters Series final you give everything you have as it doesn’t happen to you every day to play a big match. I have played three consecutive now, which is something incredible.”

“I have won three consecutive titles, I don’t know how to explain that. I am playing well and I have a lot of confidence obviously. I just want to continue at this level. Every time I win a match they ask me if I am the favorite for Roland Garros but the favorite for Roland Garros will be the player who plays the best there!”

Coria: "I'm a little bit disappointed because I ran for five hours just to lose with two points. Actually, I am very disappointed."

“It's normal but, you know, I lost with a top player who played a great match. So that's it, now I have to move on."

"I think I was pretty close to beating him today, but he's very confident. He has won a lot of matches lately and he's making some incredible shots. But I was really close today, so I hope it will happen sooner or later."

"I don't think there was a key point to the match. We went to 8‑6 in tiebreak, so it was very, very close match. We ran for more than four hours, and you do a lot of errors. It's normal. It depends on the concentration."

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Federer, Gasquet Set for Hamburg Showdown

World No. 1 Roger Federer overcame Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the final of the Masters Series Hamburg on Saturday. The current INDESIT ATP 2005 Race leader will be attempting to claim his third title in four years at the Rothenbaum. Standing in his way of a 19th consecutive victory in an ATP final will be 18-year-old Richard Gasquet, who took just 56 minutes to defeat Christophe Rochus 6-1, 6-1 and reach his first Masters Series final.

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Argentina and Chile in the red group

The red group promises hot matches with Southamerican top teams Chile and Argentina, as well as France and Czech Republic. Argentina with its stars Guillermo Coria and French Open winner Gaston Gaudio will take on France in the first match, meanwhile Chile plays against Czech Republic.

Germany is part of the blue group at the ARAG World Team Cup and will face Sweden, Spain and the USA. The hosting team will play against the US in its first group match on Sunday, when Chile also takes on Czech Republic.

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Schnyder, Mauresmo Scheduled for Rome Final

Switzerland's Patty Schnyder (left) put a halt to Maria Sharapova's run in Rome, along with a bid for the World No.1 ranking. Schnyder outlasted Sharapova in the semifinals of the Telecom Italia Masters Roma, 36 63 61 and advances to her second final of the season. Had Sharapova won the title in Rome, she would have ascended to the No.1 ranking.

Schnyder will face defending champion and No.2 seed Amelie Mauresmo, who posted a 62 64 victory over No.6 seed Vera Zvonareva. Mauresmo will be making her fifth career appearance in Rome's final and looks to defend the title she captured last year, after serving as runner-up in 2000, 2001 and 2003.

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May 14, 2005

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Safina and Ondraskova Reach Prague Final

PRAGUE - Top-seeded Russian teenager Dinara Safina will have a chance to win her second title of the year on Sunday as she takes on unseeded Zuzana Ondraskova (right) in the final of the 2005 ECM Prague Open, the new Tier IV clay court event in Prague, Czech Republic.

In Saturday's first semifinal, the 34th-ranked Safina outlasted 123rd-ranked qualifier Laura Pous Tio of Spain by a score of 46 62 75. The 19-year-old Russian will now play in her fifth career final on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, having won titles at Sopot in 2002, Palermo in 2003 and her biggest win earlier this year at Paris [indoors], where she stunned Amelie Mauresmo in a thrilling three-set final.

Safina began her week in Prague with a gruelling 63 46 62 win over 188th-ranked qualifier Libuse Prusova. Then, she won back-to-back matches over two more Czechs, a 62 62 second round win over 110th-ranked Michaela Pastikova and a 61 64 quarterfinal win over world No.58 Iveta Benesova, who was the No.5 seed here.

In the final, Safina will take on 25-year-old Zuzana Ondraskova, who dispatched her compatriot No.2 seed Klara Koukalova 62 62 in Saturday's second semifinal. The rapidly-rising Czech star will play in her first Tour final on Sunday, hoping to use all of her experience from the ITF Circuit, where she has won 15 career singles titles.

The 98th-ranked Ondraskova has had an excellent run in Prague, defeating former Top 5 player Jelena Dokic 64 61 in the opening round, 46th-ranked No.3 seed Jelena Kostanic 63 76(6) in the second round, and world No.79 Mariana Diaz-Oliva 75 62 in the quarterfinals. Her semifinal win over world No.40 Koukalova was her career-best and just her third over a Top 50 player, including the aforementioned win over Kostanic.

In an interesting twist, the underdog Ondraskova has won her only prior meeting with Safina, a 46 62 86 marathon in the qualifying rounds at Wimbledon in 2002.

In Saturday's doubles final, No.2 seeds Emilie Loit and Nicole Pratt were tied at one set apiece with the unseeded team of Kostanic and Barbora Strycova before the match was suspended due to darkness. The final will resume on Sunday at 67(6) 64.

Pous Tio was making just her second career Sony Ericsson WTA Tour main draw appearance, having lost in the opening round in her first at Bogota earlier this season. She won three matches in qualifying over the weekend and two more to reach the main draw quarterfinals, where she dispatched 87th-ranked Puerto Rican Kristina Brandi 63 62 for her third career Top 100 victory. She recently won the biggest title of her career at the $75K ITF/Cagnes-Sur-Mer-FRA.

Koukalova was playing in her eighth Tour semifinal. Although she has reached five career finals, she has come up short each time, most recently at Sopot last year, where she lost to Flavia Pennetta.

Edited May 15, 2005 by Vardan

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Twice as Good

Amelie Mauresmo successfully defended her title at the Telecom Italia Masters Roma on Sunday, defeating No.8 seed Patty Schnyder in a three-set finale, 26 63 64. Interestingly enough, Mauresmo has also to come back from a set down to win last year's title, defeating Jennifer Capriati in a third-set tie-break.

Mauresmo's back-to-back Rome titles come after falling short in her first three appearances in the Tier I championship match. The Frenchwoman was runner-up at this event in 2000, 2001 and 2003.

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Rome, Italy: Patty signed autographs for the kids of Youth Village after giving them a tennis lesson

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