Former national captain Gazi Ashraf Hossain has been made the vice-chairman of the games development committee as the Bangladesh Cricket Board reorganised most of its standing committees.
   Ashraf, who was working as the chief of cricket operations committee, will be working with former cricketers Shakil Kashem and Ishtiaque Ahmed, who have been retained as the chairman and the vice-chairman respectively of the committee.
   ‘The decision was taken as the BCB felt that he (Ashraf), being a former national captain, could provide major inputs in developing the game here,’ said the BCB spokesman, Ahmed Sazzadul Alam Bobby. The changes to the standing committees were made at the BCB’s meeting last week, but they were made public on Sunday. In the reshuffle Ashraf was also made the chief of the medical committee in place of Salim Bhuiyan, who is presently in jail.
   Ashraf also replaced Bobby as the vice-chairman of tournament committee. Bobby, the chairman of both the media and logistic committees, was made the vice-chairman of marketing and commercial committee.
   The newly-inducted member of the BCB ad hoc committee, Shakil Kashem, has been included in the working committee, which saw a new vice-chairman in Shafiqur Rahman Munna, who replaced Lt Col (retd) MA Latif, who resigned last month.
   Ishtiaque Ahmed and Mirza Salman Ispahani replaced Latif as the chairmen of the disciplinary committee and the tender & purchase committee respectively. Salman was removed from his vice-chairman post of the logistic committee and a fellow Chittagonian Didarul Alam Chowdhury took his place.
   Shafiqur Rahman Munna and Shakil Kashem were made the vice-chairman of umpires and audit committees respectively. They replaced MA Momen and Salim Bhuiyan.
   Former national player Salim Shahed was made the member-secretary of the cricket operations committee while Quamar Afroze Ahmed, a member of the women’s wing, has been elevated to the post of member-secretary in the same committee. Fahim Hossain was made the new vice-chairman of the finance committee.
   Among the 16 standing committees only three – grounds, CDDM and media – remained unchanged.

South Africa (480/7) lead England (203) by 277 runs at tea, day 3
   AB de Villiers continued to defy England’s attack with an unbeaten century as South Africa all but batted Michael Vaughan’s men out of the second Test here at Headingley on Sunday.
   South Africa, at tea on the third day, were 480 for seven in reply to England’s first innings 203 - a lead of 277.
   De Villiers was 158 not out and Paul Harris 11 not out after vice-captain Ashwell Prince had made a Test-best 149, his second hundred in as many matches.
   South Africa wicket-keeper Mark Boucher, dropped twice on eight, helped de Villiers add 67 for the sixth wicket.
   But he rarely looked comfortable and was out for 34 when, attempting a rare aggressive shot, he played on after trying to pull James Anderson.
   Soon, 422 for six became 427 for seven when Monty Panesar took his first wicket for 82 overs when be bowled Morne Morkel through a big gap between bat and pad for nought.
   Anderson’s first delivery with the new ball, a long hop, was confidently put away by de Villiers for his 150. Before lunch, England had finally seen the back of Prince with controversial debutant Darren Pattinson, born in Grimsby but raised in Australia, who took the only wicket to fall on Saturday, removing the stubborn left-hander.
   In his second over of the day, the 29-year-old seamer - appearing in just his 12th first-class match - was bowling from around the wicket when Prince edged a full length delivery to wicket-keeper Tim Ambrose.
   Prince, who’d made 101 in the drawn first Test at Lord’s, had batted for nearly seven hours, facing 284 balls with two sixes and 17 fours.
   His stand of 212 in 75 overs with de Villiers, notable for the pair’s excellent running between the wickets, was a new South Africa record for the fifth-wicket against England, surpassing the 192 shared by Gary Kirsten and Boucher at Durban in 1999.
   De Villiers made Pattinson pay for dropping short on a placid pitch when he cut him through the offside for four in front of square to go to 99.
   A fired-up Andrew Flintoff - who at tea had bowled 40 overs - twice beat de Villiers outside off-stump.
   De Villiers, who’d angered England on Friday by claiming to have caught Andrew Strauss when the ball had in fact bounced, spent 13 balls on 99, his single off Flintoff saw de Villiers complete his sixth Test hundred off 264 balls with 11 fours.
   South Africa resumed Sunday on 322 for four. Prince was 134 not out and de Villiers 70 not out.
   Anderson and fellow Lancashire quick Flintoff, playing his first Test in 18 months after being out with ankle and side injuries, soon settled into a probing line and length.
   However, when first change Stuart Broad dropped short, with his fifth ball, de Villiers cut him for four. Prince then confidently drove Broad on the up, for four through extra-cover, to go past his previous highest Test score of 139 not out against Zimbabwe at Centurion in 2005.

SL Board XI (224 & 247/6 dec) drew with India (196/8 dec & 129/2)
   India’s only chance to acclimatise before the Test series ended in a tame draw with less than three days’ play at the Nondescripts Cricket Club in Colombo on Sunday.
   Having declared at an overnight 196 for 8, the tourists turned in an ordinary day in the field - Anil Kumble did not bowl a ball - as the Sri Lanka Board XI batted to 247 before handing the final session over. In that time, extended by nearly an hour, Gautam Gambhir helped himself to a fifty after Virender Sehwag fell cheaply again.
   The Sri Lankan top order struggled, as on the opening day. Solid efforts here may not have entirely swayed the national selectors’ decision when they meet to announce Sri Lanka’s Test squad, but the single-digit scores from the openers was disappointing.
   Upul Tharanga edged Zaheer Khan to the wicketkeeper in the third over and Mahela Udawatte slashed Ishant Sharma in the air to backward point for 15.
   Jehan Mubarak’s shots remained punchy as he stood tall to get over the ball, but having made 41, he played an ugly shot.
   Harbhajan Singh changed ends after two overs and Mubarak charged his second delivery, only to chip the ball to point.
   As Munaf Patel searched for what length to bowl, Chamara Kapugedera pulled him ferociously out of the ground.
   Having honed his radar, Munaf picked up Kapugedera in the 21st over, perhaps with some assistance: the ball looked to have been carrying on just over the stumps when Kapugedera was adjudged lbw for 22.
   Thilina Kandamby looked to score off Harbhajan - a few hard cuts scurried past the infield and one straight drive, albeit uppish, stood out - but on the stroke of lunch, Harbhajan had his man chipping loosely to Sachin Tendulkar at cover for a brisk 27.
   A brief but heavy shower during the interval delayed the resumption of play for just under 50 minutes. Chamara Silva, like Kandamby, was aggressive against Harbhajan - his feet constantly moved and his bat quick to come down on anything errant.
   A slip mid-pitch resulted in Kaushal Silva being run out and with the second session extended, Chamara ticked along to his second fifty of the match. His cutting remained his strongest suite, and a couple of lusty blows raised the landmark.
   The Indians’ fielding slipped dramatically in the second session, with wayward throws not always backed up correctly. Kumble refrained from bowling and Gambhir’s unassuming spin was employed as support to Sehwag’s offbreaks.
   Dammika Prasad scored a useful 53-ball 43 and the two put on 74 for the seventh wicket. A declaration at 247 for 6 gave India the final session to test out their batting.
   With Sehwag falling for 14, caught at deep square-leg, Gambhir and Rahul Dravid kept the ball on the ground. Gambhir slowed down in the process and Dravid took a while to open up, but soon sweet drives and cuts peppered the ground.
   The helmets came off at the arrival of spin as both batsmen tried to dominate. Gambhir succeeded with some aerial drives but Dravid was late on a shot against the left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and was bowled for 26. Play was extended until 6.10 pm and Gambhir, through solid cuts and pulls, made an unbeaten 60. Sourav Ganguly notched up 22.
   Two days out of three were hit by rain, and locals expect the pattern to continue when the actual contest kicks off just down the road at the SSC on July 23.

Citycell, the official partner of Bangladesh Football Federation, will provide Tk 2 crore out of their Tk 5 crore sponsorship money by August next. The three-year deal between the BFF and Citycell worth Tk 16.5 crore will be signed on Thursday.
   A meeting between the two parties took place at the BFF House on Sunday. The BFF and Citycell high-ups sorted out the different aspects of the deal at the meeting. The marketing and branding of Citycell was the prime point of discussion. The logo of the Federation Cup and the partnership logo with the BFF were given the green signal.
   According to reliable sources, Citycell will provide Tk 1 crore to the BFF on Thursday for the Federation Cup and the next
   cheque for Tk 1 crore will reach the BFF before the kick-off of the B league, the professional football league of the country. As per the deal Citycell will be the title sponsors of the Federation Cup, B league and the National School Football for the next three years.
   BFF president Kazi Salahuddin, vice-president Kazi Nabil Ahmed, executive committee members Anwarul Huq Helal and Golam Rabbani Helal represented the BFF while Sania Mahmood, general manager of marketing communications and branding, led the Citycell delegation at the meeting.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton won a thrilling German Grand Prix on Sunday to forge four points clear of Ferrari’s Felipe Massa at the top of the Formula One championship.
   Brazilian rookie Nelson Piquet, who had started in 17th place on a one-stop strategy, finished an astonishing second for Renault after leading for six laps in the race of his life. Compatriot Massa was third.
   Hamilton led from pole position at engine partners’ Mercedes home track but the 23-year-old had to make an inspired fightback from fifth place with 16 laps remaining after a safety car interlude shook up his strategy.
   ‘I didn’t plan on doing that. I’d have much preferred an easy, comfortable afternoon out front,’ he said.
   ‘Overall it was a very, very good weekend. It’s got to be the best weekend up to now,’ added Hamilton. ‘I think that we’re really on top of our game right now.’
   The victory was his second in a row, and eighth of his career, after a dominant performance in the wet at the previous British Grand Prix two weeks ago and made him the first driver to win four times this season.
   Hamilton now has 58 points to Massa’s 54. Ferrari’s world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who started and finished sixth on Sunday, has 51.
   ‘Sorry that we made it a little bit more difficult for you,’ McLaren boss Ron Dennis told Hamilton on the radio after the Briton took the chequered flag in the Hockenheim sunshine.
   ‘I wanted to give you the opportunity fo driving a great racing car.’
   The safety car was deployed on lap 36 after the Toyota of Germany’s Timo Glock suffered a dramatic high-speed suspension failure and slammed into the concrete wall backwards at the entrance to the straight.
   The driver was helped groggily from the wrecked car, with debris scattered across the track, and taken to the medical centre.
   With the exception of Hamilton, the leaders all came in to refuel and change tyres when the pit lane opened.
   When the McLaren driver then came in nine laps later, he found himself behind team mate Heikki Kovalainen, Massa, Piquet and Germany’s Nick Heidfeld.
   Heidfeld came in three laps later, leaving Piquet as the frontrunner, while Hamilton slipped past Kovalainen when the Finn obligingly ran wide.
   Hamilton then barged his way past Massa 10 laps from the end and took Piquet with similar determination to hand Mercedes their first win at Hockenheim since double world champion Mika Hakkinen in 1998.
   Piquet, who has been completely eclipsed this season by double world champion team mate Fernando Alonso, answered his critics with a fine drive under pressure. Massa’s appearance on the podium with him made it the first time two Brazilian drivers had stood in that position since Piquet’s father and namesake joined the late Ayrton Senna in the top three in 1991.
   Heidfeld was fourth for BMW-Sauber, ahead of Kovalainen and Raikkonen. Poland’s Robert Kubica was seventh for BMW-Sauber with German Sebastian Vettel taking the final point for Toro Rosso.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) Sunday said its executive board will take a final decision on the host of September’s Champions Trophy amidst security fears in Pakistan.
   The year’s biggest one-day tournament, featuring the top eight Test nations, is due to be held in Pakistan from September 11 to 28 but Australia, England and New Zealand have raised fears about security.
   The ICC held a meeting at its headquarters in Dubai Sunday with representatives from all eight teams to brief them about security arrangements Pakistan made during the recent six-nation Asia Cup.
   As well as likely hosts Pakistan the other teams competing in the Champions Trophy are South Africa, India, Sri Lanka and the West Indies.
   ‘A meeting was held to brief the security arrangements made by Pakistan in the Asia Cup in June-July and now the concerns will be taken at the ICC Board meeting in due course to arrive a definitive decision on the location of this year’s Champions Trophy,’ an ICC press release said.
   ‘Until or unless the board decided otherwise the tournament will be processed in Pakistan,’ it said, without giving a date for a final decision.
   Despite the trouble-free hosting of the Asia Cup, a suicide bomb blast in the capital Islamabad earlier this month killed 19 people and a series of small bombings rocked the port city of Karachi. Rawalpindi — which adjoins Islamabad — Lahore and Karachi are the scheduled venues for the tournament.
   Team representatives Sunday heard from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on its security plans in the lead-up to, and during, the Trophy, the ICC statement said.
   ‘While there was recognition the PCB had gone to great lengths to provide a high-level security during the Asia Cup and would also do so again during the Champions Trophy, concerns were expressed about the potential threats beyond the PCB’s control,’ the ICC said.
   PCB’s representative at the meeting, Shafqat Naghmi, was adamant that Pakistan should host the event.
   ‘Pakistan’s case is strong and we see no point in moving or not holding the Trophy in our country after full assurances on security,’ Naghmi, the PCB chief operating officer, told AFP.
   With Sri Lanka, the designated alternative venue for the tournament, also facing renewed violence between Tamil Tiger rebels and government troops, South Africa and England have been mooted as potential replacements for the event.

Stung by the doping controversies surrounding two of its key bowlers, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday conducted drugs tests of the players named in its preliminary squad for the Champions Trophy.
   ‘The ICC (International Cricket Council) will also have dope tests in the tournament but the PCB itself has been very firm about its zero tolerance policy towards drugs,’ Sohail Saleem, a member of the board’s medical commission, told Reuters.
   Batsmen Younis Khan, Bazid Khan and all-rounder Yasir Arafat were not tested as they were out of the country, Saleem added. Since the 2006 doping scandal involving Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, where they escaped bans on appeal, Pakistan cricket has been rocked by doping issues.
   Asif was first detained in Dubai for 19 days in June for alleged possession of a contraband substance and this month the Indian Premier League announced he had tested positive during the Twenty20 competition in India.
   He is under suspension by the board and has asked for his ‘B’ sample to be tested by World Anti-Doping Agency experts in Switzerland. Asif was dropped from the Champions Trophy preliminary squad.
   Fast bowler Akhtar said he was happy to take the test and had nothing to hide.
   ‘I am just keen to play in the Champions Trophy and get on with the game,’ he told reporters after the tests, which were undertaken by WADA-accredited officials. ‘I just need another two weeks to regain my full fitness and rhythm.’

Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik on Sunday urged Champions Trophy teams to dispel their concerns about security in Pakistan ahead of September’s tournament.
   Malik’s appeal came as the International Cricket Council (ICC) were due to meet in Dubai to brief participants about security arrangements for the eight-nation contest.
   ‘I have been to most of the test playing nations and other countries where cricket is played and the security foreign teams get in Pakistan is unmatched,’ Malik told reporters.
   ‘I request all teams to visit Pakistan for the Champions Trophy as the event is very important for us and our people,’ he added.
   Malik said he had no doubt the Champions Trophy in Pakistan would the best since its inception in 1998.
   ‘South Africa, England, India, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe they all have toured Pakistan in the last few years without any problems. We also hosted the Asia Cup just now without any problems,’ Malik said. Although there are no plans to replace Pakistan as hosts, the ICC have made it clear they would not hesitate to relocate the tournament if there were signs of danger.

With a view to forming a strong national women’s volleyball team, the Bangladesh Volleyball Federation on Sunday started a three-week long training camp at the Dhanmondi Women’s Sports Complex with.17 female spikers participating in it.
   The director (sports) of the National Sports Council, Haiul Quaium, inaugurated the camp as the chief guest. Bangladesh Volleyball Federation president Golam Quddus Chowdhury, general secretary Md Anisur Rahman and other federation officials were present on the occasion.

The zonal round of the Spectra Group National Women’s Kabaddi Competition, organised by Bangladesh Kabaddi Federation and sponsored by Spectra Group, begins at five separate venues across the country from Tuesday. The venues are Jessore, Faridpur, Jamalpur, Jhenaidah and Dhaka.
   Twenty-three DSA teams along with Bangladesh Ansar will take part in the competition. The five zonal champions will play in the final round scheduled to be held in Dhaka from July 27. The total budget for the competition is Tk 350,000 and the sponsor Spectra Group will provide Tk 200,000.
   Bangladesh Kabaddi Federation general secretary Nazrul Islam disclosed the details on Sunday afternoon at a press conference at the National Sports Council conference room. Spectra Group director Major (retd) SM Reza Rashid was also present.

Four new national records were created on the opening day as the Keya Cosmetics 24th National Age Group Swimming Championships began on Sunday at the National Swimming Complex in Mirpur.
   Defence secretary M Kamrul Islam inaugurated the three-day meet and distributed prizes of some of the opening day’s events. General secretary of Bangladesh Swimming Federation Commodore (retd) MS Kabir was present.
   On Sunday, 24 of the 34 events were decided when last report came in.
   On the first day, Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan dominated the pool securing 11 gold, 11 silver and 3 bronze medals, while Bangladesh Ansar followed closely with 10 golds, 5 silvers and 5 bronzes.
   Nikli Swimming Club of Kishoreganj were a distant third with two gold, one silver and three bronze medals, while Chandpur Swimming Club are in the fourth slot collecting one gold and one silver medals.
   Jewel Ahmed of Bangladesh Ansar made the day’s first record in the Boys’ 200 metre individual medley for 15-17 years age group with a timing of 2:30.34 seconds bettering the old mark of 2:30.59 seconds.
   Mohammad Sagar Ali of Chandpur Swimming Club set the day’s second record in the Boys’ 400m freestyle for 15-17 years age group clocking 4:54.51sec to break the previous mark of 4:54.66 seconds.
   Two BKSP swimmers made the day’s last two records in the Girls’ 100m breaststroke for 11-12 years age group and in the Boys’ 400m individual medley for 18-20 years age group.
   Naima Akhter created national mark in 100m breaststroke taking 1:32.90 seconds to better the old mark of 1:35.73sec, while Anik Islam made new record in 400m individual medley clocking 5:09.16sec to improve upon the previous timing of 5:10.00sec.

Hashim Amla paid tribute to fellow batsman Ashwell Prince after the South Africa vice-captain’s second hundred in as many matches against England steered the Proteas into a commanding position in the second Test here at Headingley.
   Prince, at stumps on Saturday’s second day, was 134 not out in a total of 322 for four that left South Africa with an overnight lead of 119.
   He had so far added 179 with AB de Villiers (70 not out) for the fifth wicket after South Africa had been 143 for four in reply to England’s first innings 203 all out.
   Prince’s ninth hundred at this level followed his 101 in the first innings of the drawn first Test at Lord’s.
   ‘I think his temperament is superb and he keeps the game quite simple,’ Amla said of Prince. ‘That’s basically his biggest trait.
   ‘He’s batting very well at the moment on key occasions for us and he’s produced two fantastic knocks.’
   Amla, who also made a century at Lord’s, was the only man dismissed Saturday when lbw for 38 to England’s Australia-raised but Grimsby-born debutant pace bowler Darren Pattinson.
   South Africa have been a transformed team since being made to follow-on at Lord’s and have so far piled up 715 runs for the loss of seven wickets since being bowled out for just 247 in their first innings of this four-Test series. Amla, asked what had changed, replied: ‘At Lord’s, in the first innings maybe we didn’t apply ourselves as well. Maybe we were a little overwhelmed.
   ‘But in this Test, we were battle-hardened. We just tried to up the tempo.’
   England have spent 365 overs in the field during the past five days, with just a three-day break between the first two Tests.
   ‘All I know is that I would be feeling stiff,’ said Amla. ‘It does feel close, especially when you spend one day travelling, but I understand this is the nature of international cricket.
   ‘It’s a tough school and at the end of the day you’ve got to be fit enough to deal with it.’
   Pattinson’s selection has proved controversial.
   Both England’s 2005 Ashes-winning spearhead quick Stephen Harmison, dropped from the side after the first Test defeat away to New Zealand in March, and former captain Graham Gooch have questioned Pattinson’s call-up when there were ‘more English’ alternatives available.
   But England bowling coach Ottis Gibson, defended the 29-year-old’s dramatic rise to international status after just 11 previous first-class matches by saying, ‘We knew we had hit-the-deck bowlers and the reports on Darren were that he pitches the ball up and swings it.
   ‘That’s what we felt we needed for this game.’
   Meanwhile, Andrew Flintoff, in his first Test after 18 months out with ankle and side injuries, has already sent down 28 overs – a figure equalled amongst the England attack only by his fellow Lancashire quick James Anderson. This has raised concerns that Flintoff, who has had four operations on his left ankle, may be heading for fresh injury problems.
   But Gibson said, ‘We don’t want to bowl him into the ground. It is something we will continue to monitor...he’s in good shape at the minute.’

Americans James Blake and Sam Querrey lost early momentum, crashing to defeats and leaving Frenchman Gilles Simon and Russian Dmitry Tursunov to contest the final of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships.
   Second-seeded Simon stayed steady as fourth seed Querrey suffered a physical meltdown in the final set to lose 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
   The notably fragile Blake opened the door to defending champion Tursunov, returning after a second-set rain break with nothing left on his serve and paying the price 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
   ‘I don’t know what happened,’ said the distressed top seed, who had been counting on the hardcourt summer to rescue his game after Roland Garros and Wimbledon second-round defeats.
   ‘I didn’t have a first serve when I needed it, it’s one of those things that can happen unfortunately,’ said Blake, who clawed back a break in the final set but lost the match as the Russian struck again a game later.
   Third seed Tursunov admitted that he remains an unlikely finalist as he defends a title for the first time.
   ‘I’m confident that I can play well,’ he said of his first meeting with the 25th-ranked Simon.
   ‘If I play well I have my chances - as long as he doesn’t blow me off the court. I’ll hope to concentrate like I did today and get a good match rhythm.’
   Tursunov last played a final in Sydney at the start of the year, an event he won for his fourth career trophy. He improved to 23-14 this season.
   Simon said he got a lift as Querrey began to fade badly.
   ‘I kept fighting, especially when I could seem him leaning on his racket after points in the third set,’ said Simon, playing in his first American semi-final. ‘I could tell he was tired and that kept me fighting.’
   Simon, who won a third career ATP title in Casablanca in May, improved his season record to 25-16 as he became the first French player since Olivier Delaitre in 1994 to challenge for the Indy title.
   The match was a fitness disaster for Querrey, who looked like making an early exit while trailing a set and 4-2.
   The Californian whose huge serve produced a mere three aces, somehow rallied in the second set, recovering from a break in the sixth game with a break-back in the seventh for 3-4 as Simon donated a pair of double faults.
   He squared the contest at a set each, but then began to fade badly in the third.
   Querrey saved three break points to hold for 4-4 in the third, then forced Simon to save five a game later.
   But the fitter Frenchman broke in the final game to lift the win.

Beijing residents enjoyed the novelty of congestion-free streets Sunday as the city launched strict driving curbs to rein in its notorious air pollution and traffic for the Olympics.
   Traffic on the capital’s normally jammed roads was noticeably light, even for a weekend, amid new rules expected to remove more than one million cars from the roads each day.
   ‘It’s great. It’s like driving in the middle of the night. This will be a big help for the Olympics,’ attorney Fan Wenling said as she climbed into her car for a morning trip to her office.
   The rules, in effect until September 20, ban cars with odd- and even-numbered licence plates from the roads on alternate days.
   They are part of a wider drive to clear the air in Beijing, which is one of the world’s most polluted cities and is typically wrapped in acrid smog.
   The skies above the city of more than 17 million appeared clearer than usual by Sunday afternoon, although it was impossible to tell whether that was due to the driving curbs or weather conditions.
   Beijing conducted a four-day test of similar driving restrictions last August during which the normal hazy conditions persisted, although authorities later said pollutant levels had dropped during the trial.
   Although industrial emissions and other sources are also factors, the largest source of Beijing’s pollution is believed to be the emissions from the city’s 3.3 million vehicles.
   Those ranks swell by an estimated 1,000 extra cars per day with an economic boom allowing more Beijing residents to afford the luxury of their own car.
   International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge warned last year that poor air quality during the August 8-24 Games could result in the suspension of some events, particularly endurance races such as the marathon.
   Some of the 10,000 athletes due in Beijing for the Games also have expressed health fears.
   The new measures will not be truly tested until Monday, when the city’s millions of commuters take to the roads under the new rules, which are expected to increase the number of subway trips to 21 million daily from the usual 16 million.
   To help absorb those numbers, the city on Saturday opened three new subway lines built as part of a pre-Olympic infrastructure upgrade.
   Unlike last year’s trial, authorities this time are taking other steps including shutting down polluting industries in the region around Beijing and halting construction in the city.
   Businesses also are being pressured to adjust their working hours to cut down on rush-hour gridlock.
   Only cars with even-numbered licence plates were allowed on the streets Sunday, and motorcycle police could be seen at key junctions watching the traffic.
   Motorists face a fine of 100 yuan (14 dollars) for driving on the wrong day, according to the city’s transportation bureau.
   Despite rising affluence in Beijing, a 100-yuan fine remains a significant deterrent for many in China, where annual incomes remain far lower than those in developed countries.
   The restrictions will not apply to taxis, and some cab drivers welcomed the chance to earn more money, but worried about overwork.
   ‘I think there will be more money to be made but you will probably have to work harder to make it and I don’t want to because I have to be home to see my 12-year-old daughter,’ said cab driver Ma Guiwei.
   ‘But it will be nice to drive on better road conditions for a while,’ she added.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal resume their rivalry on the North American stage today as the summer crush of hardcourt events begins with the Toronto Masters.
   With the Beijing Olympics starting August 8, the schedule is packed-out, with the Canadian event the first meeting between the world’s top two since Federer lost to Nadal in their Wimbledon title epic.
   Arriving with a decidedly lower profile is Serbia’s defending champion Novak Djokovic, whose recent months on court have been a frustration as the big two pull ahead into a class of their own. Nadal should be rested and refreshed after winning the most dramatic final in modern Wimbledon history.
   The Spanish world number two has relaxed at home on Mallorca while Federer has been left to fret over the possibility of losing his world number one spot over the next few weeks.
   Nadal’s stunning Wimbledon success has increased his value for the world’s paparazzi with him featured in a set of snaps from the beach with his media-shy teenaged girlfriend.
   But Team Nadal turned down a request from elite French magazine Paris Match for a photo session. Federer, who suffered his first Wimbledon loss since 2002, has reportedly used the time off to switch fiscal residences to a lakeside Zurich village which is home to other big-earning sportsmen.
   Toronto leads straight to the Masters in Cincinnati, with only a brief pause before the top three in the world travel to Beijing for the Olympics prior to dashing back across the Pacific for the August 25 start of the US Open.
   With the top eight seeds enjoying first-round byes, Federer will have a chance to work any kinks out of his game as he awaits either a qualifier or Frenchman Gilles Simon, finalist this weekend in Indianapolis.
   Nadal will line up against either Canadian wild card Peter Polansky or former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis.
   Djokovic, the number three who beat both of his rivals on his way to the title in Montreal a year ago, will have a danger match against either Canadian home hope Frank Dancevic or Croatian Mario Ancic. Missing from the field is Lleyton Hewitt, with the 26th-ranked Australian awaiting medical opinions about how to best treat a long-running hip injury.
   Russian Nikolay Davydenko, the fourth seed, is back after an uncharacteristic two weeks off while Spain’s David Ferrer takes the fifth seeding ahead of Andy Roddick, who has been recovering from a shoulder injury and has not played since a second-round loss at Wimbledon.
   American James Blake is seeded seventh ahead of Briton Andy Murray.

England will have to monitor the workload of fit-again all-rounder Andrew Flintoff so he does not risk further injury, the team’s bowling coach Ottis Gibson said on Saturday.
   Flintoff, playing his first Test in 18 months after a fourth ankle operation and then a side strain, bowled 28 overs in four sessions by the close of day two of the second Test against South Africa - with more work still to do in the tourists’ first innings.
   He delivered 10 overs more than seamer Stuart Broad and the same as James Anderson.
   ‘I suppose because of the injuries that Freddie (Flintoff) has had you would think it was a concern but he has been doing all his rehab at Lancashire and training to be on the park,’ Gibson told reporters.
   ‘Obviously he has bowled quite a few overs now but if we didn’t think Freddie was up to it I imagine he wouldn’t be bowling that many overs.
   ‘It’s something that we have to continue to look at and monitor. We don’t want to bowl him into the ground as such but he has come through today and pulled up well on Friday.
   ‘He is doing his (preventative) work on the injuries that he has had, he is having his ice baths and all the other stuff that fast bowlers do, like having massages, and he is in good shape at the minute.’
   Flintoff has been the most impressive performer in the innings so far and at tea he had the economical figures of one for 37 from 21 overs.
   South Africa’s Hashim Amla praised his fellow batsman Ashwell Prince after he finished 134 not out at stumps. It was Prince’s second hundred in as many Tests.
   ‘Ashwell has been a star performer for us over the last couple of years,’ Amla told reporters.
   ‘His temperament is very good and he keeps his style very simple and sticks to his game-plan. Those last two hundreds he has made, here and at Lord’s, are the two best I have seen him play.’

Stephen Harmison has said England’s decision to select Darren Pattinson for the ongoing second Test against South Africa at Headingley betrayed a lack of confidence in the country’s up-and-coming quicks.
   Ashes winning fast bowler Harmison, currently out of the England side after being dropped following the first Test in New Zealand earlier this year, was one of several seasoned bowlers overlooked when Ryan Sidebottom became doubtful with a back strain.
   Instead the selectors opted to hand a debut to Australia-raised but Grimsby-born Pattinson, 29, a Nottinghamshire colleague of left-arm seamer
   Sidebottom, who only began his Trent Bridge career at the start of the season.
   Harmison’s fellow 2005 Ashes-winning quicks Matthew Hoggard and Simon Jones also had reason to feel hard done by as did longstanding reserve Chris Tremlett not to mention a crop of promising pace bowlers.
   ‘The amount of money the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) have pushed into young bowlers, taking them to Chennai and the Academy - are we saying the young bowlers aren’t good enough?,’ Harmison told Sky Sports.
   ‘I haven’t seen him (Pattinson) bowl - I was asleep when we played them. But good luck to him, he has taken his chance. If he deserves it I’m not sure, but good luck to him.’
   Pattinson was plucked from obscurity having only played 11 first-class matches in his career and taken 29 wickets in six matches for Nottinghamshire this season.
   He did however go some way to answering his critics by taking the only wicket to fall, before bad light and rain stopped play, on the second day at Headingley on Saturday.
   Harmison’s Durham team-mate Paul Collingwood was dropped from the England
   side at Yorkshire’s headquarters after a run of low scores
   but Harmison was confident the all-rounder would not be in the Test match wilderness for
   long.
   ‘The best thing for ‘Colly’ now is to come down here and score some runs, that’s the best way to answer somebody.
   ‘If he scores some runs he is back in the spotlight and the next man back in if the batters are struggling for form.’

Andy Murray and brother Jamie will represent Great Britain in the Olympic Games tennis tournament. Andy, the world number nine, will play in Beijing in the singles, and will be joined by his brother for the doubles.
   Simon Clegg, chef de mission of the British team, said: ‘I am delighted to welcome Andy and Jamie in to Team GB for their first Olympic Games.
   ‘Becoming an Olympian is a unique privilege and I am sure they will gain a huge amount from their Olympic experience.’

Despite all the hype surrounding new spin sensation Ajantha Mendis, Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is more concerned about the threat posed by Muttiah Muralitharan.
   ‘Muralitharan will pose a bigger challenge,’ Harbhajan told ESPN. ‘He will do well in the series and not Mendis.
   ‘You cannot compare Murali and Mendis. Murali has been doing it for years, while Mendis has just started,’ he added.
   The off-spinner however, admitted that he admired the variation in Mendis’ bowling.

Rewired Greg Norman emerged from a day of high winds and high drama at Royal Birkdale on Saturday to lead the British Open after three rounds.
   At 53, he stands just 18 holes away from removing Old Tom Morris from the record books after 141 years as the oldest man to win The Open.
   If he can hold on to his lead, he will also be, by a distance of five years, the oldest man to win a major.
   The Australian shot a 72 to take a two strokes lead into the final day over defending champion Padraig Harrington, who also had a 72 and halfway leader KJ Choi of South Korea, who came in with a 75.
   Also remaining firmly in the hunt a further stroke back on a day when some of the world’s best golfers were blown clean off the leaderboard was little-known Englishman Simon Wakefield, one of only four players to match par.
   Four players are on seven over - 2003 Open champion Ben Curtis, England’s Ross Fisher, rising US star Anthony Kim and Swedish newcomer Alexander Noren.
   ‘I rate that as one of the top three hardest rounds of golf that I have ever played, under the circumstances - third round of The Open,’ Norman said. ‘It was just brutal today.
   ‘I have the lead now and I have a chance tomorrow, but there is a lot of golf to be played.’
   Harrington, who will play in the final pairing with Norman, said that it would be a different scenario to last year at Carnoustie when he came back from six strokes off the pace to defeat Sergio Garcia in a playoff.
   ‘It’s going to be a day for watching others whereas last year the only person that I focussed on was me because I had to go forward to have a chance of winning.’
   Choi said he had struggled with his putting all day in the wind.
   ‘I will have to try to catch up,’ he added. ‘I enjoy the golf course, and I’m comfortable on this course. I’m still in a good position. Five over par today is still okay.’
   In view of the conditions, tees on the sixth, 11th and 16th were moved forward, reducing the length of the course by a total of 159 yards and several holes were repositioned to easier spots.
   Gusts of up to 45 miles per hour (72 kilometres per hour), raised the possibility that play could be suspended at any moment if the balls were moving on the greens and on several occasions officials came close to doing so.
   Overnight leader by one and bidding to become the first Asian golfer to win a major, Choi stood firm early on with pars on his first four holes to stretch his outright lead to three strokes at that stage.
   Norman, with a huge gallery in tow, bogeyed the first and third holes. But a wayward drive at the sixth lead to a double bogey for the Korean, followed by another dropped shot at the eighth and suddenly he was in a four-way tie for the lead with Norman, Harrington and Furyk.
   Harrington fell away with a double-bogey five at the 12th where his tee-shot nestled into deep rough on a mound overlooking the green, while Furyk took a double bogey six at the 10th followed by a bogey at the next. They were soon being gobbled up by English journeyman Wakefield who was safely in the clubhouse after posting a tremendous par-70 thanks to three birdies on the back nine.
   Choi and Norman both came to grief with double bogeys at the tough 10th, but ‘The Tank’ as the former weightlifter from the Korean island of Wando used to be known, dug deep to pull ahead again with a birdie at the 13th.
   Norman matched him with one of his own at the par-three next hole.
   And when Choi bogeyed the par-five 16th, Norman had the outright lead, which he held on to over the final two holes.
   Harrington meanwhile finished strongly once again with birdies at 15 and 17 to move up to a share of second with Choi.
   US veteran Davis Love, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson and 2003 Open champion Ben Curtis were the only players other than Wakefield to match the Royal Birkdale par of 70.
   The 2002 champion Ernie Els and World No.2 Phil Mickelson both saw their hopes scuppered as they failed to claw back any ground on the leaders and were stranded at 13 over par.
   Pre-tournament favourite Garcia meanwhile failed to get anything going, coming in with a 74 for a total of 219. But he insisted he still had a chance at seven strokes off the pace.

Serena Williams’s march toward a fourth WTA title of 2008 came to a premature halt Saturday, as an injured knee and Canadian qualifier Aleksandra Wozniak proved too much for the top seed.
   Williams retired with a left knee injury while trailing Wozniak 2-6, 1-3 at the 600,000-dollar hardcourt event in Stanford.
   The Canadian will battle for the title against sixth-seeded Marion Bartoli of France, who defeated Japan’s Ai Sugiyama 6-3, 6-3.
   Williams, ranked fifth in the world, has come up empty in Grand Slams this year, including falling to elder sister Venus in the Wimbledon final. But she has had plenty of WTA success with three titles this year.
   Wozniak, currently ranked 85th in the world, showed no sign that she was intimidated by the 26-year-old American.
   After Williams won the opening game, Wozniak captured the next three and quickly closed out the opening set as her opponent started limping.
   Williams had her left knee wrapped, but still was laboring early in the second set and retired 47 minutes after the match had begun.
   Wozniak will be attempting to capture her first singles title on Sunday when she takes on Bartoli.
   The French player took a huge step toward getting her season revved up on Friday, when she upset second seed and defending champion Anna Chakvetadze of Russia in the quarters, and claimed her first victory over Sugiyama after five defeats.
   The 23-year-old Bartoli, a surprise finalist at Wimbledon last year, reached her first final of 2008.
   Sugiyama was up a break in the opening set and leading the fourth game 40-0, when she let Bartoli back in.
   The Japanese veteran lost the game, leveling the set at 2-2 after her fourth double fault of the match.
   Bartoli went on to win the set, and took the second without dropping her serve.

Michelle Wie put herself in position to challenge for her first LPGA title on Saturday, before a devastating disqualification from the State Farm Classic.
   The 18-year-old from Hawaii was disqualified following the third round for failing to sign her scorecard after Friday’s second round, the LPGA said.
   In fact, what Wie did was sign the card after leaving the defined scoring area, which LPGA officials said amounts to a violation of the rule.
   ‘It’s just really unfortunate,’ Wie said. ‘I don’t know what happened to me. Usually, I sign it first. But I forgot to sign the scorecard.
   ‘Unfortunately, I left the tournament area, and a couple of the scorers went after me. And I signed it, and I turned it in. And I thought it would be OK.
   ‘But it was an honest mistake. I just forgot to sign it,’ she said.
   As a result of the mix-up, Wie’s five-under third-round effort, which included seven birdies and briefly left her one shot behind Taiwan’s Yani Tseng, was wiped out.
   Instead of challenging for the crown on Sunday, Wie will again be on the sidelines, another disappointment in the rocky road she has travelled since breaking her wrist last year.
   LPGA director of tournament competitions Sue Witters said that tournament officials didn’t hear of the incident until Saturday morning, after Wie had teed off.
   ‘It’s one of those cases where nobody realized they were doing anything wrong,’ Witters said. ‘The volunteer said they were being helpful. Michelle was like, ‘Oh, OK, Geez, how silly.’‘
   Witters said an LPGA employee happened to hear someone refer to the situation, and asked what happened.
   ‘That’s when we realized what we had on our hands,’ Witters said. ‘The problem was everyone had teed off. And the last thing you want to do is disrupt the round.’
   LPGA officials spoke with volunteers in the scoring tent to get their version of events, and spoke with Wie and her caddie after the round. All agreed about what had happened.
   ‘The problem was she left the scoring area,’ Witters said. ‘The card should be returned immediately. Once you leave the scoring area, even if it’s one step, the whole body is outside the rope line area, it’s done...
   ‘It was an honest mistake on her behalf,’ Witters added. ‘Once it was brought to her attention, and we asked her to tell us what she recalled from yesterday once she got in the scoring tent, she about verbatim told us what we were told by a few of the volunteers.
   ‘Never at any point did she try to deceive us. She couldn’t have been more honest.’
   Wie was also disqualified in her professional debut at the 2005 Samsung World Championship, where she incorrectly dropped a ball in the third round and therefore signed an incorrect scorecard.

The Olympic Games, an international festival of sport which originated in ancient Greece, were revived in the 19th century by a French aristocrat worried by young Frenchmen not getting enough physical education at school.
   The ancient Olympics were mainly about the ruling classes preparing for war and barred women. Successive presidents of the International Olympic Committee, which Baron Pierre de Coubertin set up in 1894, were just as eager to keep the working classes and women in their place.
   De Coubertin, also troubled by the growing commercialisation of sport 100 years ago, visualised an amateur championship for the world’s sportsmen.
   He took as his model the British and American upper class educational system of enlightened paternalism.
   Oxford and Cambridge university graduates had, after all, started France’s first sports club at Le Havre in 1872, while lawn tennis became all the rage after being imported from Britain in 1878.
   The Greeks had twice tried to revive the Games, in 1859 and 1870, so the first Olympic Games, since the Roman
   emperor Theodosius had banned them in AD 393, were held in Athens.
   1896 ATHENS
   Of the 13 nations who had responded to de Coubertin’s invitation to Paris, and the 21 who had given written support, only 12 were represented in Athens.
   The nine sports on the Olympic programme were athletics, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, lawn tennis, shooting, swimming, weightlifting and wrestling.
   A Greek architect Georgios Averoff picked up most of the bill and many of the competitors were simply tourists visiting Athens at the time.
   James Conolly of Boston, who dropped out from Harvard to go to Athens, became the first Olympic champion in 1,527 years when he won what was then known as the hop, step and jump.
   Athens crowds were fascinated by the “crouch” start of Americans Thomas Burke, who went on to get gold, and Thomas Curtis.
   A Greek shepherd, Spiridon Louis, won the first marathon over the same course covered by Greek hero Pheidippides after the battle of Marathon in 490 BC.
   
   1900 PARIS
   The Games, overshadowed by the Eiffel Tower, were very much a sideshow to the Paris Exposition and the organisation was an embarrassment.
   Charlotte Cooper of Britain had already won three of her five Wimbledon titles when she became the first women’s Olympic champion.
   American college students Alvin Kraenzlein, Irving Baxter, John Tewksbury and Ray Ewry won 11 of 23 track and field events, five seconds and a third. Kraenzlein is still the only athlete to win four individual athletic golds at one Olympics - 110m hurdles, long jump and the discontinued 60m hurdles and 200m hurdles.
   
   1904 ST LOUIS
   The distance to Missouri meant that only eight overseas nations took part. The Games, part of the World Fair, lasted five months. There was even a sack race.
   There were some respected runners for the marathon. There was also Felix Carvajal, a Cuban postman who had hitch-hiked from New Orleans after losing his money in a card game, and Lentauw and Yamasani, two Zulus who were part of the Boer War exhibit at the fair.
   The start was delayed so Carvajal’s long trousers could be cut off at the knees. He eventually finished fourth. Lentauw was chased through a field by two dogs but still finished ninth.
   The race, run on dusty roads in the middle of the afternoon, was won by English-born Thomas Hicks from Massachusetts, second in that year’s Boston marathon, who was revived with strychnine and brandy.
   Fred Lorz from New York caused a stir when he appeared in the stadium. He was about to be presented with the gold medal when it was discovered he had stopped running after nine miles and got a lift. The practical joke backfired when he was banned for life but he was later reinstated and won the 1905 Boston marathon.
   
   1906 ATHENS
   Greece staged an attempt to revive interest in the Olympics, which was flagging after after Paris and St Louis. It was quite successful and helped ensure the modern games continued but medals were not recognised by the IOC.
   
   1908 LONDON
   London was host for the first time when Rome withdrew. With 1,500 competitors from 19 nations the Games were by now established.
   However, there were constant rows between British and American officials and South African Reggie Walker, whose 100m win put an end to four American victories, was greeted like a hero.
   Walker, a 19-year-old clerk from Durban, benefitted from training from Sam Mussabini, who was later to coach Harold Abrahams to victory in Paris in 1924.
   Lieutenant Wyndham Halswelle, who had fought in the Boer War, became the only man in Olympic history to win by a walk-over when an American was disqualified for obstructing him in the 400m and the other two Americans refused to take part in the re-run. Halswelle was so disgusted he gave up sport. He was killed in World War One fighting in France in 1915.
   Political disputes made their entry into the Games when the English tried to prevent the Irish from displaying their flag and the Russians did the same to the Finns.
   The most dramatic episode was in the marathon, extended 385 yards to finish in front of Queen Alexandra’s royal box. The distance of 26 miles 385 yards (42.195km) later became the norm.
   Italian sweetmaker Dorando Pietri was disqualified after being helped over the line by British officials but he was presented with a gold cup by the queen.
   
   1912 STOCKHOLM
   American Indian Jim Thorpe, aged 24, proved himself one of the greatest athletes of all time when he won both the pentathlon and decathlon. His score for the decathlon would have won the next two Olympic competitions and even have given him a silver medal in 1948.
   But in 1913 it was revealed he had been paid 25 dollars a week playing minor league baseball, something which other college students did under different names. He was stripped of his medals and records for being a professional.
   Avery Brundage, who as IOC president from 1952 to 1972 refused to listen to calls for Thorpe to be reinstated, was sixth in the pentathlon and did not finish the decathlon in 1912.
   At the instigation of de Coubertin, the modern pentathlon, an event acting out the ordeal of a messenger fighting his way through enemy lines, was introduced. Two years later war broke out.
   Hannes Kolehmainen of Finland won the 5,000m, 10,000m and cross-country and returned in 1920 to win the marathon.
   
   1920 ANTWERP
   Germany and its allies were barred but there were still a record 29 countries. The five-ring Olympic flag and oath-taking were introduced. Finland’s Paavo Nurmi won the 10,000m and cross-country individual and team titles as well as a silver in the 5,000m.
   He was to win 9 golds and 12 medals and set 22 world records in three Games but in 1932 he was suspended for claiming too much on expenses.
   Jack Kelly, a Philadelphia bricklayer-turned millionaire who had been refused entry to the Royal Henley rowing regatta, got his revenge by beating Britain’s Diamond Sculls winner Jack Beresford. Kelly’s daughter was the later Princess Grace of Monaco.
   Defending Wimbledon champion Suzanne Lenglen dropped only four games in 10 sets to win the tennis gold medal.
   The only break in Hungary’s 56-year domination of individual sabre fencing occured as Hungary was not invited.
   1924 PARIS
   Citius, Altius, Fortius — faster, higher, stronger. A new Games motto from the Paris Olympic Games taken to heart by Nurmi who ran seven races in six days to win five gold medals.
   Harold Abrahams, whose triumph was glorified in the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire, won the 100m. Johnny Weismuller, later to find fame as Tarzan, swam to three gold medals.
   There was another dramatic increase in the number of athletes with 5,533 from 44 countries.
   
   1928 AMSTERDAM
   First time the Olympic flame was used. Germany allowed to compete again.
   Women were allowed to compete in athletics for the first time and 16-year-old American Betty Robinson’s 100m win made her the first women’s Olympic champion at track and field.
   The 800m race sparked off a controversy when several women collapsed. IOC president Count Henri de Baillet-Latour said all women’s sports should be excluded from the Olympics and the IAAF banned women from running more than 200m for another 32 years. The anti-feminists overlooked the fact that men often collapse after races.
   Lina Radke of Germany beat Japan’s Kinue Hitomi, who had been unable to compete in her world record events — the 200m and long jump — since they were not on the programme.
   (To be continued)

Spain’s new coach Vicente del Bosque insisted Sunday that the door is not closed on out-of-favour international Raul.
   The 30-year-old Real Madrid striker, the leading all-time scorer for the national side with 44 goals, was sidelined under previous coach Luis Aragones and has not played since September 2006.
   ‘I don’t see Raul as a problem. He isn’t one of my protegees nor is he plague-ridden,’ said former Real Madrid coach del Bosque.
   ‘He could perfectly be called up. If he deserves it, he will be.’
   Del Bosque is expected to annouce his squad for a friendly against Denmark on August 20, before the first qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup against Bosnia and Estonia in September.
   ‘We can aspire to be world champions, we have a generation of winners,’ del Bosque added of the team that were recently crowned European champions.

Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger said Saturday he expected to see striker Emmanuel Adebayor, subject of transfer speculation over the summer break, report for Monday training.
   The Togo striker has been the subject of persistent rumours of a move to AC Milan, but the Serie A giants have baulked at a 28-million-euro fee when the Italians are not in the lucrative Champions League in the coming season.
   Adebayor was top scorer for the Gunners last season with 30 goals but wants an improved wage deal.
   But Wenger told Sky Sports News, ‘Adebayor is under contract and we expect him to turn up on Monday and practise with us.’
   Arsenal, after edging Barnet 2-1 in a pre-season friendly, will head to a training camp in Austria at the end of the month prior to hosting the Emirates Cup also involving Juventus, Real Madrid and a
   Hamburg side now coached by former Tottenham manager Martin Jol.
   The Gunners then participate in the Amsterdam Tournament ahead of a Champions League qualifier on August 12 or 13.

Spain’s Fernando Verdasco and Igor Andreev of Russia qualified for the final of the 326,000-euro ATP
   claycourt tournament here on Saturday.
   The top-seeded Verdasco beat Italy’s Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-3 in a match lasting less than an hour.
   In the first set, lasting only 23 minutes, Verdasco broke twice in the third and sixth games while the second set had a similar outcome, providing the 24-year-old Spaniard an easy entry into Sunday’s title match.
   ‘I was very satisified with my game in the first set
   and I would love it if I could play the same way in the final,’ said world number 15 Verdasco.
   Fourth-seeded Andreev defeated Argentina’s
   Maximo Gonzalez 6-2, 7-6
   (7/2) in one hour and 35 minutes.
   The 25-year-old Russian broke Gonzalez in the fifth and seventh game of the opening set, which was enough for a 6-2 advantage.
   In the second set, the 24-year-old Argentine battled harder but was outclassed in the tiebreak 7/2.

Wayne Rooney’s fragile temperament came to the fore once again in Cape Town as the Manchester United striker was taken off by manager Sir Alex Ferguson to prevent a possible sending off against Kaizer Chiefs in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Newlands.
   A second-half header by midfielder Chris Eagles cancelled out Jonathan Quartey’s first-half penalty for Chiefs in this opening game of the South Africa-based Vodacom Challenge.
   But although the inability to claim victory may concern Ferguson, his biggest worry could be Rooney, who was booked in the second-half after avoiding a first-half caution for kicking out at Chiefs defender Onismor Bhasera.
   The England forward is likely to face similar rough treatment from the hands of Orlando Pirates in Durban on Tuesday and he must learn quickly to keep his temper to avoid more disciplinary problems.
   Having landed in South Africa just 30 hours earlier, United could perhaps point to jet lag as an excuse for their sluggish start at Newlands.
   The Chiefs dominated the European champions in the early stages and carved out three clear chances to score before Rooney sent a free-kick over the crossbar on ten minutes.
   Rooney’s near miss sparked United into life, though, and veteran midfielder Paul Scholes began to take control as they pressed forward in search of an opener.
   Youngster Eagles was unlucky not to score when his chest-trap and volley was blocked by defender Tinashe Nengomashe and the United midfielder then saw his corner headed wide by Argentinian forward Carlos Tevez moments later.
   Tevez, playing alongside Rooney in a two-pronged attack, went close again on 26 minutes with another header that flashed wide at the near post from Gary Neville’s cross.
   By that stage, Neville had looked impressive down the right flank, showing little sign of the injury problems that have blighted his career for the past 18 months.
   But the 33-year-old, who has admitted that he faces a battle to save his United career in the new season, showed real signs of ring-rust when he hacked down Siphiwe Tshabalala to concede a penalty nine minutes before half-time.
   It was a clumsy challenge by the former England defender and Ghanaian defender Quartey scored from the spot to put the South African team ahead.
   As United’s frustrations grew, Rooney appeared to kick out at Bhasera following a challenge by the Zimbabwean, but the referee missed the incident which was shown on TV replays inside the stadium.
   The half-time break worked in Rooney’s favour, though, by allowing the 22-year-old to cool down and remember the pointless three-match ban he picked up as a result of a costly red card in the Amsterdam Tournament in 2006.
   But the disciplinary lesson never seems to sink in for Rooney and, after Eagles
   had levelled the scores with a
   far post header from Tevez’s 59th minute cross, he was booked for a late challenge on Nengomashe.
   Ferguson had seen enough by that stage and he wisely replaced the forward with Northern Irish youngster Darron Gibson to avoid any further flashpoints.

Sir Alex Ferguson warned Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy he faces ‘embarrassment’ for reporting Manchester United to the Premier League on the basis of quotes in an English newspaper suggesting that the Old Trafford manager was directly courting Spurs striker Dimitar Berbatov.
   Ferguson, speaking after United’s 1-1 draw against Kaizer Chiefs in Cape Town, also defended striker Wayne Rooney after taking the England international off to save him from a possible sending off.
   But with Levy accusing Ferguson of being ‘hypocritical’ after reporting United, an accusation based on Ferguson’s anger at Real Madrid’s public pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo, the United boss claimed that Levy could end up with egg on his face as a result of his Premier League action.
   ‘It’s going to be very embarrassing for them (Spurs) because it appears to be on the basis of a story in The Sun,’ said Ferguson.
   ‘I don’t know where the hell they got those quotes from, but it certainly wasn’t from me.
   ‘It’s embarrassing for them, but you know what Daniel Levy is like. He’s different. It’s something to ask (United chief executive) David Gill about because I haven’t really spoken to him about it today because I’ve been preparing for the match.
   ‘I haven’t read it, but I’m sure our legal people will be looking at it before I do.’
   United are angry at Tottenham’s move because they believe the London club acted without consulting them first on the quotes attributed to Ferguson in relation to Berbatov on Friday morning.
   Meanwhile, Ferguson insisted that Rooney is learning to curb his temper, despite replacing him on 68 minutes after a booking earned for a foul on Tinashe Nengomashe.
   Rooney had earlier escaped a booking for a foul on defender Onismor Bhasera, but Ferguson claimed that he had no worries over the 22-year-old’s on-field behaviour.
   ‘Wayne’s a fighter, isn’t he?,’ said Ferguson.
   ‘He is a born fighter and he gets frustrated in some games. You don’t want him to take it every game, but he is getting better at controlling himself.
   ‘He had a little spat with the right-back, but it was nothing and I don’t think it warranted anything.
   ‘It was a really good, competitive work-out and there were some tasty tackles out there. But that helps you get an edge and I am very pleased with how competitive it was out there.’
   A second-half header from Chris Eagles secured a draw for United after they had fallen behind to a 36th minute penalty from Ghanaian defender Jonathan Quartey. The European champions now move on to Durban for a clash against Orlando Pirates on Tuesday.

Chelsea arrive in China today to kick off their pre-season Asian tour with Luiz Felipe Scolari keen to assess his squad and the players fighting to impress him.
   The Blues are expected to bring a virtually full-strength team including new signings Deco from Barcelona and Porto’s Jose Bosingwa, as well as Frank Lampard who is still mulling a move to Inter Milan.
   They touch down in this southern city with speculation rife that Brazilian star Kaka could also move to Stamford Bridge, although AC Milan denied reports Saturday of a world-record transfer worth 80 million pounds (100m euros, 160m dollars).
   If he moves the FIFA World Player of the Year will be reunited with a manager who handed him a Brazil debut in 2002 and then included him in the squad that went on to win the World Cup that year.
   Speaking ahead of the tour to Guangzhou, Macau and Kuala Lumpur, captain John Terry said everyone knew they needed to fight for their place in the team.
   ‘We are all professionals, and with the new manager all of the players want to impress him to make sure we are a part of his plans,’ said the 27-year-old.
   ‘There’s no way we can take any of the games lightly. We have strong opposition and we need to be in the best condition possible for the start of the Premier League.’
   Scolari inherited the current squad from former managers Avram Grant and Jose Mourinho and so far only two players have been offloaded – Hernan Crespo on a free transfer and Steve Sidwell to Aston Villa for 5.5 million pounds.
   Shaun Wright-Phillips could follow them out the door with Harry Redknapp keen to have him at Fratton Park alongside Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe.
   Striker Didier Drogba’s future is also unclear, although Scolari has insisted that he wants Drogba and Lampard to stay as he attempts to wrest the Premier League title from Manchester United and win the Champions League.
   Chelsea are expected to play in front of sold out stadiums in Asia and Terry said visiting China, in particular, would be a major buzz in an Olympic year and at a time when sport in the sprawling country is on the up.
   ‘I am looking forward to being in China and playing in front of some capacity crowds,’ he said.
   ‘I have never been to the country before, but I know football is developing quickly there, and that the fans really appreciate the sport.
   ‘There is a real buzz about Asian and Chinese sport in particular with the 2008 Beijing Olympics, it will be nice for Chelsea to be a part of that excitement.’
   Chelsea play Guangzhou Pharmaceutical on Tuesday before taking on Chinese Super League team Chengdu Blades in Macau on July 26, with the focus on raising funds for victims of the earthquake that hit Sichuan province on May 12.
   They round off the Asian leg in Kuala Lumpur on July 29 before travelling to Russia for the Railways Cup, where they will play Locomotive Moscow, with the possibility of then meeting either Sevilla, or AC Milan.
   With the likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid already cashing in on the lucrative Asian market, chief executive Peter Kenyon told reporters the region had long been on Chelsea’s radar.
   ‘We have been to America for the past four seasons so we were always going to Asia at some point because the Premier League and Chelsea are hugely popular there,’ he said.
   ‘There are a whole host of reasons why this time it was Asia but as always football preparation is the main priority and we are delighted with the level of opposition we will be facing.’

Sir Alex Ferguson is ready to hand Manchester United captain Gary Neville his first ninety minutes for over eighteen months against Orlando Pirates on Tuesday after seeing the veteran defender take another huge stride back towards full fitness in Cape Town.
   The former England full-back has been forced to battle back from the brink at Old Trafford after being ravaged by ankle and calf injuries since limping out of the Premier League clash with Bolton in March 2007.
   Neville made just one brief substitute appearance for United last season – against Roma in the Champions League quarter-final – and doubts still remain over the 33-year-old’s ability to return to his best in a United shirt.
   But although Neville conceded a penalty with a late challenge in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Kaizer Chiefs at Newlands, boss Ferguson admitted that the hour he played in that game was another vital step for the long-serving defender.
   And Neville is now expected to be given a full game against Pirates in Durban when United move on to the second stage of their three-game tour of South Africa.
   Ferguson said, ‘Gary had his first 45 minutes in sixteen months against Aberdeen, which is a long time out at his age, before we came out to South Africa and, a week later, he has come on again with his hour against Kaizer Chiefs.
   ‘Obviously his tackling has not improved! But I am very pleased because he is a remarkable man.
   ‘Anyone who has played football knows that, when you get to your 30s and been out of the game for 16 months, your comeback is very, very difficult.
   ‘But his enthusiasm and the speed of his play on Saturday was quite phenomenal. He takes a lot of the credit, the boy.’
   A back spasm suffered by Rio Ferdinand during the pre-match warm-up on Saturday has left the England defender doubtful for the Pirates clash at the Absa Stadium.
   And Ferguson admits that Ferdinand needs to get on the pitch at some stage of the tour in order not to fall too far behind his team-mates in the fitness stakes.
   He said, ‘I will make some changes for the next game because we have to give everyone some minutes on the clock, Rio Ferdinand in particular.
   ‘He missed the game at Aberdeen and he is behind schedule in terms of games, but hopefully he is going to be fit.’
   In the absence of regular number one Edwin van der Sar, Polish goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak made the starting line-up against Chiefs and the former West Bromwich Albion keeper admits he is desperate to start more games for United this season.
   He said, ‘I hope to get more chances to play in the future. I say this openly because I came to Manchester two years ago and I’ve trained very hard.
   ‘I always try to be ready for the team and I hope my chance will come soon and I’ll get more games to prove myself.
   ‘The first game back after a break is always a little difficult because you don’t know where you are with your form, but I’m happy with mine and I’ll keep going.’

Los Angeles Galaxy captain David Beckham was pleased with the resolve his Major League Soccer side showed in battling back to a 2-2 draw against the New York Red Bulls Saturday.
   Landon Donovan salvaged a point for the Galaxy at Giants Stadium, his cross in injury time floating over the heads of numerous players, including Galaxy team-mate Edson Buddle’s, and into the far corner of the goal.
   ‘It was a cross, of course,’ Galaxy coach Ruud Gullit said. ‘But he kicked it so well, if Edson had touched it, it would have gone in as well.
   ‘So the keeper didn’t know what to do. Just the quality of the play itself made it difficult for the goalkeeper,’ Gullit said.
   Until then the Red Bulls appeared poised to steal the show from superstar Beckham and the Galaxy. The hosts had taken a 2-1 lead on a superb second-half goal from captain Juan Pablo Angel gave the home side a 2-1 lead.
   Beckham was pleased his team fought until the end, and were rewarded with the draw.
   ‘There were chances for both teams but we showed a lot of character,’ Beckham said. ‘We were disappointed to go in 1-1 at halftime because they scored through our sloppy play.
   ‘Then we came out second half, they got a goal but we kept on battling and we didn’t look as if we were going to get a goal but we did in the end.
   ‘It showed the character in the team, especially when we’re not playing as well as we can, to come back. So overall, maybe a draw was fair tonight.’ The match drew a MLS season-high 46,754 fans. After Donovan’s equaliser, the Galaxy nearly stole the victory when Beckham sent in a cross from the right that found Donovan – whose left-foot shot hit the Red Bulls upright.

Spain’s Oscar Freire, riding for Rabobank, won the 14th stage of the Tour de France on Saturday, a 194km ride from Nimes to Dignes Les Bains, while Australian Cadel Evans retained the leader’s yellow jersey one second ahead of Luxembourg’s Frank Schleck.
   Freire, the green jersey points leader, won a sprint for the line a day before the event moves into the Alps under pressure from Colombian Leonardo Duque and German Erik Zabel.
   Mark Cavendish, having bagged a British record four stages, including back to back wins on Thursday and Friday, this time had to settle for a finish in the pack more than 3min down on the leading group to lose ground on Freire in the points’ standings.
   With the Tour about to move into the Alpine stages and with Sunday promising a gruelling climb up the 2744m Col Agnel uncategorised climb Saturday saw several breakaways from the early stages and a 21-strong group shot off out of the blocks with the Silence and Cofidis teams in hot pursuit. Four riders - Spain’s Ivan Gutierrez, Dutchman Bram Tankink and French pair William Bonnet and Sandy Casar - set a cracking pace but were soon reined in after opening up a six-minute lead, although Gutierrez made another foray 28km out from the line only to be caught 11km out.
   Sylvain Chavanel then tried his luck only to be caught over the final 2km.

Quadruple stage winner Mark Cavendish has pulled out of the Tour de France prior to the 15th stage, the first of three days in the Alps here Sunday, according to his Columbia team.
   Cavendish has been one of the stars of the July 5-27 race so far, winning four bunch sprints to set a new British record for stage wins in a single edition. He was victorious on stages five, eight, 12 and 13. But the 23-year-old from the Isle of Man admitted he was suffering fatigue following two tough weeks of racing.
   ‘I’ve done enough here with four stages,’ said Cavendish.
   ‘I’m a bit tired now. I’ve rode one Grand Tour at the Giro. Here I rode hard through the Pyrenees and was able to get a couple more results. ‘Maybe if the green jersey was still in contention I’d carry on, but I’m 60 points behind now.
   ‘I think the green jersey is out of contention now so it’s better to go home and try and recover. I’ll take a week’s rest in the Isle of Man, then I’ll start to concentrate on the Olympics.’ Cavendish missed out on disputing a bunch sprint for the first time in the race when he was dropped on the small climb 10km from the finish line of Saturday’s 14th stage, won by sprint rival Oscar Freire.
   He will now set his sights on the Olympic Games, where he will compete for Britain in track cycling’s Madison - an event in which he is reigning world champion with Bradley Wiggins.

Unsettled Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o has been given the green light to negotiate his exit from the club, Spanish media reported on Saturday.
   Cameroon international Eto’o, deemed surplus along with Ronaldinho and Deco last month by new coach Pep Guardiola, underwent medical tests on his first day back at Barcelona after his vacation, the club said in a statement.
   Spanish media reported that Eto’o, a three-time African Player of the Year, had a meeting with Barcelona officials Saturday where he was authorised to negotiate with other teams.
   Eto’o will travel today with the rest of the squad to Scotland where he will take part in the team’s pre-season training camp while he negotiates his exit, private television Telecinco reported.
   ‘I have several good offers from various clubs at present,’ Eto’o told a news conference in the Uzbek capital Tashkent earlier this week, adding he would consider all his options, including an offer from Uzbek side Kuruvchi.
   Kuruvchi have reportedly offered 40 million euros to lure the 27-year-old from Barcelona.
   Inter Milan could also be set to launch a transfer bid for Eto’o, El Mundo Deportivo reported with English Premiership sides Arsenal and Chelsea said to be considering making moves for the player.
   Ronaldinho has signed with AC Milan while Deco has signed with Chelsea. Earlier this week, Kuruvchi claimed they had made a 40-million-euro bid for the player. Kuruvchi chief coach Mirjalol Kasymov said a deal was in the pipeline.
   ‘I hope Eto’o will help us seriously in the Asian Champions League,’ said Kasymov

Manchester United chief executive David Gill has called on Cristiano Ronaldo to show his commitment and loyalty to the club.
   Manager Sir Alex Ferguson has told the Portugal international striker, who is currently recovering from an ankle operation which will keep him out of action for three months, he will not be sold to Real Madrid.
   And Gill said the 23-year-old should now show his commitment to the club with which he won the Premier League and Champions League double last season.
   ‘The player is under contract so the strength and the rights are with Manchester United,’ said Gill.
   ‘I think we’ve been pretty clear all along that Ronaldo has got a contract until 2012, he’s a valuable member of the team and that’s the situation.
   ‘Obviously there’s some issues there, but that’s for Alex and is why Alex had the meeting, to discuss things and put our point of view.
   ‘I’m sure Cristiano put his point of view and hopefully we can move forward.
   ‘All we were doing, effectively, is saying we clearly have a player who is one of the best in the world.
   ‘He entered into a new contract, his third with us, only 18 months after his previous one.
   ‘With that, we believe, go some responsibilities and obligations.
   ‘There was an increased salary and we clearly feel there has to be some commitment and loyalty and he can’t just say, “I’ve entered into it, but I’ll leave a year down the line”, especially after the season we’ve just had.
   ‘It’s a two-way street and contracts are entered into with a view to getting that kind of commitment.’
   When asked if Ronaldo would be offered a new contract, Gill said, ‘No. He only entered into the previous contract 18 months before and in terms of where he’s at in our wage hierarchy he’s doing pretty well.’
   Gill said, however, he did not believe the player was just trying to get a higher salary from United. ‘Possibly, but not necessarily, and if the figures bandied around that Real Madrid are talking about are true, we wouldn’t go anywhere near that. That would be lunacy,’ he added.
   Real are reportedly willing to pay 85 million euros ($118 million) to sign Ronaldo, the English Premiership’s top scorer last season.