Li Na knocked out of Rogers Cup

Li Na of China leaves the court after being defeated by Samantha Stosur of Australia during their third round match at the Rogers Cup women's tennis tournament in Toronto August 11, 2011. Li lost 0-2.





TORONTO, Aug. 11 -- Li Na, the reigning French Open champion and the world No. 6 player, was ousted in her first match on Thursday at the 2011 Rogers Cup here, yielding 6-2, 6-4 to Australia's Samantha Stosur.



Li became the second top 10 player to be eliminated in an opening match, following the stunning defeat of world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark on Wednesday.



Li trailed Stosur, the French Open runner-up last year, most of the match, losing her first service game to give Stosur an early lead of 3-1 in the first set. Li claimed her next service game after a tough fight with six deuces, before losing the first set 6- 2.



Li appeared rustic during the first match since the Wimbledon Open in June, sending returns long throughout the match. In the first round of Rogers Cup, Li Na got a bye as one of top WTA players, and then walked over to the next round after her opponent, fellow Chinese player Peng Shuai, withdrew from the match due to a hip injury.



"(It is) always tough after (a) break and come back for the first match, because I have six or seven weeks (when I) didn't play a tournament," Li said after the match.



"I didn't handle the rhythm very well in this first match after Wimbledon," she conceded.



"I even didn't know what I should do on the court, not like during the clay court season.



"I was feeling I'm like juniors on the court," she said, smiling ruefully.



The French Open is played on clay court.



Despite the setback, Li is putting it all behind and looking forward to the next WTA tournament in Cincinatti and the US Open from August 29 to September 11 in New York City.



"I will, yeah, start training harder tomorrow to try to be ready in Cincinnati," she said.



"Now is getting US Open already."



With the win, Stosur, the event's No. 10 seed with a WTA ranking of 11, will advance to the quarterfinals.

Samantha Stosur of Australia returns a shot to Li Na of China during their match at the Rogers Cup women's tennis tournament in Toronto August 11, 2011.

Samantha Stosur of Australia celebrates defeating Li Na of China during their third round match at the Rogers Cup women's tennis tournament in Toronto August 11, 2011.



(Reuters)

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Basketballers ditch uniforms for glam photo shoot

Members of the Chinese women's national basketball team pose in wedding dresses in this computer-manipulated photo, Aug 10, 2011. They are (top from left to right) Zheng Shuang, Miao Lijie, Chen Nan, Ma Zengyu, (bottom from left to right) Guan Xin, Zhang Yu, Yang Banban and Zhang Wei. All the players are unmarried but decided to shoot the photos under the advice of a photographer to try the experience of wearing a wedding dress before they become brides themselves.

Yang Banban gets her hair done for a group wedding photo, Aug 10, 2011.

Ma Zengyu of the Chinese women's national basketball team poses for a wedding photo released by the Beijing Evening News, Aug 10, 2011.

Zhang Wei of the Chinese women's national basketball team poses for a wedding photo released by the Beijing Evening News, Aug 10, 2011.

Yang Banban of the Chinese women's national basketball team poses for a wedding photo released by the Beijing Evening News, Aug 10, 2011.



(china daily)

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China's Li Na meets with fans in Toronto

China's Li Na poses as she goes to the Pacific Mall to interact with fans in Toronto, Canada, Aug. 6, 2011. No. 6 seeded player Li Na will compete in the 2nd round of the 2011 Rogers Cup.

China's Li Na smiles as she goes to the Pacific Mall to interact with fans in Toronto, Canada, Aug. 6, 2011. No. 6 seeded player Li Na will compete in the 2nd round of the 2011 Rogers Cup.

China's Li Na (L) poses with a fan as she goes to the Pacific Mall to interact with fans in Toronto, Canada, Aug. 6, 2011. No. 6 seeded player Li Na will compete in the 2nd round of the 2011 Rogers Cup.

(Xinhua)

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Olympic champ Wang expelled from national team

Wang Meng is pictured after receiving stitches following a drunken brawl during the team's training camp in Qingdao, July 24 file photo.

* Wang Meng expelled for the second time, four other athlets to quit

BEIJING - Four-time Winter Olympic champion Wang Meng was expelled from the Chinese national short track speed skating team after a drunken brawl with team manager, announced the country's sports governing body on Thursday evening.

"Wang Meng is expelled from the national team and is banned from international competitions as her conduct has violated the team's disciplines and jeopardized the sport's image," read a statement released late Thursday by China's General Administration of Sport.

Wang, 26, had been earlier suspended under an interim castigation following an incident at a training camp based in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao on July 24.

The most decorated Winter Olympic athlete of China punched her team manager Wang Chunlu after being criticized for failing to return on time to the camp after a night out with five other teammates.

Also expelled was male speed skater Liu Xianwei, who was alleged to have stirred things up before the argument between Wang Meng and Wang Chunlu turned physical.

Four other squad members involved, including Zhou Yang, Liu Qiuhong, Han Jialiang and Liang Wenhao, were allowed to keep training with the national team, but would have to write confessions.

(Xinhua)

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Van der Sar bids farewell at star-studded Ajax finale

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar (R) pose with his family members during his farewell tribute at Amsterdam Arena stadium, the Netherlands, Aug 3, 2011.

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar (L) shakes hands with fans during his farewell tribute at Amsterdam Arena stadium, the Netherlands, Aug 3, 2011.

AMSTERDAM - Manchester United's former Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar bid farewell to his adoring public on Wednesday in the company of several star internationals in front of 53,000 Ajax fans.

"I want to thank everyone in the stadium ... thanks for your support down through the years," van der Sar told the crowd at the Ajax Arena where he started his career in 1990.

The towering 1.97m goalie selected a "Dream Team" made up notably of Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Dirk Kuyt, Edgar Davids, Rio Ferdinand and Dennis Bergkamp, who played for an hour against Dutch giants Ajax.

To a standing ovation from the crowd, Van der Sar left the pitch several minutes before the end of the game which was won 2-1 by the "Dream Team" thanks to goals from Louis Saha and Bergkamp.

"He is maybe the best goalkeeper that Manchester United ever had, but I say maybe because we also had Peter Schmeichel," said United legend Sir Bobby Charlton.

Earlier in the evening two teams for which van der Sar played - Ajax, with whom he won the Champions League in 1995, and the Dutch national side that were World Cup semi-finalists in 1998 - played each other.

Patrick Kluivert, Marc Overmars, Frank Rijkaard, Frank de Boer and his brother Ronald, represented Ajax while Bergkamp and Giovanni van Bronckhorst were among the players representing the national side.

"Ajax fans thank Edwin van der Sar," a banner draped on the stands read.

Manchester United's former Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, May 2011 file photo.

Van der Sar won the Champions League with Ajax in 1995 and Manchester United in 2008, four Premier League titles and four Dutch league titles.

The 40-year-old also holds the Premier League record of 1,311 minutes without conceding a goal during the 2010-2011 season and a Dutch record for 130 caps.

He started his career at Ajax (1990-1999) before moving on to Juventus (1999-2001), Fulham (2011-2005) and Manchester United (2005-2011), playing his last official match at Wembley on May 28 during the Champions League final loss to Barcelona.

(Agencies)

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Former Japan defender Matsuda dies from heart attack

Japan's Naoki Matsuda raises his arms after winning their Group H soccer match against Russia at the World Cup Finals in Yokohama in this June 9, 2002 file photo.

TOKYO - Former Japan defender Naoki Matsuda died in hospital on Thursday, three days after collapsing during training from a suspected heart attack. He was 34.

Matsuda, who won 40 caps for Japan and represented his country at the 2002 World Cup, had been put on an artificial respirator after arriving at hospital unconscious on Tuesday.

The president of his JFL (third division) side Matsumoto Yamaga, Hiroshi Otsuki, told Japanese media the club had been informed Matsuda had lost his fight by the player's family.

Medical personnel had rushed to Matsuda's aid early on Tuesday after he collapsed with suspected heatstroke. Yamaga later said the player had gone into cardio-respiratory arrest.

Record temperatures across Japan have caused a rise in heatstroke cases with 43 deaths in the two months through the end of July, according to Kyodo news agency.

Matsuda played 40 times for Japan and made 385 appearances for Yokohama F-Marinos, helping them win back-to-back J League titles in 2003 and 2004.

(Agencies)

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German Klinsmann introduced as new US coach

Former German soccer star Juergen Klinsmann (R) poses with US Soccer president Sunil Gulati after he was introduced as the new head coach of the United States men's national soccer team at a news conference in New York August 1, 2011.

NEW YORK - New US coach Juergen Klinsmann believes his mix of international experience and American knowledge will allow him to improve the national team.

The former Germany striker and coach, who has lived in the United States for 13 years, was introduced Monday and he spent much of the time talking about how to mold future American stars, not managing current ones.

"It all starts down to develop the next Landon Donovan," Klinsmann said of the US one day becoming a serious contender for World Cup titles.

And "one day" is the key phrase - he believes "we still are quite a long way away from that." "You need maybe 10 Landon Donovans at different positions with different characteristics in order to one day be there," Klinsmann said in an interview.

Perhaps it's partly a way to temper expectations as he takes over from Bob Bradley, whose firing was announced Thursday. The US reached the round of 16 at last year's World Cup, but blew a two-goal lead in the Gold Cup final loss to Mexico in June.

Still, Klinsmann makes it clear he views his charge as bigger than just preparing Donovan and his teammates for major tournaments. "It also is vital I am involved in all the discussions with a lot of coaches out there, how we improve the grass-roots level," Klinsmann said. "I'm fascinated by that approach."

He contends his background of international experience plus American savvy is the perfect blend to accomplish that. He won a World Cup title as a player and starred for elite European clubs, then coached Germany to a third-place finish at the 2006 World Cup.

But he has also lived in the United States for 13 years and sounds right at home talking about Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's statistical analysis of baseball. "I'm not coming in here to play the European guy," Klinsmann said.

His wife is American and he concedes his two football-playing kids consider themselves more American than German. Klinsmann feels fluent in his adopted country's culture, that he'll know which parts of the European system will work here and what must be uniquely American.

"It took me years to understand how important this whole education path for people is in this country," said Klinsmann, who just turned 47.

That means college level will remain a piece of the development pipeline, as different as that is from other countries. Klinsmann plans to consult with college coaches as he hones his approach.

He repeatedly mentioned MLS teams' growing youth academies as hugely positive development. And he can influence the future of the sport in the United States in a more indirect way, as well. The marketing and success of the national team have the power to inspire young players to spend more time working on their sport.

Long linked to the job, Klinsmann finally was announced as the US coach Friday.

Klinsmann said he had several opportunities in the past year to coach big European clubs or national teams, but didn't want to leave his home in California. He and US Soccer President Sunil Gulati insisted that control was not the issue when they failed to come to an agreement in the past.

"I reached a comfort level with Sunil where I really think it's not about a paper anymore," Klinsmann said of not being able to get a deal done in writing last summer.

Gulati said the firing of Bradley wasn't simply a reaction to the Gold Cup disappointment.

"It's not a single game or a single result," he said. "It's where the program is, how comfortable we feel in the direction that it's going - based partly on results, partly on looking at the last year."

Klinsmann spoke to five or six players over the weekend and plans to get in touch with the rest Tuesday. The US team has just nine days before its next game, against Mexico in Philadelphia on August 10. Klinsmann expects to announce the squad Wednesday.

He plans to take a few months before picking his staff to see who's available and what the squad needs.

Bayern Munich's team coach Juergen Klinsmann smiles during a training session in Munich, in this April 13, 2009 file picture.

Former German soccer star Juergen Klinsmann smiles at a news conference after being introduced as the new head coach of the United States men's national soccer team at a news conference in New York August 1, 2011.

(Agencies)

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Tiger Woods attends news conference

Tiger Woods of the U.S. speaks at a news conference after his practice round for the WCG Bridgestone Invitational PGA golf tournament in Akron, Ohio, August 2, 2011.

Tiger Woods of the U.S. speaks at a news conference after his practice round for the WCG Bridgestone Invitational PGA golf tournament in Akron, Ohio, August 2, 2011.

Tiger Woods of the U.S. speaks at a news conference after his practice round for the WCG Bridgestone Invitational PGA golf tournament in Akron, Ohio, August 2, 2011.

Tiger Woods of the U.S. speaks at a news conference after his practice round for the WCG Bridgestone Invitational PGA golf tournament in Akron, Ohio, August 2, 2011.

(Reuters)

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