Tsunami in Java Island

Jakarta, Oct 14 (Kyodo) Marking World Disaster Reduction Day, a simulation that began at 8 AM today of a magnitude 9.2 earthquake off the northwestern coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island is to test the readiness of warning and rescue agencies across the Indian Ocean.

Following the "quake," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami bulletin for all areas of the ocean.

"Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated.

It may already have been destructive along some coasts," the warning center says.

"Based on these data, the threat continues for all coastal areas of the Indian Ocean. Danger to boats and coastal structures can continue for several hours due to rapid currents."

Adding to the scenario, another bulletin is issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency in Tokyo.

The quake and the warning essentially replicate the massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Indonesia's Aceh Province on Dec 26, 2004.

Lewis Hamilton won Singapore Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton produced a masterful drive to win Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix ahead of Timo Glock and Fernando Alonso as Jenson Button got more points on the board to shore up his championship lead.

Starting from first on the grid, Hamilton led from start to finish in difficult driving conditions to take the chequered flag in his McLaren, 9.6 seconds ahead of the Toyota.

It was his second win of the season after Hungary and the 11th of his career.

"It was a very, very tough race, I think I can speak for all of us in saying the conditions made it hard," said Hamilton, referring to the humidity and bumpy street circuit -- as well as racing under lights.

"But generally, the race was straightforward for me. I got a good start and managed to bridge a big enough gap. I was never really under serious pressure.

"I felt it was a nicely controlled race. A great weekend."

Spain's Alonso, who won here last year in controversial circumstances when Nelson Piquet junior deliberately crashed, brought some cheer to Renault with a hard-fought third to make the podium again.

"It's a fantastic result for us, the first podium of the season," he said.

"We've been a bit unlucky this season but finally a podium and in this moment, particularly with what has happened."

"I dedicate this podium to Flavio (Briatore) at home because he has been behind it," he added, alluding to last year's crash controversy and its damaging fall-out.

It was also Glock's best finish of the year, and he was ecstatic.

"I just pushed as hard as possible. There have been a lot of ups and downs over the weekend but just got better and better."

Germany's Sebastien Vettel took fourth but it could have been much better.

The Red Bull driver was second and in a close-fought battle with Hamilton, but after pitting for a second time on lap 39 exited too quickly and incurred a drive-through penalty.

At least he finished one place ahead of championship leader Button, but with just three races left the gap between the two is 25 points and Vettel's chances of catching the Briton are disappearing.

Button now has 84 points with his Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello 15 behind after ending sixth here.

The Brawn pair now look certain to deliver the constructors' championship to their eponymous team-chief Ross Brawn in the outfit's first season, with one of them being crowned world champion.

Heikki Kovalainen in the second McLaren finished seventh and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica was eighth.

The front row of the grid was always going to be decisive on the uneven Marina Bay street circuit, where overtaking is difficult, and Hamilton made the most of starting on pole.

Driving with aplomb and assurance on a track that demands precision, nerve, and confidence, he came through the opening corner scramble in prime position.

Nico Rosberg got past Vettel to be in second and Alonso had a storming start, powering to fourth from fifth.

But by the end of the first lap, the Spaniard was down to sixth with Mark Webber and Glock getting past him.

Webber was subsequently asked by his team to move aside and let Glock and Alonso back past him as his overtaking move on that opening lap was deemed to be illegal as he marginally left the track.

Hamilton and Rosberg were trading fastest times but by lap 10 the Briton was 2.2 seconds clear and over 10 seconds ahead of fourth-placed Glock.

Vettel was the first to pit from third on lap 17, followed by Rosberg and Hamilton four laps later. It was bad re-entry by Rosberg, who clumsily bounced over a painted line on his exit and was handed a drive-through penalty.

Just minutes later and Force India's Adrian Sutil spun and then slammed into Nick Heidfeld's BMW Sauber as he attempted to get going again, leaving the track littered with debris and forcing the safety car out.

When they resumed, Hamilton only had a 0.5 second lead ahead of Rosberg.

When Rosberg went in to serve his penalty the top 13 all moved up a place with the German dropping down to 14th.

It set the scene for a dramatic second half of the race. Hamilton and Vettel pulled away from the pack and it looked like an exciting finish.

But Vettel pitted again on lap 39 and pushed too hard coming out, ruining his night.

Hamilton made no such mistake to cruise to a well-deserved victory.

One of my best ODI centuries: Sachin

Colombo: Sachin Tendulkar rated his match-winning century in the final of the Compaq Cup tri-series as one of the best of his one-day career.

“I wouldn’t hesitate to rate it as one of my best,” Tendulkar told reporters after winning his 59th Man-of-the-Match award.

“The conditions were very tough; they were draining, so we had to fight both the Sri Lankan team and the conditions. Physically it isn’t easy playing three games in four days, and to score runs you have to run, you have to be out there for 40 overs. I would definitely put this up the order.”

Tendulkar attributed the success India has had over the last two years to the increase in match-winners. In this period, the one-day side has won a triangular series in Australia and five successive bilateral series, including two in Sri Lanka, one at home against England, and one each in New Zealand and the West Indies.

Extremely talented guys

“We had good players earlier also, but we have more match-winners now,” he said. “These are extremely talented guys with bat and ball. And they have delivered at the crunch. They are match-winners, that’s what this team is about. This is definitely one of the best teams I’ve been part of.”

Asked if he felt helpless watching Sri Lanka’s innings from the dressing room, Tendulkar confessed that he had barely any nails left, after “biting them off” during the Thilina Kandamby-Chamara Kapugedera partnership.

“The match was balanced, and we needed a couple of wickets,” he said.

“They still had the Batting Power Play, and if one of the batsmen has a big day, he can take the match away.”

Greater responsibility

Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara said he was proud of the way Kandamby and Kapugedera batted under lights, but added that the side had to show greater responsibility.

“Thilina and Chamara showed some guts and character,” he said.

“They showed if you are willing to do the difficult things, to play out of your comfort zone, you can achieve a lot. But we lost too many wickets when the situation was good, when we were within the required run rate. These are little details that need to be taken care of or the good sides will make you pay.”

Leander Paes team won us open

The Indian-Czech pair of Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy clinched the men’s doubles title in US Open on Sunday. The fourth seeds Paes and Czech Dlouhy defeated Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles. Leander claimed his 10th Grand Slam title with the win.

Paes and Dlouhy registered a sensational win by 3-6, 6-3 and 6-2 over third seeds Bhupathi and his Bahamian partner.

For Paes, it is his fifth men's doubles Grand Slam crown, 41st overall, and second with Dlouhy. Paes and Dlouhy had won the French Open in June this year.

Bhupathi had his last victory at the US Open over Max Mirnyi in 2002.

Bhupathi and Knowles made a good start taking a 2-0 lead after breaking Paes in the second game but their rivals rebounded in the third.

Bhupathi, who served with great control all through, had no problem in sealing the first set in the ninth game.

Paes and Dlouhy overcame a terrible start to the second set and played action-packed tennis.

Dlouhy then converted their third chance and the match stretched to the decisive third set.

Paes and Dlouhy got the opportunity to crack the game after Knowles' double fault and unforced volley error by Bhupati in the third game.

Paes and Dlouhy then saved three breakpoints in the next game and eventually won the match in the eighth game at love.

Juan Martin del Potro Win US open final

NEW YORK: Juan Martin del Potro ended Roger Federer’s run of dominance at the U.S. Open on Monday, stunning the top-ranked Swiss great in five sets to win in his first Grand Slam final.

The 20-year-old Argentine prevailed 3-6, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 to snap Federer’s streak of five straight U.S. Open titles. The sixth-seeded del Potro had not beaten Federer in their six previous encounters.

Federer had won 40 consecutive matches at Flushing Meadows. He was seeking to become the first man since Bill Tilden in 1920-25 to win the American championship six straight times and the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win three straight Majors in a season.

Falls apart

Normally so cool, so consistent, so in control of his emotions and his matches, Federer let the title slip from his grasp. Two points from victory against the inexperienced, unheralded del Potro, two points from a record-extending 16th Grand Slam overall, Federer, quite simply, fell apart.

He railed at the chair umpire. His legs grew weary. His double-faults mounted. He could not figure out a way to stop the 6-foot-6 del Potro from pounding forehand after forehand past him. In a result as surprising for who lost as how it happened, del Potro came back to win his first Grand Slam title.

“Can’t have them all,” Federer said.

He had won 33 of his previous 34 Grand Slam matches. And he has made the final at 17 of the past 18 Grand Slam tournaments, 21 overall.

After handing No. 3 Rafael Nadal the most lopsided loss of his Grand Slam career in the semifinals on Sunday, del Potro came back the next day and rattled Federer.

Unfazed

Until Monday, Federer had two wins and five losses in Grand Slam finals against his nemesis, Nadal, and was unbeaten from 13 finals against everyone else. Somehow, del Potro never seemed intimidated by the setting or the man many consider the greatest tennis player in history.

The usually unflappable Federer argued with chair umpire Jake Garner during a changeover, using a profanity and saying, “Don’t tell me to be quiet, OK? When I want to talk, I talk.”

Del Potro, meanwhile, managed to have the time of his young life, high-fiving front-row fans after winning one point, and revelling in the football-style serenades of “Ole!” ringing through the stadium.

The 4-hour, 6-minute match was the first U.S. Open final to go five sets since 1999, and there were no early signs to indicate it would be this competitive — much less end with del Potro down on his back, chest heaving, tears welling, a Grand Slam trophy soon to be in his arms.

Emulates Vilas

Del Potro is the first man from Argentina to win the U.S. Open since Guillermo Vilas in 1977. Vilas was in the stands on Monday, sitting one row behind actor Jack Nicklaus.

Federer took a 3-0 lead in 15 minutes, winning one point by racing about 5 feet wide of the doubles alley for a defensive backhand, then sprinting the other way for a cross-court forehand passing winner that he celebrated by yelling and shaking his fists.

He even took time to watch a replay on a stadium video screen.

Taking advantage

But del Potro eventually got going, swinging more freely and taking full advantage of Federer’s serving woes: 11 double-faults and a first-serve percentage of only 50.

Used to travelling without a full-time coach, Federer generally is quite adept at making mid-match adjustments and dealing with opponents’ switches in strategy. But it was del Potro who realised he needed to put full belief in the strength of his 100mph forehands and not worry about too much else.

That tactic worked, and Federer never found a way to counter it, losing leads in the second set and the fourth set. He was up 5-4 in the fourth, and at 15-30 on del Potro’s serve, Federer needed only two more points to equal Tilden’s record.

Del Potro held steady there, and Federer would never come that close again.

Kim Clijsters win us open

NEW YORK: With the silver trophy tucked under one arm and cradling her daughter Jada in the other, Kim Clijsters provided a huge lift for working mothers around the world as she was crowned U.S. Open champion on Sunday.

Never before had a curly haired, blonde, 18-month-old toddler stolen the show on Arthur Ashe Stadium, but this was no ordinary day at Flushing Meadows.

It was a day when Belgian wildcard Clijsters beat Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki 7-5, 6-3 to become the first mother to win a Grand Slam title since Evonne Goolagong achieved the feat almost three decades ago — at Wimbledon in 1980.

“We tried to plan her naptime a little bit later so she could be here today. It’s the greatest feeling in the world — being a mother,” a glassy-eyed Clijsters told the cheering crowd after her heart-tugging comeback win at the hard court Major.

Wozniacki, who was trying to become the first Danish woman to win a Grand Slam singles title, said: “She’s such a great girl. Unfortunately, she beat me today. She played a great match and deserved this trophy.”

A journey that began with the Belgian taking baby steps back into top flight tennis only last month — following a two-year sabbatical — came a full circle in just 35 days as she claimed her second U.S. Open prize.

Great story

“Amazing. For her to have this incredible run is fantastic. This is a great story for women’s tennis, that’s for sure,” said Federer, who, as the new father of twins, will try to prove that dads too can rule the world when he takes on Juan Martin del Potro in the men’s final on Monday.

World No. 1 Federer relied on a touch of magic to make sure he was still on target to set a modern era record of winning six successive Open titles.

The Swiss top seed, with his back turned to the net, conjured an eye-catching crosscourt winner from between his legs to bring up matchpoint as he beat Novak Djokovic 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-5.

Federer took the first set tiebreaker 7-3 by winning five of the last six points.

The second set was decided by a service break in the last game when the 28-year-old Swiss cashed in on his third setpoint with a forehand winner. Another forehand return winner ended the two-hour-34-minute match.

Biggest win

Earlier, Del Potro pulled off the greatest win of his life when he pummelled Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 to reach his first Major final, but instantly knew he had turned dream wrecker by denying Flushing Meadows a Federer-Nadal final. “I’m sorry,” del Porto told the crowd.

The sixth-seeded Argentine — the first from his country to make a U.S. Open final since Guillermo Vilas in 1977 — kept Nadal pinned behind the baseline with a deep, flat forehand and a first serve at between speeds from the 90s to the 130s.

The day, however, belonged to Clijsters. Less than 24 hours after Tweeting “The fairytale goes on” following her semifinal win over Serena Williams, she penned a happy ending to her story.

Having been denied the chance to savour victory on Saturday — when the contest against Serena ended bizarrely as the American was docked a point at matchpoint down — Clijsters made sure no one would steal Sunday’s moment from her.

The contest was not a classic — with fortunes wildly fluctuating in a first set that featured seven breaks — but the tension was still palpable on a windy arena as almost 23,000 fans roared on Clijsters.

Harry Potter fan Wozniacki briefly cast her spell over Clijsters as she leapt to a 4-2 lead in the first set, but quickly ran out of tricks and surrendered the advantage with a double fault in the eighth game.

From then on, it seemed that the 26-year-old Clijsters could not be denied. At 5-3 in the second set, a driving forehand into the corner brought up matchpoint.

On the next point, Clijsters narrowed her eyes as she saw the furry yellow ball spin high into the air and raised her right arm to smash the ball on to the other side of the net.

Matchpoint over, Clijsters sank to her knees before leaning on to the cement — struggling to believe what she had pulled off. Job done and Jada was allowed to join her mother on the tennis courts.

Williams sisters clinch doubles

NEW YORK: The Williams sisters won the U.S. Open women’s doubles title on Monday, two days after Serena’s ugly exit in the singles semifinals.

Serena returned with her sister, Venus, and rolled to an easy victory for their 10th Grand Slam doubles championship.

It was a 6-2, 6-2 win over defending champions Cara Black and Liezel Huber and it couldn’t have been more unlike the scene Saturday night, when Williams got called for a foot fault that triggered her outburst at a line judge. That resulted in a point penalty on match point against Kim Clijsters, and an ugly departure from the singles semifinal.

About a half-hour before the doubles match began, Serena issued an apology saying she is “a woman of great pride, faith and integrity, and I admit when I’m wrong.”

Stroll in the park

The Williamses broke Black all four times she served — twice in the first set and twice in the second — and finished the tournament losing a grand total of one set over six matches.

“I think you can see it,” Huber said. “They’re bigger and stronger than us. They served bigger than us and you could see it all today.”

Kim Clijsters makes it to final as Serena implodes

NEW YORK: Comeback queen Kim Clijsters produced a massive upset to defeat title holder and tournament favourite Serena Williams 6-4, 7-5 in the U.S. Open semifinals on Saturday.

The match had a chaotic ending with Williams handed a point penalty for verbally abusing and threatening a lineswoman who foot-faulted her to set up matchpoint.

Williams had earlier drawn a warning for smashing her racquet to the ground after losing the first set. The second warning was an automatic point penalty, which just happened to come on matchpoint.

A first by Clijsters

Clijsters, who looked stunned by the finish, became the first wildcard, man or woman, to reach a U.S. Open final and the first mother to reach a Grand Slam final since Australia’s Evonne Goolagong in 1980 when she won the Wimbledon title.

“I was trying to stay focussed for the match and was facing the other way,” Clijsters said.

“I saw Serena talking to the lineswoman, but I was too far way to hear what she was saying so I can’t really comment on what was happening out there.”

Clijsters will take on Caroline Wozniacki in Sunday’s final after the 19-year-old Dane defeated Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium 6-3, 6-3 in the other semifinal.

Long wait

The highly-anticipated match-up of the tournament favourite and the young mother who only returned to competition in early August after taking two years out to marry and have a baby finally got underway at after 9 p.m., over a day late following 48 hours of rain in the New York area.

The Arthur Ashe Stadium court was far from full with many fans having trudged off home after waiting in vain for hours in the damp, cool conditions to see some action.

Clijsters was quickest out of the blocks holding serve in the opening game of the match before putting some pressure on a heavy-footed Williams on her serve. Games went with serve until 3-2 to Clijsters when a light drizzle started to fall once more, but play continued with both players looking tentative and unsure of their footing, especially the American.

Williams promptly dropped serve to 15 with a double fault and three unforced errors doing the damage.

But falling behind appeared to be just the wake-up call 11-time Grand Slam winner Williams needed as she turned on the power in the next game to break back immediately.

Clijsters held to love in her next service game, forcing Williams to serve to stay in the set at 4-5 down.

A forehand slapped into the net gave Clijsters a first set point and she took that when Williams mishit a backhand again into the net, smashing her racquet to the ground in disgust immediately afterwards and drawing a code violation.

It was the first set she had lost in the tournament.

Williams came back after the changeover trying to get herself pumped up and a series of big groundstrokes had Clijsters on the backfoot, helping the American to break serve in the first game of the second set.

But she gave that back right away double-faulting on break point and muttering to herself “I can’t believe it.”

Clijsters, whose only Grand Slam title win came here in 2005, held serve to lead 2-1, but two games later she was broken for the third time as Williams dominated the rallies with her heavier shot-making.

Williams saved three break points in the following game but on the fourth one Clijsters took control and levelled at 3-3.

She held her own serve from 0-30 down and then held three break points in the next game for a 5-3 lead only for Williams to produce big serves when she needed them most.

But four games later, Williams was in trouble on serve again and this time she cracked under the pressure after the foot fault to set up matchpoint.

Ninth-seeded Wozniacki, who became the first Danish woman to reach a Grand Slam singles final, covered her face with her hand as tears came to her eyes at the end of the 96-minute match at a virtually deserted Louis Armstrong Stadium.

“I’m in the U.S. Open final. I cannot describe it with words. I’m so excited,” she told reporters. “It’s a dream come true to play the finals of a Grand Slam, and now I’m here. I have absolutely nothing to lose.”

40 unforced errors

In a match delayed more than seven hours from its scheduled afternoon launch because of wet conditions, the unseeded Wickmayer made 40 unforced errors, mainly from her booming forehand, against just 14 for the Dane.

Because of the backlog in the rain-battered schedule on the closing weekend at Flushing Meadows, their semifinal was played at the same time as Clijsters and Serena Williams were duelling at the adjacent Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Sparse crowd

A sedate audience of only a few hundred gathered close around them at the 10,000-seat court. The only cheers heard were those that drifted down from the towering main stadium.

Wozniacki executed the same gameplan that lifted her to a quarterfinal win over U.S. darling Melanie Oudin.

Playing it safe while demonstrating an athletic, all-round game, the eighth-ranked Dane won the first set despite holding serve just twice as she broke number 50 Wickmayer four times.

The Dane, who arrived at the National Tennis Center some 10 hours before her match eventually got underway, said defence was the key.

Wozniacki, winner of three tournaments this year including the New Haven run-up event for the Open, claimed victory on her second matchpoint when, fittingly, Wickmayer belted a forehand wide.

Tomic wins boys’ title

Australia’s Bernard Tomic won the boys’ junior title on Sunday defeating Chase Buchanan of the United States 6-1, 6-3 in the final.

The third seed is the first Australian to win the boys’ title here since Mark Kratzmann, who defeated Boris Becker in the 1984 final.

Earlier, unseeded local favourite Chase Buchanan ended top seed Yuki Bhambri’s title hopes with a stunning straight-set defeat in the quarterfinals.

The match, delayed by a day due to persistent rain, ended in a heartbreaking 3-6, 6-7(4) loss for the Indian, who had not dropped a set this far in the hard court event.

Buchanan then went on to win his semifinal against eighth seed Gianni Mina of France.

Title for Heather

Britain’s Heather Watson won the junior girls’ title defeating Yana Buchina of Russia 6-4, 6-1 in the final.

The 17-year-old, 11th seed from the Channel Island of Guernsey is the first British player to lift the girls’ title in New York

Force India’s Sutil misses podium; Barrichello wins Italian GP

Monza: In a race full of high voltage and dangerous moments, Force India’s Adrian Sutil missed the podium by a whisker as Brawn’s Ruben Barrichello won the much celebrated Italian GP, piping pole leader Lewis Hamilton.

Sutil however came fourth and managed to get five crucial formula one points.

Starting second on the grid, Sutil could have done an encore of Force India's podium finish in Belgium but the German fumbled in his second pit stop, missing the mark and nearly knocking out two pit crew.

His teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi had a heartbreaking debut as the Italian rose to fourth only to retire after 23 laps with a gearbox gremlin.

It was a one-two for Brawn with Rubens Barrichello beating teammate Jenson Button by 2.8s.

Force India now have 13 points and the vastly improved outfit would now look forward to make the most of the remaining four races of the season.

Despite the pit-stop goof up, Sutil never gave up and was hot on the heels of Kimi Raikkonen's Kinetic Energy Recovery System-powered Ferrai car even though he could not overtake the Finn.

The duel with Raikkonen was the highlight of Sutil's spectacular race even though the Force India driver did not manage to get past his Ferrari opponent.

Raikkonen and Sutil in fact pitted on the same lap but the extra time that Sutil needed proved decisive in the end, denying him his first podium place.

This was Sutil's first points for the Silverstone-based outfit and his cause was helped by Lewis Hamilton's last lap crash when the McLaren driver was running third.

On the other hand hot favourite Australia's Mark Webber crashed out of the Italian Grand Prix on the first lap Sunday to leave his title hopes hanging by a thread.

The Red Bull driver, who started 10th on the grid, was fourth in the overall standings and 20.5 points behind championship leader Jenson Button with just four races remaining after Monza.

Webber collided with BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica, who also retired after first coming into the pits to try to rectify the damage.

"It looked like a racing incident with Robert Kubica at the start. He was inside my left wheel and I couldn't see him, there was contact and It flicked me up in the air a bit, the car wasn't that damaged but I just couldn't get out of there," Webber told BBC radio.

"I haven't had any points in the last three races. I am going to struggle if I am not scoring points. I have had a good little run at the championship but we have to keep going."

hemilton make pole position

MONZA: McLaren’s Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton seized a last-gasp pole position for the Italian Grand Prix from Force India’s Adrian Sutil on Saturday.

“It was a very close qualifying session and I’m very happy to see Adrian up here,” said the Briton of his friend and former Formula Three teammate.

“I don’t think we anticipated being as quick as we are this week, so it’s a bonus for all the team.”

The pole was Hamilton’s second of the season, second in three races and 15th in 48 starts.
Raikkonen third

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen will line up in third place for Sunday’s race with fellow Finn Heikki Kovalainen next to him in a McLaren. Unlike Sutil, both will have the benefit of a boost at the start from their KERS energy recovery systems.

Championship leader Jenson Button qualified sixth, with Brawn GP teammate and closest title rival Rubens Barrichello alongside him in fifth place.

“The car felt good and that’s important. It’s not just qualifying, it’s the race,” said Button, who had been quickest in the second session.

The Red Bulls of Germany’s Sebastian Vettel and Australian Mark Webber, respectively third and fourth in the championship, qualified ninth and 10th respectively.

Britain’s Button is 16 points clear of Brazilian Barrichello with five races remaining.

Sutil’s grid position was the highest of the German’s career, with fast-improving Force India getting both their Mercedes-powered cars into the final session of qualifying for the first time.

Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi, replacing compatriot Giancarlo Fisichella at the team, qualified seventh for his first race since he was at Toro Rosso in 2007.
‘Great moment’

“This is a great moment, a great day for me,” said Sutil. “The car is amazing, really quick, and unbelievable.

“It’s so good for the team after the big success in Spa. We just continue it here. There’s just such a different feeling in the car right now.”

Fisichella, who handed Force India a stunning pole position in Belgium last month and finished second for the team’s first points, will start 14th in his first race for champions Ferrari after crashing in final practice. “This morning it was my error...I could do it (in qualifying), the car was there, I just didn’t manage to do a great lap,” said the Italian.

There was disappointment for BMW-Sauber, with both Germany’s Nick Heidfeld and Poland’s Robert Kubica pulling over in the second session with engine problems.

Top five grids:

First row: 1. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), 1:24.066s; Adrian Sutil (Force India), 1:24.261.

Second row: Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), 1:24.523; 4. Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren), 1:24.845.

Third row: 5. Rubens Barrichello (Brawn), 1:25.015; 6. Jenson Button (Brawn), 1:25.030; Fourth row: Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India) 1:25.043; 8. Fernando Alonso (Renault), 1:25.072; Fifth row: 9. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), 1:25.180; 10. Mark Webber (Red Bull), 1:25.314.

Serena Williams cruises into quarterfinals

NEW YORK: Serena Williams is still waiting for her first true test of this U.S. Open.

The defending champion’s fourth round match was competitive for all of four games on Sunday, before Williams took 10 in a row to beat No. 22-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 6-2, 6-0.

Williams has reached the quarterfinals at 11 of the past 12 major tournaments and won the title at three of the past four.

With the score 2-all against Hantuchova, Williams hit three aces to hold for a 3-2 lead — and she wouldn’t lose a game the rest of the way.

She has won all eight sets she’s played this year at Flushing Meadows.

“I tried to relax,” Williams said after improving to 8-1 against Hantuchova over their careers. “Sometimes I’m such a perfectionist, I too much stress on myself. I was like, ‘Serena, relax!”’

She finished with eight aces and a 27-9 advantage in winners in Sunday’s first match in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Shock defeats

On Saturday, Flushing Meadows shook with an explosion of deafening roars as American sensations John Isner and Melanie Oudin sent former champions Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova spinning out of the U.S. Open.

On a day when Russian World No. 1 Dinara Safina’s luck and patience finally ran out, Isner and Oudin sparked off celebrations in their hometown of Georgia after showing off their “bulldog” spirit to full effect.

Big-serving Roddick came face-to-face with a 6-foot-9 player he had mentored up the ranks and as a way of thanks Isner boomed in 38 aces to trample the fifth seed 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6.

“I’m happy for him. I’m mad that obviously it came at my expense,” summed up Roddick, who had hopes of going all the way this year following his runner-up finish at Wimbledon.

While 55th-ranked Isner was delighted to pull off the biggest shock of the men’s draw, Oudin followed up her win over World No. 4 Elena Dementieva by thumping another Russian.
Rising stock

The 17-year-old Oudin had the honour of ringing the opening bell at the NASDAQ exchange earlier this week and her stock rose even higher on Saturday as she carved out a heart-pounding 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 third-round win over 29th seed Sharapova.

As some 23,000 fans hollered inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, those who could not cram into centre court watched transfixed on the giant TV screen in the main fountain plaza.

When Oudin sealed the three-hour triumph by belting a forehand winner, spectators inside and outside the arena leapt to their feet to give her a standing ovation.

Oudin simply looked dazed as she dropped her racket before raising her weary arms to acknowledge the cheers.

“I just kept fighting as hard as I could. I can’t believe it,” the 70th-ranked Oudin gasped in a courtside interview as she tried to blink back tears.

“I just had a blast playing there today,” added Oudin, who will aim to bump another Russian, Nadia Petrova, in the last 16.

Isner summed up her feat as: “She’s so gutsy. She plays with her heart out there. We really kind of have the same attributes. We got a little Bulldog in us. We fight really well.”
Safina fizzles out

Safina has long been famed for her fighting spirit and on many occasions has come from match point down to stifle her opponents.

But on Saturday, 72nd-ranked Czech teenager Petra Kvitova took a leaf out of Safina’s Houdini manual and saved three match points before stamping her mark in New York with a 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 win as the clock struck 12.47 a.m. local time.

A clearly irritated Safina then took a swipe at organisers for bumping her off the Ashe arena, where the day’s schedule had over-run by almost three hours, and rescheduling her match to the smaller 10,000-seat Louis Armstrong Court.

“I’m number one player in the world, why did they move me?” asked Safina, who had survived three-set sweat-fests in her first two matches. “This is not excuse but I don’t think it’s a fair decision they made.”

As the women’s field continued to be decimated — with no seed left in the top quarter — Isner finally burst the bubble in the men’s draw as until his win over Roddick, it looked as if all 16 top seeds could reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time.

Earlier, World No. 4 Novak Djokovic led a parade of seeds — Nikolay Davydenko (8), Fernando Verdasco (10), Robin Soderling (12), Tommy Robredo (14) and Radek Stepanek (15) — into the second week of the hardcourt major.

Being on a roll is something American Jesse Witten — whose bulky frame suggests he would not look out of place on a rugby pitch — had never experienced before this week. But Djokovic rubbed his eyes in disbelief as he was almost pulled apart by a player ranked 276th and one who had never won a tour match before this week.

Witten battled for almost 3-1/2 hours before succumbing 6-7, 6-3, 7-6, 6-4. “I have never seen him play, and then suddenly he comes up with those shots from the baseline and then returns. It was unbelievable,” said the Serbian.

Ghana qualifies for WC

ACCRA (Ghana): Ghana became the first African nation to qualify for the World Cup after beating Sudan 2-0 on Sunday.

Inter Milan midfielder Sulley Muntari and Chelsea’s Michael Essien scored the goals either side of the break that ensured Ghana would top Group D and clinch a spot in South Africa next June with two games to spare.

Ghana’s victory coupled with Mali drawing 1-1 with Benin enabled the Black Stars to become the seventh nation to join host South Africa in next year’s 32-nation tournament.

Brazil qualified on Saturday to join the Netherlands, Japan, Australia, North Korea and South Korea.
Tunisia on course

Tunisia is on course to join Ghana in South Africa after midfielder Oussama Darragi’s last-minute equaliser salvaged a 2-2 draw against Nigeria and kept the North Africans top of Group B.

Tunisia twice came from behind to maintain a two-point lead over Nigeria and boost the country’s hopes of a fourth successive appearance at the World Cup.

Sliti Nabil had initially equalised for Tunisia in the 25th minute soon after Peter Odewingie Osazie’s opener.

Michael Eneramo, who plays for Esperance in Tunisia, came off the bench to put Nigeria in front again with 10 minutes remaining, but Darragi took advantage of poor defending to secure the point.

Mozambique stayed third, two points adrift of Nigeria as Manuel “Tico Tico” Bucuane’s second-half goal sealed a 1-0 victory over Kenya.

Mozambique has four points from four games, while Kenya is last place with three points.
Morocco holds Togo

In Group A, Togo missed out on a chance to take over the lead from idle Gabon after bottom-placed Morocco scored an injury-time equaliser.

Morocco substitute Adel Taarabt pounced late to cancel out Moustapha Salifou’s fourth-minute goal and earn a 1-1 draw.

Togo made its debut at the 2006 World Cup in Germany and is now second in Group A with five points from four games, one behind leader Gabon which has six points from three.

Later on Sunday, Algeria beat Zambia 1-0 at home to move atop Group C. Rafik Saifi scored in the 59th minute, volleying past Zambia goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene.

Algeria has 10 points from four games, three more than Egypt. Zambia has four points, and Rwanda is last with one.

Only the top team in each of the continent’s five qualifying groups will play in South Africa next year.

England’s win against Croatia means World Cup spot

LONDON: England will look to complete its impressive charge to the 2010 World Cup with an eighth qualifying victory in a row on Wednesday and leave Croatia, Ukraine and Belarus to fight over a route to South Africa through the runners-up playoffs.

Revived under Fabio Capello, England holds a four-point lead over second place Croatia at the top of Group 6, has a game in hand over the Croats, and meets them at Wembley.

“We have put ourselves in a great position and it’s up to us to finish the job,” captain John Terry said on Tuesday.

“It’s very important for me personally... the disappointment of not qualifying (for Euro 2008) still hurts.”

Ukraine is third and has seven points to make up on England and hosts fourth place Belarus, which is 12 points back on the leader. The fact that England is well ahead in the race to the World Cup is a testimony as to how Capello, who won club titles with AC Milan, Juventus, AS Roma and Real Madrid, has turned the ailing team around.

With three games to play, England can start preparing for the World Cup by beating Croatia two years after Steve McClaren’s team lost 3-2 at home the Slaven Bilic’s team and missed out on going to last year’s European Championships, won by Spain.
Renewed confidence

Having beaten Croatia 4-1 in Zagreb a year ago, England has renewed confidence, staying ahead of its rivals in World Cup qualifying virtually since the start and showing the winning mentality Capello has instilled into the players.

“The 4-1 is history,” Capello said Tuesday. “It’s a very important game we have tomorrow. We have played a lot of very important games and have won seven games. We have improved with every game.”

Although Rio Ferdinand is missing from the defence through injury, Capello faces Croatia with his team virtually at full strength. Bilic is without attacking midfielder Luka Modric, who was injured playing for Tottenham, and Vedran Corluka, who was sent off in Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Belarus and is suspended.

“It’s a horrible handicap,” said Bilic, whose team will have only one game left after Wednesday’s visit to Wembley but can cut England’s lead to one point with a victory.

The Croats will have another London-based star, Arsenal’s Eduardo da Silva, who hit the headlines after he was suspended for two Champions League games by UEFA for diving to get a penalty in a qualifying game against Celtic. Although the referee awarded the penalty, UEFA took disciplinary action against the Brazil-born striker.
Ukraine on course

Ukraine maintained its chances of finishing runner-up with a 5-0 victory over Andorra on Saturday and has a match in hand on Croatia. The only chance Belarus has is winning its last three games and relying on Croatia collecting no more.

Belarus ran Croatia close in a 1-0 defeat on Saturday and coach Bernd Stange was full of confidence that his team can come out on top in Minsk.

Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol” to be relesed on Sept. 15

How do you keep frenzied readers at bay? When you’ve got a blockbuster like Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol” (scheduled for release on Sept. 15) it’s not so easy.

Twelve, the publisher of Ted Kennedy’s memoir “True Compass” intended to stick strictly to a Sept. 14 release date but could not stop the New York Times from obtaining an early copy of the book and breaking the Sept.14 embargo. So the book’s secrets were spilled a week before its official release.

But “The Lost Symbol” is being kept under lock and key, according to Amazon.com, which says that “even inside Random House, only a half dozen employees have been allowed to read ‘The Lost Symbol’ in its entirety” and that at Amazon their own stockpile of the books is “under 24-hour guard in its own chain-link enclosure, with two locks requiring two separate people for entry.”

All that is officially known about “The Lost Symbol” is that it takes place during one 12-hour period and that Robert Langdon, protagonist of “The Da Vinci Code” and “Angels and Demons,” is again the star.

In a note from Random House to librarians, the publisher urged them to keep their copies of “The Lost Symbol” “under lock & key.”

“We know you’ll probably have a few crazies hovering around the desk a couple days early, inquiring about copies, then inquiring again, then trying to peak around the desk, etc,” wrote Random House Library Services. “But please, please don’t lend them out early.”

The publisher reminded the librarians that “Putting Harry Potter out early caused some major headaches for those who’ve done it, not to mention the chaos it causes … here in New York.”

If the lurkers need to stay occupied, the publisher suggests, “You can always give them a puzzle or two.”

Giancarlo Fisichella will race for Ferrari at the remaining five rounds of 2009

Giancarlo Fisichella will race for Ferrari at the remaining five rounds of 2009 after Force India agreed to release him from his contract on Thursday. Fisichella will replace Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer as stand-in for the injured Felipe Massa, starting at next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix. He will then serve as Ferrari's reserve driver in 2010.

Force €ndia have yet to confirm who will take over from Fisichella alongside Adrian Sutil in the team’s number 21 car, though third driver Vitantonio Liuzzi is already being tipped to succeed his fellow €talian.

“We've chosen Fisichella because we can expect him to make a valuable contribution in this final part of the season,” said Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali. “Giancarlo has shown throughout his long career that he's fast and competitive and we are therefore proud to be able to run an €talian driver in our home race.”

Fisichella, who scored Force €ndia’s first-ever pole position, points and podium at last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix after finishing a close second to Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, commented: “I am very grateful to (Force india boss) Vijay Mallya for allowing me this opportunity to drive for the Scuderia Ferrari team.

“€t is true that it has always been an ambition to do this, and for Vijay to have allowed it to become a reality is very generous. I hope in my turn i have helped Force India grow up and be on the right path to achieve their own ambitions. They are now a very competitive team and I wish them all the very best.”

Badoer was drafted in by Ferrari after Massa fractured his skull in a qualifying accident at July’s Hungarian Grand Prix. However, the 38-year-old Italian struggled to get to grips with the F60 in a race environment, prompting the team to seek an alternative as they chase third place in the constructors’ championship.

“We wish to thank Luca Badoer for the team spirit he demonstrated in these circumstances,” added Domenicali. “It is a shame he was unable to show his true worth in these last two races, tackled under conditions which anyone would have found difficult.”

Mallya said he had made the decision to release his driver for the good of Fisichella and of Formula One racing, and not in exchange for any financial settlement. He also hinted that the 36-year-old’s Ferrari deal extends beyond 2009, suggesting a possible testing role for the Roman next season.

“For any €talian driver, a Ferrari race seat is a long-held dream and for Giancarlo it was no exception,” said Mallya. “No one should stand in the way of this. Furthermore the agreement will secure Giancarlo's long-term future with Ferrari and it would be incorrect to jeopardise this. A competitive Italian driver in a Ferrari for Monza is a positive story for Formula One, which can only help raise the sport's profile in these difficult times.”

Mallya went on to thank Fisichella for his contribution to the team over the past one and a half seasons, but insisted his departure would not have a major impact on Force India’s impressive recent form: “He has been an integral part of the team and we owe him a great deal for his input behind the scenes and performance out on track - we wish him all the best for the future.

“This sport is a team effort and removing one part, even a major one, will not significantly affect our performance.The competitiveness of the team seen in Belgium was a result of hard work in the factory and wind tunnel and we have further developments coming for the final races, so we are confident this momentum can be sustained.” Posted by Yesudas

Michael Jackson glove sells for $56,000

A GLOVE flung at an audience by Michael Jackson 13 years ago has sold in Melbourne for $56,000 - almost double original estimates.

A US buyer bidding by phone snapped up the bejewelled glove for well over the original $30,000 upper estimate at the sale this afternoon.

Jackson, who died in June aged 50, was in Sydney in 1996 for his HIStory world tour when he attended the Australian premiere for the film Ghosts, which he starred in.

Music journalist Peter Holmes and his friend Bill Hibble, seated close to Jackson's entourage, were among the few who laughed at the jokes featured in the film, and were rewarded with the bejewelled glove being flung in their direction by Jackson.

Hibble, now deceased, caught the entertainer's glove and the item will be auctioned today by auction house Bonhams and Goodman in Melbourne.

National head of collectables Giles Moon said earlier the glove was expected to fetch $20,000 to $30,000 but the amount of interest generated could push the figure higher.

Mr Moon said it was the first glove to be auctioned since Jackson's death, which has now been ruled a homicide.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy's death in a chopper crash

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy's death in a chopper crash has added to the growing list of Indian politicians
killed in aerial accidents. In a country where helicopters are frequently used to ferry VIPs, some also had a narrow escape.

Aviation experts say the helicopter crash rate is much higher compared to that of commercial planes the world over, and this is true of India as well.

YSR's chopper crashed in a forest while flying in a Bell 430 to Chitoor district. He was confirmed dead Thursday, 27 hours after the helicopter went missing.

The tragedy is a grim reminder of the deaths in aeria

crashes of Indian politicians Sanjay Gandhi, Madhavrao Scindia, G.M.C. Balayogi, S. Mohan Kumaramangalam, O.P. Jindal, Surendra Singh, Dera Natung and C. Sangma.

Perhaps one of the first Indian political leaders to die in a plane crash was freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose -- on Aug 18, 1945 in present day Taiwan. But many insist to this day that he survived.

Sanjay Gandhi, the younger son of then prime minister Indira Gandhi, was killed when a glider he was flying crashed soon after taking off from the Safdarjung airport in Delhi in 1980.



Scindia, a senior Congress leader and a former cabinet minister, was killed in a plane crash Sep 30, 2001 while travelling to Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh to address a public rally.

Lok Sabha speaker and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader G.M.C. Balayogi died in a chopper crash March 3, 2002 in Andhra Pradesh. Balayogi was in a Bell 206 helicopter.

An official probe ruled that the crash was caused when the pilot, unable to continue due to poor visibility, mistakenly landed on a pond thinking it was a land surface.

Kumaramangalam, from the Congress, died in a plane crash in 1973 near New Delhi.

Haryana's then power minister O.P. Jindal, a noted industrialist, and agriculture minister Surendra Singh were killed when the chopper carrying them developed a technical snag and went down near Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh March 31, 2005.

Arunachal Pradesh education minister Natung was killed in a helicopter crash in May 2001.

Sangma, the then Meghalaya community development minister, three legislators and six others were killed in a helicopter crash in September 2004.

Punjab governor Surendra Nath and nine members of his family were killed when the government's Super-King aircraft crashed into high mountains in bad weather July 9, 1994 in Himachal Pradesh. Nath was then acting Himachal governor also.

But many were lucky.

Former prime minister Morarji Desai famously escaped when his Air India One crashed in Assam in November 1977. P.K. Thungon, who was the then Arunachal Pradesh chief minister and was accompanying him, also survived.

Congress leader Ahmed Patel and union ministers Prithviraj Chauhan and Kumari Selja had a similar miraculous escape in 2004 in Gujarat.

Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh and minister Pratap Singh Bajwa survived one such chopper accident when it hit electrical wires soon after taking off in Gurdaspur in September 2006.

Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal escaped unhurt after his chartered helicopter made an emergency landing in Ferozepur Aug 30.

BJP president Rajnath Singh and vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi had a miraculous escape last year when they were travelling to Rampur in Uttar Pradesh. The chopper landed close to a pile of dry grass that caught fire. The pilot immediately took off again and landed at a safe place.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot escaped after his helicopter fell on a tree in Chiru district in 2001.

Aviation experts say the primary culprit in most helicopter accidents is the pilots' tendency to operate under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) instead of the Instrument Flight Rules (IFR).

IFR allows pilots to fly by just relying on the instrument panels even if they cannot see anything outside the cockpit windows. The VFR, on the other hand, are used by pilots to fly by relying on what all they can see from the cockpit.

Fashion designer Anand Jon Alexander was sentenced to 59 years in jail in U.S.

Fashion designer Anand Jon Alexander was sentenced on Monday to 59 years to life in prison for sexually assaulting aspiring models he lured to Los Angeles.

Alexander, 35, showed no reaction as Superior Court Judge David Wesley said he should be incarcerated as long as possible for preying upon young girls and women.

Alexander was convicted in November of 14 counts, including forcible rape. He was found not guilty of four felonies, and jurors could not reach a verdict on three counts.

“Mr. Alexander has showed no remorse for his actions,” the judge said.

The sentencing capped a tumultuous, exhausting post-verdict saga that included allegations of juror tampering by his sister, Sanjana, juror misconduct and Alexander’s decision to represent himself. Alexander also lost a bid for a new trial earlier on Monday, claiming there was a conspiracy among law enforcement to convict him.

The most striking image came as a bevy of beautiful women who said Alexander sexually assaulted them filled a jury box. The 13 women cried as Mr. Wesley recounted some of the crimes and they held hands as the sentence was read. One had mascara running down her face; another shook her head in disgust at Alexander.

Three of the women spoke, each telling a packed courtroom how Alexander had robbed them of their innocence and their formative years.

“I was 14. You took my adolescence, my trust, my dream and completely manipulated them for your sexual desires,” said one of the women.

“It sickens me that a grown man can do such a thing to a girl,” the now 17-year-old girl said. “A girl who was naive and had the belief that all people were good. And you took that to your advantage.”

Prosecutors said Alexander often found women online, baited them with promises of glamorous photo shoots and other modelling work, only to fondle or rape them at his Beverly Hills apartment.

“I have a constant reminder of the day that I, the biggest daddy’s girl in the world, had to tell my dad that I had been raped by this person,” said another woman, now 21. Alexander was convicted of raping her in March 2007.

“Now every day I have to cope with my family having to relive all of this and it absolutely kills me,” she said.

Alexander, wearing a dark suit with his long black hair tied in a ponytail, put on a pair of black-rimmed glasses but otherwise showed no emotion. It was a stark contrast to earlier in the day when he argued a motion for a new trial, even breaking down at one point. “If you are going to put me away, do it for the right reasons.”

Mr. Wesley has already turned down a previous motion for a new trial after it was discovered that juror Alvin Dymally had contacted Alexander’s sister Sanjana. Mr. Wesley found both in contempt of court after determining that Mr. Dymally appeared to want a romantic relationship with her when he spoke to her by phone twice during the trial and offered his help. Mr. Dymally also gave her a note in a courthouse cafeteria, asking her to call him. She did but refused to meet with him alone.
Prosecutors admitted there would likely be a number of issues raised on appeal. They added Alexander’s case was an example of what could happen when young women look for opportunity on the Internet.

“The lesson is that often young women or young girls may have dreams they hope to follow,” said Deputy District Attorney Mara McIlvain.

The designer has been featured on the television show “America’s Next Top Model” and he worked with such celebrities as Paris Hilton and Mary J. Blige. His website lists dozens of celebrity A-listers as clients, including Ms. Hilton, who is described as a fan of Alexander’s hand-printed jeans, which sold for more than $700.

The Beverly Hills police began investigating Alexander in March 2007 when a woman reported she had been sexually assaulted in his apartment.

Born in India, Alexander graduated from the Parsons School of Design in New York and launched a fashion line in 1999.