LUXEMBOURG: Yanina Wickmayer kept Belgian hopes alive at the WTA tournament here on Friday as the world number 20 defeated compatriot Kirsten Flipkens 7-6 (7/1), 4-6, 6-1 to reach the semifinals. Wickmayer, who had seen Kim Clijsters knocked out by Patty Schnyder in the second round, will tackle Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinzsky for a place in the final. Bacsinzsky defeated Slovenia’s Katerina Srebotnik 6-7 (3/7), 6-1, 6-4.
Player of the week
Milan’s ‘duck’
Alexandre Pato... Milan’s young striking sensation, signed from Sao Paulo at the age of just seventeen in August 2007, was in remarkable form as he banged in two crucial goals to give the Rosseneri a huge win over Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday. His strike in the 88th minute off a Clarence Seedorf cross put Milan right back into contention for the group after a humiliating loss to FC Zurich in their previous match. A precocious talent, nevertheless, Pato has Europe’s biggest clubs sniffing around for his signature!
Frenchman Todt elected FIA president
PARIS: Ex-Ferrari boss Jean Todt was elected Friday to the most powerful post in motorsport as president of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). The 63-year-old Frenchman won the FIA general assembly vote against former world rally champion Ari Vatanen of Finland. Todt succeeds the controversial Briton Max Mosley who has been in the hotseat for 16 years.
Ronaldo boost for club and country
MADRID: Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo is targeting the UEFA Champions League game at AC Milan as his comeback date. It had been expected the Portuguese winger would be out of action for around a month, after limping out of Portugal’s World Cup qualifier with Hungary on 10 October with an ankle injury. But the 24-year-old is confident he will be on the pitch at the San Siro come 3 November. “The ankle already doesn’t hurt me,” he told Marca. “I think I am ready to play.”
Owen will cope with Kop: Ferguson
MANCHESTER: Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is braced for another intense clash at Liverpool on Sunday — but is confident the player likely to face the most flak will sail through. Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen was jeered by a minority on the Kop as a Newcastle player, but that is nothing compared to his likely reception as a United player.Owen, who quit Liverpool for Real Madrid in 2004, did the unthinkable for many a Reds fan when he joined United on a free transfer from Newcastle in the summer. Ferguson said: “Manchester United and Liverpool games are always intense. It is ‘the’ game, as far as I am concerned. That won’t change.” “It will be interesting to see the kind of reaction Michael gets. “The goals he scored for Liverpool mark him down as one of their best-ever strikers. That stands him in good stead in terms of the Liverpool fans.”