The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- French Open champ Li upset by Lisicki at Wimbledon
- Yani Tseng leads LPGA Championship
- Wanyoike shows true courage to overcome adversity and help others
| French Open champ Li upset by Lisicki at Wimbledon Posted: 23 Jun 2011 05:46 PM PDT WIMBLEDON, England (AP:- After playing so well, so often, at this year's first two major tournaments, Li Na's run at Wimbledon came to an early end. Only 2{ weeks after giving China its first Grand Slam singles championship at the French Open, and five months after being the runner-up at the Australian Open, Li was knocked out in the second round at the All England Club on Thursday, the grass-court tournament's biggest upset so far. The third-seeded Li wasted two match points and succumbed to the speedy serving of wild-card entry Sabine Lisicki of Germany in a 3-6, 6-4, 8-6 loss. Lisicki hit 17 aces, including one at 124 mph (200 kph), which the WTA said is the fastest serve by a woman all season. "I mean, (from) the first point 'til the end of the match, every serve was, like, around 117 miles (per hour)," said Li, 14-1 in Grand Slam play in 2011 before Thursday. "I mean, this is impossible for the women." Leading 5-3 in the third set, Li was a point away from victory while Lisicki served at 15-40. But Lisicki got out of that jam with two services winners followed by two aces. "Obviously, a good serve is important, but also, you have to use it well," the 62nd-ranked Lisicki said. "And I think I'm serving quite smart, as well. So it definitely helped me today." Talk about an understatement. Thanks to that serve, Lisicki is no stranger to success on grass, reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2009 and winning a tuneup tournament this month at Birmingham, England; she's won 12 of her last 13 matches on the slick surface. But she missed five months last year because of a left ankle injury, temporarily dropping out of the top 200 in the rankings. "Oh, it's been terrible. I mean, I really, literally, had no muscles in my left calf after seven weeks on crutches. So I had to start to learn how to walk again," the 21-year-old Lisicki said. "It's been a very, very long road back, and tough road back. But that makes those moments right now sweeter." Lisicki's return game was good, too, and she broke twice when Li served for the match, at 5-4 and 6-5. Li became an instant star in China with her French Open title; more than 100 million people in the nation of 1 billion watched that final on TV. Li may not have been kidding when she asked reporters at Wimbledon not to write that she'd be flying home now, so there might be a chance to have some private time with her husband. Even though her Grand Slam triumph came so recently, Li already could sense a change on court - not in herself, but in other players. "I didn't feel different. I didn't feel, like, pressure. I mean, (the) only change is, right now, opponents see you different," she said. "Everyone (who plays) against you, they feeling nothing to lose. So they can play (their) best tennis." Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Yani Tseng leads LPGA Championship Posted: 23 Jun 2011 05:42 PM PDT PITTSFORD, New York (AP): Top-ranked Yani Tseng shot a 6-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead over Paula Creamer in the first round of the LPGA Championship on Thursday. Meena Lee and Angela Stanford were 4 under, and Morgan Pressel, Stacy Lewis, Ryann O'Toole, Amy Hung and Hee Young Park were at 3 under. Defending champion Cristie Kerr, who was ailing with a light case of the flu, shot an even-par 72. Play was halted in the early evening by a severe thunderstorm with 58 players still on the course. Tseng made five birdies on the front nine and three more on the back to go with a pair of bogeys. She recovered from a bad tee shot at the par-4 18th hole that landed in the thick right rough, hit her second shot to 4 feet, and drained the birdie putt for sole possession of the lead. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Wanyoike shows true courage to overcome adversity and help others Posted: 23 Jun 2011 03:57 PM PDT WHEN Henry Wanyoike was a kid – growing up in the slums of Shauri Yako in Kikuyu, near Nairobi, Kenya – he had a dream that he would one day be a world marathon champion. However, tragedy struck in 1995 when the then 21-year-old Henry went to sleep, only to wake up the next morning to find that his world was filled with darkness. It turns out that Henry had suffered a stroke while asleep and lost 95% of his eyesight overnight. Overnight, his world was turned upside down. For many, it would have been a scary and traumatic experience. But Henry's not your average Joe. He is a man with the heart of a champion and, like the true champion that he is, Henry never despaired. |
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