Ronaldo brushes off Real link

Mon, 06 Apr 16:15:00 2009

Cristiano Ronaldo has once again reaffirmed he is "at the right club" amid fresh speculation over his Manchester United future.
Neither the player nor his manager Sir Alex Ferguson were happy that the issue was raised again ahead of Tuesday night's Champions League tie with Porto.
Ferguson wondered aloud "how many times" more he would have to endure this line of questioning before describing the continued speculation as "pathetic". Ronaldo shrugged and said: "We always have this question."
The 23-year-old simply repeated the position he has stuck to since reaffirming his commitment to United last summer after a face-to-face meeting with Ferguson appeared to stop the rumblings linking him with a move to Real Madrid.
"I am happy at this club. I think it is the right club," said Ronaldo.
It has once again been suggested a deal has been done between United and Real for the transfer of the 2008 European and World Player of the Year this summer.
Yet at the Club World Cup last December, Ferguson claimed he would not sell Real "a virus", a position that does not appear to have softened judging by his pointed response this afternoon.
One of the reasons Ronaldo is said to favour a move to La Liga is that he has become fed up of being targeted by opposition defenders, eager to stop the former Sporting Lisbon star by whatever means possible.
Yet Ronaldo does not feel he is suffering any more than he has done at other stages since arriving in England six years ago.
"It has always been like that," he said.
"It is not only this season that defenders have kicked me to try and stop me. It is just normal."
Ronaldo played a major role in taking United back to the top of the Barclays Premier League yesterday with his two-goal haul against Aston Villa that took his seasonal tally to 20.
United are now a point ahead of Liverpool, with a game in hand.
"We are the best team in England," Ronaldo said. "We have shown that by being top of the table. That speaks for itself.
"We respect all our opponents but if we carry on winning, we will win the title again."
Indeed, United are still on track to record an unprecedented quintuple, with Ronaldo not quite being as dismissive about the project as Ferguson.
"We have a chance to win everything this season," said Ronaldo. "First we have to beat FC Porto. After that, we must carry on."

Rossi not keen on Qatar night race

VALENTINO ROSSI has said that although it's a great spectacle, he is not a fan of the night race in Qatar - which will be the first round of the 2009 MotoGP Championship when it all kicks off in the desert on April 12.
The eight-time World Champion said: "The bike has to be set up differently to run at night. We know that the night race does not really favour us and that running in the desert in those dark hours when the track surface is very cold could cause us more problems. Fortunately, in the last test sessions we had there we saw things about the bike and tyres that do not work so well so even thought it will be tough and slippery we will be ready."
"But I don't think that the one-make tyre will make much difference to who is fast in Qatar. I think it will come down to the bike and rider and there won't be so much importance on the tyre."
Yeah, right - and Rossi's not starting the mind games already...

WILL THE REAL KIMI RAIKKONEN PLEASE STAND UP

Luca di Montezemolo may have meant his comment in jest, but it has to be said, the inference behind it was undoubtedly clear.
It was back in December, reflecting upon Kimi Raikkonen's somewhat indifferent season the Ferrari president noted: "I joke we had Kimi until Magny-Cours, then he was busy and he asked a friend of his to drive."
"This friend was a very good driver. He put on Kimi's helmet, but now we finally have the proper Kimi back again."
There were certainly two sides to Raikkonen last year as he went into it as world champion, only to emerge from it leaving many questioning his desire and commitment to Formula One.
His laid-back persona, which has actually improved over time, does little to dispel the outside world's notion he has little time for the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of his sport.
Raikkonen is the kind of man who likes to turn up at a track, get behind the wheel of his car and drive. Simple as that.
If he had his way, he would love to skip the debriefs and meetings with the engineers that are required to fit hand in glove with what a driver does out on a circuit.
So this year, one wonders whether the real Kimi Raikkonen will be pushing for the title, or whether he will again hit a point where he thinks 'Ah, sod it!' and hand the car back to his 'friend'.
Di Montezemolo insists the "proper Kimi" is back, and if that is the case then that can only be good for F1 because in terms of a pure racer, there is no-one finer than Raikkonen.
As always, time will tell, but for now, Raikkonen maintains he has the desire required to again become world champion.
"I wouldn't be in F1 if I didn't have the motivation or the hunger," insisted the Finn.
"Last year wasn't exactly what we wanted, but it doesn't change how much I like F1 - I do enjoy it."
"I have a great team behind me and they let me do other things quite easily; they make everything as easy as they can for everybody."
"So I'm in a very good position, and I'm very happy to work with the team."
"I've a contract for this year and next and then I will see how I feel, how Formula One is going, and then decide about the future."
Therein lies part of Raikkonen's problem because his responses to constant queries relating to his future are always vague.
That generally results in people questioning his commitment because what he plans to do beyond the next two years generates considerable speculation.
As he mentions, Ferrari give him a free reign beyond F1, allowing the thrill-seeker within him to indulge in other passions such as rallying, karting and powerboating.
As he will be 30 when the forthcoming season comes to an end, he maybe realises time is of the essence if he is to pursue other avenues.
For now, they remain side-show events, adding: "The team is quite open to what I can do."
"There are a lot of hobbies I like that are maybe not the safest, but I always try not to take any risks, and I am happy they allow me to do them."
"I think it helps in every way as everybody is happy and to drive anything is good practice, go-kart, rally, any kind of driving."
"It is always going to help you in your own work, so it's not a bad thing."
For Raikkonen, whether he remains in F1 beyond 2010 will come down to if he is still enjoying himself, and if so, whether Ferrari are willing to maintain his status as the sport's highest-paid driver.
"I am very happy and I have no reason to go anywhere else," said Raikkonen.
"But we will see in two years' time if I'm still enjoying myself or whether I want to do other things."
"What is certain is Ferrari will be the last team I am going to race with in Formula One - which doesn't mean I will definitely quit in 2010!"
Whilst Raikkonen's long-term future might be the source of great debate, for the short term his designs are naturally on the title. "I always try to win, and hopefully we can win championships again this year," asserted Raikkonen, who at least helped the team retain their constructors' crown last season.
"But I'm not going to promise anything, put my hand on my heart, because maybe it won't happen."
"So we will just try to do the best weekend we can to get back on the top podium position."

Nadal, Djokovic reach Indian Wells 4th round

18 March 2009, Wednesday
INDIAN WELLS, California: Novak Djokovic maintained his title defense by handling Tommy Haas of Germany 6-2, 7-6 (1) to ease into the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open on Tuesday.
Haas had reached the quarterfinals for the last two years but third-seeded Djokovic did enough in the second set to stay on top and swept the last seven points of the tiebreaker.
"I'm still finding the rhythm and everything," Djokovic said. "I don't want to put any extra pressure on myself."
"I'm playing a very solid game for now and saving lots of energy and being focused, not underestimating my opponents and going step by step. The game, for now, it's quite fine."
He was on course for a repeat semifinal with top-seeded Rafael Nadal, who advanced with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Dmitry Tursunov. Nadal's powerful groundstrokes kept the Russian off-balance and on the run, and Tursunov had troubles of his own, making 37 unforced errors.
Nadal said he didn't play very well against Tursunov.
"He didn't give me a lot of rhythm. He played good shots, but at the same time, he made mistakes," Nadal said. "I had more mistakes than usual."
"But I won 6-3, 6-3, so it's a good win."
Nadal next plays Argentine star David Nalbandian, who has a 2-0 record against the Spaniard. Nalbandian withstood 11 aces from Viktor Troicki of Serbia to win 6-4, 6-2.
Later, Andy Roddick beat Nicolas Kiefer 6-4, 7-6(4) in their night match.
Down 3-1 in the tiebreaker, Roddick turned on the power. After Kiefer double-faulted, Roddick evened it with a service winner and added a 135-mph ace to go in front. An overhead gave him a 5-3 lead, and he went on to win the tiebreaker 7-4 with still another big overhead.
Another Argentine advanced, sixth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro, who had to sweat through a tight third set featuring four breaks of serves against Jurgen Melzer of Austria before cruising through the tiebreaker to win 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (2).
Del Potro, who won four consecutive tournaments last year, will meet John Isner after the American wild card accounted for the struggling Marat Safin 6-4, 6-4.
In the women's field, Vera Zvonareva's yearlong surge took her past Li Na 6-4, 6-4 and back into quarterfinals.
Zvonareva, the second-highest seed left at No. 4, had lost to Li in the quarterfinals here two years ago. But since then, she'd beaten Li twice, including for the singles bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics. On Tuesday, Zvonareva converted all three of her break chances against the unseeded Chinese while Li, who'd removed Amelie Mauresmo and Patty Schnyder, missed three break points in the second set.
The Russian has reached the quarterfinals at Indian Wells for the fourth time in five visits, but has never advanced further. In her path will be a first-time match with ninth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, who beat Polish wild card Urszula Radwanska 7-5, 6-3.
Radwanska's older sister, seventh-seeded Agnieszka, won against Agnes Szavay of Hungary 6-0, 5-7, 6-3.
Zvonareva played in the most finals last year — eight — and held down a top-10 ranking. Then she reached her first Grand Slam semifinals at the Australian Open, cracked the top five, and followed that with the title at Pattaya City, Thailand last month.
The 18-year-old Wozniacki, the first Danish woman to win a singles title, was through to her fifth quarterfinals of the year.Top-seeded Dinara Safina put away American veteran Jill Craybas 7-5, 6-4 for the sixth time in six meetings, and faced eighth-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus next. Azarenka, who won the singles and doubles titles at Memphis last month, beat Shahar Peer of Israel 7-5, 6-4.
Russian teen Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova achieved her best career result by reaching the quarterfinals, leading Nuria Llagostera Vives 6-3, 3-0 when the Spaniard retired with a left hip strain.
The 17-year-old Pavlyuchenkova beat second-seeded Jelena Jankovic in the previous round.

Federer keen to renew rivalry with Nadal at ATP Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS, California (AFP) — Roger Federer, bested by Rafael Nadal in a five-set final at the Australian Open in January, is keen to renew his rivalry with his Spanish foe at the Indian Wells Masters series.
Federer's appearance in the California desert, where men's play begins Thursday, marks his first tournament since falling to Nadal in Melbourne, as the 13-time Grand Slam champion nursed a nagging back injury.
Now he said he's rested and ready to bid for a fourth title in the event he won in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
"I love playing matches against him, especially those five-setters, seeing if I can hang with him physically without a problem," Federer said Wednesday. "He's the greatest challenger I've ever had."
"I am really motivated because I don't know how much better he can play," Federer added. "I don't know how much better I can play, but I am right there and he's playing the tennis of his life."
Nadal's victory in the first Grand Slam of the year marked the Spaniard's first hardcourt Grand Slam triumph.
He also denied Federer a record-equalling 14th Grand Slam crown. But the 27-year-old Swiss, who broke down in tears in the wake of that defeat, said he wasn't unhappy with his performance there.
"I thought I played a great match for four-and-a-half sets," he said. "I think I played great off the baseline, I just didn't serve great and I think that cost me the match also."
As the top two seeds Nadal and Federer are slated to meet in the final here, but also in the mix is defending champion and third seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia and fourth-seeded Briton Andy Murray.
Djokovic beat Nadal in the semi-finals last year, then beat surprise finalist Mardy fish in the final. Fish had shocked Federer in the semis.
Nadal is a prior champion, his 2007 triumph ending Federer's three-year reign.
Murray will be playing his first tournament since he withdrew from the quarter-finals in Dubai last month with a virus.
Federer confirmed Wednesday that he hasn't arrived in California with a new coach.
Australian Darren Cahill, former mentor of Andre Agassi, travelled to Federer's base in Dubai to work with him, but decided he didn't want to pursue the job.
"He said the travel was tough for him," Federer said. "He took the decision for me."
Federer said he will continue to work with Severin Luthi, Switzerland's Davis Cup captain, on a part-time basis.
"He's the Davis Cup captain and we've been working the last one and a half years together. So nothing really changes," he said. "I just continue with the great team that I have."