Palermo: Roberta Vinci will face Petra Kvitova on the opening day of the Fed Cup semi-finals between Italy and the two-time defending champion Czech Republic. Vinci beat former Wimbledon champion Kvitova in straight sets in Poland last weekend to move up to a career-high ranking of No. 12.
The semifinal opens Saturday with seventh-ranked Sara Errani facing the 25th-ranked Lucie Safarova.
After reverse singles on Sunday on the red clay at the Palermo Tennis Club, Flavia Pennetta and Francesca Schiavone are scheduled to face Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka in doubles.
However, if it goes down to the doubles, Italy captain Corrado Barazzutti also has the option of playing Errani and Vinci, the top-ranked pairing on the WTA Tour....
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06:22 PM, Apr 19, 2013
Paris: Lance Armstrong returned four samples with traces of banned corticosteroids in the 1999 Tour de France, the International Cycling Union (UCI) said on Wednesday, although the governing body added it did not handle them as positive tests. On Tuesday the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad published a copy of an alleged internal UCI memo which said a lawyer for the sport's ruling body had said the American's samples from the...
01:19 AM, Apr 18, 2013
Vasco: A second half strike by captain Luciano Sobrosa helped Salgaocar FC beat Prayag United 1-0 in the 23rd round of the I-League football championship here in Goa Thursday. Salgaocar, who had lion's share of exchanges and ball possession, scored the winner through Sobrosa in the 57th minute to take their tally to 27 points from 23 matches. Prayag United, who failed to create an impact upfront in the absence...
10:18 PM, Apr 04, 2013
A bank manager allegedly committed suicide inside the branch premises in Faizxganj Behta area, police said in Badaun on Monday. ...
12:40 PM, Mar 18, 2013
Juventus marched on toward a 29th Serie A title by winning 2-0 at Bologna to extend their lead to 12 points. ...
05:27 AM, Mar 17, 2013
Mistakes by Celtic defender Efe Ambrose led to goals by Alessandro Matri in the third minute and Mirko Vucinic in the 83rd. ...
03:16 AM, Feb 13, 2013
Kvitova defeated Jarmila Gajdosova 7-6 (2), 6-3 before Safarova edged Sam Stosur 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4). ...
11:30 PM, Feb 09, 2013
Jarmila Gajdosova and Matthew Ebden beat the Czech-pair Lucie Hradecka and Frantisek Cermak 6-3 7-5 in the final in 73 minutes. ...
12:41 PM, Jan 27, 2013
The governing body would welcome Armstrong in a truth and reconciliation commission for the sport following the American's confession that he doped to win his Tour de France titles. ...
03:11 PM, Jan 18, 2013
IOC might be left with no choice other than to take drastic action if Armstrong implicated the sport's governing body of covering up a widespread doping scheme. ...
09:53 AM, Jan 16, 2013
Lucio made just four appearances for Juventus this term after joining on a free transfer from Inter Milan in the close season. ...
07:44 PM, Dec 17, 2012
Defending champion Juventus strolled to a 3-0 win over 10-man Atalanta in Serie A on Sunday, scoring the opening goal after just 80 seconds. ...
10:18 PM, Dec 16, 2012
The 41-year-old Armstrong had his seven Tour de France victories scratched from the records and was banned from cycling for life in October. ...
08:19 AM, Dec 11, 2012
The 41-year-old had his seven Tour de France victories nullified and was banned from cycling for life in October. ...
02:49 AM, Dec 06, 2012
Turin: Juventus are poised to reach the last sixteen of the Champions League for the first time in four seasons but their erratic strikers could undermine their chances of launching a serious bid for the title. Although their 3-0 win over Chelsea on Tuesday was ultimately emphatic, Juve's final pass was rarely up to the superb approach work of an Andrea Pirlo-inspired five-man midfield. Both opening goalscorer Fabio Quagliarella and...
05:43 PM, Nov 21, 2012
Prague: Lucie Safarova will open the Fed Cup final for the defending champion Czech Republic against Ana Ivanovic of Serbia. The 17th -ranked Safarova is 3-2 against the 12th-ranked Ivanovic, who is former No. 1. "It would be great to start with a lead," Safarova said at the draw ceremony at Prague City Hall. "That's what I'm going to try and I'm looking forward to." Eighth-ranked Petra Kvitova, who led...
07:42 PM, Nov 02, 2012
No one will replace Lance Armstrong as winner of the Tour de France from 1999-2005 after the American was stripped of the titles for doping, the International Cycling Union (UCI) said on Friday. "With respect to Lance Armstrong and the implications of the USADA sanctions which it endorsed on Monday 22 October, the Management Committee decided not to award victories to any other rider or upgrade other placings in any...
09:00 PM, Oct 26, 2012
Paris: While the sports world comes to terms with the Lance Armstrong doping scandal, Tour de France organisers unveiled a mountainous, prestigious route for the 100th edition of the world's greatest cycling race on Wednesday. The 2013 Tour, which will start from Corsica, will take l'Alpe d'Huez's 21 hairpins twice in the same stage, go up the gruelling Mont Ventoux and end at dusk on the Champs Elysees. But with...
04:22 PM, Oct 24, 2012
London: Californian sunglasses maker Oakley has ended a sponsorship of Lance Armstrong that began 25 years ago when he was a teenage triathlete after the American was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles over a doping scandal. Oakley, owned by Italy's Luxottica (LUX.MI), became the latest sponsor to drop Armstrong after the International Cycling Union (UCI) on Monday ratified the United States Anti-Doping Agency's sanctions against the 41-year-old,...
09:18 AM, Oct 23, 2012
Geneva: Cycling's governing body agreed on Monday to strip Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and ban him for life, following a report from the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that accused him of leading a massive doping program on his teams. UCI President Pat McQuaid announced that the federation accepted the USADA's report on Armstrong and would not appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The...
05:02 PM, Oct 22, 2012
