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Roger Federer, like
a father asked to rate his children, does not like playing favourites
when it comes to dissecting his most spectacular shots on the tennis
court.

The Swiss added
another gem to his extraordinary collection with a between-the-legs,
back-to-the-net winner that left opponent Brian Dabul dumbfounded and
delighted the centre court crowd in his first round victory at the U.S.
Open on Monday.

Last year, the
five-time U.S. Open winner uncorked a similar shot that whizzed by
Serbian Novak Djokovic standing at the net and gave Federer match point
in their semi-final.

“What do you
think?” Federer told reporters when asked whether Monday’s shot was
better than the 2009 missile that was dubbed ‘shot of the century’ by
scribes around the world.

ESPN TV, which was
broadcasting the match in the United States, promoted a snap poll of
viewers. Fifty-nine percent voted in favour of the new shot. Federer
was not so sure.

“You think this one
was better? I don’t know,” he said. “Obviously the importance of last
year’s was probably a little bit more important. So obviously that has
a little bit of an impact, too.

Big push

“In terms of
difficulty maybe this one was harder, because I had the feeling I had
to run a longer distance and I was further back somehow.

“I had to really
give the last big push at the end.” Federer said when he turned, he
could not tell that his shot found the mark.

“Obviously the
crowd gave me the answer, which was kind of good. The ovation was
fantastic. Crowds went wild. Yeah, you could see on my reaction I
couldn’t believe it.” Federer, winner of a record 16 grand slam events,
said that after 10 years on the professional circuit there were plenty
of shots on his highlight reel.

“I know on YouTube, there are guys that are putting together best shots of me,” he said.

On the question of
trick shots, Federer was asked about the stir created by footage taken
for a TV commercial that shows him knocking a can off someone’s head
that won a huge number of hits but has raised questions about its
authenticity.

“One thing I tell you, that the shots on centre court in front of
22,000 people is a bit more difficult than what I did at the…
commercial,” Federer added. “That was just having a bit more fun.”

Seven-times major
winner Venus Williams is choosing to accentuate the positives in her
return to competition at the U.S. Open after sitting out two months
with a left knee injury.

Thrilled to be back
on centre stage inside Arthur Ashe Stadium for her first test since the
Wimbledon quarter-finals, Williams dispatched Italy’s Roberta Vinci 6-4
6-1 as the curtain went up on night action at the Open.

“This is the event
to come to, you know, New York, the opening night of the U.S. Open,”
the 30-year-old Williams told reporters. “It’s really an honour. I love
doing it. I’ve had the opportunity on a lot of occasions. Everyone’s
watching.” Williams treated the opening night crowd to some of her
trademark power, belting 10 aces, and a lacy black party dress with
fringe on the bottom that befit the occasion.

Rustiness

While her look was picture-perfect, Williams was not sure her preparation would prove first rate.

“Not having played
any matches wasn’t ideal,” she admitted. “Obviously, practice is so
much different from a match. I felt like I was hitting well in
practice, but to translate into a match is something completely
different.

“But I think I
handled it well and I’m just looking to build momentum going to the
next matches.” Williams tried to focus on the positives.

“I guess my only
advantage would be that I’m hopefully mentally a lot fresher and
physically, hopefully, a lot fresher than maybe my opponents who played
all summer,” she said.

“You know, I’ve got
to try to look at it in a positive way and bank on my experience. That
helps a lot because I’ve had a lot of winning experience,” the twice
U.S. champion said.

Williams said she
regretted the absence of her sister and doubles partner, world number
one Serena Williams, who had to skip the Open because of a foot injury.

She said she loves
to play doubles with her sister and would have been sorely tempted to
join forces with her in Flushing Meadows, especially after they came up
short together at Wimbledon, even though it would have been hard on her
knee.

Even that disappointment was turned into a positive. Asked if it
would be better for her knee that she is not playing doubles at the
Open, Williams replied with a smile: “Absolutely.”

The chances of the
Nigeria U-19 cricket team getting one of the two available tickets to
the U-19 World Cup grew slimmer yesterday as they were beaten by Zambia
with three wickets. Zambia scored 178 for nine in 50 overs and the
Nigerian reply was a mere 115 for 10 also in 50 overs. The Zambian team
had lost its two earlier matches.

The weakest link in
the Nigerian team was bowler Melvin Bwalya, who bowled out Rotimi
Adesanya and Oluwaseun Adeboro in successive innings for a total of 16
runs. James Chukwu came on to try and lift the team but his partnership
was again cut short by Bwalya who caught out Behani for just 10 runs.
At this point it was 81 for 6 with 15 overs left. Mumba Chanda caught
Olusola Anyia for nine balls and the Nigerian batsmen were falling like
ninepins. Chukwu was also caught by the deadly Chanda for 23 runs from
33 balls. With the top batsmen out of the crease at 99 for 8 with 10
overs remaining, Nigeria’s chances were gone.

The team will play Sierra Leone today, and only a win can keep it in the top division.

Uganda riding high

The Ugandan U-19
team, winners of the 2009 ICC Africa U19 CWCQ, continued winning in
this year’s qualifier with another assured victory over Sierra Leone,
who they restricted to a paltry 72 for 10.

The Uganda bowling
attack for the third day bowled their opposition out for under a
hundred. The prize bowler for Uganda was Faruk Ochimi with four Sierra
Leonean wickets for 17 runs.

The Sierra Leonean attack hardly troubled the Ugandans, who knocked their opponents off in 30 overs.

Monday matches

At the Wanderers Oval in Windhoek, the Namibian U-19 team had comprehensively beat neighbours Zambia.

Stephan Baard was
the pick of the Namibian bowlers with 4 for 35 in six overs as Zambia
made 158 all out. The run chase began in earnest with Namibia breaking
at lunch with 80 for 1. They passed the target score in the 32nd over
with seven wickets in hand, with Justin Baard making 45.

Cricket powerhouse, Kenya was given a run for their money but they
eventually overcame Sierra Leone by 20 runs and remain unbeaten in the
three matches played.

Japan’s new coach
Alberto Zaccheroni swept into Tokyo on Tuesday, asking to be called
‘Zac’ and promising a lasting legacy from his reign.

“First we have to
finish in the top three at (next year’s) Asian Cup,” the 57-year-old
Italian told reporters after being unveiled as Japan’s sixth foreign
manager.

“When my Japan
adventure comes to an end I want the fans to have great memories of
Zaccheroni’s samurai.” The former AC Milan and Juventus coach brought a
breathe of fresh air to his first news conference after taking over the
Blue Samurai from World Cup coach Takeshi Okada.

“You can call me
Zac,” said Zaccheroni. “But I am okay with any nicknames the Japanese
fans have for me.” Japan Football Association (JFA) president Junji
Ogura predicted the Italian would lead Japan to the quarter-finals of
the next World Cup in Brazil.

“I expect him to get the Blue Samurai to the last eight in 2014,” Ogura said in a statement.

“He has vast experience and is a real tactician of the game. I expect him to get Japan to play an attacking style of soccer.”

Zaccheroni’s Samurai

The JFA did not
reveal details of Zaccheroni’s contract but it is understood he has
signed a two-year deal with an option for another two years.

Zaccheroni, who led
AC Milan to the Serie A title in 1999, said: “I jumped at the
opportunity when the JFA came with their offer.” He praised the work of
predecessor Okada, who led Japan to the last 16 of the World Cup in
South Africa.

“Okada-san did a
fantastic job,” said Zaccheroni. “He left a great foundation in place.”
Zaccheroni will watch Saturday’s home friendly against Paraguay in
Yokohama from the stands as he is still waiting for a work permit.

“Coaching a
national team was the only challenge left for me,” said Zaccheroni,
whose first game in charge is expected to be the October 8 friendly
with Argentina in Saitama.

“Now I have the
opportunity.” JFA technical director Hiromi Hara said Zaccheroni’s lack
of experience outside of Japan would not be a factor.

“His motivation and passion will make up for that,” said Hara. “It’s a life’s ambition for him to coach a national team.”

Nduka Ugbade,
former Nigerian international and coach of the MFM Ikeja team of the
ongoing Mountain of Fire Ministries (MFM) Cup, is sure his players have
the ability to emerge champions at the end of the tournament.

Ugbade’s team
booked a semi-final ticket yesterday after defeating MFM Ojo 6-5 via
penalties after the game had ended 0-0 at full time.

“It was a tough
encounter but thank God we won in the end. I am happy with the
performance of my players and I believe that they are capable of
winning the tournament barring any unfortunate development,” Ugbade
said.

He praised Daniel
Olukoya, pastor in charge of MFM and sponsor of the tournament for
bankrolling the event, noting that it is good way of using football to
reposition African youth for God.

Other quarter-final
matches were played yesterday with defending champions, MFM
headquarters joining Ugbade’s team in the last four. They beat MFM Kano
3-0.

Fidelis Ilechukwu, coach of the team said the ability of his boys to listen to instructions gave them victory.

The other two
quarter- final, which involved MFM Kwara and MFM Ijaiye as well as the
one involving MFM Benin and MFM Ejigbo were still on as at the time of
writing. The Olukayo is in its fifth edition.

Kenya’s David
Rudisha lowered the 800 metres world record to 1 minute 41.01 at a
meeting in Rieti in Italy on Sunday, just a week after first breaking
the record.

The 21-year-old,
who broke the record that had stood for 13 years in Berlin last Sunday
when he ran 1:41.09, powered down the home straight at the IAAF World
Challenge meeting to easily better that mark.

Denmark’s Wilson
Kipketer set 1.41.11 in 1997 in Cologne, Germany but Rudisha has
suddenly ripped up the record books twice and told Reuters on Monday he
can go even quicker in his pursuit of world and Olympic gold.

Promise to return fulfilled

Last year at Rieti
he had told the crowd he would “return to do something great”. Rudisha,
who made a surprise semi-final exit at the Berlin world championships,
last year, is the son of Daniel Rudisha who was a member of the 4x400m
Olympics silver-winning relay team in Mexico City in 1968.

The small city of
Rieti near Rome, celebrating the 40th anniversary of its meet, has a
long heritage of records being broken at the quaint track and Jamaica’s
Nesta Carter also ran the joint-fastest 100 metres this year to win the
final.

He scorched down the track in 9.78, equalling Tyson Gay’s effort at the London Diamond League meeting earlier this month.

American Ryan
Bailey and Jamaican Mario Forsythe ran personal bests of 9.88 and 9.95
for second and third while France’s European champion Christophe
Lemaitre set a national record of 9.97 in fourth.

Olympic 110m
hurdles bronze medallist David Oliver of the United States, who has
been enjoying a stunning season, failed in his bid to break the world
record but set a meeting record of 13.01 despite hitting two hurdles.

Italy is again the focus for athletics on Tuesday when world 800m
champion Caster Semenya and 2004 100m Olympic champion Justin Gatlin
are in action in Rovereto.

Nigeria’s Samuel
Peter has disclosed that his next bout following the September 11 world
title fight against Wladimir Klitschko, will be against Britain’s David
Haye.

Haye is currently
one of the top heavyweights in the world and is the holder of the World
Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight title. The Briton has for long
been linked with a fight against either Wladimir or his elder brother
Vitali, but that has yet to see the light of day.

Peter, a former
heavyweight champion, has fought against the Klitschko brothers, losing
on both occasions. The first was against Wladimir in 2005, before
coming up against Vitali in 2008.

Speaking recently
on a radio programme in the United States of America, the 29-year-old
Peter discussed why he continues to reach agreements for Klitschko
fights, while other prominent heavyweights like Alexander Povetkin,
Nikolai Valuev and, especially the very outspoken Haye, are unable to
reach a deal with the Ukrainian-born brothers.

Promoters

According to the
Nigerian, a lot of the negotiations are political and some have too
many promoters involved. He then went on to disclose that if he ends up
winning his September 11 bout, he will request his promoters, Top Rank,
to make a deal for him to get into the ring with Haye.

“In each case,
there are issues,” said Peter. “Take Valuev, he has two promoters, and
each of them takes a certain percentage for their fees. After this,
there remains little money. So he wants to get paid more.

“David Haye is
another story. In the press, he has made these aggressive attacks and
gave the image of a fighting boy,” Peter said. “But once Haye took the
WBA title from Valuev, he grew up from fighting boy into a businessman.

“He no longer wants
Klitschko. To him, it’s better to earn without the risk of defeat.
Let’s see if my promoters can agree on a fight with Haye after
September 11, when I’ll take the championship belt from Wladimir,”
boasted Peter, before adding: “To tell you the truth, I already feel
like a champion.” If Peter emerges victorious on September 11, he will
annex the WBO and IBF titles from the Ukrainian. A fight against Haye,
who plans on taking on Audley Harrison before the end of the year, will
thus act as a unifying bout.

The WBC crown is, however, held by the older of the Klitschko brothers.

Ismaily’s coach,
Mark Wotte, has accused the Confederation of African Football (CAF),
following the Egyptian side’s defeat at the hands of Nigeria’s
Heartland in last weekend’s CAF Champions League fixture.

This follows the
decision of the football governing body to reject the Egyptian club’s
request to alter the timing of the game decided at the Dan Anyiam
Stadium in Owerri.

The match got
underway at 1500 hours local time, with Heartland securing their first
win of the group stage of the tournament after coming from a goal down
to win 2-1 with the winning goal arriving five minutes from the end of
the game.

With only two games
left before the end of the group stage, Sunday’s loss all but ended
Ismaily’s hopes of advancing to the semi-finals, but Wotte feels the
situation would had been different had CAF, whose headquarters is in
Egypt, accepted their request to change the kickoff time after his
players refused to break their fast.

Depleted energy

Last Sunday was the
19th day of Islam’s holy month of Ramadan and the Ismaily coach
believes the fasting depleted his players’ energy levels.

“I don’t want to
speak about religious issues but the fasting affected my players
today,” Wotte said, following Ismaily’s third group stage defeat in
four games.

“CAF is to blame for that because it forced us to play during the day. It should have changed the timing of the match.

“Food is very
important for the players. They couldn’t perform well in the second
half. They lost energy and concentration.” Ismaily’s defeat leaves them
at the bottom of the Group B standings with three points, one behind
third-placed Heartland and two behind fellow Egyptian club side Al-Ahly
who lie in second place following their unimpressive 1-1 draw against
visiting JS Kabylie of Algeria, also on Sunday.

The draw in Cairo
ensured Kabylie, who finished the game with 10 men, became the first
club to advance to the semi-finals of this year’s CAF Champions League
with an unassailable 10 points.

Al-Ahly or
Heartland can still join Kabylie if they win their remaining two games
but they’ll have to play each other in Cairo on September 12, making it
impossible for both teams to overhaul the Algerians.

Al-Ahly’s coach
Hossam Al-Badri however feels his side, rather than Heartland, will be
the ones to join Kabylie in advancing to the last four of the
tournament they have won a record six times.

When asked about Ahli’s hopes of reaching the Champions League semi-finals,

Al-Badri, who berated his strikers for fluffing the numerous chances
that came their way against the Algerians, replied: “We are in second
place, so our chance to qualify for the next round is substantial.”

You must be very
familiar with the phrase “a coach is as good as his/her last match
result”. This is especially so in Nigeria, where winning at all costs,
by hook or by crook, is becoming the standard pattern in our sporting
activities. It can be argued that it is so in other parts of the world,
since sports, especially football, has a universal appeal and language.
Yes, this may be correct. The difference may be the level of moral
decadence and utter shamelessness with which we deal with issues
concerning competitions in this part of the globe. Decorum does not
seem to be part of our sports vocabulary. What a shame!

Past performances

We are now becoming
uncomfortable with the results of your recent performances, especially
some very crucial ones that now make you, with all due respects, look
like a tiny start-up, taking on giants.In Nigeria, advantage
increasingly depends on strategic manoeuvres with the highest level of
dexterity, rather than political position.

I am sure that you
also know, more than before, that mediocrity is not only celebrated in
Nigerian sports, it is preferred to professionalism. You must have also
come to realise that lawlessness, ineptitude, absolute disregard and
disrespect for the laws of this country, are being legitimised.

Otherwise, how do
we reconcile the fact that Nigerians are now being made to believe that
the so-called NFF congress and FIFA are more powerful than the Federal
Government? How does anyone explain why the FIFA statues have rendered
our law courts ridiculously nonsensical? The truth is that, honourable
minister, you have lost three games in very quick successions, and
these results have affected your rating terribly.

Repercussions

But what went
wrong? Well, since we are talking sports, permit me to draw from my bag
of Judo experience. Maybe this metaphor will help, if only you will
have time to practise some of the tips.

For instance, how
do you compete with opponents who have size, strength, and history on
their side? Maybe I should warn you never to believe anyone who tells
you that your opponents, the enemies of sports in Nigeria, are
toothless or powerless. A bulldog is a bulldog, just as a snake will
remain a snake – big or small, it is dangerous.

Believe me, your
opponents are not only desperate, they have the size, strength,
history, and most importantly, the money to squander. They are also
experts at fighting without rules. My advice is simple. Please get one
of our Judo masters as a personal coach, and you will discover that
with the core principles of Judo – movement, balance, and leverage, you
can easily turn your opponent’s weight and power to your own advantage.
My coaching instinct tells me to keep the details for ‘security’
reasons.

But then, something
tells me that your opponents have successfully studied your antecedents
as transport minister, discovered your strength and weaknesses, and
bang…bang…bang…

The average
Nigerian athlete is not happy with you, sir. Why postpone the National
Sports Festival? Thousands of these athletes have been training – in
very terrible conditions, and they have been looking forward to the fun
derived from participating in this festival.

Poorly paid coaches
have worked on these athletes. Parents have bought training kits for
their wards, believing that this may be the sports festival that will
provide the platform for their wards to become national champions and
eventually have the opportunity to represent Nigeria at international
competitions. Whoever is responsible for the postponement has not done
any good. The postponement is counter-productive.

Did anyone in the
Sports Commission think of the implications? What happens to the
training regimen put in place by the coaches and trainers? Do athletes
and trainers also “postpone” their training programmes? What happens to
the funds already allocated for the festival? Would this not be another
opportunity for the hawks in Nigerian sports to swoop on?

If the state to
host the festival is not ready, is there no back-up state standing by
to host? Has Abuja not got the required facilities to host? And to
think that February 2011 is the new period being considered, is beyond
reasonable imagination, except this is an indication that there will be
no “operation totality” (sincere apologies to Uncle Aremu) general
elections in January 2011, in Nigeria.

Sincerely, the odds
seem to be against you, sir. By the way, are Nigerians sure that we
will be adequately represented at the forthcoming Commonwealth games?
Is the NOC still in existence in this country?

I wish these thoughts will find an echo in your heart. There is the
urgent need for a review of your strategy. There may be hypocrites and
very obsequious people around you. Please do not forget that this is
Nigeria, where money talks. Watch out for the banana peels. For the
sake of millions of Nigerians praying for you, please, beware!

The Africa Cup of
Nations qualifying match between Nigeria and Madagascar originally
scheduled for the National Stadium in Abuja will now take place in
Calabar, Cross River State.

Robinson Okosun,
Media officer of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), who disclosed
this yesterday, said the match was moved from Abuja because of the
ongoing ECOWAS youth games taking place at the National Stadium.

“The match will now be taking place at the U. J.Esuene Stadium in Calabar,” Robinson said.

Two states, Kaduna
and Cross River were pencilled down as possible venues for the match,
given the interest shown by them in hosting the encounter. But NFF
officials favoured Calabar.

The federation has
been in dire financial straits since the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC), which is investigating allegations of financial
impropriety against the last board headed by Sani Lulu, had its
accounts frozen in July.

The situation
forced the federation to go begging for funds to organise the last
Federation Cup final, which took place in Kano. It finally reached an
agreement with the Kano State Government, which bankrolled the event to
the tune of N30 million.

It is not yet clear
how much the cross river State government will be making available to
host the match. What is certain is they will be splashing money on the
hosting of the encounter.

Pros flock in

Meanwhile, Eagles
coach, Austin Eguavoen stepped up preparation for the encounter with 21
players in attendance during yesterday’s training session. Eleven of
these were the foreign-based professional most of who started coming
into the country on Sunday. Present at yesterday’s session were
Fulham’s Dickson Etuhu, Obafemi Martins, Michael Eneramo, Vincent
Enyeama, Kalu Uche, Olufemi Ajilore, Solomon Okoronkwo, Stanley Okoro,
Dele Aiyenugba, Chidi Ordiah, and Sam Sodje who was recently linked
with a move to MK Dons in the English premiership.

Robinson revealed
that the team’s assistant captain, Joseph Yobo, who was expected to
wrap up a deal with Turkish side Fernabache yesterday evening after
being initially thought to be close to a deal with West Ham, is
expected to fly in tomorrow along with Mikel Obi, who was reported to
have been threatened by the NFF to forget about future invitations to
the national team if he does not show up for the match against
Madagascar.

Bolton defender,
Danny Shittu is also expected in camp today. The player who was in
Lagos on Monday to promote a football talent programme, which he is
organising along with a sports paper based in Lagos, flew out of the
country immediately to wrap up a deal with an undisclosed club. Shittu,
who has endured a difficult time on the bench at Bolton Wanderers since
his move there in 2008, was said to have two offers on the table.

Players in Dickson Etuhu Obafemi Martins Michael Eneramo Vincent
Enyeama Kalu Uche Sam Sodje Obafemi Ajilore Solomon Okoronkwo Stanley
Okoro Dele Aiyenugba Chidi Ordiah