Leitner wins in the Open of Traiskirchen

Top seeded player Wolfgang Leitner beat Robert Lenz in a great final 2-1.He is the first player who wins this historic tournament the third time ina row. Karl-Heinz Haider and Manfred Pawlica reached the semis. In theveterans competition Erich Hinkelmann beat Marcus Tilgner in Sudden death.

The team tournament was dominated by TFC Mattersburg. They didn’t lost asingle game. In the final Sparta Spreeathen Berlin74/82 was beaten 3:0.

Björn Kegenbein (Ger, U19), Dominik Vanek (Cz, U15) and Jelena Radic(Women) are the winners of the other categories.

http://home.arcor.de/mtilgner/bfc08/bfc-08.htm

Cremona wins in Malta

Massimo Cremona won both tournaments last week-end in hamrun. There were players from Malta and Italy taking part. Matthew Pace (Open) and DarrenBezzina (GP) were the U15 winners while the Veterans titles went to EmilioRichichi (Open) and Adrian Bonnici (GP). Here are the Open results: OPEN: against Ilai Zammit Marmara 1-0 on shots after a 1-1 drawSemi-finalists: Kenneth Attard & Derek Conti. GRAND PRIX: against Charles Aquilina 1-0Semi-finalists: Derek Conti & Emilio Richichi.

Inter Reach Coppa Italia Final

Two second-half goals put 10-man Inter Milan into their fourth consecutive Coppa Italia final with a second-leg semi-final win at Lazio



Following a goalless draw in Milan, Portuguese midfielder Pele put Roberto Mancini's side ahead in the 52nd minute at the Stadio Olimpico before Julio Cruz capitalised on a goalkeeping error with seven minutes left to play. Two minutes earlier, Nerazzurro defender Marco Materazzi had been sent off for a harsh foul on Goran Pandev. Inter will face the winner of Thursday's tie between Roma and Catania. Roma lead 1-0 from the first leg.

With the Nerazzurri focused on clinching the Scudetto this weekend, Mancini rested several of his top players in view of Sunday's league encounter against Siena. Inter struggled against a dominant Lazio, who had clear chances to score but were unlucky on the night. Christian Ledesma struck the post early on before Tommaso Rocchi fired just wide of the far post midway through the first half. Luis Jimenez should have put Inter in front before the break but he fired wide from close range.

Shortly after the restart, goalkeeper Francesco Toldo was forced to make a one-handed save from Rocchi's powerful header. Just when Lazio looked more deadly, Inter broke the deadlock. Pele fired past goalkeeper Marco Ballotta from David Suazo's low cross. Shortly after the hour mark, coach Mancini was handed his marching orders for dissent following his sarcastic applauding of the referee. Ledesma almost equalised on the hour mark but Toldo did well to fully stretch to clear the midfielder's left-footed strike. Materazzi's sending off did not hinder Inter as soon after Cruz tapped in from Ballotta's poor clearance.

Inter captain Javier Zanetti could not hide his delight after the game."We really wanted this final and we are happy to have made it," he said. "I think we played well and now we must recover our energies in view of Sunday's game."As for Lazio, coach Delio Rossi believes his team leave the competition with their heads held high.

"It's painful not to have progressed considering what we have done tonight," said Lazio coach Delio Rossi. "I think we deserved better, my players showed a lot of determination but it wasn't enough."

Federer cruises in Rome

World number one Roger Federer beat Croatia's Ivo Karlovic 7-6 6-3 in the Rome Masters to book a quarter-final against Czech Radek Stepanek.

Earlier, Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic edged past Russia's Igor Andreev 6-3 3-6 6-3 in his third round match and will face Spain's Nicolas Almagro in the last eight. Top seed Federer's fluid tennis met stubborn resistance from Karlovic in the first set. The Croat, aided by some brutal serves, saved four break points in the eighth game and a set point in the 12th before losing the tiebreak.
Federer then drilled a forehand on to the line to clinch the third of three break points in the fifth game of the second and broke again in the final game of the set to cruise home.

Third seed Djokovic had to work much harder against Andreev. After an early exchange of breaks, the 20-year-old Serb took Andreev's serve in the fourth game with impressive returns and wrapped up the set with a beautifully executed serve-and-volley. But the Russian had no intention of lying down in their third round match and pulled back into contention by taking the second set having broken in the fourth game. Djokovic looked rattled for a spell and came close to losing his serve again three times before regaining his composure to break in the second game of the final set. Serbia's world number three had to dig himself out of more trouble in the seventh game of the decider before serving out the match.

Stepanek set up a match against Federer by ending Peruvian qualifier Luis Horna's impressive run with a 6-4 1-6 6-3 win. Almagro, who knocked out Argentine seventh seed David Nalbandian in the second round, went straight into the last eight after Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, last year's finalist, pulled out of their match with a leg injury. Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 2001 champion, meets Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka later on Thursday in their third round match after halting second-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal's bid for a fourth straight Rome title on Wednesday

Nadal bounced out by Ferrero

Rafael Nadal's bid to win a fourth straight Rome Masters title stumbled at the first hurdle when the Spaniard lost 7-5 6-1 to compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero.



It is only the second time in his last 105 games that world number two Nadal has lost on clay including his defeat by Roger Federer in the final of last year's Hamburg Masters. Ferrero, the unseeded 2001 champion, will now meet Stanislas Wawrinka in the third round after the Swiss player defeated Andy Murray. The unseeded Ferrero consistently put number two seed Nadal under pressure in the first set.

A venomous serve helped the Spaniard save a set point in the 10th game but Ferrero got his reward two later, clinching the crucial break with a fine cross-court backhand. Nadal had also been let down by some uncharacteristic unforced errors, with over-hit forehands costing him three set points in the ninth game of the first set.
Ferrero grew in confidence and took the second of two break points in the fourth game of the second set, after Nadal saved the first with a brave drop shot.

Nadal then hit a net volley wide with the court begging when 4-1 down in the second set to confirm the impression he was far from his best, although he did have treatment on a foot blister at the end of that game. Ferrero broke again straight after the restart and then served out the match to record his second win over his compatriot in eight encounters and his first on clay. "I didn't feel good on court," Nadal said. "I couldn't put my legs on the floor with power so every time I played short because I didn't have power in my legs." "The calendar is impossible," he aded. "Last week in Barcelona I said it was going to be impossible for me to play well four weeks in a row. "(Now) I'll try to have some rest at home and go to Hamburg with my best feelings."

Earlier, number three seed Novak Djokovic took full advantage of an error-strewn display from Steve Darcis to book his place in the third round with a 6-4 6-0 win.
Darcis started well and broke the Serb's serve in the third game of the match although Djokovic was quick to react and broke back immediately. The first set continued with serve until the Belgian was presented with a great chance to take the lead at 4-4 but he could not capitalise on the two break points handed to him. It turned to be the turning point in the match as Djokovic went on to take the game - and the opening set soon after.

Darcis never recovered and his confidence deserted him during the second set, Djokovic winning eight consecutive games to stay on course for glory in the Eternal City. Elsewhere, it was a bad day for top 10 seeds David Nalbandian and David Ferrer. Seventh seed Nalbandian crashed out to Nicolas Almagro 6-4 7-5 while Ferrer, seeded five, took the first set against Radek Stepanek but failed to take advantage, the Spaniard's game falling apart in the final two sets to lose 4-6 6-2 6-1. Meanwhile number eight seed James Blake battled to beat local favourite Andreas Seppi 7-6 (5) 3-6 6-1 and Luis Horna of Peru beat Argentina's Jose Acasuso 6-3 7-6 (1). Roger Federer moved into the third round on Tuesday with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Guillermo Canas. The world number one will face Croatia's Ivo Karlovic, who beat Italy's Potito Starace 6-3 6-7 7-6.

Four-midable champions Real humiliate Barca

Three days after wrapping up the title Real Madrid showed Barcelona why they are the new Spanish champions crushing their arch rivals 4-1 in El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.

Three days after wrapping up the title Real Madrid showed Barcelona why they are the new Spanish champions crushing their arch rivals 4-1 in El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.

An 18th goal of the season for Real captain Raul, another Arjen Robben header and strikes from substitutes Gonzalo Higuain and Ruud van Nistelrooy ensured a historic league double for Real, who won 1-0 at Camp Nou back in December, as they humiliated Barca to cap a fine season.

The loss means Barca must now qualify for the Champions League after losing second place to Villarreal who won 2-0 against Recreativo Huelva and are now seven points clear with two games remaining.

Barca players greeted newly-crowned champions Real in the guard of honour as they ran onto the pitch - a moment for Real to treasure and for Barca to try to wipe from the memory.

After a 6-0 drubbing of Valencia Barca should have been full of confidence but that seeped away when Real got off to the dream start after just 12 minutes with Raul curling a brilliant left-footed finish past Victor Valdes.

Barca were taunted by 'oles' and a chorus of 'champions' and it got worse when Robben bagged a second.

Robben said he had never scored a header after his vital goal in Sunday's 2-1 win over Osasuna but he repeated the trick taking advantage of some non-existent marking.
Real were far superior and Higuain, the hero against Osasuna, scored a third just after the hour mark before van Nistelrooy converted a penalty.

Thierry Henry struck a late consolation for the visitors after a great pass from Barca's shining light Lionel Messi before Barca lost Xavi for dissent seconds before the end. When the final whistle blew Real fans applauded their team for a fine season in which they have retained the championship for the first time since 1990.

Barca players trudged off and the Catalan club must rebuild for next season probably starting with a new manager. Frank Rijkaard is unlikely to be in charge with reserves coach Pep Guardiola emerging as the favourite to succeed the Dutchman.

Fois (ITA) wins in GP Argentina

Efisio Fois (Italy) won the Argentinian Grand Prix after he beat Patricio Echevarrieta (Argentina) in the final by a close 1-0. The argentinian players Sergio Pelle and Gregorio Caro Solís reached the semifinals.

Fantastic event displayed in Rosario, with the presence of 37 players in the Open Category, 12 veterans, 4 women, 9 U-15 players and 7 u-12 players. A tournament with more players than portuguese, spanish, french or english events, so it means that Argentina is growing in the correct way.

Other winners:

Veterans: Efisio Fois (Italy)
Female: Claudia Cuello (Argentina)
U-15: Fabrizio Castello (Argentina)
U-12: Nino Di Giannantonio (Argentina)

Full results in: http://www.asr08.com.ar/grandprix2008.htm#Gran_Prix