French Open

Fans get behind Maria

Maria Sharapova of Russia jubilates after winning against compatriot Yaroslava Shedova in the French Open third round match at Roland Garros in Paris on Friday.

Dealing with adversity has brought Maria Sharapova a new fan base in Paris, the Russian glamour girl believes.

The former World No.1 has gone the distance in the three matches she has played to date at this year's French Open coming from behind with defeat staring her in the face on each occasion to reach the last 16.

And that in just her second tournament back after a 10-month injury layoff to deal with an injury to her right shoulder that was casting a dark cloud over the rest of her career.

It has revealed another side to a once dominant player much admired for her looks and star appeal and respected for her all-action style, but seldom a sentimental favourite.

Asked if she had noticed a change in the way the Roland Garros faithful had got behind her this year the 22-year-old Sharapova replied: "Yeah, probably because you're ranked outside the top 100, so people like you.

"When you're No. 1 in the world, for some reason they don't like you anymore. It's amazing how the society works.

"Especially here in France, I think they always love the underdog, and they always love the one that comes back from behind, or the one that's not expected to win. I'm probably that person."

Sharapova admits that the 10 months she sat on the sidelines have given her a new perspective on life allowing her to enjoy new experiences and take some time away from the spotlight.

But she says that the time was ripe for her return to competition and she is determined to make the most out of it no matter how it goes.

"I'm full of surprises. I surprise myself on a daily basis," she said.

"I'll tell you, just when you think you've seen everything, I manage to just shock everyone. Just ask a member of my team.

"I think coming into Warsaw and coming into this tournament, it's all really a test and it still is a test."

Next test for Sharapova on Sunday will be China's Li Na, herself the victim of a career-threatening injury to her right knee.

The two have played four times with Sharapova winning in straight sets each time. But it will be the first time that the two have played on clay and the first since the 2006 US Open.

The prize for the winner will be a quarter-final spot and every chance of reaching the last four.

KP admits T20 flaws?

The most expensive IPL player and flamboyant England batsman Kevin Pietersen has confessed he is not good at playing the hugely popular Twenty20 format but vowed to make amends during in the World Championships, beginning next week.

"I'm not very good at Twenty20 cricket, am I?" Pietersen said on the eve of the World T20 Championships in England.

"The more you play T20 cricket the better you become and I haven't played a lot of it, and I'm not very good at it," he was quoted as saying by 'The Mirror'.

Pietersen, who was not a part of the inaugural edition of IPL, played only six matches in the IPL-II in South Africa and has made just one T20 50 for England, averaging 26.

Pietersen disclosed he had developed new theories to suit his batting to the quickest format of the game.

"The more I play it though the more I'll catch up with my records in Test and one-day cricket definitely. I just know that I will get much better at it. I've worked out some new theories about how to go about my batting in T20 and that will make a difference, hopefully starting next week!" he said.

The 28-year-old ex-England captain, who failed to impress as the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain in IPL, said he loved the experience.

"I made a great captain didn't I," Pietersen said in a lighter vein.

Expecting much from Bravo:

While his colleagues shivered and slumped to an embarrassing Test series defeat in England, Dwayne Bravo was gaining crucial Twenty20 experience in the IPL.

Playing in the same Mumbai Indian squad as Sachin Tendulkar, he hit a memorable unbeaten 70 against Kings XI Punjab although his efforts weren't enough to give his side a semifinal place.

The 25-year-old Trinidadian had long been touted as a future West Indies star ever since his Test debut in 2004 when he snatched three wickets against England at Lord's.

His reputation grew, especially in the limited overs form of the game, and he took over the captaincy in 2007 when Chris Gayle was injured.

Bravo suffered an ankle injury in 2008 which kept him sidelined for eight months.

Despite returning to face England in the ODI series in the Caribbean earlier this year, he wasn't selected for the tour to face Andrew Strauss's side and he was allowed to play again for the Mumbai Indians.

Like Gayle, Bravo is a fan of the IPL.

"I learn about others. IPL has been great in that way. These are the players you are playing against, and now you get to know them better," he told www.cricinfo.com.

He also admitted that his frustrating time out of the game also helped him refocus.

"For those eight months, I had a lot of time to think about where I wanted my career to go. I definitely want to make up for mistakes," added a man who is averaging just over 16 with the bat in his nine T20 internationals while also picking up four wickets.

"Sometimes the shot selection wasn't great, some times it was bad decisions by me and other times, I used to bat after a long bowling spell and felt tired."

"That's why I am working very hard on my fitness now. I want to play well and for long, contribute to my team's success consistently."

ICC World Twenty20

An Indian encore?

Mahendra Singh Dhoni will relive a pathbreaking moment in his fairytale career when he leads India's defence of the World Twenty20 title in England.

Dhoni marshalled India to a stunning triumph in the inaugural World T20 in South Africa in 2007, his first assignment as captain after just two years as a regular team member.

He has not looked back since, rising from a lowly and poorly paid railway employee in his home town Ranchi in eastern India to become one of the country's most celebrated sportsmen.

Some call him India's lucky mascot, others marvel at his unflappable composure that has earned the dashing batsman-wicketkeeper the nickname of 'Captain Cool', but no one doubts his Midas touch.

The supremely confident Dhoni has won five of his seven Tests as captain, with the remaining two ending in draws.

He also has 31 wins in 50 one-day matches at the helm and six victories in 12 Twenty20 internationals, securing Dhoni the status of cult figure in the cricket-obsessed country.

Lucrative sponsorship deals have followed and he is the highest-paid home star in the Indian Premier League with a 1.5-million-dollar-a-year contract with the Chennai Super Kings.

"He is a very impressive captain who knows how to get the best out of his team," said former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar, who handed Dhoni the top job in 2007 as chairman of the selection committee.

World batting record holder Sachin Tendulkar, now in his 20th year in international cricket, is another Dhoni fan.

"I am extremely happy and delighted at the way he has conducted himself," said Tendulkar. "He is a balanced guy and is always on his toes all the time.

"Before he was made the captain, standing in the slips I interacted with him, and he picked up a lot of things which clearly indicated that he has a sharp brain.

"His approach is pretty clear and not complicated."

Dhoni led India to its first Test series win in New Zealand in 42 years in March, following impressive home wins against world champions Australia and England earlier in the season.

But he himself admits that retaining the World Twenty20 title will be a tough act to follow.

"It will be silly to name favourites in a 40-over game, things can change so quickly," he said. "It all depends on how one plays on a particular day.

"The secret is to play to your potential and try to be as consistent as possible. Hopefully we will do that in England."

India are drawn with Bangladesh and Ireland in the preliminary round, but face the prospect of battling Australia, South Africa and England in the Super Eights.

French Open

Samantha stuns Elena

Roddick in last 16

Australia's Samantha Stosur pumps her fist after beating Russia's Elena Dementieva in the French Open third round match at Roland Garros in Paris yesterday.

Russian fourth seed Elena Dementieva, the 2004 Roland Garros runner-up, was sent crashing out of the French Open in the third round on Saturday by Australia's Samantha Stosur.

The 30th seed won 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for only the second time in her career, and the first time on the testing clay courts of the French capital.

Stosur will now tackle France's Virginie Razzano, who put out Italian veteran Tathiana Garbin 7-5, 7-5, where a victory would make her the first Australian woman to make the quarter-finals here since Jelena Dokic in 2002.

"I am far away from being in good shape," admitted the 27-year-old Dementieva.

"She was very solid and there wasn't enough power from me so I will have to work on my physical conditioning in time for Wimbledon."

The 27-year-old Russian had struggled in the previous round when she went a set down to Dokic before the Australian retired in tears with a back injury.

Dementieva praised Stosur's physical ability and fitness.

"It's difficult to play against someone who is so fit. Her serve is unusual for the women's game, there's a lot of spin and she has a very powerful game," said Dementieva.

Gold Coast resident Stosur, who had lost to the Russian in the third round of the Australian Open, took the first set with a trademark, big forehand before both players struggled with the windy conditions inside Court Philippe Chatrier.

The first four games of the second set all went against serve until Dementieva made the crucial break in the 10th game to level the tie.

But 25-year-old Stosur raced away in the decider taking a 4-0 lead before wrapping up the match with another power-packed, crosscourt winner as Dementieva joined third seed Venus Williams as a major third round casualty.

"I came out playing well. I wasn't too nervous and I tried the handle the wind as best as I could," said Stosur.

"Even though I lost the second set, I knew I had to keep plugging away in the third."

Fifth seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic, a semi-finalist in the last two years, brushed aside Australia's world number 73 Jarmila Groth 6-1, 6-1.

Jankovic will face either Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki or Romania's Sorana Cirstea for a place in the quarter-finals.

Svetlana Kuznetsova, the Russian seventh seed, continued her low-profile progress through with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Hungary's Melinda Czink.

Kuznetsova, a former US Open champion and who was runner-up here in 2006, has lost just 11 games on her way to the fourth round for a sixth successive year.

The 23-year-old will face Polish 12th seed Agnieszka Radwanska who put out unseeded Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko 6-2, 6-4 for a place in the quarter-finals.

"Radwanska moves well. She reads the game well. It's her strength. As far as weaknesses are concerned, I will keep to myself," said Kuznetsova.

Belarussian ninth seed Victoria Azarenka set up a last 16 clash against defending champion Ana Ivanovic after she beat Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 in a tie held which was suspended Friday because of bad light.

Later Saturday, American second seed, and 2002 champion, Serena Williams faces Spain's Maria Jose Martina Sanchez who has never made the last 16 of a Grand Slam.

Andy Roddick reached the last 16 at the French Open for the first time in his career on Saturday by defeating France's Marc Gicquel 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.

It was a stunning turnaround in fortunes on clay for the former world No.1 who went out in the first round here in 2006 and 2007 before missing last year's tournament with a shoulder injury.

The win made him just the second American through to fourth round at the French Open since Andre Agassi in 2003, Robbie Ginepri having achieved the feat last year.

Also through to the last 16 in early action was German veteran Tommy Haas who defeated France's Jeremy Chardy 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

It was just the second time that the 31-year-old had made it through to the fourth round in Paris and he will take on either second seed Roger Federer or Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu for a place in the last eight.

Argentine fifth seed Juan Martin Del Potro reached the French Open last 16 on Saturday with a 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 win over Russia's 25th seed Igor Andreev.

Del Potro faces either France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Christophe Rochus of Belgium for a place in the quarter-finals.

ICC World Twenty20

Big-talking Kiwis

Despite their unimpressive credentials, the New Zealand World Twenty20 squad are talking boldly from their camp at Sir John Paul Getty's palatial estate on the outskirts of London.

"A lot of thought has gone into the preparation for this tournament and we hope that it will be rewarded," coach Andy Moles said.

If the just-completed Indian Premier League (IPL) series is any yardstick that is a big hope, but then New Zealand takes the view that the shorter the game the more level the playing field.

Ranked eighth in Test cricket and leaping to fourth in ODIs, New Zealand sees opportunity in the blossoming Twenty20 version of the game -- even if none of its seven players in the IPL tournament performed with real distinction.

Ross Taylor of the Bangalore Royal Challengers -- the beaten finalists -- was the best of the stroke makers but his average 31.11 only ranked him 15th in the tournament.

Kyle Mills was on the Mumbai Indian payroll but not used at all while the rest of the New Zealand contingent fell somewhere between Taylor and Mills with largely non-descript performances from limited appearances.

But the failure of the cream of New Zealand's cricket crop to set the IPL alight did not bother selector Glenn Turner going into the World Twenty20.

"The nature of the beast which is the Twenty20 game is very hit and miss," Turner said, adding that even net practice at the IPL was better than "sitting at home in the winter doing nothing".

Notwithstanding the IPL performances, an upbeat Moles maintained New Zealand deserved to be ranked as potential champions given that the hit-and-hope nature of Twenty20 reduced the talent difference between sides.

"We have plenty of match-winners with bat and ball; it's a matter of them performing as consistently as possible. This is our strongest squad so there are no excuses," he said.

Moles is promising New Zealand will be "very aggressive" in the tournament, and one area which could prove vital is their renowned fielding, where accuracy can go some way towards compensating for batting and bowling shortfalls.

There could even be a lift from the pride of playing for country instead of IPL cash, although a recent survey of New Zealand's top cricketers showed 45 percent now see an IPL contract as the pinnacle of world cricket.

But the bottom line is that the senior players who failed to impress at the IPL who will have to find a sudden burst of form to lead the way.

In addition to Taylor, Brendon McCullum was showing signs of class with the bat towards the end of the IPL although his Kolkata Knight Riders finished last.

However, the remainder of the New Zealand contingent -- Jesse Ryder, Jacob Oram, Daniel Vettori and Scott Styris, were relegated to being spare parts contributors.

Of the balance of the squad Iain O'Brien, James Franklin, Ian Butler and Peter McGlashan have been playing in England while Brendon Diamanti, Nathan McCullum, Neil Broom and Martin Guptill remained in New Zealand.