 | Serena Williams escapes defeat,
advances at Wimbledon SERENA Williams hit a
Wimbledon-record 23 aces,
held every service game and
narrowly escaped an upset bid
by Zheng Jie, winning 6-7 (5-
7), 6-2, 9-7 in the third round
Saturday.
Williams, who erased all six
break points she faced, served
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| | Spain ponders tactical system against settled Italy |  SPAIN have not got to three
successive major finals by
worrying too much about
their opponents but Sunday´s
Euro 2012 decider with Italy
might give coach Vicente Del
Bosque a few moustachestroking
moments.
The all-pervasive influence
of Andrea Pirlo on Italy´s run
to the final means Spain know
they have to restrict his time
on the ball - and ensure they
mark the Italian front runners
more tightly than many other
sides have during the tournament.
The only goal Spain have
conceded came when Pirlo
briefly escaped the attentions
of his buzzing midfield opponents
to set up Antonio Di
Natale and he has been at the
heart of most of Italy´s attacks
all the way through.
Del Bosque started without
a recognized ... | | | Stoner shares Dutch title
lead with Lorenzo |  CASEY Stoner moved back on
top of the championship
standings after winning the
Dutch MotoGP ahead of
Honda teammate Dani
Pedrosa at Assen.
The world champion started
on pole but soon found himself
behind Pedrosa before re-taking
the lead with nine laps
remaining and surging clear to
win by almost five seconds.
Italy´s Andrea Dovizioso finished
third ahead of fellow
Yamaha rider Ben Spies of the
United States.
However the race was overshadowed
by an early crash
involving Alvaro Bautista and
Jorge Lorenzo that denied
Yamaha´s world championship
leader the chance of a
fourth successive victory.
Lorenzo was furious after
being taken out at turn one
and the Spaniard was forced to
watch as Stoner ... | | | Pirlo driving Italy into
Euro 2012 contention |  BEING VOTED man of the
match in a Euro 2012 semifinal
when a team mate has
scored two superb goals in a
2-1 victory is some indication
of the all-powerful influence
Andrea Pirlo has on Italy at
the moment.
Mario Balotelli grabbed the
headlines in the semi-final
win over Germany, but not all
the glory, as Pirlo´s relentless
probing and promptings were
recognized with his third
individual award of the tournament.
He also scooped the award
after a commanding performance
in the quarter-final,
where his audacious chipped
penalty helped Italy to their
shootout win over England
after a goalless 120 minutes.
Another came after the 1-1
draw with Croatia in the
group stage, where he produced
something of a rarity in
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