Sports News: General

New York, Sep 5 (Xinhua) Female tennis players will be allowed to consult with their coaches during matches starting next year, the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) announced here.

By Mike Collett
LONDON (Reuters) - The departures of Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan and West Ham United's Alan Curbishley just three games into the Premier League season had nothing to do with their teams' results on the field.

Taipei, Sep 5 (DPA) A Beijing Olympics gold medal was put up for auction on a Taiwan website, but the seller or the website later removed the posting, a newspaper said Friday.

New York, Sep 5 (DPA) Roger Federer charged into a record 18th straight Grand Slam semi-final as he fought to oust feisty qualifier Gilles Muller 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) at the US Open.

London, Sep 5 (DPA) Confusion and rancour reigned on Tyneside Friday after manager Kevin Keegan's departure from Newcastle United was finally confirmed.

Novak Djokovic said he overreacted to jokes about his long list of injuries when he lashed out at Andy Roddick after defeating the American on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the US Open.

Felipe Massa expects team mate Kimi Raikkonen to return a favour and help him become Formula One world champion if he remains Ferrari's leading driver in the final stages of the season.

Kevin Keegan resigned as manager of Newcastle United on Thursday, less than eight months after taking charge of the Premier League club for the second time.

Washington, Sept 5 (ANI): Olympic golden boy Michael Phelps has been offered a recurring role in hit TV series Entourage.

By Larry Fine
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic said he overreacted to jokes about his long list of injuries when he lashed out at Andy Roddick after defeating the American on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the U.S. Open.

At 35, Leander Paes may not be getting any younger but having added the US Open mixed doubles title to his cupboard, the Indian ace is just not interested in retirement talks.

By Mark Lamport-Stokes
NEW YORK (Reuters) - After arriving at the U.S. Open ring-rusty because of a shoulder injury, crowd favourite Andy Roddick exited the tournament in a positive mood despite losing at the quarter-final stage on Thursday.

By Mark Lamport-Stokes
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Four-times champion Roger Federer weathered a tough battle against Luxembourg qualifier Gilles Muller to book his place in the U.S. Open semi-final with a 7-6 6-4 7-6 win on Thursday.

By Pritha Sarkar
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick put in a show-stopping performance at the U.S. Open on Thursday night but only the fired up Serbian was left standing to take an encore -- albeit from a hostile Flushing Meadows crowd.

By Tom Pilcher
LONDON (Reuters) - Carrying bags of cement and water purifiers up a Guatemalan hillside in the name of charity makes soccer training seem easy, says England international Shaun Wright-Phillips who has been helping out in the Central American country.

New York, Sep 5 (IANS) India's Leander Paes won his second US Open and fourth Grand Slam mixed doubles title here at the Flushing Meadows when he and his Zimbabwean partner Cara Black beat Scot Jamie Murray and American Liezel Huber in the final 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 late Thursday night.

Leander Paes completed a career mixed doubles Grand Slam on Thursday with Zimbabwe's Cara Black to beat Britain's Jamie Murray and American Liezel Huber 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 in the US Open final.

Four top seeds with a shot at the world number one WTA ranking go head-to-head in the semi-finals of the US Open on Friday.

(AFP) For Roger Federer to win his fifth US Open title in a row, the Swiss second seed must prove he still has what it takes to beat Novak Djokovic, this time in a semi-final rematch of last year's final.

Brasilia, Sep 5 (DPA) Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a great football fan, has said that Argentine Lionel Messi 'is the best player in the world,' in comments published Thursday.