Wary Portugal gear up for Germany in Basel

TENERO (Switzerland), June 18: Portugal have had a wary eye on Germany since Euro 2008 began but their meeting in Thursday’s quarter-final in Basel could not have come at a better time for Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side.

Portugal have effectively had a week’s rest since qualifying with two wins against Turkey and the Czech Republic.

While Scolari had the luxury of changing his entire midfield and attack against Switzerland, in an irrelevant match they lost 2-0, Germany were scrapping for their lives to beat co-hosts Austria 1-0 and go through as Group B runners-up behind Croatia.

Germany are now counting the cost of those Monday night exertions, with top scorer Lukas Podolski, who has a calf injury, and Torsten Frings, who has broken a rib, fighting to be fit in time for the match on a re-laid pitch at St Jakob Park.

German coach Joachim Loew will trust the step-up in class can inspire his team to reproduce the form of a 2-0 win over Poland rather than the inept display in a 2-1 defeat by Croatia. “Tactically, I’ve seen no one better than Germany,” Scolari had said earlier.

If Germany are to make progress, they will need their forwards to show greater sharpness in front of goal, while the defence keeps the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo under close watch.

Germany’s last meeting with Portugal in the European Championship was a humiliating 3-0 defeat in the group phase in 2000 but they did get a measure of revenge with a 3-1 victory in the third-placed match at the last World Cup.
Bastian Schweinsteiger scored twice in that game and Loew hinted that the midfielder would be in the starting line-up on Thursday, after sitting out the Austria game through suspension.

The hope in the German camp is that Portugal will play a more adventurous game than any of their opponents, thus giving them the chance to attack.

That seems a safe bet, with Portugal’s forwards looking a constant danger in their two wins, 2-0 against Turkey and 3-1 over the Czechs.

“We have had two very good second halves,” said Scolari. “Principally we have played football. We’ve worked with the ball.” With Portugal determined to play the ball around and Germany eager to launch swift breaks, it has the makings of an excellent match, with the Portuguese looking slight favourites. “For me being favourites doesn’t count,” Ronaldo said ahead of the match.

Clarke strikes as Marshall chases

Stuart Clark made a much-needed breakthrough for Australia as Xavier Marshall led West Indies’ mammoth chase of 475 but a string of dropped catches threatened to dampen the visitors’ spirits as they searched for a 2-0 series win. At tea on the fourth day West Indies were 99 for 1 with Xavier Marshall on 42 and Ramnaresh Sarwan on 18, and they needed another 376 to complete a highly unlikely victory.

Marshall was his usual lively self, cover-driving against the fast men and taking quick singles to keep the fielders on their toes. He took yet another blow to the helmet - his third for the match - when he tried to hook Stuart Clark but Australia were frustrated by his confidence after he was dropped twice earlier in his innings.

Australia’s fielding was unusually substandard and nothing went right for them until Brett Lee snared a chance at mid-on off Clark to remove Chris Gayle for 26. The Lee-Clark combination was a fitting one as both men had suffered from missed opportunities in their opening spells.

Gayle had a life on 8 when he drove a Lee half-volley on the up to mid off, where Beau Casson, who had taken a goalkeeper-style catch in the same spot in the first innings, put down a much simpler opportunity. Gayle could also have been run out on 20 when Lee ran in from mid-on and his throw at the bowler’s end missed, while Gayle was loitering halfway down the pitch after a mix-up with Marshall.

Marshall was also a recipient of some good fortune, dropped on 1 and 22. The early miss came when Simon Katich’s horror run in the cordon continued - he put down two at first slip in the first innings - and he grassed a straightforward chance at third slip off Lee. Brad Haddin then gave Clark a headache by dropping a gettable one-hander diving to his right after Marshall edged a cracking Clark legcutter.

It was hardly what Australia needed having given themselves five sessions to dismiss West Indies on a pitch that, while still offering some bounce, was becoming easier to bat on. Michael Clarke and Haddin guided Australia through a subdued morning as they gradually built up the total with West Indies, by the end of the session, making no attempt at dismissing them and simply waiting for Ponting’s declaration.

His decision came at lunch with the score on 439 for 5, denying both men the chance to score half-centuries with Clarke unbeaten on 48 and Haddin on 45. The first session went largely as expected, although a pair of wickets for Sulieman Benn was just reward after he bowled a marathon spell that had started midway through the third afternoon.

Benn went for some boundaries off both batsmen - Haddin clobbered him down the ground for six after taking three fours off his previous over - but he always looked dangerous. Coming around the wicket to the right-handers he curved the ball beautifully and pitched several in line with off stump, jagging them away sharply to beat the bat.

Benn finished with 3 for 154 from 47 after Katich was caught driving on the up to cover for 157 and Andrew Symonds went in similar fashion for 2. But by that stage the lead was already approaching 400 and the only bowling that was really going to matter in terms of the match result was that of Australia.

Pietersen helps England to huge win

Kevin Pietersen’s magnificent 110 led England to a convincing 114-run-win over New Zealand in the first ODI at Chester-le-Street. With a disciplined allround display in the field, they never let New Zealand have a sniff of reaching 308 - a target made all the more challenging for the visitors after the early wicket of Brendon McCullum for 36. If this wasn’t a complete one-day performance by England, it was something close to it. For New Zealand, it was sadly much of the same.

Led by Stuart Broad, England’s bowlers were tight, disciplined and indebted to Pietersen’s remarkable hundred from 112 balls. For too long Pietersen has been in hibernation; this was his first one-day hundred since the 2007 World Cup, and once he passed fifty, he appeared to regress back into that creative, dominant batsman who had all of England purring two years ago. England had lost Luke Wright for a stodgy 11, while Bell struggled to replicate his silky timing of two days ago, falling for 46. When Ravi Bopara departed, rather timidly handing Scott Styris a caught-and-bowled, England limped to 95 for 3 with the halfway point fast approaching.

That they reached the lofty heights of 307 was largely Pietersen’s doing, but Collingwood returned to form brilliantly with a run-a-ball 64, as the pair put on 136 for the fourth wicket. Pietersen initially struggled, pottering - as much he ever potters - to 30 but unfurled thrillingly, like a caterpillar escaping its chrysalis. Styris, who was later to be dumbfounded by Pietersen’s touch of genius, was clattered through the covers; Daniel Vettori, who mostly outbowled all his colleagues, was flat-driven over the top for six and after reaching a run-a-ball fifty, he took on Michael Mason with fours over midwicket. How desperately New Zealand miss Jacob Oram and the balance he offers the side.
For all Collingwood’s impressive personal recovery, bulldozing his way into form through sheer bloody mindedness, all eyes were firmly fixed on Pietersen who, by now, was shifting through the gears in style. Each of his trademark shots were ticked off: the blazing cover drive, fierce pull in front of square, but the reverse-switch six hasn’t been on view since he took on Muttiah Muralitharan in 2006. Here, he succeeded twice in four overs off an understandably perplexed Styris. Changing his grip and stance to that of a left-hander, Pietersen crashed him over cover (or midwicket, depending on your view) for one of the day’s longest sixes. Four overs later he bettered it with another, straighter and crisper blow which sailed into the stand at long-on. This wasn’t just audacious batting, but creative entertainment by a peerless showman. Surprising, then, that this was his first one-day hundred on home soil.

Collingwood was bowled by a frustrated Vettori, but England continued to pile on the pressure, with Owais Shah taking over the mantle of entertainer from Pietersen. In 25 balls, he carved, cracked and crashed 49. He went inside out to Mason over extra cover; Mills was hoisted over deep midwicket for another six, while Southee’s debut went from bad to worse when Shah cracked him straight back over his head. It was breathless hitting.

Whereas England were consistently good, New Zealand were quite the opposite - though they were given hope of reaching their target through McCullum. Ryan Sidebottom, recalled after being rested for Friday’s Twenty20 at Old Trafford, was fast but inaccurate, while James Anderson was back to his mercurial mediocre. McCullum capitalised, picking up Sidebottom for a huge six over midwicket, followed by a firm cut off Anderson two balls later.

With Anderson and Sidebottom leaking runs, it was to the youngster that Collingwood turned. Broad may look 14, but for someone still so inexperienced he showed remarkable control - helped, no doubt, by removing the biggest wicket of them all with his first ball. It wasn’t the greatest of deliveries, truth be told: a short long-hop outside off which McCullum wellied straight to cover.

James Marshall’s forgettable tour continued when he set off for a single to Collingwood in the gully, whose dead-eye throw knocked out the stumps to leave New Zealand stumbling on 61 for 2 after 14 overs. After McCullum, only Ross Taylor had the audacity to take on such a daunting total, and once he fell for 20 New Zealand had little hope. With the wickets came a resurgent England fielding display, Anderson excelling in the deep with two excellent saves, and only the most gnarly of nitpickers could fault them in the field.

Collingwood capped off a fine allround day with four wickets, drowning New Zealand’s resolve. There may be no dollars or gold pots to chase in this form of the game at the moment, but England’s eyes were firmly fixed on winning from the outset.

Federer reclaims Halle title

World number one Roger Federer cruised to his fifth Halle Open title in Germany on Sunday, beating Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-4.

Federer, who was heavily defeated by Rafael Nadal in the French Open final last weekend, was rarely troubled by his German opponent, extending his winning streak on grass to 59 matches ahead of Wimbledon which starts on June 23.

“I played great tennis all week. I didn’t lose my serve once, which I don’t think I’ve ever managed before in a tournament, so it’s very special for me, and I’m really pleased about it,” Federer told German television.

Federer has traditionally used the Halle tournament as a warm-up for Wimbledon, but skipped the event a year ago after losing to Nadal at Roland Garros.

The Swiss, who also failed to drop a set all week, said he is fit and ready for the third Grand Slam tournament of the year where he aims to break the record he shares with Bjorn Borg of five consecutive wins.

“It’s obviously a good omen to win here in Wimbledon, sorry, Halle — the Wimbledon of Germany,” he said, laughing.

Ana Ivanovic sets up final with Dinara Safina

Ana Ivanovic won the battle of the Serbs in a thrilling French Open semi-final on Thursday and will play Russia’s Dinara Safina for the title on Saturday.

The 20-year-old second seed defeated Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to reach the final at Roland Garros for the second straight year, having lost to Justine Henin in last year’s final.

For third-seeded Jankovic it was the fourth time she had played in a Grand Slam semi-final and the fourth time she had failed to make it through. The 13th seeded Safina had earlier defeated an out-of-sorts Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-2 in the first of the semi-finals.

“It was a tough match and I managed to stay strong at the end to win it,” Ivanovic said. “She started to play really good tennis and I was too passive and if you give her a chance of course she is going to use it.”

Jankovic, again wearing an arm brace to ward off the pain she has been feeling from tendonitis, opened the stronger and broke serve to 15 in the second game to take a 3-0 lead.

She threatened to make it 4-0, but Ivanovic held on visibly growing in confidence after winning the game at the end of a long, punishing rally.

She broke back in the following game only to drop her own serve in the next as Jankovic got to 4-2. But the younger woman’s heavier groundstrokes started to make the difference as she won the next four games to take the set 6-4 in 41 minutes.

Jankovic dropped her serve for the fourth straight time to open the second set allowing Ivanovic to jump out into a 2-0 lead. In stark contrast to the first few games, Ivanovic was looking comfortable on her serve while it was a struggle each time for her opponent on hers.

But all that changed in the sixth game of the set when Ivanovic inexplicably let slip a 40-0 lead to allow Jankovic to draw level at 3-3. She was broken again two games later and Jankovic served out to level the scores although she needed four set points to do so.

Ivanovic had nervily lost her way and against one of the grittiest players on the women’s circuit that was a fatal mistake. Jankovic won the first two games of the deciding set to make it seven games in a row, but Ivanovic stopped the rot and got back on level terms at 3-3 by breaking to love in the sixth game.

Another exchange of service breaks took it to 4-4 and two games later Ivanovic played her best game of the semi-final opening up with her groundstrokes to clinch the win.

There was the added bonus for Ivanovic in that her win coupled with the defeat of Kuznetsova means that she will take over from Maria Sharapova as world No.1 at the end of this tournament win or lose in the final.

She has played Safina three times and won twice, but the Russian won the only time they have played on clay in Berlin three years ago.

In both her previous rounds, the 22-year-old sister of Marat Safin saw off top seed Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva by mounting comebacks from a set and 2-5 down, as well as saving a match point in each.

“This is for me, Marat and all of my family,” she said. “At 5-2 in the second set and 0-30 down I got a little tight. But I told myself to be more aggressive or she would take control. I never expected to get to the final, but sometimes when you least expect it, the results come.”

Safina survived a lengthy test of her opening service game and then broke to lead 2-0, in a first set which featured five breaks in nine games.

A Kuznetsova forehand error gave her a 5-3 lead and she set up set point with a sweet backhand drop shot while Kuznetsova was pinned at the back of the court, claiming the opener when the fourth seed steered another simple forehand wide.

It was the first set the 22-year-old Kuznetsova had dropped at Roland Garros this year. The pair exchanged breaks again in the first two games of the second set before Safina nipped ahead to lead 3-2.

Kuznetsova picked up a violation for launching a ball, baseball-style, into the upper tiers of the Court Philippe Chatrier as her frustrating afternoon continued.

And Safina wrapped up the semi-final when Kuznetsova unleashed another forgettable forehand.

Novak Djokovic to meet Rafael Nadal in semi-finals

Novak Djokovic, the third seed, reached his fifth consecutive Grand Slam semi-final when he ended the fairytale run of Ernests Gulbis, his childhood friend, in the French Open.

Djokovic beat Gulbis in three tight sets, 7-5, 7-6, 7-5 and will face Rafael Nadal, the defending champion, who dropped just three games in seeing off Nicolas Almagro of Spain, the 19th seed.

Djokovic, the Australian Open champion, and Gulbis first trained together as youngsters at the Munich academy owned by Niki Pilic, the former Germany and Croatia Davis Cup coach and have been firm friends ever since.

With a little more composure, Gulbis could have pulled off a famous win on Court Suzanne Lenglen, but his 60 unforced errors and seven double faults told a sorry story.

“We know each other well from being at the same academy and have been friends for a long time,” said Djokovic. “He’s had a great tournament and I’m happy to see him doing so well.”

Unseeded Gulbis, bidding to become the first Latvian to reach a Grand Slam semi-final, saw his serve come under siege in the first set where he had to save three break points in the fourth game and five more in the sixth.

The 19-year-old bravely fought off three set points in the 12th game but his resolve finally cracked under the Djokovic assault when he buried a weary, running forehand into the net to conclude the 63-minute opener.

Djokovic hadn’t faced a single break point in the entire first set, but Gulbis carved out three in the first game of the second and opened up a 1-0 lead with an accurate forehand down the line.

The Serb, ranked No 3 in the world, then levelled at 4-4 before running away with the tie-break which was played in pouring rain.

Gulbis’s error-strewn afternoon continued when another simple forehand found the net, allowing Djokovic to nip ahead 3-2 in the third set. Gulbis held on grimly, changing his racquet twice as he desperately sought a way back.

Djokovic served for the match at 5-4 but his opponent broke back to level at 5-5 only to return the advantage in the next game. The Serb then wrapped up the quarter-final when Gulbis only laid half a racquet on a deep service.

Nadal, celebrating his 22nd birthday, wasted no time in brushing aside the challenge of Nicolas Almagro, winning 6-1, 6-1, 6-1.

The remaining quarter-finals take place on Wednesday with Roger Federer, the top seed, facing Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez and Spanish fifth seed David Ferrer tackling France’s Gael Monfils.

Mohammad Asif detained in Dubai

Mohammad Asif, the Pakistan fast bowler, has been detained by authorities in Dubai on suspicion of possessing drugs. The fast bowler, who tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone nearly two years ago, was held back by airport authorities on Sunday. According to a PCB official already in Dubai, no charges have yet been brought against Asif, though he remains in the detention centre at Dubai International Airport.

Nadeem Akram, a senior board official who is in Dubai handling the case, said officials had not yet identified what the substance is. “It has been sent to a lab for testing but we do not know yet what it is,” Akram, in Dubai since Sunday, told Cricinfo.

Akram also stressed that Asif hadn’t yet been arrested and that he had been detained. “No charges have been brought yet. We have a lawyer here and he is due to meet the public prosecutor at 12.30pm Dubai time. We will know more about the case after their meeting.”

Akram has been in constant touch with Asif, who was understandably “shattered” by the events, but maintained that he did not know what the substance was and had been carrying it in his wallet for several months.

Earlier, a PCB official told Cricinfo that Asif “has been held since the day before yesterday in Dubai. So far the authorities haven’t told us much but that it is on suspicion of possessing a contraband item.” Dubai’s laws on drug possession and use are among the strictest in the region, though the top hierarchy of the PCB has always enjoyed close ties with leaders in the United Arab Emirates.

The Pakistan board was to hold a press conference about the issue in the afternoon but decided to push it back till 4.30pm (PST), presumably to wait and hear developments from the meeting between Asif’s lawyer and the public prosecutor.

Asif, along with Shoaib Akhtar, tested positive in an internal dope test conducted by the Pakistan board in October 2006. He was initially banned for one year, though the ban was overturned on appeal a month later. Since then, one of the most promising fast bowlers on the world circuit has been dogged by a long-standing elbow problem. The injury had already taken the sheen away from a prodigious start to his international career and this new development is likely to do so even more.

Serena felled, Sharapova survives

Serena Williams trudged out of Roland Garros on Friday after her French Open dreams were pounded into the red clay by a tenacious Slovenian who never lost belief.

Less than 24 hours after the tournament was rocked by the defeat of three top 10 seeds, including David Nalbandian and James Blake, the American joined them at the exit queue as she roared and screamed her way to a 6-4, 6-4 mauling by Katarina Srebotnik in the third round.

“I knew it was going to be a tough match, but what can I say? She just played unbelievable today,” said Williams, who had gone into the match with a 3-0 record against Srebotnik.

The fifth seed’s defeat also meant a new name would be engraved on the Suzanne Lenglen Cup next week as she was the only former champion in the women’s draw.

Her loss cleared the way for a final showdown between Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic, the top two seeds who withstood some fierce resistance on Friday before marching on.

An erratic Ivanovic overcame a slight wobble in the first set before downing Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-1 to reach the fourth round, while Sharapova huffed and puffed her way to a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 second-round win over American Bethanie Mattek.

But no amount of on-court dramatics could save Williams.

On the eve of the championships the 2002 winner had declared herself “100 percent fit” but on Friday it was Srebotnik who always looked in better shape to advance.

BIZARRE CHOICE

She had the younger of the Williams sisters on the backfoot from the start, breaking her with a string of stinging winners and by the closing stages of the set, things went from bad to worse for the former world number one.

After smashing an easy overhead straight into the net, the fans gasped in disbelief while a stunned Serena leaned her forehead on the end of her racket as she stared into the ground.

Moments later the set had vanished from her grasp.

She could have made amends at 4-3 up in the second as she had break point but a bizarre choice of shot, choosing to hit a drop shot when she had an open court at her disposal, put paid to those hopes.

Srebotnik punished Williams’s lack of judgement by wrapping up the match two games later when the American swiped a forehand wide.

“Today, I woke up and knew I had really nothing to lose so I just took my chances. I’m really happy that today it turned my way,” said Srebotnik, who made it through to the last 16 of a slam for only the second time in 35 attempts.

While Ivanovic has so far managed to win all three of her matches in straight sets, the same cannot be said of Sharapova.

If the Russian wants to complete a career grand slam by lifting the Roland Garros title, she will have to take a crash course in how to hit crisp winners after yet another scrappy performance on Friday.

After being two points from defeat in her opening match against fellow Russian Evgeniya Rodina, Sharapova again dropped the second set against Mattek, who is more well known for her outlandish outfits than her tennis pedigree.

However, in a match left hanging in the balance overnight after fading light aborted play, Sharapova regained her poise to make a third-round date with Italian 32nd seed Karin Knapp.

Real seek to defuse anger over Ronaldo

Real Madrid sought to appease Manchester United on Tuesday after the European champions threatened to report them to world football’s governing body FIFA over their interest in Cristiano Ronaldo.

Real have made clear their admiration of Ronaldo in a number of public statements in recent weeks, whilst also acknowledging that the 23-year-old Portugal winger is a United player.
Relieved Ronaldo spared his worst day

“We haven’t done anything and we are not going to do anything that goes against the wishes of a club we regard as a friend like United. We have a magnificent relationship with them,” Real president Ramon Calderon told reporters.

“We aren’t going to start a conflict. If a club doesn’t want to sell a player why would we insist they sell him? We know they aren’t a selling club. It is a problem between the player and his team.”

The English champions are determined to hold on to a player who scored 42 goals for United in the season just ended and was voted English Footballer of the Year for a second year running.

Earlier in the day, United took the unusual step of issuing a club statement on their Web site headlined: “United issue Real warning.”

In it, the club said they had watched with “growing irritation” the comments attributed to Real Madrid.

The statement continued: “The facts are that (1) The player is on a long-term contract and his registration is held by Manchester United. (2) The player is not for sale.

“The club will have no alternative but to report Real Madrid to the world governing body, FIFA, if it continues to behave in this totally unacceptable fashion.

“These public attempts to unsettle the player are completely against the regulations and the club will not tolerate them any longer.”

United also said it believed the pursuit of their player is a “distraction for the Portuguese national squad as they prepare for the European Championships.”

NO DOUBTS

It concluded: “No-one should be in any doubt that Manchester United will do everything in its power to keep its best players.”

Real coach Bernd Schuster last month described Ronaldo as “the best player in the world” and, although he expected United to keep their player in the short term, the coach said he could see him at Real “in a couple of years.”

Calderon said earlier this month that signing Ronaldo would be “a utopia”, but added “We can’t force a player to sign.”

After last week’s final, United manager Alex Ferguson criticised Real at a news conference.

“Schuster’s talking and Calderon’s talking,” he said. “Real think they can ride roughshod over everyone, but they won’t do it with us.

“Real Madrid are not the only club interested in Ronaldo. But the others are not saying so. They don’t get into this nonsense.”

In recent years United have sold David Beckham, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Gabriel Heinze to Real Madrid but Ferguson said last week the case of Ronaldo is different to those deals.

He told reporters: “Yes, we sold them Van Nistelrooy and Beckham but we did that because we wanted to.”

Ronaldo scored United’s goal in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea in last week’s Champions League final in Moscow [Images] and although he missed his penalty in the shoot-out, United went on to lift the trophy winning 6-5 on penalties.

Asked about his future after the final, Ronaldo told reporters: “I don’t promise nothing. I don’t promise nothing to my mum, I don’t promise nothing to supporters.”

Rain delays put Rafael Nadal at disadvantage

Roger Federer was not spotted in the French Open environs yesterday. He was probably back in his snug accommodation, enjoying a snigger at the juicy irony of it all. An opponent of Sunday starts at grand-slam tournaments, the world No1 was far away from the madhouse as those who were forced to wait until Tuesday for their first-round appointment kicked their heels - if they could find enough space in the clustered corridors of Roland Garros to move a leg.

It is because of days such as these that Wimbledon, after years of sticking to the belief that a Centre Court roof was a monstrosity, decided it was the right thing to do and next year, we shall see the beauty unveiled in all its glory. The “should they/shouldn’t they?” debate may be about to consume the leaders of the French Federation, who usually respond to suggestions of what they might do with their championship with sniffy indifference.

Rafael Nadal was in a chirpy mood in the morning, to the extent that he was happy to be shown an excerpt for the Headcases TV show that features an Andy Murray Misery Line. Once it had been translated for him, Nadal shook his head, amazed that a country could treat a professional sportsman with such disdain. At 7.25, the three-times champion knew what misery was, for it was only then that he was summoned, a very un-jolly giant dressed in green, for his first-round match against Thomaz Bellucci, a Brazilian qualifier. Nadal, who stayed on for only 20 minutes before it poured again, is at a distinct disadvantage to many in the field.

At Wimbledon last year, the Spaniard required five days to complete a match against Robin Söderling, of Sweden. Yesterday, Söderling crushed Juan Monaco, the No13 seed from Argentina, 6-2, 6-3, 6-1, playing the final rally with a gigantic smile on his face. Another who salvaged something was Stanislas Wawrinka, of Switzerland, the No9 seed and BNL D’Italia Masters finalist in Rome a fortnight ago, who thrashed Philipp Kohlschreiber, of Germany. The more you watch Wawrinka, the more he looks to be a possible contender here.

Far from the damp and drizzle of France, in Izmir, Turkey, it was 80F (26.5C) and that, and George Bastl, 33, a Swiss whose best days are long behind him, was a mite too hot for Alex Bogdanovic, who lost in the first round of an ATP Challenger event, 6-3, 6-1. In Bogdanovic’s company was Brad Gilbert, notionally the British No3’s coach for the past seven months, during which time his ranking has fallen from No161 to No242.

Gilbert, it is understood, will be back behind the microphone at Wimbledon next month, working for ESPN, the American network. One has to assume, therefore, that his partnership with Bogdanovic has almost run its unsatisfactory course.