Wimbledon

Looking back, the 2000s have been one of the best decades in sports. There have been many upsets, comebacks, blowouts as well as countless Cinderella stories. However, individual athletes steal the show with their performances.  

A police watchdog yesterday launched an independent probe into Scotland Yard's bungled investigation into the murder of Rachel Nickell. The move came three days after Miss Nickell's partner, Andre Hanscombe, made a series of complaints about the Met's handling of the case. Mr Hanscombe, 46, claims the Met could have done more to prevent her death on Wimbledon Common at the hands of psychopath Robert Napper in July 1992.

When Robert Napper was convicted of killing Rachel, although the intolerable waiting had come to an end, the glaring question why the investigation had taken so long and had been handled so badly remained largely unanswered.   -Andre Hanscombe

 

Belgian tennis players Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse, who both fell foul of anti-doping regulations, appealed against their one-year bans to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Wednesday. "Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse have filed appeals at CAS against decisions taken by the Vlaams Doping Tribunal of Gand, Belgium, in which they were found to have committed an anti-doping rule violation," a CAS statement said. Wickmayer, a US Open semifinalist this year, was suspended after ...

It's hard to get a one-year suspension if you never used doping   -Xavier Malisse

 

TENNIS star Andy Murray has revealed how he struggled to cope with the pressures of his career. Murray , 22, moved to Barcelona when he was just 15 to join top tennis academy the Schiller International School. The British No. 1 said moving away from his tennis pro brother Jamie, 23, and parents Judy and Willie was tough at that age.  

The competitors stand nervously on stage, awaiting the judges' decisions. As each name is called the crowd cheers and the winner steps forward, bowing their head to accept a medal. "Wow, that was a miracle," says Kyoko Katsura, the winner in the women's division of the New York Regional Yoga Championship.  

ST. VINCENT & THE GRENADINES—The realm of luxury resorts has a new development player in Harlequin Hotels & Resorts, which is scheduled to open its first property here, the Buccament Bay Beach Resort, in July of 2010. The first phase of the five-star Buccament Bay Beach Resort will feature 369 rooms ready for occupancy in July. The majority of the resort's amenities will also be available at that time. The resort will occupy a 98-acre site on specifically the island of St. Vincent and is the first major tourism development within the archipelago of St. Vincent & the Grenadines.  

The name Richard Norris Williams II might not ring a bell to you. But in the 1920s, everyone knew who he was. In 1912, 21-year-old Williams gained fame as a survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic.  

Everything about Rafael Nadal -- beginning with his self-described " famous ass " -- just seemed too damn big and overhyped in 2008. Tennis fans were in awe of his athleticism -- speed and raw power seemed to be all he needed to catch the more refined and elegant Roger Federer -- but purists saw a thuggish player, winning his points with brawn instead of skill. (His serial tic -- grabbing his seat to keep his underwear from riding up that pumped-up caboose -- didn't help.)  

The fourth annual Mardy's Tennis & Jake's Music Fest to Benefit the Mardy Fish Foundation has announced that touring tennis professional and former Florida Gators standout Jesse Levine will be participating in this year's Tennis Exhibition on Dec. 12 at Grand Harbor Golf & Beach Club in Vero Beach. Canadian-born American Levine joined the ATP World Tour in 2007 after achieving success in the juniors and at the University of Florida. As a junior, Levine won the U.S. Clay Court 14's National singles ...