Anna forgets nightmare
Anna Chakvetadze has revealed all about the ordeal her family endured last December when robbers broke into her Moscow home. The 21-year-old was tied so tightly that her hands felt numb and she couldn’t hold a racquet for 10 days.
Her father Jamal was badly beaten by the men who stole £202,000 (Dhs1.3million). The family live in the same house despite the fact that the perpetrators have threatened to return. “I’ve put it behind me,” she said. “I don’t think about it anymore.”
Ivanovic regains top spot
Ana Ivanovic, who was displaced from her No 1 spot by Jelena Jankovic after just nine weeks at the top of the table, has regained her position. Jankovic would have hung on to the coveted position if she had gone all the way in Beijing, but her gold bid was downed by eventual silver winner Dinara Safina.
Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova also had a claim on the gold, but her defeat to China’s Li Na saw her bow out of the race. So Ivanovic, who pulled out of the Olympics with injury, has regained her No 1 status for at least two weeks.
ATP gets legal advantage
A jury has unanimously dismissed an anti-trust court case brought against the ATP by the stakeholders in the Hamburg tournament. The organisers were angry at rescheduling and possible downgrading of their tournament but their claims have been unsuccessful at court.
ATP executive chairman Etienne de Villiers said: “We are delighted by the unanimous jury decision in favour of the ATP. Both the jury and judge have recognised and upheld our fundamental right to set and make changes to the ATP Tour calendar, changes that are necessary if we are to unlock the full potential of our sport.”
Wedding bells for Becker
Boris Becker is engaged to be married to the daughter of his late manager. Sandy Meyer-Woelden, 24, is a jewellery designer, who has also dated German tennis star Tommy Haas. Her father, Axel Meyer-Woelden died in 1997.
Becker, 40, divorced his former wife Barbara seven years ago. The couple have two children. Becker also has another child with London-based model Angela Ermakova.
