SERENA WILLIAMS withdrew from Wimbledon yesterday with what her father Richard called “a severe case of the flu,” wiping out an expected showdown with her sister, Venus, in the fourth round. Venus – who turned 19 on Thursday and is seeded No 6 – is also fighting off the bug, her father said.
Serena Williams, 17, was to have been the No 10 seed when the two-week tournament opened Monday. She will be replaced by the Russian Anna Kournikova, who was the highest ranked player not to be placed among the 16 seeds. Kournikova will now take Williams’ place in the draw but will be called the 17th seed.”She’s has a terrible case of the flu,” Serena’s father Richard said in a statement released by the WTA Tour “Serena wanted to go to Wimbledon and give it a try … but the doctor said again it was better if she rested.”Venus is a little sluggish because they hang out a lot together, but we’re hoping she’ll be all right.” He said he did not expect Serena to travel to England.The Williams sisters were seeded No 4 in doubles and have also pulled out with Venus not seeking a replacement. The sisters always play doubles together and did not want to break up the partnership.. KEVIN RATCLIFFE has emerged as the clear favourite to succeed Bobby Gould as the Wales manager.

The Football Association of Wales’ influential Football Committee meets today in the mid-Wales town of Caersws. Top of the list for discussion will be a replacement for Gould, who resigned as national manager a fortnight ago in Italy. It is expected that a shortlist of candidates will be drawn up with Ratcliffe, the Chester City manager, the front-runner. The list will be put to a full FAW council meeting in Cardiff next Thursday.
Ratcliffe has made contact with FAW officials and has publicly expressed an interest in the job. Neville Southall and Mark Hughes were put in charge for the 2-0 Euro 2000 qualifying defeat by Denmark at Anfield last week, but lack managerial experience.Uefa, European football’s governing body, yesterday fined the Football Association of Ireland 50,000 Swiss francs (pounds 20,000) following the postponement of the Euro 2000 qualifying match between the Republic of Ireland and Yugoslavia earlier this month.. Australia 213 South Africa 213 Match tied.

Australia in final on higher Super Six placing

WITH A place in the World Cup final at stake, this rematch of the two most combative sides was even more nerve-shredding than its predecessor at Headingley. With the scores level and South Africa’s last pair at the crease, Lance Klusener had three balls in which to score the run that would take his side to their first World Cup final. What happened next, as both batsmen ended up at the bowler’s end, will never be used in A Question of Sport’s “What Happened Next”, for it will remain a painful memory for an entire nation for a very long time to come as Australia won by virtue of finishing above South Africa in the Super Sixes – the margin between agony and ecstasy being a run-rate difference of 0.2.
For Klusener, who once again was left to club and batter his team to victory, the moment will be replayed time and time again. Having smashed the first two balls of Damien Fleming’s final over to the cover boundary to bring the scores level, he must have felt the hard work had been done.