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10 years ago, just days before planes crashed into New York’s twin towers, Lleyton Hewitt won the Men’s US Open Tennis Championship. Yesterday, amidst 10^th anniversary remembrance services across the United States, fellow Australian Sam Stosur won the Women’s US Open against Serena Williams in front of a very patriotic crowd to win her first Grand Slam title.

The final was marred when Serena Williams was given a warning by umpire Eva Asderaki when she shouted “come on!” immediately after hitting what would have been a saved break point and before Sam Stosur had chance to play her shot.  What followed was a verbal assault by Williams in which she said to the umpire “You’re out of control. You’re a hater, and you’re just unattractive inside.”

The crowd booed the decision and in a further show of bad sportsmanship, a majority of the crowd began to leave before Stosur had chance to complete a lap of honour.

Serena Williams will find out today if she is to receive a fine.  This latest outburst follows a two-year probation following a similar outburst at the 2009 US Open.

All the pundits had unanimously thought Serena Williams would win her 14^th Grand Slam but Australian Sam Stosur completely outplayed the American favourite and won the match comfortably, 6-2 6-3.

Tonight sees Novak Djokovic take on Rafa Nadal in the Men’s US Open final.

One Year to go to London 2012 Olympic Games

Seb Coe & Colin Jackson mark the first steps to London 2012 exactly one year to go to the start of the 2012 Olympic Games.

Lord Sebastian Coe, Olympian Colin Jackson CBE and Minister for Sport and the Olympics Hugh Robertson today join Eurostar in welcoming hundreds of Olympic fans and athletes from across Europe to London’s St Pancras International station as the 2012 host city marks the start of the ‘One year to go’ celebrations.

Over the last few months, thousands of Olympic fans have entered competitions to win the chance to be part of Eurostar’s ‘One year to go’ celebrations.  Arriving from countries including France, and Belgium, competition winners and athletes will be joined by winners from the UK to be greeted by Seb Coe and Colin Jackson and join them in having their foot prints cast in clay as they symbolically mark the first steps on the way to the 2012 Games.

Following a welcome speeches from Seb Coe and the Olympic Minister, Hugh Robertson, winners will then be transported across London to a celebration lunch held at an iconic London restaurant with stunning views over the Olympic Park where Colin Jackson will be their host for the remainder of their unique experience.

So here we are again.  Men’s semi-final day at Wimbledon and Andy Murray is about to take on the world number one Rafael Nadal for a place in his first Wimbledon final.  But this year Murray is going into the game relaxed, confident and playing probably the best tennis of his life, while Rafa Nadal hasn’t looked like he is performing at his peak.  Similar to Queen’s when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Nadal in the semi-final before losing to Andy Murray in the final.

After beating the former champion, Roger Federer in the quarter-final, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga now needs to beat this year’s inform player, Novak Djokovic in the first match on Centre Court, if there is to be any chance of repeating the Queen’s Club Final last month.

If he does beat Djokovic, and I certainly wouldn’t rule out the possibility, then Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will have beaten three of the world’s current top four tennis players in the past few weeks.  I tipped Tsonga to beat Federer and I think his game is more suited to grass than Djokovic.  That alone will make the match closer than if it were played on clay.

In the second semi-final Andy Murray will have to play his best tennis while Nadal plays below par for Murray to win the match; and I think more than in the past two years at this stage, Andy Murray has the best chance of beating Rafael Nadal and winning the Wimbledon Men’s Singles final on Sunday.

In yesterday’s Ladies Singles semi-finals the fifth seed, Maria Sharapova came back from a shaky start where she found herself 0-3 down in the first set against the very athletic German wildcard, Sabine Lisicki to reach her first Wimbledon final, since winning in 2004.

Sharapova eventually found her form and won 6-3, 6-4.  She will play the 21-year-old eighth seed Czech, Petra Kvitova who beat the fourth seed Belarusian Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 to reach her first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon.

I believe Maria Sharapova and Andy Murray will be crowned Wimbledon Champions on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, weather permitting.

Olympic Gold Swimmer Duncan Goodhew

Olympic gold medallist Duncan Goodhew is urging all families across the country to get swimming this summer. Not only is swimming a great way to keep fit with the family, it’s also a great way to strengthen the bond between parent and child as an ideal family activity.

Swimming is widely recognised as one of the most physically and psychologically beneficial sports. It’s low impact, so perfect exercise for the elderly, pregnant women and those with mobility or joint problems.  It’s also great for all over body toning, and also can help to relax and improve a person’s mood – and being able to swim could even save our lives. But additionally to all these benefits, a survey by British Gas last year also found that children favoured swimming as their preferred family activity – so what better excuse to get out there and into the water!

To help get families swimming this summer, the UK’s ultimate urban swimming festival – The British Gas Big Dip – will be taking place in London from Monday 27th June.

With two purpose-built connected pools and an adjoining beach as its centre-piece, the festival will be a fabulous day out for all the family, featuring an array of activities, food and music, as well as water-based activities including swimming, aquafit, aquazumba and water polo.

For more information visit www.bigdip.co.uk.

Allergy Defence

The temperature’s rising and it’s time to look forward to watching or taking part in outdoor sporting activities on grass, like football. Unfortunately, for 16 million people in the UK, their enjoyment will be marred by hayfever. It’s not much fun being outdoors when your nose is running, you can’t stop sneezing and your eyes are sore and itchy.

A new report, Hay fever and sport: children, teenagers and adult general public has warned that outdoor sports, particularly those on grass can trigger an attack of hayfever. The author, Professor Jean Emberlin, director of Pollen UK states that “taking part in sports played on grass ….. can all make hayfever symptoms worse.”

This is because physical activity increases respiratory rates leading to increased inhalation of pollen and spores. Hay fever symptoms can be triggered within minutes and the effects can last for around 24 hours, even after returning indoors.

The Report was commissioned by Care Allergy Defence (a drug-free clinically proven nasal spray, which can both treat and prevent hay fever) and is available to download at www.allergydefence.co.uk.

Manchester City striker 20 year old Mario Balotelli is a hayfever sufferer and is allergic to grass pollen. Supplies of Care Allergy Defence were recently sent to the striker to help him combat the symptoms.

Care Allergy Defence rapidly relieves hayfever symptoms and forms an invisible but effective barrier which blocks pollen from entering the body. 90% of people using the spray reported an improvement in their hayfever symptoms and 77% said that Care Allergy Defence was “more effective and caused fewer side effects than many chemical treatments”.

Based on natural cellulose powder Care Allergy Defence contains no steroids or antihistamines and has no known side effects or interactions with other medication. It is suitable for hayfever sufferers of all ages. Care Allergy Defence 500mg RRP £7.14 provides a 30 day treatment and is available from Boots, Morrison’s and online at www.boots.com

For more information on allergy Defence visit www.allergydefence.co.uk.