Sprint king Bolt welcomes hair follicle testing
KINGSTON, Jamaica (Reuters) – Jamaica’s Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt has “no problem” with plans by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to test the hair follicles of athletes in a bid to clamp down on drug cheats in sport.
Free of favorite tag, Federer hopes to flourish in Melbourne
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Armed with a new coach and bigger racket, Roger Federer hopes being in the unusual position of underdog will help him add to his record tally of 17 grand slam titles.
‘Faster’ Melbourne Park courts not to Rafa’s taste
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – World number one Rafa Nadal thinks Melbourne Park’s resurfaced hardcourts are playing faster than ever and may not provide a good show for fans when the Australian Open begins on Monday.
Impatient Sharapova realistic on grand slam return
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Maria Sharapova happily admits that patience is not her strongest trait but the Russian will temper her expectations as she begins her Australian Open title campaign.
American Stuard leads in Hawaii, Scott lurks
(Reuters) – Masters champion Adam Scott made an ominous move up the leaderboard late in the day after little-known American Brian Stuard had seized control of the $5.6 million Sony Open in Hawaii during Friday’s second round.
Serena zips her lip after scorchers follow Melbourne shivers
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – A subdued Serena Williams vowed never again to complain about Melbourne’s changeable weather after her grumbles on an unseasonably chilly summer’s day were followed by several days of scorching heat.
Panthers wide receiver Smith says should be okay for Sunday
(Reuters) – Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith has rated himself “89 percent” likely to be fit for Sunday’s NFC divisional playoff with the visiting San Francisco 49ers and says he should be “okay” to play.
Clark withdraws from Sony Open with elbow injury
(Reuters) – South African Tim Clark pulled out of the Sony Open in Honolulu on Friday because of an elbow injury before he was scheduled to tee off in the second round.
U.S. warns of possible terrorism at Sochi, but no specific threat
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department warned Americans on Friday of the potential for terrorism at the Sochi Olympics but said it was not aware of any specific threat to U.S. citizens.
Rose out for a month due to shoulder injury
(Reuters) – U.S. Open champion Justin Rose will delay the start of his 2014 campaign by at least a few weeks because of a shoulder injury, his manager said on Friday.
