Last year I didn't have my first win till nearly February so I'm
Last year, I didn't have my first win till nearly February, so I'm pleased with the way things went."Rusedski was also happy to pronounce himself injury free, having recovered from the hamstring strain which caused him to retire during the ATP Tour Championship in Hannover in November and to miss the invitation doubles event at the Royal Albert Hall last month.He frequently trained twice a day over Christmas, relaxing at a castle in Kent he booked with his girlfriend, Lucy Connor, and her family. "No," he smiled in answer to a reporter, "I was not the king of the castle."None the less, the Canadian-born left-hander has certainly risen to join the aristocracy on the ATP Tour. A netted backhand volley encouraged the Spaniard to attack, and he created two break points with a forehand down the line, converting the second with a topspin return.Rusedski conceded only two points in his concluding four service games, both when serving for the match after an hour. "The flags were flying one way, but on the court it was blowing in the opposite direction. It was blowing all over the place."When they practised in the afternoon, Pickard reminded Rusedski that the most important consideration was to concentrate on putting the ball in play.
Elementary, perhaps, but, as Pickard says, "when conditions are good you can do what you like with your serve, but in a wind like that you can suffer by trying to be a hero. The conditions were even worse tonight, but Greg stuck to his task well, except for one game."That was after Rusedski had broken Viloca at the start of the second set, only to invite him back into the match. "If we wanted weather like this we could have stayed at home."Pickard's long, successful association with Sweden's Stefan Edberg gave him a keen insight into the ways a big server should cope with the elements, but even Pickard was concerned about the challenge facing Rusedski last night. "In all my years in tennis, I can't remember conditions that tricky in terms of the wind," Pickard said. The No 1 seed successfully negotiated his first-round match against the Spaniard Juan Albert Viloca, 6-4, 6-4. One of the coldest days in these parts for 20 years left Rusedski's coach, Tony Pickard, wondering if their journey had been really necessary "We came here for warm weather and the sunshine," he said. Greg Rusedski, the No 1 seed, joined Tim Henman in the second round of the $1m Qatar Mobil Open with a straight-sets victory over Juan Albert Viloca, of Spain, on a cold, blustery night in the Gulf John Roberts reports from Doha.
The conditions were in keeping with a third-round FA Cup replay in England rather than a tennis tournament in the Persian Gulf, but the chilly north-easterly did not blow Greg Rusedski off course. "We're bound to give serious consideration to what he has said although we understand that up to this point Fifa have not been encouraging joint bids Our campaign has been going very well It continues.". The fences stopped them - the fences are death-traps and caused that catastrophe."England's bid to land the 2006 World Cup received a fillip as Franz Beckenbauer, a figurehead of the German campaign, conceded that the tide was turning against his country holding the finals.Beckenbauer made his public approach to the Football Association at the Football Expo 98 fair in Singapore."We are both wasting money," Beckenbauer, a World Cup winner as captain and coach, said of the multi-million pound campaigns being run by both nations.He added: "It will split the European vote and South Africa will get the 2006 World Cup if it goes on like this." The FA's reaction was guarded, but not unenthusiastic."We have great respect for Franz Beckenbauer," their director of public affairs, David Davies, said. "In October 1996, many people died in a World Cup match in Guatemala. That was nothing to do with fighting, but because they were too excited and wanted to invade the pitch. Two cities - St-Etienne and Lens - were holding out against a Fifa order to bring down all protective fences. However, Jacques Lambert, managing director of the France 98 committee, said both cases were close to being resolved."Prisoners and wild animals should be behind bars, not football fans They are not animals," Blatter said.
"We hope [Prime Minister] Tony Blair will protect football more than his predecessor," Blatter said.Among other announcements made yesterday was the news that there will be no perimeter fences at the 10 stadiums to be used at the World Cup finals, the French organisers announced. Blatter said the plans would aim to restore some form of transfer fees, as small clubs and poorer countries need compensating when the young players they have nurtured leave. "One day, children will reward their parents for their education," he said.He was hopeful of working out a solution with the European Union, particularly because Britain will soon take over the EU presidency for six months. Fifa, football's world governing body, is to consider three strategies for transfers in the wake of the Bosman ruling when officials meet next month, their secretary-general, Sepp Blatter, said yesterday. They will also be reporting on every other match and John Inverdale will be in France to present their coverage.WORLD CUP Agreed television coverage: Wednesday 10 June (Paris Saint- Denis, 4.30): Brazil v Scotland (BBC/ITV Scottish regions) Monday 15 June (Marseilles, 1.30): England v Tunisia (BBC) Tuesday 16 June (Bordeaux, 4.30): Scotland v Norway (ITV) Monday 22 June (Toulouse, 8.0): Romania v England (ITV) Tuesday 23 June (St-Etienne, 8.0): Scotland v Morocco (BBC) Friday 26 June (Lens, 8.0): Colombia v England (BBC)..
ITV will also be broadcasting the Brazil match live in the company's Scottish regions and will also screen the two home nations' second group matches. The potentially decisive final group matches - Scotland v Morocco on 23 June and Colombia v England three days later - will be on BBC, who will have first pick of the quarter-finals.ITV will have the first choice of the second-round games and will show England's match on 30 June, should they qualify, as well as any second- phase game involving Craig Brown's side in the Scottish regions.ITV and the BBC have drawn up a complementary schedule of live games, which will ensure that all 64 games are shown on terrestrial television in the United Kingdom.Desmond Lynam heads the BBC's World Cup team, which includes Gary Lineker, Alan Hansen, Trevor Brooking, Jimmy Hill, Mark Lawrenson, John Motson and Barry Davies.BBC Radio 5 Live will broadcast live commentary on all of the England and Scotland games as well as other important matches. The Hamburg defender flew in for talks about a pounds 2m move to Hillsborough and is expected to sign soon.Ally McCoist's hopes of a move to help his World Cup prospects could be delayed after Sebastian Rozental, his Rangers team-mate, broke down in training yesterday. McCoist, a peripheral figure this season, was told he could leave Ibrox on a loan deal in the new year in order to remain part of Scotland's plans for the finals in France this summer.. England's and Scotland's opening matches in this summer's World Cup finals in France will be screened live by the BBC, which will show the opening ceremony followed by Scotland against Brazil on 10 June and England's match with Tunisia five days later.