Rafael Nadal got back to winning ways with a crushing win over Argentine Juan Monaco at the Swedish Open on Tuesday. French Open champion Nadal, who lost in the second round at Wimbledon, came through 6-1, 6-1 in Bastad. The 19-year-old Spaniard next plays compatriot Alberto Martin, who beat Agustin Calleri of Argentina 6-1, 6-1. In other matches, fifth seed Juan Carlos Ferrero swept past Lukas Dlouhy 6-4 6-1, and fourth seed Carlos Moya beat Alex Calatrava 7-5 6-2. French teenager Gael Monfils had an impre ... full story

Political and sporting heavyweights from five of the world's greatest cities staged a frantic final round of lobbying in Singapore yesterday as Olympic officials prepared to decide the venue for the 2012 Games. The International Olympic Committee's (IOC's) annual session began yesterday evening, 24 hours before the vote to decide if London, Paris, New York, Madrid or Moscow will host the Games. With time running out, the lobby at the Raffles City Convention Centre, the venue for the vote, resembled a peak-h ... full story

Chelsea have made a British record 32-million pound ($A75.1 million) bid for Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, British newspapers have reported. The offer from the Premier League champions to prise the inspirational England midfielder away from his hometown club could rise to 35 million pounds ($A82.2 million) depending on future honours. That would eclipse the 29.1 million pounds ($A68.3 million) Manchester United paid to Leeds United for England defender Rio Ferdinand in 2002. Real Madrid are also rumoure ... full story

Andy Murray's Wimbledon exploits have lifted him 99 places to 213th in the latest ATP rankings, making him the sixth highest-placed Briton. Wimbledon men's champion Roger Federer retains number one position, while Tim Henman drops down two places to 11. Semi-finalist Thomas Johansson replaces Henman in the top 10, moving to ninth. In the women's rankings, Wimbledon champion Venus Williams climbs eight places to eighth, while runner-up Lindsay Davenport remains first. Scotland's Murray, 18, reached the thir ... full story

Roger Federer said he played the best match of his life to beat Andy Roddick for a third Wimbledon title. That had been a big one for him, said Federer. He had known the importance and had been pretty tense at first, but after the first set he had felt really good. He had played a fantastic match, the best in his life, and he considered that bigger than the US Open final he had won. 'When you win three Wimbledons you think 'what have I done right in my career for this to happen to me'.' Reflecting on the wa ... full story

Liverpool will unveil Boudewijn Zenden on Monday morning after the former Middlesbrough winger completed a medical and agreed personal terms. Zenden, 28, opted to join the European Champions after his contract at the Riverside expired. He will sign in time to be eligible for Liverpool's Champions League qualification campaign on 13 July. Zenden joined Middlesbrough on a permanent basis last summer after a successful season on loan from Chelsea. Liverpool spokesman Ian Cotton said: 'Bolo Zenden has passed hi ... full story

Argentine Lionel Messi converted two penalties to seal a 2-1 win over Nigeria in the Fifa under-20 World Cup final last night. With the win over Nigeria, who reached the final after knocking out hosts Netherlands in the quarter-finals and Morocco in the semis, Argentina clinched a fifth under-20 world title. In the final, they proved most dangerous in the first-half and took the lead when Messi was fouled in the penalty area 10 minutes before the interval. After the break Nigeria fought back and scored a de ... full story

Andy Roddick of the US set up a repeat of last year's Wimbledon final against Roger Federer when he defeated Thomas Johansson of Sweden after a tough battle in yesterday's rain-delayed second semi-final. The second seed won 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 7-6 (12/10), 7-6 (7-5), to join the top seed and title-holder in today's final. The match had been held over from Friday because of rain with Roddick 6-5 up in the first set. Federer defeated third seed Lleyton Hewitt of Australia 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) on Friday before the ... full story

Lleyton Hewitt said he would continue to look for ways to improve after suffering defeat to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon semi-finals. The world number two has now lost his last eight matches against Federer. 'You just have to bide your time, keep grinding away and keep looking for answers,' said the Australian. He felt like he had lifted his game and he had no doubt he was the second best player around. It was just that the best player was pretty bloody good. Hewitt won seven of his first nine encounters ... full story

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has not told manager Rafael Benitez he is tempted by Real Madrid's interest, BBC Sport understands. Spanish newspaper As claims midfielder Gerrard, 25, has told Benitez he wants to leave Anfield for the Bernabeu. But it is believed no such meeting took place - and indeed Gerrard is in talks over extending the two years left on his current Reds deal. Real also announced on Friday they had signed Pablo Garcia, a similar player. The As article claims that when Benitez asked if ... full story