NBA - Yao surgery successful
Eurosport - Wed, 22 Jul 08:28:00 2009
Chinese center Yao Ming underwent successful surgery to repair the left foot fracture that has ruled him out for the whole of the next NBA season, the Houston Rockets said.
The operation at the Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute also included additional procedures to "change the alignment of his foot" and prevent the injury recurring, said a report on the team's website.
The seven-times All Star has been blighted by injuries in recent years, the latest of which - described by team doctor Tom Clanton as "career threatening" - occurred during the Western Conference semi-finals against the LA Lakers on May 8.
"Everything went according to plan and we were able achieve not only fixation of the broken bone but also realignment of the bones to improve the stress pattern on his foot," Clanton said.
"Yao is doing well and resting comfortably after these procedures. We expect him to be immobilised in a cast and using crutches for at least 6-8 weeks."
The Rockets said last week that the 28-year-old Yao, who averaged 19.7 points per game and 9.9 rebounds last season, would sit out the entire 2009/10 season to allow his full recuperation.
The 7'6" Shanghainese is China's most popular sportsman and topped the most recent Forbes China list of entertainers with an estimated income of £32 million.
Yao had been scheduled to take part in the NBA's Basketball Without Borders camp for young Asian players in Beijing next week but was absent from the list of participants issued by NBA China on Tuesday.
Tennis Spy: Alexandra Dulgheru
Eurosport - Wed, 22 Jul 06:53:00 2009
Tennis Spy runs the rule over Alexandra Dulgheru, who finally seems to have shrugged off the injury problems that blighted her early career.
Full name: Alexandra Dulgheru
Nationality: Romanian (Born in Bucharest)
Age: 20 (born May 30, 1989)
World Ranking: 74
Career highlights: Won WTA Warsaw in May 2009.
General: Dulgheru is a classic example of a late developer. Showed early promise winning an ITF event in her hometown back in 2005, but several undistinguished years in satellite tour events followed, as did a string of injuries. Everything changed in Maym 2009 when she came through qualifying to win WTA event in Warsaw, beating no less than Daniela Hantuchova and Alona Bondarenko on her way to the title.
Strengths: Strength and fitness are up there with the best players on the circuit. In beating both Hantuchova and Bondarenko in Warsaw, she battled through tough opening sets before crushing her opponents in the decider, winning those third sets 6-1 and 6-0.
Fast on her feet, with an exciting style of play that sees her cover a huge amount of court, and keeps her opponents running round.
Weaknesses: Erratic shotmaking and very loose style makes her look like a player who relies heavily on her timing being on song. That's all well and good, but she'll struggle for consistency unless she can tighten things up.
More of a problem is her inability to finish points off: partly an issue of lacking a bit of power on the killer blow, and partly a matter of decision-making - something she herself admits can be a problem.
Prospects: The hard work put in on her fitness is bearing fruit, but it's the mental aspect of her game that seems to need work. Not in the sense of focus and concentration - both of which are excellent - but in her tennis sense. The injuries that have held her back since her junior days seem to have retarded the development of her game. At 20, however, time is still on her side - whether she can use it or not is another matter.
Personal: Coached by Daniela Dobre. Born just a few months before the Romanian revolution that saw Nicolae Ceausescu deposed and then executed, Dulgheru is a true post-Communist Romanian with a sunny disposition who lists New York as her favourite city. Loves drawing, going swimming, trips to the cinema, and - slightly surprisingly - snooker.
Shrugged off comparisons to Justine Henin, but names her as her favourite player. Father is an airline pilot with Romanian national airline Tarom.
Sister Bianca-Mihaela started playing at a tennis club five minutes walk from her house, and a four-year-old Alexandra soon got in on the act.
No comments:
Post a Comment