Federer still can't figure out Nadal

Melbourne, Australia
Even a new, high-profile coach couldn't help Roger Federer figure out Rafael Nadal.Federer hadn't beaten Nadal in seven years in a grand slam -- and on a chilly night in Melbourne the world No. 1 kept the streak alive, improving his record over the Swiss to 23-10 overall as he advanced to the Australian Open final.The Spaniard pulled out a tight first set and then cruised to a 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 6-3 victory Friday to set up an encounter with Federer's compatriot, Stanislas Wawrinka."I played a lot of times against Roger, and a lot of times I played great against him," Nadal told reporters. "So probably that's why I had this success against him."If Nadal wins Sunday he would rise to 14 majors and tie American Pete Sampras -- in attendance at Rod Laver Arena during a rare foray to a grand slam in retirement -- for second on the men's all-time list behind Federer.The odds are heavily stacked in his favor given he is even more dominant against debutant grand slam finalist Wawrinka, not losing a set in their 12 encounters. Wawrinka progressed Thursday by downing Czech Tomas Berdych.Federer sought the services of Stefan Edberg in an effort to regain his old form and the 32-year-old, troubled by his back in 2013, duly produced big wins over former Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Wimbledon champion Andy Murray this fortnight.But Nadal's transition from defense to offense thwarted Federer, as he continued to enjoy success employing his heavily spun forehand to the Federer backhand and he served impeccably.Nadal, who won the French and U.S. Opens last year in a successful return from knee problems, was broken only once -- in the middle of the third set.

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U.N. envoy: Syrian talks to start Saturday

Geneva, Switzerland

 A day later than originally planned, delegations for the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition will meet in the same room for face-to-face talks on Saturday.U.N. special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi made the announcement on Friday after he met separately with each side to apparently prevent an immediate breakdown in the peace process for Syria's civil war.The delegations originally were scheduled to sit down in the same room on Friday in Geneva, but Brahimi needed more time to set up talks intended to carry out an earlier agreement pushed by the international community to end the Syrian fighting and set up a transitional government.Citing U.N. sources, Syrian state TV reported that Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem told Brahimi that if a serious meeting was not held Saturday, "the Syrian official delegation will leave Geneva because of the lack of seriousness and readiness of the other party (i.e., the opposition)."The opposition delegation also warned that unless it saw movement on the issue of a transitional government -- that is, that the government shifts on its position that President Bashar al-Assad will remain in power -- it would not take part in the face-to-face talks.Brahimi's announcement showed progress to overcome such an early hurdle, but also the difficulty in even launching negotiations to end violence that has claimed more than 100,000 lives since 2011.The war has become increasingly sectarian, drawing in Syria's regional neighbors and forcing out more than 2 million refugees, many of them children."We know it's going to be very, very hard," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos.At the same time, he noted that diplomacy already got the al-Assad regime to turn over its known chemical weapons stockpile to the international community for destruction.The fighting that Kerry said included atrocities by the al-Assad regime made Syria "the world's greatest single individual magnet for jihad and terror," and he made clear that the United States supports the opposition position that al-Assad must go. 

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Worldcup

Second ticketing sales window now open

More than 220,000 tickets will be up for grabs in the next sales window for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™, which will open on Monday, 11 November 2013 at 12:00 CET / 9:00 Brasilia time via FIFA.com.

You can apply for tickets by clicking on the link to the right or by clicking here.

Tickets for 57 matches will be available on a first-come, first-served basis but we expect demand to be high. There will be no tickets in this sales window for the opening match in São Paulo, the final in Maracanã, Brazil’s group-stage matches, the Round of 16 in Belo Horizonte and the semi-final matches in Belo Horizonte and São Paulo. It is important to ensure that ticket buyers have enough funds for their respective payment method.

The amount of tickets on sale includes almost 41,000 venue specific tickets (VST), which grant fans access to matches within one of the Host Cities, as well as a very limited amount of follow your team ticket series (TST).

FIFA would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that FIFA.com is the only online sales platform for tickets for the 2014 World Cup. Any ticket products being offered by other companies or on other platforms are not part of, or related to, the official ticket sales programme. FIFA has not appointed any company to act as its agent for the sale of match tickets. Supporters are strongly advised not to buy tickets through other channels.

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Worldwide Olympic

Worldwide Olympic Partner McDonald’s has launched a new social media campaign for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, which is designed to connect fans from around the world with Olympic athletes.

Supporters can send personalised good luck messages – or ‘cheers’ – directly to their favourite athletes and teams by using the hashtag #CheersToSochi on Twitter, or by visiting www.cheerstosochi.com.

These ‘cheers’ will then be shared at a special display in the Athletes’ Village in Sochi, where athletes can view and print the messages onto ribbons to wear around their wrists. Athletes may even tweet their appreciation back to lucky fans.  

“McDonald’s is a valued global Olympic partner, and we appreciate their incredible ability to reach millions of fans around the world with innovative, inspiring programmes like this,” said Timo Lumme, managing director of the IOC Television and Marketing Services. “Their ‘Cheers To Sochi’ programme celebrates the spirit of the Games and supports what we all stand for – bringing the world together to be our best.”

Steve Easterbrook, global chief brand officer for McDonald’s Corporation, added: “McDonald’s takes tremendous pride in our 38-year partnership of the Games, and we share in the International Olympic Committee’s passion for bringing the world together. This Olympic experience gives fans the ability to make personal connections with athletes in Sochi in a way they’ve never had before.”

Top Olympic athletes, including US hockey player Patrick Kane, Canadian hockey player Drew Doughty, US speed skater Shani Davis and Canadian figure skater Patrick Chan, are encouraging people from around the world to send their #CheersToSochi now and throughout the Games.   

“The encouragement from fans serves as significant motivation for me and my fellow athletes as we compete for gold in Sochi,” said two-time Olympic champion Davis. “Wearing inspiring messages from fans is a memorable reminder of the support we have back home.”  

Fans can visit www.cheerstosochi.com to learn more and start sending messages to athletes and teams as they prepare to compete in the Sochi 2014 Winter Games, which get underway on 7 February.

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