updated coverage of the Australian open --- Tennis

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updated coverage ot the Australian open --- Tennis [فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات . إضغط هنا للتسجيل] History of the tournament The Australian Open is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments to be held each year. It is held each January at Melbourne Park. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905. Like the other three Grand Slam events, it was contested by top-ranked amateur players and known as the Australian Championships until the advent of open era in 1968. Originally based at the grass courts at Kooyong in the city of Melbourne's inner south-east, the tournament was in danger of fading into irrelevance before being revived in 1988 with a shift to Melbourne Park (then called Flinders Park), a new (Rebound Ace) hardcourt venue next to the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the southern fringe of the central business district. Mats Wilander was the only player to win the tournament both on grass and on Rebound Ace. Like all the Grand Slam tournaments, there are men's and women's singles competitions, men's, women's, and mixed doubles, as well as junior and master's competitions. The Australian Open was held in December from 1977 through to 1985, returning to its original January date in 1987. In 1986, because of the return to January, no tournament was held. Margaret Court Arena at the Australian Open with the old Rebound Ace surface. Rod Laver Arena, the centre court, in the background. Margaret Court Arena at the Australian Open with the old Rebound Ace surface. Rod Laver Arena, the centre court, in the background. The two main courts used in the tournament are Rod Laver Arena and Vodafone Arena and feature retractable roofs, which can be shut in case of rain or extreme heat. It is the only Grand Slam tournament that features indoor play. However, work has already commenced on a retractable roof for Wimbledon's Centre Court, which is expected to be completed by 2009. Held in the middle of the Australian summer, the Australian Open is famous for its notoriously hot days. An extreme-heat policy is often put into play when temperatures (and humidity) reach dangerous levels. The Australian Open typically has very high attendance, with the 2008 Australian Open achieving the highest ever day/night attendance record for any Grand Slam tournament of 62,885. [1] In 2008, the Rebound Ace surface which has been in place for the past 20 years at Melbourne Park, will be replaced by a cushioned acrylic surface known as Plexicushion.[2] The main benefits of the new surface: better consistency and less retention of heat (due to a thinner top layer). This change will be accompanied by changes in the surfaces of all lead-up tournaments to the Australian Open. Work began on the removal of the old surface on 4 June 2007. The decision has been met with much controversy, primarily due to the new surface's similarity to DecoTurf, the surface already being utilised by the US Open. 2008 edition Australian Open - Women's round-up: Mauresmo crashes Eurosport - Fri, 18 Jan 11:00 2008 Former champion Amelie Mauresmo suffered her earliest Australian Open defeat since 2000 when she was upended 3-6 6-4 6-4 by unseeded Australian Casey Dellacqua in the third round. [فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات . إضغط هنا للتسجيل] Henin, the 2004 champion at Melbourne Park, had problems with her serve in a match characterised by exploiting angles and opening up the court rather than power, but was able to break Schiavone when she needed to. The 25-year-old Belgian had to battle back from two break points when serving for the match and secured victory when Schiavone's desperate return from a smash went wide. Henin has now won 31 consecutive matches since losing in last year's Wimbledon semi-finals to Marion Bartoli. The top seed next meets Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei, who had never won a Grand Slam match prior to this tournament, after Hsieh beat France's Aravane Rezai 6-2 6-7 6-5. Defending hampion Serena Williams, meanwhile, booked her place in the fourth round with a routine 6-3 6-4 win over V ictoria Azarenka of Belarus. The seventh-seeded American struggled for fluency throughout the match but was always too strong for the 26th seed, sealing a convincing victory in 72 minutes. Williams next plays 12th seed Nicole Vaidisova for a place in the quarter-finals after the Czech ousted Japan's Ai Sugiyama. Third seed Jelena Jankovic shrugged off fatigue and nagging injuries to earn a 6-2 4-6 6-1 victory over Virginie Razzano of France. The Serb had struggled through her opening two matches, saving three match points against Tamira Paszek in the first round, and the clash with Razzano was no different. After racing into a 3-0 lead, Jankovic struggled, consistently forced to break serve to stay in the contest when her own service game was placed under pressure. The 22-year-old, hampered by a shoulder injury and fatigue during her second-round match, lost the second set but ran away with the third and clinched victory on her second match point. Elena Vesnina but up a spirited battle but in the end the former Wimbledon and US Open champion Maria Sharapova had too much power and too much nous for her compatriot. Fifty ranking places separate world number five Sharapova and Russian compatriot Vesnina but the gulf in class was gaping. Vesnina held on in the opening set before folding in the second, slumping 6-3 6-0. Next up for Sharapova, runner-up at Melbourne Park 12 months ago, is another blonde Russian baseliner, Elena Dementieva. The 11th seed rolled over Israel's Shahar Peer 6-2 6-0. Reuters Australian Open - Men's round-up: Rafa tames Simon Eurosport - Fri, 18 Jan 09:33:00 2008 Second seed Rafael Nadal shrugged off a slow start to beat Frenchman Gilles Simon 7-5 6-2 6-3 in the Australian Open third round. [فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات . إضغط هنا للتسجيل] The Spaniard trailed 5-2 in the first set to an inspired Simon, who wasted six set points, but he dug deep to win it and then ran away with the match. "He started playing very good, very aggressive," Nadal said in a courtside interview. "I had some difficult moments, he had some set points. "I served very well on the big points -- it is not normal that I serve two aces (on set points) but it's good." With Nadal guilty of hitting the ball too short, 28th seed Simon played superbly but once the Spaniard had pinched the first set, he was always in control. Nadal grew in confidence as the match progressed and as Simon tired, he eased to victory, setting up a clash with either 23rd seed Paul-Henri Mathieu of France or Austrian Stefan Koubek. Earlier on Friday, fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko became the first men's player to advance to the fourth round with a straight sets victory over Frenchman Marc Gicquel. The Russian, who reached the semi-finals of the French and US Opens last year, losing to Roger Federer both times, won 6-3 6-2 6-3 in two hours 20 minutes. The low-profile Davydenko, who remains at the centre of an investigation into a betting scandal, will play Davis Cup teammate and 14th seed Mikhail Youzhny, who ended the hopes of big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic 6-2 6-4 6-2. "It's much better for me to play Youzhny, because with Karlovic you never know what will happen with his big service, you wait for a tiebreaker and one mistake on my side can lose the set," Davydenko said. "I have a chance against Youzhny, playing from the baseline like today and control the ball like I did against Gicquel." Unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who beat ninth seed Andy Murray in the opening round, pushed deeper into the draw with a 6-3 6-4 6-2 win over Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Reuters / AFP

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Australian Open - Federer survives massive scare

Eurosport - Sat, 19 Jan 11:07:00 2008

[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات . إضغط هنا للتسجيل]

Roger Federer survived a massive scare at the Australian Open, scrambling to a 6-7 7-6 5-7 6-1 10-8 third-round victory over Serb Janko Tipsarevic.
TENNIS Roger Federer Australian Open third round 2008 - 0


With the world number one and top seed strangely off-colour, a huge shock looked a real possibility when world number 49 Tipsarevic led by two sets to one but the Swiss came through a tense final set to take his place in the last 16.

A sluggish Federer lost the first set, having served for it at 5-3. It was the first set he had dropped at the Australian Open since 2006.

Federer hit back to level the match by cruising through the second set tiebreak, only to lose the third after holding two set points on the Tipsarevic serve in the 10th game.

But Federer, chasing his 13th grand slam title, levelled and in a tense final set, broke in the 17th game and served out to line up a clash with Czech 13th seed Tomas Berdych or Juan Monaco, the 21st seed from Argentina.

Having looked supremely confident in his opening two matches, Federer was expected to breeze past Tipsarevic, who had won only two matches in three visits to the Australian Open until this year.

Federer looked a shadow of the dominant player who has reached 10 successive grand-slam finals and won three of the last four Australian Opens.

It looked like business as usual when the Swiss broke to lead 5-3 in the first set but Tipsarevic broke back and won the tiebreak 7-5 after Federer chose not to hit an easy volley that landed in.

The second set also went to a tiebreak but Federer took it 7-1 to level before forcing two set points in the 10th game of the third.

But, as he did throughout the match, Tipsarevic dug deep on the big points, saving both and stunning the top seed by breaking to take the set 7-5.

Federer had been upset by Tipsarevic's numerous Hawk-Eye challenges in the first three sets but shrugged off his worries by racing through the fourth.

Tipsarevic refused to lie down, however, and stayed on serve until 7-7 in the decider when a backhand pass from Federer forced an error.

The Swiss squandered one match point but an unreturnable serve sealed victory and kept alive his hopes of a third consecutive Australian Open title.
Reuters

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Australian Open - Men's round-up: Gonzo bundled out Eurosport - Sat, 19 Jan 11:08:00 2008 [فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات . إضغط هنا للتسجيل] Unseeded teenager Marin Cilic stunned 2007 runner-up Fernando Gonzalez 6-2 6-7 6-3 6-1 to reach the fourth round at the Australian Open. TENNIS 2008 Austrailan Open Fernando Gonzalez - 0 The seventh seed got himself back into the match when he won the second-set tiebreak but Cilic, the youngest man left in the draw, smashed a barrage of 60 winners past his helpless opponent. The Croatian had never won a grand slam match in three previous attempts before this year but he blasted through the first set in stunning fashion. Gonzalez hit back to level but Cilic pulled away in the third and fourth sets to line up a last-16 clash with American 12th seed James Blake. Earlier on Saturday Blake fought back from two sets down to seal a dramatic 4-6 2-6 6-0 7-6 6-2 victory over France's Sebastien Grosjean. The 29-year-old Grosjean had raced through the first two sets before the 12th seed blasted him off the court in the third. Grosjean, however, reversed the momentum and jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the fourth before an angry Blake battled back, held to 5-4 and had two break points for the set before the Frenchman forced the tiebreak. Blake trailed 3-0 in the tiebreak but surged back to win it 7-5 and ran away with the final set before sealing victory with an ace. Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic cruised into the fourth round with a 6-3 6-1 6-3 win over unseeded American Sam Querrey. He has still not lost a set in the tournament. Reuters

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Australian Open - Maria books Henin date Eurosport - Sun, 20 Jan 06:05:00 2008 [فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات . إضغط هنا للتسجيل] Maria Sharapova crushed fellow Russian Elena Dementieva 6-2 6-0 to line up an Australian Open quarter-final against top seed Justine Henin. TENNIS 2008 Australian Open Maria Sharapova - 0 The 20-year-old, runner-up at Melbourne Park last year, overpowered 11th-seeded Dementieva, breaking serve six times on her way to victory in 62 minutes. Sharapova, a fifth seed at this year's tournament, was in scintillating form and gave Dementieva no chance to settle, easing through the first set in 32 minutes. The former world number one was even better in the second set, rushing through it and crunching a huge forehand return to reach the last eight for the fourth successive year. Henin, meanwhile, breezed into the last eight with a comprehensive 6-2 6-2 fourth round victory over Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei. Henin, wearing protective strapping on her right knee, simply showed the gulf in class between the world's top player and someone who is ranked 157 places lower and had to qualify for the main draw. Hsieh was the first Taiwanese player to make the last 16 of a grand slam, and despite some moments where Henin lost concentration in the second set, she was never really in the match. Henin had two match points while serving at 5-0 in the second set, but Hsieh fought them both off. She broke then held serve before Henin, down two break points in her next service game, sealed victory when her opponent netted a service return. Ninth seeded Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova, 14th seeded Russian Nadia Petrova, and unseeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki all advanced to the fourth round on Sunday, while Poland's Marta Domachowska upset Chinese 24th seed Na Li 2-6 6-2 6-4 in other third-round play. Reuters

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Australian Open - Men's round-up: David slain Eurosport - Sun, 20 Jan 07:58:00 2008 [فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات . إضغط هنا للتسجيل] Argentina's David Nalbandian joined the list of top seeds knocked out of the Australian Open third round when he suffered a 6-1 6-2 6-3 loss at the hands of former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero. TENNIS 2008 Australian Open David Nalbandian - 0 Nalbandian, who had suffered muscle spasms in his back the week prior to the tournament, was continually harassed by the Spanish baseliner, chasing down virtually every shot the 10th-seed attempted. Ferrero, a finalist in Auckland last week, converted six of his 10 break opportunities and gave Nalbandian one chance, which he was unable to convert. The match had been postponed from Saturday due to rain and the delay seemed to have hampered the Argentine, who followed women's second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze as third round casualties. Ferrero will next meet Spanish compatriot David Ferrer after the fifth seed eased past American Vincent Spadea 6-3 6-3 6-2. Another top seed was ousted by the run of flamboyant Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, as the man who stunned British ninth seed Andy Murray in the first round of the tournament eliminated the hopes of eighth seeded compatriot Richard Gasquet 6-2 6-7 7-6 6-3. Tsonga fired in 18 aces and hit 75 winners to reach his first-ever Grand Slam quarter-final in stylish fashion. The Frenchman will now face 14th seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny , who also pulled of an impressive fourth-round upset in beating fourth seeded compatriot Nikolay Davydenko 7-6 6-3 6-1. It is the first time in four tries that Youzhny beat his number one ranked countryman and also the first time in four seasons that Davydenko failed to reach the last eight in Melbourne. Earlier on Sunday, Jarkko Nieminen, the 24th seed, became the first man to make the quarter-finals when he dispatched Andy Roddick's conquerer Philipp Kohlschreiber 3-6 7-6 (7) 7-6 (9) 6-3. The Finn will play the winner of Sunday evening's centre court match between Spanish second seed Rafael Nadal and 23rd seeded Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu. Reuters

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Australian Open - Hewitt and Federer win epics Eurosport - Sun, 20 Jan 08:04:00 2008 [فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات . إضغط هنا للتسجيل] Lleyton Hewitt was on court until 4.33am in an epic Australian Open win over Marcos Baghdatis, while top seed Roger Federer was also taken to five sets. 2008 Australian Open Lleyton Hewitt at 4.30am - 0 Home favourite Hewitt survived a stunning collapse in the early hours of Sunday morning to beat the Cypriot 4-6 7-5 7-5 6-7 6-3. In a match that ended just before daybreak, the latest finish at a grand-slam event, Hewitt blew a 5-1 lead in the fourth set and a match point at 5-2 but recovered to win the decider and line up a meeting with third seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia. Baghdatis, the 2006 runner-up, eased through the first set but Hewitt levelled and came from 5-3 down to win the third set before storming ahead 5-1 in the fourth. After failing to serve out, 19th seed Hewitt forced a match point at 5-2 but then collapsed horribly as Baghdatis took the set on the tiebreak. Somehow, though, the Australian recovered his poise, breaking in the fifth game of the decider and holding on for victory after four hours, 45 minutes. Earlier, Roger Federer survived a massive scare at the Australian Open, scrambling to a 6-7 7-6 5-7 6-1 10-8 third-round victory over Serb Janko Tipsarevic. With the world number one and top seed strangely off-colour, a huge shock looked a real possibility when world number 49 Tipsarevic led by two sets to one but the Swiss came through a tense final set to take his place in the last 16. A sluggish Federer lost the first set, having served for it at 5-3. It was the first set he had dropped at the Australian Open since 2006. Federer hit back to level the match by cruising through the second set tiebreak, only to lose the third after holding two set points on the Tipsarevic serve in the 10th game. But Federer, chasing his 13th grand slam title, levelled and in a tense final set, broke in the 17th game and served out to line up a clash with Czech 13th seed Tomas Berdych who beat Juan Monacoin four sets. Having looked supremely confident in his opening two matches, Federer was expected to breeze past Tipsarevic, who had won only two matches in three visits to the Australian Open until this year. Federer looked a shadow of the dominant player who has reached 10 successive grand-slam finals and won three of the last four Australian Opens. It looked like business as usual when the Swiss broke to lead 5-3 in the first set but Tipsarevic broke back and won the tiebreak 7-5 after Federer chose not to hit an easy volley that landed in. The second set also went to a tiebreak but Federer took it 7-1 to level before forcing two set points in the 10th game of the third. But, as he did throughout the match, Tipsarevic dug deep on the big points, saving both and stunning the top seed by breaking to take the set 7-5. Federer had been upset by Tipsarevic's numerous Hawk-Eye challenges in the first three sets but shrugged off his worries by racing through the fourth. Tipsarevic refused to lie down, however, and stayed on serve until 7-7 in the decider when a backhand pass from Federer forced an error. The Swiss squandered one match point but an unreturnable serve sealed victory and kept alive his hopes of a third consecutive Australian Open title. Reuters

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----- AUSTRALIAN OPEN --------------- updated coverage

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[Iron Man]

Australian Open - Jankovic ousts champion Serena Eurosport - Tue, 22 Jan 16:39:00 2008 [فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات . إضغط هنا للتسجيل] Third seed Jelena Jankovic sent defending champion Serena Williams crashing out of the Australian Open with an impressive 6-3 6-4 victory on the Rod Laver Arena. TENNIS 2008 Australian Open Jelena Jankovic - 0 The injury-hampered Jankovic - who needed yet more treatment during the one hour, 39 minute clash for a left quad injury - will now face either world number one Justine Henin or Maria Sharapova in her first Melbourne semi-final. Williams, who looked sluggish and lethargic throughout, was the quicker off the mark and broke to love in the second game to send out ominous signs that last year's straight sets defeat could be repeated. But Jankovic responded in kind and broke back immediately before holding to level at two games apiece. She then broke for a third straight game when Williams dumped an attempted cross-court forehand into the net. Williams had opportunities to get back into the match in both the sixth and eighth games but failed to take advantage by thumping uncharacteristic errors from both sides, although mostly on her backhand. The American also appeared unable to stretch up to her serve properly, with her first serve tamely bouncing over the net at under 100 mph on numerous occasions in the first set and early in the second. Jankovic, however, was striking her backhand cleanly and made good use of her favoured shot down the line as Williams struggled to manoeuvre around the court. The Serb sealed the first set when Williams dumped a routine forehand volley into the net. Jankovic opened the second set with a love service game before breaking with a cross-court forehand winner to open a 2-0 lead. But again Williams struck back, breaking immediately with a backhand winner from the ad side of the court quickly followed by a forehand winner from the same area. Williams received a warning for racket abuse after dropping serve again, but managed to break back for a second time as both women seemed to tighten up. A lengthy injury break for both players following the break - Jankovic for the thigh and Williams for a blister on her toe - seemed to revitalise the duo as they produced the two longest games of the match, both going to serve. But Jankovic struck in the eighth game, earning two break points before drilling her backhand down the line and comfortably putting away the resulting forehand close to the net. The Serb had a chance to serve out the match at 5-3 up but failed to win a tense game that saw Williams take advantage of her nerves to blast winners from both sides of the court. But, after racing to 40-15 on her serve, Williams was unable to maintain the pressure and Jankovic sealed the match on her first attempt when the American pushed an attempted cross-court forehand wide after a long rally. Jelena Jankovic said: "It was an unbelievable match and I'm still shaking. I'm really happy to be in the semis for the first time in Australia. Defeating a defending champion and a champion like Serena is something that doesn't happen every day. But here it is very special, because last year actually in this tournament in the fourth round I lost to her. Now, getting revenge it feels so good." Serena Williams said: "I think that I went crazy, maybe, and I made a lot of mistakes. I didn't really play the game I wanted to play. I was having some issues, but I don't like to make excuses... Definitely a problem all through the day, but nothing life-threatening, so it's fine... My shots were spraying and everything like that but definitely Jelena played some great tennis and deserved it. I felt I was gonna do better than this but I guess I was wrong... can't always be right." Eurosport expert Virginia Wade said: "I'm certainly surprised Serena didn't win quite comfortably, because Jankovic has not been fit really. She's had all sorts of aches and pains, although she said that helped her and often it does, it makes you concentrate and takes the pressure off of you. But she has also struggled in this tournament and I keep going back to that first match when she played against a very young Austrian girl Tamira Paszek and faced three match points and finally won at 12-10 in the third set. I was thinking Serena was just going to make minced meat out of her serve, but she served well against Serena." Follow comprehensive Australian Open coverage live on Eurosport TV and uk.eurosport.yahoo.com! Eurosport is available on Sky 410 and Virgin Media 521; Eurosport 2 is available on Sky 411 and Virgin Media 525 Pippa Davis / Eurosport

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Australian Open - Sharapova sends Henin packing Eurosport - Tue, 22 Jan 19:16:00 2008 [فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات . إضغط هنا للتسجيل] Henin had not lost in 32 matches since falling in the semi-finals of last year's Wimbledon, but Sharapova utterly dominated the top-seeded Belgian from the outset. In the last four the Russian fifth seed, who now becomes the presumptive favourite, will face third seed Jelena Jankovic, who beat defending champion Serena Williams earlier on Tuesday. Sharapova opened the match in imposing fashion following up a comfortable service hold to 15 with an equally easy break to 15 by pressing the US Open champion into a series of errors with her massive forehand. From there the Russian easily held her next two service games while pressing Henin to repeated deuce games on the Belgian's serve. Henin only once looked as if she would challenge the former world number one, as Sharapova was unable to serve out for the opening set on the first time of asking as a string of unforced errors allowed the top seed to break back in the ninth game. Henin then saved three set points in the tenth before the Russian finally confirmed the break of serve and the opener blasting the gorgeous backhand pass into the outstretched racked of the lunging Belgian, who could only watch the ball dribble into the bottom of the net. Despite some amazing rallies from both players in the second set, Sharapova was clearly in command, reeling off winner after winner from all angles to rack up 30 clean winners to Henin's unusually low count of 11. The Belgian also totalled a surprising five double faults to Sharapova's one, with the final double critically handing Sharapova a break point in the fourth game of the second set. Sharapova confirmed the double break advantage with an amazing forehand winner angled just inside the ad court as she faded off of her back-foot from well behind the baseline. The 20-year-old Russian then relied on her big first serve to save a pair of break back points in the fifth, before rushing ahead 40-15 on her rival's serve in the sixth. Sharapova, a former Wimbledon and US Open champion, then closed out the victory on her first match point as Henin sent the unforced backhand error into the net to hand her rival a place in the semi-finals for the fourth straight year. She has won three of her four previous professional matches with semi-final opponent Jankovic, though the pair have been playing together since the junior level. Sharapova said: "I felt like I was in my own bubble today. It's amazing when you go out on the court and feel you're doing the right things to beat such an amazing player as her. It's just incredible...... We [Jankovic and I] kind of grew up together, practising at the same academy. It's a bit strange, we were always in the same groups, playing matches against each other. I think it was both our dreams to play in a Grand Slam semi-final against each other." Henin said: "A lot of things can happen (but) she looks like she's the player who is really confident now, and she has a great chance to do it [win the title]. She worked hard, I think, in the off-season. Apparently her shoulder is good now, so it gives her a lot of self-confidence I was a bit anxious, because I knew I wasn't really 100 percent. It's not an excuse about what happened on the court, because she was much better than me. She served consistently, she was more aggressive and it looked like it was her day and probably her tournament." Eurosport expert Virginia Wade said: "There's always the chance that when Sharapova comes out and hits the ball as sweetly as she did, and hits as many great first-serves as did, that she's just going to walk all over the opposition. She's almost nine inches taller than Justine and if she's connecting - and Justine was not playing terribly well, her first serve was off, but she wasn't given a chance to play well - you can't really be surprised. The surprising thing to me was that Sharapova didn't win more before. She looked so good when she won Wimbledon in 2004 and she's struggled ever since really." Follow comprehensive Australian Open coverage live on Eurosport TV and uk.eurosport.yahoo.com! Eurosport is available on Sky 410 and Virgin Media 521; Eurosport 2 is available on Sky 411 and Virgin Media 525. Jeremy Stahl / Eurosport