Sports Digest/CYCLING: Spain's Alberto Lopez De Munain was badly injured in a crash during the second stage of the Giro d'Italia yesterday.

"Injuries that have been diagnosed include a fractured left collarbone, a fractured left shoulder and several broken ribs," said the race doctor's medical reports.

The reports added his life was not in danger. The Euskaltel rider hit the guardrail after 132-km of the 182-km stage from Catanzaro Lido to Santa Maria del Cedro. He landed on his face and left side but remained conscious.

The gloves came off in the sprints yesterday with Alessandro Petacchi and Robbie McEwen exchanging strong words after a chaotic finish.

McEwen won the stage and Petacchi, who was blocked in and finished fourth, accused the Australian and Estonia's Jaan Kirsipuu of working together to stop him winning.

"You could see that McEwen and Kirsipuu had agreed to get me off the wheel of my lead out man Marco Velo," the Italian said. "I wanted to win the sprint, but perhaps all my success of the last few years annoys some people and so perhaps the other sprinters have created a coalition against me."

McEwen denied this was the case. "There was no conspiracy. Everybody can say what they want, but (Julian) Dean and Kirsipuu were riding their own sprint as far as I know. I saw them move up and they make a good tandem so I gambled and I decided to follow them. Kirsipuu went early and so gave me an armchair ride to the finish."

McEwen made it clear that the other sprinters in the Giro had decided to fight back against Petacchi and his dominant Fassa Bortolo team to stop him repeating his record of nine stage wins set last year.

"We're not going to sit and let Fassa Bortolo and Petacchi rule the sprints any more," he said. "In the last couple of years we saw that other sprinters were killing each other for his wheel while he sat there comfortable behind his team-mate before starting his sprint when he felt like it." ... Results in Sports Round-up

SWIMMING: It is likely to be months rather than weeks before Swim Ireland set up arrangements for the appointment of a director of swimming at the second attempt, writes Pat Roche.

The association are believed to be still smarting since having been "let down" by the late withdrawal, after his appointment was made, of Barry Prime, the senior swimming coach to the Australia Institute of Sport for over 11 years.

What will be announced shortly are the teams to represent Ireland in the European Juniors, the European Youth Olympics and the British Age Group tests.

TENNIS: Tenth-seed Nathalie Dechy was the lone seed to fall on the opening day of the Rome Masters, going down 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, to Italy's Maria Elena Camerin yesterday.

The top eight were all given byes into the second round of the claycourt event. Camerin had won only two matches in 12 tournaments before arriving in the Italian capital, but mastered the blustery conditions to oust French woman Dechy, who reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January.

It was the first of a trio of Italian victories. Thirteenth-seed Silvia Farina Elia enjoyed a 6-4, 6-1, win over Russia's Maria Kirilenko while the unseeded Francesca Schiavone defeated Meghann Shaughnessy of the US 7-5, 6-0 to set up a meeting with third seed Serena Williams.

TENNIS: Second-seed Andy Roddick suffered a shock first- round defeat at the Hamburg Masters yesterday, losing 7-6, 4-6, 7-5 to Chile's Olympic champion Nicolas Massu.

It was another blow to the 22-year-old American's preparations for the French Open in two weeks' time after he lost in the third round of last week's Rome Masters.

Massu, the world number 25, took the first set 7-4 in a tiebreak in cold conditions at the Rothenbaum. The 2003 US Open champion rallied to take the second set, but Massu secured a see-saw victory after Roddick put an ambitious drop shot out on the Chilean's second match-point in the deciding set.