Other Wimbledon stories in brief

Serena provides double trouble

ONE set of sisters are doing it for themselves this week and another set of sisters are not. The Americans Venus and Serena Williams came through their quarter-final matches yesterday, Serena first beating the 17-year-old wild card Urszula Radwanska 6-4, 6-4 in the fourth round before then rounding on her 19-year-old sister, Agnieszka, yesterday with a straight-sets win.

The Williamses will not be popular in Poland.

• THE singer Sting was spotted at Wimbledon this week and was photographed in and around the pubs near his country pile spending time with his friend the film director Guy Richie.

Sting and his wife, Trudie, were guests of honour at Richie's wedding to the pop star Madonna. Richie is apparently in the doldrums as his marriage to Madonna is reputedly on the rocks.

It was suggested if Sting could help Richie, maybe he could have a word with the crestfallen Richard Gasquet.

Brown aboard  the bandwagon

POLITICIANS are not ones for jumping on bandwagons, surely, especially if their ratings are falling through the floor. Still the British prime minister, Gordon Brown, stepped up to gee up his fellow Scot and the only British player left in the singles draw, Andy Murray.

"The prime minister, like the whole of the country, wants to see Andy continue his good progress," said spokesman Michael Ellam yesterday.

Brown being a rugby man first and foremost, that might constitute crossing party lines.

Stars strike a different pose

THE ITF yesterday announced the publication of its Official Olympic book with 44 players featured in its pages.

Among them Roger Federer poses as a fencer and the French champion Ana Ivanovic is shown playing beach volleyball (how original).

Rafael Nadal appears as a footballer on location in Shanghai, while the Serbian Novak Djokovic takes advantage of Dubai's indoor ski slope. Maria Sharapova takes time out to pose as a rhythmic gymnast in Los Angeles, while Serena Williams demonstrates her skating abilities at home in Palm Beach, Florida. Where else?

BBC prioritise Murray thriller

THE Andy Murray match on Monday evening against the Frenchman Richard Gasquet delayed the start of the BBC's new five-part thriller Criminal Justice. There have been scheduling disputes in the BBC in recent months but they simply said if it's Murray playing he gets the coverage.

The BBC blazers were rightly rewarded by that decision as the tennis match attracted 10.5 million viewers at its peak, which represented 44.7 per cent of the audience share.

Tim Henman, who was commentating on the match, could afford a wry smile, as it was usually he causing the scheduling headaches.

A five-part thriller then, delayed by a five-set thriller.