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02 June 2008

What a win for Safina

Dinara Safina proved her title credentials with a 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 win over top seed Maria Sharapova in the fourth round of the French Open.

Sharapova had struggled for form in her opening three matches and many tipped her fellow Russian to cause an upset.

And after letting two set points slip by in the opener, Safina saved a match point in the second set before taking control of a tense decider.

She will play compatriot Elena Dementieva in the quarter-finals.

Safina fought back from 5-1 down in the final set to beat Sharapova at Roland Garros two years ago, but had not really built on that result until Berlin last month when she beat Justine Henin and Serena Williams in consecutive matches.
I was trying to stay more positive, more aggressive
Elena DementievaSharapova, in contrast, came into the tournament as the new world number one but has never enjoyed clay and struggled desperately on serve in her early matches last week.
In a tight first set Safina looked to have the edge but when Sharapova roared back from 6-4 down to take the tie-break, it seemed her champion's mentality would prove the difference.
Safina broke at the start of the second before the rain came, but on the resumption Sharapova stepped up another gear.
She swept through five straight games and got to match point on serve at 5-3, only to see Safina cling on with a blistering backhand.
That was to prove the turning point as the 13th seed forced another tie-break in which she recovered from 5-2 down to level.
The momentum was with her in the decider and she did not waste it, breaking a tiring Sharapova in game six and clinching victory two games later on her second match point.

Can't believe Safina won, Maria played great when they came back after rain

StuartSeventh seed Dementieva moved into the last eight for only the second time with a 6-4 1-6 6-2 victory over another Russian, Vera Zvonarena.
Dementieva, the 2004 runner-up, held her nerve the better in an error-strewn match, her famously shaky serve just about holding up.
"I feel like I've done some work, and it's really improved a little bit," she said.
"It's not perfect yet, but I feel more comfortable. It doesn't make me bad or down when I'm serving now."
Zvonareva made a total of 41 unforced errors, repeatedly smacking her racquet into the ground in frustration as the final set slipped away.
Dementieva sealed victory in one hour 48 minutes, gaining revenge for a defeat by Zvonareva earlier in the year.
"What I think that really helped me was the match we played in Charleston in the semi-finals," said Dementieva.
"I think it was a tough match but I learned my lesson.
"Today on the court when I lost the second set I was trying to stay more positive, more aggressive with her, because I know she's a great clay-court player."
Monday's other fourth-round matches see Svetlana Kuznetsova take on Victoria Azarenka, and Czech Petra Kvitova face Kaia Kanepi of Estonia.

Crash in France........

French train crash kills children

A train has struck a school bus in the French Alps close to the Swiss border, killing at least six children, French police say.
The accident occurred at a level crossing near the town of Allinges in France's Haute-Savoie region.
At least 30 people were also injured in the crash at around 1400 (1200 GMT), France's rail operator SNCF said.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has sent condolences to the victims. An investigation is under way.
"All of us are thinking of the children, the adults, the victims," Mr Sarkozy said. "We can only hope there will be as few victims as possible."

Tax Freedom Day today......

Tax freedom day

If you had to pay all of your tax at once, how long would it take you?

How much of the year would you spend working for the government before you get to keep any money yourself?

Well, in 2008, you would have to work until June 2 before you had enough money to pay your tax bill off entirely.

That is according to the Adam Smith Institute – which has declared Monday, June 2, tax freedom day.

The calculation includes all the income the government gets from taxes - both direct (such as income tax) and indirect (such as VAT). At the moment, the government takes about 40% of the total income of the country in taxes. What does it mean?Tax freedom day is purely a concept – in itself it does not really mean much. But it is a good indicator of our overall tax burden - as a rough guide, the later in the year the date freedom day falls the more tax we pay.As a rough guide, every day later that freedom day falls means an extra quarter of a percent tax we pay. Put another way, four days difference in the freedom day means a 1p in the pound change in our tax burden. (eg. June 2 indicates we pay a penny extra tax per pound than May 30.)HistoryTax freedom day has been calculated for many years. Its recent history shows up some interesting statistics. These seem to show that our tax burden does not necessarily increase under a Labour government.

Are you paying too much tax?

For instance, the latest date it has fallen on in the last 30 years was in 1982, when it came as late as June 20. This means our tax burden then was a whole 4.5% higher than it is now. In fact, in the period 1980 to 1997, tax freedom day fell later than June 2 on no less than twelve occasions. It was dramatically earlier in 1993, falling on May 23. Perhaps it was no coincidence that this was the year after a general election.Since New Labour came to power has been something of an upward trend recently, getting gradually later from 1997. In that year it fell on May 26. It is now seven days later, which equates to a 1.75% increase in our tax burden.Is it a bad thing for tax freedom day to be later?Whether having a later tax freedom day is a bad thing or a good thing depends on your ideological stance. If you believe, as the Adam Smith Institute does, that lower taxes are economically desirable, meaning the wealth of the nation is spread more fairly, then an earlier date is better.However, if you believe that the government should be entrusted to handle the economy to a certain extent to ensure a fair society, then a couple of extra pence in the pound is a worthwhile price to pay.by Julian Shaw, TWD Accountants. May 30, 2008.

Jazz Piano - She's Leaving Home

Jazz Piano - She's Leaving Home