D Tuesday, September 15, 2009 METROSPORT 21 Family girl Kim shaping up for more tests ahead Girl power: Clijsters and daughter Jada celebrate Picture: Reuters Serena says sorry to line judge at last SERENA WILLIAMS has finally apologised to the line judge she ranted at during her extraordinary semi-final defeat by Kim Clijsters. The American has been fined $10,000 (7,000) for her outburst after being called for a foot fault on a second serve that handed Clijsters match point. Serena last night won the doubles title with sister Venus, beating top seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber 6-2, 6-2. But earlier she was given the maximum permissible on-site punishment for unsportsmanlike conduct, plus 350 for smashing her racket earlier in the match. After Williams released an initial statement saying she let her passion and emotion get the better of me, she amended it yesterday, saying: I want to apologise FIRST to the lineswoman, Kim Clijsters, the USTA and mostly tennis fans for my inappropriate outburst. I admit when Im wrong. Some former players felt Williams could have been temporarily banned from the tour because of her actions. Although no such punishment was handed out, a statement from tournament referee Brian Earley did not rule out further penalties, including the possible loss of her prize money. The grand slam rule book also allows for an investigation to be conducted... to determine if the behaviour of Ms Williams warrants consideration as a major offence for which additional penalties can be imposed. This investigation has now begun, a statement said.Apology: Williams Roger Federer, who faced Juan Martin Del Potro in last nights final, played what he the shot of his life in the semis. Watch his tweener winner at metro.co.uk/federershot KIM CLIJSTERS has admitted it will be tough to ever better her stunning comeback triumph at the US Open. The 26-year-old Belgian, who only came out of a 27-month re- tirement spell last month, powered to a 7-5, 6-3 win over Caroline Wozniacki to claim her second Flushing Meadows crown. The former world No.1, who married husband Brian Lynch and had 18-month-old daughter Jada during her time out, had played just seven competitive matches before the final major of the sea- son in New York. But now she has gone from a player with no ranking to 19th in the world just three tournaments into her return. Clijsters saw off both Venus and defending champion Serena Wil- liams en route to the final, before her victory over ninth seeded Dane Wozniacki. And she admitted: I dont know how Im going to top this, but itll be a real challenge at each tourna- ment you play to try to show your best tennis and to stay in good shape. Its something Im going to really focus on, thinking wisely about my schedule, picking my tournaments and peaking at cer- tain situations. With my coach, my physio were just going to keep focusing and making sure that I work hard. They know how important it is for me to have that family life at the same time. So Im not playing next week. Ill go home and relax for a little bit. Clijsters had been preparing se- riously for a comeback since the start of the year, working with coach Wim Fissette and physical trainer Sam Verslegers. She got herself fit and match ready, playing an exhibition with Tim Henman, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf to mark the opening of the new roof at Wimbledons Cen- tre Court and then returning to the WTA Tour in August. But Vissette revealed she was badly out of shape when she first begun working with him. She could run 30 minutes but that was about it, he said. She was not in a great condi- tion. The first time she ran her heartbeat went up to 160bpm. She was overweight so it was really a start from zero. Tennis us open NFL: Wide receiver Brandon Stokley caught a deflected pass and ran for an 87-yard touchdown with seconds to play as the Denver Broncos eked out a 12-7 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Ive never seen anything like that, Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer said, after defender Leon Hall tipped a pass from Denvers Kyle Orton only for Stokley to catch the ball and run for the score with 11 seconds left. Meanwhile, Brett Favre made a promising start for the Minnesota Vikings as they opened with a 34-20 victory over the Cleveland Browns. Favre, who signed with the Vikings after opting not to retire, threw a six-yard touchdown pass to rookie Percy Harvin to cap a strong showing. RuGBY: Jean de Villiers is set to join Munster this week after the conclusion of south Africas triumphant Tri-nations campaign. The springbok centre has been given clearance from super 14 side Western province to complete his move to the Magners League champions after agreeing a contract earlier this summer. The player will be subject to a medical before being officially unveiled but Munster coach Tony McGahan said: Jean de Villiers is recognised as one of the top midfield players in world rugby and Im looking forward to having him in our squad. He brings a wealth of experience and a skill level that will benefit Munster on and off the field. GOLF: Ian Poulter has missed out on the Tour Championship in Atlanta next week by 0.46 points after a shot into water on the final hole of the BMW Championship. A closing par in Chicago would have kept the Ryder Cup star in the top 30 for the final leg of the FedEx Cup play-offs but he bogeyed and so exited the series with 1,531 points to Australian John Sendens 1,532. Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia were the top Europeans in the event in joint-sixth place. Harrington maintained his recent run of good form and is now sixth in the points standings but cannot win the $10million (6m) bonus. That will be fought out between top five Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson and Heath Slocum. on his way: De Villiers RuGBY: Argentina have been invited to join an expanded Tri- nations competition from 2012. sanzar, the body that governs southern hemisphere giants south Africa, Australia and new Zealand, have invited the pumas to join them in a new Four nations championship on condition they field their best players available for super 14 clubs. Calls to have the pumas included in the tournament first began almost ten years ago. And former pumas captain Agustin pichot, a member of the countrys Four nations project team, said: We are delighted to have the chance to become a great rugby nation and to play at the top-level. Free to fight it out: Button (left) and Barrichello Brawn rivals promised a fair title fight ROSS BRAWN insists he will give his two drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello free rein to battle it out for the world title. Barrichello finished ahead of Button for a Brawn one-two in Sundays Italian Grand Prix, cutting the Britons lead to 14 points with four races left. And with Red Bull and drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber virtually out of the equation in both the constructors and drivers championships, Brawn is happy to allow his men to fight it out for the latter crown. I think we have to let them go head-to-head because any attempt to control it will end in failure, Brawn admitted. We will let them play their game and see what happens because we have said before we would not give any preference until it was mathematically impossible for one of them to win. But I think this is going to go all the way until the last race. Brawn is also letting the drivers and their respective teams of engineers and strategists take on each other fair and square, only stepping in when required. I just make the odd comment. It doesnt need much from me as they are sensible guys, he said. formula one Ferrari boss wont deny Kimi rumour FERRARI team principal Stefano Domenicali has opted not to deny speculation Kimi Raikkonen is to leave the team at the end of the year. The Finn is a man in form after finishing on the podium for the fourth successive race at Sundays Italian Grand Prix.Yet rumours he is to be replaced by Fernando Alonso next year persist, with Domenicali again choosing not to dismiss the stories. Asked to confirm officially whether Raikkonen will be driving a Ferrari in 2010, Domenicali replied: We dont want to discuss this now because I dont think it is correct. Kimi has a contract with us next year and the team is very happy with the way he has performed. 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