Hewitt to play against Belarus

Sydney: Lleyton Hewitt has confirmed he will play in Australia?s Davis Cup quarter final against Belarus next month after the world No. 10 had previously threatened to withdraw from the tie.

Australia?s non-playing captain John Fitzgerald said on Thursday that Hewitt had telephoned him to say he would be available for the April 7-9 tie at Kooyong in Melbourne.

?We had a good conversation and he?s very keen to play,? Fitzgerald said. ?He wants to play, that?s genuine.?

Hewitt has won more Davis Cup singles matches for Australia than any other player but his future participation has been thrown in doubt following a bitter fallout with local tennis officials.

Ian Thorpe doubtful

Sydney: Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe is doubtful for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne because of illness, his manager said on Thursday.

Thorpe, 23, has been tested for whooping cough, glandular fever and chronic fatigue syndrome, and while he hasn?t pulled out of the Games, his management team is concerned about the swimmer?s health. ?He hasn?t progressed as well as everyone hoped over the last week,? Thorpe?s manager David Flaskas said. ?We?re hoping over the next 48 hours things improve but it is a real concern at the moment and is being closely monitored by doctors.?

Thorpe?s treatment reportedly has been hampered because antibiotics recommended to him are on the banned drugs list.

Cup stadium cracks

Frankfurt: Two small sections of cement on a supporting column at Frankfurt?s World Cup stadium have cracked open and were discovered by the construction company on Wednesday, a company official said.

No one was injured in the incident at the brand new stadium, which has also endured embarassing problems with a leaky roof.

The stadium?s roof was unable to keep out the rain as it should in two incidents last year ? at the final of the Confederations Cup match in June, 2005 between Brazil and Argentina and in October, 2005 at a Bundesliga match.

Blatter defends restrictions

Zurich: Fifa president Sepp Blatter defended restrictions on newspapers and news agencies at this year?s World Cup and threatened to impose further limits in response to criticism.

Blatter said on Wednesday he was ?surprised? and ?dismayed? by a February 23 letter from the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) concerning Fifa restrictions on the use of photographs over the Internet during the June 9-July 9 tournament in Germany.

WAN?s letter expressed ?deep regret and dismay? with Fifa for refusing to lift an embargo restricting the use of Internet photographs, including on newspaper websites. Under the embargo, photos only can be published when a match ends, and there is a limit to the number of photos that can be published.

Belgian charge

Brussels: Belgian police intend to charge a Chinese businessman they believe is the key figure in a soccer match-fixing investigation, a spokeswoman for the federal prosecutor said on Thursday.

?It is not a case of if but when Zheyun Ye is charged and we will be issuing an international warrant for his arrest,? Lieve Pellens said.

Ye was arrested by Belgian police as part of their investigation in November. Pellens confirmed that five Belgian first division clubs were under investigation.

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