Top seed Sharapova in great escape

PARIS: Maria Sharapova narrowly avoided becoming the first women's top seed in French Open history to lose in the opening round yestrday.

Noah backs son Joakim over drugs arrest

PARIS: Yannick Noah, who is marking the 25th anniversary of his French Open title, sprang to the defense of his son Joakim on Tuesday after the basketball star was arrested for possession of marijuana.

Lakers push Spurs to brink

SAN ANTONIO: The Los Angeles Lakers handed the defending champion San Antonio Spurs their first home defeat of the playoffs Tuesday to take a stranglehold on their NBA semifinal series.

Deliberations begin in Graham case

SAN FRANCISCO: A jury began its deliberations on Tuesday in the case of Trevor Graham, the controversial athletics coach whose anonymous tip helped spark the largest doping scandal in sports.

IN BRIEF (Page 20)

Life Pulse

Making a better name

The Chinese are used to naming generations by when they were born and associating their character traits to the times they have lived through.

Post-80ers rise to occasion

The earthquake is a great challenge for young people born after the 1980s, offering them a chance to display their patriotism, said Dr Li Houqiang from the policy research office of the Sichuan Provincial Party Committee.

Maturing son makes mom proud

On May 11, my son called to wish me a happy Mother's Day. He is a sophomore at the Command College of the Armed Police Forces in Chengdu, which is thousands of miles away from our home.

Love strong enough to survive 104-hour barrier

A boyfriend's love for his 26-year-old girlfriend is credited with keeping her alive after she had been buried in debris between the bodies of two colleagues for 104 hours.

Go tell it to the mountain

Two young girls helped clear the way for rescuers to get through to Wenchuan county, just days after the May 12 earthquake struck Sichuan province.

Life Pulse