FORMER British No1 Elena Baltachawas eliminated from the FrenchOpen in 56 minutes yesterday, aftersuffering a heavy first round defeatto Marian Erakovic on a rain-disrupted day at Roland Garros.

The New Zealander, ranked 108places above world No200 Baltacha,won 6-3 6-0 in the final match of theday on court six.

Ukrainian-born Baltachapondered retirement last yearfollowing ankle surgery, but hasrecently returned to the court afteran eight-month layoff and made theperfect start by breaking Erakovic’sserve and holding for a 2-0 lead.

But the 29-year-old quickly lostthe impetus, losing five games in arow and wasted three break pointswhen Erakovic served for the firstset, before surrenderingspectacularly in the second.

On a day of limited action, homefavourite Marion Bartoli beat OlgaGovortsova 7-6 4-6 7-5 and ninthseed Sam Stosur breezed past 42-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm ofJapan 6-0 6-2.

In the men’s draw, No1 seedNovak Djokovic defeated DavidGoffin in straight sets, 7-6 6-4 7-5,while Tommy Haas made light workof Frenchman Guillaume Rufin,winning 7-6 6-1 6-3.

“It was not easy,” said Djokovic,bidding to win his first French Opentitle. “David is a good player with alot of talent and a lot ofaggressiveness.

“I love this Grand Slam and Ireally want to do well here.”

World No48 Heather Watson,now the only remaining Britishhope, was also due to make herGrand Slam comeback following about of glandular fever, but hermatch with Switzerland’s StefanieVoegele fell victim to the weather.

Watson is set to be first on courtsix when play resumes thismorning where defeat would leaveBritain without a second roundrepresentative for the first time insix years.

The second round matches are setto begin today too, with Jo-WilfriedTsonga due to meet JarkkoNieminen, fellow Frenchman GaelMonfils is set to take on ErnestsGulbis and Serena Williams closesthe action on Court PhillippeChatrier against another homehope, Caroline Garcia.

Baltacha losesinside an hourat French Open

BAYERN Munich’s ascent to the sta-tus of football’s pre-eminent globalsuperpower is underlined todaywhen the Bavarian outfit arecrowned the most valuable brand inworld football.

The German champions, who onSaturday also became kings ofEurope, have seen their brand valueswell 14 per cent to £566m in 2013,according to leading consultancyBrand Finance’s study of the top 50clubs. Bayern’s growth lifted themahead of Premier League championsManchester United, who fell to sec-ond in the Football 50, despite theirbrand value growing slightly from£540m to £551m.

Spanish juggernauts Real Madrid(£409m) and Barcelona (£376m)remain in third and fourth, though aconsiderable distance behind the toptwo, with London clubs Chelsea(£275m) and Arsenal (£270m) fifthand sixth.

Liverpool, rapidly expandingManchester City, AC Milan andBorussia Dortmund, who lost 2-1 todomestic rivals Bayern in the week-end’s Champions League final atWembley, complete the top 10.

Brand value is based on an esti-mate of the club’s future earningsand represents the cost a third partywould theoretically have to pay tolicence the use of the brand. BrandFinance’s study, calculated for 31

Euro champsBayern toppleMan United inbrand charts

December 2012 and published today,also rates brand strength, using a sim-ilar scale to credit ratings, which iscombined with earning figures todetermine brand value.

Bayern’s success has helped theBundesliga attain voguish status,however English top-flight clubs out-strip their German counterparts inthe Football 50 by 14 to eight.

Tottenham (£144m) rank 12th,while West Ham (£54m), Newcastle(£53m), Aston Villa (£53m), Everton(£52m), Fulham (£50m) andSunderland (£48m) are all in theworld’s top 35.

“The commercial transformationof the English game, which has creat-ed hugely successful global brands,had been seen as the model to emu-late,” said Brand Finance chief execu-tive David Haigh.

“However, the escalation of playerwages, poor financial managementand alienation of grass roots fans hasleft many people jaded. In contrast,the cheap tickets, high attendances,democratic ownership structure andfinancial prudence of the Bundesliganow looks like an attractive alterna-tive, particularly now it is deliveringworld-beating, fluid football ratherthan the more workmanlike styleGerman teams had been known for.

“Just as British politicians and busi-ness journalists have long been call-ing for our economy to emulate theGerman Mittelstand, now sports com-mentators are wondering whetherwe can learn from the Bundesliga.”

Whelan tells Everton to pay £2m for Martinez

Elena Baltacha is out of the French Open

WEDNESDAY 29 MAY 201334

SPORTcityam.com/sport

BY JOSH RICHARDS

WIGAN chairman Dave Whelanhas told Everton they must stumpup £2m in compensationto lure managerRoberto Martinezaway from the DWStadium.

Whelan confirmedyesterday thatMartinez has beengranted permission tospeak to another clubafter requestingto leave the FACup winners,though anofficialstatementclarified thatthe Spaniard

has not yet left his current post.The 39-year-old is still undercontract with the relegated Laticsand will not be free to succeedManchester United-bound David

Moyes at Everton, until afinancial settlement has beenagreed.

“We will let him go but he’son a 12-month rolling contract,so if he moves someone will

have to buy him out of hisfinal year,” said

Whelan, whoappointedMartinez asmanager in 2009.

“Robertowants to move

on and I have got to accept it.Everton rang me and I said theyhave permission to talk to him. Iwould never stop Roberto talkingto football clubs.

“We are still friends, we willalways be good friends and he willalways be a friend of WiganAthletic.”

Manchester United’s first teamcoach Rene Meulensteen, 49, is theearly favourite to take the Wiganjob, should Martinez complete hismove to Goodison Park.

The Dutchman has previousmanagerial experience withBrondby of Denmark and Qatariclubs Al-Ittihad and Al-Sadd.

Current Wigan assistantmanager Graeme Jones and formerBolton boss Owen Coyle are alsoamong the front-runners.

BY JOSH RICHARDS

Everton will hold talkswith Roberto Martinez

@cityam_sport

FC Bayern MünchenGermany

Main Sponsors: Deutsche Telekom (£26m PA)

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Manchester United FCEngland

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Real Madrid CFSpain

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FC BarcelonaSpain

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Manchester City FCEngland

Main Sponsors: Etihad Airways (£20m)

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Liverpool FCEngland

Main Sponsors: Standard Chartered (£20m)

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AC MilanItaly

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German giants claim another title

EVERTON have been forced toapologise to supporters followingan angry reaction to the redesignof their club crest.

The Toffees have been inundatedwith complaints over the“modernised” image of the EvertonTurret and absence of their clubmotto: Nil Satis Nisi Optimum.

Time constraints mean changescannot now be made to nextseason’s kit, but the club haspromised to remedy the situationbefore the 2014-15 campaign.

Toffees sorryfor crest chaos

EXCLUSIVEBY FRANK DALLERES

35

Zaha tipped for bright futurebut Palace won’t loan him backMANCHESTER United forwardWilfried Zaha has been tipped forgreatness by England boss RoyHodgson, but newly-promotedCrystal Palace insist they are notplanning a loan move for theirformer star.

The 20-year-old was snapped up bythe Premier League champions for£15m in January, but immediatelyreturned to Selhurst Park on loanand helped Palace seal promotion tothe top flight with victory inMonday’s play-off final at Wembley.

Zaha made his England debut in a

CHELSEA defender Ashley Cole is setto captain England for the first timein tonight’s friendly against theRepublic of Ireland, despite managerRoy Hodgson insisting otherwise.

Cole has been handed thearmband in recognition ofbecoming only the seventh Englandplayer to reach a century of caps,although this evening will representhis 102nd international appearance.

Hodgson yesterday appeared tosuggest the 32-year-old would onlylead England out and hand over theskipper’s duties to Blues team-mateFrank Lampard, who has deputisedfor regular captain Steven Gerrard.

But it emerged last night that left-back Cole will captain the team inall respects, apart from thoseinvolving the media thattraditionally fall to the man with thearmband.

“The fact is that he does not enjoythe responsibility of talking publiclyand that is why maybe in the pastwhen the England captaincy hascome up I am sure his name willhave been considered but he shiedaway from that and he will havebeen happy to play under others,”said Hodgson.

“But on this occasion we all thinkthis is the right thing to do, and heis happy to accept that. He was alsosatisfied with our compromise, thatwith the press conference, FrankLampard would be the one comingin and speaking for the team here,whereas he [Cole] will be doing histalking with his feet on the pitch.”

Hodgson this week wrote to allticket holders in a plea for goodbehaviour as Ireland face Englandfor the first time since the fixture

was abandoned due to rioting atLansdowne Road in 1995.

It comes after the FootballAssociation investigated claims thatfans sang songs about burningAnton and Rio Ferdinand during thewin over San Marino in March. TheFA said it could not find evidence tosupport the claims.

“It’s very important,” he added. “Italmost goes without saying that youwant fans to respect the opposition,because tonight is such an important

part of our [the FA’s] Jubilee year andI hope our fans are going to comethere and cheer us to a victory.

“I was very happy to send out theletter to try to make sure that thegame is played in the right spirit as Iknow it will be on the field.”

With Danny Welbeck struggling toprove his fitness Daniel Sturridgelooks set to lead the line for Englandalongside Wayne Rooney.

Former Tottenham striker RobbieKeane is expected to play for Ireland.

4-2 defeat to Sweden last Novemberand is backed to have a bright futureby Hodgson, who said yesterday: “Itseems to me he is on the thresholdof something big.”

However, Palace do not anticipateZaha adding to his 143 Eaglesappearances next term.

“We are certainly not thinkingabout loaning him back,” saidchairman Steve Parish.

“Wilfried deserves his chance to goto Manchester united with a view tomaking it there. I think he is goodenough and will figure in their firstteam.

“We will be planning for life

without him. If he does get loanedout to another Premier League clubthen obviously we would want to bein the mix.”

Palace’s promotion to the PremierLeague is said to be worth £120m tothe club, with an increase in TVrevenue worth £55m alone.

And Parish plans to providemanager Ian Holloway with thenecessary funds to build a teamcapable of escaping relegation.

“It’s a lot of money but there’s alot of things to try to do with it, notleast to try to stay in the division,” hesaid. “I’m already speaking to Ianand trying to plot a route to do that.”

LIVERPOOL manager BrendanRodgers has begun strengtheninghis squad for next season bysigning defender Kolo Toure on afree transfer.

The 32-year-old will leavemanagerless Manchester City on 1 July following the expiration ofhis contract and sign a two-yeardeal with the Reds, having passeda medical yesterday.

Toure found first teamopportunities hard to come by lastseason, after being left out ofCity’s 25-man Champions Leaguesquad. But with Liverpool stalwartJamie Carragher retiring thissummer, Toure will hope to be

given the opportunity to resurrecthis career at Anfield.

Toure made 102 appearances forCity since completing a £14mmove from Arsenal in 2009.

The Ivory Coast centre-back,who has won 105 internationalcaps, picked up a Premier Leaguewinners medal under formermanager Roberto Mancini, addingto the title he won with theArsenal team that finished anentire season unbeaten in 2004.

However, Toure served a six-month suspension for failing adrugs test in 2011, claiming tohave taken his wife’s diet pillsunaware they contained a bannedsubstance, causing him to miss outon City’s FA Cup success.

It’s more difficult to be a spinner now thanit once was, but Swann is up there with thevery best of all time

‘cityam.comWEDNESDAY 29 MAY 2013

FOOTBALLERS will beencouraged to use a new mobilephone app to report incidents ofracism and other forms ofdiscrimination from next season.

The innovation, from equalityand inclusion campaigners KickIt Out, will follow a similar appaimed at supporters, which is setto launch later this summer.

Players have used Twitter tovoice complaints about racismfrom rival fans, and it is hopedthe app will provide them with amore productive alternative byusing the same medium ofiPhone or Android device.

High-profile allegations ofracist abuse between playershave emerged in recent seasons,with both Chelsea’s John Terryand Liverpool’s Luis Suarezserving bans after being foundguilty by the FA.

Complaints via the free fans’app can be made anonymouslyand are automatically sent to therelevant club, the FootballAssociation and Kick It Out. It isthen up to the club and the FAto decide whether to notifypolice. The players’ app, which isstill in development, will workalong similar lines.

It comes after a Kick It Outstudy found that less than halfof supporters know how toreport incidents of racism orother discriminatory behaviour.

Anti-racismapp launchedby Kick It Out

BY FRANK DALLERES

BY JOSH RICHARDS

BY JOSH RICHARDS

Liverpool make early summerswoop for City defender Toure

How the phone application will look

Ashley Cole will captain England tonight for their friendly against Republic of Ireland

Centurion Cole accepts Englandcaptaincy but will snub mediaChelsea defender tolead Three Lions inrecognition of his100-cap milestone

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BY FRANK DALLERES

Andy Lloyd comment: Page 33