First-time Wimbledon winners Novak Djokovic and Petra Kvitova will bid to retain their titles in the next fortnight.

Novak Djokovic and Petra Kvitova defend their titles when the 126th edition of Wimbledon begins next week, but the odds are against both of them lifting the trophies for the second year in a row.

Such is the competitive nature of modern tennis, this feat was last achieved back in 1986 when Boris Becker and Martina Navratilova completed the double double. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by: CNN Digital Sport Writer, Paul Gittings
Filed under: Tennis

Serena Williams proudly shows off her fourth Wimbledon crown but can she win a fifth?

The news that Serena Williams is to return to action for the first time in nearly a year certainly gives added spice to the build-up to the third grand slam of the year at Wimbledon.

Williams has been sidelined since winning her fourth title at the All England Club since July, not hitting a ball in anger unless you count a money-spinning exhibition match against Kim Clijsters in Belgium in front of a record crowd for a tennis match.

But days before she had stepped on a shard of glass in a restaurant in Germany to set in course a train of events which she will want to banish to the back of her memory bank. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by: CNN Digital Sport Writer, Paul Gittings
Filed under: Tennis

Liverpool's Fernando Torres is being linked with a big-money move to Chelsea.

With the wheeling and dealing of football's transfer deadline day in full swing, Europe's top clubs have the last chance to strengthen their squads for the challenges ahead.

But with the stakes high, an ill-timed gamble in an inflated transfer market can lead to a downturn in a team's fortunes and it's significant that the real giants of club football – the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United – rarely make permanent signings in mid-season. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by: CNN Digital Sport Writer, Paul Gittings
Filed under: Football

After a quiet 2010, Usain Bolt will be seeking to reassert his dominance next year. (AFP/Getty Images)

CNN's World Sport will be broadcasting its predictions for 2011 in upcoming shows between December 31-January 2. In the fifth of a series of preview blogs, Paul Gittings takes a look at sprint star Usain Bolt's prospects at the World Athletics Championships.

The 2011 track and field season will be crucial in the build-up to the 2012 Olympics, and the sport’s top stars will want to lay down a marker with their performances in the major championships.

The question on everyone’s lips will be: Can Usain Bolt repeat his triple triumphs at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2009 Berlin world championships - and again break world records to boot?

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by: CNN Digital Sport Writer, Paul Gittings
Filed under: Athletics

Tiger Woods has had a turbulent 12 months following revelations about his personal life.

It is just under a year since Tiger Woods crashed his SUV into a fire hydrant near his Florida home and set in chain a sequence of events which saw his tangled personal life become front-page news for week after week.

It was a public relations disaster and Woods went into a self-imposed exile, only returning to competitive golf for the Augusta Masters in April.

A fourth-place finish at the first major led many to predict that it would take only a matter of weeks for the 14-time major winner to regain his former preeminence and dominate his fellow professionals.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by: CNN Digital Sport Writer, Paul Gittings
Filed under: Golf •World Sport Analysis

The four participants in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf battled it out for over $1 million in prize money.

Golf's silly season officially began with the PGA's rather loftily titled Grand Slam of Golf, which took place in the sun-kissed paradise of Bermuda recently.

It brings together the four winners of the year's majors who play over 36 holes. The winner takes home  a cool $600,000  with generous prize money for the other three.

PGA champion Martin Kaymer and U.S. Open winner Graeme McDowell snapped up their invitations but unfortunately for the organizers, Masters champion Phil Mickelson understandably decided to put his family first after a long season and skip the event, while British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen was injured.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by: CNN Digital Sport Writer, Paul Gittings
Filed under: Golf