Kudos to the stars

We should thank the cricketers who participated in the recent charity match in London to help victims of the disastrous earthquake in Pakistan. It was wonderful to read that Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul-Haq took part. It was also nice to know about the amount of money this match generated. Let me request the BCCI to organise a match for the benefit of the survivors of the recent bomb blasts in Mumbai and their families. It need not be star-studded with international players. We could have members of the current Indian team and the up and coming players of our country competing against each other in a day-night game.

Jaskaran Singh, ChandigarhA class apart

It is heartening to see Roger Federer win his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title defeating Rafael Nadal in the final. Federer showed why he is regarded as one of the best players the game has ever seen. He got a tricky draw but breezed into the final and dropped the only set of the final there. Nadal is supposedly making good progress on grass. But one should notice that he got an easy draw. The only good players he had to face were an over-the-hill Andre Agassi and Marcos Baghdatis. If 237th-ranked Robert Kendrick can challenge Nadal it certainly means his grasscourt game has a long way to go. He should consider himself lucky to take a set off the champion in the final.

Swarnalatha Kurup, KalyanGreat issue

I thoroughly enjoyed the July 15, 2006, issue of Sportstar that carried Italy's World Cup win on the cover. The article I liked the most was the one by John Powers (`Clever Italy Wins the Cookie'). The article brilliantly explained the clever Italian tactics. Zidane's head-butting was a bold act but it was also done without any trace of logic. Zidane should have been calm in the best interests of his team. The Italians were smart to frustrate him as much as they were skillful. And they deservedly won.

D. J. G. Jeyaraj, HyderabadCongrats Mauresmo

Kudos to Amelie Mauresmo for her wonderful performance at Wimbledon. Mauresmo played some spectacular tennis throughout the tournament and held her nerves in the final to become the first French woman to win Wimbledon in eight decades.

S. Asokan, Boulogne-Billancourt (France)