Sergej Barbarez of Hamburg (rear) and Cologne's Marvin Matip make a header during their German first Bundesliga soccer match in Cologne, Tuesday. (Reuters Photo)

BERLIN, May 3--Hamburg SV kept up the pressure on Bayern Munich down the home stretch of the season with a 1-0 win at Cologne on Tuesday that cut the Bundesliga leader’s margin on top to just two points.
Bayern, who play VfB Stuttgart at home on Wednesday, have 70 points and a game in hand to HSV, who have 68 points. Hamburg’s victory means that Bayern cannot clinch their 20th German championship until Saturday at the earliest, Reuters said.
Bayern can restore their five-point lead with a victory over Stuttgart. They play at Kaiserslautern on Saturday, where they could claim the championship no matter what Hamburg do in their final two matches. The season ends a week later on May 13.
An own-goal by Cologne’s Lukas Sinkiewicz in the third minute was the difference for Hamburg. The Germany defender deflected a cross from Iran’s Mehdi Mahdavikia past his own goalkeeper Alexander Bade.
Cologne, fighting off relegation and unbeaten in their last five matches, dominated much of the rest of the match and Hamburg were lucky to come away with three points.
Christian Lell missed in the seventh minute while Germany striker Lukas Podolski’s shot in the 71st minute flew just above the goal.
Cologne thought they had the equaliser in the 78th minute when Christian Springer tapped in a cross but it was nullified by an offside call.
“We were lucky,“ said HSV coach Thomas Doll. “We weren’t able to settle down into any rhythm after going ahead 1-0.
Cologne got better and better. They played fantastic. We didn’t invest enough into the match and didn’t play well.
“But we got three points against a very strong Cologne team.“
Hamburg can clinch second place and direct qualification into the Champions League if Werder Bremen, third with 61 points, do not win their match on Wednesday against MSV Duisburg.
“My team played a great match even though we lost,“ said Cologne trainer Hanspeter Latour. With 27 points, Cologne are in 17th place and four points from safety.

SENDAI, Japan, May 3--World number ones Lin Dan and Zhang Ning spearheaded China’s quarterfinal wins at the Thomas and Uber Cup badminton championships here Wednesday.
Lin needed some time before getting used to the lights and the draught caused by the air conditioner to beat Andrew Smith 18-21, 21-12, 21-12 in the opening match of China’s 3-0 win over England in the men’s event, AFP reported.
Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng put China two up by beating Kristian Roebuck and Ian Palethorpe 21-14, 21-12, with Bao Chunlai’s 21-12, 21-15 win over Nicholas Kidd securing the best-of-five Thomas Cup quarterfinal tie.
Athens Olympic gold medallist Zhang beat Li Li 21-18, 21-18 before Jiang Yanjiao and the pairing of Gao Ling and Huang Sui secured China’s 3-0 victory over Singapore in their women’s Uber Cup quarterfinal clash.
“In the 21-point system, there are some unexpected points you lose. I made some errors when I was leading in the first game, and it was my first match at this gymnasium,“ said Lin.
“But I was able to play in my own rhythm in the second and third games after I got used to the lights and wind.“
Zhang, who needed 114 minutes to beat Li, struggled to find any sort of rhythm.
“Although I won, I’m not satisfied with my play at all, I should have won it by a bigger points differential. I was not speedy today,“ said Zhang.
“The lights and wind here are not good for badminton, but it’s the same for both players. It’s a question of which player can get to the condition quicker,“ she added.
In the semifinals Friday, the Chinese men will take on the winners between 13-time champions Indonesia and hosts Japan, who were to play each other later Wednesday.
The Chinese women, looking forward to their fifth straight and 10th overall Uber Cup, will play either Hong Kong or Germany in the semifinals.

ROME, May 3--Italy coach Marcello Lippi has a “pretty definite idea“ of the 23 players who will make up his World Cup squad and says he is optimistic that Roma’s Francesco Totti will be fit for the June tournament.
Lippi told reporters, before the start of a two day pre-World Cup training camp, that he had invited several new faces into the squad as part of a long-term project but refused to be drawn on the World Cup chances of individual players, Reuters said.
“I will make my decision on the final squad on May 15,“ said Lippi, “I have pretty definite idea (of the 23),“ he added.
But the Italy coach said not too much should be read into the 29 players he called up for this week’s session in the Italian capital and hinted that some have been included with the long-term, post World Cup, development of the squad in mind.
“There are 29 players here and I wanted them to feel part of the project - this is not a project that stops at the World Cup.
Don’t forget that shortly after the World Cup we have a friendly in August and then in September qualification for the European championships begins,“ said Lippi.
“We have been following the progress of more than just 23 players and this is a reward for them and also a way for them to feel involved,“ he said.
Fiorentina defenders Alessandro Gamberini and Manuel Pasqual, Chievo midfielder Franco Semioli, Parma winger Marco Marchionni and Empoli forward Francesco Tavano--all uncapped--are part of the training group along with several recalled players, such as Milan forward Filippo Inzaghi.
“There are some who won’t be there but they need to feel proud and satisfied in the knowledge that they are part of the group even if they don’t go to the World Cup they are part of our squad,“ said Lippi.

Phoenix Suns forward Boris Diaw (3) is fouled by Los Angeles Lakers center Ronny Turiaf (21) during second quarter action in Game Five of their NBA Western Conference playoff series in Phoenix, Tuesday. (Reuters Photo)

LOS ANGELES,
May 3--Boris Diaw had a playoff career-high 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and Steve Nash added 22 points as Phoenix coasted to a 114-97 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game Five of their opening-round series.
All-Star Shawn Marion scored 21 points and Tim Thomas contributed 13 off the bench for Phoenix, which shot 48 percent (42-of-86) from the field and improved to 2-0 when it scores at least 100 points.
In San Antonio, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan could not wait to get back home and get back at the Sacramento Kings by posting a 109-98 win on Tuesday to take a three games to two series lead, AFP said.
Trailing the series, 3-2, the Suns will play Game Six in Los Angeles on Thursday and hope to return to Phoenix for Game Seven on Saturday.
Leading, 58-51, one minute into the third period, Phoenix pulled away as Marion and Raja Bell hit back-to-back 3-pointers during a 17-5 surge.
The Suns built a 22-point edge, but Lakers star Kobe Bryant, who scored 29 points, capped an 11-2 burst with a 3-pointer to make it 86-73 with 10:17 remaining in the fourth period.
Trailing by 14 points with 7 1/2 minutes left, the Lakers got a little life when Bell received his second technical foul and was ejected for clotheslining Bryant to the floor.

ESTORIL, Portugal, May 3--Marat Safin admitted he was still struggling with his confidence despite battling to a first-round win over Italian qualifier Fabio Fognini at the Estoril Open on Tuesday.
The former world number one suffered a debilitating knee injury last year that kept him out of the game for seven months, AFP said.
“I’m here, I’m trying to play and win as many matches as possible,“ said the 26-year-old after overcoming the world number 314, 6-1, 6-4 on the Portuguese clay.
“There was so much wind, it was tough to play good tennis,“ said Safin. “I was lucky to win in straight sets. I’m having trouble getting my confidence back. But I’m working hard and trying to do it.“
Safin, once top of the world rankings and with Grand Slam titles at the US Open and last year’s Australian Open to his credit, currently stands 49th in the world and next faces eager compatriot Nikolay Davydenko, the second seed. “I hope to at least have a good match.“ said a low-key Safin, who was joined in the second round by compatriot Dmitry Tursunov, the fifth seed who ousted Gaston Elias of Portugal 6-2, 6-1.

ATLANTA, USA,
May 3--Ernie Els believes his first appearance at the Wachovia Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina could provide him with an ideal warm-up for next month’s US Open.
This week’s hosting Quail Hollow Club is regarded as a similar test to Winged Foot, which will stage the second major of the year from June 15-18 in Mamaroneck, New York, Reuters said.
“I’m really looking forward to playing in the Wachovia,“ South African Els said on his official website.
“I’ve heard a lot of good reports about the Quail Hollow Club and I’ve obviously watched a bit of the coverage on television the last couple of years.
“I kind of know what to expect, and the players I’ve spoken to say it has an old-fashioned type of feel to it, but in a good way.
“It’s been compared with Winged Foot, where we’re playing the US Open this year, and that’s a hell of a golf course,“ added the world number five, who has not played competitively since tying for seventh at the Heritage Classic three weeks ago.
“I think the feeling is that Quail Hollow is probably good enough to host a major championship some day and it looks like my kind of golf course, to be honest with you.“
Twice US Open champion Els is yet to win this year but believes he is not too far from hitting top form.
“I feel like my game is very close right now and some serious competitive action will be good for me,“ said the 36-year-old, who has produced three top-10 finishes in his last five PGA Tour starts.

MANCHESTER, UK, May 3--Wayne Rooney has refused to give up hope of playing some part in England’s World Cup campaign, despite the skepticism of his Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and the “horrible“ blow of breaking a bone in his foot.
Rooney’s chances of playing in his first World Cup were dealt a severe blow when he fractured a metatarsal bone in his right foot during United’s 3-0 defeat at Chelsea on Saturday and it will be at least six weeks before he can play again, effectively ruling him out of at least the opening stages in Germany, AFP reported.
But the 20-year-old is determined to play as big a role in the tournament as possible.
“I’ll be coming in (for treatment) every day and trying to give myself the best possible chance,“ Rooney told Manchester United TV.
“I’m obviously devastated to have broken my foot. At this moment in time, it really is horrible.
“But I’m in great hands at United and I know with the physio team I’ve got behind me here that they’ll be able to give me the best possible chance.
“You’ve just got to get on with it and be positive. That’s what I’m trying to do at the moment and I’ll be trying to get myself fit as soon as possible.“
United’s medical staff will liaise with England’s team doctors about the progress of Rooney’s recovery in the countdown to the country’s opening World Cup group game, against Paraguay on June 10.
Ferguson has blasted suggestions that Rooney could be fit for the quarterfinals of the tournament as “a wild dream“ but the United boss insists he would like nothing better than to see his star player make the tournament.