Sports round-up

Basketball: LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and the rest of the US Olympic team put on a show in Washington last weekend at a training session open to military personnel and their families. “Just being here in front of these guys, the troops and the military, you can’t put into words how that made us feel,” forward Carmelo Anthony said of the unusual event, which included dancers and dunking mascots. The US will revert to their normal routine and play Brazil tonight in a friendly that is part of their warm-up process for the Games.

Tennis: In-form Spaniard David Ferrer won his fifth ATP title of the year in Sweden yesterday beating compatriot Nicolas Almagro 6-2, 6-2. Ferrer, 30, eased to the title against his 26-year-old opponent who has yet to beat him in 10 meetings. Ferrer is enjoying one of the best seasons of his career and this was his 51st win of a season that has seen him reach the French Open semi-finals and push Andy Murray hard in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.

London 2012: The Olympic torch flew to the Channel Islands yesterday before returning to the mainland to visit Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory in Portsmouth. The relay started in Southampton, Hampshire, from where it flew from the city’s airport to Guernsey. The first of the day’s 82 torchbearers was Michael Stroud, 57, from Langley, Berk-shire, who was nominated for his accomplishments in world-wide expeditions and his work for charity and nutritional care.

Athletics: American 400 metres runner Debbie Dunn has withdrawn from the London Olympics after returning a positive drugs test. Dunn released a statement to confirm she would stand aside after the United States Anti-Doping Association (USADA) informed her she had returned a positive sample. The 34-year-old, who has never competed at an Olympics, was due to run in the 4x400m relay, an event the USA have won since the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Cricket: Ravi Bopara is set to play in his first Test match for almost a year after being named in England’s squad to face South Africa at The Oval next week. Bopara is one of the six batsmen in a 13 announced this morning and also including Steven Finn and Graham Onions, who can therefore still hope to oust incumbent Tim Bresnan as the third seamer. It was last August, at the same venue, that Bopara won his 12th Test cap when Jonathan Trott was injured, for the innings victory over India which completed a 4-0 series whitewash.

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Tennis: Top seeded and defending champion Serena Williams destroyed Sorana Cirstea 6-1, 6-2 in one hour to reach her second straight final at the WTA hardcourt tournament at Stanford late Saturday. The first all-American final on US soil since 2004 will feature top seed Williams against Californian Coco Vandeweghe (picture), a lucky loser from qualifying who defeated fifth seed Yanina Wickmayer 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 to reach the first WTA final of her career. Vandeweghe got into the main draw after a withdrawal and made the most of her opportunity, beating former world no.1 Jelena Jankovic in the second round.