VALENCIA, Spain-- Nico Rosberg said he felt completely at home at Mercedes after giving his new Formula One car its track debut on Monday ahead of team mate Michael Schumacher.
The 24-year-old German has joined the team, formerly champions Brawn GP, after four seasons with Williams. He said he had slotted in right away.
"After four years with one car, the same people always building it, how is it going to be?," he told reporters.
"Do you feel comfortable straight away or not? To be honest, it really felt very similar which was a very nice feeling.
"The position I am sitting in there, the steering loads, the way the steering feels, the power from the engine, everything is different -- and it really felt at home very quickly, which was good. It was very similar to what I am used to, in everything," he added.
Rosberg, whose 1982 world champion father Keke was at the Valencia circuit to witness his Mercedes debut as team mate to seven times world champion Schumacher, completed 39 laps on a bright and sunny morning.
"It felt great, although difficult to compare because there are so many things different with the fuel and tyres," he said.
He then handed over to 41-year-old Schumacher, who took just 17 laps to set a faster time despite having been out of the sport since he retired in 2006. Rosberg, whose spacious motorhome was parked next to Schumacher's smaller one in the Valencia paddock, said his compatriot's presence had given him an extra lift.
"To have him here is fantastic," said the youngster, who has yet to win a race whereas Schumacher has racked up 91 victories. "It has given me a little bit extra motivation I must say, from my point of view. Just that little touch extra."
Rosberg said the welcome at the Brackley headquarters in England had also been warm.
"I have been at the factory a lot. I've got to know everybody, and I knew a lot of people from the past also. I knew Jock (Clear) from a few years back, who is my engineer.
"So it has been actually a really nice integration into the team in recent weeks for me, and quite easy also. That has been nice to see. Everything is falling in place very quickly and going well at the moment."
MILAN-- Premier League clubs' transfer spending dropped to a seven-year low in the January window compared to a record high last year, as financial woes weighed on the market, according to business advisory firm Deloitte.
English clubs' spending was around 30 million pounds ($47.78 million) in the January transfer market, as much as for Italian Serie A clubs, compared to 170 million pounds last year, Deloitte said in a report after the deadline closed on Monday.
The 2010 estimate represents a new low for the top English clubs since January 2003, when it was 35 million pounds.
"The absence of new club owners and the tightening of club finances and credit availability have helped to accelerate that trend and dampen down the market", Dan Jones, partner in the sports business group at Deloitte, said in a statement.
Although spending by Premier League clubs have still significantly exceeded that for the top clubs in France, Germany and Spain, Italian Serie A clubs have reportedly spent around 30 million on player transfers this year, the group said.
However, financial companies can only estimate figures as many clubs choose not to disclose financial details.
Hence another report by KPMG consulting firm showed that Premier League clubs spent a total of 41.5 million pounds last month, little more than 20 percent of the estimated 190.5 million pounds spent in 2009.
Nearly one third of this amount is attributed to the fee that Manchester United have agreed for Fulham's Chris Smalling, who is expected to join them at the end of the season, KPMG said.
-
"The reason why it is the lowest amount spent in the modern day transfer window is because all the banks have reduced the clubs' overdrafts rather than extend them," financier Paul Miller, the former Tottenham Hotspur defender who specialises in football finances, told Reuters.
Loan deals accounted for 70 percent of Premier League's transactions, Deloitte said. Manchester City forward Robinho started his six-month loan spell at his former club Santos on Monday, while Premier League strugglers West Ham United signed South African striker Benni McCarthy on a permanent deal and Egypt striker Mido and Brazil striker Ilan on loan.
Inter Milan loaned struggling winger Mancini to AC Milan and signed Keyna midfielder McDonald Mariga from Parma on Monday, after selling midfielder Patrick Vieira to Manchester City.
Half of Europe's leading clubs are losing money with more than 20 percent facing huge losses, UEFA's general secretary Gianni Infantino told Reuters in an interview last month.
However, Deloitte expected Premier League clubs to keep their leading position amongst the "Top 20" highest revenue generators in the world, thanks to their worldwide fan base and new broadcasting right deals.
MELBOURNE-- Serena Williams jetted out of Australia on Sunday with a suitcase full of trophies and her heart set on stockpiling even more silverware.
The 28-year-old American won the women's singles title for a fifth time, teamed up with sister Venus to win the doubles for a fourth, and has no plans of stopping.
"I don't see an end now," she told reporters after her 6-4 3-6 6-2 over Belgian Justine Henin.
"I feel like as long as I'm happy and I want to do it and I enjoy being out there, (I'll keep playing).
"Sometimes I think it gets a little bit redundant but I really love playing the slams."
Williams's next major goal is the French Open, her least successful grand slam event. She won on the red clay of Paris in 2002 but has not won there since.
"I only have one but hey that's not bad, if at the end of the day that's all I have at least I have it," she said.
"My whole goal is just to get fit because I plan on playing singles and doubles at Paris. So, if I do that, and I'm fit enough, then maybe I'm a chance."
Williams now has 12 grand slam singles titles, joining Billie Jean King in equal sixth place on the all-time list behind Margaret Smith Court (24), Steffi Graf (22), Helen Wills Moody (19), Martina Navratilova (18) and Chris Evert (18).
Although she has no plans to retire, Williams said it was unlikely she would catch all if any of the women in front of her -- so she has set her sights on the men.
Pete Sampras is the leading American man with 14 while Roger Federer is the overall men's leader with 15, before Sunday's final against Andy Murray.
"I just want to be with Roger. So Roger, can you please let me catch up," Williams said.
"I was trying to hunt him down, but the guy keeps winning. I'm like, dude, stop winning. The guy is amazing."
Williams also wants to start using her success on the court to help the less fortunate.
She has opened a school in Africa and plans to teach a class there in March, and launched her 92k Mission to raise money for the survivors of the Haiti earthquake.
The fund was called 92k because that was the amount of money she was fined by the International Tennis Federation for her foul-mouthed attack on a line judge at last year's U.S. Open.
Williams, who is also on a two-year probation, was on her best behaviour in Australia but said she hoped people would forgive her for her outburst in New York.
"I just want to keep people aware that it's okay to make a mistake but learn from it," she said.
"One moment doesn't make one person's career. It's all about the moments you put together. The fine was a little bit exorbitant but that was that and it turned out to be a big thing.
"Sometimes things happen for a reason."
TOKYO-- New York Yankees executives paraded the team's World Series trophy on the first leg of an Asian tour on Monday, saying championship MVP and Japanese slugger Hideki Matsui would be difficult to replace.
Matsui, the 2009 World Series Most Valuable Player, signed a $6 million, one-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels in the offseason, ending a seven-year Yankees tenure.
General Manager Brian Cashman said bringing Matsui to New York from the 2003 season was one of his best signings for the Bronx Bombers.
"I've had some successful signings in Japan, I've had some unsuccessful signings in Japan. Hideki Matsui will be one of the best deals I ever made," he said.
"We will have future players from Japan on our roster. They will do everything in their power to try to help us win, but I doubt we'll find another Hideki Matsui."
Matsui, 35, did not attend the event.
The player nicknamed "Godzilla" hit .274 with 28 home runs and 90 RBIs as the Yankees' designated hitter last season, while amassing 140 home runs in a career limited by injuries.
Cashman said the former Yomiuri Giants star was prized by the Yankees not for his nationality, but for his skills as a player.
"We did not sign Hideki Matsui because he was Japanese, we signed him because he was a true champion and one of the world's more gifted baseball players," he said.
Team president Randy Levine also praised Matsui, adding he hoped the Yankees did not lose Japanese fans with his departure.
"We know the great allegiance to Hideki Matsui -- he deserves it. He was a great Yankee," said Levine.
"Hopefully, people will still root for the New York Yankees."
Baseball commentator and former Major League pitcher Masanori Murakami said the New York franchise would likely keep its Japanese interest.
"There's a sense of disappointment that Matsui is gone, but the Yankees' brand has attraction because of the history," he said.
The Yankees delegation will continue on to China on Tuesday, meeting with the China Baseball Association (CBA) to further a cooperation agreement.
The World Series winners created a partnership with the CBA three years ago formalizing the CBA's first strategic alliance with a Major League Baseball club.
MELBOURNE-- Roger Federer's emphatic Australian Open victory over Andy Murray on Sunday was the perfect riposte to those who have questioned his continued hunger for grand slam success.
The 6-3 6-4 7-6 win shattered British dreams of a first men's grand slam champion in 74 years and dashed the notion that the new husband and father might temper his pursuit of glory after breaking Pete Sampras's grand slam record.
"I always knew I had it in my hand. The question is (did) I have it in my mind and in my legs," Federer told reporters after extending his record to 16 grand slams, two more than Sampras and a whopping 10 more than nearest current challenger Rafa Nadal.
"That's something I had to work extremely hard at. Now I feel like obviously I'm being pushed a great deal by the new generation coming up.
"I think that's also thanks to guys like Murray. They've made me a better player, because I think this has been one of my finest performances, you know, in a long time, or maybe forever."
A year after shedding bitter tears in the wake of his five-set loss to Nadal for the title in 2009, the imperious win left his opponent choking back sobs, having missed five set points in an epic third-set tiebreaker.
The raw emotion that cut Murray's presentation speech short was all too familiar to Federer, who spent months battling to find lost confidence and form last year.
"You know, in a way it was hard to watch, but at the same time I like seeing players who care for the game," said Federer.
"It's nice to see. So you wish only the best for him.
"The next one is not gonna get any easier (for Murray). But his game is so good that I'm convinced he will win one."
The latest grand slam success has not fuelled any new ambitions for Federer, who said simply he hoped his twin girls might join his wife Mirka in the players' box next year.
"My game is not as taxing as other players' games. I also think I have a very relaxed mind when it comes to the game of tennis.
"But off the court, it's a matter of relaxing and enjoying it, you know, seeing friends and families. There's more important things than tennis after all.
"I think that's something I've always had a clear vision of how my life is. I think that's also helped me to go through better and tougher phases, because I know this is an incredible trip I'm on.
"We'll see where it ends, you know. I hope not anytime soon."
