Sports Shorts

Shahar Peer will play Patty Schnyder of Switzerland today in an exhibition game at the Ramat Hasharon Tennis Center, to celebrate 30 years since its establishment. Prior to the Peer-Schnyder match, Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich will play a doubles match against veterans Shlomo Glickstein and Shahar Perkis. Ram and Schnyder will conclude the evening with a mixed doubles match against Peer and Erlich. "I'm happy to be playing in Israel," Peer said yesterday. "I haven't played at Ramat Hasharon since I was 12. (Rami Hipsh)

France's Paul-Henri Mathieu upset Chile's world No. 6 Fernando Gonzalez 6-2, 6-4 to reach the second round of the Estoril Open in Portugal yesterday. Mathieu, who won his third ATP career title last weekend in Casablanca, broke fourth-seeded Gonzalez's serve five times to wrap up his victory in just over 80 minutes in a rain-interrupted clay court match. The Frenchman plays Russian Igor Kunitsyn in the second round while compatriot Richard Gasquet will face Portugal's Frederico Gil after beating Max Mirnyi of Belarus 6-3, 6-3. (Reuters)

Italy's Paolo Savoldelli has made the Tour de Romandie prologue his private property, winning the 3.5-kilometer curtain-raiser for the second year in succession to take the Swiss race's lead yesterday. The two-time Giro d'Italia winner, in 2000 and 2005, also finished second in the ProTour race prologue two years ago. This time, the leader of Kazakh team Astana was even more impressive than in the past, clocking four minutes, 35.12 seconds in the winding streets of the medieval town of Fribourg. (Reuters)

Israeli defender Klemi Saban will leave Steaua Bucharest at the end of the season, the club's president, George Becali, said in a television interview yesterday. Becali, the head of the right-wing, nationalist New Generation Party, added that the team would only be signing local players. Saban, who has a contract for another three years with the Romanian club, has played in only eight league games this season. (Assaf Akerman)