Aston Villa have confirmed their desire to interview Alex McLeish for the club's managerial vacancy, and have effectively ignored Birmingham City's threat of taking legal action against them should they appointed the Scot without paying the required compensation by insisting he is a "free agent".

Villa were linked with McLeish as soon as he resigned as Birmingham manager on Sunday via an email sent to the club's acting chairman, Peter Pannu, who immediately expressed his anger at McLeish's decision to quit St Andrew's and claimed the 52-year-old would not be allowed to join Birmingham's local rivals without them first receiving £5.4m in compensation. If that demand was not met, Pannu has also threatened to take out an injunction stopping Villa from hiring McLeish.

But Villa last night said they planned

In the end it was a rather bumpy re-entry into near-Wimbledon orbit for Serena Williams. Playing her first competitive match in 11 months in the first round of the Aegon International here, Williams lost the first five games against Tsvetana Pironkova before working her way into the match to run out an ultimately comfortable, if at times a little tortuous, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 winner.

Understandably perhaps, it was a slow-motion Serena in the first set, perambulating herself about the Eastbourne grass at mobility-scooter pace and at one stage earning a slow handclap from the local tennis mafia – an audience you might have expected to have some sympathy for a little early morning stiffness – as she wandered across rather sleepily to change her racket. "I wasn't nervous," Williams said of her rusty start. "I was

Royal Ascot TV races

So You Think (3.45) has yet to reach the heights of his Australian form in two wins this year, but victory in the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot on Wednesdaycan see him stake a serious claim to be the very best middle-distance horse in training anywhere in the world.

It isn't hard to pick holes in the merit of his achievements since joining Aidan O'Brien's yard in a multi-million pound deal at the end of last year. The race he won at the Curragh last month was Group One in name only and the likes of Campanologist and Famous Name offered little resistance when Ryan Moore pushed his mount clear with two furlongs to run.

Wednesday presents a far stiffer challenge against proven top-grade performers. Twice Over returns to his optimum

Kim Clijsters, the world No2 who has missed four of the past seven Wimbledons, is a major doubt for this year's tournament after injuring her ankle in a second-round defeat in straight sets by Romani Oprandi at the Unicef Open in 's-Hertogenbosch.

Clijsters skidded as she approached the net in the match's second game and although she did not ask for the trainer she appeared tentative thereafter. Oprandi, a Swiss who is ranked No82, tested her opponent's mobility with a series of heavily sliced drop-shot winners and, pushing the top seed to her physical limit, won 7-6, 6-3.

Clijsters, who is the reigning US and Australian Open champion, injured her ankle at a cousin's wedding in early April but recovered in time to play the French Open, in which she was also beaten in the ^{second round.}

At the Aegon International at Eastbourne