They braved the cold and rain in their quest for fame yesterday as The X Factor machine rolled into Cork.

Goalkeeper Linda Martin was among the goalscorers as Monaghan made it five wins from five outings in Division 1 of the Ladies NFL yesterday.

Naomi Carroll’s late point sealed a shock victory for Clare against Meath in Saturday’s TG4 All-Ireland ladies SFC qualifier at St Brendan’s Park, Birr.

It was a busy weekend of provincial action, with titles in Leinster and Ulster decided yesterday.

Like the men’s edition, the ladies Gaelic football Leinster final will be between Dublin and Meath after they overcame Laois and Westmeath respectively yesterday.

ACE forward Sinead Ahern scored 0-5 as Dublin maintained their 100% start to the Bord Gáis Energy Ladies National Football League Division 1 campaign.

Ace forward Sinead Ahern scored 0-5 as Dublin maintained their 100% start to the Bord Gáis Energy Ladies National Football League Division 1 campaign today.

Armagh 3-13 Westmeath 3-5

A solid team performance from Kerry ensured that they booked their place in the ladies football All-Ireland quarter-final with a 2-10 to 0-05 win over Donegal at Birr today.

Last year’s Wimbledon runner-up Vera Zvonareva survived a first-round scare to defeat promising young American Alison Riske 6-0 3-6 6-3 this afternoon.

British number one Andy Murray has been placed on a Wimbledon semi-final collision course with Rafael Nadal.

Alex Bogdanovic has been overlooked for a wild-card entry into this year’s Wimbledon despite being Britain’s second-highest ranked player.

Andy Murray insists he will not underestimate Juan Ignacio Chela when the pair meet in the French Open second round this afternoon – despite dominating their last five meetings.

DEFENDING champion Venus Williams launched her bid for Wimbledon singles title number six with a 6-3 6-2 win over Stefanie Voegele yesterday.

CHILDREN got stark details on road deaths yesterday at the launch of a road safety strategy.

Russian star Svetlana Kuznetsova has rapped her rivals who groan about having to play on grass at Wimbledon and told them to follow clay-court ace Rafael Nadal’s example.

FORMER Wimbledon champion Venus Williams came back from the dead to deny the “Graveyard of Champions” another scalp.

Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski have been drawn together in the first round of the US Open – with the victor facing the prospect of meeting world number one Roger Federer in round two.

MEATH recovered from a nine-point deficit in ordinary time only to be denied victory by a late equaliser at the end of extra time in this TG4 Ladies Football All-Ireland quarter-final in Portlaoise on Saturday, and favourites Galway were a very relieved team to survive.

Galway 3-11 Meath 1-17

Venus Williams will begin the defence of her Wimbledon crown on Centre Court later today – while world number one Amelie Mauresmo is also in action for the first time as she prepares for an opening match on the “graveyard of champions”.

Twenty-year-old Katie O’Brien began became the first Briton to go out of Wimbledon after frittering away a 6-2 3-1 lead against Italian Tathiana Garbin.

Alex Bogdanovic has been rewarded for his recent improvement by being handed a wild card for Wimbledon later this month.

GALWAY staged a second-half comeback against Meath in Tuam yesterday to book their place in the knockout stages of the Suzuki Ladies NFL.

Kim Clijsters collected more supporters for her Wimbledon campaign with a ruthless destruction of second-round rival Marissa Irvin, dropping only two games in a show of power-hitting.

ROGER FEDERER’S quest for a third straight Wimbledon title got off to a strong start.

Wimbledon 2005 was getting under way today with a host of British players set to see first-round action on what should be another scorching day in the sun.