Tiger Tim dominates papers

His eyes glare, his mouth roars, his fist punches the air. He is of course Tim Henman.

Very few of the papers manage not to carry his photograph on their front pages - and one of those features his wife, Lucy.

According to The Sunday Times, Henman yesterday served up "his usual nail biter".

The Observer comes up with a phrase that sums up the tension, and the row over a disputed umpiring decision -- describing the match as a "close call".

But subtlety is not universal: the Sunday Express opts for a simple shout of triumph: "Hero Henman heads for glory," while the Sunday Mirror talks of "Tim's Time".

The Mail on Sunday says the Queen will be at Wimbledon to watch if he reaches the final.

So much hope invested in a tennis match kindles a sceptical mood in The Independent on Sunday, which comments: "Some might say it's only sport, millionaires hitting balls, nothing for a whole nation to get excited about".

But the Times and the Observer both think the fuss reflects a widespread feeling that victory for Henman would - as the Times puts it - "salve the wounds of World Cup defeat".

Brazil: An apology

Germany's involvement in the final of that tournament ensures - so far as many papers are concerned - there can be no neutrality.

The News of the World declares that "We're all Brazilians today!".

Under the type of headline usually produced only on the instructions of lawyers - this one reads, "Brazil: An apology" - the paper says it wishes to take back the support it offered Belgium two weeks ago, when they had the chance to knock out Brazil.

Today, it says, "a far more important issue is at stake" and the paper tells Brazil: "Don't let the cheating Germans win. Thrash them. Grind them into the grass."

In a cry of anguish, the Sunday People offers this prayer: "Please God, don't let the Germans win!"

All of which prompts The Sunday Telegraph to ask, "Why do we find it so hard to be nice about the Germans?... What is wrong with us British, that we are stuck with such primitive and outdated attitudes?"

Well, Carole Malone of the Sunday Mirror thinks she may know the answer. It's her view that we British have lost touch with the basics.

"Life isn't fair," she says, and "winning matters... It's time we stopped treating competition like it's a concept spawned by the devil -- we should welcome it as a way of equipping ourselves for a world that gets bigger, badder, uglier and, yes, more competitive, every day."

A defence of greed

Transfer those attitudes to the world of business - and doubts set in. Many reflect on the rash of corporate scandals in America.

A cartoon in the Express portrays a desperate Uncle Sam trying to hold up the crumbling edifice of the dollar, as the pillars of big business crumble.

Will Hutton of The Observer has little doubt that the US is now facing "a grave economic crisis".

But the Sunday Times is determined not to be gloomy. It argues that America seems ready to clean up its act.

The Telegraph goes further - offering "a defence of greed".

After all, it says, it is the drive of the entrepreneur to make money which provides us all with the products and services we want, from better mousetraps to cheap pain relieving