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| Friday,
September 7, 2001, Chandigarh, India    |
Sampras beats Agassi in epic duel
Venus faces Capriati in
semifinal |
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Paes-Raymond duo
moves into final New York, September 6 Second seed Leander Paes and Lisa Raymond of the USA will meet top seed Australians Todd Woodbridge and Rennae Stubbs in the final of the US Open mixed doubles tonight. Ganguly retained
skipper Faces tough challenge |
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National selectors in no mood to
experiment Lanka take
command Argentina compound Brazil’s
misery Keeper scores goal
Sweden, Spain clinch berths DOPE TEST LAB Games ‘to boost India’s prestige’ Radhika outplays Rushmi
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Sampras beats Agassi in epic duel New York, September 6 Sampras outlasted Agassi 6-7 (7/9) 7-6 (7/2) 7-6 (7/2) 7-6 (7/5) here early today morning, taking a dramatic victory after three hours and 32 minutes when Agassi netted a forehand from the baseline. “I have never had a match like that,” Sampras said. “That’s about as good as it gets. We both played at a very high level. Going into the match I thought it could be a classic and it was. It all lived up to the hype.”
The 30-year-old American advanced to a Saturday semifinal against defending champion and third seed Marat Safin of Russia, who defeated Argentina’s 103rd-ranked Mariano Zabaleta 6-4 6-4 6-2. Sampras lost to Safin 4-6 3-6 3-6 in last year’s US Open final. He has not won a tournament in 17 starts since capturing his record 13th Grand Slam crown last year at Wimbledon. “Last time I played Marat here, I was pretty humbled,” Sampras said. “I just hope he comes down to earth. As defending champion, I’m sure he will feel more pressure.” Like two gladiators locked in a combat with no quarter asked and no breaks given, Sampras and Agassi staged a duel for the ages on the sport’s ultimate stage. “A night like this makes me realise why it’s so special when you beat him because it’s not easy to do,” Agassi said. “Certainly a memory I’ll never forget. It was quite a powerful evening out there in many respects. I don’t think I have the perspective at the moment to stick it in a box and define it so cleanly.” Precision shotmaking hour after hour by Agassi and Sampras had the capacity crowd of 23,033 at Arthur Ashe Stadium applauding with nearly very point, sensing that something special was unfolding before them. “This is definitely right up there,” Sampras said. “I knew it was going to be a dog fight, a tough match, a very memorable match for me. I’m sure I’ll appreciate it more when it’s all done.” Agassi had a backhand volley go just wide to give Sampras three match points in the fourth set. But after Sampras netted a forehand and double faulted, the tension built, setting the stage for Agassi’s final miss. “When you lose one that close, it’s difficult to appreciate much except maybe the standard I made him play,” Agassi said. “You just want to make somebody really earn it. That I can feel like I did. I made him earn it. But it’s very difficult.” Sampras allowed Agassi his third break point chance in the eighth game of the fourth set with a too-long forehand, but rescued himself with his 21st ace, at 116 mph, and then hit two service winners to hold. In the next game, Agassi faced a break point after hitting a forehand long, gritting his teeth as he prepared to serve Sampras sent a backhand long to miss his seventh break chance of the night, then netted a backhand and forehand to hand Agassi the game. In the final game before the tie-breaker, Sampras double-faulted to reach 30-30, then swatted a 118 mph second-serve ace and a forehand winner to set up the fourth tie-breaker and spark a standing ovation. Sampras claimed the second-set tie-breaker by winning the final five points, the last an underhand volley at the net that blooped over the net. Sampras was forced to save a break point with a backhand volley in the third set. After that, it was back to the tie-breaker, where Sampras again captured the final five points, the last two on aces of 125 and 108 mph. Sampras squandered three set points in the first-set tie-breaker. Down 6-3, Agassi saved the first with a forehand winner, the next on a service winner and then made Sampras pay for a short volley with a blur-like forehand winner. Agassi placed a lob on the line and Sampras netted a forehand to give Agassi his fourth point in a row. Agassi then double faulted, building the suspense, before he aced and hit a forehand winner to claim the set.
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Venus faces Capriati in
semifinal
New York, September 6 But blocking her title path is a Friday semifinal against French and Australian Open champion Jennifer Capriati. Two-time Wimbledon winner Williams humbled fifth seed Kim Clijsters 6-3 6-1 in 65 minutes here yesterday in her first match with the 18-year-old from Belgium. Second seed Capriati, who could become world No 1 by winning her first US Open title, returned to the semifinals here after a 10-year absence by ousting eighth seed Amelie Mauresmo of France 6-3 6-4. “Venus is playing really well,” Capriati said. “I have never beaten her. I have already done well this year but it would be great to win this one.” Williams, the fourth seed, is 3-0 against Capriati, including a triumph in the final open tune up at New Haven and in the Miami final. This will be their first Slam meeting. “It’s going to be a big, crazy crowd,” Capriati said. “Hopefully I have learned from experience and take advantage of my changes. I’m going to play within myself, not feel like I have to do things because I’m playing her.” Williams, in the semifinals for the fifth time here in as many tries, deceived Clijsters by mixing the strength behind her shots. Expecting Williams’ famed ball-blasting power, Clijsters was startled to find slower shots coming as well. She hesitated, and waffling made all the difference. Serena Williams, the 1999 US Open champion, will face Swiss world No 1 Martina Hingis in the other semifinal. Clijsters managed only five winners to 21 for Williams while making 38 unforced errors. “I couldn’t do much about the way she played,” she said. “She just had the pressure on me the whole time. That’s why I couldn’t play my own game. “She made a lot of unforced errors. She makes a lot of good points and unforced errors. That’s why it’s so hard to get into your rhythm and take advantage of the chances you get. It’s hard to play your best tennis against those players. You don’t get to play your game.” Clijsters learned the difference between the stories about Williams and the reality. “It’s like I expected when I walked on the court,” she said. “But it’s different when you are standing out there and she serves really well.” Capriati last reached the Open semifinals at age 15, before troubled teen years with incidents of substance abuse and shoplifting. “It feels really great,” Capriati said. “I have been playing well here, getting better with every match. I am ready for my next match.” She completed a comeback with two Slam titles and only a Wimbledon semifinal loss kept her from going after a Slam sweep here. Capriati broke Mauresmo to seize a 4-3 first set lead when the French woman sent a forehand wide, then broke again to end the set. In the second, Capriati took advantage of her first match point for the set’s only break, coming when Mauresmo netted a forehand. “I just was aggressive most of the time, concentrated and focused, served well most of the time - I didn’t make many mistakes,” Capriati said.
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Paes-Raymond duo moves into final New York, September 6 Woodbridge and Stubbs beat Ai Sugiyama and Ellis Fereira 6-3 6-4, while Paes and Raymond swept past Kimberly Po-Messerli and Donald Johnson 7-6 (7/3) 6-4 in the semi-finals yesterday. It’s the first Grand Slam final for both the pairs. Paes and Raymond, reached the quarter-finals at the French Open, crashed out in the third round of Wimbledon and only made two rounds at the Australian Open. Woodbridge and Stubbs, who were also part of the top-seeded teams in the men’s and women’s doubles, respectively, were upset in the first round of Wimbledon by eventual champions Leos Friedl and Daniela Hantuchova, and made it to the quarter-finals of the French Open. Po-Messerli and Johnson, the American third seeds, slammed seven aces — compared to just two by Paes and Raymond — and had a better first serve percentage. Both pairs had eight winners but Paes and Raymond managed to convert three breakpoints, while the Americans only broke twice. Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, one of the best pairs on the men’s circuit, were eliminated in the first round of the men’s doubles, falling to little-known Sergio Roitman of Argentina and Andres Schneiter of Italy.
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Ganguly retained skipper Mumbai, September 6 Cricket board secretary and selection committee convenor Jaywant Lele told reporters that it was a unanimous decision by the selectors to pick Ganguly as the skipper only for the South Africa tour from September 24 to November 28. “The selectors took just five minutes to name Ganguly as there was no other name discussed but we had a lengthy discussion with coach John Wright about the tour to Sri Lanka and performances of each player on that tour,” Lele said. Ganguly, who took over the captaincy from Sachin Tendulkar after the home series against South Africa in March last year, has captained India in 45 one-dayers winning 23 and losing 22. He has also led India in 11 Tests, winning six, losing four and drawing one. Selection Committee Chairman Chandu Borde said Ganguly had a good Test record and had taken the Indian team to four one-day tournament finals and “we thought we should give him a chance to lead in South Africa”.
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Faces tough challenge Kolkata Struggling with his batting form, Ganguly will be saddled with the additional responsibility of leading a team which has been traditionally suspect on fast and bouncy tracks over the years. On the positive side, the Indian captain will have the valuable services of master blaster Sachin Tendulkar who missed the Sri Lankan tour following a toe injury. Tendulkar’s presence will serve as a stabilising factor in the batting line-up which failed miserably in Sri Lanka. The probable return of leg spinner Anil Kumble and speedster Javagal Srinath will bring a smile on his face as it will strengthen the bowling resources against the formidable South Africans. But Ganguly himself is aware that a captain has to lead from the front and has to score a lot more runs to consolidate his position at the helm. After a string of indifferent performances with the willow, any further failure may put a question mark on his future as skipper. The national selectors, who met in Mumbai this morning, have retained him captain only for the South African tour apparently putting him on trial yet again. Ganguly must get the message and deliver before it’s too late.
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National selectors in no mood to
experiment Chandigarh, September 6 There were apprehension in certain quarters that the national selectors might change the captain after his personal loss of form with the bat and the poor showing of the team both in the Test series in Zimbabwe as well as in Sri Lanka. The power struggle on in the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which is scheduled to elect a new team of office-bearers later this month, has mercifully has had no impact on the selection of Saurav as skipper. The one good news for the diehard Indian followers of the game is the fact that all top cricketers of the team who missed the tour of Sri Lanka — Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, Anil Kumble and Ashish Nehra — are fit for action as also Javagal Srinath who returned to India after playing in the first Test against Sri Lanka. The availability of all these players (and they should all be automatic choice for the tour) has made the task of the Indian selectors all the more simple given the fact that the players who did duty in their place in Sri
Lanka, specially the batsmen, Hemang Badani and Mohammad Kaif, did not do anything of note to merit a place in the team for South Africa. Similarly, the spinner who was in the Indian squad in place of the injured Anil Kumble — Mumbai’s Sairaj Bahutule — could not perform well in the only match he played in Sri Lanka. What will be the composition of the Indian team for South Africa? The ideal choice would be seven batsmen, seven bowlers and one wicketkeeper to make a squad of 15. It would be good if the selectors could pick up some batsmen who can bowl and some bowlers who can bat. But unfortunately, Indian cricket is going through a very lean patch, as far as allrounders of proven merit are concerned, and it is difficult visualizing the selectors opting for an allrounder either in Yuvraj Singh or Reetinder Sodhi, who both have been labelled as one-day players. Similarly, Virendra Sehwag who has quite a few big scores in domestic cricket might also not get the nod for the tests. Six batsmen and at least six bowlers get selected to the team automatically but the same cannot be said about the current wicketkeeper of the Indian team, Sameer Dighe. The batsmen who pick themselves up are Shiv Sunder Das, Sadagoppan Ramesh, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman and the skipper himself leaving out one batting slot to be fought for. The seventh slot could go to a rank outsider or the selectors might want to continue with players who have accompanied Indian teams in the past. Similarly, the bowlers who pick themselves for the tour are Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, Venkatesh Prasad (specially after his brilliant performance in Sri Lanka), Ashish Nehra, Anil Kunble and Harbhajan Singh, leaving out one slot to be contested. With the team needing at least five fast or medium fast bowlers given the pitch conditions in South Africa the seventh bowler’s slot might just go to Ajit Agarkar, who seems to be everybody’s favourite. If this happens then Debashish Mohanty or Harvinder Singh will have to be left out. Sameer Dighe’s work behind the stumps has left much to be desired. In Sri Lanka he dropped a number of catches and his keeping too was substandard. True, he is a gusty batman but then he is in the team to do a specialist job and he has failed in it. Therefore, the selectors might like to try some youngster for this job with an eye on the future. And if this happens then the job can well go to Haryana’s Ajay Ratra or Bengal’s Deep Dasgupta. Both these youngsters have talent and had been shortlisted for the camp prior to the tour of Zimbabwe in May last. Will their big day come tomorrow? |
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Lanka take command Colombo, September 6 Atapattu and Jayasuriya raced through their partnership, with the captain hitting 11 fours and four boundaries to score his runs off just 56 balls before being out to opposing skipper Naimur Rahman. Atapattu slowed down later in the day and finished with 14 fours from 157 balls. Bangladesh (1st innings): Omar c Jayasuriya b Vass 7 Hossain run out 27 Bashar b Vass 4 A. Islam c Sangakkara b Perera 6 Sahariar c Sangakkara b Murali 12 Rahman b Murali 0 Ashraf c Jayasuriya b Murali 26 Mushud b Murali 0 Hussain b Murali 2 Sharif c Van Dort b Vass 1 M. Islam not out 3 Extras (1-1b 1-nb) 2 Total (all out, 36.4 overs, 161 minutes) 90 FOW: 1-10, 2-16, 3-29, 4-57, 5-58, 6-61, 7-61, 8-67, 9-71, 10-90. Bowling: Chaminda Vass 14-2-47-3, Ravindra Pushpakumara 7-4-9-0, Perera 5-1-17-1 (1nb), Muttiah Muralitharan 9.4-4-13-5, Thilan Samaraweera 1-0-3-0. Sri Lanka (1st innings): Jayasuriya b Rahman 89 Atapattu not out 99 Sangakkara not out 49 Extras (4-1b 5-nb) 9 Total (1 wicket, 51 overs) 246 Bowling: Manjural Islam 6-0-46-0, Mohammed Sharif 8-0-52-0, Hasibul Hussain 12-4-53-0 (5nb), Naimur Rahman 18-7-42-1, Habibul Bashar 1-0-7-0, Mohammad Asharaf 6-0-37-0.
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Argentina compound Brazil’s misery Montevideo, September 6 Argentina - who had already booked their place at next year’s finals in Japan and South America - earned the win after an own goal from Brazilian defender Cris five minutes from time. A teasing cross floated into the Brazilian area from Argentina’s Lazio star Claudio Lopez created panic in the visitors’ defence, with Cris sticking a foot out and guiding the ball into his own net. The win avenged Argentina’s 3-1 defeat to the Brazilians in Sao Paulo last year, the only blot on their otherwise perfect World Cup qualifying campaign going into the match. “They’d been a thorn in our side after beating us last year. Tonight we removed the thorn,” said Argentina’s Italy-based striker Hernan Crespo. “You’ve got to give us credit because we just didn’t let Brazil play in the game at all,” the Lazio forward said. The winner came after Argentina had equalised in the 77th minute with a header from France-based substitute Marcelo Gallardo. Gallardo’s leveller was well-deserved, and followed a period of sustained pressure from the home side which saw Lopez’ Lazio team-mate Crespo hit the woodwork. Gallardo and coach Marcelo Bielsa dedicated the win to the nation’s population, suffering under Argentina’s crippling financial crisis.
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Keeper scores goal Asuncion, September, 6 Striker Jose Cardozo grabbed two of the other goals as Paraguay, who maintained a 100 per cent home record in the tournament, overcame an early setback for an easy win on
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Sweden, Spain clinch berths Paris, September 6 Owen, a hat-trick hero in the 5-1 thrashing of Germany last weekend, scored the crucial first goal yesterday as England recorded a 2-0 victory over Albania in group nine. The win fired Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side to the top of group and a win over Greece at Old Trafford next month should be good enough to see them pip Germany for automatic berth. After the goal-feast of Munich a capacity 55,000-crowd at St James Park had to settle for a scoring famine until Owen broke the deadlock on the stroke of half time with his 20th goal in his last 14 matches. But England could only rest easy after Owen’s Liverpool team-mate Robbie Fowler scored a late second after coming on as a substitute. Owen said the Albanians proved to be as tough as the Germans were on Saturday. “To take six points was what we intended. This was equally as hard as the Germany game. They defended in numbers and every team that has played against them has found it hard,” he said. While England now look a good bet to qualify, Louis Van Gaal’s Holland saw their miniscule hopes of reaching Japan and South Korea snuffed out as expected. The Dutch, who suffered a fatal 1-0 defeat against the Republic of Ireland last week, needed Cyprus to overcome Portugal in Larnaca to keep their hopes alive. But despite the Cypriots taking a first-half lead Portugal were too strong and goals from Nuno Gomes, Pedro Pauleta and Sergio Conceicao sealed a 3-1 victory. The triumph put Portugal on top of group two, and if they win their final match at home to Estonia in October next month they will clinch the group and condemn Ireland to a playoff against the third-placed team from Asian qualifiers. Holland 5-0 rout of the Estonians in Eindhoven came in vain. Meanwhile, Spain and Sweden became the latest sides from Europe to qualify. The Swedes faced a daunting trip to Istanbul for a match against Turkey which was effectively a winner takes all scrap for group four’s automatic place. The Turks, who trailed the Swedes by two points going into the game, appeared set for victory after Hakan Sukur gave them a 51st minute lead. But an extraordinary finale saw Celtic’s
free scoring Henrik Larsson and Andreas Andersson score in the 88th and 90th minutes to give the 1994 World Cup semi-finalists a come-from-behind 2-1 victory.
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DOPE TEST LAB New Delhi, September 6 Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Uma Bharati had emphasised time and again,
particularly after the news of Indian sportspersons testing positive for drugs received wide publicity, that a dope testing laboratory would be in place for the inaugural Afro-Asian Games to be held here from November 3 to 11. According to a message received by Indian Olympic Association (IOA) secretary-general Randhir Singh from IOC medical director Dr Patrick Schamasch. “The issue of the laboratory in Delhi being ready for the Afro-Asian Games is important but my fear is that the delay is far too short to have it on site. However, let us wait for the responses of both Prof Ueki and Prof Gupta. Anyway, we will find the best solution not to jeopardise the Games”. Two experts from the IOC-approved German lab Kreisha were to come to Delhi to establish the dope testing lab, albeit a temporary one, but the Germans have backed out, and now, thanks to the efforts of Mr Randhir Singh, the newly-elected member of the IOC from India, the IOC may depute experts from Japan to help India set up the lab. The plan is to operate the dope control laboratory in India under temporary accreditation, but in a communication to Prof. Makoto Ueki of the Doping Control Laboratory, Mitsubishi Kagaku Bio-Clinical Labs in Tokyo, Dr Patrick Schamasch noted that India would have to “start from scratch, which is quite complicated due to the time limit”, to establish the dope control lab. Due to the intervention of Randhir Singh, some alternative arrangements may be made, as according to Makoto Ueki’s letter to Dr Patrick, “the opinion by the chairman of the sports medicine committee of the OCA Prof Kuroda (is that) help by external scientists from any of the IOC accredited laboratories is a must”, adding that “because of the limited remaining time till the games open, I am now seeking for the possible solution together with Prof. Kuroda, and a Tokyo laboratory has the possibility to send two to three certifying scientists to India”. According to sources, even if the dope testing laboratory does not materialise in time for the Games, dope testing can be done, though the samples would have to be sent to some other IOC-approved laboratory in Asia. This process is cheaper, but the idea to set up the temporary IOC-accredited lab in India was to make it as a prelude to get permanent accreditation to it. |
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Games ‘to boost India’s prestige’ Chandigarh, September 6 Ms Bharati, however, said very soon she would be coming to Chandigarh to discuss steps to promote sports. In reply to another question about selecting six disciplines due to budgetary constraints Mr Kalmadi said these were the first ever Games, but in 2005, during the second Afro-Asian Games in Africa more disciplines would be added. On the coordination problem between the IOA president and the Sports Minister, Mr Kalmadi said Ms Bharati was working hard and her dedication had proved that she had a genuine love for sports. Ms Bharati also had a dig at cricket when she was asked why the Indian contingent was cleared for the SAF games in Pakistan saying that cricket enjoyed good sponsorship. Other sports should not be allowed to suffer at cricket’s cost, she said. The minister said the Games were alloted to Delhi but every effort would be made to improve the sports infrastructure in the rural sector also. The final go-ahead for the Afro-Asian Games was given in April and it took two months to finalise various committees. She said the 2008 Beijing Olympics would have a budget of billions of dollars and as compared to other international meets, these Games had a nominal budget. She said the shooting range at Delhi with electronic targets would be ready soon. She expressed her happiness over the performance of Indian shooters at the Commonwealth Shooting Championship at Bisley. Ms Bharati revealed that a sum of Rs 42 crore out of the total budget was being spent on infrastructure alone.
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Radhika outplays Rushmi Chennai, September 6 “I played badly’’, Rushmi, who made several unforced errors in the surprisingly one sided contest, admitted “But it was lousy umpiring’’, she alleged. But for Maharashtra’s Radhika Tulpule, the commanding win marked by sound baseline tennis mixed with lethal drop shot that caught the slow moving Rushmi off guard, was sweet revenge.
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