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Sania storms into pre-quarterfinals
Davenport, Henin in third round
Paes, Bhupathi move up in mixed doubles
Rohan Bopanna in Davis Cup squad
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Nine Indians make the cut
Schumacher prepares to relinquish title
Jeev Milkha Singh tied 34th
JCT academy hold Punjab Police
Patiala Tigers win district football title
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Sania storms into pre-quarterfinals
New York, September 2 Sania’s powerful ground strokes proved too hot to handle for the 19-year-old Bartoli whose defensive tactics backfired against her aggressive opponent. The 18-year old Indian will now meet either Russian top seed Maria Sharapova or Julia Schruff of Germany for a berth in the quarterfinals. Sania dominated the match throughout. There were too many unforced errors from the Hyderabadi, 49 to 14 against her name. But then she was boldly going for the lines and had 45 winners to four for the match. The world number 42 also was less bothered by the abdominal stress and the foot blisters that had hampered her in the earlier rounds. She showed great foot work to come up with winners from both flanks at will.
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Davenport, Henin in third round
New York, September 2 Second seed Davenport thrashed French qualifier Pauline Parmentier 6-1, 6-1 while seventh seed Henin-Hardenne, the 2003 winner and reigning French Open champion, won 6-3, 6-4 against Spain’s Maria Sanchez Lorenzo. The scoreline in Davenport’s match was misleading. The American got only 49 per cent of her first serves in and made 19 unforced errors, only one less than the Frenchwoman, ranked 253rd. Henin-Hardenne lost her opening service game against Sanchez Lorenzo before taking control against the world number 99 with some trademark backhand flourishes. The Belgian seemed to be cruising when she led 4-1 in the second set, but allowed Sanchez Lorenzo back into the match with numerous unforced errors before eventually finishing her off. In round three, she would play Cho Yoon-Jeong of South Korea, who upset Argentine 27th seed Gisela Dulko 6-4, 6-3. In-form American Robby Ginepri exacted revenge for the host nation when he battered Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller 6-1, 6-1, 6-4 in the men’s second round. Muller caused the biggest men’s upset in round one when he knocked out fourth seed Andy Roddick, but he was unrecognisable from that form yesterday. Former French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten started brightly against Spain’s Tommy Robredo, but the Brazilian is short of match fitness and eventually succumbed 5-7, 7-6, 6-3 6-2. France’s Sebastien Grosjean eliminated Swedish Wimbledon semifinalist Thomas Johansson, seeded 14th, in four sets. Serbia and Montenegro’s Jelena Jankovic, Henin-Hardenne’s possible fourth-round opponent, also advanced with a 6-2, 6-0 thrashing of lanky 15-year-old American Alexa Glatch. French 15th seed Nathalie Dechy was equally emphatic in a 6-1, 6-1 win over US qualifier Vania King and Russian 13th seed Anastasia Myskina ousted Amy Frazier of the USA 6-3, 6-2. Home favourite James Blake continued his run of good form with an impressive 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Russia’s Igor Andreev in a second-round battle of unseeded players. The 25-year-old Blake cracked 31 winners in the 97-minute victory and then quickly turned his attention to his next challenge, a third-round match against second-seeded French Open champion Rafael Nadal of Spain.
— Reuters |
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Paes, Bhupathi move up in mixed doubles
New York, September 2 Sania and her Australian partner Bryanne Stewart were yesterday shown the door by the 11th-seeded pair of Frenchwoman Emilie Loit and Australian Nicole Pratt in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. The first-round ouster might be a blessing in disguise for the 18-year-old Indian as she could now concentrate more on the singles event. It turned out to be a fruitful outing for India in the mixed doubles event, where both Paes and Bhupathi advanced to the second round with contrasting victories. After his shocking first-round exit from the doubles event, seventh seed Paes teamed up with legendary American Martina Navratilova and the duo brushed aside the challenge of the unseeded French pair of Tatiana Golovin and Fabrice Santoro with a straight-sets win to storm into the second round. This, probably, would be the last Grand Slam outing for the vintage 48-year-old American, who had hinted that she would retire from the circuit sooner rather than later. The Paes-Navratilova pair was in control of the proceedings right from the beginning and it took them 26 minutes to bag the first set against their French opponents. The Indo-American pair put up an all-round display in the second set and dropped two games before winning the set in another 26 minutes. The seeded players stuck to the basics and capitalised on chances that came their way. Paes and Navratilova saved a break point and converted three out of four to make it to the second round. They would now meet Spaniard Virginia Ruano Pascual and Austrian Stephen Huss, who struggled before edging past the American pair of Lilia Osterloh and Kevin Kim 7-6 (7-1), 7-6(10-8). Bhupathi and his Slovak partner Daniel Hantuchova survived a three-set-thriller before finally make it to the second round with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(11-9) win. Pitted against Chinese Tiantian Sun and her Swede partner Simon Aspelin, Bhupathi and Hantuchova struggled for rhythm before their opponents went pocketed the first set. Sensing danger, the Indo-Slovak pair raised their game in the second set and outplayed their rivals to draw parity. Fortune fluctuated in the decider and the see-saw third set had the crowd at the edge of their seats. The experience of Bhupathi and Hantuchova stood them in good stead and they kept their cool to win the tie-breaker. Bhupathi and Hantuchova run into fourth seeds American Lisa Raymond and her Swede partner Jonas Bjorkman in the second round. Raymond and Bjorkman beat the American duo of Shenay Perry and Amer Delic 6-1, 7-5 in the first round.
— UNI |
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Rohan Bopanna in Davis Cup squad
New Delhi, September 2 The team, captained by Leander, will consist of Mahesh Bhupathi, Prakash Amritraj, Rohan Bopanna and Harsh Mankad. As has been the practice in all of India’s World Group play-off ties, SAIL will yet again sponsor the tie. All-India Tennis Association (AITA) executive vice-president and secretary-general Anil Khanna said here today that the AITA selectors — former Davis Cupper Shyam Minotra (chairman), CGK Bhupathi and SP Misra — met here yesterday and decided to forward the names of only Leander, Mahesh, Prakash and Rohan to the International Tennis Federation (ITF), as is mandatory. Harsh Mankad will be the reserve player, but Mr Khanna clarified that captain Leander would have the freedom to effect any change in the team if he desired before the tie, as permitted by the ITF. Former Davis Cupper Nandan Bal will be the coach and Vece Paes the team doctor. The high-profile Swedish team will be led by non-playing captain Mats Wilander, who has 43 Davis Cup caps under his belt. The other members of the Swedish team are Joachim Johansson, ranked 14th in the world, his brother Thomas Johansson, ranked 15th, Robin Soderling, ranked 41st and Jonas Bjorkman, ranked 99th in singles and No. 1 in doubles. Wayne McKewen of Australia, a gold badge holder, will be the chief referee while Gerry Armstrong of Britain and Blaze Trifunovski of New Zealand will be the chair umpires. India have never beaten Sweden in their four previous meetings — two in Sweden on clay and two in India on grass, at Bangalore and Kolkata. This time around, though India do not expect any dramatic turnaround in their fortune, they hope to put up a better fight, taking full advantage of the home ground. Mr Khanna said no effort was being spared to provide world-class facilities for the tie, and the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) complex was being given a facelift to suit international standards. The grass court at the RK Khanna Stadium has also been relaid to give it an even surface and even bounce. The uneven bounce and patchy surface had come in for criticism during the Asia Oceania Group tie against China early this year, though the hosts swept the tie 5-0. India and Sweden first met in a Davis Cup tie in the World Group play-off at Bangalore in August, 1985, with the visitors romping home 4-1. Vijay Amritraj’s 8-6, 9-7 defeat of Mats Wilander was the only saving grace and it has been India’s only win in Davis Cup against the Swedes. In the subsequent three meetings, Sweden steamrolled past India 5-0, the last time on clay in Sweden in 2000. Leander was not part of that team, but Harsh and Mahesh were there. Mr Khanna said Leander was happy with the team composition, and the players would be assembling in Delhi a week ahead of the tie. He said thanks to Sania Mirza’s impressive outings in Grand Slam events, there was a tremendous demand for tickets, which had been put on sale at the DLTA complex and through various other outlets in the Capital. Cashing in on this craze, AITA has decided not only to have tickets for the tie, but these have been priced rather high — Rs 200, Rs 400, Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000. Students will be given tickets at a concessional rate of Rs 100. India will be hosting three major tennis events in quick succession, as the Davis Cup will be followed by the WTA event in Kolkata and the Satellite Series at the National Tennis Academy in Gurgaon. |
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Kaif steers India home
Harare, September 2 Kaif came to the crease when captain Sourav Ganguly holed out to fine leg to end a blistering opening stand of 66 off 44 balls with Virender Sehwag. The 24-year-old Kaif compiled an undefeated 102 off 118 deliveries as India gained a psychological edge heading into Tuesday’s final against the Kiwis. Kaif struck 11 fours, mostly sweetly timed drives down the ground. Sehwag hit 45 off 34 balls with six boundaries and Rahul Dravid made a composed 39. Wicketkeeper-batsman M.S. Dhoni put the finishing touches to the win with three fours and two sixes as he finished 37 not out off 27 deliveries. New Zealand also got their innings off to a rapid start, skipper Stephen Fleming scoring 47 off 53 balls and Lou Vincent hammering 37 from 23 deliveries. After Fleming and Vincent were run out, Scott Styris marshalled the lower order with an 89-ball innings of 56 while Craig McMillan chipped in with 40. New Zealand were in a spot of bother at 115 for four before Styris and McMillan steered them out of the pits with an 87-run partnership. Barring J.P. Yadav, who had figures of 10-1-34-1, none of the Indian bowlers could manage to check the run flow as the Kiwis plundered over 70 runs in the last 10 overs. New Zealand began with an intent of a 300-plus total before outstanding work in the field, backed by terrific bowling, in that order, derailed them on the best batting pitch seen yet at this ground. Ironically, fielding, the bane of Indian cricket, was the highlight as two crisp run-outs of two rampaging batsmen completely turned the game on its head. First, bowler Ajit Agarkar dashed to his left to intercept a push by Fleming and turned on his heels to strike a direct hit at the bowler’s end. Then, Yuvraj Singh produced an absolute magic in flying to his left, swooping on a blistering cut and make a whistling throw, which took everyone’s breath away. Pathan conceded 19 runs in his penultimate over as New Zealand, amidst a flurry of wickets, tried to push the scoring along. Scoreboard New Zealand Astle c Dhoni b Agarkar 11 Fleming run out 47 Vincent run out 37 Marshall b Yadav 8 Styris c Sehwag b Nehra 56 McMillan b Agarkar 40 McCullum c Kaif b Nehra 28 Oram c Ganguly b Pathan 14 Cairns not out 6 Adams c Agarkar b Pathan 3 Mills not out 2 Extras
(b-1, lb-11, nb-1, w-13) 26 Total (9 wkts, 50 overs) 278 Fall of wickets:
1-54, 2-83, 3-103, 4-115, 5-202, 6-244, 7-266, 8-267, 9-271. Bowling: Nehra 10-0-57-2, Pathan 90-60-2, Agarkar 10-1-61-2, Yadav 10-1-34-1, Harbhajan 10-0-46-0, Ganguly 1-0-8-0. India Sehwag b Oram 45 Ganguly c Patel b Mills 19 Kaif not out 102 Dravid b Styris 39 Yuvraj lbw b Patel 22 Dhoni not out 37 Extras
(lb-7, nb-2, w-6) 15 Total (4 wkts, 47.3 overs) 279 Fall of wickets:
1-66, 2-75, 3-176, 4-223. Bowling: Mills 7-0-35-1, Adams 7.3-0-67-0, Oram 5-1-22-1, Cairns 3-0-17-0, Patel 9-0-60-1, Astle 7-0-34-0, Styris 9-0-37-1.
— Reuters, PTI |
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Tharanga guides Lanka to victory
Colombo, September 2 Tharanga was supported by skipper Marvan Atapattu who scored 53 not out from 43 balls as Sri Lanka piled up 295 for five after being put into bat. Bangladesh opener Shahriar Nafees provided some resistance for the second successive match with 51 from 83 balls before skying a catch to mid-wicket. Middle-order batsman Mohammad Ashraful (31), Bangladesh’s recent hero against Australia, skipper Habibul Bashar (41 not out) and Tushar Imran also made contributions. Scoreboard Sri Lanka Tharanga st Mashud b Islam 105 Jayasuriya c Mashud b Hossain 40 Dilshan c Omar b Rafique 27 Atapattu not out 53 Sangakkara c Islam b Rafique 28 Lokuhettige lbw Russel 2 Jayawardene not out 23 Extras
(b-1, lb-6, nb-4, w-6) 17 Total: (5 wkts, 50 overs) 295 Fall of wickets: 1-100, 2-171, 3-194, 4-245, 5-252. Bowling:
Baisya 10-0-71-0, Russel 10-1-49-1, Hossain 6.1-0-47-1, Islam 10-0-47-1, Rafique 10-0-47-2, Ahmed 3.5-0-27-0. Bangladesh Omar c Atapattu b Vaas 18 Nafees c Murali b Dilshan 51 Ahmed b Murali 18 Ashraful c Chandana b Dilshan 31 Rafique c and b Dilshan 9 Bashar not out 41 Imran b Lokuhettige 31 Mashud not out 2 Extras
(b-2, lb-3, nb-6, w-8) 19 Total (6 wkts, 50 overs) 220 Fall of wickets:
1-38, 2-77, 3-122, 4-137, 5-140, 6-211. Bowling: Vaas 6-1-15-1, Lokuhettige 7-0-31-1, Fernando 7-0-44-0, Arnold 2-0-10-0, Muralitharan 10-0-48-1, Dilshan 7-1-17-3, Chandana (sub for Jayasuriya) 10-0-44-0, Jayawardene 1-0-6-0.
— AP, Reuters |
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Soma wins heptathlon gold
Incheon, September 2 It was at the fag-end of a highly frustrating day that the trio struck medals to bring some cheer in the Indian camp. Her citymate Sushmita collected 5308 points to finish second for silver in this event. Thailand’s W. Masim (5279) was third. The gold medal winning effort by the 27-year-old was well below her personal best of 6186. The same was the case with silver medalist Sushmita, whose personal best was 5419. The third medal of the day for India came in the discus throw, in which Krishna Poonia, with a throw of 57.67m, finished third. Seema Antil with a below par 53.41, came fifth in the event, which was won by China’s Song Aimin, who created a new record with an effort of 65.1 which came in her fifth attempt. She erased the existing record of 61.92m. Her compatriot Sun Taifeng bagged the silver with 59.09. China, meanwhile, continued their domination, winning five of the 14 gold at stake to lead the field with eight gold, three silver and five bronze medals. India were placed fifth with a gold, two silver and a bronze.
— UNI |
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Nine Indians make the cut
Beijing, September 2 Three Indians were in the running for a good top-10 finish as Amandeep Johl, Harmeet Kahlon and Digvijay Singh tied for the 11th place. The Indians had a great time on the front nine with Amandeep slotting five birdies, while Digvijay and Harmeet made four each. Shiv Kapur and Gaurav Ghei had three each on the front nine, which was playing fairly easy. Meanwhile, world number five Retief Goosen tightened his grip on the event with a second round of five-under-par 67 for a one-shot lead after two rounds. Among the other Indians in the fray, Arjun Singh made a good comeback after a first-round 75 with a 69 that saw him tied 44th with Gaurav Ghei. Defending champion Rahil Gangjee ensured he was in for the weekend with a 73 and he was tied 55th. Ashok Kumar and Mukesh Kumar were right on the cut line, which came at two-over 146. Those missing the cut were Firoze Ali (148), Sandy Lehal (149), Uttam Singh Mundy (154) and Vivek Bhandari (157).
— PTI |
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Schumacher prepares to relinquish title
Monza, September 2 Schumacher has had an unbroken run as world champion since October 2000, when he won his first Ferrari title at Suzuka in Japan, but will relinquish his crown unless he scores more points than Renault’s Fernando Alonso here on Sunday. “I have been saying that until it is not mathematically possible to win, then I will keep fighting. I am a realist and some races ago I pretty much knew that it is no longer possible to fight for the championship,” he said yesterday. “Honestly it is not something that happens overnight and it became clear especially after Turkey. But my motivation is not gone. I have every reason to be motivated to challenge again.” “If you imagine how other guys have been in our position for years and they are still motivated, then it is easy to see I am. I am looking forward to challenging the leaders.” Ferrari had their worst race of the season at the Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul, with Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello both qualifying in the bottom half of the field and Barrichello only just making the top 10 in the race. But the seven-time world champion is more philosophical than most about his season and thinks that although he is 40 points behind Renault driver Alonso with only five races left, he has not had such a bad year after all.
— AFP |
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Jeev Milkha Singh tied 34th
Tokyo, September 2 Jeev opened with a bogey but soon made up with a birdie on the second. Two more bogeys on the seventh and the ninth saw him turn in two over. On the back nine, Jeev seemed to have found his touch as he had three birdies in five holes between 11th and 15th. Then came the disaster with two straight bogeys on the closing holes for a day’s work of 72. The sole leader is Ike-Je J Chang, who after a modest one-under on Thursday exploded with a seven-under 64 and took the top place at eight-under 134.
— PTI |
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JCT academy hold Punjab Police
Chandigarh, September 2 Samat Bali of Punjab Police also made a good attempt two minutes from the breather
but his shot missed the target narrowly. In the second half, the Phagwara outfit missed another chance as Sikandar Singh’s rasping shot struck
the pole. In the 75th minute, Harjinder of Punjab Police sent a cross for Sandeep, whose powerful shot was saved by Gurpreet under the JCT academy bar. Punjab Police exerted pressure in the dying minutes but failed to break the
deadlock. Tomorrow, Border Security Force (BSF) will meet Mahilpur FC at
Jalandhar. |
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Patiala Tigers win district football title Patiala, September 2 Patiala Tigers started on a brisk note when striker Harish Kumar collected a star ball near the centre line and dribbled his way past two defenders before unleashing a powerful shot. However, much to his chagrin, the ball hit the vertical but Harish was quick to collect the rebound to score his team’s first goal. Manjit club almost equalised in the next minute but their striker Gurvinder Singh failed to find the netting despite beating the custodian. Harish once again stole the limelight in the second half when he made his way into the danger area before side stepping his way neatly past a spread eagled goalkeeper Ramzan Khan to score his and his team’s second goal. The winners scored their third goal late into the second half when Sushil Kumar’s powerful 35-yard shot brooked no resistance from the custodian. The prizes were distributed by Mr Gurpreet Singh Gill, SP (Vigilance), Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB).
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In video: Sania fails to cross the first round of
women's doubles. (
