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Djokovic ‘trick
Azarenka gets a high with win over falling Na
Novak Djokovic holds the winner’s trophy as a disappointed Andy Murray looks on in Melbourne on Sunday. — AFP |
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With hat-trick, Ronaldo hits 300
Cristiano Ronaldo fights for the ball with two Getafe defenders. — Reuters
Armstrong, US Anti-Doping Agency squabble over further probe
Bell livens up dead rubber with
century
Fake ticket fraud in HP’s first ODI
Series gains for India, including top rank
Jaffer’s record ton puts Mumbai on top
‘National team above Ranji teams’
Bryan Bros break record
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Djokovic ‘trick
Melbourne, January 27 The Serb, who has now won four of his six grand slam titles in Melbourne, managed to win the important points as the Briton suffered from blisters on his right foot and problems at the top of his left hamstring. Both players produced superb service games throughout the match with Djokovic the first to achieve a break in the eighth game of the third set, propelling him to the brink of the title after the pair had shared tiebreaks in the first two sets. Djokovic then capitalised on a flagging Murray, who had battled to a five-set win over Roger Federer on Friday, breaking early in the fourth set and then holding on to clinch the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup for the fourth time. “What a joy. It’s an incredible feeling to win this trophy again,” Djokovic said. “This is definitely my favourite grand slam. I love this tournament. I love this court. “I have to congratulate Andy and thank him. We have played so many great matches in the last two years. Bad luck for tonight but I wish you best of luck for the season.” Djokovic was not the only man chasing a record. U.S. Open champion Murray, who beat Djokovic in the New York final in September, was also hoping to become the first Briton to win the title since Fred Perry in 1934 and the first man to win his second grand slam immediately after winning his first. Djokovic had the first opportunity to take an advantage when he held four break points in the sixth game, but Murray fought them all off and levelled at 3-3 with a kicking ace down the centre line. The world number one held another break point in the eighth game, but Murray again saved and forced a tiebreak, which he sealed 7-2 after he had jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never looked like giving it up. Murray’s first serve, which had caused him problems in the first set, was much better in the second and the Scot reduced the number of unforced errors though neither man looked likely to lose their serve. The top seeded Djokovic seized the advantage in the tiebreak when Murray double faulted after he had been forced to stop his serve as a feather from birds in the roof fluttered down on court. That point gave the Serb a 3-2 lead, which he capitalised on to win 7-3 when Murray hit a backhand into the net. The Briton then took a medical timeout before the third set began to have sticking plaster and strapping tape applied to blisters around the big toe on his right foot and the momentum shifted to the Serbian world number one. Djokovic, however, waited until the time was right to pounce on Murray’s weakness, which he did in the eighth game when he claimed the first break of the match after almost three hours of play to take a 5-3 lead. The Serb then blasted through his service game to love to take the third set in a relatively lightning 41 minutes after the first two sets had taken 68 and 65 minutes respectively. Murray’s foot continued to give him trouble in the fourth set as he was unable to stop abruptly, change direction, or push off properly to generate power. Djokovic broke in the third game and sensing the finishing line was in sight, achieved a double break in the fifth and sealed the win when a Murray backhand return thudded into the net. “I’d like to thank Novak,” Murray said. “His record here is incredible. There are very few people who have managed to do what he has done here. He’s an amazing champion, so well done to him.” Later, after having some time to let the win sink in, Djokovic sat beside the troph and said: “It's amazing. I'm just trying to embrace this moment and enjoy it as much as I can and see where tomorrow brings me. I mean, 25 years old and I won six Grand Slams and have a lot of trophies.” — Reuters
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Azarenka gets a high with win over falling Na
Melbourne, January 27 Celebrations were long and noisy for the world number one after her win over Li Na in yesterday’s eventful final, when she overcame a hostile crowd and a host of distractions to successfully defend her title. After a night on the town with her boyfriend, colourful LMFAO musician Redfoo, the world number one had just four hours’ sleep before confidently telling media she believes she can “make it happen” at any major. “Every one,” said the tall blonde, 23, when asked which Grand Slam tournament she would most like to win this year. “I mean, you cannot prefer any because they are so different, so special. So it’s really, really hard. I don’t rate my chances. I just make it happen. I don’t rate, I don’t look at statistics. I just make it happen.” Last evening started bleakly for Azarenka when, extraordinarily for a Grand Slam final, she was subjected to jeers and occasional boos, and near-silence when she won important points. Azarenka had raised suspicions of gamesmanship in her semifinal against Sloane Stephens, when she took a medical timeout after blowing five match points, and then returned and broke for victory. But after Li fell twice, twisting her ankle and briefly blacking out, and the match was interrupted for fireworks, Azarenka was able to master the distractions and retain her only Grand Slam title Afterwards, as she strode through the stadium corridors with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup, accompanied by Redfoo, she exuded the satisfaction of a woman who had faced her critics, and won. “It’s been a rollercoaster, definitely,” she admitted. “I had to go through things. I have my team around me, and they’re like my family. They’re taking care of me and they’re really strong.” Now comes the rest of the season, and high on the list is improving her lopsided won one, lost 11 record against the mighty Williams, considered easily the best women’s player when fit. “I’m sure we’re going to have a few matches,” Azarenka said. “To predict, I never do that. I just try to work hard. I can always say Serena, Maria (Sharapova), Li Na, all these girls, they really push to improve. “We elevate each other. That’s what’s great about women’s tennis right now.” Azarenka became No. 1 in 2012, a position she has defended from Williams with yesterday’s victory. Now backed by Redfoo, unmissable in his leopardskin and lime-green hoodie, and ‘Get Your Grunt On’ T-shirt, Azarenka is not looking back. “I want to top that,” she said. “I have left all my memories in 2012. I’ve kind of cleared my head to make new memories.” — Reuters
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Murray blown away by Nole storm
Melbourne, January 27 The Serb’s victory on Sunday was Murray’s fifth defeat in six Grand Slam finals but having broken his duck at the U.S. Open last September against Djokovic, the pain is unlikely to linger quite as long this time. Having played a five-set semifinal against Roger Federer and with a day less to recover than the Serb, a calm Murray did well to save five break points in the first set and then played a superb tiebreak to move ahead. But his big chance came and went in the second game of the second set when he had 0-40 on the Djokovic serve and failed to convert. It was the turning point of the match. “I was getting quite a few 0-15s, 15-30s, 0-30s and I couldn’t quite capitalise on my chances on his serve,” Murray told reporters. “That was a disappointing part. I played a good second set. I created quite a few chances and didn’t quite get them. That was the difference.” The two 25-year-olds, born just a week apart, are separated by two places in the rankings but they showed again that when they face each other across the net, there is a hair’s breadth between them. Murray said he was a little stiff after his effort against Federer but of bigger concern was a nasty blister that appeared on his right foot. Murray denied his blisters had affected his chances and said he was more than happy with his efforts. “The last few months have been the best tennis of my life,” he said. “I made the Wimbledon final, won the Olympics, won the U.S. Open and I was close here as well. It was close. I know no one’s ever won the immediate slam after winning their first one. It’s not the easiest thing to do and I got extremely close.” “This is the first time I’ve beaten Roger in a slam over five sets. I think I dealt with the situations and the ebbs and flows in that match well.”
— Reuters |
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With hat-trick, Ronaldo hits 300
Madrid, January 27 The buildup to the game at the Bernabeu had been dominated by a report in Marca sports daily that said captains Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos had threatened to leave unless coach Jose Mourinho was dismissed. Real president Florentino Perez called a news conference to deny the story and accused the newspaper of lying and the Spanish champions let their football do the talking with a comfortable victory against their city rivals. Mourinho, who turned 50 on Saturday, left several key players out of his starting lineup, including Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira, and Real struggled to break through a determined Getafe defence in the first half. Once Ramos had scrambled the ball into the net at a corner eight minutes after the break the home side turned the screw and Ronaldo struck three times in 10 minutes, the first his 300th club goal. The Portuguese, who was substituted with around 15 minutes left after a knock to his right ankle, scored five for Sporting,118 for Manchester United and now has 179 for Real thanks to his 20th career treble. Real have 43 points from 21 of 38 matches, with Atletico on 47 ahead of their match at Athletic Bilbao later on Sunday, when they will be without injured top scorer Radamel Falcao. Leaders Barcelona, who play at Real in their King’s Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday, are looking to get back to winning ways when they host struggling Osasuna.
— Reuters |
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Armstrong, US Anti-Doping Agency squabble over further probe
London, January 27 In a letter to the USADA dated on Friday, attorney Timothy Herman said that while the athlete is willing to cooperate with the agency, its request to interview him in the next two weeks “cannot be accommodated.” Herman blamed pre-existing obligations. The USADA set a February 6 deadline for Armstrong to fully cooperate in its investigation in return for a possible lifting of his lifetime ban from cycling, the agency’s chief executive Travis Tygart said in an excerpt from an interview due to air on the CBS “60 Minutes” program on Sunday. After years of denials, Armstrong confessed last week in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that he used performance-enhancing drugs to cheat his way to a record seven Tour de France wins. USADA last year stripped Armstrong of his titles, called him “serial cheat.” In his letter, Herman raised questions about the role of the USADA in ridding cycling of performance-enhancing drugs. He noted that “professional cycling is and has been largely a European sport.” Herman applauded the International Cycling Union’s announcement on Friday that it would work with the World Anti-Doping Agency in a broad probe into the use of drugs and rely on a “truth and reconciliation” process. “As such, we would like to make sure we coordinate with the truth and reconciliation process to examine the culture of doping in cycling in the past and to clear the air so that cycling can move forward,” Herman wrote.
— Reuters |
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Bell livens up dead rubber with
century
Dharamsala, January 27 The Indian team was looking up to Rohit Sharma in his opening role, especially after his magic in Mohali, but his poke outside the off stump early in the innings made sure that it did not happen. Dhoni, as a skipper (twice in IPL), had not lost a match here before. This time, that too did not happen. Overall, the day did not go India’s way. For crowds in Dharamsala, though, it turned out to be one of the most happening days in their recent memory as the two top cricketing nations played at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, making it India’s 43rd international venue. On a bowl-first wicket, England won the toss and executed their plan well, getting rid of India for just 226 runs. The plan was straight: exploit seaming conditions well and the Indian top order made it simple by poking way outside the offstump and falling in a heap (49/4). While Tim Bresnan did the early damage (4/45) along with Steven Finn, it was James Tredwell’s day as he guiled Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja with his gentle off spin. Raina (83, 98b, 8x4, 2x6) however was an exception, as has been in the whole series, quick to play opportunistic cricket by gathering singles and latching on to boundaries and sixes with his trademark pulls and boundaries through the midwicket. Though he got three reprieves, twice in the 37th over, his innings brought India to near to a decent total. All-rounders Ravindra Jadeja (39, 65b, 1x4, 2x6) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar with a run-a-ball 31 gave India a slight hope of a turnaround. That was till centurion Ian Bell (113) had not found his feet. Once he got going, he picked up the length early and smashed through covers, though edges too kept flying thick and thin. More than his shots, it was the way he paced his innings that stood out. Bell’s six off Ravichandran Ashwin in the 33rd over with mere a chip over the bowler’s head showed his supreme confidence. Eoin Morgan completed the rest as England maneuvered chase (227/5 in 47.2 overs) with caution, steadiness and a dash of flamboyance towards the end. The difference between the two teams being the top order’s discretion. England batsmen saved wickets, while their bowlers stuck to their line and length and did the damage from both ends. Dhoni, in the post-match press conference, said, “Losing toss was crucial. It was a good wicket, later on it became easy to bat on.” The skipper further said that with new rules coming in the “approach to every team would be different.” Scoreboard India
Gambhir c Bell b Tredwell 24 Rohit c Tredwell b Bresnan 4 Kohli c Tredwell b Bresnan 0 Yuvraj c Morgan b Finn 0 Raina c Bell b Woakes 83 Dhoni lbw b Finn 15 Jadeja c Bell b Tredwell 39 Ashwin c Finn b Patel 19 Bhuvneshwar c Finn b Bresnan 31 Ahmed c&b Bresnan 1 Ishant not out 0 Extras:
(lb 4, w 6) 10 Total (all out; 49.4 overs) 226 Fall of wickets:
1-13, 2-13, 3-24, 4-49, 5-79, 6-157, 7-177, 8-211, 9-225 Bowling Finn 10-2-27-2 Bresnan 9.4-1-45-4 Woakes 9-1-45-1 Tredwell 10-1-25-2 Root 5-0-34-0 Patel 6-0-46-1 England Cook b Ishant 22 Bell not out 113 Pietersen c Jadeja b Ahmed 6 Root b Jadeja 31 Morgan not out 40 Extras:
(lb 8, w 7) 15 Total: (3 wkts; 47.2 overs) 227 Fall of wickets:
1-53, 2-64, 3-143 Bowling Bhuvneshwar 9-1-45-0 Ahmed 9-1-46-1 Ishant 10-3-37-1 Ashwin 10-0-50-0 Yuvraj 2-0-15-0 Jadeja 7.2-0-26-1 Man of the Match:
Ian Bell |
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Fake ticket fraud in HP’s first ODI
Dharamsala, January 27 The police has ordered an inquiry and action is likely to be taken on Monday. The role of ticketing agency Kyazoonga.com has come under investigation, but police are tightlipped about it. It is also learnt that the tickets were being printed till late last night and spectators were sold tickets as late as one hour before the start of the match. A spectator who had come from Pathankot and bought a general stand ticket said, “If we had faked tickets we would have done it of better stands not General Block. Why would we take the trouble of doing all this for a mere Rs 250 ticket.” There was a lot of resentment among spectators who were not allowed in after their tickets were seized. Inspector General of Police (North), Rakesh Aggarwal said, “Thorough investigation has been ordered in this regard.” He did not rule out the hand of officials involved in selling tickets at the stadium outlets. Superintendent of Police (Kangra) Balbir Thakur said, "Around 50 tickets of different stands varying from the value of Rs 1,000 to 5,000 were detected at the gates, and were found scanned with fake official signatures and seat numbers." Police claimed they were alerted following security inputs, but were still unable to catch many spectators with fake tickets. HPCA press secretary Mohit Sood claimed that they have lodged a complaint with police, though no FIR was registered today. This is the second time that irregularities have marred the conduct of a match at HPCA. On April 17, 2010, nearly 2,000 people with valid IPL tickets were left stranded as the chaos ruled after people got restless. It was alleged that the officials had printed more tickets than the actual capacity of the stadium. |
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Series gains for India, including top rank
Dharamsala, January 25 Underdogs Pakistan came to India and battered the hosts in a bilateral series in their home den with Indian batsmen coming up short against the guiles of rookie pacers. The next five match series England was anticipated to go in favour of England hands down,. India confirmed the fears by losing the first ODI. However, they recouped and registerrd convincing wins at Rajkot, Ranchi, finally winning the series in Mohali. The final scores may be 3-2, but despite the loss in Dharamsala, India reclaimed the No. 1 rank in ODIs. They proved they, despite their struggles in Tests, they are a good ODI side. They form a unit which cannot be beaten easily at home. No doubt, India have a lot of ground to cover, as far as Tests are concerned. And the sooner they do the better it is as Australia play India from February 22. Dhoni, though, wants to take a “break” and was non-committal on playing the Irani Trophy as a prepration for the tough series. “As of now it’s no but you never know,” he said in a toungue-in-cheek manner. The biggest positive for India has been the emergence of rookie pacers who have punched above their weight when it came to facing the England batting line up. Not only punching above their weight, they have looked in the eye of England top order and invariably put them in trouble with pace and swing. India’s pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shami Ahmed (both from UP) may be callow youths but they have showed a lot of heart. And the heartening news is that they have learnt rather fast. Both are hardly five matches (ODI) old but have grown by leaps and bounds. While Bengal right arm bowler Ahmed bowls tight line and sticks to the basic, Bhuvneshwar is a rare talent who can swing both ways early in his career. His incutters probed England no ends in the ODI series. He also weilds the willow with a brave heart. His 31 runs while India were struggling in the final match showed he is a talent to watch. The only thing he needs to concentrate more is death bowling. Dhoni praised the young duo ahead of the fifth ODI saying, “Both the bowlers have done a very good job with the new ball. We need to do well in the death overs as well.” With new rules coming into effect recently, both the pacers have shouldered the responsibility well and taken the burden of Dhoni to quite a large extent. |
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Jaffer’s record ton puts Mumbai on top
Mumbai, January 27 Jaffer scored a patient knock of 132 when other top order batsmen failed but Mumbai had enough useful partnerships to pile up 287 for 6 to take a 139-run lead. Jaffer now has became the highest run-scorer in the history of Ranji trophy as he left behind Amol Muzumdar, whose tally stood at 9105. Jaffer needed 83 to cross Muzumdar’s mark and after today’s innings his total is 9155. He also eclipsed Ajay Sharma’s record of 31 centuries in the championship. Jaffer’s knock contained 16 fours and a six in 246 balls. There was a brief period after tea when Saurashtra looked to be fighting their way back by taking three quick wickets – including that of Jaffer to leave the hosts at 237 for 6 from 209 for 3. But the unbroken seventh-wicket partnership of 50 runs in 108 balls between Hiken Shah (41) and Dhawal Kulkarni (18) till the stumps ensured that Mumbai end the day without any more trouble. Saurashtra needed early wickets this morning to make up for the the poor batting yesterday but Mumbai did not give them any gap to squeeze in. Jaffer and Kaustubh Pawar (21) kept the visitors’ bowling attack at bay with cautious and slow batting after resuming at 19 for no loss. Jaffer played a superb off driven four off Sauraya Sanandiya but then was lucky to survive a vociferous caught at the wicket appeal off Unadkat. The team’s 50 came in the 24th over and after almost two hour batting. Jaffer, who will be 35 next month, broke shackles by hitting left-arm slow bowler Dharmendra Jadeja for three fours in an over, half-an-hour before the lunch. He then lost his opening partner Pawar when the batsman offered a tame return catch to Sidharth Trivedi. The openers put on 75 for the first wicket in 33.3 overs. “I was aware of the record because it was printed (in the newspapers) so much,” said Jaffer, who will be 35 next month. On the misunderstanding with Tendulkar, Jaffer said: “It was unfortunate (that he got run out) which is not what you want in a big game especially if it is Sachin at the other end,” he said. — PTI Ranji Trophy final: Scoreboard Saurashtra 1st innings Kotak c Jaffer b Dabholkar 14 Jogiyani c Jaffer b Kulkarni 1 Dave c Chavan b Kulkarni 3 Vasavada c Shah b Nayar 55 Jackson c Tare b Kulkarni 5 Shah c Shah b Dabholkar 0 Makvana c Pawar b Nayar 26 Sanandiya b Agarkar 4 Unadkat run out 22 Jadeja not out 4 Trivedi c Tare b Kulkarni 2 Extras: (b 4, lb 2, w 4, nb 2) 12 Total: (all out; 75.3 overs) 148 Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-12, 3-36, 4-45, 5-50, 6-114, 7-115, 8-141, 9-142 Bowling Agarkar 6-6-33-1 Kulkarni 1.3-13-24-4 Thakur 2-2-31-0 Nayar 10-30-2 Dabholkar 1-3-14-2 Chavan 2-1-0-2 Mumbai 1st innings Jaffer lbw b Jadeja 132 Pawar c & b Trivedi 21 Tare c Vasavada b Sanandiya 3 Tendulkar run out 22 Nayar c Unadkat b Makvana 26 Shah batting 41 Agarkar lbw b Jadeja 2 Kulkarni batting 18 Extras: (lb 7, w 2, nb 13) 22 Total (6 wkts; 94 overs) 287 Fall of wickets: 1-75, 2-89, 3-157, 4-209, 5-233, 6-237 Bowling Unadkat 24-3-49-0 Trivedi 19-4-37-1 Sanandiya 18-5-51-1 Jadeja 19-0-96-2 Makvana 14-1-47-1
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‘National team above Ranji teams’
Dharamsala, January 27 Opinions were divided over whether it is logical to tag along the players with the team or let the star players bolster their respective sides. The counterview being that the country should come first than representing the state. Skipper MS Dhoni clarified: “The country comes first than the state. It was a conscious decision as releasing players would have disturbed the combination and the team needs time to strike a right balance,” adding that had they released the four players and asked them to join again it would have been a lot of hassle for players to travel and then get back in rhythm straightaway. — TNS
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Bryan Bros break record
Melbourne, January 27 “Obviously it feels really good to have that record and to be a part of history feels really special,” Mike Bryan said. “We weren’t thinking much about it on court but once we look back on our careers it will be fun to see what we have done. It’s a big record.” It was the brothers’ 84th career title and their second consecutive grand-slam triumph, after their win at the U.S. Open in September. Jarmila Gajdosova and Matthew Ebden became the first locals to win a main draw Australian Open title since 2005 when they clinched the mixed doubles. The Australian duo beat the Czech-pair Lucie Hradecka and Frantisek Cermak 6-3 7-5 in the final.
— Agencies |
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Melbourne, January 27
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick and passed the landmark of 300 club goals as Real Madrid put a turbulent week behind them with a 4-0 win at home to Getafe in La Liga on Sunday to close to within four points of second-placed Atletico Madrid.
The buildup to the game at the Bernabeu had been dominated by a report in Marca sports daily that said captains Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos had threatened to leave unless coach Jose Mourinho was dismissed.
London, January 27
Dharamsala, January 27
Dharamsala, January 25
