New York, August 30
Sania Mirza became the first Indian woman to win a match at the US Open Grand Slam after she battled poor form and fitness problems to clinch a thrilling first round win in women’s singles at the Flushing Meadows yesterday.

Sania, hampered by a strained abdominal muscle, needed to dig deep into her reserves to outclass 19-year-old Mashona Washington of the USA 7-6 (8/6), 6-7 (6/8), 6-4 in two hours and 13 minutes.

In a low quality contest where both players committed too many unforced errors and frequently squandered advantageous positions, the 18-year-old Indian showed a steady head in handling the pressure to come through a worthy winner.

Mashona, ranked 65, blew hot and cold. The American had 38 winners as against Sania’s 21 and at times showed more variation. Whenever she came up to the net, the Indian had no answer.

But Mashona also had a high number of unforced errors, 52 compared to Sania’s 45, and as many as eight double faults.

That the Indian had two less winning points in the match than her opponent, 115 to 117, and was still able to come through only showed her maturity in handling crunch situations.

Both the teenagers seemed to be conscious of the big stage and the early phase of the match was spent in assessing each other’s weaknesses and strengths.

Sania went up breaking Mashona in the very first game but the American bounced back with two successive breaks to go 4-2 up. But serving for the set at 5-3, Mashona was broken.

In the tie-breaker, Mashona’s nerves frayed and she let go a two set point advantage.

The second set was a ding-dong battle that saw Sania fail to close the match after going 3-1 up. Mashona did well to come back twice from a break behind while Sania hung on to avert a break in the 12th game and pushed the set into the tie-breaker.

Again Sania went up 3-0 only to allow Mashona to claw back. The local lass once again failed to convert two set points but was successful on her third break point.

In the decider, Sania again took the lead breaking Mashona in the first game, only to surrender it quickly.

The worrying part was that she was failing to finish off easy put always, particularly on her normally reliable forehands. In fact, on one such occasion, after hitting a forehand long with the court wide open, Sania banged her racquet in frustration.

Fortunately for Sania, Mashona was proving to be error-prone. After levelling the score 3-3, the American committed two double faults to hand Sania a 5-4 lead.

Her mental depths were further probed when she faced four break points while serving for the match, and the issue was finally settled when Mashona sent a forehand wide.

Sania now plays Italy’s 81st ranked Maria Elena Camerin who ousted 21st ranked Dinara Safina of Russia. — PTI

New York, August 30
Andre Agassi celebrated his 20th successive appearance at the US Open with a quickfire 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 first round demonstration of Romanian Razvan Sabau while tying Jimmy Connors for the most consecutive appearances in New York.

Agassi yesterday blasted 34 winners past the hapless Sabau and wrapped up the one hour, nine-minute match by taking the last set in a scant 17 minutes.

Next up for Agassi will be big serving Croatian Ivo Karlovic.

Women’s eighth seed Serena Williams showed little sign of her nagging knee and ankle injury when she overwhelmed Taiwanese 16-year-old Yung-Jan Chan 6-1, 6-3. Fourth seed Kim Clijsters made even shorter work of German qualifier Martina Mueller, winning 6-1, 6-2.

Serena trailed 3-1 in the second set after losing her serve before reeling off the next five games.

Older sister Venus, the Wimbledon champion and Serena’s potential fourth round opponent, mirrored her sibling’s winning scoreline by outclassing Japan’s Rika Fujiwara 6-3, 6-1.

Against Mueller, Clijsters showed the form that has brought her six titles this year, although she is still seeking a first grand slam title.

The hard-hitting Belgian needed only 53 minutes to complete an impressive workout on the Louis Armstrong court, sealing her victory with a thunderous first serve.

Australian 14th seed Alicia Molik, whose year has been badly disrupted by an inner ear infection, was knocked out 4-6, 4-6 by Shenay Perry of the USA.

A year after winning her maiden grand slam title at the US Open, Svetlana Kuznetsova suffered the humiliation of becoming the first defending women’s champion to lose in the tournament’s opening round.

By contrast, fellow Russian Maria Sharapova and men’s second seed Rafael Nadal started their campaigns in irresistible style.

An out-of-sorts Kuznetsova stomped off court stony-faced after being thrashed 3-6, 2-6 by little-known compatriot Ekaterina Bychkova.

Sharapova, the women’s top seed, demolished Greece’s Eleni Daniilidou 6-1, 6-1 with a pugnacious display of hitting on Arthur Ashe Court. Spanish teenager Nadal beat American wild card Bobby Reynolds 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.

Argentine ninth seed Gaston Gaudio suffered a premature exit, losing 6-7, 4-6, 4-6, to US wild card Brian Baker.

Results: men’s singles 1st rd Ivan Ljubicic b Tobias Summerer 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3. Nicolas Massu b Jan-Michael Gambill 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, 6-3. Ricardo Mello bt Juan Monaco 6-7 (2/7), 6-2, 6-1, 6-4. Cyril Saulnier b Janko Tipsarevic 6-7 (7/9), 7-6 (7/3), 6-4, 6-3. Jiri Novak b Dick Norman 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 Tomas Berdych b Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/4), 6-4. Giorgio Galimberti bt Donald Young (USA) 7-6 (7/4), 6-1, 6-2. Igor Anreev b Gilles Elseneer 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. Robin Soderling b Juan Ignacio Chela 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 6-4. Tommy Haas b Peter Luczak 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. Mikhail Youzhny b Florian Mayer 6-1, 6-0, 6-2. Thomas Johansson b Mariano Zabaleta 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. Jonas Bjorkman b Tomas Behrend 6-3, 6-3, 6-0. Richard Gasquet b Alberto Martin 6-2, 6-3, 1-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4. Ivo Karlovic b Mardy Fish 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7/4). Scoville Jenkins b George Bastl 7-6 (7/4), 6-0, 6-7 (4/7), 4-6, 7-6 (7/5). Tommy Robredo (ESP x19) bt Daniele Bracciai (ITA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

Women’s singles (Ist rd): Francesca Schiavone b Jelena Kostanic 6-2, 7-5. Nicole Vaidisova b Kveta Peschke 6-3, 6-1. Zheng Jie b Iveta Benesova 6-3, 3-6, 6-0. Catalina Castano b Alina Jidkova 6-4, 6-3. Julia Schruff b Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. Ana Ivanovic b Lindsay Lee-Waters 7-6 (7/5), 6-3. Daniela Hantuchova b Camille Pin 6-3, 6-1. Michaela Pastikova b Rita Grande 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3. Ai Sugiyama b Alona Bondarenko 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. Nadia Petrova b Eva Birnerova 6-4, 6-4. Maria Vento-Kabchi b Sandra Mamic 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. Fabiola Zuluaga b Ashley Harkleroad 6-0, 3-0 ret. Lisa Raymond b Anne Kremer 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. Nicole Pratt b Akiko Morigami 6-7 (0/7), 6-0, ret. Akiko Nakamura b Marissa Irvin 6-3, 6-3. Laura Granville b Silvia Farina Elia 6-2, 6-1. Ivana Lisjak b Emilie Loit (FRA) 1-6, 6-4, 6-3. Emma Laine b Peng Shuai 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2. Vera Douchevina b Tiffany Dabek 6-1, 6-2. Maria Kirilenko b Laura Pous Tio 6-2, 6-3. Marion Bartoli b Barbora Strycova 6-3, 6-0. Maria Emilia Salerni b Jessica Kirkland 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7/0). Dally Randriantefy b Mary Gambale 6-3, 6-1. Shahar Peer b Marta Domachowska 7-5, 7-5. — Retuters, AFP

Mumbai, August 30
Despite not being the favourite to bag the four-year telecast rights floated by the cricket board, public broadcaster Prasar Bharati has ensured Doordarshan gets the feed for all one-day matches by signing agreements with both top contenders Zee and ESPN-Star Sports (ESS).

“Both Zee and ESS signed the agreement with us just before they submitted bids for the BCCI tender,” Prasar Bharati CEO K.S. Sarma said.

According to market estimates, Zee’s bid is the highest in the latest tender which closed on August 26, while ESS falls in the second place. On the other hand, other contenders Sony and Prasar Bharati are said to be way behind the top two.

Sarma said as per the agreements, signed separately, both private broadcasters agreed to share the feed of one-day matches with the public broadcaster on a revenue sharing basis.

“This would be on a 25:75 ratio, the majority in favour of the private broadcaster,” he said, though clarifying that Prasar Bharati would not be getting any “opportunity cost” it managed to earn earlier.

Elaborating further, Sarma said the agreement envisaged sharing of direct feed of every match involving the Indian team, and also of the semi-finals and final.

“We have insisted on the semi-finals and final as a separate clause as there can be a case where the Indian team does not reach these stages, depriving the viewers of action,” Sarma said.

Sarma said for the Test matches, the agreement envisaged the private broadcasters providing highlights to Prasar Bharati. — PTI

Nottingham, August 30
Australian fast bowler Brett Lee said his personal on-field battle with England allrounder Andrew Flintoff had been one of the highlights of the “most exciting tour I have been on”.

One of the abiding images of the Ashes encounter so far was when paceman Flintoff, who had pounded Lee with short-pitched deliveries, went up to console him after the Australian’s gutsy 43 not out so nearly denied England the two-run win that levelled the series at 1-1.

The pair were not giving an inch either in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge, where Lee bowled Flintoff with a brilliant delivery here on Sunday in the second innings for 26, but only after the Lancashire allrounder’s maiden Ashes hundred of 102 had created the platform for what was ultimately a tense three-wicket win.

“I have really enjoyed batting and bowling, especially against a guy like Andrew Flintoff,” Lee told reporters at Australia’s hotel here yesterday.

“We have always known he is a world-class player. I think he has surprised us the way he has batted. He has been so aggressive, so positive,” added Lee, who had taken 19 wickets in the series.

“A bloke who can hit massive sixes, play as a number three batsman will play, and then come out and bowl the way he has in the past four Test matches, is amazing”.

“He is a supreme athlete, he is definitely one of a kind and it is great that England have found that. They probably could have found him after we left the shores of England and went back home. I cannot give Freddie enough raps, he is a quality player.” — AFP

There are very few occasions when you feel that you have ended the game on a stronger note than the victors, but that is what happened at Trent Bridge this Sunday. England had outplayed us for the better part of the Test, but I was inspired by the way the batsmen and later the bowlers refused to give up on what seemed a lost cause. Shane Warne and Brett Lee proved that even 129 is a steep target when you are playing against Australia, and while we could not quite replicate Kolkata 2001, we did make the hosts sweat for their victory.

While the excitement of the final day proved that we still have enough ammunition in our bowling, we must pick up our batting performance if we are to square the series at the Oval. The top order has to translate all the training and nets they are putting in into Test match performance. We simply have to tighten up our defence and be more vigilant about our shot selection. We can blame a glut of one-day cricket as well as less experienced opposition in the recent past for our batting woes, but I feel it is just a matter of executing our batting plans carefully.

England’s bowling is going from strength to strength, with Simon Jones and Matthew Hoggard coming into their own at Trent Bridge. However, England themselves will admit that they were helped in no small measure by some poor shots from us. The rub of the green also went against us when Simon Katich was unlucky to be dismissed just when his dogged presence at the crease was beginning to worry Michael Vaughan.

I felt I let myself down by not being able to control my disappointment at being run out by a substitute. The constant exits of bowlers from the field during the Test series as well as the one-dayers that preceded it has been a talking point between the two sides. Having said that, I still feel that I crossed the line when I was dismissed.

The positive aspect is that we seemed to get back some of our batting form in the second innings. There are some former players wanting Matthew Hayden out of the team, but I do not think you can axe a performer of his calibre that easily.

As far as the bowling is concerned, I am confident that our attack will have more teeth in the final Test. I can honestly add that I have never seen Shane bowl with that kind of aggression for quite some time, and he will take away a lot of confidence after this performance.

He has been the one consistent performer for us in this series, and he will be the man to watch out for in the final Test. If we are lucky enough to have the services of Glenn McGrath as well, there is every chance that we will be able to square the series and retain the Ashes. — Gameplan

Amritsar, August 30
Former wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani has favoured retaining Sourav Ganguly as captain till the next World Cup, to be held in 2007 in the West Indies.

Kirmani has pointed out that Ganguly had helped rebuild the Indian team, which had an excellent blend of experienced cricketers and talented youngsters.

Talking on the sidelines of a live show here last night, Kirmani said Ganguly, though out of form, had a lot of experience. He added that Ganguly was a shrewd tactician and a brilliant leader.

He admitted that Ganguly had to change his batting style to face short-pitched deliveries, which had proved his undoing for the last couple of years. He felt that Ganguly had yet to overcome the psychological effect of the four-match ban slapped on him.

Supporting the appointment of Greg Chappell as coach, Kirmani said it was too early to give any discredit to the coach. He said it seemed that the coach was experimenting with different ideas by making frequent changes, asserting that these changes would work.

New Delhi, August 30
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) is mulling extending the deadline for discus thrower Neelam Jaswant Singh to allow her appeal against the suspension for failing a dope test during the World Athletics Championships in Helsinki earlier this month.

The 14-day period provided to her to register her appeal ends today and the AFI has not received any formal communication from Neelam in this regard.

“She has told us informally that she will go for an appeal against her suspension but to my knowledge, we have not received anything in writing yet,” AFI Secretary Lalit Bhanot said.

“We can even consider extending the deadline if the athlete asks for it,” Bhanot said.

However, the deadline for filing an appeal can be extended only with the approval of the world governing body, International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), he said.

The AFI has formed a panel to look into the doping charges levelled against Neelam but the formal announcement in this regard cannot be made till the athlete appeals for a hearing.

Bhanot, who is leaving for Incheon, (South Korea), the venue for the Asian Athletics Championships starting on September 1, said any decision on the hearing would be taken only after his return on September 5.

The 34-year-old Neelam, who failed to make the final in Helsinki, tested positive for banned stimulant pemoline on August 7 during an in-competition test. Following the ‘B’ sample test which also turned positive, the IAAF provisionally suspended Neelam. — PTI

Patiala, August 30
Talwandi Club and Manjit Football Club chalked up contrasting victories against their respective opponents to enter the semi-finals of the Patiala District Football Championship played at the Polo ground here today.

In the first match of the day, Talwandi club played a fast paced game to down Panjola club 3-0. The winners started off in style when their striker Atinderjit Pal Singh scored from an acute angle. Minutes later Amandeep Singh notched up the second goal for his team when his finely tuned header found the netting past a sprawling goalkeeper. Talwandi Club were firmly in the saddle when, minutes before the final whistle, midfielder Amandeep Singh collected a ball to close the match at 3-0.

Manjit Football Club played some dull soccer but still managed to subdue fighting Guru Gobind Singh Public school, Bhunerheri, 2-0. Manjit Club’s strikers Kamalpreet and Malkiat Singh did manage to make some incisive forays into the rival territory but the Bhunerheri defence stood up gallantly to the attacks. It was only towards the fag end of the match that Manjit Club scored through the efforts of Amandeep Singh and Paramjit Singh against their fast tiring opponents

Patiala Tigers (Juniors) too made their way into the last four with a 1-0 win against Nabha ‘A’.