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Federer, Hewitt in last eight
Mahesh-Daniela reach semis
Bopanna crashes out
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BCCI to review team’s performance
India let down by poor batting
Penury forces powerlifter to sell medals
Team Jordan to test new driver next week
Junior badminton meet concludes
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Federer, Hewitt in last eight
New York, September 7 In fourth-round action yesterday, top seed and reigning champion Federer was below par, but still had too much game for Nicolas Kiefer of Germany, winning 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-4. The Swiss star moved on to a last-eight clash against old nemesis David Nalbandian, who took out Italian veteran Davide Sanguinetti 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-2. Hewitt got off to an early lead against Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia and won 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. The Australian third seed would meet Jarkko Nieminen in the quarterfinals after Nieminen became the first Finn to advance that far in a Grand Slam event. He defeated Spain’s Fernando Verdasco 6-2, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 in the day’s opening tie. Federer looked sluggish and out of sorts against the unorthodox German, as he had done when the two met in the third round at Wimbledon in June. In what was a near carbon copy of that encounter, Kiefer won the second set in a tie-breaker and harried Federer before the top seed prevailed. It was Federer’s 32nd consecutive hardcourt win, two short of the Open era record set by Pete Sampras. Nalbandian dropped the opening set against surprise packet Sanguinetti, but the muscular 22-year-old from Cordoba gradually wrestled back control of the match and the 33-year-old Italian looked punch-drunk Federer is wary of the
Argentinean, who enjoys a rare 5-2 winning record over him, although the world No.1 has won their last two encounters. Nalbandian was the last man to defeat Federer at the US Open in the fourth round two years ago. Hewitt made
surprisingly light work of Hrbaty, the 15th seed, who had been one of the top hardcourt players this year. He jumped out into a 4-0 lead and broke the Slovak at will to reach the last eight at the US Open for the sixth straight year. Hewitt said he expected a tough match against Nieminen, a player he had beaten on both occasions they had played. Nieminen was a model of patience and consistency against Verdasco, who hit some sublime forehands, but made far too many unforced errors to be competitive. In women’s action, Kim Clijsters never-say-die philosophy kept her bid for her first Grand Slam title on track as she rallied to beat Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in three sets and book a semifinal berth. Clijsters was down a set and trailing 2-4 in the second, looking tentative against Williams power and perhaps in the face of yet another Grand Slam disappointment. But she turned it around to emerge with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 triumph and advance to a semifinal match
against top-seeded Russian Maria Sharapova. After she surrendered her serve in the 10th game to drop the first set and then fell behind 1-3 in the second, it looked as if the 22-year-old would not find a way to carry out her plan to take the match to the American. She gave herself some breathing room with a break for 3-2, but dropped her serve again before reeling off three games. Clijsters still could not serve out the set, Williams levelling at 5-5. After saving one break point in the next game, Williams had a chance to end the game, but Clijsters persistence paid off. Williams raced up to scoop over a Clijsters shot slowed by the net cord, but the Belgian was ready and waiting, forcing Williams to make another high backhand volley, which the Belgian also answered. After that, it was call Clijsters, as she won the last six games against Williams, who dropped her final service game to love. In Sharapova, Clijsters would meet a player she had beaten in all three career meetings. The 18-year-old Russian defeated compatriot Nadia Petrova
7-5,4-6, 6-4. — AFP |
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Mahesh-Daniela reach semis
New York, September 7 The unseeded Indo-Slovak pair played all-round tennis to stave off the challenge from Japanese Sugiyama and her Zimbabwean partner Ullyet and storm into the last four stage with a 7-5, 6-2 win. It was, however, the big-serving Ullyet-Sugiyama duo who threatened to run away with the match. Bhupathi and Hantuchova, however, looked composed and they waited for their rivals to make mistakes. The ploy paid off and the unseeded pair went on to win the first set in 45 minutes. The second set, surprisingly, proved a one-sided affair and the Sugiyama-Ullyet duo seemed to have run out of steam as they conceded the set in 32 minutes without a fight. It was a flashy show by the seeded players, who hit eight aces, compared to one by the Indo-Slovak pair, but had six doubles faults as well. Bhupathi and Hantuchova raised their game when it mattered and they converted five out of 11 break points while their rivals could convert just two of the seven break points that came their way. In the semifinals, Bhupathi and Hantuchova would meet six-seeded American pair of Corina Morariu and Mike Bryan, who defeated second seeds Rennae Stubbs (Australia) and Bob Bryan (USA) 6-4, 6-4 in another quarterfinal match. In boys’ singles, Vivek Shokeen put up a gritty show, but could not avert an early exit after his 3-6, 7-5, 2-6 defeat against Venezuelan David Navarrete in the first round. Navarrete took control of the proceedings from the beginning and did not allow any leeway to his Indian rival and won the first set without much ado. Trailing by a set, Shokeen raised his game in the next set and matched his rival shot for shot on his way to win it and stretch it to the decider. After the first two sets, the Indian teenager looked jaded in the third set and was struggling to cover the court while his opponent made him run around the court before winning the match. With Shokeen’s exit, Rupesh Roy remained the only Indian in the fray after winning his first-round match. The Kolkata teenager won his encounter against American Nathaniel Schnugg 6-3, 6-4 to move to the second round, where he would have a tough opponent in Matt Brusch. The third Indian in the fray, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, made an early exit from the tournament, losing his first-round match to American Jesse Levine 4-6, 4-6.
— UNI |
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I enjoy playing under pressure: Sania
Mumbai, September 7 “A billion people expect me to win every time I step on the court. That is the way it is and I enjoy playing under this pressure,” the 18-year-old Hyderabadi told reporters here before departing for her home town this evening. Sania, who returned to Mumbai from New York this morning, said whatever she achieved from this point onwards till the end of the year vis-a-vis her WTA ranking would be a bonus. “At the beginning of the year, I set a top-50 ranking target. I will probably end up around 35 or 36 now. Whatever comes now will be a bonus and I do not want to aim for anything more,” she said. Sania said there were a lot of areas in her game that needed improvement, including her fitness level. “Your tennis is never perfect. You need to keep working on it all the time. Fitness is one of those things I need to work on, among a lot of other things,” Sania said. The Wimbledon junior doubles champion said she looked forward to doing well in the Sunfeast Open in Kolkata, a Level 3 event, beginning on September 19, but added that people should not expect her to win this event. Sania expressed her pleasure at partnering world’s top-ranked doubles player, Virginia Ruana Pascual of Spain, a multiple time women’s doubles champion in Grand Slam events, in Kolkata. “It is great and it is an honour for me to play with the world number one player in doubles. I hope we will make a good team.” Sania, returning home after quite some time, said she was looking forward to it. “I am looking forward to going home after two months,” she said, adding that her next tournament would be the one in Bali, Indonesia.
— PTI |
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Bopanna crashes out
Tashkent, September 7 Serving hard and stroking with craft, the 448th-ranked Kedriouk knocked out his doubles partner Bopanna 6-2, 6-2 in just under an hour. While the Kazakh played a calculated game, Bopanna was trying to hurry things, having beaten the same opponent in their last meeting. In the second set, Kedriouk ran up a 5-0 lead, breaking Bopanna thrice, and the latter
broke back in the sixth game and held serve to save face. Third-seeded Satoshi Iwabuchi handled the challenge from qualifier Karan Rastogi with understandable intelligence, while former champion Goichi Motomura wiped out the resistance of qualifier Vijay Kannan after a struggle in the first set. In the women’s section, fourth-seeded Akgul amanmuradova and eiggth-sseded Iroda Tulyaganova kept local hopes alive. Akgul was particularly sharp in beating
Ankita Bhambri 6-3, 7-5. Former world No. 16 Tulyaganova, who had to wear an elbow brace, had a tough first set against Denise Dy of Philippines, but put her in place in the second.
— PTI |
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BCCI to review team’s performance
New Delhi, September 7 The board also said it expected the selectors to take appropriate decisions in the wake of defeats in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, which had disappointed the country. BCCI president Ranbir Singh Mahendra said former Test cricketers Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and S. Venkatraghvan, besides coach Greg Chappell, would conduct the five-day review, starting on
September 25. “A thorough and complete review of individual performances, performance of the captain and the physical fitness of players will be carried out,” Mahendra told Rajat Sharma in India TV’s ‘Aap Ki Adalat’ programme, to be telecast on Saturday. Mahendra said he expected the selectors to take remedial steps soon after the Zimbabwe tour. He made it clear that the BCCI would not allow any leniency when it came to performance and the stars would have to deliver or face the music. He, however, said it was premature to use the tri-series in Zimbabwe as a “sole barometer” for players like Rahul Dravid, who was a proven performer. On captain Sourav Ganguly, Mahendra said, “No judgement should be made in the midst of an ongoing series.” Asked why “old” players were being given preference again and again, he said, “You cannot sideline your parents just because they are old.” “The team is in a period of transition and we should expect them to start performing soon. We will do everything for World
Cup 2007,” the BCCI chief said. “The coach has sent me this input and I expect him to bring this up at the review meeting.”
— PTI |
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India let down by poor batting
When we walked to the park on the morning of the tri-series final, we felt that the Indians would prefer chasing. On our part too, we wanted to bowl first. But when Stephen Fleming had a look at the pitch, he felt it was dry and it would not have been a bad idea to bat first since it could only get worse during the day.
So India probably did the right thing and after a good start, they should have got to 320. But they lost the plot, our batsmen got on top of their bowlers and with those missed catches, it was only one way this final was going to end. If I have to choose where India missed the trick, it has to concern their batting, where they could not kick on from 150 for one in 20-odd overs. The rest was the offshoot of this malady. It was one of those sub-continent type of wickets, where there was little bounce, little pace and little by way of movement to the fast bowlers. It was the same for us as it was for Indian seamers. I was disappointed with my first spell only to the extent that I lapsed a couple of times in concentration and gave Virender Sehwag that width which he latched on to for off-side boundaries. It hurt and I felt I have let myself and my team down. But overall, I was pleased with my first spell as I gave little by way of runs and could have had Sourav Ganguly more than once. Sehwag was a sight to behold. I remember Jacob Oram telling me that he felt he was bowling on to the stumps, but Sehwag was still backing away and creating that room to cream boundaries on the offside. His dismissal had a withering effect and before everyone goes up in arms and term it a soft dismissal, I feel he is not the sort of player who deserves such an analysis. He is a dangerous player whose all-out methods could look good or bad, depending on the way it ends up. With him, you have to take good with the bad. Once Sehwag went, we clawed our way back. Daniel Vettori was always going to be a very handy bloke on that sort of a wicket. He cost us only 35 runs, which was worth its weight in gold. Kyle Mills also earned our praise for the manner in which he recovered from a poor start and chipped in with wickets. Frankly, I was surprised to be named man of the series for I was not expecting it. I did go past the bat often on the day and could have had more than one wicket in my last column. But I could do only as much: some days you bowl rubbish and have guys caught on the boundary and some days all the edges and nicks are falling short of fielders. I did not finish my spell because while bowling that delivery to Irfan Pathan, I lost my feet. As I rolled, I felt my ankle and knee. Instead of risking my knee, which is still tender, I decided to leave the field and tend the sore knee with ice pack. We always felt that the total was gettable. Once the openers rocked and brought the run-rate to mere five an over, we were never in danger. India could not have stopped us thereafter, we knew it was not going to be an issue. I spoke to Nathan Astle later and asked him if he thought the Indian fast bowlers had bowled poorly. Astle felt that they had just played good cricketing shots. It was also probably an easy time to bat as the ball was new and coming onto the bat nicely. Later, there was a battle of attrition against the spinners, though Harbhajan Singh was negotiated better than the others. It was simply because our guys had plans to counter this outstanding off-spinner while against part-timers, we did not have a game
plan. You tend to be respectful to frontline bowlers while against lesser and unknown trundlers, you tend to relax and be unsure about them. We looked to play Harbhajan with minimum of risk and it worked.
— PTI |
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Picking Collingwood won’t be defensive: Vaughan
London, September 7 The home captain, asked whether England may replace injured fast bowler Simon Jones against Australia with batting allrounder Paul Collingwood rather than specialist swing bowler James Anderson, told reporters: ‘’It will be a tough decision.” ‘’It can also be attacking to have an extra batsman and to get a few more runs on the board. Whichever way you go, you can read it as being attacking or defensive.” ‘’We will just try and make the right decision. But the most important factor is that we play a good game. The result is not going to depend on whichever way we go.” ‘’The result will take care of itself if we play a good, consistent game of cricket, as we have done over the last three.’’ England, who lead the series 2-1, have dominated the last three Tests, with their four-man pace attack, backed up by spinner Ashley Giles the key feature of their aggressive strategy. The home side, however, have been forced to make their first change of the series after Jones hurt his ankle in the fourth Test. Anderson will be a like-for-like replacement, although he is more of a conventional swing bowler compared to Jones, who excels at reverse swinging the old ball. Collingwood, a batsman and world-class fielder, bowls useful medium pace, but will change the balance of the side if selected, improving England’s run-scoring potential, but leaving them with less bowling firepower. England only need a draw to regain the Ashes. Australia will retain them if they win at The Oval.
— Reuters |
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I won’t be made scapegoat: Ponting
London, September 7 “I do not know. I have not thought about it,” he said. “May be, but I do not know what anyone else is thinking.” “I would hate to think if we lost this series, it is only my fault, all coming back to me,’’ Ponting added. “I have never been one who has sat back and taken all the accolades when the team did well. “I think it would be unfair if it was my fault we lose this Ashes series.’’ Ponting’s leadership had been criticised in comparison to England captain Michael Vaughan. He also lost his composure and was fined for a furious outburst after being dismissed in the fourth Test. “I have done most things right along the way,’’ said the Australian captain. “May be, I have not scored as many runs as I would have liked, but at different times, I think I have batted quite well. “The plans have all been there, but whether it is my fault that we have not been able to execute them, I am not sure.” “At the end of the day, it is all of us. We are all responsible for the way we have played.’’ “I am the captain, but I am not batting for everyone in the side and I am not bowling for everyone,’’ said Ponting. ‘’I am trying to point the guys in the right direction.” “I am doing the best I can and I am sure the other guys are trying their best as well. We just have not put it together yet.’’ Coach John Buchanan had also been criticised by the media. Ponting was asked if Buchanan, whose contract was about to run out, retained the support of the players. “Most definitely,’’ he said. ‘’It is not absolute panic stations for us as far as all our personnel and coaching staff are concerned. “If we happen to win this last Test match then I am sure a lot of the stuff we are talking about here right now will be forgotten.’’ Ponting admitted making an error in putting England in to bat after winning the toss in the second test at Edgbaston. Vaughan’s side won there before going 2-1 up in the series. He also conceded he might have set overly defensive fields at times, but argued: ‘’You are going on what you think is right at the time. “I am not a great one at looking back and analysing previous test matches and previous innings and
trying to pick up what I have done well and what I have not.’’ Asked about England’s plans to stage a victory parade if they regained the Ashes, he said: ‘’The cricket we have all witnessed has been absolutely
sensational. It has been a long time since England have held the Ashes. “If they happen to do that, they can go ahead and do whatever they like.” “These has probably been some of the best test matches I have ever played in. Regardless of the result, they have been great fun to play in,” said Ponting. “If we walk away with a 2-2 result, then I think this whole series will have to go down as one of the best series ever played. “If we lose this Test, I am sure I will have a different view on it.”
— Reuters |
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Penury forces powerlifter to sell medals
Bhubaneswar, September 7 The 29-year-old Mandakini Mahanta, a resident of Goladihi village in Mayurbhanj district, won a gold medal in the Asian senior powerlifting championship in Kerala
in May. “I have no option but to sell my valuable medals,” Mandakini, who is single, said. She was selected for an international meet in London that started on Monday. But due to lack of finances, she could not participate. “All my dreams to be an international champion have got shattered,” she said. Mandakini had participated in several international and national competitions, including the world powerlifting championship in Finland and a couple of meets in Germany and the former Czechoslovakia. Her father Shyam Sunder Mahanta, a retired Hindi teacher, shoulders the responsibility of running the family of five with his meagre monthly pension. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had recommended two government undertakings — the National Aluminum Company Ltd and Rourkela Steel Plant — in 2000 to provide her a job but neither company has obliged. She had approached the government and the local administration for help on many occasions but in vain. Some political leaders and industrialists provided her money but that has not been enough to help her tide over the crisis. “I ride a bicycle daily to a gymnasium, 2 km away from my village, for practice. I’m even unable to maintain a healthy diet that my performance demands,” said Mandakini, a postgraduate in Oriya Mandakini, who participates in events for the Orissa Powerlifting Association, is also an expert in weightlifting, boxing and karate. “She approached us for financial help and we granted her Rs 10,000,” Mayurbhanj district collector V.K. Pandian said. “We have been helping her the best possible way we can.” “She is our pride. It’s unfortunate that she is not getting patronage,” added Sukeshi Oram, a former member of the National Commission for Women. Laments Mandakini’s father: “I always dreamt that she would be a world champion one day. But it is beyond my reach to help her.”
— IANS |
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Team Jordan to test new driver next week
Silverstone, September 7 Davidson, who was currently filling up the third driver spot for BAR Honda, would test the Jordan Grand Prix (EJ15) car at the Silverstone circuit on September 13. “As part of Midland’s process of identifying its driver line-up in the 2006 Formula One World Championship, we are pleased to announce that British driver Anthony Davidson will test a Jordan Grand Prix car at Silverstone on September 13,” Colin Kolles, Managing Director of Jordan Grand Prix, said. Analysts said that if Jordan were to dump one of their current drivers, it was more likely to be Karthikeyan than Tiago Montiero, thanks to his having completed just 11 of the 15 races this season, compared to Montiero’s all 15, and languishing on 17th position in the driver’s championship, three positions behind his team-mate from Portugal. “We are looking forward to working with Anthony during the test and to continuing discussions regarding a longer-term role into Midland’s entry into the 2006 Formula One World Championship,” Kolles said, adding that Davidson “definitely deserves an opportunity to race in Formula One”. Davidson, on his part, said he was looking forward to test drive with Jordan. “I am really looking forward to testing with the Jordan team at Silverstone next week and the EJ15 will certainly be an exciting new challenge.”
— PTI |
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Junior
badminton meet concludes Ambala, September 7 In boys’ single u-10, Mayank was first and Rahul was second. In girls’ u-10, Ekta was first and Gayatri was second. In girls’ singles u-13, Titiksha was first and Indu was second. In girls’ doubles u-13, Ekta and Titiksha were first, while Muskaan and Daksha were second. In girls single u-16, Pallavi Aggarwal was first and Jyoti was second. In girls’ double u-16, Pallavi and Jyoti were first, while Deepali and Titiksha were second. In boys’ single u-13, Akshit Mahajan was first and Deepak Khatri was second. In boys’ doubles u-13, Akshit and Deepak Khatri were first, while Neeraj and Ankit were second. In boys’ single u-16, Gaurav Varma was first and Kritesh was second. In boys’ doubles u-16, Kritesh and Rohit were first, while Akshit Mahajan and Gaurav Pahwa were second.
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Men win, eves lose in netball Meet cancelled Holmes included Ritwik wins Delhi football Under-15 cricket Under-19 hockey Hockey tourney |
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New York, September 7
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