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Somdev continues dream run Somdev Devvarman celebrates his win against his Croatian opponent
Ivo Karlovic after their quarter-final match at the ATP Chennai Open 2009
in Chennai on Friday. — AFP
‘Be ready for KP backlash’
"I think that teams are in for a Pietersen backlash. Anybody who thinks he will lose interest and sulk does not know the guy. He will be more determined than ever to prove himself the No 1 batsman in the world. — Shane Warne |
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Hayden to walk away on his own terms
F1 teams agree to cut costs
Malaysian Open Super Series
Bhutia skipper for friendly against HK
Italian coach to groom paddlers
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Somdev continues dream run Chennai, January 9 Playing before a packed stadium and the home crowd rooting for him, Somdev, who yesterday scalped former world no.1 and two-time champion here Carlos Moya, played his heart out to win the quarterfinal match in 86 minutes. In the process, he became the only second Indian after Leander Paes to figure in the semifinals of the 14-year old prestigious event. In 1998, Paes had lost to ultimate winner and top seed Patrick Rafter of Australia at the same venue. In the semifinals, Devvarman will meet Germany's fifth seeded Rainer Schuettler, who stayed on course with a 6-2 7-5 win in 98 minutes over his compatriot Bjorn Phau earlier in the day. In the other semifinal tomorrow, third seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia plays eighth seed Marcel Granollers of Spain. Cilic sent Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia packing 6-4 0-6 6-4 in 122 minutes on the centre court, while eight seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain got the better of a fighting wild card entrant Lukas Dlouhy (Czech Republic) 7-5 2-6 6-4 in a two hour marathon. After his stunning display against Moya, Somdev was in his elements today also, probing Karlovic right from the third game. But the Croat, winner of the Nottingham ATP Tournament last year, never gave any leeway throughout the first set. Somdev grew in confidence and was able to hold on to his services without being tested much. The two rivals played to their game plans and drifted the first set to tie-break. The tie-break proved to be more productive for the Indian as he raced to a 3-0 lead starting his winners with an authoritative lob and then returned low on his backhand barely inches above the net to force Karlovic to find the net twice on returns. Karlovic made good use of his services to bridge the lead to 2-3 with a flowing forehand and an ace but Somdev continued his aggressive play coming up with booming forehand top spin returns to go up 5-2. However, the six-foot-ten-inch Croat kept up the pressure, forcing Somdev to send two service returns wide. The Indian waited for his chance. He made it 6-4 with a superb crosscourt forehand winner and then pumped in an ace to take the first set.
— PTI
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Croatian Ivo Karlovic on Friday praised Somdev Devvarman for playing "amazing tennis" in their quarterfinal clash of the Chennai Open which the Indian won 7-6(4) 6-4 to storm into the semifinals. "He (Somdev) was amazing. He was able to put the ball on court but I could not. I have no other words to explain. I was trying only to put the ball in the court," Karlovic said in the post-match press conference. Karlovic was not happy with his performance today and said he has no words to explain it. "It is horrible. I do not remember when I played like this. I could not hit one ball on the court," said the fourth seeded Croatian. "It is amazing and disappointing. It is the beginning of the year and I had prepared well enough but it is horrible," he said.
— PTI
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‘Be ready for KP backlash’
London, January 9 The retired leggie, who was Pietersen's captain at Hampshire, threw his weight behind the England batsman who resigned from the captain's post following a fallout with coach Peter Moores, who was sacked after the feud. Reacting to media reports saying that Pietersen had sounded him out for the job after the fallout with Moores, Warne said it was a joke and he was not in game for any full-time
job. "Yes, KP dipped his toe in the water jokingly, but usually the names put forward come from a mix of informed speculation and sheer guesswork. According to some reports, I am in the frame to follow Peter Moores. This is a good opportunity to set the record straight. "At this stage, I have a full book. I have enjoyed coaching and managing the Rajasthan Royals, but that is for a couple of months a year. I could not give a full-time position the time required to do the job properly. In any case, following a team around the world is what I have given up. If that is what I wanted, I would still be a player," Warne wrote in his column for 'The Times'. But in case the offer was too good, Warne added, he might consider it. "But - and we all have this 'but' in life - if an offer comes that sounds too good to be true, I would have to stop and think," added the Australian. Warne believes England do need an Australian for the job and the ideal candidate was not him but Darren Lehmann. "To me, England do need somebody from outside their set-up to take an objective view and bring in a few ideas. He also needs to understand the English system and way of playing. I'd like to throw in the name of an Australian who would do a really good job: not S K Warne, but Darren Lehmann. "As a player he did wonders for Yorkshire and had the respect of everyone. Now he has moved into coaching. He would be great at installing confidence right across the board, through the players, the ECB, sponsors, supporters ... everybody," Warne said. Warne said he was 'amazed' to find English cricket in "total disarray" and repeated his firm belief that the captain should run the show. "The balance between captain and coach should be simple: the captain runs the show and the coach is there in the background. "There should have been more support for KP. I believe he should have stayed and Moores gone. From what I have seen and heard, Moores did not have the respect of a number of players. If it is true that Michael Vaughan was not picked for the tour to the West Indies when KP wanted him, then the selectors made the wrong decision," said Warne. Warne said Pietersen's temperament should not be questioned and predicted a backlash from the maverick batsman. "People have to understand the nature of the beast and they should have known the character of KP when they appointed him. We all know he has a massive ego. He needs to be 'The Man'. "At the same time, I think that teams are in for a Pietersen backlash. Anybody who thinks he will lose interest and sulk does not
know the guy. He will be more determined than ever to prove himself the No 1 batsman in the world,"
he said. — PTI |
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Flower too figured in KP’s hate list
London, January 9 'The Guardian' quoted an unnamed England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) official who said apart from Moores, Flower too figured in Pietersen's hate list. "Pietersen wanted half of them out and certainly Andy Flower," the official was quoted as saying. "I don't know what he was hoping to achieve but I've never encountered an ego quite like it in cricket. He wanted to run the show,"
he said. "I did hear that Kevin wanted Andy out," another management board member said. The revelation came amid speculations that Flower would take over as the interim coach for England's tour of the West Indies. Flower, however, kept himself away from all this and said, "I had heard something about this but not enough to make a comment. I have always had a good relationship with KP but we have not spoken in the past few days."
— PTI |
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Hayden to walk away on his own terms
The 37-year-old has struggled to regain his touch since the disastrous tour to India last year but is adamant that he will retire from his 103-Test career on his own terms. ''Ultimately it will be my call to look in the mirror and say, 'Mate it is time to go' . . . or it's time to saddle up, pull your socks up and get on with South Africa and the Ashes,'' Hayden was quoted as saying by the 'Daily Telegraph'. The Queenslander will play a Sheffield Shield game on January 30 in his only chance to stake a claim for next month's Test series in South Africa. However, it would hardly come as a surprise if Hayden does decide to walk away from Test cricket. ''It is very difficult to take a breath and get your mind around what my future does hold. I am going to take the time to do that. It is a time to take stock,'' Hayden said. ''I think I'm supposed to have a miracle answer but I want to take my time and make a good decision moving forward,'' he added. ''I want to enjoy what's gone and try to refocus as I've done several times through my career. ''If I don't feel like I'm contributing to that (Australian cricket) culture . . . then I will be knocking on their (selectors') doors.'' Despite his miserable Test summer of just 149 runs at 16.55, Hayden claims he still retains the support of his teammates who don't want him to retire his baggy green cap. However, he says his biggest challenge will be trying to convince himself of the right decision. ''The flame does burn within and I guess that may be the hardest part to actually reckon with,'' Hayden said.
— UNI |
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Tait ready to take charge
Melbourne, January 9 "I am feeling fresh and over the moon to be honest," said Tait, who played his last one-day match in December 2007 against New Zealand in Hobart. "The days have gone when I was the young fella in the squad. There's plenty of guys my age and younger in the squad now. When I first came into the squad a few years ago it was scarce to find a bloke under 30," he was quoted as saying by 'Adelaide Now'. "They've shown a fair bit of confidence in me which is good and I think it's up to me to repay them (selectors)," he added even as pace spearhead Brett Lee was battling a poor form. Tait was yesterday named in Australia's squads for the Twenty20 and one-day series against the Proteas after he recovered from exhaustion-related stress and a serious hamstring injury. "You only have four overs in Twenty20 so I can pretty much go flat knacker and leave nothing in the tank, similar to the one-day games." Tait will aim for a spot on Australia's Test tour of South Africa if his body holds up through the Commonwealth Bank one-day series. "If I can keep maintaining the body and bowling well, it's not out of the question," said Tait, who played his third Test against India in Perth last January.
— PTI |
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F1 teams agree to cut costs
London, January 9 They also vowed to continue slashing costs of the sport yesterday. The Formula One Teams Association agreed to the proposals - first announced by governing body FIA in December - at a meeting of its executive committee in London. According to a FOTA statement, "All of the teams are committed to working together in a rational and systematic manner ... to effectively reduce the costs inherent to Formula One." The sweeping steps were adopted as the sport's automakers are reeling from the global financial crisis. Honda announced in December that it is pulling out of F1 and Super Aguri quit in April. FOTA also agreed to develop low-cost transmissions starting in 2010 that would be used for six races, and to supply low-cost engines to independent teams for less than euro5 million ($ 6.6 million) per team per season. The most immediate change will be the imposition of a limit on the use of wind tunnels for aerodynamic testing in the 2009 season. Further changes being considered for introduction after next season may be more radical, as FIA seeks to ensure the sport's long-term survival. Races could even be shortened to save money, and refuelling may be banned from 2010, which could dramatically alter the spectacle for fans. Although details have yet to be worked out, the measure was prompted by the heavy cost of transporting bulky equipment such as refuelling rigs. "The FOTA Technical Regulations Working Group will now conclude the elimination of expensive materials and identify further opportunities to reduce the cost of components and systems which do not deliver performance differentiation," the release said. The teams also agreed to use market research to improve Formula One's appeal with the possibility that races will be shortened. Earlier yesterday, FIA president Max Mosley floated the possibility of imposing a budget cap on all Formula One teams in a letter to FOTA president Luca di Montezemolo. "If properly enforced, it would be a very fair system. Indeed one view is that having much more money than a rival team is just as unfair as having a bigger engine. We should like to discuss this further with FOTA," Mosley wrote. Mosley said he wants the budgets to be reduced to a level where the teams can operate profitably.
— AP |
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Saina crashes out in q-finals
The fifth seeded Indian shuttler saved four match points but eventually went down 17-21, 26-24, 16-21 against the World number seven Hongyan. Hongyan went up 4-0 in the first game before Saina levelled at 4-4. However, Hongyan increased the tempo to claim the opening game. After losing the first game, Saina staged a strong fightback in the second, with a flurry of smashes and deft net-play. She saved three match points to take the match to the decider. The World number 10 Saina levelled the game at 5-5 as both players engaged themselves in a neck to neck battle. They were locked 16-16 before Hongyan took three points in a row. But the Indian levelled at 19-19 but Hongyan forced the crucial match point. Saina thwarted her opponent and went on to save two more match points until she got one at 25-24, which she squandered. The 18-year-old Indian though converted the second match point to stay alive. The third game was also a see-saw affair. Saina was down 5-9 but came back to take the lead at 10-9. However, Hongyan thwarted Saina's efforts to force another match point at 16-20. The Indian failed to come up with one last effort as Hongyan claimed her spot in the semifinal. — UNI
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Bhutia skipper for friendly against HK
New Delhi, January 9 The Team: Goalkeepers: Subhashish Roy Choudhury, Subrata Paul. Defenders: Rakesh Masih, Anwar, Deepak Mondal, Gouramangi Singh, Mahesh Gawli, Samir Naik. Midfielders: Baldip Singh, Mehrajuddin Wadoo, Anthony Pereira, Clifford Miranda, Climax Lawrence, NP Pradeep, Rennedy Singh, Steven Dias. Forwards: Abhishek Yadav, Bhaichung Bhutia (Captain), Sunil Chetri, Sushil Kumar Singh.
— UNI |
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Italian coach to groom paddlers
New Delhi, January 9 The Steering Committee for the Games which met here today approved Constantini as the coach who would train the 40 'core probables' selected for the 2010 Games. Constantini's appointment comes barely a fortnight after the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) decided not to extend the contract of Belarussian coach Aleksey Yefremov. Constantini, a high-performance coach and coach education course conductor of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), has been working with the Seychelles team.
— PTI |
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Continuing his giant killing act, India's Somdev Devvarman upped his game by several notches to beat fourth seeded Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 7-6(4) 6-4 and storm into the semifinals of the Chennai Open ATP Tour tennis tournament here tonight.
London, January 9
Sydney, January 9
Kuala Lumpur, January 9
