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The Winning shriEk
Scottish camaraderie
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Fifth time in a row, final moves to Monday
Vardhan confident of doing well
Punjab win HI’s Junior National Championship
10 Olympians in field at National Athletics
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The Winning shriEk
Djokovic completed a weather-interrupted 2-6 6-1 6-4 6-2 victory over fourth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer on Sunday to return to the men's final at Flushing Meadows in his pursuit of a repeat U.S. Open title. The 25-year-old Serb, winner of this year's Australian Open, will go against third-seeded Olympic champion Andy Murray of Britain, who is aiming to register his first grand slam singles title. Five-time grand slam winner Djokovic, befuddled by the blustery winds of an advancing storm that eventually suspended the semi-final on Saturday, trailed 5-2 when the match resumed on Sunday under sunny skies. After the 30-year-old Spaniard held serve to end the first set, second-seeded Djokovic took charge and dominated the rest of the way, winning 18 of the next 25 games to reach his ninth grand slam final. The forecast of a massive thunderstorm forced tournament officials to suspend Saturday's schedule, including the women's final between Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka. Those matches were both rescheduled for Sunday, meaning the men's final will be pushed back until Monday, for the fifth year in a row. “It was not too difficult a decision to make," tournament director David Brewer said. "The goods news is that Sunday is going to be beautiful day." Ferrer was leading Djokovic 5-2 in the first set when they were told to pack up as organisers decided to clear Flushing Meadows before the storm arrived. The conditions were already terrible for tennis with all the players struggling just to hit the ball in the near gale-force winds. “It was some of the hardest conditions I've ever played in," said Murray. "And I come from Scotland, so that's saying something." Murray handled the wind better than Berdych, a big hitter who relies heavily on his power game. The Czech, who has the highest ball toss of any player on the tour, made 64 unforced errors compared to Murray's 20. “Our sport deserves to have some rule if the conditions are like that," he growled. Murray is now bidding to become the first British man to win a grand slam singles title since Fred Perry won the U.S. Open in 1936 when tennis was still played with wooden rackets and in long trousers. The Scotsman has played in four previous grand slam finals, the U.S. Open in 2008, the Australian Open in 2010 and 2011 and Wimbledon this year, but lost the lot, raising questions about his mental strength on the biggest stage. But he silenced a lot of his doubters when he won the gold medal at the London Olympics this year and has continued his great form at Flushing Meadows over the past fortnight. "I've never made two grand slam finals in a year, so that's obviously a good sign that I'm playing better and still learning," he said. "And the Olympics was the biggest win of my career by far. It meant a lot to me.” His match against Berdych was delayed for an hour and a half because of wild morning storms, including a tornado that made landfall in Queens, the same New York City borough where the annual tournament is held. Murray dropped serve in the first set when he agreed to replay a crucial point after his cap was blown off his head, distracting Berdych as he scrambled to get to a drop shot. A handful of other points were delayed when scraps of litter were whipped into the air current and Murray had to replay a serve in the second set after a blast of wind toppled his courtside chair and scattered the contents of his bag on the playing service. Berdych took the opening set after 77 minutes but became increasingly frustrated as the match went on. Murray ripped through the second and third sets and appeared to be on his way to a comfortable win when he opened up a 3-0 lead in the fourth before momentarily losing his way. Berdych broke back and forced a tiebreaker. He led 5-2 and got to set point but Murray rallied back to seal victory and get a surprise visit from Sean Connery and Alex Ferguson during his post-match news conference. "Hopefully they'll be back for the final as well," Murray said. "I hope this one is a different story." SUPER SUNDAY INSTEAD OF SUPER SATURDAY The last Super Saturday at the U.S. Open won't really be Super Saturday after all. Perhaps it can be a Super Sunday. Because of threatening weather for Saturday night, the women's final between Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka has been delayed until Sunday. The U.S. Open has been the only major to schedule the men's semifinals and the women's final on the same day, the final Saturday of the fortnight. That was going to change in 2013, when the men would be given a day off between the semifinals and final, either Saturday-Monday or Friday-Sunday.The time for the women's final will be determined by Saturday evening. Williams, trying to become the first 30-year-old woman to win the U.S. Open since Martina Navratilova in 1987, compiled a 38-6 edge in winners against Errani. Since a surprising exit at the French Open in late May, her only first-round loss in 49 appearances at major tournaments. — Agencies Turning the tide
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Scottish camaraderie
New York, September 9 After his semifinal win, Murray met football coaching legend Ferguson and the former James Bond who made a surprise appearance at the post-match press conference. Connery, best supporting actor Oscar winner from "The Untouchables" in 1987, and Ferguson, who has guided Manchester United since 1986, walked in with Murray's mother Judy and Murray rose and walked over to greet them. “I'm a huge James Bond fan and I love football as well," Murray said. "Sir Alex is one of the most successful managers of all time and both of them are from Scotland. So to have them both here was very nice. They're going to be here for the final as well so I hope I can do it for them both." Murray, a lanky 25-year-old Scotsman, had a somewhat awkward first meeting with Connery and Ferguson to say the least after withstanding wickedly windy conditions in his match, what he said were probably the toughest he has faced. "Thank you very much for coming," Murray said. "Come on Judy. Judy, Judy, Judy," Connery said, exhorting Murray's mother to come forward where he and Ferguson were standing. "You smell of wine," Murray told Connery. "He made me have wine," Judy Murray said. "He has just been telling me that Scotland invented the world." Sir Alex replied: "Hands up, I did." “Been coming here the last three years to New York and I explained how Scotland invented the world," Ferguson added. "Today we invented the wind." "Today they conquered the world," Connery cheered. The icons and his mother then departed, leaving Murray to remark on how it felt to have such famous countrymen watching him play. "To meet those two guys was cool," Murray said. "I had been in touch with them, we had traded messages and e-mails, but I had never met them before. Nice to have their support." Murray's match was almost a stunt from a Bond movie, trying to hit a tennis ball with precision in conditions where tornados could be created.
— AFP |
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Fifth time in a row, final moves to Monday
New York, September 9 Britain's Andy Murray won the first semi-final, while Ferrer was leading the second semi 5-2 in the opening set when tournament officials stopped the match because of high winds. Tournament director David Brewer then announced play had been called off for the rest of the day because of an approaching thunderstorm. Organizers had already made the decision to move Saturday night's women's final between Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka to Sunday. "It was not too difficult a decision to make," Brewer said. "The forecast is for severe weather and we need to give people the time to clear out. “The good news is that Sunday is going to be beautiful day." The men's final has been played on Monday in each of the past four years, triggering an annual debate and complaints from players and spectators over why the courts are not covered. The center courts at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon have retractable roofs while organizers of the French Open have announced plans to cover up their main court. Earlier this year, the United States Tennis Association said they would begin major renovations at Flushing Meadows but ruled out building a roof because of the enormous cost of covering Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest tennis stadium in the world. The problem has been exacerbated because the U.S. Open is the only grand slam where both singles semi-finals and finals are played on successive days, leaving no room for catch-up if rain falls on the last weekend. But Brewer said tournament organizers had agreed to change the format from 2013 so there would be a day between the semis and finals. "We're getting very tired of having Monday finals," he said.
— Reuters |
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Vardhan confident of doing well
Chandigarh, September 9 With the Davis Cup knocking on the doors, the Indian players are arriving in the city by turns. Ace player Vishnu Vardhan reached the city on Sunday and was joined by teammate Sanam Singh later in afternoon. The players underwent a light practice session at the tournament venue, later said that they hope to get the maximum advantage of the home environment. Although the players are high on their recent performance in Shanghai, the Indian contingent has yet to decide on the final playing combination. “The week-long tournament in Shanghai will really boost the team. We are trying to get together as soon as possible, so that we can work over the combinations,” said Vardhan. “The New Zealand squad also participated in the tourney and all of us (Yuki Bhambri,Vishnu and Sanam Singh) feel that they are going to be a tough competitor,” Vardhan added. “The team is having a good time under senior officials and is ready to take all opportunities.” teams ARRIVE |
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Farewell to Games that exceeded all hopes
London, September 9 The naysayers queuing up to gripe beforehand were legion, but their grumbles have been silenced. They said the Games would bring London grinding to a halt, yet the city flowed with hardly a hiccup. They said security would be a nightmare; instead, smiling soldiers greeted crowds who stayed safe. They questioned how many people would want to watch the Paralympics, yet a record 6.7 million tuned in to see 19-year-old Jonnie Peacock striding to victory in the 100 metres. They said the British weather would put a dampener on proceedings; even that prediction was confounded as the last events end today in sunshine. In the end, it was Oscar Pistorius, the face of the Paralympic movement, who got to have the last word in the Olympic Stadium. The South African took gold in the men's 400m T44 race, to roars from the crowd in the final athletics event of the Games. After losing his 200m title to Brazil's Alan Oliveira earlier in the week and blaming the blades, this time there was no need for controversy. The fastest man on no legs proved he still was, running the race in 46.68 seconds and setting a new Paralympic record. The last night in the Aquatics Centre saw a final showdown between Britain's golden teenager, Ellie Simmonds, and her rival, America's Victoria Arlen in the S6 100m. Arlen had to smash her own world record to beat 17-year-old Simmonds, who topped off her two golds and a bronze from London 2012 with a silver. Simmonds had to push hard in the final length to keep the silver-medal position and her smile on the podium suggested she was happy to add it to her collection. She said: "I have completed the collection nearly. I've got two golds, a silver and a bronze and I've broken four world records." Before the race, the swimmer from Swansea said the past few days had been so emotional that she had struggled to sleep, adding: "I've had the best time of my life so far, so I am just enjoying it all now." Even yesterday, with the end in sight, David Stone did the impossible, powering his tricycle to gold in the T1-2 road race. Afterwards, the 33-year-old, who has cerebral palsy, summed up the feelings of athletes competing on a home stage: "That was so much better than winning in Beijing. I just wanted to win today." Britain's Paralympic team goes into its final day of competition today sitting in third place in the medal table, having smashed its Beijing tally of 102 medals with 118 gongs, including 33 golds. Though Russia crept into second place yesterday evening, Britain were poised to take it back today with two gold hopes in the marathon.
— The Independent Indian team to return on Tuesday
The 33-member Indian paralympic team, including silver medallist Girisha Hosanagara Nagaraje Gowda, will be returning to the country on Tuesday morning. Girisha, who finished second in the Men's High Jump F42 event, might be the lone medallist in the squad but the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) has plans to accord a grand welcome to each and every athlete at the airport. |
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Punjab win HI’s Junior National Championship
Lucknow, September 9 By virtue of this defeat, Odisha, who led 3-1 at the break, had to be content with the runners-up trophy for the second year in succession. Watched by Hockey India selectors Balbir Singh, Thoiba Singh and Syed Ali, Punjab took lead in the 10th minute with a penalty corner goal by Gurjinder Singh. Two minutes later Odisha equalised through a field goal from Bikash Kujur. Alsem Lakra (25th minute) and Amonmirash Tirkey then (27th minute) scored in quick succession to put Odisha 3-1 ahead.But soon after the change of ends, Punjab reduced the margin with a goal by Akashdeep Singh (38th). Thereafter, Punjab pressed hard and in the 55th minute leveled the scores after Gurjinder successfully converted another penalty corner. Three minutes later, Mandeep Singh scored the all-important winner for Punjab. Odisha striker Amonmirash Tirkey was named as the player-of-the-tournament. "It was a result of good team coordination. All the boys played as per the strategy planned by the coach. Gurjinder also performed well and his game helped us to win this championship," said Punjab captain Satvir Singh. Meanwhile, Haryana beat Sai Bhopal 2-0 to claim the third spot. Naveen and Gurjant Singh were the goal scorers for Haryana.
— PTI |
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Italian GP
Mexican driver Sergio Perez denied Alonso second place, overtaking the Spaniard seven laps from the finish in his Ferrari-powered Sauber. Hamilton’s third win of the season, and 20th of his career, lifted the 2008 champion to second in the overall standings with seven races remaining. Alonso has 179 points, Hamilton 142 and Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen 141. Champions Red Bull had a nightmare afternoon in the sunshine with both Sebastian Vettel, the reigning champion, and Mark Webber retiring late in the race while in scoring positions. Vettel, who had been Alonso’s closest rival in the standings before the start, retired six laps from the finish and slipped to fourth overall with 140 points. McLaren’s Jenson Button, winner in Belgium last weekend, pulled over on to the grass along the pit straight and retired on the 33rd of the 53 laps while in second place. Britain’s Paul Di Resta was eighth for Force India with Japan’s Kamui Kobayashi giving Sauber a double scoring finish in ninth and Brazilian Bruno Senna 10th for Williams.
— Reuters |
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Big boys kick off campaign in style, Italy sole stragglers
London, September 9 World champions Spain do not begin their bid to reach the finals until Tuesday, but apart from the Italians, held to a 2-2 draw in Group B in Bulgaria, there were no major problems for the continent’s big guns. England won their opening Group H match 5-0 in Moldova, while Germany strolled to a relatively modest 3-0 Group C win over the Faroe Islands. A first-half goal from Abou Diaby gave France a winning 1-0 start in their Group I campaign against Finland in Helsinki, while the Netherlands beat Turkey 2-0 in Amsterdam in Group D with Robin van Persie and Luciano Narsingh, who hit the second in stoppage time, scoring for the Dutch. Italy, who have been world champions four times, had a topsy-turvy start in Sofia before drawing 2-2 with Bulgaria with Pablo Osvaldo scoring both their goals to put them 2-1 up after they conceded first. Georgi Milanov equalised for the home side with 24 minutes to play and Italy could not find a winner. Two Italians who had better nights than their national team were Fabio Capello and Giovanni Trapattoni, the managers of Russia and Ireland respectively. Ireland’s bid to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 2002 began with a dramatic win as two goals in the final two minutes from Robbie Keane, who netted a penalty, and a volley from Kevin Doyle gave Trapattoni’s men a 2-1 win in Kazakhstan in Group C. Capello’s Russia also started with a win, with goals from Viktor Faizulin and Roman Shirokov, who scored from the spot, giving them a 2-0 victory over Northern Ireland in Moscow. The highest scorers of the night were Bosnia, who began their quest for a first appearance in the finals by thrashing Liechtenstein 8-1 in Vaduz in Group G. Edin Dzeko, who scored a hat-trick, became Bosnia’s all-time leading scorer with 25 goals. England were also among the goals, snubbing out any chance of a Moldovan upset with Frank Lampard scoring twice in the opening 29 minutes, the first after three minutes from England’s 100th all-time penalty, as he took his England goal tally to 25. Jermain Defoe marked his 50th appearance for England with a trademark strike after 32 minutes with James Milner and Leighton Baines scoring their first England goals in the second half. Mesut Ozil was on target twice, scoring both his goals in the second half following Mario Goetze’s first half opener as Germany beat the Faroes 3-0 in Hanover. — Reuters
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10 Olympians in field at National Athletics
Chennai, September 9 Athletes from the Indian Railways, who have been dominating the event for the past several years, are again the favourites. Discus thrower Krishna Poonia, distance runner Preeja Sreedharan, ace hurdler Joseph G Abraham, and sprinter Tintu Luka are the a few of the top names in the Railways squad. Shot putter Om Prakash Singh Karhana, triple jumper Mayookha Johny and track star Kavita Raut will be in the ONGC squad. Race walker KT Irfan leads the Services team. Hosts Tamil Nadu is fielding a strong 54-member team, which includes 23 women. Long jumper K Prem Kumar and hurdler G Gayathri, who is making a comeback after a two-year hiatus, are the leading contenders from the state team. The Athletics Federation of India is introducing qualification rounds for men’s field events like in the Olympics and World the Championships. This will help the athletes avoid long wait for their chance.
— PTI |
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Britain's
Andy Murray produced a masterful performance against Tomas Berdych to
book his place in the U.S. Open final on Saturday but he now faces a
formidable opponent Novak Djokovic in the final.
Monza, September 9