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Finally, a Slam for Murray
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‘It was mentally very challenging, now I have a sense of relief’
India
Vs New Zealand t-20 Pitch behaved very differently in second half: Dhoni Virat’s wicket was the turning points: Taylor
Bhambri on Shanghai high
Renjith, Sahana win gold in National Open Athletics
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Finally, a Slam for Murray
The Scotsman, beaten in his four previous Grand Slam finals, made it fifth time lucky with a nerve-jangling 7-6 7-5 2-6 3-6 6-2 victory at a windy Arthur Ashe Stadium where the players had to battle the elements as much as each other.
After losing the first two sets, Djokovic suddenly raised his game to win the next two and force a deciding fifth set, seizing the momentum as Murray started to wilt. But as Murray's supporters, including actor Sean Connery and Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, shifted uneasily in their seats, the Olympic champion regained his composure and jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the final set before hanging on to seal an emotional victory. "It was an incredibly tough match and obviously it felt great at the end," Murray said, adding that the word "relief" was foremost in his mind. "I'm very happy that I managed to come through because if I had lost this one from two sets up, that would have been a tough one to take." 'WHAT IF?' The 25-year-old, a survivor of the 1996 Dunblane school massacre, won a titanic first set that took almost an hour and a half to complete and ended in a 22-point tiebreaker, then added the second despite blowing a 4-0 lead. Djokovic, already a five-times Grand Slam champion, rebounded to win the third set, then took the fourth to raise the prospect of becoming the first man since Pancho Gonzales in 1949 to win the final after losing the first two sets. However, the world number two was unable to conjure another fightback as his legs started to cramp and Murray wrapped up victory after four hours and 54 minutes, the same time it took Mats Wilander to beat Murray's coach Ivan Lendl in the 1988 final. "If I won that first set and had some chances maybe the match would go a different way," said Djokovic, who asked for a medical timeout to treat a groin strain just as Murray was about to serve for the title. "But there is no reason to go back and say: 'What if? What if?' "I had a great opponent today. He deserved to win this Grand Slam more than anybody." Before Murray's triumph, the last British man to win a major was Fred Perry, who clinched his final Grand Slam in New York in 1936, the same year Britain's King Edward VIII abdicated to marry American socialite Wallis Simpson. — Agencies
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‘It was mentally very challenging, now I have a sense of relief’ Andy Murray of Scotland finally won a Grand Slam on Monday night, after losing in the finals on four occasions. In the process, he probably became the most-loved Scotsman in all of Great Britain. After his scarcely-believable victory, Murray talked about what it meant to him. Excerpts: Please talk about the fight that you had and the feeling of having this trophy in front of you. Yeah, it was obviously a very tough match. You know, mentally, the last three, four days have been pretty tiring. You know, when the conditions have been like they have been, you need to focus so hard, on almost every shot because the ball is very hard to control. So mentally it was challenging, you know, aside from it being, you know, a slam final and having not won one before, playing against Novak who, on this surface is… I mean, in the slams I don't think he's lost for a couple of years. So it was an incredibly tough match, and, yeah, obviously it felt great at the end. “Relief” is probably the best word I would use to describe how I'm feeling now. Thrilled, excitement? Yeah. I mean, obviously you're feeling a lot of things. You know, like I was obviously very emotional. I cried a little bit on the court. You're not sad; you're incredibly happy. You're in a little bit of disbelief because when I have been in that position many times before and not won, you do think, ‘Is it ever going to happen?’ Can you give us a sense how different this was to winning the gold medal in the Olympics? Yeah, it's definitely different. You know, at the Olympics there was so much going on, you know, with all of the other sports and everyone was doing really well. There was a lot of momentum and stuff. You know, I had also the mixed doubles to focus on a bit. When you know you're guaranteed a couple of silver medals, that also maybe helped me a little bit going into the final there. Whereas here, you know, I was still doubting myself right up to a few minutes before you go on to play the match. What was the toughest stretch, the toughest moment or when you had the most doubt? After I lost to Novak in Australia last year, I wasn't feeling good at all for pretty much into the claycourt season. So that was a good three-four month stretch where I really struggled with my game. I struggled, you know, for motivation. I lost and I think I lost in the first round of Indian Wells and Miami. You appear as if you're coming in here after a big loss, not like the culmination… There is the first smile! That's what I'm looking for! Everyone is really, really happy, but... This would be a good time to show it. Yeah. Exactly. I think we're sort of learning from Lendl a little bit. (Laughter.) — Agencies
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Murray’s triumph the antithesis of British failure
New York, September 12 The 25-year-old's refusal to accept second best in Monday's US Open final against Serbian ironman Novak Djokovic, to stare defeat in the face and still find the will to outlast one of sport's greatest warriors are not qualities to be found in any of Britain's Lawn Tennis Association coaching manuals. If they were, Scot Murray might not be ploughing a lone furrow in the world's top 100 in which he is the only British male. Thanks to the hugely profitable Wimbledon championships, British tennis enjoys a budget that is the envy of the rest of the world, yet its failure to provide a crop of players capable of competing at the highest echelons of men's tennis has long been a cause for embarrassment and amusement. Before a scrawny, teenage Murray announced himself as a major talent by winning the US Open juniors in 2004, Wimbledon nearly-man Tim Henman had shouldered the nation's hopes year after year along with Canadian-born Greg Rusedski. Henman grew up with a tennis court in his back garden and Rusedski on the other side of the Atlantic. Like Murray, they were not products of a failing system. When Henman and Rusedski, a former US Open runner-up, neared retirement, British tennis was staring at an alarming black hole. However, Murray's mother and coach Judy had the courage and foresight to pack her son off to Barcelona aged 15 to acquire a proper tennis education. Already blessed with a razor sharp tennis mind and a natural feel for ball on strings, it was at the Sanchez Vicario Academy that Murray honed the metronomic groundstrokes that did for Djokovic with thousands of hours of relentless hitting drills. The fruits of that labour soon became apparent as Murray climbed 449 places in the world rankings after turning professional in 2005, reaching the third round of Wimbledon where he lost in five sets to Argentina's David Nalbandian. Yet, those early steps into the seniors were difficult ones. Still growing into his 18-year-old frame, Murray's physical conditioning was clearly lacking, while his messy hair and whiskers, dishevelled appearance and teenage scowl did not endear him to a British public still yearning for that "nice chap Tim" to come up trumps. — Agencies
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A well-earned karaoke night for Serena
New York, September 12 Williams lifts her 15th Grand Slam singles trophy in Central Park on Monday. After turning in a thrilling a three-set win in the U.S. Open final, Williams set out on the rest of her routine Monday in New York. Sometime before three in the morning there was a heartfelt rendition of “I Will Survive,” Gloria Gaynor's female power-anthem. “I have a great performance, and I am a great faker," Williams said in an interview Monday afternoon in Midtown. “But I don't have a great voice.” After a waking up at five, she put on a tailored Michale Kors dress and Chrisitan Louboutin shoes for a morning TV appearance. Then, in a dose of bad news for any up-and-comers on the tennis tour, she added a vow that her career is nowhere near an end, despite her 31st birthday and a string of injuries and illnesses during past two years. —Agencies
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India
Vs New Zealand t-20 New Zealand beat hosts by one run in a thrilling last ball finish
Chennai, September 11 Set 168 to win, India were restricted to 167 in 20 overs. Yuvraj, who made 34 off 26 balls with one four and two sixers, was bowled by Franklin with six needed off three balls. Rohit Sharma came in at this stage but could score only four off the two balls he faced. Virat Kohli had led the chase with 70 off just 41 balls, though his fine innings proved in vain. Gautam Gambhir came cropper as he closed his bat face to give a return catch to Kyle Mills but there was no stopping Kohli as he repeatedly found the boundary. After Gautam Gambhir fell for 3 in the third over, Kohli — who opened the batting in the absence of the injured Virender Sehwag — took over, adding 60 runs with Suresh Raina (27) and 34 with Yuvraj. Yuvraj, playing for the first time for India after recovering from a rare germ cell cancer, middled the ball confidently from the start, though he was fortunate when he was dropped when Brendon McCullum and Kyle Mills went for the catch at fine leg and collided, and the ball rolled away. Earlier, Brendon McCullum smashed his way to a 55-ball 91 as New Zealand recovered from a jittery start to post a respectable 167 for five. New Zealand's finest T20 batsman McCullum (man-of-the-match) took Indian bowlers to the cleaners after the Black Caps were reduced 2/2 with both openers back in the hut. — TNS Scoreboard New Zealand
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Pitch behaved very differently in second half: Dhoni
“The wicket slowed down and it was difficult to hit. It's among the bigger grounds. It was holding up not like all the balls have same bounce. In the end it became quite difficult. But we should have won this game," Dhoni, who scored a sedate 23-ball-22 said at the post-match presentation ceremony. “Our worry was how the wicket would behave in the second half. This is one area where we were expecting the wicket to be the same. After the 10th or 12th over, it got tough. Had it remained the way it was in the first half, we would have fancied our chances,” he said. Dhoni feels that form of his batsmen especially Virat Kohli has been a big positive for India with an eye on the World T20 starting next week in Sri Lanka. “Virat gave us a very good start. After that, Raina and Yuvraj also batted really well. A lot of positive for us before the start of the World Cup," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony. Dhoni said to have few games in the kitty before the World Cup will help them in their quest for second title triumph. "To play a few games before getting into the World Cup is very important. Two more games in Sri Lanka...that means we will get into the groove," he said. Dhoni said the batsmen are in good shape to play the big shots at the start of the innings going into the World Cup. “One of the biggest worry for me was play too many shots at the start of the innings. Now, we are in good shape to play the big shots. It was good to see the approach at the start of the innings. It's good for us going into the World Cup," skipper MS Dhoni added. — PTI
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Virat’s wicket was the turning points: Taylor
Chennai, September 11 “Brendon McCullum batted brilliantly to give the 160-plus score. The bowlers also bowled well. Franklin needs a big pat on the back. Hopefully we can take this confidence through," Taylor said. He said the dismissal of Kohli was the turning point of the match. "Kohli could have taken it away from us and good catch by Southee." Man-of-the-series McCullum, on his pitch collision with pacer Kyle Mills, said, "My head's ok. Kyle's a bit dazed at the moment. That was pretty nasty. The collision was probably my fault." “Pitch was really good for 20 overs. A lot of our guys are getting more worldly when it comes to these conditions," he added. Both teams now move on to Sri Lanka for ICC T20 World Cup. — PTI
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Bhambri on Shanghai high
Chandigarh, September 11 Bhambri and Divij Sharan were the runners-up at the Shanghai ATP Challenger tournament, and the two joined the rest of the squad here today. With all members joining the Indian squad, the team trained at the venue in Sector 10 this evening. “I am confident of carrying on my ongoing performance,” Bhambri said. “Although performing in front of the home crowd will mount pressure on us, I am ready to take this challenge. All I need to do is to focus on giving my best and hopefully things will go as per plan.” On being asked about the experienced Kiwi side, he added, “The opponents have played many international tournaments together and are full of Davis Cup experience. I had a close look at their game back in Shanghai and they are going to be tough opponents to beat. The climatic conditions are favouring us but we need to keep calm.” In 2010, Bhambri had played the ITF tennis tournament at the same venue on a five-layer turf. When asked about playing on the upgraded seven-layer turf, he said, “The upgraded turf will hardly matter for performance. I have been to seven-layer surfaces and Indian players like hard surfaces. I will play my natural game.” On the team combination, he added, “The squad has everything — from young legs to experience and everyone is prepared to contribute well. For doubles, we have many options with Vishnu, Divij and Saket playing well in the past. Rest, the squad will take the final decision after a few practice sessions here.”
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“He has been given a special assignment for a short period before the start of the World Cup,” a Pakistan Cricket Board spokesman said. Miandad, 55, will not interfere with the work of current boss Dav Whatmore for the Sept. 18-Oct. 7 tournament but will concentrate on any individual batting niggles. Captain Mohammad Hafeez on Tuesday urged his team to improve while chasing, saying it was a concern despite winning against Australia. Pakistan clinched the three-match T20 series 2-1 but were humiliated by 94 runs in the final match here on Monday, shot out for their lowest T20 score of 74. — Agencies
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Renjith, Sahana win gold in National Open Athletics
Chennai, September 11 Olympian Sahana Kumari improved upon her one-year-old meet mark by 1cm when she cleared 1.84m in the women’s high jump. Sahana, the national record holder with 1.92m, failed in her attempts at 1.88m. MR Poovamma won the women's 400m (53.79s) while Renjith Maheswary took the men’s triple jump gold with a leap of 16.72m. — PTI
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New York, September 12
New York, September 12
With both men struggling to control the ball in the gusting winds, and battling exhaustion in a slugfest that tied the record as the longest final at Flushing Meadows, Murray emerged triumphant, proving he belongs among the game's elite. "I proved that I can win the Grand Slams," Murray said. "And I proved that I can last four-and-a-half hours and come out on top against one of the strongest guys physically that tennis had probably seen, especially on this surface. "(I learned) to not doubt myself physically and mentally from now on. I'm sure that would have a positive impact in the future."
Chennai, September 11