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Take a bow, brilliant Bartoli
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Dream final: Can Murray end Britain’s almost endless wait?
Raina, Jadeja get hot under the collar
Dravid, Bhajji were tested for dope in IPL-6
Harmeet questioned
Hamilton rules
4 Indian boxers in semis of Asian Championship
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Take a bow, brilliant Bartoli
LONDON, JULY 6 The 28-year-old faced only a token resistance in the final as German Lisicki froze on the biggest occasion of her career. Trailing 6-1 5-1 Lisicki was struggling to hold back the tears but after saving three match points she finally freed her shoulders and briefly threatened an unlikely comeback before Bartoli slammed the door shut, holding serve to love and finishing the match with her sixth ace.
Lisicki, the 23rd seed, entered the match as favorite having beaten defending champion Serena Williams in the fourth round and last year's runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska in an absorbing semi-final. She broke Bartoli's serve in the opening game of the match but then began to unravel as the occasion got to her. ERROR COUNT Bartoli, runner-up to Venus Williams at the All England club in 2007, reeled off the next six games to win the first set in 31 minutes - many points being won without a fight as Lisicki's error count mounted. Lisicki's booming serve never functioned smoothly and the astute Bartoli kept the ball away from the German’s dangerous forehand as she moved within one set of her first grand slam title. Lisicki went for the now “obligatory” toilet break at the end of the first set and returned a little more composed, holding her serve in the opening game of the second set but she wasted four break points on Bartoli's first service game and was then broken to trail 2-1. Struggling to hold back tears, Lisicki dropped her serve again and in a flash she was 1-5, 0-40 down on serve. Lisicki saved three match points, then broke Bartoli to trail 3-5 and held confidently to finally apply some pressure on her opponent. Bartoli regrouped and held serve to love, sealing her first grand slam title on her fourth match point after only one hour 21 minutes. Bartoli's triumph after 47 grand slam appearances beats the previous record held by Czech Jana Novotna. — Reuters
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Dream final: Can Murray end Britain’s almost endless wait?
2011 Australian Open final: Djokovic won 6-4, 6-2, 6-3
2012 Australian Open semi-final: Djokovic won 6-3, 3-6, 6-7, 6-1, 7-5 Murray played superbly, only to lose what was then the longest match of his life after four hours and 50 minutes. A contest full of breath- taking rallies and astounding athleticism came down to a deciding set in which Murray fought back from 5-2 to level at 5-5 and then went within five points of victory when he had three break points for a 6-5 lead. Djokovic held on, however, and then broke Murray for the 11th time in the match to secure victory. 2012 Olympics semi-final: Murray won 7-5, 7-5 Murray and Djokovic staged another match of the highest quality as both men attacked from the start. Murray took the opening set with the first break of serve in the match and saved break points in four different games in the second set. When Djokovic served to stay in the match at 5-6 the Serb made some crucial mistakes and Murray converted his first match point with a fine backhand return of serve. 2012 US Open final: Murray won 7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 After four defeats in finals, Murray finally achieved a lifetime's ambition to end Britain's 76-year wait for a male Grand Slam singles champion. Djokovic, having been outplayed in the first two sets, responded superbly to level, but Murray took control of the decider, breaking twice to lead 3-0. Djokovic fought back to 3-2 but Murray held firm and eventually claimed victory after four hours and 54 minutes. 2013 Australian Open final: Novak won 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-2 The quality of the tennis was not as high as in some of their previous meetings, but the match was tight throughout, with the first break of serve arriving after nearly three hours. Djokovic's recovery when serving at 0-40 in the second game of the second set was a turning point, as was a Murray double-fault at 2-2 in the ensuing tie-break, the Scot's attention having been distracted by a floating white feather. — The Independent
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Kohli proves a point with big victory
Port of Spain, July 6 Kohli’s century was crucial in India’s big 102-run win as it helped the side score a huge 311 for seven. Kohli said the knock was important for him since his inability to convert the good starts into big ones was haunting him but India getting a bonus point was more crucial. “More than that (century), I am happy we won with a bonus point,” Kohli, who was adjudged Man-of-the-Match, said after India`s resounding win. “It was my second game as captain and got a century. I was getting good starts, but hitting that one shot straight to the fielder, so I was waiting for this big innings,” he said when asked about his performance while captaining the side. Kohli said he was in a bit of dilemma while batting. “We got a good start. It’s a bit of a tricky situation if you go in after a good start. You don’t know whether to play yourself in or keep going at the same run rate. To get a hundred in my second game as captain, I am pretty happy,” he said. West Indies were favourites to enter the final after two consecutive wins but Indian win has opened the tournament and Kohli said it was natural to happen. “When you have three good teams competing you can have those turn arounds.” India opener Shikhar Dhawan, who scored 69 runs and shared a 123-run stand with Rohit Sharma (46) said batting was not easy on the wicket. “We really needed opening partnership. Wicket was doing a lot. We respected good balls and punished the bad ones. In the end we got a good total. It was challenging wicket and when you score on such tracks, it is satisfying,” the left-hander said. West Indies skipper Dwayne Barvo hoped that they will put up a better show when they clash with Sri Lanka in their next match. “We got to give the credit to the Indian batters. Especially Virat. Chasing 300 is never easy but we could have done a lot better with our chase. We have got to regroup for the match against Sri Lanka. We can`t afford to make the same mistakes again. — PTI Scoreboard West Indies
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Raina, Jadeja get hot under the collar
Port of Spain, July 6 The ugly incident involving the duo seemed to be a blot in an otherwise facile win. The video footages of the incident had been posted on the Youtube and has seen several hits. The incident happened after Jadeja dismissed ninth West Indies batsman Sunil Narine caught by Ishant Sharma with the fifth delivery of the 34th over. After the dismissal, Jadeja was seen walking upto Raina and saying a few things which the Uttar Pradesh batsman didn't find amusing. Raina also replied and before things could get out of hand, skipper Virat Kohli intervened and told Raina to cool down. Jadeja was apparently annoyed as Raina failed to judge a catch offered by Narine in his previous over. Jadeja may have also been unhappy that Raina didn't attempt for a Narine catch earlier which might have miffed the Saurashtra all-rounder. After Jadeja dismissed the last batsman with the very next delivery, Raina walked upto Jadeja and tried to patiently tell his junior colleague a few things putting his hand around his neck. — PTI
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Dravid, Bhajji were tested for dope in IPL-6
New Delhi, July 6 Though the BCCI does not involve the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) in its dope testing activity, the samples collected during the IPL were tested at the National Dope Testing Laboratory in Delhi. But only the BCCI would know the test results. The BCCI had introduced dope testing in domestic cricket for the first time during the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy between Delhi and Assam at Visakhapatnam. Dope testing was also conducted during the India-Australia Test series early this year, though the results of these tests too have been kept in wraps. Regarding the spot-fixing scandal involving S.Sreesanth and others in IPL Six, sources said it may or may not turn out to be true, but certain players were dangerously flirting with girls at the match centres.
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Mumbai, July 6 Harmeet had recently told Delhi Police that his teammate Ajit Chandila had approached him with bookies to indulge in spot-fixing but he had reportedly refused the offer. A top BCCI official confirmed that Harmeet was questioned regarding his meetings with bookies. Sawani will submit his findings to the disciplinary committee. The official added that inquiry process is almost over with only Chandila, who is still in police custody, remaining to be questioned. “The process is over but Ajit Chandila is still inside the jail, so the ACSU is waiting for him to be released on bail before questioning him," the official said. — PTI
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Froome takes lead by winning stage eight
DOMAINES, July 6 Briton Froome won Saturday's eighth stage, a 195-km mountain ride from Castres, to lead overall by 51 seconds from Team Sky colleague Richie Porte with Spain's Alejandro Valverde in third place 1:25 off the pace. His dominant performance was reminiscent of the way the disgraced rider Lance Armstrong would hammer the field in the first mountain stage of the Tour before controlling the rest of the race with often sterling performances in the time trials. Asked to confirm his performances had nothing to do with banned substances, Froome said: "One hundred percent. I think it's normal that people ask questions in cycling given the history of the sport.” — Reuters
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NURBURGRING (Germany), July 6 Hamilton won the last race at the Nuerburgring in 2011 with McLaren and delighted his new bosses by putting his Silver Arrows on the front of the grid at one of the homes of German motorsport."It's really overwhelming. P2 and P3 (the second and third practice sessions) were just disasters and it got worse this morning, we were miles off," the 2008 world champion told a news conference. "We made lots and lots of changes and just hoped that it would work. I'm grateful for the work the guys put in for me," he said after a 29th career pole. Red Bull's triple world champion Sebastian Vettel, who leads this season's standings, had to be content with second on the grid as he bids to win his home race and a July grand prix for the first time. "It was quite close. I tried everything I had. It looks like we are much closer to them (Mercedes) here than we were at Silverstone. I think we did our homework," said the German. Team mate Mark Webber - the 2009 winner here - will start third in his final German Grand Prix before switching to endurance racing at the end of the season. Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen, a likely replacement for the Australian at Red Bull, was fourth fastest on a sunny afternoon in the wooded Eifel region. Temperatures were much higher than Friday practice and Hamilton basked in the glory of pole after being one of the drivers hit. — Reuters
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4 Indian boxers in semis of Asian Championship
New Delhi, July 6 Manoj won on an unanimous decision against Armi Khir of Malaysia and will take on Uranchimea munkh Erdene of Mongolia in the last-four stage tomorrow. The other Indians who have made the semifinals are Olympians L Devendro Singh (49kg) and Shiva Thapa (56kg) and the fast-rising Mandeep Jangra (69kg), who won a gold medal at the Limossol Cup in Cyprus a few weeks ago. All three boxers, who are in their early 20s, are rising stars on the Indian boxing scene. Devendro won on a unanimous decision against Mirzakhmedov Nodirjon ofUzbekistan. His next bout is against LV Bin of China. Shiva, on the other hand, won a split decision against Chinese Taipei's Li Lin Yen. He will now be up against Kyrgyzstan's Malbekov Omurbek. Mandeep also won a split decision against Uzbekistan's Kosimov Nodirbek. His next opponent is Jargal Otgonjargal of Mongolia. The only disappointment for India came in the form of Sukhdeep Singh (75kg), who lost to Jafoev Navruz of Tajikistan. The Punjab-lad lost on a split decision. — Agencies
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Hearing of shooting sexual harassment case over: Bhagwat Onions included in England Ashes squad India medal-less on fourth day of Asian Athletics meet IOA polls to be postponed
Gascoigne arrested after alleged drunken assault
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LONDON, JULY 6
"As a small girl I dreamed about this moment," said Bartoli. “Finishing with an ace to win Wimbledon, even in my wildest dreams I couldn't have imagined that.”
By some margin Murray's worst performance in a Grand Slam final. While Djokovic played superbly, combining stonewall defence with exhilarating attack, Murray never looked at his best. He made too many mistakes, served poorly and did not come out of his shell often enough to show the aggression he needed to beat his long-time friend and rival.
