|
|
|
|
|
Murray ends 77 years of wait for Britain
Fans, stars fire up Murray mania at scorching Wimbledon
I still can’t believe I won the Wimbledon title: Bartoli
|
|
|
Vikas Gowda finishes fourth in IAAF Diamond League
Tintu Luka and Co. clinch gold in 4x400m relay; India finish 6th
Lanka stranded at 60/3
Vettel wins accident-hit home GP
Froome retains yellow jersey as Martin wins Stage 9
Pune coach to focus on young talent
Barca, Real bullish in transfer window
Bolt burns up Paris track
|
|
Murray ends 77 years of wait for Britain
Just why Britain had to wait almost eight decades to witness such scenes of unbridled patriotic joy at the spiritual home of lawn tennis was summed up by an astonishing final game when Murray won and lost three match points, leaving 15,000 fans gasping in disbelief. The pulses were racing even faster as Djokovic displayed his own survival instincts to earn three break points before a wondrous volley winner gave Murray another championship point. This time Djokovic could not deny him and when the Serb dragged a backhand into the net after yet another lengthy exchange, 60 million Britons leapt up and Murray tossed his racket to the famous turf.”That was one of the toughest moments, today was unbelievably tough match,” Murray said after fulfilling a lifelong dream of holding aloft the gilded Challenge Cup. “I don't know how I came through the final three points, I'm so glad to do it. “I understand how much everyone wanted to see British winner at Wimbledon and I hope everyone enjoyed it.” A gracious Djokovic added: “Congratulations to Andy you absolutely deserved it, you played incredibly. “I know what it means to you guys in the whole country so well done. It is a great achievement. I gave it my all and it was an honor to be in this match, in this final.” Murray took three hours and nine minutes to finally lay Fred Perry's ghost at 5.24 local time on Sunday. On the hottest day of the year in Britain, with the mercury soaring toward 30 degrees Celsius, the world's two best players produced scorching sinew-stretching action from the start and the first three games alone lasted 20 minutes. The opening salvo of the Centre Court clash lasted 20 strokes as Murray went up 0-40 on the Serb's serve but Djokovic produced staunch defense to stave off his opponent's attacks. The duo did trade breaks in the third and fourth games, with each Murray winner being greeted by a chorus of 15,000 roars. Second seed Murray got another chance to break to love in the seventh game and this time he pounced as the 2011 champion surrendered his serve by slapping a backhand into the net. A set that initially looked like lasting forever ended exactly on the hour mark as Djokovic whipped a service return wide to give Murray, runner-up to Roger Federer last year, the one-set cushion. SECOND SET The battle between the two players who were born seven days apart in 1987 intensified in the second set as they went toe-to-toe from the baseline with 25-shot rallies being par for the course. But Murray, who trains in the intense Miami heat even on Christmas Day, showed off his iron-man conditioning as he stormed back to level at 4-4, a Djokovic double fault on break point down handing him the break back in the seventh game. While the cheering crowd got behind a pumped up Murray, Djokovic simply exploded in anger in the 11th game. Convinced that Murray had gone long mid-rally at 15-15, he gesticulated wildly to show what he thought the linesman had failed to see. Murray ignored the uproar to break the fuming Serb and soon had the fans roaring when he wrapped up the 69-minute second set with a 125mph thunderbolt ace. Murray proved that he was seeing the ball like a football as broke in the opening game of the third set. After going ahead 2-0, Murray's mind seemed to go on a walkabout as Djokovic won four games on the trot. But just when thoughts of last September's U.S. Open final started flashing though the mind of everyone packed on to Centre Court, when Djokovic rallied to win the third and fourth sets, Murray made sure that there would be no repeat. —Reuters murray the man
...And everyone is delighted
It was an amazing performance from Andy Murray, but also an amazing day for British tennis and for Britain. He never gave up and it was magnificent. It was a privilege to watch Andy Murray making history. What a fighter! What a talent. What a man. What a winner! A great Wimbledon champion indeed! Congratulations! What a privilege to experience that. Truly outstanding. Bravo Andy Murray. Congratulations to @andy_murray and his family. Wonderful day at #wimbledon!! So proud to be British! Andy Murray ends Wimbledon curse on Brits with some outstanding tennis. Congratulations--- and also to Ivan Lendl for a job well done. He has been fantastic... |
|
Fans, stars fire up Murray mania at scorching Wimbledon
Waving Union Jack flags, thousands of British tennis fans, sports stars and celebrities descended on a scorching Wimbledon on Sunday hoping Andy Murray can end Britain's 77-year wait for a men's singles champion at the All England club. With “Murray Mania” in full swing, tennis fans camped overnight to get in to the grounds as soon as the gates opened to secure good spots on a hill recently nicknamed “Murray Mound” where the match will be broadcast live on a giant TV screen. By 7 a.m. tournament organizers were advising people that all the ground passes for the day had been taken, even though ticket touts lining the road from the nearest station had some ground passes on sale. Fred Perry was the last British man to win the Wimbledon title in 1936 and huge hopes are riding on Scotland's Murray who will battle the world's top player, Serb Novak Djokovic. He lost last year's final to Roger Federer. “I so hope he wins. I don't want to see him cry again. I cried with him last year,” said Rose Garnett, 70, sitting in a sea of fans tucking into picnics on the packed hill. “This is just so important for England. It will be a boost for everyone,” added her daughter Sally Butler, 42, wearing a Union Jack headband. Tickets to the match have become like gold dust since Murray beat Poland's Jerzy Janowicz in the semi-finals with website viagogo reporting massive interest and tickets up for sale at a record 71,000 pounds ($106,000) for a pair. This is over 320 times more than the 260 pound face value of a pair of final tickets in the official ballot. —Reuters It's the best feeling ever to see your son win Wimbledon. This is what he has talked about winning since he was a little boy, it was a dream that has become a reality now for him. — judy murray
|
||
|
I still can’t believe I won the Wimbledon title: Bartoli
London, July 7 Excerpts: How did the experience of having been in the final here six years affect today? Well, I think after the match, of course I can say it really helped me to being out there before. But I really felt I was playing probably my best match of the championship. I was doing everything well. I was moving well. I was returning well. I mean, I really played a wonderful match. So it's really amazing to win Wimbledon. And also playing well, as well, it's just unbelievable, honestly. How do you not get past the quarters in any tournament this year and win Wimbledon? Well, that's me. I don't know (laughter). Honestly, I didn't think that way. I was just trying to play well every single matches, every time I was on the court. I was just, you know, trying to enjoy myself when I was having some off days. I was having some time off with my team. Even this morning I think a lot of people could hear us laughing. It was normally today where I was supposed to play the Wimbledon final, and really felt not like that. I think it will also make it even more enjoyable because I had so much fun throughout this whole championship. The whole two weeks have just been perfect. Were you surprised how Sabine handled the occasion? MARION BARTOLI: Honestly, I didn't think too much about how Sabine was doing. I was just trying to focus on my own game and try to remain calm, even if I had this 5 1 lead in the second set and 15 40 and couldn't close it out.Then Sabine start to play very well and come back at 5 4. I just really thought I had to hold my serve one more time. But just to finish on an ace to win Wimbledon and you saw the chalk come out of the line. Just, I mean, I could have seen it in slow motion. I could see the ball landing, the chalk come out, it's an ace, and I just win Wimbledon. You can't describe that kind of feeling. You cannot put any words what I feel in this moment. I can't believe I won Wimbledon this year. We'll have to see the pictures, to see the match again on DVD to kind of starting to realize it. Everyone in the future when they talk about you are going to say, Wimbledon champion, Marion Bartoli. How much do you think it will change your life? It will not change me as a person because I will always remain the same: very humble, very low key and easygoing, down to earth. But just hearing 'Wimbledon champion,' that kind of sounds good to me (smiling). You know, has been my dream. I wanted that so badly. I felt the achievement of my career was to win a Grand Slam. Every time I was just saying my goal was to win a Grand Slam. It was like, yeah, dare to dream. I kept dreaming. I kept my head up. I kept working hard, and it just happened. I remember in January 2002 many people asked us to go on a court to watch a young girl. That was 11 years ago, God. Well, yeah, it's always been a part of my personality to be different. I think being just like the other one is kind of boring. I really embrace the fact of being a bit different and doing something that not everyone is absolutely doing. I actually love that part of my game, you know, being able to have something different. At the end of the day, when the spectators were looking at 10 matches they will remember this girl that was doing something different, playing inside the court or whatever.
|
|
Vikas Gowda finishes fourth in IAAF Diamond League
New Delhi, July 7 Gowda hurled the iron disc to a distance of 64.45m which he achieved in his third attempt at Stade de France on Saturday. He was second after the third round but slipped to fourth after a foul throw in the next round. Gowda had won the Asian Championships gold in Pune on Thursday with a best throw of 64.90m. Germany`s Olympic and world champion Robert Harting won the gold with 67.04m in still wind conditions which did not provide much help for the throwers. He took the lead straightaway with 64.97m, extended his advantage with 66.80m in round three and threw 67.04m with his penultimate effort. Iran`s 2012 London Olympic Games silver-medallist Eshan Hadadi was second with 65.53m. Estonia`s 2008 Beijing Olympic winner Gerd Kanter was third with 65.30m. — Agencies
|
|
Tintu Luka and Co. clinch gold in 4x400m relay; India finish 6th
New Delhi, July 7 The home team came up with a rich haul of eight medals — one gold, three silver and four bronze — on the fifth and final day to give the houseful Shiv Chhatrapati Stadium crowd a lot to cheer. India ended the Championships with two gold, six silver and nine bronze, a much improved performance than the last edition in 2011 in Kobe, Japan where they had finished seventh with one gold, three silver and eight bronze. Vikas Gowda had won India's other gold in men's discus throw on the second day on Thursday. Besides the gold from relay team comprising M R Poovamma, Tintu Luka, Anu Mariam Jose and Nirmala, India won a silver and a bronze in men's triple jump through Renjith Maheswary and Arpinder Singh. India also bagged a silver and bronze in women's 200m through Asha Roy and Dutee Chand respectively. Jithin C Thomas bagged another silver in men's high jump while Luka and Satinder Singh added a bronze each in women's 800m and men's 400m hurdles respectively. The women's 4x400m relay team, which was caught in a controversy after India wanted to include dope-tainted Ashwini Akkunji only to be rejected by competition technical delegate, also made it to next month's World Championships in Moscow as they went past the qualifying time of 3:33.00. With the gold in women's 4x400m relay, India continued its domination in the continent having won a gold each in the 2005 and 2007 editions of the Asian Championships while finishing second in 2009 and 2011. India have also won gold in the last three Asian Games since 2002 in Busan. As expected, China, who had been ruling the Asian Championships for the last 15 editions, finished at the top spot with 16 gold, six silver and five bronze. Bahrain were a distant third with five gold, seven silver and three bronze while Japan jumped to third with a strong performance today. — PTI
|
Port of Spain, July 7 Kemar Roach was the wrecker-in-chief, bowling a menacing spell upfront and was it not for a long and patient vigil by Lahiru Thirimanne and Kumar Sangakkara, the situation could have been far worse for Sri Lanka. West Indies stand-in-skipper Kieron Pollard won the toss and put Sri Lanka in to bat in a crucial game. Lendl Simmons has been named in place of West Indies' injured captain Dwayne Bravo. Sunil Narine has also been ruled out due to injury, while Denesh Ramdin has been dropped. Devon Smith and Jason Holder have come in as their replacement. Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 60 for 3 (Thirimanne 13*, Sangakkara 11*, Roach 2-19) v West Indies. — Agencies
|
|
Vettel wins accident-hit home GP
Nurburgring, July 7 Championship rival Kimi Raikkonen was second for Lotus, only a second adrift, after a late tyre change left him hunting down the Red Bull in a thrilling final few laps while team mate Romain Grosjean was third. Alonso, who started eighth on an adventurous tyre strategy, finished fourth. The Spaniard now has 123 points to Vettel’s 157 after nine of 19 races. Raikkonen has 116. There were none of the explosive tyre failures that raised safety fears at last weekend’s race in Britain, with the subsequent threat of a driver boycott, but there were still moments of concern on a hot afternoon at the Nuerburgring. A stray wheel from Mark Webber’s Red Bull injured a cameraman in the pitlane while, on track, Jules Bianchi’s car momentarily caught fire and then rolled towards oncoming traffic after the Frenchman had scrambled out. That incident brought out the safety car but Vettel hung on for his 30th grand prix win. The triple champion had never won in Germany or in July but, days after his 26th birthday and a week after mechanical failure forced an agonising retirement at Silverstone, ripped up the statistics to the delight of thousands of flagwaving fans. Fernando Alonso, who like Raikkonen had quicker tyres than Vettel in the closing stages after starting on mediums, chased Grosjean home. The main drama happened in the first 25 laps of the race. Both Red Bulls jumped polesitter Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes at the start, coming close at the first corner but avoiding contact, and Vettel took command from Australian Mark Webber. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa also got past Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo into sixth place but spun at the same tricky turn one at the start of the third lap and, with the engine cutting out, had to retire. Force India’s Paul Di Resta, who almost collided with Jean-Eric Vergne’s Toro Rosso in the pits, finished in 11th place. — Reuters
|
|
Froome retains yellow jersey as Martin wins Stage 9
Bagneres-De-Bigorre, July 7 Having destroyed the field to snatch the overall lead in Saturday’s opening mountain stage ahead of fellow Team Sky rider Richie Porte, the Briton had exposed himself to retaliation. The Garmin-Sharp, Movistar and Saxo-Tinkoff teams blew the peloton apart in the first of five climbs on a searing hot day in the Pyrenees ahead of the rest day, with Froome soon finding himself isolated. The moves eliminated Froome’s lieutenant Porte, who lost his second place overall, and restored hope among the other teams that the Tour was not over yet. Overall, Froome leads Alejandro Valverde by 1:25 while Porte, who finished more than 10 minutes behind, dropped well outside the top 10 as hopes of a second consecutive Team Sky one-two evaporated. Froome, however, had an answer for every attack from Valverde’s Movistar team mates, with Alberto Contador’s aides also joining the fight initiated by Garmin-Sharp’s Tom Danielson, David Millar, Ryder Hesjedal and Martin. The Movistar team were in control of a leading group in the last three climbs of the day but they ran out of energy and were eventually content with having eliminated Porte from the overall reckoning. Colombian Nairo Quintana threw a few jabs in the last climb of the day to La Hourquette d’Ancizan (9.9 km at 7.5 percent) before the final descent to Bagneres-de-Bigorre. It was not enough to drop Froome, who had let Martin and Denmark’s Jakob Fuglsang go near the top. Martin was the fresher man and he outsprinted Fuglsang for the stage win. “I knew the last 30 km quite well and I was lucky that Fuglsang came with me,” Martin said. — Reuters Results STAGE IX
|
||
|
Pune coach to focus on young talent
Pune, July 7 “Our main objective is to develop youngsters at the club. In this season, you will see good young players getting a fair chance in the first team. Striking the right balance is of utmost importance,” Snoei said in his first press conference since taking charge of Pune FC. “I have done my research and want to help the club to take the next step. Our collective goal is to develop youngsters. Our academy has done a fantastic job over the past couple of years winning consecutive Under-20 I-League championships,” the Dutchman explained. On his targets at the club, Snoei said that he would be signing good foreign players to complete the squad and then come up with realistic goals. “We hope to create a right mix of youth and experienced players. This, in turn, will create a situation wherein youngsters will learn with quality players. A good overall football program will help create a better future for the club,” he 49-year-old stated. Snoei said that being brought up through a Dutch system he was comfortable employing a similar brand of attractive football at Pune FC. “In Netherlands, we grow up wanting to play attractive offensive football with proper methods. Every country has a different culture and a way of playing. But it all depends on the team and adaptation,” he said. “We have the basic targets in our mind and if we work in a proper system with patience we will definitely achieve them. — PTI
|
||
|
Barca, Real bullish in transfer window
Madrid, July 7 Illaramendi is expected to sign a 30 million Euro deal with Real Madrid before this Thursday. The midfielder is set to become Madrid’s third signing this summer, along with his Under-21 companion Isco — who joined for a similar fee from Malaga — and full back Javier Carvajal, reports Xinhua. These transfers, along with Madrid’s decision to pay six million Euros to retain the services of Brazilian loanee Casimiro, amount to a 72 million Euros spending by the team so far. La Liga champions FC Barcelona have so far only made one signing, spending around 50-70 million Euros to bring Brazilian ace Neymar to Camp Nou. More signings for the team are sure to happen in the coming weeks. This contrasts sharply with the experience of the remaining 18 clubs in Spain’s top flight. Third-placed Atletico Madrid, have sold top-scorer Radamel Falcao to Monaco for 60 million Euros. Real Sociedad, currently placed fourth, are on the point of losing Asier Illaramendi — their best player — to Real Madrid. Last season almost bucked a trend of Barcelona and Madrid running away with the league, given that Atletico Madrid finished just nine points behind second-placed Real Madrid, and 24 behind Barcelona. Valencia finished fifth in the league, but debts of over 400 million Euros mean virtually their entire squad is up for sale. Malaga, who finished sixth, have seen their squad dismantled with Joaquin, Martin Demichelis, Roque Santa Cruz, Javier Saviola, and coach Manuel Pellegrini leaving the team. Seventh-placed Betis have seen an exodus as well, with key players Benat Etxebarria and Jose Canas among the departures. Rayo Vallecano produced a heroic season to finish eighth, but half of their squad — including top scorers Leo Baptistao and Piti — have left for better pastures. The only club apart from Barca and Madrid to spend over five million Euros on a player is Athletic Club Bilbao. The team spent between 8-11 million Euros for buying Benat from Betis, and four million Euros on former Osasuna striker Kike Sola. Bilbao’s funding comes from the last season transfer of midfielder Javi Martinez to Bayern Munich for 40 million euros. Striker Fernando Llorente left for free this season. — IANS
|
||
Paris, July 7 The 26-year-old Jamaican, a two-time Olympic and world champion over the distance, held off the attentions of compatriot Warren Weir to streak past the field in emphatic style. Edging Gay`s season best by one-hundredth of a second was the perfect broadside in the run-up to what promises to be a keenly contested World Athletics Championships in Moscow between August 10-18. In perfect conditions, Bolt led a host of impressive performances from a stellar line-up on the track and in the field. Grenada`s Olympic and world 400m champion Kirani James ran a seemingly effortless time of 43.96sec, holding off LaShawn Merritt. — PTI
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
New Delhi, July 7
Nurburgring, July 7
Madrid, July 7
A
Djokovic, who survived a four hour 43 minute semi-final epic against Juan Martin Del Potro two days ago, showed his super-human ability to recover quickly as he ran down everything Murray could throw at him. The Serb rattled Murray by going for the lines and broke for a 3-1 lead when Olympic and U.S. Open champion Murray flicked a forehand into the net. Even when Djokovic slipped and skidded flat on to his stomach while trying to chase down a Murray winner, the six-times grand slam champion appeared unfazed as he quickly got back on to his feet to extend his lead to 4-1.
