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Oz Open: First day, first show
Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka, last year’s winners, will have to quash several challenges if they are to defend their titles. While Djokovic is seen as the favourite this year too, Azarenka could struggle against the in-form Serena Williams. Reuters
Djokovic looks to Boris boost
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Lanka take wind out of Pak sails
Lacklustre India face uphill task against Germany
England’s wait for first win gets longer
Haryana eves in semifinals
A quarterfinal match in progress during the Junior National Volleyball Championship at Dehradun on Sunday. Tribune photo
Bengal beat Railways to enter semis
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Oz Open: First day, first show
Melbourne, January 12 While the world’s best players seem pretty much unanimous in their enjoyment of the trip Down Under to start the season, the prospect of temperatures regularly exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) this week is a less enticing prospect. Doubles specialist Nenad Zimonjic was blunt when asked in Sydney on Saturday what was the biggest threat to his bid for a fourth grand slam title with Daniel Nestor over the next two weeks. “Heat,” he deadpanned. His fellow Serbian Djokovic opens his campaign for a fifth Australian Open title against Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko in the first evening match before Williams, seeking her sixth, tackles local hope Ash Barty in her first round tie. The evening starts means they will escape the worst of the heat, which is forecast to peak at 44 degrees Celsius on Friday. “I remember the 2008, ‘9 and ‘10, there were several days I played in extreme heat. So I know how tough it is,” said Djokovic. “But it’s the same for me and my opponent so you have to adjust to it.” A level playing field it might be, but energy-sapping conditions could expose anyone who arrives at the tournament in less than top notch condition or picks up an injury in an early match. The relative paucity of big names on court on Monday reflects a disparity in the two halves of both draws but particularly that in the men’s singles. Second seed Djokovic, aiming for a fourth straight title, is the only member of the “Big Four” in the bottom half of the draw with top seed Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray all in the top half. Williams has such a superior record against all her main rivals that she is probably more concerned about injury, which prevented her playing in here two years ago and led to a quarter-final departure last year. — Reuters |
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Djokovic looks to Boris boost
Melbourne, January 12 The Serbian will be without the support of Marian Vijda, his coach for the last eight years, when he begins his bid for a fifth Australian Open title against Lukas Lacko on Monday. Djokovic was quick to emphasise, though, that bringing Becker on board had been instigated by Vijda, who wanted to spend more time with his family after 35 years travelling around the world. “Whenever you make a change in life, it’s a potential risk, right? How is it going to affect you?,” Djokovic told reporters at Melbourne Park. “But I don’t want to think from that perspective. I’m really excited about this cooperation. I’m excited about this partnership that I have with Boris that also has been approved and supported by Marian, who is still in the team. “He is still going to travel with me on certain tournaments that Boris is not going to be there. We’re going to spend a lot of time on preparation. They have a great communication. All I see is positive results, and hope for that obviously,” he added. Djokovic admitted that tennis had changed radically since Becker won six grand slam titles in the 1980s and 1990s but still thought there was plenty he could learn from the 46-year-old German from the “mental point of view”. “Now the game is based on the baseline, longer rallies and so forth,” he said. “I believe with his great volleys, that aggressive kind of mindset also, from that point of view he can help me.” Djokovic said the success Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has enjoyed since adding Ivan Lendl to his team had not inspired the decision to work with Becker. — Reuters Azarenka coy on Serena challenge
Victoria Azarenka is relishing her return to Melbourne Park as double defending champion and while Serena Williams is a hot favourite to deny her a hat-trick of titles, the Belarusian says she will not focus solely on the challenge from the world number one.Azarenka’s two grand slam titles have both been achieved without facing the American, who was eliminated in both those tournaments after being hobbled by foot injuries.As second seed on the lower half of the draw, Azarenka would not meet Williams until the final but the 24-year-old was reluctant to talk up their grand slam rivalry, which has her on the wrong side of an 8-0 head-to-head record. When asked by reporters on Sunday if Williams was the player to beat in Melbourne, Azarenka responded: “Well, if you meet her, yes. But I think everybody is the one to beat here. We have such a high competition right now. You always have to look for every opponent you play. You cannot look past anybody because everybody is prepared, everybody wants it badly. (Regarding) her last season, of course, everybody will be motivated to beat her.” Rohan Bopanna has every reason to feel “well prepared” going into the Australian Open as the Indian tennis star enjoyed a superb week at the Sydney International, where he reached the finals, and then won back his place in the Davis Cup side after spending almost two years on the sidelines. “It’s great to go into a Grand Slam feeling confident. It’s definitely been the first time I have been so well prepared, so hoping this Grand Slam will do good for us and we are confident as a team,” said
Bopanna. |
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Lanka take wind out of Pak sails
Abu dhabi, January 12 Paceman Suranga Lakmal grabbed the remaining three Pakistan wickets in the morning session to set his team a comfortable 137-run victory target and Karunaratne (62 not out) and Silva (58) added 124 runs for the opening stand to take them near the mark. Karunaratne’s unbeaten 125-ball knock included eight hits to the fence, while Silva struck five fours in his sedate knock which ended when he was trapped leg before by Saeed Ajmal. Resuming on 330-7, Pakistan’s slender hopes of salvaging a draw depended on a combination of their continued rearguard action and rain but none materialised at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Sarfraz Ahmed (74) could add only four runs to his overnight score before Lakmal got some reverse-swing and pushed one through his bat and pad. The 26-year-old paceman then induced an edge from Rahat Ali and stumper Prasanna Jayawardene claimed his ninth dismissal of the match, equalling Amal Silva’s Sri Lankan record. Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 388 (Mahela 129, Silva 95, Junaid 3/102) and 137 for 1 (Karunaratne 62no, Silva 58); Pakistan 165 (Manzoor 73, Pradeep 3/62, Herath 3/26) and 359 (Misbah 97, Younis 77, Sarfraz 74, Lakmal 4/78) — Reuters
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Lacklustre India face uphill task against Germany
New Delhi, January 12 The format of the tournament might have assured all participating teams a place in the quarterfinals, but India would be hoping for a much-improved performance against the mighty Germans at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, especially after their shoddy performances against England and New Zealand. There was no co-ordination between the Sardar Singh-led midfield and the young forwardline. If that was not enough, the defence continued to commit silly mistakes when put under pressure. With the presence of three drag-flick exponents in the side—VR Raghunath, Rupinderpal Singh and Amit Rohitdas—India were regarded as a formidable force in penalty corner conversions but they failed to convert a single one in spite of earning a handful of set pieces. Chief coach Terry Walsh was livid with his wards’ performance against New Zealand. “Our performance was sub-standard and unacceptable. We play well in training but when it comes to performing under pressure we falter,” Walsh said. “We are making a lot of errors in executing our basic skills. It is very frustrating to see the team missing scoring opportunities.”
— PTI Today’s Matches New Zealand vs England Australia vs Argentina Netherlands vs Belgium Germany vs India Live on Ten Sports: 2pm onwards |
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Man City and Liverpool battle to away wins
London, January 12 Liverpool also won away with an astonishing 5-3 victory at Stoke City after the home side battled back from a two-goal deficit to level the match at 2-2 by halftime. The results lifted City to the top of the Premier League on 47 points, one ahead of Chelsea and two clear of Arsenal, who will return to the summit if they win at Aston Villa on Monday. Liverpool climbed above Everton and Tottenham Hotspur into fourth place on 42 points. The outcome could have been very different if a stunning 34th-minute volley from Newcastle’s Cheick Tiote had not been disallowed after a contentious decision by referee Mike Jones. He ruled that Newcastle’s Yoan Gouffran was offside and had unsighted City keeper Joe Hart, a claim hotly disputed by Newcastle boss Alan Pardew. Atletico, Barca still tied after stalemate Madrid: Atletico Madrid and Barcelona remain locked together on 50 points at the top of La Liga after a 0-0 draw at the Vicente Calderon on Saturday. Barca boss Gerardo Martino had named Lionel Messi and Neymar only on the substitutes bench on their respective returns from injury and illness. However, after a first period devoid of clear-cut chances, Martino introduced Messi at half-time in place of the injured Andres Iniesta.
— Agencies |
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England’s wait for first win gets longer
Melbourne, January 12 Finch (121) and fellow opener David Warner (65) dazzled while captain Michael Clarke contributed 43 brisk runs as the hosts eased to a victory target of 270 with 4.2 overs to spare. Earlier, half-centuries from Gary Ballance (79) and Eoin Morgan (50) helped England put behind a wobbly start and post 269 for seven wickets after captain Alastair Cook had opted to bat first. The 163-run stand between Finch and Warner in 28 overs laid the foundation for Australia’s comprehensive win which prolonged England’s misery Down Under after their whitewash in the Test series. Australia’s openers enjoyed their share of luck with Finch dropped by Ballance on eight and Warner, when on 22, called back from the boundary line after replays could not establish conclusively Jos Buttler had taken a clean catch behind the stumps. Brief scores: England 269 for 7 (Ballance 79, Morgan 50, McKay 3/44); Australia 270 for 4 (Finch 121, Warner 65).
— Reuters |
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Haryana eves in semifinals
Dehradun, January 12 Uttarakhand boys defeated Haryana 21-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-17, 16-14, while SAI outplayed Punjab in straight sets 25-19, 25-17, 25-16. In the other two quarterfinals, Tamil Nadu thrashed Karnataka 3-0 (26-24, 25- 19, 24-26, 25-20) and Rajasthan beat Andhra Pradesh 3-2. In the girls category, Haryana trounced Bengal 25-21, 25-17, 25-20. Tamil Nadu defeated Uttar Pradesh 25-12, 15-25, 18-25, 26-24,15-9. Kerala easily won their match against Rajasthan 25-12, 25-16, 25-12 and Maharashtra also confirmed the semifinal berth after beating Karnataka 25-11, 22-25, 25-20, 25-20. |
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Bengal beat Railways to enter semis
Kolkata, January 12 Set a target of 271, Railways were bundled out for 222 in 83.3 overs with Laxmi Ratan Shukla leading from the front taking 3/45. Ashoke Dinda (2/77), Sourav Sarkar and Shib Shankar Paul (2/47) returned with two apiece to take Bengal to the semis for the first time since 2006-07. Needing 154 to win at the start of the day, Railways trusted batting combination of Mahesh Rawat (14) and Arindam Ghosh looked to threaten the Bengal camp. But Ghosh’s finely executed innings of 50 came to an end after he was deceived by a late outswinger from Paul. Brief scores: Bengal: 317 & 267 bt Railways: 314 & 222 (Kartik 56, Ghosh 50; Shukla 3/4, Sarkar 2/22).
— PTI Semis lineup
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Melbourne Park gets its first glimpse of title favourites Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams in action on Monday’s opening day but it is not just the heat of the on-court action that is exercising minds at the year’s first grand slam.
Dehradun, January 12
