MELBOURNE, January 16
Rafa Nadal and Victoria Azarenka swept into the third round of the Australian Open under the protection of the Rod Laver Arena roof on Thursday as sweltering temperatures, lightning and rain caused chaos on the outside courts.

On a third consecutive day of sauna-like heat and with temperatures climbing towards a peak of 43.4 degrees Celsius (110 Fahrenheit), organisers finally enacted the third stage of their “Extreme Heat Policy” after three hour's play.

Leap of joy: Tsonga is ecstatic after his victory.

Play was suspended for more than four hours on the exposed outer courts and, in a bizarre turn of events, the players had been back on court for less than two hours when a thunderstorm sent them scuttling back to the locker rooms.

Matches continued on the Rod Laver Arena and Hisense Arena throughout both stoppages, the latter lasting nearly two hours, after the retractable roofs over the showcourts were closed. That allowed Nadal, Azarenka and Roger Federer to charge through their second round ties before the Rod Laver Arena was again exposed to the elements for Andy Murray to join them in the third round in the evening cool.

“For me, everything was fine,” defending champion Azarenka said after beating Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-1 6-4. “Played under the closed roof so lightning couldn't hit me. I didn't feel the heat. I didn't get sunburned. I was in the perfect conditions today.”

Men's top seed Nadal took advantage of slightly cooler conditions under the roof to administer a 6-2 6-4 6-2 thrashing to plucky 17-year-old Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis.

The Spaniard was delighted to be able to play indoors rather than in the furnace heat outside but more so that his serve had worked so well.

“It was important that the serve was there during the whole match,” he said. “It is very important here and it was working well.”

Federer also picked out his “rock solid” serve as a highlight of his 107-minute 6-2 6-1 7-6 (4) demolition of Blaz Kavcic on Hisense Arena, where he had not played, under the roof or otherwise, for 10 years.

The four-times Australian Open champion selected a highly aggressive strategy to deal with the Slovenian world number 99 and it paid off impressively when he wrapped up the first two sets inside an hour.

“I think in these conditions and on the hard courts it's what we want to try to do, especially early in the tournament, without taking stupid chances,” said Federer, who battled back from 3-0 down to win the decisive tiebreak.

Murray displayed controlled aggression to beat France's Vincent Millot 6-2 6-2 7-5 in his fourth competitive match since returning from four months on the sidelines after back surgery.

The big upset

Juan Martin Del Potro became the first major casualty in men's draw when he was beaten 4-6 6-3 5-7 6-4 7-5 by Spain's Roberto Bautista in the second round.

The extreme heat kept the former U.S. Open champion and his 62nd-ranked opponent off court until 9.25pm local time and they treated the crowd to an exciting match in which they combined for 100 unforced errors and 125 winners. — Reuters

Important Results Men (2nd round) Roberto Bautista (Spain) beat 5-Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina) 4-6 6-3 5-7 6-4 7-5, Teymuraz Gabashvili (Russia) beat 31-Fernando Verdasco (Spain) 7-6(1) 3-6 2-6 6-4 6-4, 18-Gilles Simon (France) beat Marin Cilic (Croatia) 4-6 7-6(3) 6-7(5) 6-1 6-2, 4-Andy Murray (Britain) beat Vincent Millot (France) 6-2 6-2 7-5, 11-Milos Raonic (Canada) beat Victor Hanescu (Romania) 7-6(9) 6-4 6-4, 1-Rafa Nadal (Spain) beat Thanasi Kokkinakis (Australia) 6-2 6-4 6-2, 6-Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat Blaz Kavcic (Slovenia) 6-2 6-1 7-6(4), 10-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) beat Thomaz Bellucci (Brazil) 7-6(6) 6-4 6-4 Women (2nd round) 13-Sloane Stephens (U.S.) beat Ajla Tomljanovic (Croatia) 3-6 6-2 7-5, 2-Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) beat Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (Czech Republic) 6-1 6-4, 5-Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) beat Olga Govortsova (Belarus) 6-0 7-5, 10-Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) beat Christina Mchale (U.S.) 6-0 1-6 6-2, 3-Maria Sharapova (Russia) beat Karin Knapp (Italy) 6-3 4-6 10-8

Melbourne, January 16
Maria Sharapova criticised Australian Open organisers for a lack of transparency over their 'extreme heat policy' when the Russian was left toiling on court for nearly an hour after organisers had invoked an official halt on Thursday.

Sharapova and her opponent Karin Knapp of Italy slugged it out in 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) heat at Rod Laver Arena for three-and-a-half hours before the Russian prevailed 6-3 4-6 10-8 in their marathon second round encounter.

The pair were already struggling in the oppressive conditions but continued their arduous battle some 50 minutes after matches on outside courts were suspended at about 1:50 p.m.

Players have slammed organisers for failing to call off matches earlier, with some describing the conditions as dangerous, and one Croatian player in the men's draw expressing fear for his life on Wednesday.

Rather than use the raw Celsius readings to assess the heat, organisers prefer to use the Wet Bulb Global Temperature composite, which also gauges humidity and wind to identify the perceived conditions. Under a change to the rules for this year, the decision on whether to stop matches is now at the discretion of tournament referee Wayne McKewen. “There is no way getting around the fact that the conditions were extremely difficult, and have been for the last few days,” said Sharapova. — Reuters

London, January 16
Even as Formula One great Michael Schumacher remains in coma since his skiing accident on December 29, speculation over his condition has become intense.

He is listed as stable but not critical at a hospital in Grenoble, France. The hospital has not released an update on his condition in the past week and will release an update only if there is a change in his condition.

But brain specialists in Europe have been commenting on the gravity of his condition. “If Schumacher survives he will not be Schumacher. He will be (Mr.) Bloggs. And his rehabilitation will only be effective if he comes to terms with being Bloggs — and fulfils what Bloggs can do,” Dr. Richard Greenwood, a consultant neurologist at London's Homerton Hospital, said. “That's a very, very difficult process to take people through — and many people don't achieve it."

The name 'Bloggs' is used as a placeholder name, used to refer to a person whose name is temporarily forgotten or unknown.

Brain experts said most health services fail to make the link between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and long-term mental consequences, and that patients can fall into depression, behavioural problems and crime. Greenwood was speaking at a briefing for reporters on the results of a study into the long-term effects of traumatic brain injuries caused by blows to the head.

Some 1.7 million people in the United States and one million people in Europe are hospitalised after TBIs each year.

In Germany, neurosurgeon Andreas Zieger of the University Clinic for neurosurgery in Oldenburg speculated that, given the time Schumacher has been kept in an induced coma, “there may have been complications.”

“Brain injuries are among the most complicated injuries that can happen to the human body," he added. "Predictions about how long a person might be in a coma or potential complications are seldom reliable.” — Agencies

New Delhi, January 16
Cheteshwar Pujara is looking forward to the New Zealand tour with a lot of confidence and optimism. “It will be difficult challenge, but the performance I came up against South Africa has changed my mindset and I am a different cricketer now,” he said.

The top order batsman felt that the New Zealand tour, after the success in South Africa, would be comparatively easier. “Once you score runs in overseas conditions against the opposition having bowlers like Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander in their ranks, it means a lot... I believe South African conditions are the most difficult in the cricketing circuit. I think going to New Zealand and playing there might be a little easier,” he added.

Pujara listed scoring runs overseas as his top priority. “There are so many overseas tours coming up, we want to win all of them, that's the target. What everyone can expect from Team India is the fight we showed against South Africa. If that is there, we will have many opportunities to win matches overseas,” he said. — PTI

CHANDIGARH, January 16
Anirban Lahiri and Jeev Milkha Singh started the year well with 69s in their respective tournaments on the Asian and European Tours.

Lahiri carded a three-under-par in the King’s Cup Golf Hua Hin, which started at the Black Mountain Golf Club today.

Teeing off from the tenth, Anirban carded six straight pars and a birdie hat-trick on the 16th, 17th and 18th holes. He then birdied the third and sixth holes, on his back nine, but finished with a double-bogey six on the par-four seventh hole. “I was in the fairway trap on the seventh hole and kind of over-calculated the wind and hit it over the back and got my ball plugged in the downslope of the greenside bunker. It was impossible to hit a clean shot from there and I hit my next shot into the other greenside bunker,” said Anirban who was tied eighth, five strokes behind first round leaders Prom Meesawat and Rikard Karlberg who carded the lowest rounds of the day, 65.

Jyoti Randhawa and SSP Chowrasia were a stroke behind after both the professionals carded a two-under-par, 70 today. Rahil Gangjee was at one-under-par, 71 while Digvijay Singh carded a 72.

The youngsters did not have very consistent opening rounds and Chandigarh's Sujjan Singh, Abhinav Lohan and Chiragh Kumar all shot 75, while Himmat Rai completed the first 18-holes in 75.

Meanwhile, Jeev carded a three-under-par, 69 in the first round of the US$2.7 million Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. Jeev played consistently, carding four birdies against a solitary bogey. “I am happy with my consistent play today and my gameplan this week is to play shot by shot and not get ahead of myself,” said Jeev.

Shiv Kapur shot a one-under-par, 71, while Gaganjeet Bhullar finished the day at level-par 72.

New Delhi, january 16
World Championship bronze-medallist Bajrang Kumar has been left “heartbroken” after the SAI refused to bear his expenses for the Dave Schultz Memorial International tournament in Colorado Springs, saying the grappler can travel to the USA “at no cost to government”.

The last-minute refusal by the Sports Authority of India to sanction Bajrang's travel, board and lodging expenses for the fortnight long training-cum-competition programme has robbed the promising grappler a chance to compete against the world's best under a new weight category, keeping CWG, Asian Games and World Championships in mind this year.

Bajrang got the shocking news from his federation hours before leaving for the airport to join his other teammates, who flew by an early morning flight today to the USA accompanied by chief coach Vinod Kumar. Talks between SAI and the federation are still on to send the player as soon as possible. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Ecclestone steps down with bribery trial looming
London: Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone will continue to run the motor racing business despite a forthcoming bribery trial but will face greater control from the company board, Formula One said in a statement on Thursday. Ecclestone, who denies wrongdoing, will step down as a Formula One director pending the conclusion of a trial scheduled to start in Germany in late April, but will run the business on a day-to-day basis. “The approval and signing of significant contracts and other material business arrangements shall now be the responsibility of the chairman, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, and deputy chairman, Donald Mackenzie,” the statement added.

Srikanth in quarters, Sania, Sindhu, Kashyap bow out
New Delhi: K Srikanth continued his impressive run to enter the men's singles quarterfinals, even as India's campaign in the women's singles came to an end after Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu lost their respective second round matches in contrasting styles in the $500,000 Malaysia Super Series Premier badminton event. The newly-crowned national badminton champion, Srikanth, came from a game down to register an upset victory over World No.17 Son Wan Ho of South Korea 11-21 21-19 21-19 in a contest that lasted an hour and nine minutes. Jan O Jorgensen, the third seed from Denmark, beat Parupalli Kashyap 21-18 21-15. Olympic bronze medallist Saina went down fighting 21-16 10-21 19-21 to a lower-ranked Yao Xue of China in 56 minutes, while Sindhu lost to sixth seed Yeon Ju Bae of Korea 16-21 19-21 in 45 minutes at the Putra Stadium.

India aim to upset Germany
New Delhi: Hosts India would be hoping for a miracle when they take on Olympic champions Germany in the fifth-eighth place play-off game of the Hero Hockey World League Final. Going into the clash, the Indians can take heart from their drawn pool match against the same team. India squandered a two-goal lead against world champions Australia to suffer a 2-7 hammering in the quarterfinal of the eight-nation tournament at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium yesterday. The Germans too have not had the best of outings in the tournament so far, losing 1-2 to Netherlands in another quarterfinal yesterday. Germany had finished second in Pool A with one win, one draw and a loss.

Sanga scores half-century in third Test vs Lanka
Sharjah: Sri Lanka were 220/5 against Pakistan on the first day of the third Test at Sharjah on Thursday. Batting first, Lanka kept losing wickets at regualr intervals even as Kumara Sangakkara scored a half-century. Angelo Mathews (24) and Prasanna Jayawardene (28) hung on till the end. For Pakistan Saeed Ajmal bagged two wickets, while Junaid Khan scalped one. Brief scores: Sri Lanka 220 for 5 (Sangakkara 52, Ajmal 2-62) v Pakistan. — Agencies

F1's Ecclestone faces German bribery trial
Munich: Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone will stand trial on bribery charges in Munich over the sale of a stake in his multi-billion dollar sport, a German court said on Thursday. “Under current planning, the main trial should start in late April,” the Munich court said in a statement on Thursday. Ecclestone, 83, was charged in July with bribing former German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky to smooth the sale of a stake in the motor racing business to private equity firm CVC CVC.UL eight years ago. Ecclestone has denied wrongdoing and said he will fight to clear his name. “The decision to go to trial is normal and in no way is it a finding in the issue at hand. This is something that is up to the trial itself,” Ecclestone's lawyers in Germany Sven Thomas and Norbert Scharf said in a statement.

Shame Indian GP has been scrapped: Damon Hill 
Mumbai: Former F1 world champion Damon Hill today said it was a "shame" that the Indian GP was scrapped just after three years of launch. “It seems to me that there is a bureaucratic challenge, which has meant the Indian GP can't return. It's a shame. I thought it was a good start and a lot of effort was put in doing a great track there. The drivers liked the track," he said.