Wawrinka (in pic) breaks Djokovic’s 25-match winning streak at the Australian Open. Reuters

Melbourne, January 21
Stanislas Wawrinka brought a dramatic end to Novak Djokovic's quest for a fourth successive Australian Open title in the quarterfinals on Tuesday when he finally found a way to beat the Serbian in a grand slam five-setter.

The pair held a packed Rod Laver Arena spellbound with four hours of top quality tennis studded with breathtaking rallies before the Swiss emerged a 2-6 6-4 6-2 3-6 9-7 winner to snap a 14-match losing streak against the second seed. Wawrinka had come close to beating Djokovic in a five-hour epic in the fourth round here last year and another five-set thriller in the semi-finals of the US Open last September — only to fall agonisingly short.

The 28-year-old finished the job on Tuesday, though, riding his thunderous serve and summoning up some brilliant shotmaking, particularly off his backhand, to claim what could be a career-defining win when Djokovic fluffed a volley. “He's an amazing champion, he never gives up. I'm really, really, really, really, really, really happy,” said Wawrinka, whose path to a first grand slam final is blocked by Czech Tomas Berdych. “After losing two times against him in grand slam in five sets, I'm really happy to take that one. It's great for me.”

Results

Men (Quarterfinals)

8-Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) beat 2-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 2-6 6-4 6-2 3-6 9-7; 7-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) beat 3-David Ferrer (Spain) 6-1 6-4 2-6 6-4

Women (Quarterfinals)

30-Eugenie Bouchard (Canada) beat 14-Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) 5-7 7-5 6-2; 4-Li Na (China) beat 28-Flavia Pennetta (Italy) 6-2 6-2

Melbourne, January 21
Bangkok, Singapore, Mumbai, Kuala Lumpur and a city in the Middle-East will be home to the first five teams of the inaugural International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) later this year, its organisers said on Tuesday.

The players' draft for the Nov 28-Dec 20 league will take place on March 2 in Dubai, IPTL co-founder and Indian doubles’ specialist Mahesh Bhupathi said.

“We've got a pretty exciting player field. We are going to announce that in a couple of weeks,” Bhupathi said on the sidelines of the Australian Open. “We're in the middle of one of the biggest tournaments in the year. We don't want to distract from that.”

Former number one Lleyton Hewitt confirmed being part of the city-based league which was announced in May last year with a star-studded lineup that also included Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

Among the women, 17-times major winner Serena Williams and twice Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka were named as the headline acts.

“For me when I first heard about it the start of the year, I thought it was a fantastic concept,” said Hewitt. “I've obviously witnessed Twenty20 cricket really explode as well. This has been that format where we get the opportunity to play in a close-knit team which is close to my heart, growing up with Australian football and team sports.

“That's one thing lacking in tennis. We don't get the opportunity to participate in a team,” he added.

Every team will have six to 10 players and there will be a $10 million team salary cap, Bhupathi said. — Reuters

Hamilton, January 21
He stood tall with a sparkling hundred before India self-destructed in the opening match against New Zealand. Now, vice-captain Virat Kohli wants his fellow batsmen to produce a more “responsible” performance for the side to stage a comeback.

The number three batsman hit his 18th ODI hundred in the first match of the series at Napier on Sunday. However, it wasn't good enough to win the match for India as the visitors lost by 24 runs.

“It would have been better if we had won but it has been a positive start for us and I am sure that going forward in this series, we will bat more responsibly and get into good positions,” Kohli said.

Kohli was happy with the way he performed in the game. “The good thing is that we got time to prepare, so mentally I was in the right space,” he said. “We practised for about five days before the series started and it really helped me to set up my plans and play according to the conditions and the sort of bowling that we are going to be facing from New Zealand in the series.” It was Kohli's 12th hundred while chasing in the ODIs and on the previous 11 occasions, he has been able to take his team across the finish line.

“While chasing, you know how many runs you need to get and that is something I have always taken as a positive,” he said. — PTI

Live on Sony Six, 6.30 am.

JOhannesburg, January 21
Cricket South Africa has opposed the structural overhaul of the ICC which will cede executive decision-making to India, Australia and England, calling for an immediate withdrawal of the “fundamentally flawed” proposal.

“Cricket South Africa has requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to withdraw the draft proposal emanating from the ICC Finance and Commercial Affairs Commercial Rights working group to allow for a more consultative and Constitutionally-ordained process to take place,” the CSA said in a statement.

The proposal recommends wide-ranging changes in the ICC's revenue distribution model, administrative structure and the Future Tours Programme.

It questions the relevance of Test rankings and suggests the reinstatement of the Champions Trophy over the World Test Championship. And almost every recommendation of the “position paper” gives a larger share of control over world cricket to the Australian, English and Indian Cricket boards — both in the boardroom and on the field.

The official response of CSA to the draft proposal follows a weekend joint session of CSA's Board of Directors and the Members' Forum.

“Without addressing the merits of the proposal insofar as it concerns Constitutional amendments and changes to ICC competitions, these proposals should first be referred to the relevant ICC committees or sub-committees for proper consideration and to make recommendations to the ICC Board,” wrote CSA president Chris Nenzani, in a letter to ICC president Alan Isaac.

Nenzani is also chairman of the CSA Board of Directors. The letter has been copied to all full members of the ICC.

“Although there is nothing to prevent a review of the ICC funding model or finances, the proposal self-evidently is inextricably tied up with a fundamental restructuring of the ICC, which has far-reaching Constitutional implications,” he said.

“The draft proposal is, therefore, fundamentally flawed as regards the process and, therefore, in breach of the ICC Constitution.” Nenzani requested for its immediate withdrawal to discuss a more acceptable plan. — PTI

Mohali, January 21
There wasn’t even a semblance of a contest between Karnataka and Punjab on Day Four of the semifinals at the PCA Stadium today. Firstly, the daylong cloud cover did not leave even a sliver of hope for the hosts. Secondly, Punjab were just not interested in putting up a fight, partly because they saw no hope in the match and partly in defiance against yesterday’s decisions that did not go their way.

For as long as the play went on today, the Harbhajan Singh-led side was on the field with no heart. Bhajji and Manpreet Gony bowled 15 overs between them without any success and then lobbed the ball to the part-timers. From there on, the players’ hands were firmly tucked inside their pockets even as dibbly-dobbly bowlers ambled through their run-ups and gave away gift hampers. There was a slight sliver of hope for Punjab to make comeback when Karun Nair gave a catching opportunity at short leg on 112, but Manan Vohra muffed it.

Of the 36.1 overs bowled on Day 4, Karnataka milked 96 runs to take their total to 447/5, having a handsome lead of 177 in the game. The sixth-wicket stand between Karun Nair (151*) and Amit Verma (114*) is worth 206 runs but the spice was entirely missing from the contest. Verma cashed on the opportunity to bring up his century with a cracking shot through point and celebrated wholeheartedly.

Punjab, despite failing to click in bowling and batting collectively, rode their luck and some pluck to make it to the semifinals this season but when the crunch time came, luck seems to have deserted them. The bowling has been found lacklustre in front of a side that is going through a bull-run. The batsmen have undone the whole season’s effort in a matter of less than one hour in the first innings.

Punjab’s Ex-factor, former India stars Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh, has failed to produce magic and steady a team that has been playing well only in fits and starts.

Brief scores: Punjab: 270; Karnataka: 447/5 in 146.1 overs (Nair 151no, Verma 114no, Harbhajan 2/98.

New Delhi, January 21
The much-anticipated Indian Wrestling League (IWL) is likely to debut in November this year with organisers set to announce six city-based franchises for the three-week long professional league later this month. "The IWL will be held in mid-November. We have corporate houses and sponsors on board and a formal announcement about the league would be made soon," said IWL commissioner and chairman GS Mander.

"November suits us as the World Championships would be over and all big players are available. We can hold our national championships before that," said Mander.

IWL, a tournament on the lines of cricket's Indian Premier League (IPL), was announced after impressive showing by the Indian grapplers at the 2012 Olympics. With the rise of the Indian wrestlers' profile in the international arena, the organisers wanted to hold the event on a bigger scale.

"The prize money for the tournament will be Rs 25 crore and wrestlers will also get handsome match fees," said Mander. — PTI

Patiala, January 21
Controversy and sporting awards, it seems, go hand-in-hand — this has been the norm for the national sports awards (the Arjuna and Dronacharya Awards) over the past few years. Now the Haryana government has sown the seeds of a controversy by announcing the names of Dilbagh Singh (boxing) and Seema Antil (athletics) for the Bhim Awards, despite the fact that the two have served bans for doping offences.

Unless it's a lifetime award, for sporting awards the previous one to three years of performance are taken into account to select a winner. Curiously, in Dilbagh's case, he had done little to merit an award in the last three years — in fact, he had served a two-year ban for doping from 2011 to 2013. He did win the national title last year. There was a controversy after that, too. When he was not selected for the World Championship, he reacted by alleging that the trials had been manipulated.

A lesser objection is that he's employed by the Railways and has rarely represented Haryana. He won a bronze medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, though prior to his selection for India he represented the Railways, not Haryana, at the Nationals.

Notably, Seema Antil's name had been in controversy in the initial years of her career after she was stripped of her gold medal at the 2000 World Junior Championships after testing positive for a banned substance, Pseudoephedrine. However, she went on to find success at the national and international level, winning a bronze medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Many sportspersons have expressed concern over the decision to reward Dilbagh and Seema while speaking to The Tribune, though for understandable reasons they refused to be quoted. "It's ethically incorrect to give the state's highest award to a player who has served a ban for doping," said one Haryana athlete. Another India sportsperson said that the Haryana government was setting a wrong precedent by giving the award to dope-tainted players.

Meanwhile, the joint director of the Haryana Sports Department said the awards are given to players who have made the state proud, and these players too have many achievements in the past at the national and international level.

Chandigarh, January 21
It’s better to forget the past and move ahead but for Delhi Waveriders, hope lies in the past.

High on last year’s performance — they finished runers-up last season— the Waveriders are all set start their 2014 Hockey India League (HIL) campaign against the hosts Punjab Warriors at Mohali on January 25.

Warriors had their first pre-match practice session on Tuesday evening. It will be interesting to see them lock horns in the opener against Punjab Warriors as they had defeated the latter 2-1 in the opening game in the last edition. “The team played with great spirit last year and boys are ready for an encore . Everyone is in good touch and will hopefully perform as well as they did last year,” said Cedric D’ Souza, Waveriders coach. He stressed the team is trying to overcome the shortcomings observed during the last season.

BRIEFLY

Sehwag wants to be back in Delhi Daredevils
New Delhi: Struggling batsman Virender Sehwag, who has not been retained by his IPL franchisee, is hoping that Delhi Daredevils will get him back in the side when the players’ auction takes place next month. The Delhi franchisee chose not to retain a single player from its previous squad. "This auction presents a good opportunity to the franchisees to buy exciting talent like Jacques Kallis and Yuvraj Singh and I hope the Delhi Daredevils team buys me once again," said Sehwag.

I am expecting Saina to do well: Gopichand
Lucknow: After going without a single title in 2013, Saina Nehwal is hungry for success and chief national coach Pullela Gopichand is hoping that the Indian ace will be able to snap her poor streak at the Syed Modi International tournament, starting tomorrow. Gopichand hoped it will be a fresh start for Saina at the $120,000 Grand Prix Gold event. “This is a fresh start for Saina. I am expecting her to do well here,” said Gopi Chand. “Lucknow has been a happy hunting ground for me and I am keen to clinch the Syed Modi title again,” said Saina, who will open her campaign against Matilda Petersen of Sweden tomorrow.

Three I-League clubs reveal approaches by punters
Mumbai: Three top Indian clubs have alleged that they were approached by international betting syndicates to fix I-League matches in the last few seasons, sources in the All India Football Federation said on Tuesday. An AIFF official said the three I-League clubs revealed approaches by betting syndicates during the recent FIFA-INTERPOL workshop held here recently on the invitation of the national federation. “When asked by FIFA officials whether there were any approaches by suspicious people, three I-League clubs said they were approached," the official said.

Solanki stuns second seed
Kolkata: Alex Solanki of India created a major upset today as he ousted second seed Wei De Lin of Chinese Taipei in the opening round of the ONGC ITF Junior tournament. Wei De Lin grabbed the opening set 6-4 but the second was stretched to a tie-breaker as Solanki refused to give up before squaring it with a 7-1 win. Thereafter, Solanki played some outstanding rallies to win the decider 6-2. — Agencies