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Roger roars back to his best
2nd defeat, and India No. 1 no more
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Didn’t fight hard enough, says dejected Punjab coach
hockey
india league
Bhullar opens with 67 in Qatar
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Roger roars back to his best
MELBOURNE, January 22 Swiss Federer played sublime tennis to open a two-set lead over Murray but had to withstand a late charge from Briton before claiming a 6-3 6-4 6-7(6) 6-3 win in the first “Big Four” clash of the year. Nadal had dug himself out of a hole to suppress an inspired Dimitrov, winning 3-6 7-6(3) 7-6(7) 6-2 after his opponent had squandered a golden chance to win the third set. Victoria Azarenka could only blame herself after she was earlier shown the door 6-1 5-7 6-0 by Agnieszka Radwanska to leave the tournament without a defending champion in the last four of either draw for the first time in the professional era. After ending Azarenka's hopes of a third straight title, Radwanska will face Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova, who crushed Simona Halep 6-3 6-0, to decide who meets China's Li Na or Canadian teenager Eugenie Bouchard in the final. With Tomas Berdych meeting Novak Djokovic's conquerer Stan Wawrinka in the first men's semifinal on Thursday, the winner of the Nadal-Federer clash will like their chances of adding another Grand Slam title to their considerable hauls. “It's going to be a good match,” said 32-year-old Federer about Friday's next installment of his Nadal rivalry. “It's going to be brutal and all those things. Looking forward to slugging it out with him in a couple of days.” A free-flowing Federer had looked in total command against Murray until late in the third set when he served for the match at 5-4, having just broken the fourth seed's serve. Murray broke back and forced a tiebreak and then hung in doggedly to overturn a 4-6 deficit and force a fourth set. Federer shrugged off missing his chance, however, keeping his cool through an hour-long fourth set to outlast a tiring Murray and avenge his defeat in the semifinals here last year. “I've been in these positions before,” Federer, who has reached the semifinal for an 11th straight year at Melbourne Park, said. “For me it was just a matter of staying calm and forgetting about it a little bit. The match was great until that point when I couldn't get it done really.” Having lost three finals, Murray has endured plenty of heartache in Melbourne but the Wimbledon champion was philosophical in defeat given his recent return to action after back surgery curtailed his 2013. “I’ve come a long way in four months," he said. "Obviously right now I'm very disappointed. Wasn't too far away in the end." Paes-Stepanek out
Veteran Indian tennis ace Leander Paes and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek were knocked out after going down 2-6 6-7 (4) to French combination of Michael Llodra and Nicolas Mahut.
— Agencies Results 6-Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat 4-Andy Murray (Britain) 6-3 6-4 6-7(6) 6-3; 1-Rafa Nadal (Spain) beat 22-Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) 3-6 7-6(3) 7-6(7) 6-2 5-Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) beat 2-Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) 6-1 5-7 6-0; 20-Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) beat 11-Simona Halep (Romania) 6-3 6-0 semis line-up |
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2nd defeat, and India No. 1 no more
Hamilton, January 22 India, who desperately needed a win to retain their top spot, made a valiant effort to overhaul the revised target of 297 in 42 overs but failed to cross the finishing line, scoring 277 for nine in 41.3 overs and giving Australia pole position in the ICC ODI rankings. The Duckworth-Lewis par score in 41.3 overs was 293. Put into bat, the Kiwis rattled up 271 for seven, riding on Kane Williamson's 76 and Corey Anderson's rampaging 17-ball 44 that included five huge sixes as the hosts amassed a whopping 101 runs in 8.4 overs after interruption due to rain. India were left with a daunting task of chasing a revised target of 297 as per the D/L method and were again done in by a shaky start. Virat Kohli top-scored with a sparkling 78 while skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (56), Suresh Raina (35), Ajinkya Rahane (36) got the starts but could not translate them into match-winning knocks. Tim Southee (4/72) was the pick of the New Zealand bowlers while Anderson again displayed his all-round prowess, picking up three for 67. Shikhar Dhawan (12, 22 balls) and Rohit Sharma (20, 34 balls) wasted a lot of deliveries upfront as India couldn't take advantage of the bowling Powerplay. Kohli and Rahane added 90 runs for the third wicket after Dhawan was bowled by Southee and Sharma edged one to Luke Ronchi behind the stumps. Both Kohli and Rahane played confident strokes but the Mumbaikar was done in by Mitchell McClenaghan, who got one to kick up and Rahane only got an edge to the keeper. Skipper Dhoni came out to bat ahead of Suresh Raina but they could not take the score closer to the target. Kohli was looking to accelerate when he mistimed and hit straight to the substitute fielder at mid-on. He made 78 runs off 65 balls, with seven fours and two sixes. Raina chipped in with a quick-fire 35 off 22 balls with six fours. He put on 62 runs in only 39 balls with Dhoni as the chase started looking hopeful once again. But he fell in the 37th over, much to the disappointment of his captain. Thereafter Dhoni reached his 50 in the 39th over, off 41 balls, looking to take India home single-handedly. His efforts came to nought as he holed out in the deep in the 40th over. — PTI Scoreboard India
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Didn’t fight hard enough, says dejected Punjab coach
Mohali, January 22 No play was possible on the fifth day as the ground remained under covers for most part of the day. The umpires finally called off the play around 12.35 pm. Karnataka will take on Maharashtra in the final in Hyderabad from January 29. It will be Karnataka's first Ranji Trophy final since 2010, when they lost to Mumbai by six runs in Mysore. The high-profile match witnessed only two days of action and mere 36 overs of play on the third day. The first day's play had been washed out due to rain, and the fourth day was marred by a heavy cloud cover and bad light. As such, the contest had already ended in favour of Karnataka on Day Two when they took the first innings lead. On the fourth day, Punjab needed a miracle to make a comeback but that did not happen. Punjab coach Bhupinder Singh accepted that the irresponsible batting on the first day led to a golden opportunity being missed. “Half-an-hour of irresponsible batting on the first day cost us the game. Any team aspiring to qualify for the final should bat longer than 60-odd overs irrespective of the wicket,” he said. “We simply didn't fight hard and the manner in which Karnataka stamped their authority showed they were the deserving finalists.” The coach also said that their batting was a cause of concern. “Our middle order is young and inexperienced… They had been shaky throughout the tournament, in the semifinal too they just gave in.”
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hockey
india league Indervir Grewal Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 22 “Ideally, we would have wanted more training sessions as a whole unit, but the players who had participated in the Hockey World League needed to rest for a couple of days,” said the head coach, Barry Dancer. The Australian added that the team, barring the players who played in the WHL, had a week’s training in New Delhi before shifting base to the new hockey stadium in Mohali – the team’s home ground this season. A relaxed bunch
A couple of light practice sessions might not be enough to shape a cohesive unit but they can tell a lot about the mental state of a team. The last couple of days have shown a jovial bunch of players going through the routine drills, looking relaxed before their big game — the season opener against the Delhi Waveriders on Saturday. “The players are relaxed now; as the match-day approaches, they will start getting anxious, which is a good thing,” added Dancer. With the awkwardness of a first meeting behind them — the team is mostly unchanged from last year — the players, the coach said, were at ease with each other. “The players are comfortable with each other this year; they are constantly cracking jokes. It’s a good sign.” The Warriors is an Aussie heavy team, with Jamie Dwyer as their captain which, ironically, played a big part in their weak performance in the last edition. “Last year most of the Australian players, including Jamie, were coming off a winter break so they were unfit,” Dancer said. “This year all of them have come prepared. Those who weren’t part of the Australian team in WHL were part of the preparation for the tournament.” After the rest, the whole team, led by the fitter Aussies, went through the plays with a springy liveliness. Simon Orchard, who was part of the Australia team at the WHL, was feeling more than fit. Asked if he was well rested and eager to play, he said: “Excited!” |
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Bhullar opens with 67 in Qatar
Chandigarh, January 22 Shiv Kapur also started well and was a stroke behind Gaganjeet with a bogey-free 68. Shiv had nine pars in the front nine and four birdies — on the 10th, 13th, 15th and 16th — for a flawless round. Jeev Milkha Singh had an early start, waking at 4 am to get to the course in time for his tee-off, only to be greeted by fog which delayed play by 30 minutes. However, Jeev comfortably carded a one-under 71 with three birdies and two bogeys. The tournament boasts leading golfers like Jason Dufner, Henrik Stenson and Luke Donald as all players want to collect points in order to make the team for the 2014 Ryder Cup.
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MELBOURNE, January 22
