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Sports ❘ 07 CONTACT US AT: 8351-9190, [email protected] Monday June 5, 2017 ANDY MURRAY produced his best clay-court performance of 2017 to date at the French Open on Saturday, as Stan Wawrinka, Marin Cilic and Fernando Ver- dasco also cruised into the last 16. World number one Murray has struggled for form this year, but was back to something like his best in a 7-6 (10-8), 7-5, 6-0 triumph over Juan Martin del Potro, who competed strongly for two sets before running out of gas. Wawrinka — the 2015 champion at Roland Garros — thrashed Fabio Fognini 7-6 (7-2), 6-0, 6-2, while Verdasco dropped only six games as he dumped out 22nd seed Pablo Cuevas and Cilic was similarly clinical in a 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Feliciano Lopez. Saturday’s other victor was Kevin Anderson, but the South African did not enjoy such an easy ride. Anderson was taken to five sets by Kyle Edmund before coming through 6-4 in the decider. When rain brought a premature halt to proceedings, three matches had still to be completed. Eighth seed Kei Nishikori led Hyeon Chung by two sets to one, but appeared likely to lose the fourth with his opponent a double-break up. John Isner’s match with Karen Khachanov and the all-French clash between Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet were both nearing the end of set one. As a three-time Grand Slam champion, Murray knows what it takes to win one of his sport’s premier events and is pleased to be playing longer matches in Paris. “The five-set format has defi- nitely helped,” said the top seed. “I have maybe not been as anxious going into some of the matches, because I know there is some time to turn it around. But mentally I feel pretty good just now. “I’m working things out whilst I’m playing the matches, and that’s the really, really important part of my game — making adjust- ments. When that’s going well, that’s really positive for me.” It looked like being a chal- lenging day at the office for Wawrinka until Fognini blew his MORE than 1,500 people were injured when panic swept through a crowd of Juventus fans watching the Champions League final in a piazza in the northern Italian city of Turin, authorities said yesterday. The Turin prefect said in a statement that the crowd “was taken by panic and by the psy- chosis of a terror attack,” fearing that a loud noise was caused by attackers. The source of the loud noise that triggered the stampede remained unclear, officials said. Italian media has speculated it may have been a firecracker. The noise triggered panic among thousands of fans gath- ered in Piazza San Carlo to watch the match pitting Juventus against Real Madrid on giant TV screens. Fans were trampled as they tried to flee. Most of the injured were treated for cuts and light contu- sions. Three, including a young boy, were in serious condition, officials said. “At that moment, I saw the entire piazza went in the direction next to the screen to escape, all in a panic,” said The Associated Press reporter Brian Hendrie, who was at the scene. He added that some in the piazza thought a bomb had gone off, while others thought the loud noise was a gunshot. (SD-Agencies) AFTER another potent demon- stration of Cristiano Ronaldo’s enduring scoring prowess, surely no Real Madrid fan can contem- plate criticizing him now. Particularly after the World Player of the Year ensured Madrid pulled off one of soccer’s hardest feats, becoming the first team to successfully defend their Champions League title. The fans who irritated Ron- aldo so much ahead of Saturday’s final due to their whistling were silenced in emphatic style with two goals in a 4-1 victory over Juventus that gave Madrid a record-extending 12th Euro- pean crown. “People don’t have words to criticize,” Ronaldo said, “because the numbers don’t lie.” They certainly don’t after another incredible season, even at the age of 32. “My age is just a number,” Ronaldo said. “I feel like a young boy.” At the end of the 25th season of the Champions League, Ronaldo is the first player to score in the three of the competition’s finals. And having lifted the European Cup once with Manchester United, Ronaldo has done it three times in four seasons with Madrid. It’s the latest piece of silver- ware in an incredible 12 months for the forward. It began with Ronaldo winning his first title with Portugal at the European Championship. Then came the Club World Cup with Real Madrid and the end of a five-year Spanish title drought before new highs were reached in the Champions League. Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo attempts an overhead kick during the match against Juventus at the National Stadium of Wales on Saturday. SD-Agencies Ronaldo fires Real to 12th European title His career goal tally in club and international soccer now stands at 600. Ronaldo’s first strike at Millen- nium Stadium was canceled out by Mario Mandzukic’s exquisite 27th-minute hook shot. It was the only high point for Juven- tus on a night when the Italian champion was outclassed in its quest for a first European title in 21 years. Madrid’s supremacy was clear in the second half. After Casemiro put the Span- ish champions back in front in the 61st, Ronaldo turned in the third at the near post inside three minutes, and Marco Asensio wrapped up the scoring in the 90th. Juventus conceded more goals on the night than it had on the journey to the final, having let in only three in the previous three games. “In the second half Real Madrid pushed the accel- erator,” Juventus coach Mas- similiano Allegri said, “and we remained too static and sat back too long.” Madrid’s attacking brilliance proved too hard for Juventus to contain, giving Zinedine Zidane his second Champions League title in 18 months of top-flight management. “Zidane believes in us a lot,” Ronaldo said. “He knows that we are a very good team and that is why we proved it in the second half.” Until now, no team since AC Milan in 1989 and 1990, when the cup was only a knockout competition, had won back-to- back titles. Madrid had a lot to thank Keylor Navas for in the opening minutes. The goalkeeper blocked a header and strike from Gon- zalo Higuain, and produced a one-handed save when Miralem Pjanic picked a gap through a crowd of defenders. (SD-Agencies) More than 1,500 injured after viewing party descends into chaos Murray hits form as big names prevail in Paris chance to win the opening set. The Italian threw away three set points and third seed Wawrinka went on to win the subsequent tie-break. That disappointment kick- started a nine-game losing run for Fognini, during which he received brief treatment on a knee issue. (SD-Agencies) Great Britain’s Andy Murray in action during his third round match against Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro in Paris on Saturday. SD-Agencies OLYMPIC champion Ding Ning beat fellow Chinese Zhu Yuling 4-2 (11-4, 9-11, 4-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-7) to win her third women’s singles title at the World Table Tennis Championships in Dus- seldorf, Germany, yesterday. Meanwhile, Japan’s Maharu Yoshimura and Kasumi Ishikawa made history after claiming their country’s first mixed doubles gold in 48 years. The Japanese pair had a hard match against Chinese Taipei’s Chen Chien-an and Cheng I- ching on Saturday. Yoshimura and Ishikawa, silver medalists two years ago, came from 1-3 down to win the final 8-11, 8-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-4, 11-9, 11-5. Ding beat Japan’s 17-year-old sensation Miu Hirano 4-1 in the semifinals Saturday. Ding’s vic- tory over the Japanese was sweet revenge for her shock defeat to Hirano in the Asian Champion- ships quarterfinals last April and has also secured the title for China. On Friday, two-time winner Zhang Jike suffered a surprise defeat to South Korea’s Lee Sangsu in the men’s singles round of 32. It was his earliest exit since making his singles debut at the World Champion- ships. (SD News) China’s Ding wins 3rd world title Ding Ning
