ARMSTRONG VAS THE PENINSULA DOHA: It was a day of upsets at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open as two seeded players failed to make it past the first round of the ATP Tour event in Qatar. On the second day of the event, the second and third seeds of the tournament, Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych and Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta were forced to make quick exits from Doha after losing their matches on the centre court of the Khalifa Intertna- tional Tennis and Squash Complex. Rising Croatian star Borna Coric set the upset trend into motion as he came from a set behind against Busta of Spain to pull off a stunning win in the first round tie in Doha yesterday. In the second upset of the day, Berdych went down to German Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 in the second meeting between the two, a match which lasted two hours eight minutes. Yesterday, the 21-year-old Croatian, making his Doha debut, saved three match points to win the engrossing fortune fluctuating match 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (10/8) in two hours 41 minutes to register an impres- sive win of his short career. “I think I played very good. I didn’t know what to expect playing the first match of the year. It’s always maybe a little bit tricky, you know, but I can say from the beginning that I was playing very good,” Coric told reporters after his win, his first against the World No. 10. “The first set, I lost it, but also I can say that I was play- ing good. You know, it was two or three points. We decided the set. I just knew that I need to remain playing very good. And I need to make even more pres- sure. That’s what I was doing,” said the right hander, with a World No. 48 rank. “Then in the third set, obvi- ously it was luck as well. But I was always brave. I was run- ning for the shots. That was feeling, I was going for the win” Coric added as he became first player to score a win over a top-10 player. For Coric, the win over Busta is his second over a player ranked among the top ten. Last year, he stunned Andy Murray, the win over Briton which he stills rates as his best so far. “This is a huge win, for sure, especially because it’s the first match of the season. I nor- mally don’t start the season very well, so I’m very happy with that. But you cannot com- pare it over the win with Andy. He was World No. 1 and stuff like that. So you cannot com- pare that. But obviously I’m also very happy with this win. You know, I’m going to take it.” Coric said his success for- mula in saving three match points was simple ‘don’t miss’. “I was just saying don’t miss. Don’t miss this point because we played actually very long tie-break. I was a little bit tired and I also knew he was tired. I know how I feel when I’m match point down. I didn’t want to have very long rally. So I was just trying to make him play as much as I can. And that’s what I did. Then he gave me a little bit shorter ball and I just took advantage of it. It’s very easy,” said Coric, who turned pro in 2013 has one ATP title against his name. Coric plays Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili in the sec- ond round, who was termed as a ’tricky opponent’. “I didn’t look at the whole bottom half to be honest because I’m playing against a guy who beat me twice in last year. He’s a tricky opponent to play. And I’ve also played very long match. So it’s not going to be easy, for sure. So that’s my main focus; that’s my only focus, to be honest,” he said about his next round match. “I don’t know who I’m going to play in the quarters. To be honest, I really haven’t looked at it. I’m not very inter- ested in it, to be honest. Because I have played very good today but it doesn’t mean anything. Tomorrow is a new day. It’s a new match. So I just need to focus on that. Struff, who beat the 2015 Doha finalist Berdych, started on a positive note by winning the first set by playing a attack- ing brand of tennis. The former Wimbledon finalist bounced back to take the second but the German wrapped up the match in the decider by winning the tie-break. In the second round, he will take on the winner of Gael Monfils-Paolo Lorenzi. In the other interesting results, unseeded Peter Gojowczyk of Germany beat sixth seed Filip Krajinovic of Serbia 6-4, 6-1, while Mirza Basic, a qualifier from Bosnia defeated Andreas Haider-Mau- rer of Austria 6-4, 6-3. Basic will meet eight seed Feliciano Lopez of Spain in the next round, the Spaniard defeated compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 to advance. Top seed, Austria’s Dominic Thiem, won his first round match in straight sets on Monday. SPORT Wednesday 3 January 2018 Kyrgios begins new season ‘more determined than ever’ Wozniacki storms to win in Classic opener PAGE | 30 PAGE | 35 PAGE | 36 India’s winning run under threat from green tops in SA Ind un 21-year-old Croatian Borna Coric, making his Doha debut, won 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (10/8) in two hours 41 minutes to register an impressive win. Busta and Berdych sent packing on day of upsets TODAY’S ORDER OF PLAY: CENTRE COURT 3.30pm SINGLES SECOND ROUND: (7) Fernando Verdasco Vs Andrey Rublev Followed by (1) Dominic Thiem Vs Aljaz Bedene Followed by Jan-Lennard Struff Vs Paolo Lorenzi or Gael Monfils Followed by (Q) Stefanos Tsitsipas Vs Richard Gasquet COURT 1 3.30pm SINGLES SECOND ROUND (8) Feliciano Lopez Vs (Q) Mirza Basic Followed by Matteo Berrettini Vs Peter Gojowczyk Followed by Stefano Travaglia Vs Guido Pella or Albert Ramos-Vinolas Followed by DOUBLES QUARTER-FINAL Peter Gojowczyk/Florian Mayer or Tuna Altuna/Elias Ymer Vs (2) Oliver Marach/Mate Pavic COURT 3 NOT BEFORE 5.00pm DOUBLES QUARTER FINAL Pablo Carreno Busta/Guillermo Garcia-Lopez Vs (4) Ivan Dodig/Fernando Verdasco QATAR EXXONMOBIL OPEN SINGLES: Round of 32 Aljaz Bedene (SLO) bt (WC) Malek Jaziri (TUN) 7-5, 6-1 Peter Gojowczyk (GER) bt (6) Filip Krajinovic (SRB) 6-4, 6-1 (Q) Mirza Basic (BIH) bt Andreas Haider-Maurer (AUT) 6-4, 6-3 B. Coric (CRO) beat (2) Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP) 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 Feliciano Lopez (ESP) bt Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (Q) Stefano Travaglia (ITA) beat (WC) Jabor Al-Mutawa (QAT) 6-1, 6-2 Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) bt (3) Tomas Berdych (CZE) 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 Viktor Troicki (SRB) VS (Q) Matteo Berrettini (ITA) 6-4, 7-6, 6-4 (5) Richard Gasquet (FRA) bt Victor Estrella Burgos (DOM) 6-0, 6-2 RESULTS OF DOUBLES: ROUND OF 16 Peter Gojowczyk (GER)/Florian Mayer (GER) - Tuna Altuna (TUR)/Elias Ymer (SWE) Nikola Mektic (CRO)/Alexander Peya (AUT) beat Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO)/Andreas Haider-Maurer (AUT) 1-6, 7-6, 10-8 Oliver Marach (AUT)/Mate Pavic (CRO) beat Daniel Nestor (CAN)/Philipp Oswald (AUT) 6-2, 6-2 Fernando VERDASCO (ESP)/ Ivan Dodig (CRO) beat Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)/Florin Mergea (ROU) 6-1, 6-4 Borna Coric of Croatia returns the ball to Spanish tennis player Pablo Carreno Busta during the first round of the ATP Qatar ExxonMobil Open at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha yesterday. Pictures: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula This is a huge win, for sure, especially because it’s the first match of the season. I normally don’t start the season very well, so I’m very happy with that. But you cannot compare it over the win with Andy. He was World No. 1: Coric In the second upset of the day, Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych went down to German Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany returns the ball to Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic during the first round match of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha yesterday.
Transcript
ARMSTRONG VAS
THE PENINSULA
DOHA: It was a day of upsets at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open as two seeded players failed to make it past the first round of the ATP Tour event in Qatar.
On the second day of the event, the second and third seeds of the tournament, Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych and Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta were forced to make quick exits from Doha after losing their matches on the centre court of the Khalifa Intertna-tional Tennis and Squash Complex.
Rising Croatian star Borna Coric set the upset trend into motion as he came from a set behind against Busta of Spain to pull off a stunning win in the first round tie in Doha yesterday.
In the second upset of the day, Berdych went down to German Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 in the second meeting between the two, a match which lasted two hours eight minutes.
Yesterday, the 21-year-old Croatian, making his Doha debut, saved three match points to win the engrossing fortune fluctuating match 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (10/8) in two hours 41 minutes to register an impres-sive win of his short career.
“I think I played very good. I didn’t know what to expect playing the first match of the year. It’s always maybe a little bit tricky, you know, but I can say from the beginning that I was playing very good,”
Coric told reporters after his win, his first against the World No. 10.
“The first set, I lost it, but also I can say that I was play-ing good. You know, it was two
or three points. We decided the set. I just knew that I need to remain playing very good. And I need to make even more pres-sure. That’s what I was doing,” said the right hander, with a World No. 48 rank.
“Then in the third set, obvi-ously it was luck as well. But I was always brave. I was run-ning for the shots. That was feeling, I was going for the win” Coric added as he became first player to score a win over a top-10 player.
For Coric, the win over Busta is his second over a player ranked among the top ten. Last year, he stunned Andy Murray, the win over Briton which he stills rates as his best so far.
“This is a huge win, for sure, especially because it’s the first match of the season. I nor-mally don’t start the season very well, so I’m very happy with that. But you cannot com-pare it over the win with Andy. He was World No. 1 and stuff like that. So you cannot com-pare that. But obviously I’m also very happy with this win. You know, I’m going to take it.”
Coric said his success for-mula in saving three match points was simple ‘don’t miss’.
“I was just saying don’t miss. Don’t miss this point because we played actually very long tie-break. I was a
little bit tired and I also knew he was tired. I know how I feel when I’m match point down. I didn’t want to have very long rally. So I was just trying to make him play as much as I can. And that’s what I did. Then he gave me a little bit shorter ball and I just took advantage of it. It’s very easy,” said Coric, who turned pro in 2013 has one ATP title against his name.
Coric plays Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili in the sec-ond round, who was termed as a ’tricky opponent’.
“I didn’t look at the whole bottom half to be honest because I’m playing against a guy who beat me twice in last year. He’s a tricky opponent to play. And I’ve also played very long match. So it’s not going to be easy, for sure. So that’s my main focus; that’s my only focus, to be honest,” he said about his next round match.
“I don’t know who I’m going to play in the quarters. To be honest, I really haven’t looked at it. I’m not very inter-ested in it, to be honest. Because I have played very good today but it doesn’t mean anything. Tomorrow is a new
day. It’s a new match. So I just need to focus on that.
Struff, who beat the 2015 Doha finalist Berdych, started on a positive note by winning the first set by playing a attack-ing brand of tennis.
The former Wimbledon finalist bounced back to take the second but the German wrapped up the match in the decider by winning the tie-break.
In the second round, he will take on the winner of Gael Monfils-Paolo Lorenzi.
In the other interesting results, unseeded Peter Gojowczyk of Germany beat sixth seed Filip Krajinovic of Serbia 6-4, 6-1, while Mirza Basic, a qualifier from Bosnia defeated Andreas Haider-Mau-rer of Austria 6-4, 6-3.
Basic will meet eight seed Feliciano Lopez of Spain in the next round, the Spaniard defeated compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 to advance.
Top seed, Austria’s Dominic Thiem, won his first round match in straight sets on Monday.
SPORTWednesday 3 January 2018
Kyrgios begins new season ‘more
determined than ever’
Wozniacki storms to win in Classic opener
PAGE | 30 PAGE | 35 PAGE | 36
India’s winning run under threat from
green tops in SA
Indun
21-year-old Croatian Borna Coric, making his Doha debut, won 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (10/8) in two hours 41 minutes to register an impressive win.
Busta and Berdych sent packing on day of upsets
TODAY’S ORDER OF PLAY:
CENTRE COURT3.30pm
SINGLES SECOND ROUND:
(7) Fernando VerdascoVs
Andrey Rublev
Followed by (1) Dominic Thiem
Vs Aljaz Bedene
Followed byJan-Lennard Struff
Vs Paolo Lorenzi or Gael Monfils
Followed by (Q) Stefanos Tsitsipas
Vs Richard Gasquet
COURT 13.30pm
SINGLES SECOND ROUND
(8) Feliciano LopezVs
(Q) Mirza Basic
Followed by Matteo Berrettini
VsPeter Gojowczyk
Followed by Stefano Travaglia
Vs Guido Pella or Albert
Ramos-Vinolas
Followed by DOUBLES QUARTER-FINAL
Peter Gojowczyk/Florian Mayer or Tuna Altuna/Elias Ymer
Oliver Marach (AUT)/Mate Pavic (CRO) beat Daniel Nestor (CAN)/Philipp Oswald (AUT) 6-2, 6-2
Fernando VERDASCO (ESP)/ Ivan Dodig (CRO) beat Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)/Florin Mergea (ROU) 6-1, 6-4
Borna Coric of Croatia returns the ball to Spanish tennis player Pablo Carreno Busta during the first round of the ATP Qatar ExxonMobil Open at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha yesterday. Pictures: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula
This is a huge win, for sure, especially because it’s the first match of the season. I normally don’t start the season very well, so I’m very happy with that. But you cannot compare it over the win with Andy. He was World No. 1: Coric
In the second upset of the day, Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych went down to German Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 1-6, 7-6
Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany returns the ball to Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic during the first round match of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha yesterday.
30 WEDNESDAY 3 JANUARY 2018SPORT
India’s winning run under threat from green tops in SAREUTERS
CAPE TOWN: India’s long winning streak in Test cricket is under threat in a quick-fire three match series against South Africa this month, where their status as the top ranked nation in the format faces a stiff examination.
Virat Kohli’s side have won nine successive series to climb to the top of the International Cricket Council’s rankings but most of the success has come on batting friendly wickets.
South Africa are expected to prepare ‘green top’ wickets for the tests in Cape Town, Pretoria and Johannesburg, all squeezed into January, to hand India an unfamiliar and difficult challenge.
India have traditionally struggled against the home bowling attack with just two vic-tories in 17 previous Tests on tour in South Africa.
But while past touring sides have crumbled under the bar-rage of pace, this is an experienced India squad, 13 of whom have previously toured South Africa and will know what to expect.
“All I can say is the team is up for the challenge,” said India coach Ravi Shastri ahead of the first Test at Newlands, which starts on Friday.
“If you asked me four years ago, I would have said no. But this team has gained in experi-ence,” he added.
“The beauty of this team is it does not matter who opposition it is. For us every game is a home game. Even this is a home game for us at Newlands. You see the pitch, you adapt. No excuses, no complaints.
“Tomorrow you go to Eng-land and it might be seaming all over the place. You come to India it might be turning. If you want to be rated as a side, you adapt
to the conditions. It’s as simple as that.”
South Africa, who are sec-ond in the ICC Test rankings, are at full strength for the first time in almost two years as AB de Vil-liers returns from a lengthy absence from the first class game. The bowling department
is also reinforced by the return from injury of Dale Steyn and his long-time new ball partner Ver-non Philander. The three Test series is followed by six One Day Internationals and three Twenty20 clashes between the two countries through to the end of February.
CAPE TOWN: A three-Test series between South Africa
and India begins at Newlands on Friday. Here are facts
about the series:
SCHEDULE (TIMES GMT):��First Test Jan 5-9 (0830) Newlands, Cape Town
��Second Test Jan 13-17 (0800) Centurion,
Pretoria
��Third Test Jan 24-28 (0800) Wanderers,
Johannesburg
SOUTH AFRICATest ranking: Second
Captain: Faf du Plessis
Coach: Ottis Gibson
Top ranked Test batsman: Hashim Amla (7)
Top ranked Test bowler: Kagiso Rabada (2)
SQUAD: Faf du Plessis (captain), Hashim Amla, Temba
Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Theunis de Bruyn, AB de
Villiers, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram,
Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Ver-
2007/08 India and South Africa drew 1-1 (one draw)
2009/10 India and South Africa drew 1-1
2010/11 South Africa and India drew 1-1 (one draw)
2013/14 South Africa beat India 1-0 (one draw)
2015/16 India beat South Africa 3-0 (one draw).
Factbox - South Africa vs India
IANS
BENGALURU: Former South African cricketer Gary Kirsten and former India pacer Ashish Nehra have been roped in by the Indian Premier League (IPL) fran-chise Royal Challengers Bangalore as their batting and bowling coach, it was announced yesterday.
Additionally, the duo will also play the role of mentors for the team during the upcoming edition of the cash-rich league
Commenitng on the development, the head coach of the franchise Daniel Vattori said: “I am excited to wel-come Gary and Ashish to the coaching team for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
“Both of them bring a wealth of experience in cricket, which the team can learn from immensely. We look forward to an amazing season,” he added.
Apart from them, Austral-ia’s Andrew McDonald, who joined the RCB last season, will take care of the bowling talent development and ana-lytics while Trent Woodhill will handle the fielding department.
The chairman of the team, Amrit Thomas said: “We are confident that the cricketing expertise that Gary Kirsten and Ashish Nehra bring to the coaching team led by Daniel Vettori, will help the team play bold in the new season. We are very thrilled to have them on-board.”
Mitchell selects Test cricket over IPL IANS
SYDNEY: Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh (pictured) wants to skip the Indian Premier League (IPL) in an attempt to prolong his Test career.
The 26-year-old last played for Rising Pune Supergiant in the IPL. He was sold to the franchise for Rs.4.8 crore during the IPL auction in 2016.
“It was a fairly big decision from a money point of view but my ultimate goal is to play Test match cricket for Australia,” Marsh told the media here yesterday.
“That’s the lure of the IPL, the money and playing in India. But I made the decision based
on my cricket. When I made that decision I didn’t really think I was going to be back there this quickly. But I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to play 14 red-ball games over there if I can, and try and improve,” he added.
Marsh, who has picked up 29 wickets and scored 893 runs
in 23 Tests for Australia also said he wants to concentrate on the limited overs series in England in June and wants to perform at his best for his country.
“Looking forward we’ve got a lot of cricket coming up in England over the next few years and I want to give myself the best opportunity to be over there and get used to the conditions,” the Australian said.
“I certainly understood that (I needed to adapt better) when we went there for the Ashes a couple of years ago.
“Paying in their conditions for a whole summer, I’ll get flat wickets, I’ll get wickets that seam and swing,” Marsh yesterday.
IPL: Kirsten, Nehra join RCB coaching department
Indian Test openers K L Rahul and Murali Vijay are seen during a training session in Cape Town yesterday.
India’s Test captain Virat Kohli seen during this July file photo taken in Colombo last year. Kohli’s India will attempt to win their first Test series in South Africa starting with the first match tomorrow.
Faf du Plesis
31WEDNESDAY 3 JANUARY 2018 SPORT
Pitch at MCG was poor, confirms ICC AFP
SYDNEY: The Melbourne pitch for the fourth Ashes Test match has been rated “poor” by the International Cricket Council (ICC), reportedly the first for an Australian ground, just days after players also criticised the condi-tions.
The showpiece Boxing Day match, which ended in a draw, denied England their first win of the series that Australia had already claimed with an unas-sailable three-nil lead.
It was only the second Box-ing Day Test draw in 20 years.
The drop-in pitch at the Mel-bourne Cricket Ground (MCG) was unforgiving for bowlers, with a total of 1,081 runs scored and only 24 wickets taken over five days.
Match referee Ranjan Madu-galle noted the unfavourable conditions in his report to the ICC, while Australia captain Steve Smith and England skip-per Joe Root also hit out at the lifeless pitch after the Test.
“The pitch... has been rated as ‘poor’ under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process,” the governing body said in a statement.
In his report, Madugalle had said “the bounce of the MCG pitch was medium, but slow in
pace and got slower as the match progressed”.
“The nature of the pitch did not change over the five days and there was no natural deteriora-tion,” he added.
“As such, the pitch did not allow an even contest between the bat and the ball as it neither favoured the batsmen too much nor it gave the bowlers sufficient opportunity to take wickets.”
The ICC rating comes just two days before the introduction of a new penalty system for grounds that could have seen the MCG hit with demerit points.
Under the system, if a ground reaches five points the venue will be suspended from hosting inter-national matches for 12 months, and for two years if the venue accumulates 10 points.
Cricket Australia Chief Exec-utive Officer James Sutherland said yesterday he was “disap-pointed that the traditional characteristics of the MCG pitch did not come to the fore during the Boxing Day Test”.
“We’ll be taking on board advice from the ICC, players and relevant experts to work with the Melbourne Cricket Club to ensure this rating is not repeated.”
The Melbourne Cricket Club, which prepares and maintains the playing surface and facilities,
said it was also disappointed with the pitch.
“We recognise that the sur-face did not contain the bounce,
pace or subsequent deteriora-tion that we expected, and was not conducive to a balanced con-test between bat and ball,” it said
in a statement, cricket.com.au reported. “We will be working rigorously to improve our per-formance and are confident and
determined to produce portable wickets that generate entertain-ing cricket in 2018 and beyond,” he said.
WHERE?Sydney Cricket Ground - Capacity: 44,002
Situated in Moore Park in the city’s east, the SCG has been the venue for Tests since 1882, making it the world’s third oldest Test ground after the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the Oval in London. A facility that allows spectators to get up close to the action, the SCG has also been used to host a whole range of sports including soccer, rugby union, rugby league and Australian Rules football. Although the SCG has always had a reputation for being the most spin-friendly of Australia’s Test tracks, particularly on the last couple of days, it has helped the seamers as well.
Australia have won 26 of the 55 Ashes Tests played at the SCG while England have won 22. It was at the SCG on the first day of the fifth Test in the 1998-99 series when England pacer Darren Gough wrote his name into Ashes history by picking up a hat-trick.
England went on to lose the series 3-1. Steve Waugh scored a potentially career-saving century at his home ground in the fifth Test of the 2003 series after averaging just over 30 across 11 Tests in the previous year. Australia won the series 4-1.
WHEN?Jan. 4-8. Play starts at 1030 local time (2330 GMT)
AUSTRALIA (World ranking: fifth)Squad - David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Steve Smith (captain), Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Mitchell Starc Coach: Darren Lehmann
ENGLAND (World ranking: third)Squad - Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Gary Ballance, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Mason Crane, Tom Curran, Ben Foakes, Dawid Malan, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Chris Woakes Coach: Trevor Bayliss
MATCH OFFICIALSUmpires: Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka), Joel Wilson (WestIndies)TV umpire: Sundaram Ravi (India)Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)
1882 Australia 5 wickets1882 Australia 6 wickets1883 England 69 runs1883 Australia 4 wickets1885 Australia 6 runs1885 Australia 8 wickets1887 England 13 runs1887 England 71 runs1888 England 126 runs1892 Australia 72 runs1894 England 10 runs1895 Australia inns & 147 runs1897 England 9 wickets1898 Australia 6 wickets1901 England inns & 124 runs1902 Australia 7 wickets1903 England 5 wickets1904 England 157 runs1907 Australia 2 wickets1908 Australia 49 runs1911 Australia 146 runs1912 England 70 runs1920 Australia 377 runs1921 Australia 9 wickets1924 Australia 193 runs1925 Australia 307 runs1928 England 8 wickets1932 England 10 wickets1933 England 8 wickets
1936 England inns & 22 runs1946 Australia inns & 33 runs1947 Australia 5 wickets1951 Australia inns & 13 runs1954 England 38 runs1955 Match drawn1959 Match drawn1963 Australia 8 wickets1963 Match drawn1966 England inns & 93 runs1971 England 299 runs1971 England 62 runs1975 Australia 171 runs1979 England 93 runs1979 England 9 wickets1980 Australia 6 wickets1983 Match drawn1987 Australia 55 runs1988 Match drawn 1991 Match drawn1995 Match drawn1999 Australia 98 runs2003 England 225 runs2007 Australia 10 wickets2011 England inns & 83 runs2014 Australia 281 runs
England desperate for consolation win REUTERS
SYDNEY: Even with the series beyond them and Ashes already returned to Australia, England will be desperate to back up an encouraging performance in Melbourne and secure a conso-lation victory in the fifth and final test in Sydney this week.
Avoiding a whitewash may not be much to crow about but Joe Root’s party must take a modicum of pride in apparently not disintegrating as the 2013-14 tourists did, an impression which a taste of victory in the Harbour City would confirm.
Given the fierce nature of the rivalry, though, Australia will be looking to ruthlessly drive home their advantage with a big win in front of a big crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground, which is sold out for the first three days.
Australia captain Steve Smith’s magnificent century helped save a draw in the Box-ing Day Test and the hosts are confident he will recover from the stiff back that prevented him from training yesterday in time
for tomorrow’s toss. Left-arm quick Mitchell Starc, who missed the fourth test with a bruised heel, did bowl in the nets and should return to terrorise the English batsmen as he did with his 19 wickets in the first three Test victories in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
In his absence, Alastair Cook’s double century and the bowling of the experienced seam duo of Stuart Broad and James Anderson gave England the sniff of a win at the Mel-bourne Cricket Ground only for the weather and Smith to deny them.
“If we’d won the game, then you’d maybe say there’d be more questions posed to
Australia,” opening batsman Mark Stoneman told reporters yesterday.
“It’s given us a lot of confi-dence moving forward that the things we tried to put in place earlier in the series have come through to a certain degree, but ultimately we want to win a game of cricket on this tour.”
The SCG traditionally offers some turn and with slow-bowl-ing all-rounder Moeen Ali out of form, leg-spinner Mason Crane looks set to become the third Englishman to make his test debut in the series.
Australia drafted left-arm tweaker Ashton Agar into their squad to give them an option of a twin spin attack with Nathan Lyon but the more likely change to the side will be the return of pace spearhead Starc for Jack-son Bird.
“I know he’s pretty confi-dent he’s going to play,” fellow quick Pat Cummins said of Starc yesterday.
“I haven’t spoken to him but it looked like he was bowling quick, running around and wasn’t limping.”
CURRENT TOUR1ST TEST Gabba, Brisbane
Australia won by 10 wickets
2ND TEST Adelaide Oval
Australia won by 120 runs
3RD TEST WACA, Perth
Australia won by inns & 41 runs
4TH TEST MCG, Melbourne
Match drawn
GILLETTE ODI SERIES AGAINST AUSTRALIA
First ODI MCG, Jan 14. Second ODI Gabba, Jan 19. Third ODI SCG, Jan 21. Fourth ODI Adelaide Oval, Jan 26. Fifth ODI Perth Stadium, Jan 8.
Prime Minister’s XIPM’s XI v England Manuka Oval, Feb 2.
GILLETTE T20 TRANS-TASMAN TRI-SERIES
T20I Australia v NZ, SCG, Feb 3. T20I – Australia v England, Tasmania Feb 7. T20I – Australia v England, MCG, Febr 10. T20I – NZ v England, Wellington, Feb 14T20I – NZ v Australia, Eden Park, Feb 6T20I – NZ v England, Seddon Park, Feb 8Final – TBC, Eden Park, Feb 21
Leg-spinner Yasir Shah of the Brisbane Heat celebrates a wicket during a spell of 1-16 from 4 overs during his team’s Big Bash League match against Melbourne Stars yesterday. Brisbane Heat won by 9 wickets in Melbourne.
Australia’s captain Steve Smith is seen with England players as a groundsman uses a sledgehammer on the pitch during the fifth day of the fourth Ashes Test in this December 30, 2017, file photo.
England’s fixtures after the Ashes series
History of previous Ashes Tests in Sydney
Fifth Ashes Test in Sydney
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26
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MATCHES:
AUSTRALIA WINS
ENGLANDWINS
32 WEDNESDAY 3 JANUARY 2018SPORT 33WEDNESDAY 3 JANUARY 2018 SPORT
Wenger charged by FA over outburst AFP
LONDON: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been charged by the Football Association (FA) over his conduct follow-ing the 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion on Sunday English foot-ball’s governing body announced yesterday.
The 68-year-old Frenchman reacted furi-ously to referee Mike Dean’s decision to award a penalty to West Brom in the 89th minute for handball by Calum Chambers.
The FA said the charge against Wenger was for his conduct in the match officials’ dressing room after the final whistle -- he has till 1800GMT on Friday to respond to the charge.
Wenger did not sound repentant earlier yesterday at his press conference on the eve of their game with Chelsea.
“It was very disap-pointing,” Wenger said.
“What is more frus-trating for me is it happened many times this season -- at Stoke, Watford, Man City, now West Brom.
“It is a concerning coincidence for me.
“That is why as well I was not at all happy with the movement the referee made as to why he gave the penalty. It did not correspond at all with what happened.
“On that front it’s a bit worrying. He saw what he wanted to see.”
IANS
RIO de Janeiro: Neymar has been named the winner of the 2017 Samba de Ouro trophy, awarded to the best Europe-based Brazilian footballer.
It was the third time in the past four years that the Paris Saint-Germain forward has claimed the accolade, as he finished ahead of Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho and Real Madrid’s Marcelo, reports Xinhua news agency.
The award is decided by a vote of journal-ists, former players and an internet fan poll.
Neymar drew 27.71 percent of the vote, well clear of last year’s winner Coutinho (16.64 per-cent) and Marcelo (14.43 percent).
Others to finish in the top 10 were Paulinho, Casemiro, Gabriel Jesus, Willian, Malcom, David Luiz and Ederson.
Neymar was named the world’s third-best player at the 2017 FIFA Best awards in Octo-ber, behind winner Cristiano Ronaldo and runner-up Lionel Messi.
Neymar named Brazil’s best player in Europe
AFP
LONDON: Arsenal and Chelsea have been reduced to also-ran status by Manchester City’s blistering pace in the title race, but there is still a lot to learn when the London rivals clash at the Emirates Stadium today.
With champions Chelsea lagging 14 points behind City and Arsenal sitting six points outside the top four, there’s clearly plenty of room for improvement in both teams.
Here is a look at the problem areas for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and Chelsea boss Antonio Conte:
REBELS WITH A CAUSEAfter boldly deciding against selling Alexis Sanchez and Mesut
Ozil before the start of the season, Wenger has seen his gamble backfire as speculation about Arsenal’s contract rebels has been a constant distraction.
Sanchez and Ozil are out of contract at the end of the sea-son and have refused to sign new deals, raising the possibility that both could be sold in January to avoid losing them for free in June.
Making matters worse, Sanchez, who was frustrated by Wenger’s refusal to let him join Manchester City in August, has pouted his way through the campaign -- frustrating players, coaches and fans in the process.
City, Paris Saint Germain and Real Madrid are all contend-ers to rid Wenger of the Sanchez problem, but the damage has already been done.
German midfielder Ozil, wanted by Manchester United and Barcelona, has been less overtly troublesome, but his inconsist-ent performances have hardly suggested complete commitment to the cause.
No wonder former Arsenal star Martin Keown said: “Wenger puts so much trust in his players but Sanchez and Ozil have been overindulged.
“You wonder where they would be had these two been fully committed for the whole season.”
FORWARD THINKINGAlthough Alvaro Morata has been a qualified success in his
first season at Chelsea, the former Real Madrid striker has been virtually the sole goal threat for Conte’s men.
Morata has scored 12 times, but only twice in his last seven league games.
With 39 league goals this season, the Blues have scored less than the other teams currently in the top four.
Solving that problem has been impossible for Conte because Belgian forward Michy Batshuayi, the main back up for Morata, has scored only twice in the league and hasn’t netted since October.
Conte is certain to push for a new striker to be signed in the January transfer window, with Inter Milan’s Mauro Icardi and Sassuolo’s Domenico Berardi among potential targets.
DEFENSIVE WOESHaving leaked 26 league goals this term -- more than any
other team in the top seven - Wenger once again finds his fail-ure to fix Arsenal’s leaky defence is undermining his side’s ambitions.
While Wenger has switched formations from a back three to a back four, changed defensive personnel and tried to pro-tect them with different holding midfielders, the root cause of Arsenal’s Achilles heel remains philosophical.
Wenger’s commitment to an attacking game-plan which relies on a smooth-passing style earns plenty of plaudits from the purists.
But the Frenchman’s tactics often leave Arsenal’s full-backs out of position and his midfielders too far forward, while his reliance on diminutive playmakers allows opponents to bully the Gunners.
SEARCH FOR MOTIVATIONManchester City’s sensational first half of the season has left
Conte with the tricky task of keeping his players motivated when it seems they have little to play for in the league.
At times, Chelsea were fatally unfocused when they faced opponents who didn’t immediately inspire respect and the result was lethargic and damaging defeats at lowly Crystal Palace and West Ham.
Conte is a notoriously demanding coach and there has been growing speculation that his players are tired of Italian’s intense training sessions.
Balancing a need to remain in charge of his stars, while also keeping them onside could be a challenge for Conte given the lack of drama in the title race, but he has no intention of chang-ing his style.
“You must always have a great desire to do this job. My wish for myself is to continue to have this desire for many years,” Conte said.
City’s sensational run leaves Arsenal, Chelsea with uncertain futures
e to have this desire for many years,
AFP
LONDON: Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus could be facing up to three months on the sidelines after the club revealed he had suffered a knee ligament injury in Sunday’s draw with Crystal Palace.
The 20-year-old Brazilian -- who sat out two months of last season with a metatarsal injury -- will undergo a scan to ascertain the severity of the ligament damage.
Serious ligament injuries can see players miss three months with less serious ones requiring three to six weeks to heal.
Jesus, who went off in tears early in the first half of the 0-0 draw with Palace that brought City’s Premier League record 18-match winning streak to an end, remained upbeat.
“Today (Monday) I went through an image exam on my left knee that diagnosed a small medial collateral liga-ment injury,” he wrote on his Instagram account.
“Thank God it is not very bad and I won’t have to go through any surgery. Promise to be back as soon as possible!”
The injury to Jesus and a less serious one to Belgian star Kevin De Bruyne prompted Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola to criticise the crammed match schedule over the festive period.
“If you tell me that technically, physically it’s good for the players: no, it’s a disaster,” said Guardiola, who had the luxury of winter breaks in both Germany and Spain when he coached Bayern Munich and Barcelona respectively.
City play their fourth match in 11 days later Tuesday at home to Watford.
However, the Spaniard, whose side hold a 12-point lead over Manchester United ahead of the Watford clash, con-ceded that despite his criticism it wouldn’t make any difference to the scheduling.
“It’s a tradition. I have to adapt,” said the 46-year-old.
City striker Jesus faces long absence with knee injury
Referee Jonathan Moss walks in as Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus lies injured during the EPL match against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
REUTERS
LONDON: Manchester United snapped a run of three straight draws by winning 2-0 at Everton on Monday with sweetly struck second-half goals by Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard which saw them climb to second in the Premier League.
Martial curled the ball into the top corner from the edge of the area in the 57th minute after impressive play from Paul Pogba as Jose Mour-inho’s stuttering side finally came alive after halftime following an uninspiring first-half display.
Lingard sealed the win in the 81st, cutting in from the left wing and sending the ball fizzing over the goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to score his seventh league goal of the season, making him United’s sec-ond top scorer behind Romelu Lukaku.
Both sides struggled for first-half openings in the wet and windy conditions although United finished the opening period stronger and seized the momentum after the break, with Juan Mata hitting the post before Martial put them on the way to victory.
Martial, Lingard put Man United back on track
Martial curled the ball into the top corner from the edge of the area in the 57th minute.Lingard sealed the win in the 81st, his seventh League goal of the season, making him United’s second top scorer behind Romelu Lukaku.
Jesse Lingard (right)scores the second goal for Manchester United during their English Premier match against Everton at Goodison Park, Liverpool, Britain on Monday.
It was very disappointing. What is more frustrating for me is it happened many times this season - at Stoke, Watford, Man City, now West Brom: Wenger
Qatar 2022 stadiums take shape QNA
DOHA: The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) has made significant achievements in the projects and stadiums of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, where SC launched the first ready stadium and revealed the design of other stadiums in 2017, as well as progress in construction and construc-tion in other stadium sites.
Khalifa International Stadium became the first proposed 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament venue to open in May this year. The 40,000 capacity stadium was officially opened by Emir HH Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, ahead of the Emir Cup final between Al Sadd and Al Rayyan.
Also in 2017, the stadium became the first venue in the world to officially receive the 4-star Global Sustainability Assessment System certification. The stadium, which will host matches up to the quarter-finals stage in 2022, is cur-rently being prepared to host the 2019 World Athletics Championships
Work at Al Wakrah Stadium, which was designed by the late Zaha Hadid, continues apace. Bespoke roof pillars have been installed, while concrete pouring has been completed. The 40,000 capacity stadium, which will host matches up to the quarter-finals stage in 2022, is due to open in 2018.
The roof is currently being installed at Al Bayt Stadium - Al Khor City a 60,000 capacity venue which will host matches up to the semi-finals stage in 2022. The stadium also reached a sus-tainability milestone in 2017 after receiving top marks in the Global Sus-tainability Assessment Systems culture and heritage section. Al Bayt Stadium is due to be completed by the end of 2018.
Workers at the Al Rayyan Stadium construction site recently reached 5 mil-lion man hours without suffering a
lost-time accident. Also in 2017, the sta-dium seating design was revealed. Meanwhile, on-site, sub and substruc-ture works are in progress and precinct infrastructure works have begun. Due to be completed in 2019, the 40,000 capacity venue will host matches up to the quarter-finals stage in 2022.
Workers at the Al Rayyan Stadium construction site recently reached 5 mil-lion man hours without suffering a
lost-time accident. Also in 2017, the sta-dium seating design was revealed. Meanwhile, on-site, sub and substruc-ture works are in progress and precinct infrastructure works have begun. Due to be completed in 2019, the 40,000 capacity venue will host matches up to the quarter-finals stage in 2022.
The proposed design for Al Thu-mama Stadium was revealed in August. Inspired by the gahfiya headdress worn
by men across the region, the design has captured the imagination of millions. Due to open in 2020, Al Thumama Sta-dium will have a capacity of 40,000 and host matches up to the quarter-finals stage.
The innovative design for Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, the first fully demount-able FIFA World Cup tournament venue, was unveiled in November. Designed by Fenwick Iribarren Architects, this
40,000 capacity stadium will be built using the shipping containers which transported materials for its construc-tion. Overlooking the stunning Doha Corniche and West Bay skyline, Ras Abu Aboud Stadium will host matches up to the quarter-finals stage in 2022.
Early works are continuing at the Lusail Stadium site, 15km north of Doha. Earlier this year it was announced that a Qatar-China joint venture
(HBK Contracting Company and China Railway Construction Corporation) had been chosen as the main contractor for the stadium.
Due to open in 2020, Lusail Stadium will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup final, opening game and matches throughout the tournament. The design for Lusail Stadium is due to be unveiled in early 2018.
QATAR’S FIFA WORLD CUP 2022 VENUES
Al Bayt Stadium – Al Khor CityAl Rayyan StadiumAl Thumama StadiumAl Wakrah StadiumKhalifa International StadiumLusail StadiumQatar Foundation StadiumRas Abu Aboud Stadium
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte
Khalifa International Stadium became the first proposed 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament venue to open in May this year. In 2017, the stadium became the first venue in the world to officially receive the 4-star Global Sustainability Assessment System certification.
Lukaku set to return for FA Cup opener REUTERS
LONDON: Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku could return to action for the club’s opening FA Cup fixture at home against Derby County on Friday, the Premier League side’s manager Jose Mourinho has said.
The 24-year-old missed United’s 2-0 league win at Everton on Monday after sustaining a head injury during last weekend’s goalless draw with Southampton, but the Portuguese boss said his top scorer had not suffered a concus-sion and would make a quick return.
“Romelu is not a problem,” Mourinho told reporters after the win at Goodison Park. “Maybe Romelu can play (against Derby). It was a precaution by the doctor, it was follow-ing the rules to protect the situation.
Lukaku has scored 10 goals and provided four assists in 21 league appearances for United this season as the Old Trafford outfit sit 12 points behind leaders Manchester City in sec-ond position, having played one more game.
United have won the FA Cup on 12 occa-sions but were knocked out of the competition in the quarter-finals by eventual runners-up Chelsea last season.
The proposed design for Al Thumama Stadium. Due to open in 2020, Al Thumama Stadium will have a capacity of 40,000 and host matches up to the quarter-finals stage.
A view of packed Khalifa International Stadium during the Emir Cup final between Al Sadd and Al Rayyan in this May 2017 file photo. The 40,000 capacity stadium will host matches up to the quarter-finals stage in 2022.
34 WEDNESDAY 3 JANUARY 2018SPORT
DeRozan delivers career-best performance with 52 points AFP
LOS ANGELES: DeMar DeRozan scored a team record 52 points as the Toronto Raptors won their 12th straight home game with a 131-127 overtime victory over the Milwau-kee Bucks on Monday.
DeRozan shot 17-of-29 from the floor and made all 13 of his free throw attempts for Toronto, who are a league best 14-1 at home.
He is the third Toronto player in history to score 50 or more points, joining Vince Carter and Terrence Ross, who each scored 51.
“When you come out here and you’re in those moments, you’ve got to make the best out of them,” DeRozan said.
DeRozan also had five three pointers while Kyle Lowry tallied 26 points and Serge Ibaka chipped in 11 for the Raptors in front of a crowd of 19,800 at the Air Canada Cen-tre arena.
“He was playing with a lot of juice,” Toronto coach Dwane Casey said.
“You could see the bounce in his step. Tonight, DeMar DeRozan played like a superstar.”
Eric Bledsoe scored 29 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 for the Bucks, who had their modest two game win streak stopped in the matchup between two Eastern Confer-ence first round opponents from last season. Toronto won the series in six games.
DeRozan hit a jump shot in overtime to give Toronto a 121-117 lead. His basket came just moments after Fred VanVleet gave the Raptors the lead for good by nailing a three pointer.
“He’s dangerous any time he puts on a uniform,” Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. “Now to be able to expand his range out to the
three-point line just makes the game easier for him.” Elsewhere, CJ McCollum scored the tiebreaking basket with 56 seconds left in overtime as the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Chicago Bulls 124-120.
McCollum had a team high 32 points while Al-Farouq Aminu finished with 24 points and Evan Turner had 22 for Port-land, which was without leading scorer Damian Lillard for a fifth straight game.
Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (centre) shoots the ball.You could see the bounce in his step. Tonight, DeMar DeRozan played like a superstar: Toronto coach Dwane Casey
McCollum scores 32, seals Blazers’ win against Bulls AGENCIES
NEW YORK: CJ McCollum (pictured) scored 32 points and handed out eight assists as the Portland Trail Blazers notched a 124-120 overtime win against the Chicago Bulls on Monday night at the United Center.
McCollum drained a layup and a pair of free throws in the final minute of overtime to break a tie at 120. Al-Farouq Aminu added 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting for the Trail Blazers, and Jusuf Nurkic contributed a double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds.
Portland (19-17) won its third consecutive game in Chi-cago and improved to 11-7 on the road this season.
Kris Dunn led the Bulls with 22 points on 9-of-20 shooting. Lauri Markkanen added 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, and Nikola Mirotic posted his third double-double in 14 games with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Chicago (13-24) lost at home for the first time in eight games.
McCollum put Portland on top for good when he attacked the paint and calmly made a 3-foot layup with 56.5 seconds left in overtime. Dunn missed a jump shot on the next posses-sion and Nurkic grabbed the rebound. After another missed jump shot by Dunn with eight seconds left, McCollum sealed the outcome at the free-throw
line. The score was even at 112 at the end of regulation. McCol-lum hit a driving layup with 57.3 seconds remaining to tie the game and had a chance to win it with a pull-up jump shot from the right elbow, but the ball caromed off the rim to bring on overtime.
The Bulls opened the fourth quarter with an 87-83 lead. A deep 3-pointer by Shabazz Napier in the closing seconds of the third quarter trimmed Portland’s deficit from seven points to four.
The Trail Blazers jumped to a 31-23 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Bulls responded by outscoring Port-land 30-21 in the second quarter to grab a 53-52 halft-ime edge.
Portland played without star point guard Damian Lillard, who missed his fifth game in a row because of a right ham-string strain.
Without NHL players, Team USA looks to Europe talentREUTERS
NEW YORK: Stanley Cup winner Brian Gionta will captain a US men’s Olympic ice hockey team made up of players from European leagues or the North American development ranks at next month’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
Gionta, who has played 15 years in the NHL, was named on Monday amongst more than a dozen little-known Americans playing professionally in Europe, along with a hodgepodge of minor leaguers and ex-NHL players for the February 9-25 Olympics.
He is the only player in the squad to have previous Olym-pic experience, having played for the US at the 2006 Games in Turin and is well aware the team has precious little time together to try and challenge for a medal in Pyeongchang.
“The biggest challenge is get-ting the team to gel together as quick as possible,” Gionta, who won a Stanley Cup in 2003 with the New Jersey Devils, told reporters on Monday.
“We have four practices or so before we come together and start competing in games.”
Next month’s Olympics are the first since 1994 not to include players from the National Hockey League.
The league said last April it would not release players after failing to reach a deal with the International Olympic Commit-tee to cover players’ travel and insurance costs. The NHL also
were unhappy with the prospect of a nearly three-week interrup-tion to the regular season schedule.
USA Hockey named the bulk of their squad during the NHL’s Winter Classic New Year’s Day game between the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres.
Most are drawn from leagues around Europe, with a few play-ing in the US minors and former NHL players like Gionta.
Only four come from the col-lege ranks, ensuring the team does not mark a full return to the pre-NHL era when the last American team to win gold at the Lake Placid Games in 1980 in the ‘Miracle on Ice’ were predomi-nantly collegiate players. The
2018 team features many of the players who went to the Deut-schland Cup in Germany in October in what amounted to both a trial and their only warm-up games ahead of Pyeongchang. They lost all of their games against Slovakia, Russia and Germany and were outscored 12-4.
“Obviously from a selection process it’s been a real battle for us,” coach Tony Granato said.
“I think we’ve put together an outstanding group of players that will represent us well come February and give us a great chance to ... compete for a medal.” The team’s first group game is on February 14 against Slovenia before they face
Slovakia on February 16. They also face a stiff challenge on Feb-ruary 17 from an unknown collection of Russians, who will play under the Olympic flag.
The IOC has banned Russia from formal participation for doping violations, but Russian athletes deemed to be drug-free can compete independently.
“Any time you play a Rus-sian team you expect high skill and expect to see extremely talented players,” Granato said.
“How they put it together and what they do in the next few weeks, we’ll have to keep an eye on, but we’re not going to do anything different as we get ready for the Olympics.”
USA’s Olympic player Brian Gionta (right) and head coach Tony Granato attend a press conference.
Miller lifts Rangers past Sabres 3-2 AFP
NEW YORK: JT Miller lifted the New York Rangers to a 3-2 overtime victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday with a dramatic power play goal to end the NHL’s outdoor 2018 Winter Classic.
Miller’s goal after Sabres player Jacob Josefson, of Swe-den, was penalized for tripping in front of the crowd of 41,800 braving the freezing tempera-tures at Citi Field in New York.
The Rangers left winger was in the ideal position as Sabres goalie Robin Lehner made an initial save but couldn’t control the rebound.
The puck bounced right onto the stick of Miller, who
deposited it into the open side of the goal 2:43 into the extra session.
Paul Carey and Michael Grabner scored in the first period for the Rangers, who improved to a league-best 4-0 overall in outdoor games.
Swedish national team goaltender Henrik Lundqvist stopped 31 shots to help New York improve to 6-2-3 in its last 11 regular season games.
Rasmus Ristolainen and Canadian Sam Reinhart scored for Buffalo while Kyle Okposo had two assists.
Lehner finished with 39 saves for the Sabres in the con-test at Citi Field, usually the home of Major League Base-ball’s New York Mets.
JT Miller of the NY Rangers celebrates his game-winning goal.
35WEDNESDAY 3 JANUARY 2018 SPORT
AFP
SHENZHEN: Five-time Grand Slam cham-pion Maria Sharapova came back from a set down to defeat American Alison Riske at the Shenzhen Open yesterday and book a spot in the quarter-finals.
Riske, who had been hoping for her first win against the former world number one, proved to be a tough opponent early in the match before the Russian finally overcame her 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in just under two and a half hours.
“I’m glad I got this kind of match. Although I would’ve wanted a quick and easy victory, these are the kind of matches that you need, especially with such a short preparation going into the Australian Open in terms of matchplay,” Sharapova said afterwards.
“I’m just glad that I came back. She played a really great match and as I said to her at the net, I thought it was a great qual-ity match. In the end, I won it so I have another opportunity to keep going.”
Despite Riske’s early lead, Sharapova hit 34 winners, nearly three times Riske’s total.
The world number 59 was helped by 11 aces, and managed to save seven out of 10 break points.
French Open champion Jelena
Ostapenko meanwhile slumped to a shock defeat on Tuesday only days after beating Serena Williams in the American’s come-back match.
Number two seed Ostapenko of Latvia lost to the big-serving Czech Krystina Plisk-ova 6-1, 6-4 in just an hour and 20 minutes.
Ostapenko had beaten Williams via a super tie-break 6-2, 3-6, 10-5 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, but she had no answer to the power of Pliskova, identical twin sister of former world number one Karolina.
“I felt a bit nervous in the second set, but my serve was really working today, which was a big help,” Pliskova said after the match.
Pliskova, third on the WTA Tour’s ace charts last season, raced out to a 5-0 lead to start the match.
“My serve was great today, especially in the first set. I feel like it’s really fast here, so that can be tricky for both of us, and the first of us playing fast won the point.”
It was not the start to 2018 that Ostap-enko wanted, with the first Grand Slam of the year -- the Australian Open -- starting in 13 days’ time. Earlier there was disap-pointment for the home crowd when Chinese number three seed Zhang Shuai was bundled out in three sets by Kaza-khstan’s Zarina Diyas.
Sharapova sails in Shenzhen
Maria Sharapova of Russia reacts during her match yesterday.
Murray pulls out of Brisbane tournament AFP
BRISBANE: Former world number one Andy Murray (pictured) has withdrawn from the season-opening Brisbane International in a major setback to his Australian Open prepa-rations, hinting that surgery on his problematic hip remained a “secondary option”.
He suffered a right hip injury in 2017 and has not played on the ATP tour since losing a tough five-setter to American Sam Querrey in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.
“I’ve obviously been going through a really difficult period with my hip for a long time and have sought council from a number of hip specialists,” Mur-ray said on Instagram.
“Having been recom-mended to treat my hip conservatively since the US Open I have done every-thing asked of me from a rehab per-spective and worked extremely hard to try get back on the court competing.
“Having played practice sets here in Bris-
bane with some top players unfortunately this hasn’t worked yet to get me to the level I would like so I have to reassess my options.”
Murray added: “Obviously continuing rehab is one option and giving my hip more time to recover. Surgery is also an option but the chances of a suc-cessful outcome are not as high as I would like which has made this my secondary option and my hope has been to avoid that.
“However this is something I may have to consider but let’s hope not.” The Australian Open starts in Melbourne on January 15 and Murray said he would decide by the weekend whether to stay in Australia or fly home.
“It’s quite demoralising that when you get on the court it’s
not at the level you need it to be to compete at this
level. It’s really hurt-ing inside,” the Scotsman said.
Murray joins top seed and world number one Rafael
Nadal, who pulled out of the Brisbane tourna-
ment late last week, o n t h e
sidelines.
ay sa d o stag am.“Having been recom-
mended to treat myhip conservativelysince the US Open I have done every-thing asked of me from a rehab per-spective and worked extremely hard to try get back on the court competing.
“Having playedpractice sets here inBris-
w e you get o t e cou t t s not at the level you need it
to be to compete at this level. It’s really hurt-ing inside,” the Scotsman said.
Murray joins top seed and world number one Rafael
Nadal, who pulled out of the Brisbane tourna-
ment late last week, o n t h e
sidelines.
Kyrgios begins new season ‘more determined than ever’ATP WORLD TOUR
BRISBANE: Nick Kyrgios begins his season at the Brisbane Inter-national this week.
There has never been a question about Kyrgios’ talent. But now the Australian is ‘more determined than ever’ to make the most of it and continue his rise up the ATP World Tour.
He will be seen in action in Brisbane tourney which will conclude on January 7.
“I’m training much harder in the gym, so hopefully my body gets stronger and I can go deeper into tournaments on a more con-sistent basis,” Kyrgios said.
“I’m taking much better care of my body now, and I feel like I’m giving myself the best pos-sible chance of winning tennis matches. My hip isn’t troubling me and I’m being more disci-plined with my rehab, so hopefully the hard work starts to pay off.”
The right-hander was ham-pered by a hip injury toward the end of the 2017 season, losing in the first round of three of his final four tournaments before ultimately cutting his campaign short after the European Open in Antwerp.
The three-time ATP World Tour champion has been open about spending time on the bas-ketball court for fun despite having some niggles.
“Playing lots of basketball wasn’t great for my body, peo-ple have told me that and I’m now starting to listen,” Kyrgios said. “So I’m feeling fit, healthy and as motivated as I have for a
while. I feel much more ready to go and play good tennis than I did this time last year. I’ve also improved my diet, all the things you need to do to be at your best.”
Kyrgios got a practice ses-sion at Queensland Tennis Centre, the home of the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp.
He last appeared in Brisbane five years ago, losing in the first round of qualifying against com-patriot James Duckworth.
The 22-year-old is plenty familiar with the facility ahead of his first main draw appear-ance at the tournament.
“I’ve also trained here in the off-season in the past, so I feel very comfortable out here,” Kyr-gios said.
“It’s a great tournament with a very strong field again this year, so I’m very excited. It’s great preparation for the Aus-tralian Open, but I’m not thinking about the AO or any other tournament at the minute.
I’m just focused on getting my year off to a good start here in Brisbane.”
Kyrgios’s most recent appearance was at a charity exhibition against Juan Martin del Potro on 15 December in Argentina.
The Australian donated $100,000 of his appearance fee straight to his NK Foundation,
which strives to both increase access to and provide sport to underprivileged & disadvan-taged youth. While Kyrgios has not set any goals or completed his full schedule for 2018 just yet, he is excited about doing two things in particular.
“My main goals are just to stay healthy and play as much tennis as I can,” Kyrgios said.
ExxonMobil Qatar, QTF join hands to host tennis familyTHE PENINSULA
DOHA: ExxonMobil Qatar and the Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF) jointly hosted a gala dinner on Monday to launch the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2018.
The event was attended by Qatar’s key business and com-munity leaders and several of the tennis players competing in the 2018, including: Dominic Thiem,
Pablo Carreno Busta, Tomas Ber-dych, and Richard Gasquet.
Nasser Al Khelaifi, President of the Qatar Tennis Federation, and Alistair Routledge, President and General Manager for ExxonMobil Qatar, welcomed the evening’s guests and emphasised the strong partnership and friendship their organizations share.
“I am honored to welcome you to this celebratory launch of
the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2018 – it’s so wonderful to see so many familiar faces here this evening,” said Routledge.
“Hosting a major sports event has the power to put a city on the map, and the Qatar ExxonMobil Open shines an international spotlight on Doha. It is an iconic sporting venue, and a great exam-ple of hospitality and endurance - I am so proud to call it home.”Nasser Al Khelaifi, President of the Qatar Tennis Federation along with other officials at gala dinner.
Nick Kyrgios
I’m training much harder in the gym, so hopefully my body gets stronger and I can go deeper into tournaments on a more consistent basis, says Nick Kyrgios
36WEDNESDAY 3 JANUARY 2018
SPORTIt’s a great thing to have two tough matches early on. It’s a
boost, the match fitness, and a lot of the competitive scenarios
that we’re going to face the whole year.
10.00AMBritain’s Johanna Konta speaks about her tough matches in Brisbane.
Wozniacki storms to win in Classic opener REUTERS
AUCKLAND: Caroline Wozniacki (pictured) capped 2017 with the biggest win of her career when she claimed a maiden WTA Finals triumph in October and the Dane has carried that momentum into the new season with a ruthless display to kick off her Auckland Classic campaign.
The top seed has a chance to usurp world number one Simona Halep with a victory in New Zea-land and the 27-year-old needed just 58 minutes to race past American Madison Brengle with a 6-3, 6-0 tri-umph in their first round encounter yesterday.
The world number three is still searching for her first Grand Slam triumph but after emerging victorious in the elite eight-woman event in Singapore, her raised levels of play could see her make that breakthrough in Mel-bourne later this month.
Wozniacki is also searching for a first triumph in Auckland after reaching the final in 2015 and despite being tested by Brengle early the contest, the Dane pulled away once she found her rhythm and claimed the last seven games to seal victory.
“I thought I played pretty well, especially considering it’s the first match back of the year,” Wozniacki told reporters.
“It took me a couple of
games to kind of just get the rhythm and then I started playing better and better. “I’m just trying to get my legs moving, trying to make the right decisions, wait for the right shots to play aggressive and go for it, and find the right balance of offence and defence.”
The win set up a second round encounter against Croatia’s Petra Martic, who overcame Czech player Mar-keta Vondrousova 7-6 (2), 6-3 in their first round tie to advance.
Elsewhere, former world number two and 2013 Auck-land champion Agnieszka Radwanska was forced to dig deep to remain on a semi-final collision course with Wozniacki when the Pole eked out a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 vic-tory over Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia.
“I’m just very happy to win my first match of 2018, and I think it was good timing to come back and do it here in Auckland after five years,” Radwanska, who has seen her ranking drop to 28th after a poor 2017, said in her on-court interview.
Third seed Barbora Strycova was also taken the distance in her first round encounter against Italy’s Sara Errani, the Czech emerging with a 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-4 victory to set up a second round tie against Sweden’s Johanna Larsson.
The day did not
pass without three upsets, however, with defending champion and fifth seed Lauren Davis losing 6-1, 6-2 to fellow American Sachia Vickery, while sixth seed Yulia Putintseva and seventh seed Mona Barthel both suf-fered straight set losses.
The Australian Open is the first Grand Slam of the season and this year it will from January 15 to 28 in Melbourne.
First RoundSachia Vickery (USA) bt Lauren Davis (USA x5)
6-1, 6-2
Barbora Strycova (CZE x3) bt Sara Errani (ITA)
6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-4
Agnieszka Radwanska (POL x4) bt Beatriz
Haddad Maia (BRA) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN x1) bt Madison Breng-
le (USA) 6-3, 6-0
Varvara Lepchenko (USA) bt Mona Barthel
(GER x7) 6-2, 6-2
Ysaline Bonaventure (BEL) bt Yulia
Putintseva (KAZ x6) 6-3, 6-3
Polona Hercog (SLO) bt Alison Van
Uytvanck (BEL) 6-4, 7-5
Sofia Kenin (USA) bt Jana Fett
(CRO) 6-4, 6-4
Veronica Cepede Royg (PAR) bt Lara
Arruabarrena (ESP) 6-3, 6-3
Johanna Larsson (SWE) bt Kurumi Nara
(JPN) 7-6 (7/5), 6-3
Taylor Townshend (USA) bt Christina McHale
(USA) 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
AUCKLAND CLASSIC RESULTS
player Mar-ova 7-6 (2), round tie to
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Varvara Lepchenko (USA) bt Mo
(GER x
Ysaline Bonaventure (B
Putintseva (KAZ x
Polona Hercog (SLO) bt
Uytvanck (BE
Sofia Kenin (USA) b
(CRO
Veronica Cepede Royg (P
Arruabarrena (ES
Johanna Larsson (SWE) bt K
(JPN) 7-
Taylor Townshend (USA) bt Christ
(USA) 1-
Jack Sock of the US hits a return against Yuichi Sugita of Japan.
Sock injured as legend Cash returns to ‘action’ AFP
PERTH: World number eight Jack Sock’s Australian Open preparation suffered a setback when he was injured at the Hopman Cup in Perth yesterday, resulting in a surprise call-up for Australian veteran Pat Cash as a substitute.
On a chaotic day, Sock retired early in the second set of his men’s singles clash with Yuichi Sugita, having injured his hip during his loss in the first set tie-breaker at the mixed teams tournament.
Earlier, Japan’s Naomi Osaka had withdrawn from her singles match with CoCo Vandeweghe due to illness.
The injury and illnesses meant the United States were awarded the match 2-1 via two walkover wins in the women’s singles and mixed doubles.
And it also meant an unscheduled return to action by the 1987 Wimbledon cham-pion Cash, who played in the first Hopman Cup back in 1989.
He now coaches Vandeweghe and teamed up with her for an exhibition mixed doubles to entertain the crowd against young Australian Mad-dison Inglis and Sugita.
But the fitness of Sock for the remainder of the tourna-ment, and more importantly the upcoming Australian Open, remained the biggest concern after he limped off the court.
B o t h S o c k a n d Vandeweghe, who beat teen-ager Inglis in their exhibition singles in the absence of Osaka, slipped and fell several times during their matches.
Sock, who had squandered an early service break in the first set, went to ground early in the tiebreak, reaching imme-diately for his right hip.
He had treatment after dropping the tiebreak 7-1 and
struggled through two more games before retiring.
Sock joins a long list of leading men’s players with injury concerns heading into the year’s first Grand Slam, including number one Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and Milos Raonic.
With Osaka ruled out, local 19-year-old Inglis, ranked 771st, was given the daunting task of facing world number 10 Vandeweghe.
“She played really well and was a tough opponent, it’s not easy to come out at the last minute,” Vandeweghe said after winning 7-5, 6-2.
“She made it difficult and I didn’t make it easy for myself either.”
The Americans beat Russia 2-1 on Sunday and are seeking to reach the final for the second successive year, having been beaten by the French team of Kristina Mladenovic and Richard Gasquet in last year’s decider.
They next are due to face the Swiss team of Roger Fed-erer and Belinda Bencic tomorrow.
CoCo Vandeweghe of the US celebrates her win.
Sock joins a long list of leading men’s players with injury concerns heading into the year’s first Grand Slam, including number one Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and Milos Raonic.
Konta marches on in Brisbane
REUTERS
BRISBANE: Britain’s Johanna Konta was pushed to the brink for the second time in as many rounds before advancing to the quarter-finals while world number two Garbine Muguruza of Spain succumbed to leg cramps in her opening clash at the Brisbane International yesterday.
Konta, who overcame local hope Ajla Tomljanovic 4-6, 6-1 6-4 in two hours and 26 minutes at the Pat Rafter Arena, set up a meeting with the winner of the match between Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina and Croatia’s Ana Konjuh.
The Briton faced 13 break points in the first set and strug-gled with her rhythm as the big-hitting Tomljanovic stormed into an early lead.
Konta, who had similar
struggles with her serve in her opening match against American Madison Keys, a US Open finalist, on Monday, responded with a better performance to level the contest.
The world number nine raced to a 5-2 lead in the deciding set before Tomljanovic showed signs of fighting back.
However, Konta held on to finish the job.
“She made that very difficult, so that’s a credit to her and she played incredibly freely at the end of the third set,” Konta said after the match.
“There wasn’t a lot in it so I’m very happy to have just stayed tough and just come
through that.“To be honest, it’s a great
thing to have two tough matches early on. It’s a boost, the match fitness, and it boosts a lot of the competitive scenarios that we’re going to face the whole year. I’m sure my next match will be the same.”
Muguruza’s wretched run of injury problems at Brisbane extended to a fourth consecu-tive year with the Spaniard unable to continue while leading 2-1 in the deciding third set against Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic.
Meanwhile, France’s Alize Cornet defeated Croatia’s Mir-jana Lucic-Baroni 6-1, 7-5 to move into the quarter-finals and was joined by seventh seed Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia who beat Romania’s Sorana Cir-stea 6-2, 6-1.
Garbine Muguruza of Spain reacts while suffering from cramps.
Men’s First Round
Michael Mmoh (USA) bt Federico Delbonis
(ARG) 6-3, 6-4
Chung Hyeon (KOR) bt Gilles Muller (LUX X5)
6-3, 7-6 (7/1)
Kyle Edmund (GBR) bt Denis Shapovalov (CAN)
6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/4), 6-4
Denis Istomin (UZB) bt Damir Dzumhur (BIH
X7) 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-2
Women’s Second round
Aleksandra Krunic (SRB) bt Garbine Muguruza
(ESP X1) 5-7, 7-6 (7/3), 1-2 ret
Alize Cornet (FRA) bt Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO)
6-1, 7-5
Anastasija Sevastova (LAT X7) bt Sorana Cirstea
(ROU) 6-2, 6-1
Johanna Konta (GBR X5) bt Ajla Tomljanovic
(CRO) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
BRISBANE RESULTS
Britain’s Johanna Konta in action.
Action continues as Men’s singles Round of 16 beginsAt Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex
