Page 270 - Sports
Tsitsipas stuns Nadal to set up Madrid final with Djokovic
Novak Djokovic will play Stefanos Tsitsipas for the Madrid Open title after the 20-year-old Greek stunned Rafael Nadal to win a thrilling semi-final 6-4 2-6 6-3 on his fourth match point. Nadal had been a clear favourite to face Djokovic in Sunday's showpiece at Caja Magica but the 17-time Grand Slam champion extended his stuttering build-up to the French Open with another surprise defeat. Tsitsipas' stunning victory on Saturday means he reaches his fourth ATP final of the season while fully vindicating those that have him circled as a future star of the men's game. "Emotionally it was very tough, it was one of my toughest wins," he said. It might be too early to expect the world number nine to challenge at Roland Garros later this month but, with a fearless style and formidable forehand, Tsitsipas is developing a habit for delivering on the big stage. In terms of career wins, this perhaps trails only his ousting of Roger Federer from the Australian Open in January, when he went on to
Atalanta go third but Calhanoglu keeps AC Milan in Champions League chase
Unheralded Atalanta moved third in Serie A with a 2-1 win over Genoa edging the Bergamo side closer to a first-ever Champions League qualification with two games left this season. Musa Barrow and Timothy Castagne's second-half goals on Saturday sent Atalanta two points clear of Inter Milan, who play already-relegated Chievo on Sunday. But AC Milan responded with Hakan Calhanoglu heading in the only goal against Fiorentina to boost Gennaro Gattuso's team's hopes of a return to elite European football for the first time since 2013-2014. AC Milan are fifth, one point behind Inter, with Roma a further three points adrift in sixth before they host champions Juventus on Sunday. "Today's win was really important, as the closer we get to the finish line, the more decisive each point becomes," said Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini. "Mathematically, we have only a few points left to go, but it also puts us in a better state of mind going into the Coppa Italia final. "The team has been ...
Valverde feels Barcelona support despite Champions League collapse
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde has said he feels supported by club president Josep Bartomeu and compared the reaction to their Champions League exit to a child having a tantrum. Barca crashed out in the semi-finals on Tuesday after one of the greatest comebacks in the tournament's history saw them lose 4-0 to Liverpool and throw away a 3-0 advantage from the first leg. The defeat has left Valverde's future in doubt but, ahead of their penultimate La Liga game of the season at home to Getafe on Sunday, he insists he wants to continue. "I'm not thinking about it, not at all," Valverde said in a press conference on Saturday. "I have the strength to continue, I'm fine, I'm like everyone else, what we want to do is take a step forward and face the situation, not hide under a stone. "I've talked to the president and I've always felt supported by the club. "I know that when there's a blow of this kind, everything becomes disjointed. It's as if you have to burn everything, like when our ...
Pacquiao to fight Thurman in WBA welterweight showdown
Philippine boxing legend Manny Pacquiao and Keith Thurman will fight for World Boxing Association welterweight supremacy on July 20, promoters have confirmed. An announcement on the Fox television broadcast of the Premier Boxing Champions card featuring Jarrett Hurd and Julian Williams Saturday confirmed the bout. Eight-division world champion Pacquiao, 40, is coming off a January victory over American Adrien Broner that took his record to 61-7-2 with 39 knockouts. He holds the WBA's secondary "world" welterweight title. In Thurman, he'll be taking on the WBA's "super world champion" in the division. "In the biggest night of boxing this year, boxing's only eight-division world champion, Senator Manny 'Pac Man' Pacquiao, will take on undefeated WBA Welterweight World Champion Keith 'One Time' Thurman on Saturday, July 20 in a blockbuster showdown that headlines a Premier Boxing Champions on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View event," promoters said in a statement. Venue for the bout was not ...
Tsitsipas stuns Nadal to reach Madrid Open final
Spain's Rafael Nadal was eliminated from the Mutua Madrid Open semi-final after he was stunned by Alexis Tsitsipas of Greece 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 here.
Djokovic thrashes Thiem to enter Madrid Open final
World No 1 Novak Djokovic had to rally in both the first and second sets but managed to pull out a 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-4) victory over Dominic Thiem in first Madrid Open men's semifinal.
England edge out Pakistan in 2nd ODI
England just did enough to beat Pakistan by 12 runs in the second one-day international at Southampton on Saturday as they took a 1-0 in the five-match series World Cup hosts England, top of the ODI rankings, made 373 for three with Jos Buttler hitting 110 not out. But Pakistan, thanks mainly to opener Fakhar Zaman's 138, stayed in the hunt before a target of 19 off the last over, bowled by Chris Woakes, proved just beyond them as they finished on 361 for seven. The series, which started with Wednesday's no-result washout at The Oval, continues in Bristol on Tuesday.
Rohit wants to play good cricket in IPL final on Sunday
Mumbai Indians (MI) will aim for their fourth Indian Premier League (IPL) title when they take on defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the final of the tournament, here on Sunday, as MI skipper Rohit Sharma feels both the team's past performances would not be a factor.
Harmanpreet praises team-mates for Women's T20 Challenge title win
Harmanpreet Kaur led Supernovas to a four-wicket win over Velocity with a brilliant 51 to clinch the Women's T20 Challenge title on Saturday but she gave credit to her team-mates for the victory. Kaur, who struck 51 off 37 balls in a late onslaught, praised Radha Yadav, who hit a four off the last delivery, for maintaining her calm under pressure. "When I got out a lot of thought was coming into my mind. But I was happy with the approach that Radha showed, and she is the superstar today. All credit goes to her, I did half the job and she finished it," said Kaur at the post-match presentation ceremony. Kaur was out in the second ball of the final over and Supernovas needed seven runs off the last four deliveries. But Lea Tahuhu (2 not out) and Radha Yadav (10 not out) kept their nerves to hit the required runs in a tense finish. Radha Yadav hit a four off the last delivery to clinch the match as Supernovas reached 125 for 6. "I knew that if I played till the end I would have won the ...
Harmanpreet's 51 help Supernovas win Women's T20 title
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur's blistering half-century (51 off 37) helped Supernovas win the inaugural season of the Womens T20 Challenge 2019 as they defeated Velocity by four wickets at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, here on Saturday.
Supernovas clinch Women's T20 Challenge title after beating Velocity
Supernovas defeated Velocity by four wickets in the final of Women's T20 challenge at Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Saturday.Chasing a decent total of 122 runs, Supernovas faced an early blow as AC Jayangani (2) was run out in the second over. Jemimah Rodrigues then joined the on-field batter Priya Punia.Both struck regular boundaries and kept the scoreboard running. Rodrigues (22) and Punia (29) both got out in quick succession.Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Natalie Sciver then came out to bat but their partnership also did not last long as Sciver (2) too got out in the 12th over.Sophie Devine then came out on the field but she too went back to the pavilion after scoring just three runs.Lea Tahuhu then gave company to the skipper. However, it was the skipper who came out strikingly and smashed regular boundaries and sixes with the help of which she scored her half-century off just 34 balls. But Kaur gave an easy catch in the last over which ended her 51-run inning.Supernovas still ...
Harmanpreet leads Supernovas to Women's T20 Challenge title
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur struck a sensational half century as Supernovas clinched the Women's T20 Challenge title with a four-wicket win over Velocity in a dramatic summit clash here Saturday. Kaur (51) produced a late onslaught on the Velocity bowlers after the Supernovas made a heavy weather of a small chase of 122. The Supernovas overhauled the target off the last delivery of the run chase, reaching 125 for 6 from 20 overs. Coming out to bat in the 11th over at the team score of 53 for 2, the India T20 captain struck a quickfire 51 off 37 balls which was lashed with four boundaries and three sixes to take her side to the threshold of victory. The Supernovas needed seven from the final over but drama unfolded as Kaur was out in the second delivery which raised the visions of a Velocity win. But Lea Tahuhu (2 not out) and Radha Yadav (10 not out) kept their nerves to hit the required runs in a tense finish. The Supernovas struggled initially with the Velocity bowlers not allowing ...
Rohit Sharma feels playing IPL before big tournament is a good thing
Amid all the discussion regarding whether players should take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL) ahead of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup or not, Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma believes that playing in the IPL ahead of a big tournament helps players to get back in form."I feel that the guys who played the IPL and go to play in those big tournaments right after that, they are very much in touch with their game. Before IPL if they were not in good form, this is the time they can get in form," Sharma told reporters on Saturday."There have been instances in the past, that in 2013, we played IPL and then we went on to play Champions Trophy and we won the Champions Trophy," he added.Earlier in the tournament, keeping the World Cup in mind, Delhi Capitals pacer Kagiso Rabada was called back home by Cricket South Africa. However, while backing his opinion, the 32-year-old gave an example of Hardik Pandya who he thinks has got his form back after playing in the IPL."Hardik is the ...
Rohit plays down workload management talk, says IPL good preparation for WC
Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma on Saturday played down the workload management talk ahead of the World Cup, saying the IPL is an ideal tournament to gauge "where you are" in the lead up to a big event. In the media interaction before the IPL final here on Sunday, Rohit said he left it to the players -- Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah in this case -- to decide their workload during the course of the almost two-month long T20 league. The India vice-captain was seated alongside Mumbai coach Mahela Jayawardene while there was no representation from their opponents -- Chennai Super Kings -- in the mandatory press conference as they arrived here late on Saturday evening. CSK skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and coach Stephen Fleming were also supposed to attend the pre-final interaction. "We spoke at the start of the tournament that we will assess each one of them and see where they are at and how they feel about their body as the tournament progresses. It is more of an individual thing ..
Bhullar Tied-32 at British Masters; Wallace, Kinhult share lead
India's Gaganjeet Bhullar shot one-under 71 for a total of five-under 211 to be placed tied 32nd at the end of the third day of the British Masters golf tournament here Saturday. ' He made a lot of birdies, but he also gave away a bunch of bogeys in his card, just as he has in the first two days. Meanwhile, there was a keen battle going on between midway leader Matt Wallace (70) and Swede Marcus Kinhult (68), who shared the lead at 14-under. Kinhult, who began the day at 10-under and two behind the leader, shot 68 to get to 14-under. Wallace, who played 47 bogey free holes, bogeyed 12th and doubled bogeyed 15th, but fought back for a birdie on 17th for the third successive day to get back to 14-under and tie with Kinhult. They are two ahead of Richie Ramsay (71). Bhullar, the only Indian to make the cut, had an up-and-down day as the winds picked up in the afternoon. Bhullar has had as many as 15 birdies in 54 holes, but he dropped 10 bogeys. "My game is fine, it is just that the ...
Chennaiyin FC extends John Gregory's contract
Chennaiyin FC on Saturday announced that their head coach John Gregory has inked a new deal, which will keep the Englishman at the club till the end of the 2019-20 season.Interestingly, the Englishman has been handed over a new contract by the club on his 65th birthday."It truly is a great feeling extending my stay with the Chennaiyin family. My journey so far in India has really given me the whole range of emotions and experience, after the ISL title triumph in the first season followed by the disappointment in the same competition last season," club' official website quoted Gregory, as saying."And I feel I have some unfinished business here. The objective is to reward our loyal and unconditional supporters with a memorable AFC Cup journey and the chance to challenge for a third ISL trophy. We will all fight together and certainly come back stronger than ever before to achieve these goals," he said.Gregory is the first Englishman to win an ISL title and for this, he was presented ...
Tight security ahead of IPL final
Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) final which is scheduled to be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on May 12, tight security arrangements have been made. The city police have deployed 500 police personnel and installed 220 cameras in and around the stadium to ensure foolproof security during the match."Since the stadium's capacity is to accommodate 38,000 viewers and as this is the final match, there will be a lot of people. We will be deploying about 500 cops for crowd management, while making sure that all the rules are being followed by the public outside the stadium, at parking areas, and also on all the routes leading to Uppal stadium," Mahesh Bhagwat, Commissioner of police Rachakonda, said in a press conference."The security in and around the stadium is also being firmed up. Special command and control centres have been set up to monitor CCTV footages and we have installed 220 cameras around the stadium. SHE teams and special party teams will also be .
First blood for USA at action-packed World Relays
The United States threw down a marker on a dramatic opening night at the World Relays on Saturday, capturing historic gold medals in the mixed shuttle hurdles and 2x2x400 metres. Devon Allen anchored the Americans to victory over hosts Japan in a shuttle hurdles final reduced to just two teams after Jamaica pulled out due to injuries and Australia's Brianna Beahan was disqualified for a false start. Rio Olympic finalist Allen powered home on the last leg of the four-lap dash up and down the home straight, winning in 54.96 seconds with Japan clocking 55.59 after an evening of thrills and spills in Yokohama. Ce'Aira Brown and Donavan Brazier earlier won gold in the mixed 2x2x400 metres, a brutal new event in which two athletes alternately run two legs of 400m each. Australia's Catriona Bisset and Joshua Ralph took silver with Japan's Ayano Shiomi and Allon Tatsunami Clay collecting bronze. Team USA had won all six 4x400m at the three previous editions of the World Relays and they set ...
Velocity posts 121/6 against Supernovas in T20
Some disciplined bowling by Supernovas restricted Velocity to 121/6 in the final of the Womens T20 Challenge 2019 even as Sushma Verma (40 unbetaen) and Amelia Kerr (36 off 38) chipped in with valuable contributions.
Buttler traumatises Pakistan with 50-ball century
England batsman Jos Buttler slammed a 50-ball century against Pakistan and remained unbeaten on 110 runs (55 balls) to help his side post a massive 373 runs at the end of 50 overs, here on Saturday.