The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Contador relaunches Tour bid but Hushovd wins 16th stage
- China’s basketball star Yao Ming expected to announce retirement
- Zvonareva, Pavlyuchenkova reach 2nd round in Baku
| Contador relaunches Tour bid but Hushovd wins 16th stage Posted: 19 Jul 2011 05:33 PM PDT GAP (France): Tour de France champion Alberto Contador relaunched his yellow jersey bid with an unexpected attack on the 16th stage of the race, won by Norwegian Thor Hushovd yesterday. Hushovd, of Garmin-Cervelo, outsprinted Norwegian compatriot Edvald Boasson Hagen to take his second victory of the race after a rainy 162.5km ride over undulating terrain from Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux. Frenchman Thomas Voeckler retained the race leader's yellow jersey but the Europcar leader, like the Schleck brothers Andy and Frank, lost time to both Contador and Australian Cadel Evans in a thrilling finale. Former two-time runner-up Evans finished 4:23 behind Hushovd to move one place up to second overall at 1:45 behind Voeckler. Contador and fellow Spaniard Samuel Sanchez crossed the line three seconds later at 4:26, with Voeckler and Frank Schleck in a 14-man group which battled to finish 18 seconds later. Andy Schleck, the runner-up in 2009 and 2010, struggled to follow wheels on the tricky 11km descent to the finish where he finished 5:32 adrift. In the process Andy Schleck lost 1:09 to Evans and 1:06 to Contador. Frank Schleck dropped to third at 1:49 with younger brother Andy at 3:03. Sanchez, another beneficiary of Contador's move, is fifth overall at 3:26 with Contador sixth at 3:42. Voeckler admitted Contador's move, on a stage that had been labelled a 'transition' before three consecutive days in the Alps, had stunned everybody. "It really surprised me he (Contador) attacked like that," said the Frenchman. "Everyone was expecting him to wait for the big mountain passes in the Alps but he went for it on the Col de Manse. "I wasn't the only one who couldn't follow, the other guys behind me were all grimacing too. The problem is, when Contador attacks it is usually pretty effective." Contador has been racing with a right knee injury, suffered in one of the several crashes which hampered his first week on the race and forced him to change position on the bike to compensate for the pain. But the Spaniard looked back to his attacking best when he seized the day on the 9km climb to the Col de Manse outside Gap, whose summit was 11 km from the finish. After the Schlecks managed to ride back on to his wheel, Contador began the first of three further accelerations which ultimately took Evans and Sanchez with him, leaving the rest behind. The trio crested the summit with a 20 second lead on the Schlecks and Voeckler's group and pushed on during the rain-hit descent, with time trial specialist Evans pulling away on his own in the final kilometres. Until late last year both Schlecks raced under the wing of Bjarne Riis, who is the owner and manager of Contador's Saxo Bank team. Frank Schleck said could only take his hat off to his former boss's use of inside information. "We didn't expect him (Contador) or any of the other big favourites to do that. Bjarne knows we don't like bad weather and that the descent would be quite tricky for us," said Frank. "Hats off to them. But it's not a tragedy. We will stay focused on what we have to do and we're looking forward to three days in the mountains." — AFP Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| China’s basketball star Yao Ming expected to announce retirement Posted: 19 Jul 2011 05:32 PM PDT SHANGHAI: Yao Ming should make it official today, announcing what is widely expected to be his retirement from the NBA and a sport that made him a household name in China. The 2.29m centre for the Houston Rockets played for eight seasons in the NBA, but has missed 250 regular-season games over the past six years. His career, including frequent appearances for the Chinese national team at Olympics and World Championships, has been punctuated by leg and foot injuries. Today, a large reception hall at a hotel in the Pudong section of Shanghai – Yao Ming's hometown – has been booked for what will likely be the country's media event of the year. Hundreds of media have been accredited to attend the restricted event and are expected to arrive hours early to go through security checks. It is expected to be broadcast live in China and in many countries around the world. Reports have been circulating for nearly two weeks that the 30-year-old star would retire, but the Rockets have not commented due to the NBA lockout and his management refused to confirm the reports. The NBA said they have not received official retirement paperwork from Yao Ming. His contract expired after last season, and the Rockets said they were interested in re-signing him if he came back healthy. Yao Ming said in April in China that his professional future depended on his recovery from a stress fracture in his left ankle. Kevin Durant was on a promotional tour in China earlier this month when he was asked about Yao Ming's impact on the game. "Tough, man, tough to see a great player and a great competitor like Yao Ming leave the game after being injured a few years," Durant said during a stop in the city of Tianjin, east of Beijing. "He comes in, he works everyday. He sets such a good example for the players coming into the league." Named to the NBA All-Star team eight times after being the top overall pick in the 2002 draft, Yao Ming averaged 19 points and 9.2 rebounds. More importantly, his impact expanded the NBA's influence in Asia into lucrative merchandise sales and TV ratings. – AP Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Zvonareva, Pavlyuchenkova reach 2nd round in Baku Posted: 19 Jul 2011 05:11 PM PDT BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) - Top-seeded Vera Zvonareva breezed through the opening round of the inaugural Baku Cup on Tuesday, while second-seeded fellow Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had to battle through heat exhaustion and 25 double faults before advancing. Zvonareva was only briefly tested, saving a set point to recover from 3-5 in the second set before beating Nigina Abduraimova of Ukraine 6-1, 7-5. Zvonareva imposed herself from the start by breaking serve in the opening game, and Abduraimova was no match for her vastly more experienced opponent. Pavlyuchenkova, in contrast, had to work much harder for her 7-5, 6-4 win over Valeria Solovieva, needing almost 2 1/2 hours to overcome the 274th-ranked Russian. Pavlyuchenkova hit 16 double faults in the first set alone and required treatment for heat exhaustion after breaking to lead 3-1 in the final set. Earlier, third-seeded Elena Vesnina overcame fellow Russian Yana Buchina 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 to begin another quest for her first WTA title. Vesnina has reached five finals on tour. Buchina led 2-0 in the third set when Vesnina called a medical time-out to receive treatment to her right shoulder. When play resumed, Vesnina immediately broke back. She missed two match points on Buchina's serve at 5-4, and closed out the match on her third match point with a blistering service return. Vesnina will next play former top-15 player Aravane Rezai, who has struggled with off-court problems and seen her ranking slump to 112th. The Frenchwoman easily overcame 15-year-old Kamilla Farhad of Azerbaijan 6-0, 6-2. Fifth-seeded Monica Niculescu of Romania advanced when Eirini Georgatou retired with a left ankle injury when trailing 5-1. The Greek was later taken to a hospital for examination. Georgia's Anna Tatishvili upset eighth-seeded Russian Evgeniya Rodina 6-4, 6-2, seventh-seeded Russian Ksenia Pervak battled for 2 hours, 19 minutes to overcome Thailand's Noppawan Lertcheewakarn 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, and Elena Bovina of Russia needed six match points and 2 hours, 38 minutes to defeat Kazakh Zarina Diyas 6-0, 3-6, 7-5. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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