The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Garcia edges Jimenez to make it two-in-a-row at Valderrama
- Fit-again Djokovic needs more time to find top form
- Bean there, done that as Massa and Hamilton clash again
| Garcia edges Jimenez to make it two-in-a-row at Valderrama Posted: 31 Oct 2011 04:01 PM PDT VALDERRAMA: Sergio Garcia, fresh from his victory at home in last week's Castello Masters, followed up by winning the Andalucia Masters here on Sunday. The Spaniard edged out his compatriot Miguel Angel Jimenez by one stroke after shooting a fourth round level par of 71 for a six-under total of 278. Scotland's Richie Ramsay, who led after rounds one and two, was a shot further away in third with Ireland's Shane Lowry fourth on three-under. Garcia led by three shots with three holes to play but was made to fight after Jimenez birdied the 16th and 17th for a victory that was a good deal harder than Garcia's 11-stroke stroll in the Castello Masters. The 31-year-old became the first Spaniard to win a stroke-play event at Valderrama and was going one better after finishing runner-up at this course three times. This fifth EPGA Tour success on home soil lifted him back into the world top 20. "It's very, very special," he said. "Valderrama – I have so much history here and unfortunately it wasn't as good as this until now!" Jimenez had joined Garcia on six-under with a brace of early birdies and took the outright lead when Garcia three-putted the sixth. But the 47-year-old dropped shots at the 13th and 15th with Garcia gaining shots at the 11th and 14th, with a superb up-and-down from a greensside bunker at the 16th keeping him at six-under. And he held his nerve when Jimenez had reduced the gap to one going to the final hole. "I'm out of words," added Garcia, who now leads the European Ryder Cup points race. "It's been two amazing weeks. Miguel fought so hard and had some good chances coming in, 17 for eagle and 18 for birdie. "I wasn't as good as probably the last 13 days, but we hung on and managed to pull through. "On 18, we decided to play a little more conservative and make sure we hit the fairway, then the chip was just amazing. I thought it was going in. "I've been in that situation three or four times on this course. It wasn't easy, but I believed in my ability. To be able to hit the chip I hit there and roll the putt in with the pressure, it was nice." — AFP Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Fit-again Djokovic needs more time to find top form Posted: 31 Oct 2011 03:50 PM PDT BASEL: Novak Djokovic said on Sunday he needs "some time" to rediscover top form after his historic season was interrupted by a six-week injury break. The top-ranked Serb resumes at the Swiss Indoors with a 64-3 record this year, after a back muscle injury forced him to retire from a Davis Cup tennis semi-finals singles match against Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina on Sept. 18. "Certainly, it's going to take me some time to get back to the right shape," Djokovic said. The US Open, Wimbledon and Australian Open champion faces 50th-ranked Belgian Xavier Malisse tomorrow in Basel, the hometown tournament of 16-time Grand Slam singles winner Roger Federer. "I don't expect myself to be 100 per cent in this tournament but obviously I will try," said Djokovic, who beat Federer in the 2009 final here and lost their rematch a year ago. Djokovic succumbed to pain that had flared up days earlier during his intense, 4-set victory over Rafael Nadal to earn his first US Open trophy. Though the muscle tear was "quite bad," Djokovic acknowledged the timing was a blessing. "The injury is never welcome ... but it came in the right moment, let's say. It gave me a little more time to rest and recover," he said. "I think it was the longest (break) I had in the last four or five years." Djokovic said he had daily therapy on his back while missing the Asian tournament swing, and a shot at beating John McEnroe's dominant 82-3 season in 1984. He now has just Basel, the Paris Masters and season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London remaining, and must win all three to get close to the American's mark. "I don't feel unbeatable and I don't think anybody is," Djokovic cautioned. "It's just a matter of the right momentum, the confidence you are building up. "Sometimes you see the ball as a water melon. "You feel so good on the court, you trust every shot that you have. I guess every top player has experienced that and has experienced the bad times as well." — AP Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Bean there, done that as Massa and Hamilton clash again Posted: 31 Oct 2011 07:07 PM PDT GREATER NOIDA (India): Lewis Hamilton's season took a farcical twist on Sunday as he bizarrely collided with Felipe Massa for the third time in recent weeks – fittingly watched by "Mr Bean" actor Rowan Atkinson (pic). Hamilton, trapped by Ferrari's Massa going into a turn at the Indian Grand Prix, shunted the Brazilian across the track before protesting into his radio. It was their third recent accident after collisions in Singapore and Japan put relations on a knife-edge. And the latest coming-together was closely watched by comedy star Atkinson, who was a guest in the McLaren pit and went through a series of his trademark grimaces as the drama unfolded on his TV screen. Massa was hit by a drive-through penalty but fate threw up another quirk as he crashed out when his left front wheel hit a high kerb, mirroring a virtually identical mistake in qualifying. Hamilton blamed damage from the shunt for his seventh-place finish, which rounded off a tough week in which he announced his split from Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger and then suffered a five-place grid penalty. "There is not much to say. It's a disappointing day and my team deserve better," Hamilton said. "I'll fly back (to Britain) and try to get my head back in the game." Hamilton, who placed second in Korea and was hoping to end his season on a high, remains fifth in the overall standings and is now 26 points back from McLaren team-mate Jenson Button in second. The 2008 champion said he made an overture to Massa before the race as drivers observed a minute's silence for IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon and MotoGP's Marco Simoncelli, who both died this month. "We had the one-minute silence before the race, I was standing next to Felipe. He's not spoken to me for a long time but I made the effort, I put my arm round him and said good luck for the race," Hamilton said. But Massa, who was adamant that he should not have been penalised, quibbled with Hamilton's version of events, although he denied there was any feud between them. "He didn't try to do anything. When I tried to speak to him he passed through. He did not look to my face, so no. Not here," Massa said. "After the one minute silence he was at my side and then he just said, 'have a good race'. So this is trying to what? "Have a good race? Is that not part of talking, or whatever?" — AFP Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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