The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Cricket: Rain robs rusty Pietersen of batting practice
- Tennis: Stosur sets up Ivanovic clash in Moscow
- Tennis: Del Potro, Tipsarevic roll into Vienna semis
| Cricket: Rain robs rusty Pietersen of batting practice Posted: 19 Oct 2012 06:36 PM PDT DURBAN: Recalled England batsman Kevin Pietersen was robbed of much-needed batting practice Friday when a Champions League Twenty20 fixture scheduled for Kingsmead was washed out. Pietersen was part of the Delhi Daredevils team scheduled to play Auckland Aces in the Indian Ocean city, but steady rain over three hours forced the organisers to concede defeat 70 minutes before the cut-off time. The batsman was added to the England squad Thursday for a November tour of India two months after being kicked out of the team for criticising teammates in text messages to South African opponents during a home Test series. His only competitive action since came last Saturday near Pretoria when he scored 14 runs off 18 balls as the Daredevils defeated fellow Indian Premier League outfit Kolkata Knight Riders comfortably in a first round game. The presence of Pietersen is one reason a star-saturated Daredevils squad are among the title favourites and their next fixture is against the Perth Scorchers at Newlands in Cape Town Sunday. Often controversial Pietersen has been moving well below the radar since arriving in South Africa last week with few sightings of the 32-year-old by domestic media. He was spotted in t-shirt and jeans walking alone in an upscale northern Johannesburg shopping mall with no sign of the mobile phone that triggered so much trouble during August. "Could this be the same man who has made a career out of riling some of the people all of the time? Was this nondescript really KP, slayer of bowlers, both demon and dull?," asked the Johannesburg Times. "It was. The expensive aroma of arrogance, even at 15 metres and after everything the world had done to Pietersen recently, was unmistakable," it added. Pietersen was also seen at a plush nightclub in the same mall with Daredevils teammates, dancing, joking and showing a fondness for champagne. Pietersen was the centre of attention at the packed club and proved he has more to offer than brilliant batting strokes as he hit the dance floor with Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardene and Australian David Warner. - AFP |
| Tennis: Stosur sets up Ivanovic clash in Moscow Posted: 19 Oct 2012 06:34 PM PDT MOSCOW: Top-seeded Australian Samantha Stosur eased into the Kremlin Cup semi-finals on Friday with a comfortable 6-1, 6-3 win over Czech Klara Zakopalova to set-up a clash with former world number one Ana Ivanovic. Stosur, currently ninth in the WTA rankings, was in command from the start breaking Zakopalova's serve three times for a one-set lead in 27 minutes. In the second set, Stosur was trailing 3-1 after Zakopalova broke in the third game. But the 2011 US Open champion then broke back twice to win the set and the match. Stosur will now face Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champion and fourth seed, who also advanced into the semi-finals beating unheralded compatriot Vesna Dolonc 6-4, 6-1 in an all-Serbian quarter-final. "It's going to be a tough match as we didn't play each other for a long time," Stosur said about Saturday's semi-final. "I'm going to be ready for anything. I shall concentrate on my own game, be ready to work hard and be also ready for long rallies." Third seed Caroline Wozniacki defeated defending champion Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia to also advance. Former world number one Wozniacki won 6-2, 6-7 (1/7), 6-1 to record her ninth win over Cibulkova, who is 14th in the rankings, in their 12th head-to-head meeting. "It was a very good match as both of us played very well," Wozniacki said. "The difference at the end was that I could just keep my highest level up and I managed to win the most important points, especially at the beginning of the third set." The 22-year-old Dane, who is currently 11th in the world but could still break into the top 10 by season's end, broke twice in winning the opening set. Cibulkova pulled the scores level at one set all after winning the second set tiebreak, but early in the deciding set the 23-year-old Cibulkova needed treatment on her bandaged right leg. The Slovak never fully recovered, unable to resist the power and precision of Wozniacki, who broke twice to take the set and the match on her first match point. In Saturday's semi-final, Wozniacki will face Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden. Arvidsson, 46 in the world, saw off seventh seed Maria Kirilenko, the last Russian player in the draw, 6-3, 6-3. In the men's section of the event, Malek Jaziri beat Czech Lukas Rosol 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 to become the first Tunisian player to reach an ATP semi-final. "I'm really happy to reach the semi-finals," Jaziri said. "And if I'm lucky enough, why not make my first ATP final?" In the Saturday's match for a place in the final, Jaziri will face second-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy who eased past Japan's eighth seed Tatsuma Ito, 6-2, 6-1. Croatian giant Ivo Karlovic also breezed into the semis, beating Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-6 (7/4), 6-3. He will face fourth seeded Brazilian Thomaz Belluci, who beat Pole Jerzy Janowicz 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), for a place in the final. - AFP |
| Tennis: Del Potro, Tipsarevic roll into Vienna semis Posted: 19 Oct 2012 06:29 PM PDT VIENNA, Austria: Top seeds Juan Martin del Potro and Janko Tipsarevic boosted their chances of reaching the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals on Friday when they eased into the Austrian Open semi-finals. Number one seed Del Potro, playing his first event in a month after a wrist injury suffered in the Davis Cup semi-finals, had too much class for Australia's Marinko Matosevic, 6-2, 6-2. Tipsarevic, still jet-lagged from playing in Shanghai last week, enjoyed a swift 6-2, 4-2 passage after Slovenian opponent Aljaz Bedene quit with a thigh injury. The 63-minute result was welcomed by the second seed, who had played both singles and doubles the day before. But there was disappointment for third-seeded Tommy Haas as the German veteran went down on six breaks of serve to Grega Zemlja of Slovenia, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, just a day after notching his 500th career win. On Saturday, Del Potro will face Gilles Muller who beat Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-4 while Tipsarevic will get a re-run of a US Open match-up when he faces Zemlja, ranked 70th. Del Potro and Tipsarevic are chasing two of the three remaining places in the eight-man World Tour Finals which start on November 5 in London. With this weekend, and two more weeks of play remaining, every match counts. "I had a good match but you can always improve some things," said Del Potro. "Against Muller, I will have to try and break his big serve and hold my own. "I'm ready for a tough match, I need more matches since I've only played two since returning this week. I need to improve for the semi-finals." Tipsarevic stands ninth in the race to London and is doing his best to keep his mind in the present. "I would lie if I said I was not thinking about London," said the Serb, now 55-22 this season with a title from Stuttgart. "It is in the back of my mind. But this is an important tournament for me. I'm trying not to think too far ahead. Doing so only creates added pressure which is not helpful. "I'm only thinking about my next match - I'm trying not to care about London right now." Zemlja said he quickly got over pre-match nerves to reach his first ATP semi-final. The Slovenian, who often trains in Austria, broke Haas in the fifth game of the final set to run out the winner. "I did well, I showed that I can beat a lot of good players. In the third set I felt his forehand was getting vulnerable. I just stayed steady with my game." - AFP |
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