The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Nadal wins in singles debut at Brazil Open
- Hands off wrestling, say Greeks
- Serena closes in on return to top spot
| Nadal wins in singles debut at Brazil Open Posted: 14 Feb 2013 04:32 PM PST SAO PAULO: Spain's Rafael Nadal scored an easy two-set victory in his singles debut at the Brazil Open here late Thursday. The former world number one needed only 78 minutes to prevail over Brazilian Joao Souza, ranked 101st in the world 6-3, 6-4. Nadal advanced to the quarter-finals which will be played Friday. "It was an important victory for me," Nadal said. "the conditions are very difficult. The court is very fast, the ball too." Asked about his injured left knee, he replied: "Today I think it was acceptable, normal. Let's hope it will be the same tomorrow. The important things is that it (the knee) does not hurt." Wednesday, the Spanish star withdrew from a scheduled doubles match he was to have played with Argentina's David Nalbandian against Argentine Horacio Zeballos and Austrian Oliver Marach, citing "knee overuse". Nadal, currently ranked number five in the world, only returned to the tour in Chile last week after a seven-month injury absence. The 11-time grand slam champion, who lost both the singles and doubles finals Sunday at his comeback event in Vina del Mar, Chile, is the top seed at this week's event here. The $455,775 Brazil Open is part of the Latin American clay court circuit, along with the Vina del Mar and the Mexico Open in Acapulco where Nadal plans to play later this month. - AFP |
| Hands off wrestling, say Greeks Posted: 14 Feb 2013 03:23 PM PST ATHENS, Greece: Greece threw its weight behind the campaign to keep wrestling, a sport which has survived from the ancient Olympics, on the Games programme on Thursday. Greek Sports Undersecretary Giannis Ioannidis called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) not to remove the sport from the 2020 programme. In a letter to IOC president Jacques Rogge, Ioannidis said he expressed the feelings "of all the Greeks, but also the respect of our people and its sports history to keep the sport of wrestling in the Olympic Games programme". The 15-member Executive Board of the IOC on Tuesday voted to remove wrestling from the Olympic schedule. "With great surprise and great sadness we learned of the decision of the IOC Executive Board to remove the sport of wrestling from the program of the Olympic Games of 2020. The sport of wrestling is connected with Greece and the ancient Olympic Games," Ioannidis wrote to Rogge. The Greek official added that wrestling has a huge global appeal, noting that the International Wrestling Federation has 180 countries as members. "The history, the tradition and the social acceptance that marks the sport should not be sacrificed on the altar of media ratings and marketing," Ioannidis said. On Wednesday the Hellenic Olympic Committee announced they fully support the Greek wrestling federation's fight. "This is one decision that is clearly at variance with the history of the Olympics and sport in general," it said. "There should be a revision of this decision and the Hellenic Olympic Committee will support with all its forces, any effort in this direction." Greek wrestling federation president Kostas Thanos had already condemned the decision by the IOC was "sacrilege". "Wrestling is a sport that is identified with the Olympics and we cannot throw away such a symbol. The way they are going they may even remove the name Olympics," Thanos said in a radio interview. - AFP |
| Serena closes in on return to top spot Posted: 14 Feb 2013 03:21 PM PST DOHA: Serena Williams needs only one more win to become world number one for the first time in two-and-a-half years after reaching the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open in double quick time on Thursday. It took the 15-time Grand Slam title winner less than an hour to complete a 6-0, 6-3 win over Urszula Radwanska, the world number 37 from Poland, and to take herself to the brink of another remarkable achievement. A year ago, after a series of injuries, Williams' career seemed in danger. Now, after triumphs at Wimbledon, the US Open and the Olympics, and struggling against ankle and back injuries and a cold this week, she is almost back to where many believe she deserves to be - at the top again. Williams was not allowing her feelings to distract her, however, offering a smokescreen of anti-climactic words to avoid sharing premature pleasure with the crowd. "Not really", she said, when asked if she were thinking about becoming number one again. "I am so over it. It's like everyone is thinking about it. I have a really tough opponent. It is what it is." Later, however, Williams' mood altered a little. Asked what she thought of the prospect of becoming the oldest player to reach the top ranking again, she said: "It's awesome. Since I didn't do the youngest, I figure I'll do the oldest." On Friday, she'll face Petra Kvitova, the former Wimbledon champion from the Czech Republic, who recovered from 1-3 down in the final set to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 against Nadia Petrova, the 11th seeded Russian who is a previous champion in Doha. Earlier Victoria Azarenka, the current number one, made an impressive statement of her right still to be considered the best player when she overwhelmed America's Christina McHale 6-0, 6-0. "Everything was working for me today," said Azarenka, the defending champion in Doha who also retained her Australian Open crown last month. "When I stepped on court I felt my game. When I had a couple of difficult games I stayed focussed and took advantage of that, and that was the key. "Christina has played some excellent matches and had some big wins and so I had to stay focussed. I think I got rid of my frustrations (with the windy weather) yesterday." Azarenka next faces Sara Errani, the world number seven from Italy, in a half of the draw which also contains Agnieszka Radwanska, the fourth-seeded Pole who was her semi-final opponent last year, and Caroline Wozniacki, the former world number one from Denmark. Radwanska advanced with a craftily constructed 6-1, 7-6 (8/6) win over Ana Ivanovic, the former French Open champion from Serbia. Her reward is a quarter-final with Wozniacki, who survived a fraught encounter by 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 against Mona Barthel on an even windier outside court on which the ball sometimes threatened to bounce over the back stop, and where line decisions had Wozniacki's father-coach Piotr screaming at the umpire. "It was all about somehow surviving out there," said Wozniacki ruefully. She had a consolation though - a Valentine's Day bouquet of roses from boyfriend Rory McIlroy, the world's number one golfer. World number three Maria Sharapova eased past Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-3 and will face Australian eighth seed Samantha Stosur, who saw off Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 7-5, for a place in the semi-finals. - AFP |
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