The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Formula One: Grosjean sets best time in testing
- Tennis: Federer beaten by Berdych again in Dubai
- Cycling: Armstrong could be stripped of top French honour
| Formula One: Grosjean sets best time in testing Posted: 01 Mar 2013 05:31 PM PST BARCELONA: France's Romain Grosjean, in a Lotus, set the fastest time in Formula One testing on Friday, making the most of dry afternoon conditions, in marked contrast to the wet surface of the morning session. Grosjean's time of 1min 22.716sec was half a second faster than McLaren driver Jenson Button's best of the morning at the Catalunya Circuit. Button, the 2009 world champion, had clocked 1min 25.936sec before improving to 1min 23.181sec in the afternoon. "Even though the weather was far from ideal it was a pretty good day for us and it's certainly a better feeling to end the session with the fastest time on the board rather than the slowest," said Grosjean, who will hand testing duties to Kimi Raikkonen for the final two days. "I wish I could have more time in the car before the season starts, but if we're in the same position on the monitors when we get to Australia I'll be very happy indeed." World champion Sebastian Vettel was fourth quickest in the Red Bull, a day after teammate Mark Webber had been the fastest man on the track. "I didn't do that many laps today, but to be honest the weather wasn't great and it was a pretty rough day in terms of the wind," said the German, who drove 63 laps. "It's very cold as well. The tyres aren't really working properly and I think everybody is suffering the same problem, struggling to make the tyres last for more than a lap." The four-day testing session ends on Sunday ahead of the start of the 2013 season in Melbourne on March 17. Leading times 1. Romain Grosjean (FRA/Lotus-Renault) 1min 22.716sec (85 laps), 2. Jenson Button (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:23.181 (70), 3. Pastor Maldonado (VEN/Williams-Renault) 1:23.628 (72), 4. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Red Bull-Renault) 1:23.743 (63), 5. Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Sauber-Ferrari) 1:23.744 (77), 6. Adrian Sutil (GER/Force India-Mercedes) 1:24.215 (62), 7. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 1:25.483 (59), 8. Max Chilton (GBR/Marussia-Cosworth) 1:25.598 (73), 9. Giedo van der Garde (NED/Caterham-Renault) 1:26.316 (48), 10. Nico Rosberg (GER/Mercedes) 1:26.655 (117), 11. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Ferrari) 1:27.878 (100) - AFP |
| Tennis: Federer beaten by Berdych again in Dubai Posted: 01 Mar 2013 05:28 PM PST DUBAI: Roger Federer's defence of the Dubai Open title came to a dramatic end in the semi-finals after he failed to convert three match points against Tomas Berdych, the man who also upset him in the US Open. The world number six from the Czech Republic thrillingly turned the match around after a neck-and-neck second set tie-break, going on to win 3-6, 7-6 (10-8), 6-4 against the five-time champion and set up a final against Novak Djokovic. The Serbian world number one extended his unbeaten run to 17 matches and reached the 55th final of his career with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) win over Juan Martin Del Potro, the former US Open champion from Argentina. Federer was on the verge of success at 6-4 and 8-7 in the tie break, with the second of the three points coming on his serve, only for Berdych to somehow get into a rally and win it with some fierce ground strokes. One break of serve halfway through the final set then proved decisive, as Federer gambled more and more on rushing the net instead of continuing the bruising baseline exchanges which characterised the first two sets. "It's obviously unfortunate, you know," said Federer, for whom this is a tournament in his second home. "Pity to lose that one, but Tomas did well to hang in there. "Obviously I leave this match with a lot of regrets I'm feeling: serving for the match, with the serve, having chances in the beginning of the second, you know, when he wasn't quite in the match yet, to go break up, you know, set and a break, you know, a few points where things just didn't happen for me." Of his best chance, the second match point, Federer said: "That's just disappointing right there, because the match was in my racket. "You do all the right things for so long, and then at the end you've got to explain why you didn't hit two shots decent, you know. So it's disappointing." Berdych was pleased that he avoided the perils of tension in the later stages, as he closed the match out. "Staying calm is definitely the big thing I have been working on," he said. "And I am still working on it, especially with the serve. When I serve well I can do a lot of damage." Earlier, Djokovic was again in fine fettle for a man who had not played a tournament since the successful defence of the Australian title nearly five weeks ago, and, after three solid wins already, he raised his level once more. Djokovic was made to. Del Potro hit fierce first serves and heavy ground strokes mixed in with thunderbolt accelerations with his forehand, advancing to a 3-0 lead in the second set. Djokovic responded superbly when behind, containing brilliantly, moving superbly, and counter-attacking with excellent timing and accuracy. However, his break back to 2-3 came amidst controversy. Umpire Magdi Somat imposed a time violation on Del Potro when he took a longer to prepare at a vital moment, at 30-40, break point down. The Argentine walked up to the umpire to protest, gesticulating as he did so, and accompanied by a spate of boos from spectators. By the time the situation had calmed, the delay was at least twice the permitted 25 seconds. There followed a forehand-to-forehand exchange ending with a mishit under pressure by Del Potro costing him the game. When they sat down at the change of ends there was another exchange between the umpire and Del Potro, with further jeering from spectators. Djokovic was critical. "I don't know exactly if the chair umpire gave him unofficial verbal warning before that. If he didn't, then I don't agree with that decision," he said. It muddied the waters and proved to be a turning point. It also landed the Argentine with extra pressure in his next service game and although he diligently saved two break points amidst a sequence of excellent rallies, Djokovic eventually broke serve. "It was very important point for the game, for the match," Del Potro said of the timing of the umpire's decision. "Maybe he doesn't know about that, you know. "I mean, in that moment, if you call warning or if you do something different, you can lose the focus and that's what happened with me." - AFP |
| Cycling: Armstrong could be stripped of top French honour Posted: 01 Mar 2013 05:16 PM PST PARIS: Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, who has already had his record seven Tour de France victories wiped from the record books, could now be stripped of the Legion d'Honneur, France's highest honour. Armstrong was awarded the title Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur in 2005 in recognition of his seventh Tour win, but moves are now afoot to have the honour rescinded, according to a spokesman for the order. In January, Armstrong, 41, admitted to Oprah Winfrey that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his record seven Tour de France championships from 1999-2005. He was stripped of all seven Tour titles last year after a devastating report by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which accused the cyclist of taking part in one of the biggest cheating operations in sports history. An investigator from the council of the Legion d'Honneur is preparing a report on whether to deprive Armstrong of the title in the wake of revelations about his drug-tainted career, and he will have three months to present his defence. According to the order's code, French citizens who are awarded the Legion d'Honneur can be suspended or expelled after a conviction or "acts contrary to the code of honour". And since 2010, foreign nationals, who do not officially become members of the order, can also be stripped of the honour. British couturier John Galliano, who was convicted and fined in 2011 for racist insults, was stripped of his honour in August last year, having been awarded the Legion d'Honneur in 2009. Last month, the US government decided to join a doping lawsuit filed by one of Armstrong's former teammates alleging that the disgraced cycling champion defrauded government sponsors. - AFP |
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