The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Wariner, Jackson set up US Indoors 400 showdown
- Gulbis outlasts Haas to reach Delray Beach final
- Djokovic beats Berdych to win fourth Dubai Open
| Wariner, Jackson set up US Indoors 400 showdown Posted: 02 Mar 2013 07:08 PM PST ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico: Three-time Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner and 2005 world outdoor champion Bershawn Jackson each won 400-meter heats on Saturday at the US Indoor Track and Field Championships. Wariner, competing in the meet for the first time, was the fastest qualifier for Sunday's final in 46.40 seconds while Jackson was fourth overall in 47.36, setting up a showdown between the rivals in one of the meet's feature races. Wariner, a five-time world champion, took Olympic 400 gold in 2004 at Athens and was part of two US 4x400 gold medal Olympic relays. Jackson, who last claimed a US indoor crown in 2010, took bronze in the 2008 Olympic 400 hurdles. Olympic bronze medalist Janay Deloach Soukup won her third consecutive US Indoor long jump title with a leap of 6.80 meters. She will also compete in the 60m hurdles on Sunday. London Olympic decathlon silver medalist Trey Hardee failed to finish in his 60m hurdles heptathlon heat Saturday morning, ending the 2009 and 2011 world champion's US title bid. World junior champion Gunnar Nixon took the US crown with 6,232 points, winning the 60 hurdles in 7.93 seconds after taking the long jump (7.42m) and high jump (2.14m) on Friday to beat Curtis beach by 337 points. Reigning Olympic champion Jenn Suhr was favored to claim her seventh US Indoor title in a later competition. Matthew Centrowitz, a 2012 US Olympian who was third in the 1,500 at the 2011 worlds, was fourth-fastest among six qualifiers for the 800m finals in 1:47.94. Amber Campbell's six-year reign as US indoor women's weight throw champion was ended by Gwendolyn Berry, who effort of 24.70m left Campbell second at 23.68. - AFP |
| Gulbis outlasts Haas to reach Delray Beach final Posted: 02 Mar 2013 07:05 PM PST DELRAY BEACH, Florida: Latvian qualifier Ernests Gulbis outlasted German second seed Tommy Haas 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7/2) on Saturday to reach the final of the $455,775 ATP Delray Beach International Championship. In a matchup of past Delray Beach champions, Haas squandered three break points in the 11th game of the third set. Gulbis won the last five points to hold for a 6-5 lead, then won six of the last seven points in the tie-breaker. US top seed John Isner and France's Edouard Roger-Vasselin meet in the other semi-final to decide who will face 109th-ranked Gulbis in Sunday's title match. Gulbis seeks his third ATP title at the same event where he won his first tour crown in 2010. His only other tour title came at Los Angeles in 2011, also on hardcourts. Former World No. 2 Haas, ranked 90 spots ahead of Gulbis, was denied a chance at a 14th career title at the same event where he won the 2006 crown. Haas last won a hardcourt title in 2007 at Memphis. Gulbis, 10 years younger than Haas at 24, split two prior matches with the German, winning a five-setter in the first round of last year's US Open after a 2009 loss on Spanish clay. Gulbis lost his only prior match against 15th-ranked Isner in the first round at Wimbledon in 2008 and has never faced Roger-Vasselin, who seeks his first career ATP singles final. Isner, who also has never played Roger-Vasselin, seeks his sixth career ATP title, having won at Winston-Salem and Newport each of the past two years and in Auckland in 2010. - AFP |
| Djokovic beats Berdych to win fourth Dubai Open Posted: 02 Mar 2013 05:21 PM PST DUBAI: Novak Djokovic won his fifth title in six tournaments and extended an unbeaten run to 18 matches as he clinched a fourth Dubai Open title with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Tomas Berdych on Saturday. The world number one from Serbia underlined his pre-eminence in the world game with an athletically aggressive performance against the world number six from the Czech Republic, who knocked out Roger Federer, the titleholder, in the semi-finals. Berdych had chances to take control of the first set after making the first break of serve, but missed three chances to consolidate it, and also narrowly failed to convert three crucial break points in the following game. These moments suggested that the biggest difference between the two men is a mental one, something indicated again near the end when Djokovic coped with a time violation warning from the umpire as he was serving for the match. Djokovic was clearly delighted to triumph in his first tournament since successfully defending the Australian Open title five weeks ago. "To prevail like this and to be the last one standing is thrilling for me," he said of his 36th career title. "It was a very close match and could have gone either way. It was never going to be an easy final because Tomas is a fantastic player. He's been on the tour a long time and is very experienced. "He beat Federer in an incredible match," Djokovic added, referring to the three match points Berdych saved while halting the Grand Slam record-holder. Djokovic also believes that his victory on Dubai's fast courts will stand him in good stead with the year's opening Masters event getting underway at Indian Wells next week. "I haven't always been the player who loves to play on the fast, super-fast surfaces (like this one), but I'm happy because during the week I can also work on my aggressivity, coming into the net, using my serve better," he said. "That's what I have done in this tournament and in particular over the years. I have been trying to work on a few things that can give me more variety in the game, and I can use that in the tournaments to come." Djokovic's success on Saturday was also due to tactical prowess. At times he provoked errors by subtlely making Berdych generate his own pace, and then increased his own pace or counter-attacked at well-timed moments. There were certainly moments when it seemed that Berdych, a player sometimes troubled by tension, might get himself far enough in front to relax into overdrive. He made the first break at 2-3, and having lost it in a game of four deuces, almost got another when he chiselled out three break points in the ninth game. Had he converted any of these Berdych would have been serving for the set, but he missed his best chance at 30-40, with a forehand pulled wide, while Djokovic typically played two fine rallies on the others. Djokovic also hung tough in the crises. Berdych, by contrast, was occasionally at his most fallible when it mattered most. He allowed Djokovic's break back for 4-4 after sneaking himself into a great position to make a stolen volley, only to miss the shot. Then when he was serving to save the set at 5-6 he played his worst game of the match. The second set hinged on a break at a psychologically damaging time. When Djokovic steepled up an enormous, but short lob and Berdych hammered it wide, it put the favourite 5-3 ahead and gave the underdog little time to repair the damage. Although Berdych did get a break back point at 30-40, courtesy of a rare Djokovic double fault, the world number one played close to his best in four of the next five rallies, closing the match out. "I gave everything yesterday and didn't have enough today," said Berdych. "And Novak deserved to win. "Let's see how long this guy is going to be around here. I will try to work hard and come back and try to fight for the win." - AFP |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan