The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- French Open champ Li upset by Lisicki at Wimbledon
- Yani Tseng leads LPGA Championship
- 10-man Malaysia down Lebanon to book place in the final round qualifiers
| French Open champ Li upset by Lisicki at Wimbledon Posted: 23 Jun 2011 05:46 PM PDT WIMBLEDON, England (AP): French Open champion Li Na squandered two match points and lost in the second round of Wimbledon on Thursday to German wild card Sabine Lisicki, the biggest upset of the tournament so far. The 62nd-ranked Lisicki erased both match points with service winners in the ninth game of the third set and beat the third-seeded Chinese player 3-6, 6-4, 8-6 under the roof on Centre Court. Other winners on Day 4 included six-time champion Roger Federer, women's defending titlist Serena Williams and second-seeded Novak Djokovic. After Li hit a forehand long on Lisicki's third match point, the 21-year-old German fell to her knees at the baseline and put her head to the turf. She broke into tears at her courtside chair. "My emotions are so, I mean, just over the moon," said Lisicki, who served 17 aces and had 32 winners. "It's just amazing." Li was up 4-2 in the third set and twice served for the match but was broken each time. She had won 14 of her previous 15 Grand Slam matches in 2011, reaching the final at the Australian Open, then becoming China's first major singles champion at Roland Garros last month. "Tough match," Li said. "But I think both players today played great. Nothing wrong, just unlucky. I have two match points. But I can do nothing for these two match points." Lisicki has now won 12 of her last 13 matches on grass, including reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2009 and winning a tuneup tournament in Birmingham this month. She missed five months last season with a left ankle injury, and she fell out of the top 200 in the rankings. "It was very, very hard," she said. "I really had to start from zero after being on crutches for seven weeks so it just means so much to me, you know, winning the title in Birmingham and getting the wild card here. I appreciate it so much, to be back in Wimbledon. It's just a place that I love so much." At 5-3 down in the third, Lisicki fell behind 15-40 on her serve and faced two match points. She came up with two service winners at more than 120 mph (193 kph) and two straight aces - including a 124 mph (200 kph) delivery, the fastest by any woman this year. Li served for the match at 5-4 and 6-5 but couldn't convert. "I just wanted to enjoy myself here and that's what I'm doing," Lisicki said. "That's what I told myself on the third set when I was down a break and she was serving for the match and I was just fighting and I wanted to stay longer out there. "The crowd was cheering. I didn't know it could get so loud in there. It was just amazing. I loved it out there. The support was just amazing." Li said she couldn't handle Lisicki's huge serve. "Start of the first point until the end of the match, every serve was like around 117 miles (per hour)," she said. "I mean, this is impossible for the women." Li reached the quarterfinals here in 2006 and 2010. Her landmark victory in Paris last month was watched by a reported 116 million people in China. "I didn't feel different," she said Thursday. "I didn't feel pressure. Only change is right now opponents see you different. They (have) nothing to lose. So they can play best tennis on the court." Federer, playing the last match on Centre Court, needed only 1 hour, 28 minutes to put away Adrian Mannarino of France, 6-2, 6-3 6-2. With his parents watching from the Royal Box, the third-seeded Swiss finished the match in style - soaring high in the air for a flying overhead smash. It was the first time Federer has played under the roof on the court where he has made his name as perhaps the greatest player of all time. Fans held up play by doing the wave before Federer served for the match. "It was very nice to play indoors for the first time," he said. "I've played on Centre Court for 10 straight years. The atmosphere was fantastic. It very nice for me to have such a standing ovation every time. I thought the conditions were fantastic from start to finish." Earlier, Williams recovered from a poor start to defeat Romania's Simona Halep 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 and move into the third round, staying on course for a fifth title. After dropping the first set, Williams regained her renowned intensity and powerful shot-making to dominate the rest of the way on Court 2. The winner of 13 Grand Slam singles titles is still searching for her form after a yearlong absence because of injuries and health issues. There were no tears this time from Williams, who sobbed with relief on Monday after winning her opening match on Centre Court against Aravane Rezai. "I'm just happy to be playing and hopefully I'll get better as the tournament goes on," Williams said. "It was a little windy out there and I just was a little tight so I just got to relax and enjoy myself more." Williams wasn't happy about playing out on Court 2, rather than Centre Court or Court 1. Her sister, five-time champion Venus, played her first-round match on Court 2. Their two other matches were on Centre Court. "They like to put us on Court 2, me and Venus, for whatever reason," Serena said. "I haven't figured it out yet. Maybe one day we'll figure it out. I don't know." Williams said top male players, such as Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic, are "never moved across" to the outside court. "Actually Venus and I have won more Wimbledons together than a lot of the players or by ourselves in doubles even," she said. "At the end of the day, I don't know. "They're not going to change, doesn't look like," Williams said, referring to All England Club organizers. Told of Williams' comments, tournament spokesman Johnny Perkins said there was no intentional snub. "I don't think it's anything deliberate, clearly," he told The Associated Press. "It's a hugely complex jigsaw puzzle. Everyone probably looks at it from their own point of view, so she's obviously quite entitled to (her opinion). ... We obviously have a duty to the paying public, plus the international audiences around the world." It was the fourth consecutive three-setter Williams has played since returning last week at the Eastbourne grass-court tournament. She had been out for nearly a year after two foot operations and blood clots in her lungs. "I guess I just want to play longer matches because I can get more practice," she said. In men's play, Djokovic swept into the third round by beating South Africa's Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 on Court 1. The Serb has won his opening two rounds in straight sets after his 43-match winning streak was ended by Federer in the French Open semifinals. In a dramatic five-setter that lasted nearly four hours, No. 5 Robin Soderling came from two sets down to overcome 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt 6-7 (5), 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 in a second-round match played under the Centre Court roof. The big-swinging Soderling, a two-time French Open finalist, broke Hewitt at love in the final game and dropped to his knees in exhilaration after the Australian slapped a forehand into the net on match point. Soderling withstood a bravura performance from the 30-year-old Hewitt, who made at least three diving backhands during the match, two at the net and one running pass in the first set in which he rolled over after flicking the ball down the line to break serve. No. 12 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga rallied for a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (8) win over 20-year-old Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov. The Frenchman jumped over the net and helped up his opponent in a sporting gesture after the deciding tiebreaker. No. 13 seed Viktor Troicki became the highest seeded man to go out so far, falling to Taiwan's Lu Yen-hsun, 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4. Lu reached the quarterfinals last year. |
| Yani Tseng leads LPGA Championship Posted: 23 Jun 2011 05:42 PM PDT PITTSFORD, New York (AP): Yani Tseng, the top-ranked player in women's golf, shot a 6-under 66 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead over Paula Creamer after the first round of the LPGA Championship. The 22-year-old Taiwanese, already the youngest player to win three majors, made five birdies on the front nine and three more on the back to go with a pair of bogeys as she began her quest for another major title. "I tried to put it on the fairways as much as I could," said Tseng, who finished second to Stacy Lewis at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in March, the first major of the year. "When you put it on the fairways, you have more chance to make birdies. The second shot I hit it very good." Among her eight birdie putts at Locust Hill Country Club, was an 8-footer at No. 15. And although Tseng hit only six of 14 fairways, her strength allowed her to hit solid shots out of the thick rough and she was able to reach 15 of 18 greens in regulation. She was nearly flawless on the short holes, birdieing all four par 3s on a course that had been softened by overnight rain. Tseng faltered twice, bogeying the par-4 13th hole after hitting a "terrible drive" and missing a 12-foot putt for par, then pulling her drive at No. 16, another par 4, and missing an 8-foot par putt. "It's hard to put it on (the) fairway. The course is really narrow," Tseng said. Leading Creamer by one shot heading to the 18th tee, Tseng recovered from a bad tee shot that landed in the thick right rough. She hit a 9-iron onto the ridge above the hole, then watched as it rolled down within 4 feet of the pin and sank the birdie putt. "I'm enjoying what's happening right now," said Tseng, who won the State Farm Classic two weeks ago for her second LPGA Tour victory of the season. "The last few weeks just gave me lots of confidence for my putting and my driving, too. So that helps a lot for a major golf course. (It) make me very comfortable." Angela Stanford, Meena Lee, Diana D'Alessio and Stacy Prammanasudh were 4 under, and Morgan Pressel, Stacy Lewis, Ryann O'Toole, Amy Hung, Minea Blomqvist, Jennifer Johnson and Hee Young Park were 3 under. Defending champion Cristie Kerr, who was ailing with a cold, shot an even-par 72. Creamer withdrew from this tournament two years ago - before it became a major - with an injury to her left thumb, and last year finished tied for 42nd, never going lower than her first-round 71. "Normally, I shoot myself in the foot after the first day with putting pressure on myself and wanting to do so well," said Creamer. "It's nice to be on the other side going into tomorrow. I just need to keep it going and try to make as many birdies as I can." Creamer missed a chance to tie - or even take the lead - when she misread a 45-foot eagle putt at the par-5 17th hole and ended up three-putting for par. She then got a birdie at 18, hitting a 7-iron from 150 yards within 2 feet of the pin. "I gave myself a lot of opportunities. I made a lot of good putts," Creamer said. "I kind of was kicking myself after 17. I had a good birdie chance there, just two putts. But I finished strong, and I feel good about where I'm sitting." |
| 10-man Malaysia down Lebanon to book place in the final round qualifiers Posted: 23 Jun 2011 03:46 PM PDT BUKIT JALIL: Ten-man Malaysia advanced to the final round of the Asian Olympic qualifiers (last 12) through the skin of their teeth after edging Lebanon 2-1 on aggregate at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil last night. It was a gallant performance indeed by Ong Kim Swee's boys after they had held the seeded Lebanese side to a goalless draw in the second round, first-leg match in Beirut on Sunday. Mohd Irfan Fazail opened the scoring for Malaysia in the ninth minute before Wan Zack Haikal Wan Nor doubled the advantage with a cool finish in the 42nd minute. Chadi Atie reduced the deficit for the visitors in the 64th minute. But it was not an easy win as Malaysia had to slog hard with 10 men for most of the second-half when Gary Steven Robbat was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 51st minute. The Malaysians were walking on thin ice because if Lebanon had equalised, they would have qualified for the final round on the away goal rule. The gutsy Malaysians can now look forward to rubbing shoulders with the best 12 teams in Asia in the final round of the Olympic qualifiers for the 3.5 slots to the 2012 London Olympics. It may not have been a vintage performance by the Malaysians but they got the job done all the same. Malaysia, who defeated Pakistan 2-0 on aggregate in the first round last month, will definitely find life much tougher in the final round. Asia have 3.5 slots for the London Olympics. The 12 winners in the second round will be divided into three groups of four teams each and the matches will be played from Sept 21-March 14. The group winners qualify for the London Games. The second-placed teams will then play off at a centralised venue from March 25-29 and the winner will face an African side for a place in the Olympics. For the record, Malaysia have only qualified twice for the Olympics – in 1972 (Munich) and 1980 (Moscow). The draw for the final round will be held on July 7. MALAYSIA: Khairul Fahmi Che Mat, Mohd Muslim Ahmad, Mohd Affize Faisal (Wan Zaharulnizam Zakaria), Mohd Fadli Shahs, Mohd Irfan Fazail (Izzaq Faris Ramlan), Syahrul Azwari Ibrahim (Abdul Shukur Jusoh), K. Gurusamy, Gary Steven Robbat, Mohd Zubir Azmi, Wan Zack Haikal Wan Nor, Mohd Fandi Othman. LEBANON: Mohd Dakramanji, Jad Noureddine (Rabih Ataya), Mohd Haidar, Omar Quaida, Nour Mansour, Haytham Faour, Ali Bazzi (Hassan Chaito), Chadi Atie (Mustapha Chahine), Kassem Leila, Mahmoud Kojok, Abdallah Taleb. |
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