The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Boxing: Margarito cleared for NY rematch against Cotto
- Nadal not ready to say goodbye despite thrashing
- Sublime Federer thrashes Nadal in London
| Boxing: Margarito cleared for NY rematch against Cotto Posted: 22 Nov 2011 05:17 PM PST Nov 22 (Reuters) - The eagerly-awaited rematch between Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico and Mexico's Antonio Margarito will go ahead as planned in New York next month after officials finally gave the go ahead for the world title fight to proceed. The super welterwight bout, scheduled to take place at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 3, was in doubt after the New York State Athletic Commission raised questions about the health of Margarito, who suffered a serious eye injury that required surgery in his loss to Manny Pacquiao last year. The Commission rejected Margarito's initial application to fight Cotto but agreed to let him undergo further medical examinations by an eye specialist of their choice. On Tuesday, the Commission reviewed their decision and agreed to grant a boxing license to the Mexican. Had the Commission refused to let the fight proceed, the promoters were considering moving it to another American state although Cotto caught them by surprise when he told reporters he wasn't going anywhere else. "I'm not going to present myself in any other state," Cotto, the WBA super welterweight champion, said on a conference call. "If the people from the New York commission said that Margarito is not able to fight because of his eye, then (everybody) has to respect that and any commission in the U.S. has to respect that." Margarito, 33, defeated Cotto in their first meeting in 2008 with an 11th round knockout. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Nadal not ready to say goodbye despite thrashing Posted: 22 Nov 2011 03:48 PM PST LONDON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - An hour after one of the worst beatings of his career Rafa Nadal refused to be too downhearted on Tuesday and said he was still in contention at the ATP World Tour Finals. The Spaniard was thrashed 6-3 6-0 by great rival Roger Federer in exactly an hour and now faces a do-or-die tussle with Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of a tournament he has never won. "I have to accept it, congratulate him because he played really well," Nadal, who had won 17 of their previous 25 encounters but was comprehensively outplayed on this occasion, told reporters. "It's not the moment to say goodbye. It's not the moment to go down. It's the moment to keep fighting. I'm still in the tournament. I still have the chance to be in the semi-finals because if I win the next match I will be in semi-finals. "So it's the moment to keep fighting with a positive attitude and it's the moment to accept when Roger plays like this he is better than me, and that's it." Nadal stayed with Federer for five games but once he lost the best point of the match to go down 4-2 in the first set he was blown off court by the Swiss maestro who had never had it so easy against his Mallorcan nemesis. "I tried my best. I try my best always, no?" added Nadal, who has not won a title since claiming the French Open for a sixth time in June. "But today I didn't play bad first set. "It's funny, but I didn't play really bad. He didn't have one mistake during all the match or two mistakes during all the match. He was playing too aggressive. I tried my best. But it seems it wasn't enough tonight." Curiously Nadal, who had not played a match since Shanghai in October before his win over Mardy Fish on Sunday, said he had been 100 percent fit against Federer, before suggesting a shoulder problem had stopped him practising on Monday. "I had to work a lot yesterday on the recovery on the shoulder. Seriously yesterday I didn't know if I was going to be ready to play today," he said. "It didn't affect my match today because I felt perfect today. At the same time, for me it's a positive day today because I played without problems and I can still play and continue in the tournament and I can still have chance." Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Sublime Federer thrashes Nadal in London Posted: 22 Nov 2011 02:58 PM PST LONDON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Holder Roger Federer produced an hour of sublime quality to crush Rafa Nadal 6-3 6-0 at the ATP World Tour Finals on Tuesday and clinch a place in the last four with a match to spare. The 17,500-capacity crowd crammed into the O2 would have expected something longer from the eagerly anticipated 26th clash of the great rivals but the 60 minutes of magic Federer served up will live long in their memories. Firing winners to all corners of the court, the Swiss 16-times grand slam champion was simply unstoppable as he recorded his most emphatic victory against the man who had beaten him in 17 of their previous encounters. "This win ranks high because it's against my biggest rival, probably," Federer told reporters. "It was a great match for me from start to finish. I've felt the power of Rafa in the past, so this is a great match for me, a nice win." World number two Nadal now faces a win or bust clash with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Thursday in his final Group B match after the dangerous Frenchman Tsonga produced fireworks of his own to beat American Mardy Fish 7-6 6-1 and stay in contention. Federer's dazzling display softened the blow for the home crowd and organisers after Andy Murray withdrew from the blue-riband tournament when his superb season was cut short by a groin injury. Murray, the world number three, announced that he was pulling out after aggravating the injury during his opening Group A defeat against Spain's David Ferrer on Monday. Serbia's world number nine Janko Tipsarevic, the on-site alternate, will take Murray's place for the remaining matches in Group A and will get to play his compatriot Novak Djokovic. There was something of a novelty value about that match as it was the first time the two dominant players of the last decade had met with neither at number one in the ATP rankings and the first time they had met in a round-robin match. GLUM MURRAY Federer trailed 17-8 in their head to head record but had won all three previous meetings indoors, including last year's final at the O2, and once again the court proved perfect for his game as winners flowed from his strings like liquid gold. There was no real hint of what was to come as the first five games went with serve, although the pace and precision of Federer's groundstrokes was ominous for Nadal. Federer, who is bidding for a record sixth title at the tournament in three different cities, took charge in the sixth game when he won a sensational 33-shot rally on break point to lead 4-2 and from that moment on never looked back. He needed just 32 minutes to seal the first set and, try as he might, Nadal was powerless in the face of the onslaught as Federer swept to a victory every bit as ruthless as Nadal's thrashing of the Swiss in the 2008 Roland Garros final when he offered up just four games in three sets. "We've played so many times, sometimes it just derails for you, like it derailed for Rafa today and it did for me at the French Open," Federer said, offering some sympathy for the Mallorcan. "You know what good front-runners, the top guys are. Once you start rolling, it's hard to stop the player. "Next thing you know, you're facing a debacle." Nadal, winner of 10 majors but never the season-ending title, can still redeem himself although Tsonga will fancy his chances after a convincing display against weary debutant Fish who can no longer reach the semis. Fish fought hard to get back into the opening set, breaking Tsonga when the powerful Frenchman served at 5-4, but the tiebreak proved crucial. Tsonga, sporting a pair of bright red tennis shoes, took it and despite dropping serve immediately in the second set he then reeled off the next six games in swashbuckling fashion. Federer still tipped Nadal to progress, however. "You can never count out Rafa," he said of the match which has now become a tradtional knockout. "It's an open match to a degree but I still favour Rafa because of who he is." Murray can only rest and start preparing for next season after a long season in which he reached the semi-finals of all four grand slams and won five titles finally caught up with him. ""It was one of those things where you kind of hope that things are going to get better, but the reality was that wasn't ever going to happen," a glum-looking Murray told reporters. "Yesterday I was really unhappy on the court. I wasn't enjoying it at all. I couldn't give anywhere near my best." World number one Djokovic seeks his second Group A victory on Wednesday against Ferrer, while Tomas Berdych, who lost a tight three-setter to Berdych on Monday, faces Tipsarevic who will be making his debut in the elite event. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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