The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Webber wins Brazilian Grand Prix
- Federer tames Tsonga to end year on high
- Barrichello tunes out talk of retirement
| Webber wins Brazilian Grand Prix Posted: 27 Nov 2011 03:42 PM PST SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Mark Webber led a Red Bull one-two in Brazil Sunday to celebrate his first victory of the year in the last race of the Formula One season. The Australian, second on the starting grid, passed world champion team mate Sebastian Vettel for the lead after 30 of the 71 laps when the German was apparently wrestling with a gearbox problem. Vettel, who had wrapped up his second title last month with four races to spare, finished second ahead of McLaren's Jenson Button. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Federer tames Tsonga to end year on high Posted: 27 Nov 2011 03:38 PM PST LONDON (Reuters) - Roger Federer became the first player to win the ATP World Tour Finals six times but had to weather a storming fightback by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga before retaining his title with a 6-3 6-7 6-3 victory at the O2 on Sunday. The 30-year-old, playing in the title match of the tournament for the seventh time in 10 years and contesting his 100th Tour final, squandered a match point in the second set but eventually extinguished Tsonga's fire to claim the 70th title of a career that burns as bright as ever. On yet another record-breaking day for the 16-times grand slam champion, Federer not only edged clear of five-timers Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras in the tournament's roll of honour but he also gained the distinction of being the oldest player to win the season-ender since Ilie Nastase in 1975. It took all his years of experience and a few moments of magic to withstand Tsonga's force, however, as the explosive Frenchman thrilled the 17,500-capacity crowd with a barrage of winners that threatened to turn the contest on its head. After levelling the match Tsonga threw everything at Federer in the decider but he was stopped in his tracks when he dropped serve at 3-4 and this time there was no escape as the Swiss pounded away a volley to triumph in two hours 18 minutes. "I couldn't be more happy and I couldn't be more exhausted because Jo sucked all the last energy out of me today," Federer said on court after sealing the $1.63 million jackpot for going through the tournament undefeated for the second year in a row. Despite not winning one of the year's majors for the first time since 2002, Federer ended 2011 on a 17-match winning streak and with a hat-trick of indoor titles and claimed his triumph in London ranked alongside his greatest moments. "It feels very special," Federer, who climbs back above Andy Murray to No.3 in the rankings and will start next year eyeing Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic, told reporters. "I've been trying to sort of block it out for the entire tournament. So now it's finally sort of reality that I've been able to win six World Tour Finals. It's an amazing feeling. I know it's one of my greatest accomplishments. "This definitely is an amazing finish again to the season. I've never finished so strong." Bizarrely, it was the third successive Sunday that Federer and Tsonga faced each other across a net. PARIS MASTERS Last week Federer opened London's third hosting of the ATP's showpiece tournament with a three-set round-robin victory over the 26-year-old and the week before he came out on top in a one-sided Paris Masters final. Tsonga, bidding to become the first Frenchman to win the season-ending championship since its inception in 1970, began in impressive fashion, though, and looked the more menacing player until Federer found a spark to break serve to love in the eighth game when Tsonga fluffed a backhand volley. A forehand winner gave Federer a break midway through the second set and a routine victory beckoned until the match unexpectedly burst into life. Serving for the title at 5-4, Federer came under attack by Tsonga who eked out his only break points of the match by going 0-40 ahead. Federer saved two but Tsonga pounced on a volley to level the set at 5-5 to the delight of a crowd that contained the Duchess of Cambridge and Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo. Federer went 5-2 up in the tiebreak but even a man with 806 wins on the ATP Tour can get edgy and a passive match point at 6-5 was punished by a belting Tsonga winner. Tsonga then got a set point himself and gobbled up a weak Federer second serve to take the match to a final set shootout. Federer kept his nose in front in the deciding set despite some ferocious hitting from Tsonga and, just like he did in the first set, broke in a gripping eighth game when Tsonga sent a volley long under enormous pressure. Serving for the match for the second time, Federer made sure there was no mistake, setting three match points with an ace and then swatting away a volley. Tsonga can take heart from winning over another army of fans and can look forward to threatening the Big Four next year. "Tonight I can look at myself in the mirror and say I fought enough," he told reporters. Belarussian Max Mirnyi and Canadian Daniel Nestor beat Poles Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 7-5 6-3 to win the doubles title. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Barrichello tunes out talk of retirement Posted: 27 Nov 2011 02:58 PM PST SAO PAULO: Rubens Barrichello tuned out any talk of retirement on Saturday after Sebastian Vettel led tributes to a Formula One stalwart who has been racing for as long as the world champion could remember. Williams have yet to announce their line-up for 2012, with their 39-year-old Brazilian fighting – seemingly against the odds – to stay on for a 20th season in the sport he first entered in 1993. "I think it would be a shame to lose Rubens for the future because he belongs here," said Red Bull's Vettel, who was only five years old when Barrichello made his F1 debut in 1993, after taking a record 15th pole for the season in the Brazilian finale. "The inspiring bit is that he loves what he does." The Brazilian, who qualified 12th for what could be his final home race at Interlagos, said he was honoured by the compliments but ruled out any farewell to the fans after the season-ender. "People are now talking about retirement ... I just hope that next year I am definitely racing because you have Michael (Schumacher) and (Pedro) De la Rosa and they are much older than me. So I am the kid on the block," grinned the former Jordan, Stewart, Ferrari, Honda and Brawn driver. "It would mean a great deal for me to have 20 years (in F1) when I'm 40 but it has to be the right combination. I think Williams have that combination for next year," he added. "I can help them grow. I would love for that to happen." Barrichello, who spent six seasons at Ferrari with Schumacher and has won 11 races with that team and Brawn, said he was talking to others and was also seeking financial backers to make the decision easier. The Brazilian said he was not too proud to do that, despite a career that has seen him start more races than any other driver – a record 322 out of the 857 held since the championship started in 1950. "People say Rubens would feel embarrassed to ask a sponsor. Look, if that's what it takes for me to have a competitive car I'm surely even more powerful for doing that," he declared. McLaren's Jenson Button, Barrichello's team-mate at Honda and then Brawn where the Briton won the 2009 championship, hoped to be racing the Brazilian again next year. "It's great that he still wants to race," he said. "I really hope he gets a drive next year, I hope he's racing next year because otherwise we've missed a really big party on Sunday night." — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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