The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Radwanska sizzles in Melbourne
- Oprah confirms Armstrong 'came clean' on doping
- Terranova breaks new ground for Argentina
| Radwanska sizzles in Melbourne Posted: 15 Jan 2013 06:07 PM PST MELBOURNE: Fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska stormed to her 11th straight win of the year at the Australian Open on Wednesday as the Pole built on her sizzling start to the season. Radwanska won lead-up events to the opening Grand Slam of 2013 in Auckland and Sydney and has carried her red-hot form into Melbourne, completing a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu in 86 minutes. She next faces either Kazak Ksenia Pervak or Britain's Heather Watson as she aims to improve on her three quarter-final appearances in Melbourne. The world number four started slowly and was broken by Begu in her first service game before rattling off five games in a row to be 5-1. Begu rallied but lost the set in 46 minutes. The Romanian, who has never gone further than the second round in eight Grand Slam appearances, needed a medical timeout ahead of the second set for a problem with her right shoulder, her service arm. She returned to the court but was immediately broken by Radwanska, whose younger sister Urszula was knocked out of the tournament on Tuesday. Begu dragged herself into the match by breaking back in the sixth game, only for the Pole to break her again and comfortably close out the showdown on Rod Laver Arena. - AFP |
| Oprah confirms Armstrong 'came clean' on doping Posted: 15 Jan 2013 06:00 PM PST WASHINGTON: Lance Armstrong "came clean" to Oprah Winfrey on his use of banned drugs, the talk show host said on Tuesday, as anticipation built for the telecast of her interview with the shamed cyclist. Winfrey told "CBS This Morning" that her OWN cable network will broadcast the two-and-a-half-hour interview unedited over two nights from Thursday. Originally, a shorter broadcast was planned for one night only. "I didn't get all the questions asked, but I think the most important questions and the answers that people around the world have been waiting to hear were answered," Winfrey said. "I would say he did not come clean in the manner that I expected," she added. "It was surprising to me. I would say that for myself, my team, all of us in the room, we were mesmerized and riveted by some of his answers." But even before Armstrong's mea culpa had been seen, critics were questioning his choice of forum, saying an interview with Winfrey lacked the rigor of testimony under oath before anti-doping authorities. "While WADA encourages all athletes to come clean about any doping activities they have been involved with or know about, these details must be passed on to the relevant anti-doping authorities," said David Howman, director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency. The Swiss-based International Cycling Union also called for Armstrong to give evidence to its ongoing investigation into widespread doping in the sport it governs. Legal analysts meanwhile said that the US government could potentially prosecute Armstrong for fraud related to his receiving government sponsorship while riding for the US Postal team from 1998-2004. "Because he has now admitted he doped, that makes it a lot easier to prove a fraud claim," sports lawyer Brian Socolow told AFP. The interview was Armstrong's first since he was stripped of his record seven Tour de France titles after the US Anti-Doping Agency, in a 1,000-page report, put him at the heart of the greatest sports doping scandal in history. For a decade, he had vigorously denied using banned substances to win his way into the history books after battling cancer. Prior to sitting down with Winfrey on Monday in his hometown of Austin, Texas, the 41-year-old went to the offices of the Livestrong cancer charity he founded and apologized in person to its staff. Livestrong spokeswoman Rae Bazzarre said Armstrong's apology was "sincere and heartfelt." Asked if Armstrong had "come clean" to her, Winfrey said she and Armstrong had agreed at the outset not to talk about the content of the interview. But a source with knowledge of the interview confirmed to AFP that the Texan admitted to Winfrey using banned substances in his career. Winfrey, speaking from Chicago, said she was mystified as to how the content had leaked. The 58-year-old star said she asked 112 questions in "the biggest interview I've ever done" and grilled Armstrong so intensely that, during a break at the 100-minute mark, Armstrong asked if their conversation might lighten up. With a world-class scoop on her hands, Winfrey flew home to Chicago with the video tape in her handbag for fear it might be pirated or leaked if beamed back to the editing room via satellite. Betsy Andreu, the wife of Armstrong's former teammate Frankie Andreu, has long claimed that she heard Armstrong admit to doping at a 1996 appointment with doctors treating his testicular cancer. She told ESPN that she didn't know if she'd be able to watch the interview. A TV confession now, Andreu said, could only be a first step if Armstrong is to repair his reputation in a meaningful way. "If he really wants a second chance, then he's going to have to tell the truth of everything and stop protecting people, especially the people who helped him get away with it," she said. - AFP |
| Terranova breaks new ground for Argentina Posted: 15 Jan 2013 06:06 PM PST LA RIOJA, Argentina: Orlando Terranova delighted the home crowd here on Tuesday by becoming the first Argentinian driver to win a stage of the Dakar Rally. The 33-year-old BMW driver - competing in his seventh Dakar Rally - came home 2min 07sec ahead of Monday's stage winner Nani Roma in a Mini and the latter's team-mate and defending champion Stephane Peterhansel was third another 12sec adrift. Terranova was delighted with his victory and said that it had been a really smooth drive. "We took the stage very easily, to not make a mistake because it was very narrow and it was possible to burst a tyre or break some piece of the car," he said. "We want to continue like we have done. We are having a good race without mistakes." Peterhansel, seeking his 11th win after six in the motorbike section and four in the cars category, extended his overall lead to 52min 38sec over South African Giniel de Villiers. The 47-year-old Frenchman's chances of winning the title again grew immeasurably when closest rival, Qatar's 2011 champion Nasser al-Attiyah had to pull out of the race after suffering mechanical problems on Monday's stage. Peterhansel admitted that he had vchanged his strategy now that Al-Attiyah had been forced out and conceded that it did not make for a great spectacle. "For the race, for the show, it's no good, for the suspense, it's not really good, but for me it's not so bad and it's more comfortable," he said. "I can manage the car as well. "I can manage for example the stage tomorrow and the stage at Copiapo which will be really complicated in the dunes. So if I have more time I'll be able to manage the race, to wait to see the good places to cross the dunes, so it's better for me for sure." Earlier defending champion Cyril Despres took the overall lead in this year's Dakar Rally on Tuesday after the 10th stage, a 636km ride including a 357km timed section from Cordoba to La Rioja. The 38-year-old KTM rider had made his charge on Monday when, having been over 24 minutes off the pace, he stormed to his first stage victory of this year's edition and on Tuesday he showed he was the man in form in finishing second in the stage. Spaniard Joan Barreda Bort took the stage honours on his Husqvarna bike, finishing 1min 15sec ahead of Despres. Despres, seeking his fifth Dakar title, leads overnight leader and team-mate Ruben Faria by 1min 37sec in the overall standings in the race which finishes on Sunday. Despres said he was in good form and that his tactics of not racing all out throughout the Rally was paying off as it entered its decisive stages. "Picking up seconds in the general standings is not the most important thing," he said. "What matters is making statements, making a difference, gaining in confidence and letting the racing do the talking. As a result, the general standings reflect that on paper in the evening." - AFP |
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