The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Tiger Woods feeling great as Masters week opens
- Argentina and Serbia reach Davis Cup semis in style
- Jazeman secures six points on his Formula Renault debut
| Tiger Woods feeling great as Masters week opens Posted: 08 Apr 2013 04:22 PM PDT AUGUSTA (Georgia): World No. 1 Tiger Woods arrived at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday to begin a challenging week that he hopes will culminate in a fifth Masters title and a 15th Major championship victory. Fifty years to the day since Jack Nicklaus won his first Masters title, the man trying to break Nicklaus' record of 18 Major crowns spent about 20 minutes on the practice range and played a practice round with pal Steve Stricker. "I feel great," Woods said. "Everything is good." Woods is the only three-time winner on Tour this season after triumphs at Torrey Pines, Doral and Bay Hill and tops the money list with US$3.8mil ahead of his 19th Masters start. Woods, 37, has not won a Major since the 2008 US Open and last won the Masters in 2005. His other Masters titles came in 1997, 2001 and 2002. On the day before the first public practice session ahead of Thursday's start of the 77th Masters, ticket brokers were already lined along the highway leading to the course hoping the cash in on the event's popularity. Inside the fences and just beyond the clubhouse at the end of Magnolia Lane, players enjoyed one last chance at solitude, or for some a first chance at learning some secrets from the legends of the Masters. Fourteen-year-old Guan Tianlang of China, who will become the youngest player in Masters history, chatted with two-time Masters champion Tom Watson. Adam Scott, hoping to become the first Australian to win the Masters, took a few moments to appreciate the flowers and scenic beauty on offer amid the towering pine trees. "It's so quiet you can enjoy the course, get your bearings and have no distractions," Scott said. — AFP |
| Argentina and Serbia reach Davis Cup semis in style Posted: 08 Apr 2013 04:40 PM PDT PARIS: Argentina are into the Davis Cup World Group semi-final after their world number 71 Carlos Berlocq (pic) beat 13th-ranked Frenchman Gilles Simon to hand the South Americans a 3-2 win on Sunday. A distraught Simon, who saved five match points before finally succumbing, said it was the lowest point of his tennis career. "By a long way that was the most difficult defeat to accept of my entire career," he said. "What disappointment, it was a very important match for everyone. I had to win it, but didn't. "I did the best I could. "All I wanted to do was win — for me, for the others, for Jo (Tsonga) who didn't deserve to lose after winning two matches." Argentina will face defending champions the Czech Republic after they eliminated Kazakhstan earlier in the day. Serbia and semi-final newcomers Canada also won their quarter-finals on Sunday. Berlocq said he didn't want to let down his family, friends and team-mates who were pulling for an Argentina victory at the Parque Roca in Buenos Aires. "When you are in your own country, with everyone around, your family, your friends, who have confidence in you, their confidence is contagious. "All the team believed victory was possible. It was a battle, fortunately we won it." France had levelled the quarter-final tie earlier after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga dismantled Juan Monaco 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in one hour, 42 minutes to force a deciding rubber. Against the odds, that went to Berlocq, who fought back to prevail 6-4, 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 against Simon who was called in late to replace Richard Gasquet. David Nalbandian and Horacio Zeballos had also come from behind to win Saturday's doubles, which gave the hosts the upper hand going into the final day. World No. 1 and Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic's victory over Sam Querrey of the United States on Sunday advanced Serbia into the semi-finals. Djokovic, who had to battle through an ankle injury he suffered in the opening set, earned a 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 6-0 win to give the Serbians an insurmountable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five tie. It is the second win for Serbia in four years over the 32-time winners US. In their only other previous Davis Cup encounter Serbia defeated the Americans in Belgrade in 2010. "I am sorry for team USA but it was a thrilling weekend for all of us," Djokovic said. Djokovic had to play through the pain of a bad right ankle, which he sprained in the third game of the opening set. "I took some anti-inflammatories, and they kicked in at the end of the second set," he said. The 25-year-old Djokovic clinched the victory over world number 20 Querrey with a backhand winner, ending the two hours, 35 minutes match. Serbia will now meet Canada after Milos Raonic sent the Canucks to their first-ever semi-final by beating Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. The 22-year-old Raonic overpowered Seppi with his booming serve before Seppi stepped up and won the third set in Vancouver, British Columbia. But Raonic rebounded to win the fourth, finishing the match with 35 aces to complete the historic win for Canada, who will travel to Serbia for the semi-finals in September. — AFP |
| Jazeman secures six points on his Formula Renault debut Posted: 08 Apr 2013 04:41 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: Jazeman Jaafar began his Formula Renault 3.5 Series (FR3.5) campaign on a strong note, finishing third in the rookie class and an impressive seventh overall in the first race of the season at Monza, Italy, on Sunday. Jazeman, however, suffered a big blow in the second race. He was punted from behind and was forced to retire after suffering a punctured rear tyre. Jazeman's weekend began promisingly. He made good use of the two test sessions to acclimatise himself to the circuit. A solid effort from Jazeman put him 11th on the grid for the first race. He was the fourth quickest rookie in the field on a wet and slippery track. The Petronas talent programme driver made a good start in the race, slotting into 10th place at the end of the first lap. He benefited from drivers ahead making mistakes to eventually finish seventh. The qualifying session for the second race was again held in wet conditions and Jazeman finished 18th fastest. He made a brilliant start, making up six places in the first lap to lie in 12th spot. Unfortunately, he was hit from behind and had to abandon the race. Jazeman, however, was delighted to have collected six points on his debut. "The first race was good. I enjoyed being able to battle with the cars around me and running at a good pace. I could not have asked for more as I managed to score some points on my first outing," said the 20-year-old. Jazeman added that he was disappointed not to make an impact in the second race. "I was on the receiving end of another driver's mistake and ended up losing out big time. These things happen in racing. I made a really good start. I thought I could get in the points again, but sadly it wasn't the case. "I have to quickly put it behind me and move on. On a positive note, I'm 10th in the championship and fourth in the rookie standings," added Jazeman. Jazeman will resume his racing programme on April 27-28 with the second event of the nine-round series taking place at Motorland Aragon in Spain. |
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