Sport SUNDAY 10 JANUARY 2021 AustraliaA take charge against India wwith lead of 197 runs in Sydney Test ItI was a good day, woke up this morning hoping we wouldn’tw still be bowling by the close of play and to have a lead of 200, yeah, great day. Australia's Pat Cummins Sport |07 QBF SENIOR MEN'S LEAGUE: Al Wakrah (Franklin Session Jr 26) 71-67 Al Shamal; Al Gharafa (Wael Arkaji 30) 93-83 Al Rayyan Next Gen stars look to excel as Doha set to stage AO Qualifiers QUALIFIERS MEN'S SINGLES 1ST ROUND At Khalifa International Tennis and THE PENINSULA/ATP – DOHA Lorenzo Musetti We are impressed with the Squash Complex from 10.30am ORDER OF PLAY Lorenzo Musetti and Carlos level of our preparations and Court A Alcaraz will lead the Next Gen readiness for The qualifiers of ATP charge in the Australian B. Mott vs E. Ymer the 2021 Australian Open. A. Santillan (WC) vs M. Huesler (27) Open qualifying draw, which kicks off in Doha from today Qatar’s reputation as a history- C. Stebe (11) vs T. Fabbiano M. Ebden (WC) vs J. Kubler (WC) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. maker, especially in sports, is A. Hoang (8) vs T. Robredo Doha hosts 128 players and well-known globally, and we other officials who will be con- are happy that we are about to Court B verging in the Qatari capital for add to the long list of our H. Laaksonen (15) vs T. Kamke the 2021 Australian Open qual- V. Troicki vs J. Rodionov (23) ifiers which get underway today sporting achievements F. Meligeni Alves vs M. Klizan (30) at the Khalifa International H. Moriya vs D. Brown Tennis and Squash Complex. with this I. Marchenko vs K. Coppejans Ahead of the four-day event, event: Qatar being held outside of Australia Tennis Doha - Court 1 for the first time in its 116 years Federation T. Daniel (5) vs R. Cid Subervi history, the venue has been E. Donskoy (9) vs Z. Zhang transformed to feature a (QTF) Board F. Horansky vs C. Alcaraz (21) new appearance and looks Member, Karim S. Stakhovsky vs B. Zapata Miralles (28) splendidly radiant. Alami A. Rinderknech vs D. Masur The Next Gen ATP Finals contenders will aim to reach the Doha - Court 2 main draw at a Grand Slam for A. Vatutin vs S. Diez the first time, in just their second T. Wu vs J. Clarke Grand Slam qualifying appear- year's edition of the tournament (QTF) Board Member, Karim Carlos Alcaraz. ATP M. Moraing vs M. Torpegaard ances. Musetti came within one against Brazilian Thiago Alami, said, “We are impressed F. Mena vs E. Karlovskiy victory of a place in the Aus- Seyboth Wild, the number 6 on with the level of our prepara- A. De Greef vs M. Safwat (31) tralian Open main draw last the placement list, the official tions and readiness for The year, but fell short with a draw revealed yesterday. qualifiers of the 2021 Australian Doha - Court 3 straight-sets loss to Tallon A total of sixteen qualifying Open. Qatar’s reputation as a D. Istomin vs L. Giustino (29) Griekspoor. slots are up for grabs in Doha, history-maker, especially in F. Bagnis (10) vs R. Ramanathan Since then, the Italian has with winners earning a spot in sports, is well-known globally, G. Garcia-Lopez vs F. Cerundolo (19) soared more than 200 positions the Australian Open main and we are happy that we are L. Musetti (13) vs B. Van de Zandschulp in the ATP Rankings. During a draw to be held from February about to add to the long list of breakthrough run on home soil 8 to 21 in Melbourne. our sporting achievements with Doha - Court 4 last year, Musetti stunned Stan The ticket-free tournament this event. All the participants B. Gojo vs S. Ofner Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori at is open to all, and spectators will are assured of a safe, conducive A. Kuznetsov vs U. Blanch the Internazionali BNL d’Italia be allowed in on a first-come, and well-organised envi- R. Hijikata (WC) vs C. Eubanks in Rome, captured his maiden first-served basis as only 30 ronment at this event, and we R. Marcora vs C. Taberner (22) ATP Challenger Tour trophy in percent stadium capacity is look forward to welcoming Forli and advanced to his first allowed in line with the essential everyone.” Doha - Court 6 ATP Tour semi-final in health protocols and guidelines Live scoring and live M. Trungelliti vs M. Marterer Sardinia. occasioned by the prevailing streaming of qualifying where A. Giannessi vs M. Vilella Martinez The 18-year-old, who is the global COVID-19 pandemic. available will be hosted via T. Machac vs J. Domingues second youngest player in the The tournament is ausopen.com and the AO app. J. Menezes vs A. Collarini Top 200, will meet Botic Van de scheduled to be overseen by 64 Zandschulp in his opening Line umpires, 18 chair umpires match. Musetti shares his and five management officials section of the qualifying draw drawn from across the world. Serena, Osaka to join top men in Adelaide with 32nd seed Blaz Rola of Meanwhile, the Local Slovenia. Rola will face 2014 Organising Committee in coor- REUTERS – MELBOURNE tournament director Steve Tiley had already Adelaide will also host a WTA tour 500 Roland Garros semi-finalist dination with Tennis Australia is flagged that Ash Barty and Simona Halep level event, the Adelaide International, in Ernests Gulbis of Latvia in his leaving no stone unturned in its Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka will join would be among the eight players involved the week after the Australian Open as TA first match. bid to ensure that the tour- Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic in playingplaying in the exhibition with US Open champion look to give players every opportunity to In one of the most exciting nament is held under the a pre-Australian Openn warm-upwarm-up DominicDominic ThiemThiemm competecom after travelling Down Under and sections of the draw, third seed strictest health and safety exhibition in Adelaidee after servingserving nownow confirmedconfirmed iisolatingsola for two weeks. Aslan Karatsev will face Next condition. their quarantine inn thethe SouthSouth asa thethe “These“ two tournaments are a real coup Gen American Brandon To ensure this, all the Australian city, Tenniss ththirdird forfof r SouthS Australia,” state Premier Steven Nakashima. Karatsev, a four- members of the organizing Australia (TA) saidid man.man. MarshallMa said in a news release. time Challenger finalist last year committee, staff, and volun- yesterday. “This is a real show of support for the (2-2), and Nakashima are both teers have undergone a PCR test The “A Day at the Drive”ive” wayw that South Australia has managed aiming compete in the Aus- to protect all the participants’ event will take place att the thethe COVID-19 pandemic and underlines tralian Open main draw for the safety. city’s Memorial Drive TennisTennis oouourr ability to attract world-class events.” first time. Another round of PCR test Centre on Jan. 29, a week Other warm-up tournaments, including Former Australian Open scheduled for everyone before the delayed Grandnd Slam a shortenedsh version of the ATP Cup finalist Robin Haase will involved in the tournament was gets underway at Melbourneourne involvinginvo Nadal, Djokovic and Thiem, will compete in the first round of the held yesterday. Park. be hheld in Melbourne before the Australian qualifying tournament for this Qatar Tennis Federation Australian Open Serena Williams Naomi Osaka Open.Op IJF World Tour: Lusail venue wears new look ahead of Doha Masters THE PENINSULA – DOHA collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health, and the Ministry of With less than a day to the start of the Interior to accommodate all delega- IJF World Judo Masters Doha 2021, the tions in one hotel in a quarantine. All venue, Lusail Multipurpose Hall, is the participants will undergo PCR test, already wearing a new look in read- first on arrival before being taken to iness for the 2020 Tokyo Games qual- their hotels. ifying event. Another test will be conducted before The three-day event takes place at they compete on each day of the the ultra-modern venue from tournament. tomorrow. Tournament Director Eid Al Meraikhi The hall is looking splendidly said, “We are happy with the progress radiant after the branding’s com- of things so far, and we are very pletion, and the necessary makeovers impressed with the level of our prepa- have also been done as Doha is set to ration for the IJF World Judo Masters host some of the world’s best judokas. Doha 2021. All arrangements are in place Aside from this, all the venue facil- to ensure a smooth and stress-free tour- ities are in top shape with all the nament. We are ready to host the world, required technical and logistical The Lusail Multipurpose Hall is all set to and we believe all participants will leave equipment in place. host the IJF World Judo Masters Doha 2021. Doha at the end of the competition with The tournament features over 320 lasting memories. Qatar is globally athletes - 184 male and 136 female - renowned for hosting very successful from 63 countries representing five will be in action in Doha includes No.1 in the lightweight division and competition is held under the safest sporting events, and we are building on continental federations namely the Teddy Riner of France, a two-time four-time World Championships gold condition given the current global that reputation with this tournament.” African Judo Union, Judo Union of Asia, Olympic gold winner and 10-time medallist.