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WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014 SPORTS Pagenaud wins 2nd race of Houston doubleheader HOUSTON: Not everything was bigger in Texas on a hot and humid weekend in which a pair of small IndyCar teams claimed the commemorative cowboy boots from the Grand Prix of Houston. Sam Schmidt’s drivers went 1-2 on Sunday for the first time in team history as Simon Pagenaud grabbed the win and led rookie teammate Mikhail Aleshin to the checkered flag. Pagenaud used the win, his second of the season, to climb back into the champi- onship race. He came to Houston trailing Will Power by WIMBLEDON: Angelique Kerber of Germany gestures during her women’s singles 91 points, and cut it to 59 after the two races. match against Maria Sharapova of Russia at the All England Lawn Tennis “It’s fantastic for the race team and the entire Championships. — AP organization,” said Pagenaud, who admitted after the race to feeling “a little faint” from Sharapova crashes out temperatures that soared into the 90s. “The whole team has elevated to top team level.” LONDON: Maria Sharapova suffered more the 2007 Australian Open and showed no signs Aleshin, the first Russian to compete in Wimbledon heartache as the French Open cham- of being overawed in a ruthless 57-minute rout IndyCar, was a career-best second for his first pion crashed to a shock 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 6-4 defeat of the 22nd seed on Court One. podium and said a tire problem nearly pre- against Germany’s Angelique Kerber in the Safarova will face one of her compatriots in vented him from making it to the finish. fourth round, while Lucie Safarova stormed into the last four as she is scheduled to meet the win- “It’s definitely an amazing day for the her first Grand Slam semi-final yesterday. ner of Tuesday’s all-Czech quarter-final between team,” he said. “We are one of the fastest cars Sharapova famously won Wimbledon aged Petra Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champion, on the track and I think we did an amazing 17 in 2004, but she has struggled to emulate that and world number 43 Barbora Zahlavova job today. The whole team did an amazing feat for much of the last decade and this was Strycova. It will be the first time two Czech another dispiriting experience for the Russian as women have advanced to the semi-finals at the job.” Third went to rookie Jack Hawksworth, the ninth seed sealed a stunning Centre Court same Grand Slam since Hana Mandlikova and his first career podium. It capped a break- triumph on her seventh match point. The world Helena Sukova at the 1986 French Open. through weekend for the British driver, who number five arrived at the All England Club fresh Earlier yesterday, Simona Halep booked her finished a career-best sixth Saturday. from her second Roland Garros title, but she has first Wimbledon quarter-final appearance as the “It’s been rough this year, we’ve been fast now failed to make it past the last 16 in seven of Romanian third seed eased to a 6-3, 6-0 victory sometimes and just not quite made it hap- her last eight appearances at Wimbledon. against Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas. pen,” said Hawksworth. “We’ve not quite put it Kerber, who reached the last four in 2012, will Halep had never been beyond the second together and today we did.” face Canadian 13th seed Eugenie Bouchard, a round in her three visits to the All England Club, A day earlier, Dale Coyne Racing scored its winner against the German in the French Open but the 22-year-old has been in fine form this first win of the year with rookie Carlos fourth round recently, on Wednesday for a place year, reaching the French Open final last month, in the semi-finals. “Every single set was so close and she demolished world number 72 Diyas in Huertas. The rookie led a Colombian sweep of so I’m just happy that I won against Maria. She’s just 57 minutes in a fourth round tie delayed the rain-soaked podium alongside country- a great player,” said Kerber after her second win from Monday due to bad weather. men Juan Pablo Montoya and rookie Carlos in six matches against the Russian. The world number three, the highest seed Munoz. It was a race Pagenaud thought he “I’m so happy to be in the quarters now. I had left in the women’s draw, is only the second should have won. He spent the previous it before the match in my mind that the last few Romanian woman, after Virginia Ruzici, who is week training in California for the heat and Grand Slams I lost in the fourth round. “When I now her manager, in 1978 and 1981, to make it humidity, and won the pole for the first race had the three match points in a row and it was to the last eight at Wimbledon. Her quarter-final of the doubleheader. His race was ruined, deuce, I just tried to focus on myself and say opponent will be Sabine Lisicki after the German though, first by a spin and then when he was ‘believe in your game’. At the end it worked.” 19th seed shrugged off a shoulder injury to Sharapova’s exit means four of the top five defeat Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3, 3-6, collected in Scott Dixon’s crash. He finished seeds have been eliminated following the earlier 6-4 in another weather-delayed tie. Lisicki, who 16th in the first race. “I was so disappointed departures of Serena Williams, Li Na, Agnieszka broke down in tears during her loss to Marion Saturday because we had such a fast car this Radwanska, and there is only one former Grand Bartoli in the Wimbledon final 12 months ago, weekend,” he said. Slam winner, Petra Kvitova, remaining in the has now reached the quarter-finals in her last five Power, the points leader, rallied from HOUSTON: Simon Pagenaud (77), of France, leaps as he celebrates his victory on the winner’s women’s draw. While Sharapova was bowing out, Wimbledon outings. Lisicki had called for treat- another poor qualifying effort to put himself stage after the second IndyCar Grand Prix of Houston auto race. — AP Safarova cruised into her first Grand Slam semi- ment on her shoulder at break point on her in position for a third-place finish. But he final as the Czech 23rd seed thrashed Russia’s serve in the third game of the final set, sparking failed to make it to the finish line when a part Castroneves had been setting up his pass through the field, but he rallied to finish fifth, Ekaterina Makarova 6-3, 6-1. Safarova was play- claims it was a deliberate tactic to unsettle broke on his car two laps from the finish. of Pagenaud and apparently didn’t see behind Charlie Kimball, despite the damage. ing in her first quarter-final at the majors since Shvedova. —AFP Pagenaud, Aleshin and Power had peeled Bourdais when he suddenly tried to cut into It marked consecutive top-five finishes for the away from the pack, leaving Hawksworth the same lane as Bourdais. Castroneves first time this season for Bourdais. Weeping Serena in health scare behind for a spirited battle to hold on for wound up 21st. “He changed lanes and we made pretty fourth-place. “I was attacking and trying to pass heavy contact,” Bourdais said of Castroneves’ LONDON: US superstar Serena Williams was at were called to court in a reflection of her status Then Power went off course and fell to Pagenaud, and I had no idea (Bourdais) was move. “That busted my front wing pretty the centre of a Wimbledon health scare yester- in the sport. After a 15-minute delay, Serena 11th. Still, he entered the weekend with a 39 there,” Castroneves said. “When I am attack- good. After that it was a tough fight. I had to day when she wept and appeared to be close served up four double faults in her first service point lead in the standings and that was ing, I can’t have my eyes on the back. It’s be really creative to compensate for the bal- to fainting in a doubles match with sister game, wobbled on the baseline before Venus unchanged. absolutely ridiculous why the guy had to put ance of the car.” Huertas, winner Saturday, Venus. Serena, the world number one singles led her back to her chair by the hand. Umpire Hoping to close ground on Power this the car over there. It’s the rules of traffic, and Munoz, who finished third on Saturday, player, called the doctor to Court One just after Kader Nouni, having already come down from weekend was Team Penske teammate Helio when a guy hits a guy in the back, it’s his both failed to finish on Sunday and were the she and Venus had warmed up for their second his chair to talk to the Americans, announced Castroneves, who was ninth Saturday but fault. I am upset, yes, because we had a great first two cars out. It was a topsy-turvy week- round match against Kristina Barrois and that Serena was retiring from the match started from the pole on Sunday looking for a car and it’s just a shame to have drivers like end like that in which Munoz was the only Stephanie Voegele.