20 | Friday, January 8, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY SPORTS
TENNIS Wang raring to Cash in Down Under
Legend Pat’s expertise boosts Chinese event and try to play well there.” According to the tournament’s star’s confidence ahead of Aussie Open COVID19 prevention protocols, all players are required to quarantine By SUN XIAOCHEN second. The early rust was under in Melbourne for 14 days before [email protected] standable for Wang. The Chinese No their opening matches and are 1 did not play after the women’s tour allowed to train for a maximum of With the legendary Pat Cash on resumed last summer due to health five hours per day — always with the board as her new coach, Wang concerns and travel issues amid the same hitting partner — at the tour Qiang expects to shake off the rust pandemic. nament site. of her long hiatus from the court in The last tour event Wang played Players and their limited entoura time for the delayed Australian was the 2020 Qatar Open in Februa ges will have to arrive in Melbourne Open. ry, followed by her final match of the on Jan 15 and 16 on chartered flights After nine months without play season on March 6 when she beat paid by Tennis Australia and are ing any competitive matches amid Sabina Sharipova 61, 63 in Team expected to stay in designated the COVID19 pandemic, Wang China’s 21 Fed Cup win over hotels to ensure their safety in the opened her 2021 campaign on Uzbekistan. biosecure bubble. Wednesday with a spirited first Now with one month before the The Australian Open will be pre round defeat to Daria Kasatkina in Australian Open begins on Feb 8 ceded by a warmup WTA 500 tour Abu Dhabi — a performance China’s amid strict COVID19 countermeas nament, also at Melbourne Park. world No 34 rightly rated as “not ures, Wang is hopeful Cash’s input Traditionally a happy hunting bad”. can help bring out her Agame in ground for Chinese players, the Aus “It was my first match after the time for the year’s first major on her tralian Open was the scene of one of long break. I haven’t really practiced coach’s home soil. Wang’s career highlights last year — much over the past nine months “He is really a nice man, who when she sent 23time major win until recently,” Wang said after the always helps me on and off the ner Serena Williams packing in 62, 36, 62 loss to Russia’s former court,” Wang said of Cash — the 1987 three sets in the third round. world No 10. Wimbledon singles champion — aft Retired Chinese star Li Na won “Today’s match was not bad, espe er working with him for a week in her second Grand Slam title at the cially in the second set.” Abu Dhabi. 2014 edition, following compatriot After a slow start, Wang picked up “I knew him through Peter China’s Wang Qiang winds up a return to Russia’s Daria Kasatkina during their firstround contest at the Zheng Jie’s run to the singles semifi her game in the second set, with (McNamara). He told me he is a Abu Dhabi WTA Women’s Open in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday. Playing her first competi nals in 2010 and doubles victory Australian great and former Wim good coach,” added Wang, referring tive match since March, Wang was defeated 62, 36, 62. OSPORTS with Yan Zi in 2006. bledon champion Cash watching to her former mentor who died from “Hopefully, I can do as well as I courtside as she turned the tables cancer at the age of 64 in July 2019. did in Melbourne and get used to with sharper footwork and more “When I had no coaches during After spending nine months off she encounters at her Down Under “I am really looking forward to the return and playing at a high lev aggressive forehands. the pandemic, I asked him if he the tour healing a lower back injury — on and off the court. returning to Australia. It’s been a el from there,” said Wang, who Having been outhit 10 winners to would work with me. It’s been very while enjoying some quality time “The quarantine or whatever, it’s while since my last Grand Slam reached a careerhigh ranking of No one in the opening set, Wang fired 11 good so far. Me and my coach, we’re with family and friends, Wang said no big deal for me,” said the 28year appearance. 12 in September 2019 following a winners to Kasatkina’s eight in the off to an encouraging start.” she is ready for whatever challenges old Tianjin native. “I will do my best tuneup for the quarterfinal run at the US Open.
SOCCER Of mice and men: The labrat software tracking Ronaldo
LONDON — Cristiano Ronaldo complete with another Argentinian, Saavedra draws an analogy before and this saves them tons of and his Portugal teammates may be Enzo Angilletta, who had a video between Metrica Sports and Tesla, time,” said Saavedra. surprised to learn the video and production company. the electriccar company that began “Previously, a video analyst would data analysis their coaches use was Together they developed a system by selling a highend expensive sit and pause the match at every devised by scientists who used it to that integrates data with video anal product before then channeling instance he wanted recording, that track the behavior of mice, monkeys ysis, which had been done only some of that revenue into the devel could take four or five hours to and human eye movements. manually before. By marrying data opment and launch of a more watch the whole game. Ruben Saavedra, the Spanish and video they created what its affordable one. “With Metrica Sports, they simply CEO of Metrica Sports, says it is not developers call a “workflow of foot “I like saying we follow the kind of click a few buttons and that same a stretch to transfer the use of data ball analysts”. model Tesla followed even if they work can be done in two or three to track the behavior of laboratory “Presenting graphs and raw data are a huge company compared to minutes.” mice and rats to the task of tracking was not enough for clubs,” said Metrica,” he added. Saavedra uses an example of a “movement of players on the pitch”. Saavedra. “The first clients fund investment coach telling two defenders never to Saavedra and Argentinian The process is unusual in that it and development of technology be further than a specific distance cofounder Bruno Dagnino — who analyzes technical skills and posi which benefits them, and at the from play. studied the eye movements of mon tioning during matches, rather than same time allows us to develop new “We can write an algorithm that keys and humans — found they simply measuring distance covered. technologies to cut costs. shows every moment when they are shared more than an interest in sci Therefore, the national teams of “Making this technology accessi further away than they should be as ence when they were studying for Portugal and Paraguay, and clubs as ble to teams like (fifthtier English directed by the coach. their PhDs in the Netherlands. far afield as Melbourne Victory in Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo attempts to squeeze past AC team) Stockport County or acade “They can see the lines showing “We had two things in common: Australia and Santos in Brazil have Milan’s Andrea Conti (left) and Lorenzo Colombo during a Serie A mies in Vietnam was possible distance, red for further, yellow for as Barcelona and Argentina fans, benefited from the video and data match at the San Siro on Wednesday. Juve won 31. REUTERS because we partnered with the elite closer, just at the click of a button.” Lionel Messi was an easy link, and analysis product, with the top clubs clubs first.” Saavedra’s enthusiasm reflects his we were the only people on our paying more than 100,000 euros lack of regret at ditching neurosci courses who loved football,” Saaved ($122,000) a year. range of users — from academies in “Now we can track any game on ‘Click of a button’ ence despite studying it for 14 years. ra told AFP in an interview. Thanks to that level of income, Africa to amateur players and any video with our new technology. However, while the price may stay “I say football used to be my hob “There are lots of nerds in science Metrica have been able to produce a coaches from rugby union, cricket “We are working to automate the at six figures for the elite clubs and by and neuroscience was my job,” he who do not have other hobbies and version of the analysis tool — enti and ice hockey. manual work in acquiring the data national sides, the amount of time said. so he and I could talk football, which tled Play Basic — which is available “A few years ago we had to have so it will be affordable for some saved on the weary eyes of their vid “I flipped that and it is awesome.” was nice.” to download for free. cameras in stadia but it has clubs, who now can only dream of eo analysts is immeasurable. The final part of the puzzle was It has already attracted a diverse evolved,” Saavedra said. having it.” “It was a very manual process AFP