Sports FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24vv, 2014 Kvitova sends Sharapova packing

SINGAPORE: Maria Sharpova’s bid to end the year ranked number one was left hanging by a thread after she suf- fered a second straight defeat at the WTA Finals yesterday. The only woman capable of leapfrogging Serena Williams for the top spot, Sharapova was beaten 6-3 6-2 by Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova at Singapore’s Indoor Stadium. Sharapova still has a slim mathematical chance of finish- ing number one but has to win the title and rely on other results going her way after she also lost her opening match to Caroline Wozniacki. “It’s easy to sit here and say, yeah, I’m tired. I lost two matches,” said Sharapova. “But that’s not the way I feel or the way that I choose to speak. I still have a match ahead of me, and I will do my best to finish it on a good note. “That’s the only thing I can ask of myself.” Wozniacki edged closer to booking her place in the semi-finals with an impressive 7-5 6-3 win over Agnieszka Radwanska. Showing no signs of fatigue after her exhaust- ing three-set win over Sharapova two days earlier, Wozniacki rebounded from a slow start to overrun Radwanska with an ominous display. Wozniacki was down an early service break in the open- ing set but quickly got back on terms and proved too strong for Radwanska, running the Pole ragged on Singapore’s purple hardcourts. “I just kept fighting for every point. There was some ridiculous shot making there at times,” said Wozniacki. “I DUBAI: Nathan Lyon of (center-right) and his teammates gesture to the umpire during day two of the first just had to keep going and keep trying to stay close to the Test match between and Australia at the Dubai International Stadium. — AFP baseline really. “I’ve been pleased with the way I’ve been running a lot of balls down, been serving well, just taking advantage of Australia off to solid start the important points.” Wozniacki plays her final group match against Kvitova on Friday. The Czech lost her opening match to Radwanska in reply to Pakistan’s 454 but stayed in the hunt with a much better performance against Sharapova. “I was really disappointing when I lost DUBAI: Australia got off to a solid start we manage a good lead then it’s bet- failed to catch a bat-pad push at for- against Aga (Radwanska). It was a match probably I really after wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed’s ter.” Pakistan added 235 runs after ward short-leg. didn’t know what I’m doing on. I was so tired and sick of brilliant hundred guided Pakistan to a resuming on their overnight score of Misbah, who was 34 overnight, the tennis for a moment,” Kvitova said. big first innings total of 454 in the first 219-4 with Ahmed, Misbah-ul Haq and reached his first half- in nine “So I didn’t practise today at all and I just really relaxed Test in Dubai yesterday. Asad Shafiq all coming good on a flat innings with a push for a single and and cleaned my mind a little bit. I knew that I have a game Opener smashed a pitch which had little for the bowlers. then launched an attack, hitting Lyon to beat Maria. “Everything what I did today was really quickfire 75 and Chris Rogers was on Ahmed added an important 124 for a six over long-on. He also hit good, and I’m glad that I beat her and I have still a chance 31 to take Australia to 113 without loss runs for the sixth with Asad Smith for a six but played one shot to go to semi-final. Williams was scheduled to meet at close of play on the second day, Shafiq (89) to build the innings after too many, holing out much to the Eugenie Bouchard in Thursday’s feature night match, just trailing by 341 runs with all ten Shafiq added 93 with skipper Misbah, delight of the Australians. Shafiq fell 24 hours after she suffered her heaviest defeat in 16 years standing. Warner hit seven fours and a who made 69. short of his hundred by 11 runs as he against pint-sized Romanian Simona Halep. six in his eighth Test half-century, his Misbah, under pressure to score holed out to Steve O’Keefe, the left- Halep will become the first player to secure a place in sixth in succession, as Australia after managing just 67 in the 2-0 Test armer’s first Test wicket, after hitting the semis as long as Bouchard wins at least one game matched Pakistan’s . Pakistan defeat in Sri Lanka two months ago, five fours and two sixes during his against the American. — Reuters could have removed Rogers on 13 in hit two fours and two sixes during his 151-ball stay. Johnson (3-39) led a left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar’s first 255-minute stay at the crease. hapless Australian attack with left-arm over but failed to hold a Lyon was unlucky not to have dis- spinner O’Keefe struggling to take 2- straightforward catch in the slips. missed Shafiq off the first ball of the 107 while Lyon toiled hard for 1-148 in Warner reverse-swept debutant leg- day’s second over when Alex Doolan 36.4 overs.— AFP spinner Yasir Shah for his fifth bound- ary to reach his run-a-ball 50. Earlier, Pakistan’s total had been SCOREBOARD lifted by Ahmed. Ahmed, who scored his first hundred in Sri Lanka two DUBAI: Scoreboard at stumps on the second day of the first cricket Test months ago, fell in the last over before between Pakistan and Australia at Dubai stadium yesterday: tea, off spinner Nathan Lyon for 109. He batted for 148 minutes Pakistan Ist innings (Shehzad), 3-115 (Ali), 4-198 (Younis), and hit 14 boundaries in all. (overnight 219-4) 5-291 (Misbah), 6-415 (Shafiq), 7-442 He completed his hundred off just Ahmed Shehzad b Siddle 3 (Shah), 8-454 (Ahmed), 9-454 (Rahat) 80 balls, hitting paceman Mitchell M Hafeez lbw b Johnson 0 Bowling: Johnson 31-18-39-3, Siddle Marsh over the slips for the fourth c Doolan b Johnson 53 24-11-50-1, O’Keefe 30-3-107-2, Marsh fastest century by a Pakistani. Younis Khan lbw b Johnson 106 17-4-44-0, Lyon 37-4-148-2, Smith 6-0- Majid Khan holds the record for the Misbah-ul Haq c Johnson b Smith 69 50-1 fastest Test hundred by a Pakistani in Asad Shafiq c Marsh b O’Keefe 89 terms of deliveries faced, on 74 balls, Sarfraz Ahmed st Haddin b Lyon 109 Australia Ist innings while hit hundreds off 78 Yasir Shah c Rogers b O’Keefe 2 C. Rogers not out 31 balls on two occasions. Zulfiqar Babar retired out 7 D. Warner not out 75 Ahmed said he will be happy if his Rahat Ali c Rogers b Lyon 0 Extras: (b4, lb2, nb1) 7 innings helps his team win. “I played not out 0 Total: (without loss; 31 overs) 113 my natural game,” said Ahmed. “If this Extras: (b2, lb14) 16 Bowling: Rahat 7-0-22-0, Hafeez 10-3- SINGAPORE: Petra Kvitova†of Czech Republic reacts after century helps the team win then I will Total (all out; 145 overs) 454 18-0, Khan 6-1-23-0, Babar 5-0-25-0, be more happy. We will come back defeating Maria Sharapova of Russia at the Women’s Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Hafeez), 2-7 Shah 3-0-19-0 (1nb). Tennis Association (WTA) finals round robin match. — AFP tomorrow through our bowlers and if