Magical Djokovic Casts Spell Over Shanghai
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Sports45 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2015 Comeback king Shoaib inspired by Sania title sweeps ABU DHABI: Pakistan batsman Shoaib Malik “Naturally when Sania wins in tennis, it moti- few months after his high-profile 2010 mar- to keep updated on her matches and she said his sparkling double hundred against vates me a lot and inspires me to do well in riage to Mirza in the Indian city of always says that cricket is her favourite England was inspired by seeing his Indian cricket. Hyderabad Deccan. But Malik’s career sport.” wife Sania Mirza sweep to a series of tennis “It’s healthy that both husband and wife nosedived and he not only lost his place in Malik only returned to the Test side after titles in 2015. Malik hit a career-best 245 to play sports. On my double hundred, she was the Test team but did not get regular regular number three Azhar Ali was ruled cap a remarkable return to Test cricket after ecstatic much like the same way I celebrate chances in limited over matches. The inspi- out of the game in Abu Dhabi with a foot five years on the sidelines and four days after her wins,” said Malik. From 5-1 Malik lifted ration came from Mirza who rose to world injury. The 33-year-old went into bat as Mirza clinched the China Open in Beijing Pakistan to 523-8 in their first innings on number one in doubles in April this year, early as the third over of the match on alongside Martina Hingis. Wednesday, adding 168 for the second wick- close to the couple’s fifth wedding anniver- Tuesday but his resolve, confidence and Since returning to the limited overs squad et with Mohammad Hafeez (98) and 248 for sary. In May, Malik was included in the one- motivation helped him to play a memo- in May, Malik has been averaging 100 in the fifth with Asad Shafiq (107). day side after a gap of two years and he rable knock, the third highest by a Pakistan ODIs, rousing performances which earned Malik’s 647-minute vigil ended only after grabbed his chance with both hands, scor- batsman in a Test. “It was tough,” said him a Test recall. Now he is happily compet- he suffered cramps. He was then on a drip ing a century against Zimbabwe in Lahore- Malik. “The fact that Ali has done so well in ing for bragging rights with his wife who this after the match due to dehydration. “It was his first three-figure score for six years. That the recent past added to the pressure but it year has collected Grand Slam doubles titles really tough but since it was my comeback prompted Mirza to tweet, “so happy for you was an opportunity for me to show my with Hingis at Wimbledon and the US Open. innings I negotiated everything with a smile,” .. Belief does wonders.” In July, Sania and worth and I am proud that I have scored a She has also won tour crowns at Indian said Malik. Hingis then won their first Grand Slam title double century. Wells, Miami, Charleston, Guangzhou, together at Wimbledon. “But cricket is not an individual sport like Wuhan and Beijing. “A double hundred does Career nosedived “I feel so proud of her,” said Malik. “I tennis, so I will only be happy and satisfied not come every day,” Malik told AFP. Malik’s last Test was against England, a have uploaded the software on my mobile if we win this Test match.” — AFP Venus Williams eases through to HK quarters HONG KONG: Seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams eased through to the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open yesterday dazzling China’s Wang Yafan. Wang, 21, struggled to get into the match and Williams strode to a 6-0, 6-2 victory. “I had only seen Williams before on TV,” said Wang through a translator. “I was nervous of playing someone so well- known and that meant I didn’t play very well.” Williams, 35, encouraged the young player, saying she had been “spirited” in the second set. “She’s young, she’s in the top 150 which is already a good result.” Williams will face French eighth seed Alize Cornet in her quarter-final. The American has had a resurgent season and is fighting for a place in the eight-player WTA Finals in Singapore later this month, with Hong Kong her last chance to get the points she needs. She is currently 11th in the Road to Singapore rankings. “I’m definitely much happier with this kind of result... I’m in the next round,” said Williams of the match against Wang. Williams had to battle to a three-set victory over unseeded Yuliya Beygelzimer in her first-round match earlier this week. Cornet beat Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova in three sets in SHANGHAI: Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a return against Feliciano Lopez of Spain in their men’s singles third round her second-round match yesterday. match at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai yesterday. — AFP Caroline Garcia of France breezed into the quarters after a 6-0, 6-2 win against Anastasiya Komardina. She will meet the winner of the final second-round match being played between world number 10 Angelique Kerber of Germany and Magical Djokovic casts Japan’s Kurumi Nara. The other quarter-finals see former world number one Jelena Jankovic meet Russia’s sixth seed Daria Gavrilova and spell over Shanghai Britain’s Heather Watson play fifth seed Australian Samantha Stosur. — AFP SHANGHAI: World number one Novak me more confidence. Any time I come back to of Spanish qualifier Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Djokovic sped into the Shanghai Masters quar- the court, I feel good and I start off well.” Murray lost the first set on a tiebreak and ter-finals with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Feliciano Djokovic’s current unbeaten run stretches he snapped at the umpire as his frustrations Lopez in just 71 minutes as he continued his back to the Cincinnati Masters final in August rose in the second set, before he finally broke magical run in China yesterday. As Andy and with his win in Beijing, he became the first the big-serving Isner and levelled the match at Murray and Jo-Wilfriend Tsonga toiled, the man to top $15 million (13.1 million euros) in a set each. unstoppable Serb dominated Spain’s Lopez as prize money in a single year. He said there was The world number two broke again for 4-3 he brought up his 14th win in a row including still room for improvement despite putting in the decider and he left the American num- a winning streak of 16 straight sets. together what he calls his best season yet, ber one on his backside as he fended off break Rafael Nadal’s recent resurgence, mean- after winning three out of four Grand Slam points in his next service game, before going while, gathered pace when he beat Milos finals to reach a career total of 10. on to take it 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-4. “Obviously it’s Raonic 6-3, 7-6 (7/6) to set up a quarter-final “I think it’s a combination of... maintaining tough to maintain your patience and not get a with Kevin Anderson, who ousted Japanese the high level, the performance, the tennis I bit frustrated when you do get the chances heartthrob Kei Nishikori 7-6 (12/10), 7-6 (7/3). have right now, and also working on certain and, you know, he serves an ace,” Murray said. A magical backhand lob to break Lopez for 3-1 parts of the game that I think can be “There were like 13 break points. I would in the second set underlined the superiority of improved,” he said. “I was brought up that way imagine he served an ace on at least half of Djokovic, who claimed his sixth China Open and thought to always look for some room for those. He served very well when he was title last week and has lost only five out of 75 improvement. I still believe there are shots in behind.” Seventieth-ranked Ramos-Vinolas matches this year. “There is no secret. I guess it my game that can be better. I think that’s one came through qualifying before he stunned depends how do you feel on a given day, of the things that keeps me going. “It moti- defending champion Roger Federer in the sec- depends how well your opponent is playing, vates me to play more.” ond round-but Tsonga proved a match too far. how well you’re playing. It’s a combination of However, the 27-year-old Spaniard gave things,” said the two-time Shanghai champi- Giant-killer felled the mercurial Frenchman a massive scare HONG KONG: Yafan Wang of China returns the ball to US on. “You can’t just expect to win all the time Earlier Andy Murray squeezed past John when he took the first set before going down tennis player Venus Williams during the second round of very comfortably, but I’ve been doing so for Isner and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was also pushed fighting 6-7 (5/7), 7-5, 6-4 in two hours and 45 the WTA Hong Kong Open in Hong Kong yesterday. — AFP the last week-and-a-half. Obviously it’s giving all the way before ending the giant-killing run minutes.