SPORTS SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 2015 Nadal shrugs off Murray loss in Abu Dhabi

ABU DHABI: Rafael Nadal shrugged off his 6-2, 6-0 match helps me and the defeat does not affect me defeat to Andy Murray at the Mubadala World too much. I felt I was dominating the points a lot of Tennis Championships yesterday, insisting he’ll be times, but I am missing competitive spirit. I am fighting fit when his 2015 season starts in Qatar going to keep working hard to get that.” next week. The 14-time Grand Slam title winner Murray goes on to face world number one was making his first appearance since undergoing Novak Djokovic in today’s final after the Serb eased an appendectomy late last year having also missed past Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka 6-1, most of the second half of the 2014 season with a 6-2. “I have been working very hard on my speed wrist problem. and movement around the court - maybe that The Spaniard’s rustiness was obvious against made the difference,” said Murray after his win over Murray, who had played for more than two hours Nadal. Wimbledon champion Djokovic was playing in seeing off Feliciano Lopez in his first match at the his first match in a month having completed his Abu Dhabi exhibition tournament on Thursday. 2014 campaign by featuring in the International “This was not the best start possible against a Premier Tennis League. “I haven’t played in over a tough rival in Andy Murray,” the 28-year-old Nadal month, so to play at such a high level against such told the Gulf News. “But there are only small things a class player was nice,” said the 27-year-old I need to adjust. 6-2, 6-0 is too much. I had a lot of Djokovic, who won seven titles in 2014, including a ABU DHABI: Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal returns the ball to Scottish player Andy chances to have a closer result. I have to improve, seventh major at Wimbledon and the World Tour Murray during their semi-final tennis match at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship yes- that’s obvious, and I’m going to improve. This Finals in London. —AFP terday. — AFP Ramdin in fightback after Harmer triple

CAPE TOWN: Debutant off-spinner took three before West Indian led a fightback against South Africa on the first day of the third and final Test at Newlands yesterday. At stumps at Newlands, West Indies, who are attempting to square the series, were 276 for six. Ramdin (53) and Jermaine Blackwood (45 ) put on 94 for the sixth to enable the tourists to finish with a respectable total after it seemed they had squandered the advantage of winning the toss and first on an easy-paced pitch. Harmer took three for 67 and was mainly responsible for the West Indies slipping to 172 for five, dismissing , and during an impressive first day of Test . Harmer, 25, replaced leg-spinner Imran Tahir in the only change from the South African team that played in the rain-hit drawn second Test in Port Elizabeth. He made an early impact by taking a wicket with the last ball of his fourth over. It was also the last ball before lunch and came from a disappointing shot by Smith, who made 47 and seemed to be settling down after being beaten several times early on by the South African fast bowlers. Smith tried to cut a ball which was too close to his body and chopped the ball onto his stumps. Johnson played some handsome strokes in making 54 off 84 balls with nine fours. He added 51 for the third wicket with Marlon CAPE TOWN: West Indies’ Devon Smith (left) loses his wicket as South African players celebrate during a cricket Test match yesterday. — AP Samuels before he was deceived by a quicker cessive failure in a series in which he has grass, and South African captain Hashim timers Van Zyl and Dean Elgar bowled eight ball from Harmer which curved in with the scored only 41 runs in four innings. Ramdin, Amla used Harmer for 25 overs, while part- and two overs respectively. — AFP arm and struck the batsman on his front pad whose previous highest score in eight Tests deep in his crease. against South Africa was 32, struck the ball The leg before wicket decision was so solidly in making his half- before Scoreboard obvious that Johnson did not even contem- falling to shortly before the close. plate asking for a review, departing for the He mistimed a slower ball to offer a return CAPE TOWN: Scoreboard at the close on the first day of the third and final Test between dressing room immediately. Samuels looked catch to the fast bowler. South Africa and the West Indies at Newlands yesterday. in good form, scoring 43 off 70 balls, but Steyn took the first wicket of the day when hung his head in shame after playing a loose he had caught at gully. His West Indies, first innings Fall of wickets: 1-30 (Brathwaite), 2-80 drive against the first ball sent down by part- two wickets for the day took him to 391 Test K Brathwaite c Elgar b Steyn 7 (Smith), 3-131 (Johnson), 4-162 Samuels), 5- time bowler Stiaan van Zyl, bowling at a gen- wickets and second place on South Africa’s D Smith b Harmer 47 172 (Chanderpaul), 6-266 (Ramdin) L Johnson lbw b Harmer 54 Bowling: Steyn 21-5-59-2 (3w), Philander tle medium pace. The ball went straight to Faf all-time wicket-taking list, one ahead of M Samuels c Du Plessis b Van Zyl 43 16-2-54-0 (1nb), Morkel 18-1-74-0 (1nb, 1w), du Plessis at cover. Makhaya Ntini and behind only Shaun Worse for the West Indies was to follow S Chanderpaul st De Villiers b Harmer 9 Harmer 25-5-67-3, Van Zyl 8-2-13-1, Elgar 2-0- Pollock, who took 421. Blackwood was picked J Blackwood not out 45 6-0 with the first ball after tea. In what appeared as an extra batsman in place of left-arm seam- to be a planned move, Harmer fired the ball D Ramdin c and b Steyn 53 To bat: J Taylor, S Benn, S Gabriel er Kenroy Peters and justified his selection J Holder not out 5 South Africa: H Amla, A Petersen, D Elgar, F down the leg side and Chanderpaul was with a dogged innings. There was less assis- Extras (lb3, nb2, w8) 13 du Plessis, A de Villiers, S van Zyl, T Bavuma, V smartly by AB de Villiers. tance than expected for the seam bowlers, Total (6 wkts, 90 overs) 276 Philander, S Harmer, D Steyn, M Morkel. Chanderpaul was out for nine - his fourth suc- despite the pitch having a good coverage of