NBA | Page 5 CRICKET | Page 7 Boston Brilliant Celtics fall Tahir spins To Advertise here at the end South Africa Call: 444 11 300, 444 66 621 to Bulls to victory Saturday, February 18, 2017 Jumada I 21, 1438 AH FOOTBALL GULF TIMES Ibra hat-trick helps Man Utd blank Etienne SPORT Page 2 TENNIS/ QATAR TOTAL OPEN Pliskova storms into fi nal CzechCzech ddownsowns SSlovakia’slovakia’s CibulkovaCibulkova inin threethree sets,sets, toto meetmeet eithereither CarolineCaroline WozniackiWozniacki oror MonicaMonica PuigPuig inin today’stoday’s titletitle clashclash By Sahan Bidappa on double duty. Today’s forecast is for Here in Doha, Puig has meant busi- break point to move 3-2 ahead. Karolina Pliskova Doha clear skies, which means the rain-hit ness from day one. After her second- Puig saved two further break points tournament will most likely get over on round victory over Yulia Putintseva, in her next service game to keep her schedule, which didn’t seem the case where the Kazakh girl had to retire hopes alive before breaking back to arolina Pliskova powered her even till yesterday evening. midway, Puig was back in business. level the match at 4-4. A wayward way into the Qatar Total Open Earlier, Pliskova had outplayed Shuai Her hard work seems to be bearing stroke from Kasatkina, serving at 4-5, fi nal yesterday, the No. 2 seed Zhang 6-2, 6-0 to set-up a semi-fi nal fruit. Yesterday, she completed a fi ght- handed the 23-year-old a victory. beating third seed Dominika Ci- date with Cibulkova. Zhang, who had ing win over promising Russian teen- “At our match in Indian Wells I also Kbulkova 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in the semi-fi nals. shocked fi fth seed Garbine Muguruza ager Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. had match points and lost the match Pliskova had never defeated Cibulk- in the second round, had no answers to The quarter-fi nal was carried over but against her it’s always going to be ova in their three previous meetings Pliskova’s power game. from Thursday, when the match was tough,” Puig said. “We’re both up and but the Czech was on fi re at the Kha- Zhang was broken by Pliskova twice locked at a set apiece before the players coming and she’s such a great player lifa International Tennis and Squash as the Czech took a 5-2 lead, before an- were fi nally called off court due to rain. so it was a good match and I loved the Complex on a damp night. The World other rain delay meant that the players On resumption in the afternoon, fi ght out there.” No. 3 served an astonishing 21 aces and again had to scamper for cover. Puig wasn’t in the mood to hand Meanwhile, Wozniacki, ranked 18th, showed tremendous mental strength On resumption, Pliskova wrapped around for a long time. She was off the beat American qualifi er Lauren Davis and fi tness in overcoming the Slovak. up the fi rst set, and broke Zhang again blocks quickly, converting her fourth 7-5, 6-1 in the last quarter-fi nal. While Cibulkova had fi nished her in the opening game of the second set. quarter-fi nal match on Thursday, But heavy downpour ensued that the Pliskova on the other hand was forced players had a lengthy break of almost to play the quarters and semis on the fi ve hours. same day, due to repeated rain inter- When they fi nally returned to the ventions. courts, Pliskova was in a hurry to close The momentum was clearly with out the match. Two further breaks put Pliskova as she overcame many a dif- her fi rmly in charge and she served out fi cult moments, especially in the fi rst to love to put Zhang out of her misery. set, to seal her place in today’s fi nal. Earlier, Puig entered the semis, the The 24-year-old will either face Ol- Puerto Rican’s fi rst since her historic ympic champion Monica Puig or former gold in Rio last August. World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, who The 23-year-old has not had a great were playing the second semi-fi nal late start to the year, as she bowed out in the last night, a few hours after winning fi rst round in Sydney and Brisbane. She their quarter-fi nal matches. did marginally better at the Australian After rain battered the courts for Open, where she reached the second most of yesterday, the tournament or- round. But the 47th-ranked Puig’s loss ganisers were relieved to see the clouds in Melbourne came to 181st-ranked clear up at night as the players were put Mona Barthel. India’s Sania Mirza (left) and her Cezch partner Barbora Strycova went down to the Dominika Cibulkova American-Slovenian pairing of Abigail Spears and Katarina Srebotnik 6-3, 1-6, 10-8 in the semi-finals to bow out of the Qatar Total Open yesterday. PICS: Noushad Thekkayil Wenger to decide on Arsenal future within two months Reuters important is the club, not my future. for silverware this season. London “No matter what happens, I will manage next It was the subject of Wenger’s future, season, whether it is here or somewhere else. however, that dominated the manager’s “I will decide (my) That is for sure.” news conference. “We have to focus on the future in March or rsene Wenger said yesterday that he Arsenal have consistently qualified for real problems and they are the way we play April, but I don’t will definitely still be a manager next Europe’s elite club competition, but their failure football, not my future,” he said. “I think what season, whether at Arsenal or “some- to progress has become a millstone around is important is that the club makes the right (exactly) know Awhere else”. Wenger’s neck. Their inability to turn promising decision for the future.” when. I speak to the Wenger said he would make a decision in domestic season starts into sustained title Wenger, who may be without injured board, but I don’t March or April on whether to extend his 20-year challenges has also left him vulnerable to defender Laurent Koscielny for the cup tie, want to speak about spell at Arsenal. He left open the possibility that criticism, and former players are now joining in denied reports of a dressing room bust-up he would walk away from the north London a chorus of disapproval. after the defeat at Bayern’s Allianz Arena. He how they view my club and into another job. Former Arsenal captain Martin Keown also pointed out that his leaving would not future. What’s The second longest-serving manager in the described Wednesday’s defeat as Wenger’s guarantee success for Arsenal. important is the history of the Premier League, Wenger is out of “lowest point”, while ex-defender Lee Dixon “Even if I go, Arsenal will not win every single contract at the end of the season. added: “This team is getting no response from game in the future,” he said. club, not my future. He has not won the league title since 2004, him. I’ve never seen him like that.” “It is not like before I arrived Arsenal had won No matter what and calls for him to end his association with Arsenal were heavily criticised for the way five times in the European Cup. I care about this happens, I will Arsenal have grown louder since the team’s 5-1 they capitulated in Munich. Level 1-1 at half- club and its future and it is very important the Champions League thrashing at Bayern Munich time despite being outplayed, they allowed club is in safe hands.” manage next on Wednesday. four goals after the break, including three in a Two of Wenger’s record six wins in the FA Cup season, whether it is That first-leg defeat is almost certain to 10-minute span. competition have come in the past three years, here or somewhere condemn Arsenal to their seventh successive “I’m used to it... I’ve been here for 20 years,” his only trophies since winning his third league Champions League exit at the competition’s Wenger quipped when asked if he was stung by title in 2004. He must now get his team to shift else. That is for sure” first knockout stage. the criticism. focus from world powerhouse Bayern to fifth- “I will decide (my) future in March or April, “I think it’s important in life to do what you tier Sutton and Monday’s last-16 tie. but I don’t (exactly) know when,” Wenger told think is right and the rest is judgement. I’m in “The FA Cup is one of our targets and it’s our a news conference yesterday, before his team’s the public life and I have to deal with it.” next game and it becomes very important,” fifth-round FA Cup clash away to non-league With Arsenal fourth in the Premier League he said. “We have to regroup and refocus Sutton United on Monday. table and trailing leaders Chelsea by 10 points on the next game, and to take care of the “I speak to the board, but I don’t want to with 13 games to play, the FA Cup appears once consequences a disappointing result can have speak about how they view my future.