Worley trumps Ruthless Pliskova Shiffrin for crushes Cornet, Maribor15 GS win wins17 Brisbane title SUNDAY, JANUARY 8, 2017

Australia romp to emphatic victory for series sweep Page 16

MANCHESTER: Manchester United’s English striker Wayne Rooney (R) has a shot saved by Reading’s Omani goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi (L) during the English FA Cup third round football match between Manchester United and Reading at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, yesterday. — AFP Rooney equals record as Man beat Reading

LONDON: Wayne Rooney stands one goal away while Wolverhampton Wanderers, also from the the lowest-ranked team in the competition United manager Jose Mourinho, who won the Rashford, his second coming after a mistake from becoming Manchester United’s outright second tier, ensured Stoke lost in the third round Stourbridge as it went down at Wycombe 2-1. FA Cup when in charge of Chelsea in 2007, was from goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi. record goal-scorer after equaling club great for the first time since 2009 by winning at Arsenal played Preston in the late game. effusive in his praise of Rooney. Bobby Charlton’s mark of 249 yesterday. Britannia Stadium 2-0. “A more special day will arrive,” he said. “It was WEST BROMWICH ALBION 1, With the 79-year-old Charlton watching from In all- matches, Ahmed Musa MANCHESTER UNITED 4, READING 0 great but I want one more goal. He is an amazing DERBY COUNTY 2 the stands, Rooney guided in Juan Mata’s cross scored twice as Leicester fought back from a goal Rooney’s latest milestone - he is the record guy in the group and we all want him to do that. Tom Ince, son of former England midfielder after seven minutes as the defending FA Cup down to defeat Everton 2-1 while in the battle of scorer for England - came in front of Old Trafford To have Wayne as the top scorer in a club like this , struck a fine winner to upset top-flight champion swept aside second-tier Reading 4-0 the new managers, Marco Silva saw his Hull side fans who have adored him, on and off, since he is magnificent for him.” West Brom. The hosts led through a Matt Phillips in the third round. get the better of Paul Clement’s Swansea with a joined as a teenage prodigy from Everton in The game will be not be so fondly remem- long-range strike but Derby hit back in the sec- English Premier League teams Bournemouth, 2-0 victory. Silva, appointed on Tuesday in place 2004. “To do it at such a massive club like bered by former United defender Jaap Stam, ond half as levelled and Ince curled West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City all bowed of the fired Mike Phelan, would have noted the Manchester United, it is a really proud moment whose Reading side he coaches was outclassed. home a superb free kick. out to lower-league opponents. large number of empty seats at Hull’s KCOM for me,” Rooney said. “It was not something I Rooney set up Anthony Martial for 2-0 not Third-tier Millwall, Cup finalist in 2004, caused Stadium with home fans staying away in protest could have imagined. You don’t think that far long after he scored the opener. United, win- MILLWALL 3, BOURNEMOUTH 0 the biggest shock by thumping a much-changed against the club’s owners. ahead, but I have been at this club a long time, it ning for the eighth consecutive game in all Bournemouth made 11 changes from its last Bournemouth 3-0, West Brom went down at Non-league sides Sutton United and Lincoln is a huge part of my life, and it is an honor to be competitions, added two more in quick suc- game and suffered an embarrassing defeat against home to Championship team Derby County 2-1, City earned replays but there was no fairytale for up there alongside Sir Bobby.” cession after the break through Marcus a side in ninth place in League One. — AP Real matches Barcelona’s Djokovic ends Murray’s 28-win streak in Qatar record of 39 unbeaten games DOHA: Novak Djokovic made an immense state- ing his breakthrough in the eighth game as the break serve-a feat he has now achieved in an ment in his bid to rule men’s tennis again when Scot surrendered the crucial break with a mis-hit impressive 112 successive matches. Djokovic he defeated Andy Murray, the man who deposed forehand. When Djokovic cashed in on a sloppy received a point penalty for smashing his racket MADRID: Real Madrid tied Barcelona’s Spanish Thursday. Isco opened the scoring with a low him as world number one, 6-3 5-7 6-4 in an epic service game, in which Murray delivered two which handed the 11th game to Murray and the record of 39 games unbeaten in all competitions shot from inside the area after a mistake by the Qatar Open final in Doha yesterday. double faults, to take a crucial 4-3 lead in the sec- Scot rammed home his ascendancy by breaking by crushing Granada 5-0 in La Liga yesterday. Granada defense while trying to move the ball Looking back to near his peerless best at ond set, he looked unstoppable. He seemed cer- again to take the second set. Francisco “Isco” Alarcon scored twice and forward, and Benzema - in an offside position - times in a game of searing quality, the Serbian tain to wrap up the victory serving at 5-4 but a Yet just when Murray seemed to be taking Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and added to the lead off the rebound of a shot by missed out on three match points and had to couple of missed backhands and courageous control physically, with Djokovic looking increas- Casemiro added on at Santiago Bernabeu Luka Modric. repel a roaring Murray comeback before ending aggression from Murray led to him missing out ingly weary, the Serbian produced an inspira- Stadium. Madrid was six points ahead of second- Benzema, who also was rested against Sevilla, the Briton’s 28-match, five-tournament winning on his three match points. The Briton pounced to tional game to break to love at 3-3. — Reuters place Barcelona, which plays fifth-place Villarreal has scored in seven consecutive games against streak. In their first meeting since Murray won today. Ronaldo, who was rested in Madrid’s 3-0 Granada. He has a total of 10 goals in 11 matches their season-ending climax at the ATP World Tour first-leg win against Sevilla in the Copa del Rey against the team from southern Spain. finals, the Briton ran into a rejuvenated Djokovic on Wednesday, scored with a close-range header Ronaldo increased the lead after Marcelo who, despite having problems with his racket off a cross by Marcelo. cleared a defender in the left side before making hand and receiving two warnings for his behav- Before the match, he was honored in a cere- a perfect cross into the area, and Isco netted iour, prevailed thrillingly in their 36th contest. mony to mark the Ballon d’Or award he earned again from close range after a low cross by The world number two said it was “the dream last month for world player of the year. Former Modric from the right flank for 4-0. start” to 2017 in his build-up to the defence of the Madrid players who won similar awards partici- Casemiro scored the final goal nearly an hour Australian Open title later this month and defeat pated, including Luis Figo, Brazilian striker in after a free kick by James Rodriguez, who provided food for thought for Murray, who lost Ronaldo, and coach Zinedine Zidane. entered in the second half after impressing for the 25th time against his old rival. “It was important to begin the year like this,” against Sevilla midweek. Madrid was still without “It was close, a very physical battle. All the way Zidane said. “We have to keep this pace the rest injured defenders Sergio Ramos and Pepe, as to the last shot, you never know with Andy. It’s no of the year.” Madrid’s last setback was a 2-0 loss at well as forward . strange occurrence for us to play three sets for Wolfsburg in the quarterfinal first leg of the Granada remained second-to-last in the 20- three hours,” Djokovic told Eurosport. Champions League in April. Since then, it has team standings. Third-place Sevilla played at “It means a lot. For the last three months of won 30 games and drawn nine under Zidane, a sixth-placed Real Sociedad later. 2016, I haven’t felt that confident on court and run that included three titles. didn’t play that consistent. But to start 2017 with Zidane, who has lost only twice since taking EIBAR 0, ATLETICO MADRID 2 a win over the world number one and my biggest over Madrid a year ago, already matched the Atletico avoided losing even more ground to rival was a dream start so I’m hoping I can get the club record of 34 games without a defeat set in Real Madrid thanks to second-half goals by Saul best out of it.” 1989 under coach Leo Beenhakker. Niguez and Antoine Griezmann. Djokovic had looked out of sorts as he strug- The Spanish unbeaten record set by Luis Nigue scored with a header after a cross by gled to tame Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in Enrique’s Barcelona last season ended with a loss Filipe Luis in the 54th, and Griezmann sealed the Friday’s semi-final and he started inconsistently to Madrid at Camp Nou in April. victory from close range in the 74th. again, also requiring treatment to a bleeding “It gives us great satisfaction to equal this The result moved Diego Simeone’s team to right thumb in the third game. record,” Zidane said. “We have no limits and we fourth place, but still nine points behind Madrid. Yet Djokovic began playing with an authority will do everything possible to keep this going.” It was Atletico’s second win in a row after it that he had not displayed all week and was so Madrid, which has won eight of its last nine earned only four points in five straight league frustrated after losing one 29-shot rally that he league games, will have a chance to take the matches. Winless in four league games, Eibar was warned for hitting the ball away petulantly DOHA: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic poses with the winner’s trophy after beating Britain’s Andy Murray record outright in the second leg at Sevilla on stayed in eighth place. — AP towards his box. Still, he pressurised Murray, mak- during their final tennis match at the ATP Qatar Open in Doha yesterday. — AFP