Thomas Lives on Edge, Rallies to Win Players Championship
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
ARAB TIMES, TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2021 SPORTS 14 Defenders unleash speed to achieve fi rst pass of 36th America’s Cup After a bizarre race Team New Zealand lead Luna Rossa AUCKLAND, March 15, (AP): De- lock that has existed throughout the fender Team New Zealand unleashed match, as each team has won one race its speed to achieve the fi rst pass of on the fi rst three days, seemed likely Medvedev wins Open 13 for 10th title the 36th America’s Cup match, then to continue. came from a long way back in a bizarre But, incredibly, after rounding the MARSEILLE, France, March 15, faced a player with all four majors eighth race to beat Italian challenger second mark Luna Rossa sailed into a (AP): Top-seeded Daniil Medvedev in doubles, but without any titles in Luna Rossa twice and take a 5-3 lead wind hole near the top of the course, was pushed to three sets by doubles singles and ranked 93rd. in the fi rst-to-seven wins series. fell off the foils and was left wallow- specialist Pierre-Hugues Herbert in But the serve-and-volley special- If Team New Zealand retains the ing and powerless. Team New Zealand the Open 13 fi nal, winning 6-4, 6-7 ist Herbert did made it awkward for Cup - it can do so if it wins both races rose up on its foils again and wore (4), 6-4 for his 10th career title on the imposing Russian at times by Tuesday - it will be because of the un- down the massive defi cit. the eve of his move up to second in upsetting his rhythm, breaking his precedented events of the second of the rankings. serve once and forcing him to save Monday’s two races when it turned Medvedev will overtake Rafael Na- four break points. what seemed likely to be a crushing SAILING dal on Monday and push the 20-time Medvedev edged the Frenchman defeat into an almost incomprehensi- Grand Slam champion down to No. 3. in aces 13-10 and fi rst-serve points ble victory. Always on the point of stalling, Victory also made his childhood won - 83% compared to 72% - while Luna Rossa held an early lead in a Te Rehutai managed to round the top dream come true. converting three of his six break race which began conventionally, de- mark and to turn a defi cit of 4 minutes Given that six of his 10 titles have points. fending that advantage to round the and 8 seconds at one mark to a lead of been on indoor hard courts, he was The Australian Open runner-up fi rst mark with a 16-second lead. The 4:27 at the next. heavy favorite here. Furthermore, improved to 14-2 this year and has Italy’s Luna Rossa, (left), races Emirates Team New Zealand in race seven the two-time Grand Slam runner-up won 23 of his last 25 matches. race at Auckland, New Zealand then The race was shorted to fi ve legs of the America’s Cup on Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour, on March 15. (AP) became extraordinary - perhaps one and New Zealand managed to fi nish of the most extraordinary in all of the inside the time limit for the race, to win For Luna Rossa, the events of the the foils. of speed Monday, coming from behind the fi rst mark 8 seconds ahead and Cup’s 170-year history. by 3 minutes, 55 seconds. Monday were demoralizing after a “We know we can win races. We’ve for the fi rst time in the series to win the sailed a strong fi rst downwind to be 10 Team New Zealand looked likely to “What a race,” New Zealand fl ight close tussle on the fi rst three days of been in some tough situations before fi rst race of the day by 58 seconds. seconds ahead at the second gate. roll Luna Rossa on the fi rst downwind controller Blair Tuke said. “It’s one to the series. and the guys will keep their heads up.” “It was good to actually get a pass But it was already apparent from the but, as the boats came level, gybed keep. “It was pretty tough conditions,” Team New Zealand’s rumoured fi nally,” New Zealand helmsman Peter data coming off the boats Team New away in a failing breeze. Its race boat, “It was a pretty unreal fi ghtback. We Luna Rossa co-helmsman Jimmy speed hadn’t been seen in the fi rst six Burling said. “Then to extend as we did Zealand was sailing faster. Te Rehutai, dropped off its foils and obviously made an error gybing right Spithill said. “We were sailing a pretty races when the teams traded wins, after the pass was pleasing as well.” The race completely changed at the was left almost stationery in the middle behind them on the fi rst downwind and good race. Unfortunately we just came splitting two races on each of the fi rst Luna Rossa comfortably won the second mark when Luna Rossa round- of the course while Luna Rossa sailed fell off the foils (but) we got it up rea- off the foils and really got stuck at the three sailing days when there were light start of race seven which, in keeping ed and headed to the left and Team away to four-minute lead. sonable quickly and sailed a great race top mark for some time, just trying to winds and no chances of overtaking. with the trend of the series, should New Zealand tacked and bore away to The race seemed over and the dead- from there.” fi nd enough pressure to get back up on The defender showed an extra turn have meant it won the race. It rounded the right. Logano fi nishes 2nd, Hamlin 3rd Thomas lives on edge, rallies Truex Jr ‘pulls away’ for fi rst NASCAR Cup win of season AVONDALE, Arizona, March 15, All four tailed Truex across the fi nish to win Players Championship (AP): Joey Logano has won a few line Sunday. times at Phoenix Raceway and knows Phoenix Raceway will again host the a good restart when he feels one. With championship race in November. Rozner takes trophy at Qatar Masters 25 laps to go, he got a good run on the “To come here and win this, I wish green fl ag, dipped down low on the it was November,” Truex said. “Hope- dogleg and felt great. fully, we can come back in November PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Then he realized Martin Truex Jr’s and have a shot at the championship.” Florida, March 15, (AP): No. 19 Toyota was still right next to The 40-year-old Truex struggled Schachmann him. That was a big problem. earlier this year, fi nishing 25th at Day- Justin Thomas found the Truex blew past Logano on the fi - tona. But he’s raced much better in right time for a near-per- nal restart and pulled away for his fi rst recent weeks, fi nishing third at Home- defends ‘title’ NASCAR Cup Series victory of the stead and sixth at Las Vegas last week. fect performance to put season and 28th overall. That set off He was dominant during the fi nal a rough start to the year PARIS, March 15, (AP): After los- a hearty celebration from the his Joe half Sunday and became just the sec- behind him, rallying from ing last year’s Tour de France on Gibbs Racing team, especially after a ond driver from last year’s 16-car play- three shots behind with the last decisive stage, Primoz Ro- frustrating 2020 season that included off fi eld to qualify for the postseason. It glic failed in his bid to win the Paris- just one win. was good day for Toyota and Joe Gibbs bold play to close with a Nice race after crashing early in Racing, which had the winner in Truex 4-under 68 and win The fi nal stage. and Hamlin in the third spot. The overnight leader seemed CAR RACING Logano fi nished second. He said Players Championship. certain to triumph at the week-long even if he was able to hold Truex on Thomas becomes only the fourth race after winning three stages. But “I’d say we were really hungry for it,” the restart, he probably would have player to win a major, The Players the Slovenian fell after 22 kilome- Truex said. “We really wanted it, obvi- passed him before the checkered fl ag. Championship, the FedEx Cup and ters (15.5 miles) of the eighth stage ously. We worked really hard, we’ve “They just had a fast car,” Logano a World Golf Championship, and it and lost valuable time as German got a great team and it just seemed like said. couldn’t have come at a better time. rider Maximilian Schachmann suc- for whatever reason, it was always lit- Truex, who announced a contract He called it as good as he has ever cessfully defended his title. tle things biting us. We were always so extension with JGR days before the played tee-to-green, and he needed it Roglic caught up the peloton af- close, always second or third.” season-opening Daytona 500, rebuked to outlast 47-year-old Lee Westwood, ter his crash, but a double dose of This time he was fi rst. By a lot. questions about retirement before he’d bad luck saw him hit by a mechani- Truex beat the four championship even been asked.