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MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2014 SPORTS Dortmund crash again

BERLIN: Borussia Dortmund lost again yesterday to remain bottom of the Bundesliga while VfL Wolfsburg trimmed Bayern Munich’s lead to sev- en points with a 1-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach. Wolves’ centre-back Robin Knoche netted what proved to be the 12th- minute winner at home to Gladbach following a goalmouth scramble to keep Wolves second in the table. The defeat sees Gladbach drop to fifth as Lucien Favre’s side suffered their third straight defeat, despite having set a new club record of 18 matches unbeaten at the start of the season. Jurgen Klopp’s Dortmund remain at the foot of the table after losing 2-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt as last season’s runners-up continue to suffer the worst start to a league season in the club’s history. Frankfurt captain Alexander Meier claimed his eighth goal of the season to become the league’s top scorer when he fired home with five minutes gone after team-mate Marco Russ split the Dortmund defence with a long-range pass. Then a poorly mis-timed header back from defender Matthias Ginter on 78 minutes com- pounded Dortmund’s problems as it allowed Swiss striker Haris Seferovic to beat Borussia goal- keeper Roman Weidenfeller in a sprint to tap the ball home. Dortmund are now the only team in Germany’s top flight to have lost eight matches this season while Frankfurt climb to ninth. Klopp’s Dortmund had dropped back to the bottom of the table on Saturday after both Werder Bremen and Stuttgart picked up wins. Werder Bremen’s 4-0 hammering of Paderborn and VfB Stuttgart’s 4-1 win at Freiburg on Friday saw them both leapfrog Dortmund. Bremen moved up to 14th as caretaker coach Viktor Skripnik picked up his fourth win in five games since taking over from the fired Robin Dutt as Zlatko Junuzovic, Davie Selke, Fin Bartels and Levent Aycicek scored. Pep Guardiola’s Bayern MANILA: gestures after her match against maintained their iron on the Bundesliga title GERMANY: Frankfurt’s Makoto Hasebe from Japan (left) and Dortmund’s Shinji Kagawa Manila Mavericks during their Women’s Singles match at the IPTL with a workmanlike 1-0 win at Hertha Berlin on challenge for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match. — AP (International Premier League) yesterday. — AP Saturday to recover from their midweek defeat at Both Schalke and Bayer Leverkusen roared midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta slotted home on 54 Manchester City. Arjen Robben’s first-half goal in back from midweek Champions League defeats minutes before Huntelaar completed his hat-trick. Serena gives IPTL a boost Germany’s capital was enough to give Bayern by claiming heavy wins to go sixth and third Bayer Leverkusen put their Champions League their 10th league win of the season in 13 games. respectively. Schalke responded to their 5-0 defeat at home to Monaco behind them with a 5-1 MANILA: Serena Williams emerged from a to get some match play,” she said. “You After suffering their first defeat of the season at Champions League thrashing by Chelsea with a 4- comeback win at the BayArena against Cologne in month-long lay-off yesterday to beat have to just go the second you land (even Manchester in the Champions League on 1 hammering of Mainz at home with Dutch striker the Rhine derby as both Josip Drmic and Karim Kirsten Flipkens at the debut tournament though) you have this jet-lag.” Tuesday, their first loss in 23 games, the defend- Klaas-Jan Huntelaar claiming a hat-trick. Bellarabi scored twice. Hakan Calhanoglu added of the International Premier Tennis League, The team-oriented IPTL format, which ing champions preserved their unbeaten Netherlands international Huntelaar fired his team’s other goal. Hoffenheim went seventh in a fast-paced, television-friendly new ver- has attracted many of the world’s top play- Bundesliga record with a no-frills performance. Schalke into a 2-0 lead after just 25 minutes with the table after their seven-goal thriller, a 4-3 win sion of the sport. ers, features ties consisting of five one-set With six months left of the season, Bayern’s two superb goals before Japan striker Shinji over Hanover 96, who drop to eighth, as Niklas The American world number one broke matches. Williams will also play in the march to their third straight Bundesliga title looks Okazaki pulled one back for the visitors. Suele headed what proved to be the home side’s Flipkens on her first service game and then Singapore leg of the IPTL tour from virtually unstoppable once again. But Schalke made sure of the three points when winner. — AFP went on to systematically attack the December 2 before starting her training for Belgian’s second and triumph 6-3. “It the regular 2015 women’s tour. was fun. She played really well and she For world number six Murray, the mixed made it really entertaining for the crowd doubles win was his first in the IPTL tourna- and I was happy to be there. The crowd was ment. He later went on to beat Williams’ pumped. I was pumped,” Williams told Singapore Slammers teammate Nick reporters. Kyrgios 6-5, after a five-minute shootout to Williams and , playing for break a 5-5 tie. the Singapore Slammers team, earlier lost “It was nice to finish the weekend with their mixed doubles match against Flipkens two wins today,” Murray told reporters. He and of the Manila Mavericks had lost to world number nine Marin Cilic team 1-6. But the powerful American got of the UAE Royals team Friday and Gael into her rhythm as the evening wore on. Monfils of the team on Williams, who last played at the WTA Saturday, while his mixed doubles partner- Finals in Singapore, winning the tourna- ship with also brought ment on October 26, admitted she was two consecutive losses. After Singapore the rusty at first following the break. IPTL tour moves to New before con- “Yes, it was a factor initially, but it’s good cluding the year in Dubai. — AFP Hanyu defied crash warning, says coach

OSAKA: Olympic and world figure skating “I told him ‘you’re Olympic champion, champion Yuzuru Hanyu ignored pleas not you don’t need to be a hero, you have to to compete after suffering head injuries in think about your health’ and he said: ‘I’m a sickening collision during warm-up for a fine, I want to skate, let’s go.’” competition in China, his coach told AFP. Hanyu suffered cranial bruising and CRANIAL BRUISING needed stitches in his jaw as well as staples After being diagnosed with cranial in his head after smashing into China’s Yan bruising, Hanyu’s participation in Osaka Han in Shanghai three weeks ago. He had been plunged into doubt, but again arrived back in Japan in a wheelchair, trig- the skater defied his coach’s wishes. gering a backlash from media and former “I suggested a Plan A and a Plan B for this athletes for letting the 19-year-old heart- competition,” said Orser, himself a former throb skate on after such a brutal wipe-out. world champion and two-times Olympic sil- But coach Brian Orser said the Japanese ver medallist. “My Plan A was to just not do superstar had insisted on continuing in the it. Plan B was if you are going to do it, then Cup of China competition despite his we have to scale the programmes down a injuries after medical staff had ruled out bit to make them a little easier. “There was concussion. Orser also said he tried in vain no fear of him hurting himself anymore. to persuade Hanyu to skip the NHK Trophy Perhaps he just needed to have the little car- MANILA: Indian Aces Gael Monfils (center) leads other teammates (from second left) , , nda Ana in Osaka at the weekend. rot of the NHK Trophy to get him going, to Ivanovic after defeating UAE Royals at the Philippine leg of the IPTL (International Premier Tennis League) yesterday. — AP “It was his own decision,” the Canadian get him back into the picture.” Hanyu, who said after Hanyu finished fourth in Osaka to admitted it was a “near miracle” he had sur- qualify for the Grand Prix Final. “I don’t vived his accident in China, fell twice during Monfils confident for 2015 think the option of not doing it was even his short programme and once again in part of his vocabulary. Once he makes that Saturday’s free skate, crash-landing on an decision, I go with it and we have to go full attempted quadruple jump. “You need to MANILA: Gael Monfils said yesterday he was wins and a 5-5 tie is broken by a five-minute the moves. “I play tennis, soccer, basketball steam ahead.” have the training behind you,” said Orser. confident of playing strongly in the tour next shootout. Players must serve within 20 sec- and dance hip-hop, so you know...” he added. “I would never have let him go out and “We missed 10 days because of the accident year after beating at the Davis onds or lose the , while receiving players “We had fun out there.” Monfils, a former jun- skate if I thought there was any major risk in Shanghai-but even prior to that, other Cup and winning three times at a fast-paced can call one “happiness power point” per set ior world number one, said he savoured his to his health,” said Orser, who guided South issues kept him off the ice. It’s funny, in an tennis tournament in the . Monfils that counts as double. win over Federer, though it failed to Korean ice queen Kim Yuna to Olympic Olympic season some the small ailments defeated world number two Federer, despite Monfils won the crowd’s support with hip- prevent the Swiss champion eventually win- gold in 2010 before seeing Hanyu sweep to don’t hold you back but this year they did. France eventually losing its Davis Cup title bid hop dances to celebrate winning points, bas- ning the tie, 3-1. “I was very happy to get the victory in Sochi earlier this year. “It’s all part of the learning curve. It’s incredi- against Switzerland last week. ketball-style, no-look drop shots, and goal- point to bring back the team to the competi- “We analysed whether he had concus- ble, his rocket to stardom in Japan and The Frenchman then rushed to Manila to keeper-worthy dives to retrieve seemingly tion, but you know... there’s not much to say,” sion or not and it turned out he did not. It being Olympic champion. It’s a big responsi- beat world number six Andy Murray and lost causes. “I think it’s genetic,” Monfils, the he added. was just a bad crash. He was very deter- bility and he takes it seriously. It’s a lot for a Australian Lleyton Hewitt at the inaugural son of a former football player from However, he said it was “a bit too far” to be mined and to not skate was not an option. young man. He’s only 19.” — AFP International Premier Tennis League tourna- Guadeloupe and a nurse from Martinique, thinking about meeting Federer in the final of ment. “I expect that I can play good matches told reporters when asked where he learned a tournament next year. —AFP like these. I have good wins and so I expect that would give me more motivation to be ready for 2015,” he told reporters as the Epiphaneia bolts to Japan Cup Manila leg of the IPTL tour ended yesterday. “Even with the jet lag here I am still strong TOKYO: Epiphaneia stormed to a shock victo- before the start. I was told to aim for sixth or and I can feel that I can play tough. I can tell, ry in the Japan Cup yesterday, stunning a seventh but didn’t see how I could even and you can see, I’ll be tough to beat in 2015.” quality field in front of a crowd of more than achieve that. With all the people screaming in The crowd favorite Monfils, the world num- 100,000 in Tokyo. the crowd before the race I nearly fell off. “I ber 18, clowned his way to dispatching Hewitt The four-year-old colt, ridden by Belgian also had trouble slowing him down in the and on Friday and Murray on Saturday in one- Christophe Soumillon, finished four lengths turns,” added Soumillon, who crossed the line set matches at the IPTL event in Manila. clear of Just A Way, rated as one of the world’s first in the 2010 Japan Cup on Buena Vista, World number nine Marin Cilic retired best racehorses, with Emperor’s Prize winner only to be demoted to second after a stew- Sunday while trailing Monfils 1-2, and the 28- Spielberg third a nose further back. Favorite ards’ inquiry for careless riding. “But he start- year-old Frenchman completed the job Gentildonna trailed home in fourth in a failed ed to lengthen his strides in the home against substitute , 6-3. bid for a hat-trick of victories in Japan’s richest straight. I was amazed. It’s one of the greatest race, worth $2.1 million. performances of my career.” “I love this format,” Monfils said of the “I wasn’t confident,” Soumillon told Epiphaneia’s remarkable triumph gave team-oriented event, which he said evoked reporters after covering the 2,400-metre race trainer Katsuhiko Sumii a first Japan Cup title the atmosphere of a Davis Cup tie. JAPAN: Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan performs during the men’s short program of the NHK in a winning time of two minutes, 23.1 sec- since famed filly Vodka caused a stir by win- IPTL ties consist of five one-set matches onds. “The horse was sweating and nervous ning the prestigious race in 2009. — AFP Trophy figure skating in Osaka in this file photo. — AP with no advantages.The first to six games

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