Hamilton on Badu dents pole for Spanish Verona’s Europa Grand Prix League hopes SUNDAY, MAY 11, 2014 17 19 ‘Calm’ Man City ready to seize title destiny Page 18 GERMANY: Munich’s players celebrate with the trophy after winning the German Soccer Championships defeating VfB Stuttgart in the season’s last match in the Allianz Arena in Munich. —AP Bayern celebrate title with win BERLIN: Bayern Munich celebrated their 24th the Bundesliga’s 51-year history will play the In stark contrast, the Hamburg of 2013/2014 Bundesliga title, which they secured on March team which finishes third in the second division are already on their third coach after Mirko German League results/standings 25, with a closing win yesterday while in a two-legged play-off. Slomka took over in February. Bayern Munich 1 (Pizarro 90+2) VfB Stuttgart 0; Schalke 04 4 (Matip 6, Neustadter 45, Draxler 75, Hamburg’s hopes of remaining in the Bundesliga Hamburg, crowned European champions 31 In a reflection of the instability, Thorsten Fink Chinedu Obasi Ogbuke 90+2) Nuremberg 1 (Drmic 90+1); Bayer Leverkusen 2 (Toprak 33, Son 53) now hinge on the play-offs. Bayern rounded off years ago, assured their place in the play-offs had only lasted until September while Bert van Werder Bremen 1 (Gebre Selassie 21); Hanover 96 3 (Huszti 45, Rudnevs 65, Prib 80) Freiburg 2 (Schmid their Bundesliga campaign with a 1-0 win over despite a 3-2 loss at Mainz 05. They finished the Marwijk, the former Dutch national team coach, 50, Zulechner 78); VfL Wolfsburg 3 (De Bruyne 30, Perisic 68, Knoche 81) Borussia Moenchengladbach 1 Stuttgart, their 29th victory of the season com- regular season on 27 points and had Schalke 04 was axed after the winter break. (Kramer 64); Hoffenheim 3 (Rudy 15, Firmino 64, Volland 70) Eintracht Braunschweig 1 (Hochscheidt 88); Mainz 05 3 (Soto 7, Malli 65, Okazaki 82) Hamburg 2 (Lasogga 12, Ilicevic 84); FC Augsburg 2 ing courtesy of an injury time goal from Claudio and Hoffenheim to thank for keeping their At the top of the table meanwhile Bayern (Klavan 29, Hahn 79) Eintr. Frankfurt 1 (Joselu 15); Hertha Berlin 0 Dortmund 4 (Lewandowski 41, 80, Pizarro. Bundesliga future alive. were joined as automatic qualifiers for next sea- Jojic 44, Mkhitaryan 82). Pep Guardiola’s titleholders, knocked out of Schalke dished out a 4-1 beating to son’s Champions League by runners-up Borussia the Champions League semi-finals by Real Nuremberg and Hoffenheim saw off basement Dortmund (4-0 winners over Hertha Berlin) and German league table after yesterday’s final round of matches ahead of the play-offs (played, won, Madrid, will now focus on next Saturday’s club Eintracht Braunschweig 3-1, to ensure it was Schalke 04. And Bayer Leverkusen beat Werder drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): German Cup final against Borussia Dortmund. Nuremberg and Eintracht that were relegated. Bremen 2-1 to ensure a fourth place finish and a Bayern Munich 34 29 3 2 94 23 90 Freiburg 34 9 9 16 43 61 36 - champions Stuttgart 34 8 8 18 49 62 32 “For the Catalan that I am, the first time is They finished with 26 and 25 points respec- Champions League play-off spot. Dortmund 34 22 5 7 80 38 71 Hamburg 34 7 6 21 51 75 27 special,” said Guardiola. “After such a successful tively. Hamburg’s plight is all a far cry from their Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski con- Schalke 34 19 7 8 63 43 64 Nuremberg 34 5 1118 37 70 26 last season (when Bayern won the league, glory days when Felix Magath, now the manager tributed a brace in the defeat of Hertha to take Bayer 34 19 4 11 60 41 61 - relegated Champions League and German Cup) it’s very of relegated English Premier League side his tally for the season to 20 goals and earn him Wolfsburg 34 18 6 10 63 50 60 Braunschweig 34 6 7 21 29 60 25 good,” he added. Fulham, grabbed the only goal in the German the Bundesliga’s top-scorer of the season hon- Moenchengladbach 34 16 7 11 59 43 55 - relegated Mainz 34 16 5 13 52 54 53 Note: Top three qualify directly for the “If we play with the same passion as we side’s 1-0 final win over Juventus to lift the ours. Augsburg 34 15 7 12 47 47 52 Champions League, fourth goes into the play- showed in the second half we can get past European Cup in 1983. That was a side coached “I’m thrilled to win this trophy, especially on Hoffenheim 34 11 1112 72 70 44 offs, fifth, sixth and seventh into Europa League. Dortmund.” While Bayern focus on the Cup final by legendary Austrian Ernst Happel, the man the last day with a 4-0 win,” he said. Bayern’s Hanover 34 12 6 16 46 59 42 The bottom two sides are relegated and the Hamburg face a nervy play-off before their who led the Dutch to the 1978 World Cup final in Croatian international Mario Mandzukic came in Hertha Berlin 34 11 8 15 40 48 41 team finishing 16th has a two-legged play-off record-breaking Bundesliga status is assured. Argentina and who won league titles in four dif- second with 18 goals with Nuremberg’s Josip Werder Bremen 34 10 9 15 42 66 39 against the side which finishes third in the sec- The only side never to have been relegated in ferent countries. Drmic one goal back in third. — AFP Eintracht 34 9 9 16 40 57 36 ond division. Sharapova ousts Nadal cruises into final MADRID: Rafa Nadal continued his serene Majorcan, who was also champion in Radwanska progress in pursuit of consecutive Madrid Madrid in 2010 and in 2005 when it was an Open crowns when he swept past Spanish indoor hard court event. “This is great MADRID: Maria Sharapova recovered from a second-set wobble to compatriot Roberto Bautista 6-4 6-3 yester- news in order to go out and play tomor- dispatch third seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1 6-4 yesterday and set day to reach the final. row’s match but also for what may come in up a Madrid Open final clash against rising talent Simona Halep. The world number one, chasing a 63rd the future.” Sharapova, a former world number one now ranked ninth who has career title and a 44th on clay, has not been had a poor year by her high standards, has shown glimpses of her on top form on his favoured surface this OPENING BREAK dominant best on the clay in the Spanish capital this week with the year, losing in the quarter-finals in Monte Nadal broke Bautista’s serve in the open- French Open starting in Paris later this month. Carlo and Barcelona. ing game at the Magic Box arena but his Pole Radwanska, the world number three, struggled to cope with However, he has shown glimpses of his gutsy compatriot fought back to level at 3-3 the Russian’s powerful ground strokes as Sharapova, runner-up to dominant best in front of adoring fans in before immediately losing his serve again. Serena Williams in Madrid last year, took a step closer to a 31st career the Spanish capital, where he is yet to drop Bautista looked to have crumbled in the title. After comfortably winning the opening set and racing into a 3-0 a set, as he warms up for a tilt at a record- face of a barrage of fierce Nadal drives in lead in the second, Sharapova had to deal with a spirited Radwanska extending ninth French Open title starting the second set but raised his game to break fightback when she won four games in a row before prevailing to at Roland Garros in Paris at the end of the for 4-2. secure a meeting with Halep, the fourth seed. month. Nadal, who will be contesting his 90th The 22-year-old Romanian fought back from a set down to oust Nadal’s semi-final victory against the career final on Sunday, broke serve for a fifth-seeded Czech Petra Kvitova 6-7(4) 6-3 6-2. Sharapova’s chances unheralded Bautista ended the world num- fifth time in the ninth game and sealed vic- of going one better than 2013 were boosted when Williams, the ber 45’s best run at a Masters event and set tory on his first match point with a rasping Madrid champion the past two years, withdrew on Friday with a up a clash today with either another forehand down the line. thigh injury. Spaniard, fifth seed David Ferrer, who beat Bautista will break into the top 30 for the “I’ve done a really good job of transitioning from the hard to the him in the Monte Carlo quarter-finals, or first time thanks to his performance in clay and really improving physically and recovering well from match Japanese 10th seed Kei Nishikori. Madrid. He upset Argentine Juan Martin del to match,” Sharapova told a news conference. Nadal said his performance was further Potro at this year’s Australian Open and “I really challenge myself to improve on clay courts because that confirmation of his improving form after claimed a second top-10 scalp of the sea- was never my favorite surface in the beginning of my career,” added Friday’s fine win against sixth-ranked Czech son when he beat Berdych in the second the 27-year-old, French Open champion in 2012.