SPORT Page 7 RALLYING Al-Attiyah Wins Third Leg to Inch Closer Towards Andalucia Title
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MMOTOGPOTOGP | Page 2 CCYCLINGYCLING | Page 6 Quartararo Frenchman shrugs off Lafay wins Giro surgery to take stage as Ewan French pole abandons race Sunday, May 16, 2021 FOOTBALL Shawwal 4, 1442 AH Tielemans stunner GULF TIMES clinches maiden FA Cup for Leicester SPORT Page 7 RALLYING Al-Attiyah wins third leg to inch closer towards Andalucia title By Sports Reporter third in Mini Cooper behind Saudi’s 4. Mattias Ekström / Emil Bergkvist; Mini Doha Yazeed al-Rajhi and his German co- John Cooper Works Buggy; +7.02 driver Dirk Von Zitzewitz, who were 5. Erik van Loon / Sebastien Delaunay; behind the wheel of Toyota Hilux. Toyota Hilux; +10.09 atar’s rally ace Nasser Saleh Meanwhile, Nasser’s brother Kha- 6. Guillaume de Mevius / Tom Colsoul; al-Attiyah edged closer to lifa al-Attiyah (South Racing) was on OT3; +12.47 defending his title at the An- course to winning the T4 category. Al- 7. Paulo Ferreira / Jorge Monteiro; dalucia Rally in Spain after he Attiyah and co-driver Xavier Panseri, Toyota Hilux; +13.45 Qwon the third and penultimate leg yes- who had won the fi rst and second leg, 8. Mitchell Guthrie / Ola Floene; OT3; terday. fi nished third yesterday in their Can +14.42 Al-Attiyah and his French co-driv- Am Maverick XRS. 9. Denis Krotow / Konstantin Zilcow; er Matthieu Baumel in Toyota Hilux Mini John Cooper Works Rally; +16.02 emerged fastest in the 283km route in STAGE 4 RESULTS 10. Laia Sanz / Daniel Oliveras; Mini All4 3:12.38 seconds. 1. Nasser al-Attiyah / Mathieu Baumel; Racing; +17.00 Going into today’s 284km fi nal leg, Toyota Hilux; Time: 3:12.38 seconds al-Attiyah and Baumel hold a 4.43-sec- 2. Yazeed al-Rajhi / Dirk von Zitzewitz; Qatar’s Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah and his ond lead over local pair Carlos Sainz Toyota Hilux; +1.48 French co-driver Matthieu Baumel in and Lucas Cruz. 3. Carlos Sainz / Lucas Cruz; Mini John action at the Andalucia Rally in Spain Yesterday, Sainz and Cruz fi nished Cooper Works Rally; +3.17 yesterday. TENNIS Djokovic outlasts Sonego to set up Rome fi nal with Nadal Top seed Djokovic is stretched to three sets by local hope Sonego; Spaniard picks up straights sets win over Opelka Agencies Rome, Italy Double-time Swiatek to face former efending champion No- champion Pliskova in Rome fi nal vak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will clash for the AFP Italian Open title after Rome, Italy Dthe top two seeds advanced to the fi nal of the Masters tournament yesterday. rench Open champion Iga Djokovic, who beat Greek Ste- Swiatek warned she was fanos Tsitsipas 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 in a F“ready for anyone” as she rain-delayed quarter-fi nal earlier takes on former winner Karolina in the day, was also stretched to Pliskova in the Italian Open final three sets in the semi-fi nal be- today. fore overcoming local favourite Ex-world number one Pliskova Lorenzo Sonego. saw off Croatia’s Petra Martic Sonego, the fi rst Italian to 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 to return to the make the semi-fi nals in Rome final of a tournament she won in 14 years after he beat world in 2019 and finished runner-up number seven Andrey Rublev last year. earlier yesterday, had his dream Ninth seed Pliskova is the only run ended by Djokovic who tri- top 10 player remaining but umphed 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2. faces a battle with 19-year-old Poland’s Iga Swiatek in action during her Italian Open quarter-final Djokovic failed to convert two Swiatek, who continued her against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina (not pictured) in Rome, Italy, earlier match points in the second set Roland Garros warm-up with yesterday. Swiatek then beat Coco Gauff of the US in semi-final later that lasted 91 minutes as Sonego back-to-back wins yesterday. in the day. (Reuters) forced a tiebreak, where the Serb Swiatek first ousted fifth seed lost a 4-2 lead. Elina Svitolina, a two-time Rome However, the world number Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates a point during the Italian Open semi-final against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego winner, 6-2, 7-5 in 1hr 36min in one controlled proceedings in (not pictured) at Foro Italico in Rome, Italy, yesterday. (AFP) their quarter-final match which the decider and advanced after had been pushed back from Sonego’s return on match point a break down in the deciding set. Friday because of rain. found the net. Djokovic has a 29-27 career She then saw off 17-year-old Earlier, Nadal beat Reilly Opel- record against Nadal but the American Coco Gauff 7-6 (3), 6-3 ka 6-4, 6-4 to move into the fi nal Spaniard has won fi ve of their in the semi-finals in 1hr 45min. in Rome for the 12th time. eight matches in Rome. “I knew it was going to be The match was Nadal’s 500th Two weeks before Roland Gar- tough,” said the 15th-seed of her on clay where he has a formidable ros, Nadal had a tough run to the marathon day. 458-42 record and the Spaniard semi-fi nals, saving two match “I played with no expectations. I advanced after twice breaking points in a 3hr 30min third round was taking it step by step. the big-serving American. battle with Canadian Denis “Beating Elina shows that my “When you play these kind of Shapovalov. But the 34-year-old game is here, I’m ready for matches, you know it’s not going was rarely troubled by the tower- anyone. It gave me really a to be a beautiful match... you’re ing American, who was playing confidence boost. not going to fi nd rhythm in the his fi rst Masters semi-fi nal. “If my game is going to be there Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova returns a shot to Croatia’s Petra match. You’re going to have just a Nadal blasted down 11 aces tomorrow, I can do anything.” Martic (not pictured) during their semi-final yesterday. (AFP) few chances to break,” Nadal told and did not drop serve against a Swiatek is looking for just her reporters. player who had not dropped a set third WTA title having followed “Somehow I feel relaxed here,” who advanced to the semi-final “It’s important not to suff er all week. her Roland Garros success with the 29-year-old said. after world number one Ash- much with your serve because if A break in either set, Opelka’s a win in Adelaide in January. “I think the conditions, the balls, leigh Barty retired with an arm you are... you feel the stress all the fi rst dropped this week, put the “She’s a champion of Roland the courts, because I had the injury on Friday. time. So the positive thing today, I second seed through to the fi nal. Garros last year. I think it’s not success in the past, I think that “It’s always hard to play against just faced break points in one game Nadal is looking to equal Djoko- going to be easy,” said Pliskova, comes together with that feel- the young superstar, especially during the whole match.” Spain’s Rafael Nadal hits a forehand return to Reilly Opelka (not vic’s record of 36 ATP Masters looking for her 17th career title. ing which I have on the court. when I’m not used to that be- “It’s important for my confi - pictured) of the US during their Italian Open semi-final in Rome, Italy, 1000 titles today. The Czech feels at ease in “Yesterday coming back from cause I was always the young- dence to be back in a fi nal. I did yesterday. (Reuters) He is also attempting to win the Italian capital and saved match point, I think you need est one,” said the Polish player. what I had to do today, it was 10 or more titles at a single event three match points in Friday’s that sometimes.” “Even though it was tiebreak in not an easy or beautiful match Carlo and Madrid. fi nal was halted by rain but the for the fourth time, after Roland quarter-final win over Jelena Swiatek always had the upper the first set, I was mentally lead- to play. The work is done,” added Djokovic was trailing Tsitsipas Serb raised his game at key mo- Garros (13), Barcelona (12) and Ostapenko. hand against 35th-ranked Gauff , ing that match.” Nadal, who exited early in Monte 6-4, 2-1 when Friday’s quarter- ments to twice come back from Monte Carlo (11). Gulf Times 2 Sunday, May 16, 2021 SPORT HORSE RACING Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes confi rms Palace Pier as the top older miler Agencies Newbury, England Joud Al Cham leads home an Al Shaqab Racing 1-2 Agencies his fourth racecourse appear- he Al Shaqab Lock- Toulouse, France ance here, and notched his inge Stakes, a mile-long third win. He won on debut in Group 1 race sponsored the November of his three- by Al Shaqab Racing, he Prix Baroud II, a condi- year-old year, before winning Twas held yesterday at Newbury tions race for Purebred on his seasonal bow at four the racecourse and Palace Pier, the TArabians aged four and following May. He then lined up favourite, bagged the victory. over, saw a 1-2 for the colours in the Group 1 PA Qatar Derby The race, which is open to of Al Shaqab Racing when Joud des Pur-Sang Arabes de 4 ans horses aged four years or older, Al Cham led home Mounjared at Chantilly that July but was was established in 1958 and was Al Cham in Toulouse, France, clearly not in form that day, fin- raised to Group 1 status in 1995.