MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 2015 SPORTS Dollar protest fails to spoil America win

MEXICO CITY: Coach was Pizzi, pulled level before halftime with an showered with fake dollar bills bearing his own goal by America Moises picture in the middle by angry fans of for- Velasco and a header from Argentine strik- mer club Leon over his defection to cham- er Mauro Boselli. pions America. Colombian Darwin Quintero, one of Matosas shrugged off the protests at the America’s new signings for the Clausura, Azteca on Saturday as his new side scored scored the winning goal in the 66th two goals in the opening seven minutes minute. Another newcomer to the Liga MX, through striker Oribe Peralta and Paraguay captain Roque Santa Cruz, went on to win 3-2. enjoyed a winning start for his new club “Everyone knows what Leon means to Cruz Azul, who won 1-0 at Pachuca with a me in my life (but) today I’m at America and goal from Ecuador’s Joao Rojas. Pachuca’s I enjoyed the victory because that’s what Hidalgo pitch looked as if it was covered in coaches live off,” Matosas told reporters snow an hour and a half before kickoff after after the win on the opening weekend of a sudden hailstorm but the match went the Clausura championship. ahead as scheduled after the field was “We all like to win although Leon has a cleared. place in my heart for all the good things we Guadalajara, Mexico’s biggest club and experienced,” added the Uruguayan, who arch-rivals of America, made a disappoint- replaced Antonio Mohamed at America as ing start to their efforts to avoid relegation soon as the Argentine had secured the title with a 2-1 defeat at Chiapas. last month. Matosas steered Leon to pro- The Chivas are one from bottom of the motion in 2012 and both the Apertura and relegation standings which are based on Clausura championships in the 2013/14 teams’ average points over three seasons. season. Leon, now under former San The team in bottom place at the end of the Lorenzo and Valencia coach Juan Antonio Clausura goes down. — Reuters Wawrinka clinches Chennai Open

CHENNAI: An aggressive Stanislas going on to seal the first set. Wawrinka won his third Chennai Open In the second set, Wawrinka convert- title on Sunday beating qualifier Aljaz ed a second break point to forge 4-3 Bedene in the final for a perfect buildup ahead and eventually clinched title with- to his Australian Open title defence later out losing a set in the tournament which this month. The world number four, win- bodes well for his Australian Open cam- ner in 2011 and last year, hardly broke paign. “It would be a strange feeling to sweat against his Slovenian opponent for come back as the defending champion in a 6-3 6-4 victory. a grand slam,” he said the of the year’s : AS Roma forward vies with Lazio’s defender from Romania Stefan Radu during the Italian football match. —AFP “It’s just amazing to win it again, to first major starting on Jan. 19. start the year with a trophy,” the 29-year- “First I’m going to enjoy a little bit old Swiss, in his seventh straight year in (winning) this trophy. It’s not every week the south Indian city, said in a courtside that you win a trophy.” Bedene was the Totti saves Roma blushes interview. In a match between oppo- first qualifier in the 20-year history of the nents who had split their previous two tournament to reach the final, winning encounters, Wawrinka drew first blood in seven matches en route to his maiden MILAN: A second-half brace by captain second just after the hour mark. Sport. Sampdoria remained in the hunt for a the sixth game, breaking Bedene before ATP Tour final. — Reuters Francesco Totti saved Roma’s blushes in a 2-2 It was Totti’s 239th goal in Serie A, taking the Champions League place thanks to Eder’s 49th draw with city rivals Lazio that pulled them level 38-year-old to within 35 of Silvio Piola’s all-time minute strike in a 1-0 home win over Empoli. with Juventus at the top of Italy’s Serie A yester- record of 274. Totti, who is in his 22nd season Sinisa Mihajlovic’s men ended a three-game day. Roma started the 141st derby only one point with the club, celebrated by taking a telephone winless run to sit fourth, 10 points behind Juve behind Juventus, who can pull three points clear from one of the Roma coaching staff and taking a and only one behind Lazio in the third and last with a win away to high-flying Napoli in Sunday’s ‘selfie’ picture of himself before returning to the Champions League qualifying spot. late game. pitch. Totti’s 11th goal in the city derby was also a “We’ve got 30 points already and we’re one But it took a second-half double from veteran record, and he told Sky Sport: “I had the idea dur- match away from the halfway stage of the sea- Totti to secure a share of the spoils ing the week. After scoring my 11th goal it was son, so we have to be satisfied,” Mihajlovic told after Stefano Mauri and Felipe Anderson had giv- an unforgettable moment.” Radio Rai. “We’re fourth in the table but we con- en Lazio a 2-0 first-half lead. Elsewhere, Fiorentina moved into the top six tinue to take it one match at a time.” gave “I said it before the game, Totti is a genius. This after dominating Palermo in a seven-goal thriller their bid to beat the drop a boost with a precious was his kind of game,” Roma coach Rudi Garcia in Florence. The hosts were given a 2-0 lead by 2-1 win over basement side Cesena. told Sky Sport. “We came back from two goals Manuel Pasqual and Jose Maria Basanta, only for Atalanta and Chievo played out a dull 1-1 down, and this is never easy to do. It’s like being Palermo to pull level in the space of two second- draw in Bergamo, while Parma’s relegation woes at the circus, you’re playing without the safety half minutes when Robin Quaison hit a brace on were compounded by a 3-1 defeat away to net.” Lazio coach Stefano Pioli was quick to con- the hour. Three minutes later Juan Cuadrado put Verona with veteran striker hitting his gratulate his players, telling Sky: “The lads had a Fiorentina in front and although Joaquin’s 74th sixth goal of the campaign for the hosts. great game. For the past two years Roma have minute strike appeared to put the match beyond Earlier, former Manchester United defender been targeting much bigger goals than we have. reach, Palermo kept the hosts on their toes when Nemanja Vidic’s first goal for secured “The important thing is we went out there to Andrea Belotti reduced arrears from the spot a 3-1 win over Genoa in their Serie A clash on win. We still have to improve on certain aspects. nine minutes from time. Sunday as on-loan Arsenal forward Lukas If you look at both of Roma’s goals, we had “In the dying minutes we were afraid of them Podolski made his first start for the hosts. Inter greater numbers in defence.” pulling level, but the lads held firm and showed are now 15 points behind champions and lead- Totti reduced arrears with a fine angled strike that on the day we were the superior side,” ers Juventus, but just six behind third-placed three minutes after the restart and claimed his Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Montella told Rai Lazio. — AFP Saudi Al-Rajhi claims debut Dakar stage win

IQUIQUE: Saudi Arabia’s Dakar Rally rookie up being claimed by one of the Minis. drivers crown. Today is the final rest day for the Yazeed Al-Rajhi claimed a maiden stage win in Sunday’s 808 kilometre run, with 784km car drivers ahead of Saturday’s finish in Buenos the spectacular sand dune finish in Iquique yes- timed, took Al-Rajhi and the rest of the car com- Aires. terday to break Mini’s stranglehold on this year’s petitors from Bolivia’s salt flats in Uyuni to the After Saturday’s day off for motorcyclists the race. As the Toyota driver celebrated his land- vertiginous dunes of the Chilean Pacific coastal 717km (321km timed) seventh stage which took mark day on the world’s toughest rally, his Qatari city of Iquique. the two-wheeled competitors from Iquique to rival Nasser Al-Attiyah did enough in his Mini in He covered the route in three hours, 26 min- Uyuni was won by Honda’s Paulo Goncalves. third to consolidate his position at the top of the utes and 49 seconds, with Saturday’s stage win- The Portuguese rider is placed third in the driver standings. ner Orlando Terranova in second in his Mini, over overall motorbike standings, 11minutes behind The 2011 Dakar winner even gained a few one minute behind. his Spanish teammate Joan Barreda, with this seconds on his closest pursuer, South Africa’s Al-Attiyah, a further two-and-a-half minutes pair separated by KTM’s defending champion Giniel de Villiers (Toyota), who finished fourth. back in third, has an almost eight-and-a-half Marc Coma. Coma, a four time winner, is six min- BRISBANE: Roger Federer of Switzerland holds the winner’s trophy and pose for pho- Up to this win for Toyota, each stage had ended minute lead over de Villiers in the race for the utes adrift. — AFP tos after he won the men’s final match against Milos Raonic of Canada during the Brisbane International tennis tournament. — AP Federer claims 1,000th career win in Brisbane

BRISBANE: Roger Federer beat Milos stone for Roger,” he said. “When we came Raonic in an enthralling final at the out and they listed all the things you’ve Brisbane International yesterday to register won, I thought you must have been playing his 1,000th ATP career win and complete for 2,000 wins.” the perfect build up to this month’s Raonic was unable to dictate terms Australian Open. against the vastly more experienced Federer survived the inevitable serving Federer once he adapted to his booming blitz from the towering Canadian to win serve but pushed his opponent all the way the two hour 13 minute slugfest 6-4 6-7(2) in a high-quality match where the pair hit a 6-4 and join Jimmy Connors (1,253) and combined total of 92 clean winners. Ivan Lendl (1,071) as the only men to reach Raonic had blasted 34 aces past Kei the magical milestone. Nishikori in his semi-final but managed The Swiss master, as fiercely competitive only 12 against Federer, who replied with as ever at the age of 33 even if he doesn’t 20 of his own, including one where Raonic move quite as quickly as he once did, also misjudged the bounce and took an embar- chalked up his 83rd career title and has rassing air swing. Federer, returning the ball now won at least one tournament every deep and mixing up his shots, broke year since 2001, an unbroken streak span- Raonic’s serve once in each set as the ning 15 seasons. capacity crowd at the Pat Rafter Arena Federer was presented with the tourna- roared in admiration. The world number ment trophy by Roy Emerson, a 12-time two broke in the third game of the match grand slam winner, and also received a spe- when Raonic dumped a backhand into the cial framed photo marking his 1,000th win net then broke him again in the opening from Rod Laver, the only tennis player to game of the second set. win all four majors in the same year on two But Raonic showed that he has more to separate occasions. his game than just his big serve when he “It’s a special moment, no doubt about quickly broke back and forced a tiebreaker, that,” Federer said at the post-match pres- his sixth of the tournament. entation. “I’ve played a lot of tennis over Federer won the first two points of the the years...so to get to 1,000 wins means a tiebreaker but Raonic reeled off the next lot to me and I will never forget this match.” seven on the trot to square the match at Raonic, one of the emerging stars of men’s one set apiece. The standard of play rose tennis since making the semi-finals at along with the tension in the deciding set Wimbledon last year was gracious in defeat before Raonic blinked first, double fault- and also paid tribute to Federer, saying he ing to give Federer match point then hit- was in awe of his achievements. ting a forehand into the net to concede BOLIVIA: Toyota’s driver Maik Willems and co-driver Rob Van Pelt, of Netherlands, compete during the Stage 8 of the Dakar 2015 between “We all know today is a significant mile- defeat. — Reuters Uyuni, in Bolivia. — AFP