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Sunday, January 15, 2017 CRICKET Rabia II, 17, 1438 AH Sublime South Africa GULF TIMES smash Sri Lanka to sweep Test series SPORT Page 5

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE Alonso double lift s Chelsea as Spurs climb to second Diego Costa, Chelsea’s top scorer, missed the match after reportedly rowing with coaching staff about his fitness

AFP RESULTS AND London STANDINGS Burnley ...... 1 Southampton ...... 0 arcos Alonso proved an Hull ...... 3 Bournemouth ...... 1 unexpected replacement Leicester ...... 0 Chelsea ...... 3 for the absent Diego Cos- Sunderland ...... 1 Stoke ...... 3 ta as Chelsea won 3-0 at Swansea ...... 0 Arsenal ...... 4 MLeicester City yesterday to consolidate Tottenham ...... 4 West Brom ...... 0 their position atop the Premier League Watford ...... 0 Middlesbrough ...... 0 table. West Ham ...... 3 Crystal Palace ...... 0 Costa, Chelsea’s top scorer, was Playing today missing after reportedly rowing with Everton v Manchester City (1330 GMT), coaching staff about his fi tness, but Manchester United v Liverpool (1600 Spanish wing-back Alonso’s double GMT) helped Antonio Conte’s side go seven P W D L F A P points clear. Chelsea 21 17 1 3 45 15 52 Tottenham Hotspur climbed into Tottenham 21 13 6 2 43 14 45 second place after Harry Kane claimed Arsenal 21 13 5 3 48 22 44 a hat-trick in a 4-0 stroll against West Liverpool 20 13 5 2 48 23 44 Bromwich Albion, with Arsenal mov- Man City 20 13 3 4 41 22 42 ing up to third after winning by the Man Utd 20 11 6 3 31 19 39 same scoreline at Swansea City. Everton 20 8 6 6 28 23 30 Chelsea’s 13-game winning run had West Brom 21 8 5 8 28 28 29 been halted by a 2-0 defeat at Spurs on Stoke 21 7 6 8 27 33 27 their previous league outing and prep- Burnley 21 8 2 11 23 31 26 arations for the trip to Leicester were Bournemouth 21 7 4 10 30 37 25 rocked by the Costa controversy. West Ham 21 7 4 10 26 35 25 Speaking before the game, Conte Southampton 21 6 6 9 19 26 24 would only say that Costa, who is re- Watford 21 6 5 10 23 36 23 portedly the subject of an eye-water- Leicester 21 5 6 10 24 34 21 ing off er from China, had been unable Middlesbrough 21 4 8 9 17 22 20 to train due to “pain in his back”. But the Brazil-born Spain interna- Crystal Palace 21 4 4 13 30 40 16 tional’s absence was quickly forgot- Hull 21 4 4 13 20 45 16 ten as Eden Hazard teed up Alonso Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso (C) Sunderland 21 4 3 14 20 40 15 to sweep Chelsea ahead in the sixth celebrates scoring their Swansea 21 4 3 14 23 49 15 minute at the King Power Stadium. second goal with Gary Cahill Alonso struck six minutes into the and Victor Moses. defeat by Stoke City, for whom Marko second half as well, with a defl ected Arnautovic scored twice and Peter shot, before Pedro Rodriguez headed Crouch headed in his 99th Premier in after Willian had been denied by ley put through his own goal as Mau- Jan Vertonghen off midway through Jack Cork and Kyle Naughton early in some go our way.” League goal. Kasper Schmeichel. ricio Pochettino’s side recorded a sixth the second half. Pochettino said the the second half before Alexis Sanchez It was a fi rst home league game to West Ham United brushed off the It was Leicester’s 10th defeat of the successive league win. early signs looked “very bad”. sealed victory with a 73rd-minute vol- forget for Swansea’s new manager Paul absence of want-away star Dimitri campaign and kept the champions in “The fi rst 45 minutes was fantastic. Arsenal moved above Liverpool — ley that took his tally for the campaign Clement, whose team sank to the foot Payet to sink Crystal Palace 3-0, goals 15th place, fi ve points above the relega- It was wonderful football,” said Spurs who visit arch rivals Manchester Unit- to 14 goals. of the standings. by Sofi ane Feghouli and Manuel Lan- tion zone. manager Pochettino. ed on Sunday — on goal diff erence after “We were fortunate with the goals, Marco Silva had a more memorable zini sandwiching a sensational Andy Kane had earlier scored a stylish hat- “I think after Chelsea it was a big a pair of own goals helped them to vic- but the chances were there,” said Ar- league bow as Hull City manager, with Carroll bicycle kick. trick as Tottenham pulled off a classy challenge to keep the momentum and tory at struggling Swansea. senal manager Arsene Wenger, who Abel Hernandez scoring twice and Ty- Combative midfi elder Joey Barton 4-0 demolition of West Brom at an ap- show that we are mature enough to Olivier Giroud broke the deadlock revealed Giroud had sustained an ankle rone Mings putting through his own marked his return to Burnley, after an preciative White Hart Lane. fi ght for big things and today was a in the 37th minute, slamming home injury. own goal as they came from behind to ill-fated stint at Scottish giants Rang- The England striker, who became a very good example of that.” his fi fth goal in fi ve games after Mesut “There are many good teams around beat Bournemouth 3-1. ers, by scoring a 78th-minute free- father for the fi rst time last weekend, The only low point for Spurs was an Ozil’s header hit Alfi e Mawson. us and everyone is doing well. We can Sunderland slipped below Hull to kick to earn his side a 1-0 home win struck three times and Gareth McAu- ankle injury that forced centre-back Alex Iwobi drew own goals from only focus on our results and hope 19th place after a dispiriting 3-1 home over Southampton.

RALLYING ‘Mr Dakar’ Peterhansel storms to 13th title

AFP gruelling two-week car race winning Toyota with Spaniard Nani Roma and Río Cuarto, Argentina (from L to R) Peugeot co-driver eight stages between them with the South Africa’s Giniel de Villiers fi nish- Jean Paul Cottret of France, team former taking three and the later fi ve. ing fourth and fi fth respectively for the manager Bruno Famin and driver Peterhansel fi nished 5min 13sec Japanese manufacturer. rance’s Stéphane Peterhansel Stephane Peterhansel celebrate their ahead of Loeb in the overall stand- Earlier, Sunderland became the fi rst won his 13th Dakar Rally title victory at the end of the Stage 12 of the ings with third-placed Cyril Despres at Briton to win the motorbike section yesterday, saying the latest win Dakar 2017 between Rio Cuarto and 33min 28sec handing Peugeot their fi rst after the heartbreak of being forced to was the sweetest following an Buenos Aires yesterday. podium sweep since 1990, before the retire from two previous editions. The epicF battle with French Peugeot team- French car maker withdrew from the 27-year-old Dubai-based Briton en- mate Sébastien Loeb. race to return in 2015. tered the 2012 and 2014 Dakar rallies The 51-year-old Peterhansel added Despres also won a stage for Peugeot but retired each time with mechanical the 2017 title to his previous six wins on who grabbed control from the second problems. four wheels and his six on two, the fi rst stage leaving rivals Toyota and Mini Sunderland took the race lead after coming in 1991 on the world’s toughest with no chance. the fi fth stage, handing KTM their 16th rally. The race turned into a two-horse win in a row. The 2016 winner, Toby “This victory is particularly sweet battle between Peterhansel and Price of Australia, pulled out of this because the competition was so high,” 42-year-old Loeb, who was competing year’s race during the fourth stage. said Peterhansel. “Battling Sébastien for the second time after fi nishing ninth The gruelling 9,000km rally had and fi nishing just a few minutes ahead, in 2016. “Such a tight Dakar to the fi n- been plagued by torrential rain in Bo- it’s no mean feat.” ish line we haven’t seen in a longtime,” livia with stages six and nine cancelled Sam Sunderland became the fi rst said Peterhansel, who fi rst competed in and a further three shortened, cutting a Briton to win the motorbike section 1988 before winning in 1991. third off the original course. after the heartbreak of being forced to Loeb added: “We gave it everything, This year’s rally started in Paraguay retire from two previous editions. The held nothing back. We had a beautiful and ran through Bolivia before fi nish- KTM rider secured victory after the 12th race. Second this year, we’ll have to do ing in Argentina. The Dakar Rally began and fi nal 64km special from Rio Cuarto better next year.” in 1978 as a gruelling race from Paris and Buenos Aires. Qatari Nasser al-Attiyah — winner across the Sahara to the Senegalese Peterhansel and nine-times world in 2011 and 2015 — was forced out in the capital but switched to South America rally champion Loeb dominated the fourth stage after badly damaging his in 2009 for security reasons. Gulf Times 2 Sunday, January 15, 2017 FOOTBALL

PREMIER LEAGUE FOCUS Spurs are ready Manchester United to challenge for title: Pochettino look to exploit By David Hytner in London season (after 21 games). We are The Guardian showing that we have learnt a lot from last season. We are more mature. Today, we did not even auricio Pochettino concede a corner. The perform- said Tottenham Hot- ance was brilliant, especially in spur were ready to the fi rst 45 minutes. Now, we are Liverpool wobble fi ght for the Premier looking at (next Saturday’s op- MLeague title after Harry Kane’s ponents) Manchester City. That hat-trick inspired a 4-0 rout of is the most important game.” West Bromwich Albion and lifted Kane took his tally for the United are three points off a Champions League place and five below Liverpool his side to second in the Premier league season to 13 in 16 matches League yesterday. – he has two more in the Cham- AFP Pochettino believes that his pions League – to round off a London squad are more mature than momentous week. Last week- they were last season, when they end, he became a father for the pushed for the title only to fall fi rst time. “It’s a diff erent life for ose Mourinho’s resurgent Man- away in the fi nal matches, and Harry now with the baby but he chester United will attempt to reel the Spurs manager felt that the won’t change because he is very in arch rivals Liverpool when Jur- win over West Brom sent out a mature,” Pochettino said. gen Klopp’s faltering side visit Old powerful message. The only downside for Totten- TraffJ ord in today’s Premier League head- Tottenham had beaten Man- ham was the serious ankle liga- line clash. chester City last October only to ment injury that forced off Jan United have won their last nine games stumble thereafter but, following Vertonghen in the second-half. in all competitions — their best run since the victory over Chelsea in their “It looks very bad,” Pochettino an 11-match winning streak in early 2009 previous league game, they did said. “His ankle is badly swol- — while Liverpool are still to win a game not drop their levels. Far from len.” in 2017. Mourinho’s men needed an ultra- it. Pochettino said the hammer- The Belgium internation- defensive performance to secure a 0-0 ing of West Brom was one of the al turned his left ankle as he draw at Anfi eld when the teams last met most complete performances of stretched to keep the ball in play in October, but three months on, his team his tenure. “After (beating) Chel- on the left touchline and was in are now fi ring on all cylinders. sea, it was a big challenge for us tears as hobbled down the tunnel “Because the results are better, that to keep the momentum and show in the 64th minute. A ligament changes a lot of things,” the United man- that we are mature enough to injury aff ecting the same ankle ager said. “You know, at that time I had fi ght for big things – and this was forced Vertonghen out of Euro less time of working together with my a very good example of that,” Po- 2016 last year and Pochettino players. Now I have a little bit more. We chettino said. suggested he could be facing a know each other better, we have a certain “We have more belief now and lengthy lay-off . “We need to wait way of thinking football, we have a cer- we are much better than last sea- to assess him on Sunday or Mon- tain way to play football. We don’t just son. We have nine more points day. He is very disappointed,” the have good performances, we have also the than we had at this stage of last manager added. happiness of the good results.” United’s trip to Anfi eld fell during a troubling sequence that saw them win just twice in 11 league outings. But al- though they have sat in sixth place for over two months, they are now just three points off a Champions League place and fi ve points below fourth-placed Liver- pool. A key factor in their revival has been the improved form of record signing Paul Pogba, who has seemed liberated since Michael Carrick was brought into the team to anchor the midfi eld. The France midfi elder has scored three goals and supplied three assists in his last 10 games and credits Mourinho with giving him the freedom to play his natural game. “He said, ‘You know how to play, do Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp (right) has been lifted by the return to fitness of Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho, who what you want,’” Pogba said. “He let me returned from an ankle problem at Southampton for the League Cup semifinal at St Mary’s Stadium. (Reuters) free on the pitch. He told me just to enjoy myself. That is it. That is all I need to hear game with a muscle strain, is also due Klopp conceded his side were fortunate game with the right kind of movements, from the manager.” to be assessed, but fellow defender Eric not to have lost more heavily at St Mary’s, right kind of defending. They (United) are Wayne Rooney would love to score Bailly is on Africa Cup of Nations duty but he is confi dent they will rise to the oc- better, more used to each other (than in the 250th goal he needs to surpass Bob- with the Ivory Coast. casion today. “I hear it in your questions, October). They are more confi dent. It is a by Charlton as United’s outright record Liverpool established their credentials I hear it when I talk to diff erent people,” diff erent side.” scorer against Liverpool, but having as leaders Chelsea’s closest rivals by beat- he told his pre-game press conference. Klopp has been lifted by the return to started the last two games, he may drop ing Manchester City 1-0 on New Year’s “Because of our last game it is like, ‘Oh fi tness of Brazilian playmaker Philippe to the bench. Eve, only to then be held to a 2-2 draw my God, and now it is Man United.’ But Coutinho, who returned from an ankle Mourinho hopes to have 18-goal top at struggling Sunderland. They followed give me 11 players and we will be com- problem at Southampton. Captain Jordan scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic back after he it up by drawing 0-0 against fourth-tier petitive. I know how they (players) react Henderson (heel) and centre-back Joel missed Tuesday’s 2-0 League Cup semi- minnows Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup to not-that-good performances. It is not Matip (ankle), both of whom have been Tottenham Hotspur’s coach Mauricio Pochettino (left) congratulates fi nal fi rst-leg win over Hull City through and then losing 1-0 at Southampton in about being confi dent before the game. badly missed this month, could also fea- Harry Kane after the striker scored a hat-trick during the 4-0 rout of illness. Marcos Rojo, who missed that their own League Cup semi-fi nal fi rst leg. “It is about getting confi dence in the ture after returning to training. West Bromwich Albion at White Hart Lane in London. (AFP)

COSTA DROPPED BY ROUND-UP CHELSEA AFTER ROW Chinese club that has led to Payet won’t be sold vows Hammers owner By David Hytner The Guardian the greater consternation at Stamford Bridge. Costa, in com- AFP mon with an increasing number London Diego Costa was left out of of leading Premier League Chelsea’s squad for the Premier players, has been the subject League leaders’ game at Leices- of a £30mn per year off er from est Ham co-owner David ter City yesterday after reports China and there is the fear at Sullivan has warned Dim- of a bust-up with coaching staff . Chelsea that his advisers could itri Payet there is no chance Reports emerged on Friday be using it to lever him away. he will allow the unhappy WFrance star to force his way out of the that the Brazil-born Spain Costa’s agent, Jorge Mendes, is international, Chelsea’s top reportedly in China. Premier League club. Payet stunned West scorer with 14 league goals, Costa has recovered his Ham boss Slaven Bilic this week when had been dropped by coach best form this season and his he admitted he wants to leave during Antonio Conte after a training- goals have been instrumental the January transfer window and wasn’t ground row over his fitness. in Chelsea’s surge to the top of willing to play against Crystal Palace Costa, 28, is also reported to the table. The hierarchy have yesterday. The Hammers, however, did have received a contract off er taken a dim view of the situa- not miss the Frenchman as they won 3-0 from an unnamed Chinese club tion regarding China and, amid ending turbulent week as goals by Sofi ane worth £30mn a year. fears the 28-year-old’s head Feghouli and Manuel Lanzini sandwiched Asked to explain Costa's ab- might have been turned, they a sensational Andy Carroll bicycle kick. sence, Conte said: "On Tuesday, have pledged to hold him to his The 29-year-old Payet, who signed a Diego stopped training with a contract, which expires in 2019. £125,000-per-week fi ve-year contract pain in his back and then in the Despite being left out of the last February, is believed to want to rejoin week he didn't train with us. trip to Leicester, Costa posted a former club Marseille, who are ready to "We played without Diego message of support for Conte’s pay West Ham £20mn to bring him back against Bournemouth and we side on Friday night on social to Ligue 1. But Bilic has made it clear he have had time to prepare for media, writing “Come on Chel- is determined not to lose Payet, who was West Ham's Andy Carroll scored a sensational bicycle kick goal against Crystal Palace yesterday. (Reuters) this. We've prepared very well." sea!!!!” on Instagram. superb for the Hammers last season be- In Costa’s absence, Conte Conte said at his press fore going into a sustained dip this term. WATFORD FANS HONOUR LATE — the club’s colours — that formed Tay- NEWCASTLE BACK ON TOP AS aligned Eden Hazard as a cen- conference on Friday afternoon Sullivan agrees with Bilic’s stance and ENGLAND MANAGER TAYLOR lor’s initials and a heart symbol. BRIGHTON STUMBLE tral striker, flanked by Willian he had at least one decision to appears to be digging his heels in regard- Watford fans paid a heartfelt tribute Fans laid fl owers, scarves and club Newcastle regained pole position in the and Pedro Rodriguez. Chelsea’s take in terms of his selection less of Payet’s strike threat. to their former manager Graham Tay- shirts outside the ground and a black- race for the Premier League after a 2-1 13-game winning run was end- for the Leicester game. “I have Writing in his programme notes ahead lor prior to yesterday’s Premier League and-white photograph of Taylor adorned victory at Brentford put them back on top ed by a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham to check a couple of situations of the Palace match, Sullivan said: “The home game with Middlesbrough. Taylor, the front of the match-day programme. of the Championship yesterday. Dwight Hotspur on their last league and then decide,” the manager board’s position is that we do not want to who also managed England from 1990 to Writing in the programme, Watford’s Gayle netted his 20th goal of the season outing. Tottenham trimmed said. “I don’t want to say exactly sell Dimitri, we do not need to sell Dim- 1993, died aged 72 on Thursday follow- chairman and chief executive Scott Dux- to give Newcastle the lead at Griffi n Park their lead to four points by what and give an advantage to itri for fi nancial or any other reasons, and ing a heart attack. He led Watford from bury said: “As one, together as a club, after breaking the off side trap and finish- beating West Bromwich Albion our opponent.” we will NOT sell Dimitri in the January the fourth tier to the top division during we were all utterly devastated to learn of ing from a tight angle. 4-0 earlier in the day. He was also asked, in relation transfer window. All we ask now is that the fi rst of his two spells as manager and Graham’s passing on Thursday. Lasse Vibe scrambled in from close Costa has also clashed with to Dimitri Payet going on strike he shows the same level of commitment there were emotional scenes at Vicarage “Together with (former chairman) Sir range to level for Brentford but Daryl one of the Chelsea fitness at West Ham United, whether to West Ham United as the club and the Road as fans remembered him. Elton John, Graham built Watford FC. We Murphy sealed the win with his fi rst coaches over an injury he feels he had experienced any prob- fans have shown to him by honouring his Chants of “There’s only one Graham will treasure the legacy he created and league goal for the Magpies with 12 min- he has been carrying. The vola- lems about players refusing to contract.” Taylor!” rang out during a minute’s ap- honour him by continuing to develop this utes remaining when he converted Ayoze tile striker has not trained fully play. “It’s very diff icult to talk Many West Ham fans are furious with plause in his memory, as images of him wonderful football club.” Perez’s cross. The victory moved New- this week and Conte has be- and above all for me, it’s very Payet and a steward was placed in front were displayed on the big screen, and Taylor also managed Lincoln City, As- castle one above Brighton, who drop to come involved in the argument. diff icult for me to talk about of a mural of the midfi elder outside the fans could be seen wiping away tears. ton Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers second place after seeing their 17-match It is the situation involving the another player,” Conte replied. London Stadium to prevent it being van- Supporters in the ground’s Rookery End and had been working as a radio and tel- unbeaten run in all competitions ended dalised yesterday. formed a mosaic in yellow, black and red evision pundit in recent years. by 2-0 defeat at Preston. Gulf Times Sunday, January 15, 2017 3 FOOTBALL

SPANISH LA LIGA Suarez, Messi keep Barca on Madrid’s tail with Palmas win Atletico Madrid remain four points behind Barcelona in fourth as they ground out a 1-0 win over Real Betis

AFP Barcelona

uis Suarez scored twice and Lionel Messi continued his sensational form as Bar- celona moved to within two points of La Liga leaders Real Madrid yesterday with La 5-0 rout of Las Palmas. Madrid remain very much in pole position, though, with two games in hand, the fi rst of which comes at third-placed Sevilla today. Sua- rez opened the scoring after just 14 minutes, but Barca had to wait until early in the second-half to double their lead when Messi scored for the seventh straight game. And Barca turned their domination into fur- ther goals as Suarez’s second, Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal’s fi rst goal for the club rounded off the scoring. Victory eased a growing sense of unease around the Camp Nou this week with di- visions between the squad and the club’s board over ongoing talks to extend Messi’s contract beyond 2018. Suarez criticised Barca CEO’s Os- car Grau’s claims that the club must show fi nan- cial ‘common sense’ in negotiating the Argen- tine’s new deal, that looks set to make him the world’s highest paid player. Meanwhile, on Friday, Pere Gratacos was sacked from his role as Barca’s director of in- stitutional relations with the Spanish football federation for claiming Messi “wouldn’t be as good” without the help of his star teammates. As if giving Messi the chance to prove Grata- cos wrong, Barca boss Luis Enrique surprisingly left out a number of star names with Neymar and Andres Iniesta left on the bench and Gerard Pique out his squad altogether amidst a busy January of La Liga and Copa del Rey action. However, unlike on many outings this season, Barca’s understudies rose to the occasion. Por- Barcelona’s Lionel Messi (centre) scores past Las Palmas’ goalkeeper Javi Varas and defender Helder Lopes (left) during the Spanish La Liga match at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona. (Reuters) tuguese international Andre Gomes has been much-criticised since his 35mn euro move from Suarez was handed a break for the fi nal 20 Valencia in July, but provided his fi rst assist in minutes as he was replaced by Paco Alcacer and a Barca shirt with a driven low cross that was the former Valencia captain teed up Vidal to slot MESSI INDISPENSABLE TO BARCA: PRESIDENT swept home at the near post by Suarez. “The home from just inside the area for the fi fth 10 club know what Leo wants,” Suarez said. “We minutes from time. Barcelona: Barcelona president Josep Maria wants,” Suarez said. “We are calm despite what expensive new contracts for the likes of star are calm despite what has been said.” Atletico Madrid remain four points behind Bartomeu insists ensuring Lionel Messi’s has been said.” forwards Neymar and Suarez mean Barcelona Barca missed a host of chances to extend their Barcelona in fourth as they ground out a 1-0 win future at the Catalan giants is his top priority Meanwhile, on Friday, Pere Gratacos was are close to overstepping the 70% limit of lead before the break as Rafi nha and Gomes fi red over Real Betis in a forgettable encounter at the after a week littered with embarrassing series sacked from his role as Barca’s director of turnover spent on salaries imposed by UEFA’s off target with just Javi Varas in the Las Palmas Vicente Calderon. of PR own goals for the Spanish champions. institutional relations with the Spanish football financial fair-play laws. goal to beat. Varas then produced a stunning Argentine international Nico Gaitan got the “Renewing Messi’s contract is indispensable federation for claiming Messi “wouldn’t be as “We have to be very strict with the budgets, stop when one-on-one with Messi. only goal after just eight minutes as he stretched to our club,” Bartomeu told Catalan TV station good” without the help of his star teammates. we can’t go crazy,” said Grau on Wednesday. However, the ‘keeper was at fault when the to turn home Sime Vrsaljko’s defl ected cross at TV3 before Barca’s 5-0 thrashing of Las Palmas “I always say to Barca fans to be calm. I Barca are also hoping to hand contract exten- second did fi nally arrive seven minutes into the the back post. yesterday. Victory eased a growing sense of am personally handling Leo’s renewal,” said sions to club captain Andres Iniesta, whose second-half as he spilt Rafi nha’s cross into the RESULTS unease around the Camp Nou with divisions Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu. “I have current deal also has just 18 months left to path of Messi to tap into an empty net to score Leganes 0 Athletic Bilbao 0 between the squad and the club’s board over spoken a bit with his team. We will speak when run, and Ivan Rakitic with the Croatian a prime his 27th goal in just 24 appearances this season. Barcelona 5 (Suarez 14, 57, Messi 52, Arda Turan 58, ongoing talks to extend Messi’s contract there is news to give. For now things simply target for Manchester City. Suarez added his second of the afternoon Vidal 80) Las Palmas 0 beyond 2018. have to run their course. We want him to “We will always put in the eff ort and work with a tidy fi nish into the far corner just before Atletico Madrid 1 (Gaitan 8) Real Betis 0 Suarez criticised Barca CEO’s Oscar Grau’s remain at the club. He is the best player in the for Leo Messi and for other players who we the hour mark. Today’s schedule claims that the club must show financial “com- history of football, he plays with us and he has have to renew like Iniesta and Rakitic. Leo is Seconds later the Uruguayan should have Valencia v Espanyol (1100), Celta Vigo v Alaves mon sense” in negotiating the Argentine’s new to retire here.” the best player in the world, he is a special sealed his hat-trick, but Turan slotted home (1515), Sporting Gijon v Eibar, Granada v Osasuna deal, that looks set to make him the world’s Despite posting a record turnover of case. He has helped us to be the pinnacle in the rebound after Varas denied Suarez as Barca (both 1730), Sevilla v Real Madrid (1945) highest paid player. The club know what Leo 679mn euros ($719mn) last season, a series of these last few years.” struck three times in just six minutes. Tomorrow: Malaga v Real Sociedad (1945)

SERIE A FRENCH LIGUE 1 Allegri to ring changes New boy Draxler winner delivers for visit to Fiorentina immediate return for PSG AFP AFP Milan Paris

assimiliano Allegri is set to ring the ew boy Julian Draxler produced a changes in defence but called on Ju- brilliant fi rst-time fi nish to give ventus to keep the attitude the same Paris Saint Germain a 1-0 win at Mas they embark on a fi xture-laden four Rennes on his Ligue 1 debut for the weeks that could “secure the championship”. Nchampions yesterday. Juve will look to tighten their four-point lead over The victory lifts PSG level second with Roma at Fiorentina today but Allegri could be forced Monaco on 42 points, two behind table- to reshuffl e with defender Giorgio Chiellini suff er- toppers Nice, who host lowly Metz to- ing from fever and Stephan Lichtsteiner suspended. day, while the Monegasques face a tough Lazio visit Turin next week and Juventus then face trip along the coast to Marseille. The 2014 AC Milan in the Italian Cup quarter-fi nal before a World Cup winner Draxler, 23, and freshly tough visit to Sassuolo is followed by a home game arrived on a 40mn euros ($42mn) transfer against Inter Milan. from Wolfsburg, looked at home in his PSG For Allegri it’s a crucial month that, if handled shirt from the kick off . correctly, will reinforce belief they can claim a And when the goal came it was the third record sixth consecutive title as well as help their time he and Italian midfi elder Marco Ver- bid to go all the way in the Champions League and ratti had teamed up to pressure the goal as Italian Cup. “We have Fiorentina, Lazio, the Ital- Unai Emery’s team, who face Nantes next ian Cup against AC Milan, then Sassuolo and Inter,” week, start to gel. After a pin-point cross- Allegri told media in Turin. “It’s a tough month of fi eld pass from Verratti on 40 minutes, fi xtures but if we fi nish it with a decent advantage Draxler unleashed a refl ex, curling shot we’ll have a decent chance of securing the champi- from the corner of the area which curled onship. We’re having a discreet campaign. To make around the defence and the clutching grasp it a little nicer we have to fi nish top of the league. of a full-stretch Benoit Costil and just in- And we have the chance to go all the way in the side the post. Champions League and the Cup.” Allegri rested Gonzalo Higuain during a 3-2 Ital- “Draxler did a good job. Scored a beautiful Allegri added: “For Fiorentina, it’s the game of ian Cup win over Atalanta in midweek when for- goal and showed his quality and value to the the year. Two sides with great technique will be fac- ward Paulo Dybala opened the scoring with a 25- team. He’s fi tted in well,” Emery said. Drax- ing each other. It’s up to us to take command of the yard volley before setting up Mario Mandzukic for ler had already dummied a defender and game, try to improve our ball control and do better Juve’s second. shot at goal from a long Verratti pass early defensively.” But who will spearhead Juve’s attack at Fioren- on but his shot had been too close to Costil. At 18 points behind Juve in ninth place, the pres- tina, who have last the past four league outings Then on the half-hour Verratti was booked sure is all on Fiorentina, whose coach Paulo Sousa against the Bianconeri, remains to be seen. for a dive in the area when a perfect Draxler has come under increasing pressure amid their poor “It’s diffi cult to leave him (Mandzukic) out. through ball forced the Rennes ‘keeper into Paris Saint-Germain’s Julian Draxler puts on a display as he gets past Rennes’ Romain start to the campaign. Besides Chiellini, Allegri has Mario’s a winner, but I have yet to decide who will a rash challenge, which may have warranted Danze at the Roazhon Park stadium in Rennes, France. (Reuters) a full squad to choose from but left doubts as to play up front.” a spot-kick had the Italian actually waited whether he will deploy a back three or four. for contact before hitting the turf. attacked Paris throughout with their trade- forward Paul-George Ntep, who has gone to “Yesterday Chiellini had some fever, while (de- FIXTURES PSG would have a second player booked mark slick passing game. Wolfsburg as they try to fi ll the gap left by fender) Andrea Barzagli has played the past two Today: Cagliari v Genoa (1130 GMT), Lazio v Atalanta, for diving in the area in the second half with “You always suff er when it’s 1-0 and Draxler. Benjamin Andre forced a late save games and (Stephan) Lichtsteiner is suspended,” he Napoli v Pescara, Sampdoria v Empoli, Sassuolo v Thiago Motta also going into referee Benoit you’ve failed to get a second. It’s crucial at out of PSG stopper Kevin Trapp on 80 min- added. “For a fl at back four I need I full-back, oth- Palermo, Udinese v Roma (all 1400 GMT), Fiorentina v Bastien’s book. Coach Christian Gourcuff ’s those moments to keep working — and the utes and Adrien Rabiot, on as a substitute erwise I have to change something. But our attitude Juventus (1945 GMT) seventh placed Rennes could not be accused team worked really well together for this for Draxler on 73, saw a fl ash shot saved at won’t change.” Tomorrow: Torino v AC Milan of rolling over for the champions, as they result,” Emery said. Rennes were missing the other end. Gulf Times 4 Sunday, January 15, 2017 FOOTBALL

QATAR STARS LEAGUE FOCUS Muaither share Al Ahli claim vital points with Al Gharafa win over Al Wakrah By Sports Reporter 51st minute Iraqi international Doha Ahmed Yasin, who was replacing leading scorer Alain Dioko in the the side curled a shot from out- Wakrah now find themselves on 11 points and joint bottom with Muaither uaither came from side the area which skipped just two goals behind to wide. secure a vital point to Muaither found their way back boost their relegation into the game moments later Mhopes with a 2-2 draw against Al when Gharafa defender Rashid Gharafa at the Qatar Stars League Somalia tackled Minori Sato in yesterday. Pedro Caixina’s side the area and the referee pointed raced into a two goal lead thanks to the penalty spot. Defender to Rashid Sumaila and Kooky Bruno Aguiar stepped up and Han before being pegged back in scored his fi rst goal of the sea- the second half as Muaither got son, calmly slotting the ball past the points through Bruno Aguiar Yusef Hassan. and Nasser al-Nassr. Growing in confi dence, Gharafa looked like the better Muaither began to pushing their side in the early exchanges and opponents, dominating the play eventually broke the Muiather and the ball without really trou- resistance on the 37th minute of bling the Al Gharafa defence. the game. A well worked free- That all changed however on kick routine fell to midfi elder the 71st minute when substi- Kooky Han, who drilled the ball tute Nasser al-Nassr grabbed an across the penalty area and found equaliser with a cross come shot Rashid Sumaila who knocked the which sailed past Yusef Hassan. ball home from close range. Both sides looked for a winner Pedro Caixina’s side where in and spurned a host of chances the ascendancy and two min- in the fi nal ten minutes of the utes later duly doubled their lead tie.On the 83rd minute Johnson though South Korean midfi elder Kendrick drew a good save from Kooky Han. Muaither keeper Basil Zedan to A corner was not dealt with deny the Gharafa substitute a late by the Muaither defence and the winner. ball came back into the box and Whilst Muaither Striker fell to Han, who nodded the ball Ahmed Yassen missed a perfect Ahmad Koheyl (centre) of Al into the goal which was cleared o opportunity to give Muaither the Wakrah attempts to get past by Basil Zedan. However the goal winner after being put through Al Wakrah defenders during was rightly given by the assistant one on one with keeper Yusef the QSL match at the Al Wakrah referee as the ball went over the Hassan. Unfortunately the Iraq Stadium yesterday. line. The fi rst half ended 2-0 in international smacked the ball PICTURE: Jayan Orma favour of Al Gharafa. well wide. The result means Phillipe Birol’s side came that Muaither secured their out in the second half with re- second draw in as many games newed vigour and looked to cut and closed the gap on thirteenth down Al Gharafa’s lead. On the placed Al Wakrah. By Sports Reporter Ahli a lucky 1-0 lead. Ahli doubled their wards safety thanks to the three points. plenty of stoppages breaking up play as Doha lead just minutes later when Ferydoon both teams went in hard and conceded struck again, picking up a loose ball in the SHAHANIA TAKE A POINT AFTER 1-1 free kicks all over the park. On 18 yard box after some sloppy defending DRAW AGAINST UMM SALAL the 58th minute, Umm Salal were atar Stars League strugglers Al from Wakrah. Al Shahania and Umm Salal took a point awarded a free kick 25 yards out which Ahli claimed a vital three points Ferydoon dropped his shoulder and each as the teams drew 1-1 at the Al Arabi was beautifully converted to level the against relegation battlers Al faked two defenders, leaving them div- stadium. Shahania carried the form into score at 1-1. Umm Salal’s Brazilian Wakrah beating them 2-0 at Al ing for a non-existent shot, before he this game that saw them claim a draw number 5, Anderson Martins, hit a stun- WakrahQ Stadium yesterday. unleashed a fi erce right footed drive into against fellow relegation rivals Muaither ning free kick to level the score and bag Both sides came into the game des- the bottom right hand corner of the goal last time out and The Oryxes likely left his fi rst of the season and the club after perate for all three points, with Wakrah to make it two to The Brigadiers with 27 feeling they should have done so with the his right footed free kick got up and over hoping a win would help them climb out minutes on the clock. full three points after playing the better the fi ve-man wall and curled into the top of the relegation zone and Ahli aiming Wakrah came out looking like a dif- football over the 90 minutes. right hand corner of the goal, leaving Al to move up the table and avoid dropping ferent side after the halftime break, and Shahania took the lead on the 23rd Shahania’s goalkeeper with little chance. into it. After a cagey opening 20 minutes thought they made it 2-1 on the 75th minute thanks to a fi ne fi nish from Qatari There were celebrations and then con- which saw very few clear cut chances on minute when their Congolese forward, international and on-loan Al Rayyan for- fusion on the 68th minute when Al Sha- goal from either side, Al Ahli were gifted Prince Ibara managed to connect with a ward, Fahad Khalfan. Al Shahania were hania thought they had taken the lead the lead when Wakrah’s Mohamed Arafa high looping cross that fl oated into the awarded a free kick on the halfway line after it looked as though a fi erce shot scored an own goal. six yard box. Despite heading it into the which was taken quickly, catching Umm from Abdulrahman Diri had hit the back In the 23rd minute, Ahli’s Ali Ferydoon back of the net, the referee deemed Ibara Salal sleeping. The quick free kick was of the net. Replays showed that the ball managed to beat the off side trap and latch had fouled the goalkeeper and blew for a played long and found Jean-Paul Man- had in fact hit the side netting with such onto a lovely through ball in the 18 yard free kick, a decision which drew lengthy goua on the edge of the box who con- force that it broke the net and then sub- box which split the defence and left him protests from Wakrah. trolled it well before laying a beautifully sequently hit the back of the net, much to one on one with Wakrah’s goalkeeper. Al Wakrah found themselves camped weighted ball into the path of a running the disappointment of Al Shahania. Ferydoon’s shot beat the goalkeeper at in Al Ahli’s half for the remainder of the Khalfan who hit the ball fi rst time and Al Shahania, desperate for the three his near post but smashed into the base of game, keeping possession well, but were sent it under Umm Salal’s goalkeeper to points to avoid the relegation battle, the post before bouncing back into the six unable to fi nd the back of the net. make it 1-0. pressed right up until the fi nal whistle but yard box at pace. The loss deepens Al Wakrah’s rel- Al Shahania controlled the ball well were unable to fi nd the decisive winner Luckily Ahli, the rebound hit Wakrah’s egation woes and they now fi nd them- for the remainder of the fi rst half but and both teams left with a point. Umm Arafa who was unable to move out of the selves on 11 points and joint bottom with couldn’t fi nd a second and went into the Salal stay mid-table while Al Shahania way quickly enough and it ricocheted off Muaither SC, who bagged a point at Al tunnel 1-0 up. The fi rst 15 minutes of the stay in 12th place and make it eight draws his shin and rolled over the line to give Al Gharafa in 2-2 draw. Al Ahli edged to- second half was a scrappy aff air, with so far this season. A Muaither and Al Gharafa player vie for the ball yesterday.

TRI-SERIES TOURNAMENT AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS Aspire Academy triumph Gabon denied win in Cup opener

AFP Libreville, Gabon

uary Soares grabbed a dramatic late equaliser for debutants Guinea-Bissau as they recovered from a Pierre-Em- erick Aubameyang strike to hold hosts GabonJ to a 1-1 draw in the Africa Cup of Na- tions opening game. Gabon appeared to be heading for victory in yesterday’s Group A curtain-raiser after Borussia Dortmund striker Aubameyang turned the ball in from close range seven minutes into the second half at the Stade de l’Amitie in the capital Libreville. However, Soares headed home in the 90th minute to earn Guinea-Bissau a memorable Aspire Academy Under-16 football team with the Tri-Series tournament trophy. point in their fi rst ever match at the conti- nental fi nals. There were boos at the fi nal spire Academy’s Un- both the U-17 and U-18 sides. ration for our players ahead whistle from the home fans at the 40,000- der-16 football team Teams from Aspire Academy of the Al-Kass tournament. seat stadium, where a close to capacity crowd emerged victorious fi nished second in both age Games don’t get much tougher included Gabonese president Ali Bongo and in the latest edition groups. than playing against Sporting Issa Hayatou, the veteran head of the Con- ofA the Tri-Series tournament, Aspire Academy’s U-17 side Clube de Portugal. We learned a federation of African Football. which also featured Sporting warmed up for this year’s Al- lot about our current strengths It was a far from convincing performance Clube de Portugal and Buriram Kass International Cup, which and where we need to focus as a from Gabon, who will now look to bounce Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (left) celebrates with teammate Malick Evouna after United FC from Thailand. starts on 21st January at the As- result of that match. back from this disappointment when they scoring a goal during the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations match against Guinea-Bissau at the The hosts rounded off their pire Academy, with a compre- “In terms of our other game play Burkina Faso in their next game on Stade de l’Amitie Sino-Gabonaise in Libreville yesterday. (Reuters) campaign with a 2-0 win over hensive 7-1 win over Buriram. against Buriram United. I am Wednesday, when Guinea-Bissau, known as Buriram United in their fi nal Yusuf Yusuf grabbed a hat-trick satisfi ed that we achieved what the ‘wild dogs’, take on Cameroon. four minutes after the restart before sending They looked to have blown their chance, game to fi nish the tournament while Mohammed al-Naimi, we needed to. Our focus now is The tournament debutants, whose line-up in a shot with his right foot that was tipped but they drew level in the fi nal minute, Soares on fi ve points, one ahead of the Andri Syahputra, Ahmed Al- to fi ne tune and consolidate dif- mainly consisted of players based at modest over by goalkeeper Jonas Mendes. getting in front of Bruno Ecuele Manga to highly-rated Sporting Clube de ganehi and Ahmed Suhail ferent elements of our game in clubs in Portugal, were expected to struggle The opener arrived shortly after. The Guin- head home Zezinho’s free-kick. Portugal side. scored too. Aspire Academy readiness for the Al-Kass Cup.” against a Gabon side spearheaded by Aubam- ea-Bissau defence failed to clear their lines The Cup of Nations features 32 matches This latest edition of Tri-Se- U-17 coach, Bruno Pinheiro was The Tri-Series football tour- eyang and also featuring the likes of Sunder- and Bouanga’s low ball to the back post was and runs until February 5, when the fi nal will ries fi nished on Wednesday 11th happy by the experience gained nament is a vital part of Apsire land’s Didier Ndong and Mario Lemina of Ju- converted by Aubameyang, to the delight of be played in Libreville. January at the Aspire Academy. by his while competing against Academy’s commitment to ventus. The hosts created next to nothing in the home fans. However, Gabon began to sit Games will also be played in Oyem, Victory by the Aspire Academy Sporting Clube de Portugal and enabling the sporting success the fi rst half, though, with the exception of a back and Guinea-Bissau had opportunities Port-Gentil and Franceville, where the Al- U-16 team prevented the Por- Buriram United. of its student-athletes while Lemina header that fl ashed just wide close to to equalise towards the end, with Rudinilson geria of newly-crowned African player of the tuguese teams from making it a “Both teams are very diff er- providing a chance for students the interval. They were much more lively at Silva hooking a shot just past and substitute year Riyad Mahrez meet outsiders Zimbabwe clean sweep in the tournament ent kinds of opponent. But each to compete head-to-head with the beginning of the second half and talented Frederic Mendy heading straight at Didier and Tunisia take on Senegal in Group B today. after strong performances by game provided excellent prepa- world leading football clubs. winger Denis Bouanga cut in from the left Ovono when unmarked. Gulf Times Sunday, January 15, 2017 5 CRICKET

FINAL TEST SECURITY FEAR West Indies Sublime S. Africa axe Pakistan tour AFP “The West Indies players’ un- Karachi ion is not willing, so at the mo- ment they have refused.” Pakistan did host Zimbabwe akistan’s hopes of host- for three Twenty20s and as many ing international cricket one-day internationals in May- matches suff ered anoth- June 2015. But that failed to con- smash Sri Lanka er setback on Saturday vince the bigger teams to resume Pafter the West Indies refused to tours. compete in a short two Twen- Cricket offi cials in Pakistan ty20 match series in the South are now hoping the successful Asia nation over security fears. staging of the PSL fi nal in Lahore No major team has toured Pa- will encourage foreign teams to kistan since a militant attack on consider competing again in the the Sri Lankan team bus in La- country. to sweep series hore in March 2009. They play “We are the confi rmed hosts of their “home” series in the United the PSL fi nal in Lahore, so once All of the home seamers claimed wickets on a pitch that had plenty of bounce Arab Emirates (UAE). its done it will create an opening The Pakistan Cricket Board plus former England cricket head and more than enough lateral movement to leave the Sri Lanka batsmen flailing (PCB) had proposed holding a two- Giles Clarke is visiting Pakistan match series in the spring after from January 28 so he will also hosting the Pakistan Super League assess the situation,” said Khan. (PSL) in Lahore on March 9. “Foreign teams rely a great However PCB chairman Sha- deal on the travel advisories from haryar Khan said the potential their embassies in Pakistan so tour had been axed. once that changes and becomes “The West Indies Board have positive only then we can expect conveyed to us verbally that the to convince teams (to come),” ‘thing’ is off ,” Khan told AFP. said Khan. South African bowler Kagiso Rabada gestures as he celebrates bowling out SPOTLIGHT Sri Lanka batsman Dimuth Karunaratne at Wanderers Cricket Stadium in Johannesburg yesterday. Misbah wants better planning for Australia tours

AFP Karachi

akistan’s Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq yes- terday urged the coun- try’s cricket authorities toP plan extensively for future tours to Australia to end a long losing streak. Pakistan’s Misbah-led team were beaten 3-0 in a Test series last week, their fourth succes- sive whitewash in Australia since 1999. The defeat prompted former Australia captain Ian Chappell to advise Cricket Australia (CA) to this game and dominate and do so 3-0... consider before inviting Pakistan teams to Australia on a regular Reuters SPL STANDINGS Johannesburg right through the series Sri Lanka didn’t again on future tours. basis. have a session where they were control- “CA have got to start saying “Tours to Australia, South South Africa, first innings, 426 ling us. ‘listen if things don’t improve Africa and England need proper outh Africa took 16 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, second innings “Consistency in Test cricket is very we will stop with the invites. You planning, like we did before the wickets in a little over two ses- Sri Lanka, first innings D. Karunaratne b Rabada ...... 50 hard, so I am proud with how the boys can’t bowl, have conservative England tour and results were sions to secure a ruthless victory (overnight 80-4) K. Silva c De Kock b Rabada ...... 0 played.” fi eld placings and fi eld sloppily good,” said Misbah of his team’s by an innings and 118 runs in the D. Karunaratne c De Kock b Philander 0 K. Mendis b Parnell ...... 24 South Africa made short work of wrap- and expect to play decent cricket 2-2 drawn series in England last thirdS and fi nal Test at the Wanderers yes- ping up the tourists’ fi rst innings after Sri in Australia,” Chappell said. year. That result briefl y lifted K. Silva c De Kock b Rabada ...... 13 D. de Silva c Du Plessis b Olivier ...... 12 terday. K. Mendis c Duminy b Rabada ...... 41 A. Mathews c Du Plessis b Olivier ...... 10 Lanka resumed the day on 80 for four. Misbah said Pakistan should Pakistan to the world number After posting 426 in their fi rst innings D. de Silva c Bavuma b Philander ...... 10 D. Chandimal c Amla b Philander ...... 10 Rabada grabbed the key wicket of Sri prepare their teams before one spot in Test rankings. on Friday, South Africa bowled Sri Lan- A. Mathews c De Kock b Rabada ...... 19 U. Tharanga c Duminy b Parnell ...... 26 Lanka captain Angelo Matthews (19) as tough tours to Australia. Misbah said scheduling was ka out for 131 before lunch on day three, D. Chandimal c De Kock b Philander ....5 R. Herath c Bavuma b Parnell ...... 10 wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock produced “The most important thing also important before each tour before dismissing the out-gunned sub- U. Tharanga c Elgar b Olivier ...... 24 S. Lakmal c Philander b Parnell ...... 31 a magnifi cent diving catch in front of fi rst is to prepare a good team for the Down Under. continent side again for 177 to complete R. Herath c Cook b Olivier ...... 8 L. Kumara c Cook b Olivier ...... 0 slip. Australia tour, which is always “Like we went to England a 3-0 series sweep. All of the home seam- S. Lakmal c Rabada b Parnell ...... 4 N. Pradeep not out ...... 0 Olivier then claimed his fi rst Test tough,” Misbah told AFP. “We some 20 days before, the same ers claimed wickets on a pitch that had L. Kumara not out ...... 1 Extras (lb2, nb1, w1) 4 wicket when Herath top-edged a vicious go there after fi ve or six years should be done for the Australia plenty of steep bounce and more than N. Pradeep c and b Parnell ...... 4 Total (42.3 overs) 177 bouncer and the home side then tore and most of the players are not tour, we must play two to three enough lateral movement to leave the Sri Extras (lb2) 2 Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Silva), 2-39 through the tail. used to it, which is tough on side games so that we can under- Lanka batsmen fl ailing. Total (45.4 overs) 131 (Mendis), 3-59 (De Silva), 4-87 (Mathews), Du Plessis enforced the follow-on and them.” stand what combinations should Left-arm fast bowler Wayne Parnell, Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Karunaratne), 2-47 5-108 (Chandimal), 6-108 (Karunaratne), Sri Lanka were quickly on the back foot Pakistan were drubbed 3-0 be played and how to play in who took six wickets for 89 runs over the (Silva), 3-62 (Mendis), 4-70 (De Silva), 7-134 (Herath), 8-177 (Tharanga), 9-177 again as Rabada accounted for opener in Australia in 1999, 2004 and those conditions.” two innings, was perhaps the pick, while 5-90 (Chandimal), 6-100 (Mathews), (Kumara) Kaushal Silva for a fi rst-ball duck. 2010. On their last tour they also Misbah said he does not fear Kagiso Rabada (5-94) was unlucky not to 7-108 (Herath), 8-126 (Lakmal), 9-126 Bowling: Philander 10-1-35-1, Rabada The impressive Olivier snapped up lost fi ve one-day matches and a any backlash from CA. pick up more with some hostile spells. (Tharanga) 12-3-50-2 (1w), Parnell 10.3-1-51-4, Olivier two more quick wickets, with Du Plessis Twenty20 international. “What (Ian) Chappell said was Debutant seamer Duanne Olivier (5- Bowling: Philander 14-5-28-3, Parnell 9-2-38-3 (1nb), Duminy 1-0-1-0 leaping to an almost impossible height at They are again facing the unwarranted and uncalled for 57) will be pleased with his return in 10.4-2-38-2, Olivier 9-3-19-2, Rabada second slip to pluck the ball out of the air prospect of another all-defeat and doesn’t suit a cricketer of his helpful conditions, while Vernon Philan- 12-3-44-3 Result: South Africa won by an innings as Mathews was dismissed for 10. tour after going down by 92 runs stature,” he said. der (4-63) also pitched in. The game was up for Sri Lanka when in the fi rst of fi ve one-day inter- “Australia get whitewashed “Once again it was a complete per- Rabada rattled the stumps of opener Di- nationals on Friday. on the subcontinent on a regular formance,” South Africa captain Faf presentation. “It started with the bat were once again spectacular. muth Karunaratne (50), who had a pro- Misbah said the Pakistan basis, then they should also not du Plessis said at the post-match on a tough wicket and our bowlers “We wanted to make sure we step up in vided lone resistance. Cricket Board should send travel there?” he added.

PREVIEW Kohli ready to tackle ‘fearless’ England in ODIs

AFP/IANS The one-day series is Kohli’s fi rst assignment in the middle order and strike a balance. Pune, India as full-time skipper after Mahendra Singh Dhoni “Yes, that (experience) is something we have quit as the ODI and T20 captain earlier this month. discussed before picking Yuvi because we can- Kohli also said his side would use the England not leave so much burden on MS (Dhoni) alone ndian captain Virat Kohli said his team had series to prepare for the Champions Trophy in in the middle order. I am willing to take up re- a battery of world-class bowlers to coun- June. sponsibility up the order, but there needs to be ter a “fearless” England batting attack in “These three games we are necessarily tak- one more guy with him (Dhoni) down the order a three-match one-day series starting in ing them as knockout games in our own heads in case the top order doesn’t fi re. IPune today. because we need to prepare for the Champi- “If the top order doesn’t fi re you are left with India demolished England 4-0 in a preced- ons Trophy and we need to be in the right kind MS alone and he is guiding the youngsters more ing fi ve-Test series at home but Kohli said the of mind frame because that tournament is like often than not. Which is fi ne, if you have 15-20 English were a diff erent side when it came to the that, it is very competitive, it is very quick. games till a big tournament (begins),” Kohli said. shorter formats of the game. “These three games become all the more cru- “You need to make sure the guys who have Led by Eoin Morgan, the English ODI team cial because we don’t have much time before the been picked are in good form. enjoyed a successful 2016, winning 11 and losing big tournament.” “So, right now we don’t have the time to nur- just fi ve of their 17 matches. The second ODI will be played on January ture the one spot as much because we have a big The visitors also showed their aggressive in- 19 in Cuttack with the last game on January 22 tournament coming up straightaway, that’s why tent in a recent warm-up match against an India in Kolkata. The one-dayers will be followed by Yuvi was brought into the team. We had dis- A side in Mumbai, successfully chasing a 305- three Twenty20 matches. cussed Rayudu as well, but he has been injured run target with Sam Billings hitting a gutsy 93. Kohli asserted that he learnt the art of main- for a long time and didn’t have game-time be- “I have seen the warm-up games as well, they taining the right balance in the team from Dhoni. hind him. Yuvi has had a very good fi rst-class seem to be quite fearless,” Kohli, 28, said at the “Dhoni has been so successful because he has season, so obviously he was into the team before pre-match press conference. learnt when to be off ensive and when the team is anyone else,” the right-hander added. “I think against a side like this you need to be in trouble to strike the right balance. That’s one “So, I think this just gives the team much more aggressive in terms of wanting to pick up India captain Virat Kohli plays with a police dog at The MCA International Cricket Stadium in Pune. of his biggest strengths and something I would more balance in the middle and lower-middle wickets because if you think of bowling dot balls like to understand,” Kohli said. order with MS and Yuvi. They can really guide they feed on that. have quality bowlers on our side, we have bowl- going to be interesting to see how hard they Kolhi also said that the just-married Yu- Kedar (Jadhav) and Hardik (Pandya) still with “So we already have plans in place in terms ers who can make a dent initially. come at us initially... The English team espe- vraj Singh was brought back into the national them, but to have two experienced guys com- of how to counter what they come up with... we “We have world-class spinners as well so it’s cially in the shorter format looks very fearless.” squad in order to reduce the pressure on Dhoni pared to one is a massive diff erence.” Gulf Times 6 Sunday, January 15, 2017 CRICKET

SPOTLIGHT Stubborn Latham ton keeps New Zealand afl oat With the pitch off ering little, Williamson and Taylor were guilty of getting a start and then yielding their wickets unnecessarily with two days to play and a draw the most likely outcome if New Zealand do not crash

AFP Wellington

patient Tom Latham carved out his sixth century to keep New Zealand afl oat as they moved closer to avoiding a follow on againstA a rampant Bangladesh after three days of the fi rst Test in Wellington. While the left-handed opener calmly went about his work at the Basin Reserve yesterday, Bangladesh removed senior batsmen Kane Williamson and Ross Tay- lor after declaring early in the day at an imposing 595-8. At stumps, New Zealand were 292-3, still 303 runs behind, with Latham on 119 and Henry Nicholls on 35. Taylor said New Zealand needed the 24-year-old Latham in the middle with the new ball due in three overs and the follow-on mark 104 runs away. “His job’s not done yet. We need him to go big tomorrow and obviously try and get that follow on,” Taylor said. “Once we do get that follow on hope- fully we can bat ourselves into a decent position. “That fi rst session’s going to be impor- tant and if we can see off that new ball, pass the follow on, then there’s a bit of New Zealand’s Tom Latham celebrates (wet) weather around and still 190 overs reaching his century against Bangladesh and a lot of cricket to be played.” at the Basin Reserve in Wellington yesterday. As the strong northerly winds that caused havoc on day one returned in the afternoon session yesterday, Latham had taken a leaf out of the Bangladesh play- book and carefully chosen the moments to punish the bowling. With the pitch off ering little, William- son and Taylor were guilty of getting a start and then yielding their wickets un- necessarily with two days to play and a draw the most likely outcome if New Zea- land do not crash. After Jeet Raval fell for 27, William- son comfortably batted at a run-a-ball until he reached 53 and dabbed outside off stump to be caught behind and give Taskin Ahmed his maiden wicket on de- but. Taylor, in his fi rst international follow- ing eye surgery at the end of November and needing one more century to equal It nearly paid dividends when he found (Mominul), 5-519 (Mushfiqur), 6-536 the New Zealand record of 17 held by the the edge of Raval’s bat in his second over (Shakib), 7-542 (Mehedi), 8-566 (Taskin) late Martin Crowe, charged into his work. but the ball went through the vacant sec- Did not bat: Subashis Roy Scrap international T20s to save one-dayers, says Arthur But on 40 he fell for a well-prepared ond slip position. Bowling: Boult 34-5-131-2, Southee trap and pulled a short delivery from Raval was later dropped on 24 off 34-5-158-2, de Grandhomme 20-2-65-0, Kamrul Islam to Mahmudullah poised for Taskin before Kayes made no mistake Wagner 44-8-151-4 (1nb), Santner 17-2-62- AFP, Sydney: Cricket’s short- me of going to basketball,” said the series opener against Pakistan in the catch on the square-leg boundary. with the third off ering from the New Zea- 0, Williamson 3-0-20-0 est Twenty20 format should be 48-year-old. Brisbane. Kamrul had also removed Raval, caught land opener. New Zealand 1st innings restricted to domestic franchises “It was brilliant. As pure cricket, (it Arthur feels a clear demarca- behind by Imrul Kayes deputising as J. Raval c Imrul Kayes b Kamrul Islam 27 to maintain the relevance of one- was) okay.” tion should be made with only wicketkeeper while regular gloveman Scoreboard T. Latham not out 119 day internationals, Pakistan coach Critics have long raised ques- the 50-over format being part of and captain Mushfi qur Rahim was being K. Williamson c Imrul Kayes b Taskin Mickey Arthur has said. tions about the relevance of ODIs international fixtures outside the treated for knocks to his hands suff ered Bangladesh first innings (overnight Ahmed 53 With the rise of the shorter and outside the International Cricket World Cup. during his innings of 159. 542-7) R. Taylor c Mahmudullah b Kamrul Islam action-packed T20 format in re- Council tournaments in the age of “I do think, though, that Twenty20 Latham remained unruffl ed, facing 222 Tamim Iqbal lbw Boult 56 40 cent years, the 50-over version of Twenty20. cricket should become franchise deliveries in his fi ve and a half hours at the Imrul Kayes c Boult b Southee 1 H. Nicholls not out 35 international cricket has suffered a Domestic Twenty20 leagues have dominated,” Arthur said. crease. Mominul Haque c Watling b Southee 64 Extras (b1, lb1, wd15, nb1) 18 dip in attendance. mushroomed across the world and “I’ve never been a massive advo- After resuming the day at 542-7, Bang- Mahmudullah c Watling b Wagner 26 Total (three wickets; 77.0 overs) 292 Arthur, the former South Africa its slam-bang format has managed cate of international Twenty20 ladesh continued long enough for Sabbir Shakib Al Hasan b Wagner 217 Fall of wickets: 1-54 (Raval), 2-131 (Wil- and Australia coach, was in the the catch the imagination of fans cricket except a World Cup every Rahman to become their fi fth player to Mushfiqur Rahim c Watling b Boult 159 liamson), 3-205 (Taylor) stands on Wednesday to watch the who have thronged to the stadi- two or three years, because that pass the half-century mark in an innings Sabbir Rahman not out 54 Bowling: Mehedi 26-4-82-0, Subashis Perth Scorchers beat the Brisbane ums to watch the matches, which gets the best players together. headlined by Shakib Al Hasan’s 217. Mehedi Hasan c Southee b Wagner 0 16-4-46-0 (1nb), Taskin 15-2-79-1 (2w), Heat by 27 runs in the Big Bash last just about three hours. “Fifty-over cricket’s got a definite Sabbir, dropped on 31 by Latham, was Taskin Ahmed c Southee b Wagner 3 Kamrul 13-2-53-2 (1w), Shakib 7-0-30-0 League, the popular, franchise- A crowd of close to 35,000 role because of the World Cup, unbeaten on 54 when Bangladesh de- Kamrul Islam not out 6 Toss: New Zealand based domestic T20 league Down watched Wednesday’s BBL clash because of international rank- clared and immediately put pressure on Extras (b2, lb6, nb1) 9 Umpires: Marais Erasmus (RSA), Paul Under. at the Gabba while only 21,734 ings there’s context. International New Zealand with the unorthodox deci- Total (eight wickets dec; 152 overs) 595 Reiff el (AUS) “It was an amazing atmosphere — turned out to watch Australia’s 92- cricket belongs in the 50-over and sion to have spinner Mehedi Hasan open Fall of wickets: 1-16 (Imrul), 2-60 Third umpire: Nigel Llong (ENG) it’s show business, that reminded run win in Friday night’s 50-over test cricket (formats) for me.” the bowling. (Tamim), 3-145 (Mahmudullah), 4-160 Match referee: Javagal Srinath (IND)

BOTTOMLINE Patel leads Gujarat to maiden Ranji Trophy title

Reuters revived the chase with a fourth-wicket Mumbai File picture of Parthiv Patel stand of 116. The 31-year-old, who hit some streaky boundaries at the start of his aptain Parthiv Patel hit an at- knock, added 94 with Rujul Bhatt for tacking 143 on the fi nal day to the next wicket to take Gujarat within lead Gujarat to a maiden Ranji striking distance of victory before he Trophy title with a fi ve-wicket was out, caught and bowled by pace- victoryC over heavyweights Mumbai in man Shardul Thakur. Indore yesterday. For their part, Mumbai were left to The diminutive wicketkeeper-bats- rue a number of dropped catches during man also top-scored for his side with the match as well as their poor display 90 in the fi rst innings, giving Gujarat a with the bat in the fi rst innings. crucial 100-run lead after Mumbai were “It was a dream we collectively saw restricted to 228 in the title match for before the season started,” Patel said India’s domestic fi rst-class champion- during the presentation. “So happy we ship. have been able to achieve a Ranji Trophy Mumbai, who were aiming to claim a victory. 42nd title, improved in the second in- “I was taking my chances because, nings and set their opponents a winning while chasing 312, I thought somebody target of 312, leaving Gujarat needing to has to play attacking shots. I am glad complete the highest fi nal run chase in whatever chances I took they all came tournament history to claim the title. off .” The last few months have been Resuming on 47 without loss, Gu- very successful for the baby-faced Pa- jarat, who had only featured in one pre- tel, who became cricket’s youngest Test vious Ranji Trophy fi nal back in 1951 wicketkeeper when he made his debut in the same city, were reduced to 89-3 as a 17-year-old against England in before Patel and Manprit Juneja (54) 2002. Gulf Times Sunday, January 15, 2017 7 SPORT

NBA SPOTLIGHT Westbrook’s 19th triple-double not Cavaliers snap skid, enough for Thunder

AFP one of those games. Los Angeles “But I thought the turno- vers, coupled with the fact that we just could not make klahoma City star any plays around the basket Memphis Grizzlies Russell Westbrook’s when we needed to, hurt us.” 19th triple-dou- Karl-Anthony Towns ble of the season notched his 10th straight wasn’tO enough on Friday as double-double with 29 points the Thunder fell 96-86 to the and 17 rebounds and Min- Minnesota Timberwolves in nesota’s Spanish guard Ricky Minneapolis. Rubio added 14 points and 14 Westbrook, the NBA’s lead- assists. down Rockets ing scorer and top candidate Andrew Wiggins added 10 for Most Valuable Player hon- points for the Timberwolves, ors as the season approaches who won their third straight. ‘He understands some of the actions we want to put in we haven’t done before’ the halfway stage, scored 21 The Timberwolves led by points with 11 rebounds and as many as nine in the fourth 12 assists in 36 minutes on the quarter but were down by fi ve Agencies court. at halftime. Los Angeles His 19 triple-doubles al- But they rallied in the third ready this season are the most quarter, and pushed their in one campaign in almost 50 advantage to as many as 14 he NBA champion Cleveland Cav- years, since Wilt Chamberlain points early in the fourth pe- aliers snapped a two-game skid posted 31 in the 1967-68 sea- riod. Friday, with Kyrie Irving leading son. Rubio’s six points and sev- the way with 26 points in a 120- He moved past Los Angeles en assists in the third quar- T108 victory over the Kings in Sacramento. Lakers legend Magic Johnson, ter keyed the Timberwolves’ Kyle Korver, recently arrived in a trade who notched 18 triple-dou- rally. from Atlanta, added 18 points off the bles in the 1981-82 season and With 46 assists in the three bench and superstar LeBron James con- inched closer to Oscar Rob- games, Rubio set a club record tributed 16 points and 15 assists in his lat- ertson’s single-season record and matched the most for a est outing in the city where he made his of 41 set in 1961-62. player in a three-game span NBA debut in 2003. With 56 career triple-dou- in the NBA this season. West- But it wasn’t all clear sailing for the bles Westbrook is closing in brook had the same total in a champions. After trailing by 24 points in on Larry Bird (59) for fi fth on trio of games in November. the fi rst half, the streaky Kings got as close the all-time list. “Playing better, feeling as 90-85 in the in the fourth quarter. But on Friday, he also had better,” Rubio said. “The re- Sacramento had reduced a 19-point 10 of the Thunder’s 19 turno- sults are there.” fi rst-quarter defi cit to 43-33 with fi ve vers, which led to 33 points for Oklahoma City narrowed minutes left in the fi rst half. Minnesota. the gap to 92-83 on West- The Cavs responded with a 16-4 scor- “Just some miscues, my brook’s steal and dunk with ing run that included seven points from fault on my passes,” West- 1:46 remaining, but Wiggins Korver. The Kings reduced the defi cit to brook said. “Some was open, and Towns scored the next 66-58 with 7:02 left the third, but Irving some was not, but it happens.” four points. scored nine of Cleveland’s next 14 as the Thunder coach Billy Dono- “When you’ve got confi - champions rebuilt their lead. In his third van said the turnovers were dence, there’s nothing better game with the Cavaliers, Korver looked key. than a talented player with to have found his rhythm. He made his “We didn’t fi nish well confi dence,” Towns said. fi rst three shots, fi nished seven of 10 from enough on the break,” Dono- “Those are the most dan- the fi eld and drained four of his six three- van said. “You’re going to have gerous players. I think right point attempts. games where you don’t shoot now we have a lot of confi - Korver said he benefi tted from his fi rst the ball particularly well from dence. So right now we’re just real chance to practice with his new the three-point line. That was rolling with it.” teammates at Friday morning’s shoot- around. “I still didn’t know what was going on half the time,” he said. “But I knew what was going on half the time. So that was re- ally helpful.” Irving, who had struggled with his shot in four games since returning from a sore hamstring, made 10 of his 22 attempts from the fi eld. “He’s a smart player,” Cavs coach Ty- ronn Lue said of Korver. “He understands some of the actions we want to put in we haven’t done before that I’m excited about. We’ve got to do it after timeouts right now, but we will get to the point this season where we’ll be able to run it on the fl y and call plays on the fl y for that second unit.” The victory was the perfect warmup for the Cavs prior to their marquee show- down with the Golden State Warriors to- morrow. Kyrie Irving (R) of the Cleveland Cavaliers goes up for a shot on Anthony Tolliver of the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center in Sacra- Grizzlies rally, down Rockets mento, California. (Getty Images/AFP) In Houston, Zach Randolph posted a double-double off the bench and the After connecting on 58.3% of their shot with 2.2 seconds remaining to lift the attempts. George Hill added 22 points and Memphis Grizzlies erased a 16-point defi - shots in the fi rst half the Rockets went Boston Celtics to a 103-101 victory that Gordon Hayward contributed 20 for the cit en route to a 110-105 victory over the cold. They missed 21 of 24 three-point at- ended the Hawks’ seven-game winning Jazz. Rockets. tempts in the second half. streak. Randolph fi nished with 16 points and 12 With the Rockets down by four with Thomas scored 13 of his game-high 28 RESULTS rebounds. Mike Conley had 17 points and less than a minute to play, Houston’s points in the fourth quarter and Boston Cleveland 120 Sacramento 108 nine assists for the Grizzlies. Trevor Ariza and Ryan Anderson both made 17 three-pointers as they produced Utah 110 Detroit 77 Spanish big man Marc Gasol added 14 missed open three-point attempts. a win in fi rst-year Celtic Al Horford’s fi rst Orlando 115 Portland 109 points, six rebounds and six assists and “We didn’t make shots,” Rockets guard game against his former team. Milwaukee 116 Miami 108 Tony Allen scored a season-high 22 before James Harden said. “Trevor had a really In contrast, the Utah Jazz romped to a Memphis 110 Houston 105 he fouled out with 3:35 remaining. good look, Ryan had a really good look. 110-77 home victory over the Detroit Pis- Minnesota 96 Oklahoma City 86 The Rockets dropped back-to-back Simple.” tons. Boston 103 Atlanta 101 The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook drives to the games for the fi rst time this season as they There was drama in Atlanta, where Rodney hood scored a season-high 27 Toronto 132 Brooklyn 113 basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Brandon Rush during struggled from three-point range. Isaiah Thomas drained a step-back jump points, making seven of eight three-point Philadelphia 102 Charlotte 93 their game in Minneapolis. (Minneapolis Star Tribune/TNS)

NFL Marinelli deserves award for Cowboys show

By Gil LeBreton something, anything. The job he in the middle of January. Marinelli said Thursday. “That’s the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has done this season, mixing and The season’s sternest test will conditioning part of the defense, matching, plugging and patching, come Sunday, when the Cowboys and that’s a big factor for us in our hiding his unit’s weaknesses while try to stop Aaron Rodgers and the rotation of down guys. We’ve got to s they wandered, thin in funnelling opponents toward his league’s hottest team, the Green Bay stay alive, we’ve got to keep hus- depth and frequently ob- defense’s strengths, has been hon- Packers. The Cowboys sacked Rodg- tling, because that’s draining on the livious to fl ying objects, ours-worthy. ers once during their 30-16 win over down guys. the Dallas Cowboys were The 67-year-old Vietnam vet the Packers in October. “The one thing I think has helped shadowedA throughout the preseason won’t get the league’s Assistant They’ll have to dial up the pres- us over this whole year is we’ve re- by one dominant cliche: Coach of the Year award. That trin- sure Sunday, after seeing Rodgers ally developed depth, not only up The Cowboys, we chanted with ket seems to annually go to the Wade waltz around the pocket last week- front but in our secondary and our assurance, would go as far this sea- Phillips and Steve Spagnuolos of the end against the Giants. backers.” son as their defense can take them. NFL world. “It’s not just the Hail Mary,” Marinelli’s star pupil has been de- And so here we are in the mid- Lost in the neon of Prescott’s and Marinelli said Thursday, “it’s every- fensive end David Irving, undrafted dle of January, and coordinator Rod Elliott’s arrivals, however, has been thing he does. He boots, he gets out- and plucked off the Kansas City Marinelli’s patchwork defense has a defense that allowed 20 or fewer side – the run-pass threat. He sets practice squad. taken the Cowboys – even carried points in 10 of 16 games this season. up in the pocket and moves around.” Rodgers and the Packers will bring them on certain Sundays – to the A defense, unlike the Cowboys’ of- By this time, though, 13 victo- a seven-game winning streak to Ar- brink of the NFC title game. fense, that lists only two fi rst-round ries since a struggling preseason, lington. Marinelli understands the Postseason honours are certainly draft picks (Morris Claiborne, Byron the Cowboys have pieced together a challenge that awaits. due the two rookies, running back Jones) on its depth chart. A defense measure of depth on their defensive “You’re looking at a fi rst ballot Ezekiel Elliott and quarterback Dak with 11 players who were either un- line. Even with Demarcus Lawrence Hall of Famer,” he said of Rodgers. Prescott, and the draft-enriched of- drafted free agents or selected in the being suspended for four games “We know what’s in store for us.” fensive line fully deserves all of its sixth or seventh round of the NFL and Randy Gregory for most of the What was supposed to be the Pro Bowl honours. Head coach Jason draft. season, Marinelli has found a rota- Cowboys’ fatal shortcoming this Garrett, likewise, should be a heavy That’s what Marinelli was hand- tion of usually eight that he can call season has turned into one of its best favourite for NFL coach of the year. ed, and yet here he is, still fi nding upon. stories. There ought to be some kind Dallas Cowboys’ Rod Marinelli. But Marinelli, too, has earned ways to get his defense off the eldfi “We’ve just got to keep coming,” of award for that. Gulf Times 8 Sunday, January 15, 2017 SPORT

NHL SPOTLIGHT Yankees settle with Pineda, Gregorius New Jersey Devils and others

By Laura Albanese Pineda was 6-12 last year, Newsday with a 4.82 ERA. Despite show- ing fl ashes of true ability, he continued to struggle to live up he Yankees settled to the expectations he estab- hold on for 2-1 win nearly all their eli- lished in his 2011 rookie year, gible players before when he was an All-Star. He the arbitration dead- did strike out an average of 10.6 line,T but still have one major over nine innings, an American question mark left as Dellin League best among qualifi ers. Betances appears to be headed Gregorius, meanwhile, toward arbitration. spent last year establishing As expected, Michael Pine- himself as a leader on and off over Calgary Flames da and Didi Gregorius got the the fi eld, compiling a slash biggest paydays Friday, as the line of .276/.304/.447 with Yankees’ mercurial right- 20 homers, 70 RBIs and seven ‘Probably after the Washington game, we had some systematic things we had to do’ hander settled for $7.3mn, ac- stolen bases. cording to published reports Washington Nationals - a $3mn pay bump. Gregorius, star outfi elder Bryce Harper 26, got $5.1mn out of the deal, avoided salary arbitration according to Jon Heyman of by agreeing to a one-year, FanRag Sports; the shortstop $13.625 million deal. made $2.425m last season. Harper, 24, received a pay The Yankees also signed increase of more than $8 mil- catcher Austin Romine to an lion despite a down season in $805,000 deal, according which he batted .243 with 24 to reports, as well as pitcher homers and 86 RBIs. He made Adam Warren, who will make $5 million in 2016. $2.29mn. The four-time All-Star was Outfi elder Aaron Hicks and unanimous National League lefty Tommy Layne also set- MVP in 2015 when he batted tled, the team announced, .330 with 42 homers and 99 though the terms were not RBIs. Harper has a .279 career disclosed. All six deals are average with 121 homers and one-year, non-guaranteed 334 RBIs in fi ve seasons with contracts, the team confi rmed. the Nationals. Betances remains the big- Harper is slated to become gest unknown for the Yan- a free agent after the 2018 kees; the 27-year-old made season. $507,000 last year and is The Baltimore Orioles fi rst-year arbitration eligible. avoided salary arbitration He’s projected to get a nearly with star closer Zach Britton $3 million pay hike in arbitra- when the two sides agreed on tion, according to MLB Trade a one-year, $11.4 million deal. Rumors projections. The left-hander, a perfect He was 3-6 last year, when 47 of 47 in save opportunities, he made the All-Star team for recorded a microscopic 0.54 the third season in a row, with ERA over 69 relief appearanc- a 3.08 ERA; he struck out 126 es while allowing four earned over 73.0 innings and took on runs all season. He won the closer duties after the Yankees Mariano Rivera Reliever of cleaned house in the second the Year Award as the AL’s top half of the season. bullpen performer.

Calgary Flames right wing Troy Brouwer (No 36) and New Jersey Devils center Travis Zajac (No 19) dodge a shot in front of goalie Keith Kinkaid during the third period at Scotia- bank Saddledome. Devils won 2-1. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports

By Andrew Gross ing scored just four goals in their 0-2-2 derstanding in the defensive zone the net- riod’s only goal at 14:04 as Sean Monahan The Record (Hackensack, N.J.) slide while allowing 12. front box out details. The key is we have was left unchecked at the crease to depos- Despite the less-than-ideal goals- to maintain that commitment and bring it the rebound of Dougie Hamilton’s wrist against numbers, the Devils have tight- more on the off ensive side.” shot to cut the Devils’ lead to 2-1. alfway through what Taylor Hall ened their game defensively in terms of The Devils certainly combined their of- The Devils had their chances to increase billed as potential “make it or limiting odd-man rushes and rebound fensive and defensive eff orts in the rstfi that one-goal lead, with Johnson twice break it” four-game road trip, chances at the crease. period, outshooting the Flames, 14-7, in- stopping P.A. Parenteau at the crease in well, the Devils aren’t broken. “Early in the year, we had that com- cluding taking six of the game’s fi rst seven the fi rst minute of the third period and HShowing no signs of weariness after mitment on the off ensive side of the red shots on net, killing off two power plays then stopping Miles Wood’s breakaway Hall’s return to Edmonton the previous line but we didn’t have it on the defen- while allowing a combined two shots and backhander at 15:00. night, the Devils played a solid game in sive side,” Devils coach John Hynes said. taking a 2-0 lead on an even-strength goal Then, the Devils couldn’t add a second both ends of the rink and hung on for a “Now, we have it on the defensive side. If from Palmieri and Hall’s power play goal. power-play goal after rookie center Blake 2-1 win over the Flames on Friday night at we can put both of them together, we’re Hall, coming off what he described as Coleman, playing his second game since Scotiabank Saddledome. going to be a better team.” a “stressful” six-day stretch in which he being called up from Albany (AHL), was If anything, the Flames seemed the Kinkaid was making his fi rst start since had to play his former Oilers’ teammates tripped by Dougie Hamilton at 15:25. sleepier of the two teams. So the Devils a 6-2 loss to the visiting Capitals on Dec. twice as the Devils lost both games in The Devils had failed to maintain a 2-1 (17-18-9), who snapped a four-game los- 29, though he had relieved Cory Schnei- overtime, was a force in the off ensive zone third-period lead in their overtime loss to ing streak, now have collected three of der, who had started the last six games, with his passing and physical play. the Oilers. four points so far on the trip. The Devils after Schneider allowed three goals on fi ve And, at 18:31, he made it 2-0 with a ris- face the Canucks next on Sunday. shots in a 4-2 loss to the visiting Maple ing shot from the left circle over Johnson’s RESULTS Keith Kinkaid made 31 saves, Kyle Leafs on Jan. 6. left shoulder. Palmieri had the primary Capitals 6 Blackhawks 0 Palmieri had a goal and an assist and Hall Schneider made 32 saves in Thursday assist after giving the Devils a 1-0 lead at Maple Leafs 4 Rangers 2 scored his fi rst goal in six games. night’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Oilers. 6:22, beating Johnson to the short side Hurricanes 5 Sabres 2 Chad Johnson stopped 34 shots for the “Probably after the Washington game, from the left off a rush. Islanders 5 Panthers 2 Flames (23-20-20), who had won four we had some systematic things we had to But the Flames wrested some of the Blue Jackets 3 Lightning 1 straight at home in regulation. do,” Hynes said. momentum from the Devils in the second Devils 2 Flames 1 The Devils entered Friday’s game hav- “The players have done a nice job of un- half of the second period, scoring that pe- Coyotes 4 Jets 3 Michael Pineda.

BASEBALL Cubs fans gush appreciation for World Series title

By Mark Gonzales the world, not only in Chicago. covered was his explanation “For me, there are no hard Chicago Tribune The fans want another cham- for not planning to attend the feelings toward anybody,” Arri- pionship. As a lot of people will team’s visit Monday with Presi- eta said. say, ‘This is the most important dent Barack Obama at the White “It’s a business. The team has he honeymoon remains one,’ which it might be. But once House, slightly more than two to do what’s in their best inter- passionate, especially spring training hits, it’s time to months after fi ring off a tweet est. That’s completely under- for the fans who charged win another one.” that criticized celebrities for at- standable from my perspective. I through the main ball- During the opening ceremony, tacking President-elect Donald get it. I respect (President) Theo Troom doors of the Sheraton cheers could be heard through Trump shortly after Trump won Epstein and (general manager) Grand Chicago to honour their the multiple levels of the hotel the election. Jed Hoyer and the rest of the heroes Friday night more than as each player was being intro- “There’s a lot of stuff going on front offi ce immensely and this two hours before the offi cial start duced, with a crescendo of ap- behind the scenes people don’t organisation. of Cubs Convention. preciation rendered after recent- know about,” said Arrieta, who “You’d be a fool not to, based It was a brief release of con- ly retired David Ross – the last disclosed that two family mem- on what they’ve done and where gestion for several thousand player introduced – brought the ories are dealing with medical this organisation is. To be a part of supporters wanting to express championship trophy on stage. issues. what we’ve been able to accom- their emotional support for the “People have opinions of me, plish over the last couple of years fi rst Cubs team to win a World It was a brief release of but it’s nothing about who is our is remarkable. It would be great to Series since 1908. congestion for several thou- president and who is not. It’s stay here, but we’ll take it one day And for Jake Arrieta, the ap- sand supporters wanting just we have things to take care at a time and go from there.” preciation couldn’t be recipro- to express their emotional of. ... We have a lot going on. So From a baseball standpoint, cated any sooner. support for the fi rst Cubs I won’t be going to that (visit). “ Arrieta seemed focused on pre- “I haven’t paid for many team to win a World Series Arrieta’s tweet, “Time for paring for 2017. meals in quite a while,” said Ar- since 1908 Hollywood to pony up and head “I wanted to get (the contract) rieta, who helped lead the Cubs for the border (hashtag)illhelpy- out of the way,” said Arrieta, the with two World Series victo- Meanwhile, Arrieta elaborated oupack (hashtag)beatit,” was 2015 National League Cy Young ries. “People are very generous with no signs of stress as he and directed toward those who said Award winner. here. They love sports, and they the Cubs earlier avoided arbitra- they would leave the country if “It’s a good deal. I didn’t want live and breathe for the Cubs. It tion when they agreed on a one- Trump won the election. anything to linger. Get it out of starts a birth for most people in year, $15.6375 million contract Arrieta could fi nd himself the way and move on, enjoy this this city, and rightfully so. with free agency looming next leaving the Cubs after 2017, al- for a couple of days and get on “It’s a tremendous thing to be off season. though he seemed pleased and to Arizona and start playing Former Cubs catcher David Ross shows off the 2016 Commissioner’s Trophy on the first day of the Cubs a part of. We have fans all across Among the topics Arrieta philosophical about his future. again.” Convention at the Sheraton Grand Chicago on January 13. (Chicago Tribune) Gulf Times Sunday, Janaury 15, 2017 9 SPORT

GOLF RUGBY Eight-try Leinster romp into Euro McIlroy trails leader quarter-fi nals

AFP plete his hat-trick later in the Paris half with Luke McGrath, Cian Healy and Garry Ringrose also scoring for a rampant Lein- hree-time winners ster. Storm by 3 strokes in Leinster raced into “It felt like I had been hit the European Cham- by a forward,” said Sexton as pions Cup quarter-fi - he recalled the collision with Tnals Friday with an eight-try, Steyn. 57-3 humiliation of Montpel- “I know Frans, he’s a good lier who had Springboks star guy and not a dirty player. I Francois Steyn red-carded for felt for him. It may have been a sickening tackle on Jonny accidental but with the rules South African Open Sexton. these days you can’t aff ord to The Irish side, champions be reckless.” in 2009, 2011 and 2012, en- On Sunday, three-time ‘I have never played with Rory before, but I know him really well’ sured top spot in Pool 4 on 21 champions Toulon welcome points with a trip to Castres back Australian playmaker to come next week where they Matt Giteau for their make- will aim to guarantee a home or-break match against Sale. tie in the last-eight. Toulon trail reigning cham- Leinster were already 14-3 pions Saracens by eight points ahead by the 26th minute in Pool 3 and with a visit to thanks to tries from skip- the English giants to come in per Isa Nacewa and fl anker round 6, their penultimate Jack Conan. But Montpel- round-robin outing against lier’s hopes were dashed when the Sharks is a must-win en- 2007 World Cup winner Steyn counter. was sent-off for a head-high Giteau, a key man in Tou- dangerous tackle on Irish fl y- lon’s hat-trick of titles from half counterpart Sexton. 2013-15, is back to fi tness af- While Sexton lay pole-axed ter suff ering a broken ankle on the ground, the bearded and an additional leg frac- 29-year-old Steyn, who had ture playing for the Wallabies kicked the French side’s only against New Zealand in the points, was red-carded de- Rugby Championship. spite his protests. Munster and Glasgow are Nacewa popped over the locked at the top of Pool 1, resulting penalty before Lein- with Leicester in third and ster grabbed their third try Racing 92, last year’s beaten of the fi rst half through fl y- fi nalists, pointless in fourth. ing winger Adam Byrne who And Pool 2 sees a three-way sprinted over for his third try shared lead between Wasps, in the tournament this season. Toulouse and Connacht, with The onslaught continued Italian whipping boys Zebre after the break with Conan bottom. adding the fourth try just be- Arguably one of the match- fore the hour mark, bullying es of the weekend will be his way past four defenders to Munster’s trip to Glasgow on score under the posts. Saturday, with the two teams It gave Leinster the bonus having hit some great form. point with Sexton adding The Irish province smashed the extras for good meas- Racing last week and have ure against a weary-looking already beaten the Warriors, Montpellier. 38-17, in the second round of Conan went on to com- matches.

Rory McIlroy stays in contention in South African Open despite back pain.

AFP “I am not sure how many supporters I ond that dropped just past the pin, then ney and another two coming back. Johannesburg will have compared to him, but we will trickled back into the hole. McIlroy was the only one of fi ve ma- have some fun out there,” he chuckled. The 27-year-old Irishman, who suf- jor winners starting the tournament who “I have never played with Rory before, fered back pain during the second round, survived the cut. orld number two Rory McIl- but I know him really well. raised his arms in delight against a back- Ernie Els and Retief Goosen of South roy remained in hot pursuit of “I am just pleased that I kept the mo- drop of thunderous applause. Africa, Nick Faldo of England and Darren the South African Open title mentum going from the second round, He turned in three-under 33 and af- Clarke of Northern Ireland fi nished below yesterday after a third-round played really nicely and holed some good ter picking up three consecutive bird- the one-under 143 cut-off mark. W67 that included an eagle left him second, putts.” ies from 11, slightly stained his scorecard three shots behind Graeme Storm. South African Jbe Kruger carded a 69 by bogeying the fi nal hole for the second Leading third round scores Englishman Storm also carded a fi ve- and Englishman Jordan Smith a 66 to straight round. McIlroy is experimenting 199—Graeme Storm (ENG) 69-63-67 under 67 at Glendower golf Club in Jo- share third place on 203. with clubs from three manufacturers after 202—Rory McIlroy (NIR) 67-68-67 hannesburg for a total of 199 with McIlroy The lowest score of the day was a Nike, with whom he had a multimillion- 203—Jbe Kruger 67-67-69, Jordan Smith from Northern Ireland on 202 in the Euro- course record-equalling 63 from Italian dollar deal, pulled out of the equipment (ENG) 67-68-68 pean Tour event. Edoardo Molinari, including nine birdies, market 204—Dean Burmester 67-70-67, Romain “I wish I was a little bit closer to the which matched the second-round score While the stunning length of some Langasque (FRA) 70-66-68, Edoardo leader,” admitted McIlroy after a round of Storm. Molinari is among six title chal- drives by the Irishman had spectators Molinari (ITA) 71-70-63, Joel Stalter (FRA) played in hot, partly cloudy conditions. lengers on 204, fi ve shots off the pace. gasping, he was also wayward occasional- 69-70-65, Jaco van Zyl 71-65-68, Peter “Graeme is three shots ahead of me at McIlroy, a four-time major winner who ly, requiring some skilful recoveries from Uihlein (USA) 70-64-70 the moment so it would be nice to make trails Australian Jason Day in the world thick, tree-surrounded rough. 205—Thomas Aiken 67-70-68, Trevor a fast start tomorrow (Sunday) and close rankings, had the large gallery which fol- Storm saw his lead over McIlroy dwin- Fisher jnr 66-68-71, Keith Horne 66-69-70, the gap. If I can quickly narrow the gap lowed him buzzing with excitement when dle to one shot several times, but the golf- Richard Johnson (SWE) 69-70-66, Mikko between us to two or one shots, it will set he eagled the eighth. er ranked 251 in the world held his nerve Korhonen (FIN) 72-66-67 up an interesting fi nal round.” A long, straight drive at a parkland to increase his second-round lead by one 206—Laurie Canter (ENG) 69-66-71, David Montpellier’s Fijian flanker Akapusi Qera looks to pass the ball Storm has no fears about playing along- course littered with water hazards was stroke. He did not drop a shot while pick- Drysdale (SCO) 70-65-71, Chris Hanson during the European Rugby Champions Cup rugby union Pool 4 side McIlroy for the fi rst time. followed by a 144-metre (157-yard) sec- ing up three birdies on the outward jour- (ENG) 71-69-66. match between Leinster and Montpellier in Dublin. (AFP)

SPOTLIGHT Thomas moves 5 ahead at Waialae in record style euters gle putt to post a landmark to- strokes back at 10-under, tied for enough birdies on the back nine St. Augustine, Florida; tal at the tournament’s halfway third with Americans Hudson to kind of counteract that,” said mark. Swaff ord (68) and Zach Johnson, Thomas, who clinched his third “I played great,” Thomas told who fi red a best-of-the-day PGA Tour victory at the SBS ustin Thomas, hunting Golf Channel. “I really hit a lot of 61. Tournament of Champions, also his third victory of the quality shots today. Thomas, who became only the in Hawaii, tomorrow. young season, eagled the “The three bogeys I made were seventh player to break 60 on the His other two PGA Tour tri- par-fi ve last to set a PGA just terrible... a lack of concen- PGA Tour, birdied two of the fi rst umphs came in Malaysia, when TourJ record for 36 holes and tration or just not playing smart seven holes on Friday before he he won the CIMB Classic in Nov. stretch his overnight lead to fi ve but obviously I had a great day bogeyed the eighth after pulling 2015 and defended the title last shots after the second round of out there. To fi nish with that ea- his tee shot left into a treeline. October. the Sony Open in Hawaii on gle was huge.” Friday. Thomas’ 36-hole aggregate Fellow American Gary Leading second-round scores Three strokes clear after eclipsed the previous low of 124 Woodland, also known for 123—Justin Thomas 59-64 opening with a magical 11-un- jointly held by Pat Perez (2009 his prodigious length off 128—Gary Woodland 64-64 der-par 59, the American world Bob Hope Classic), David Toms the tee, was alone in second 130—Hudson Swaff ord 62-68, number 12 followed up with a (2011 Crowne Plaza Invitation- place aft er carding a second Justin Rose (ENG) 66-64, Zach six-under 64 on another be- al) and Jason Day (2015 BMW successive 64 Johnson 69-61 nign day of ideal scoring condi- Championship). 131—Webb Simpson 66-65, tions at Waialae Country Club in He then rebounded with a run Charles Howell 65-66, Luke List Honolulu. TOO AGGRESSIVE of four birdies from the ninth to 67-64, Satoshi Kodaira (JPN) The long-hitting Thomas, a “Just like yesterday, any time stretch his lead to fi ve strokes 65-66, Russell Henley 64-67, winner in two of his last three you can get your name in the before he ran up another bogey Russell Knox (SCO) 64-67, Tony PGA Tour starts, also recorded record books, it’s awesome,” said at the 13th, where he bunkered Finau 64-67 seven birdies and three bogeys to Thomas. “It’s really cool to get a his approach. After lipping out 132—Jamie Lovemark 64-68, post a 17-under total of 123 in the record like that.” with a birdie attempt from fi ve Rory Sabbatini (RSA) 63-69, fi rst full-fi eld event of the year Fellow American Gary Wood- feet at the 14th, Thomas picked Scott Piercy 66-66, Miguel on the US circuit. land, also known for his pro- up another shot at the 15th but Tabuena (PHI), Henrik Norlander Despite fi nding the left rough digious length off the tee, was bogeyed the par-three 17th (SWE), Y.E. Yang (KOR) 67-65, off the tee at the par-fi ve 18th, alone in second place after card- where he paid the price for being Daniel Berger 65-67, Jordan the 23-year-old struck a superb ing a second successive 64. too aggressive off the tee. Spieth 65-67, Hideto Tanihara second shot from 205 yards to Olympic champion Justin “The bogeys on 13 and 17 were (JPN) 67-65, Cameron Smith PGA golfer Justin Thomas tees off on the 17th hole during the second round of the Sony Open golf tourna- nine feet and coolly sank the ea- Rose (64) was a further two a bit of a bummer but I made (AUS) 64-68. ment at Waialae Country Club. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports Gulf Times 10 Sunday, January 15, 2017 SPORT

TENNIS Tears as Muller grabs fi rst career title with Sydney win ‘It means a lot. I was waiting a long time. I played my first final in 2004. We are in 2017 and I waited 13 years to win my first title. I’m just very happy. For the past two or three years, it was probably my biggest goal to win a title’

AFP Sydney

uxembourg’s Gilles Muller broke through for his fi rst career ATP World Tour title with a straight sets win over Britain’s Daniel Evans in the Sydney International Lfi nal yesterday. Left-hander Muller, 33, one of the Tour’s biggest servers, fi nished too strongly for the 67th-ranked Evans, winning 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 in 88 minutes. He fi nally claimed a title after 17 years on the circuit with his victory continuing his impres- sive record of consistency in Sydney after reach- ing the semi-fi nals in the past two years. Muller at 34 was the highest-ranked player in the top 50 without a tournament title after los- ing in fi ve fi nals, including two last season, both on grass in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Newport. Muller, who was handed his winner’s trophy by Australian Grand Slam great Rod Laver, be- came emotional and broke down in tears during his victory speech at the presentation ceremony. “What a night! I’ve waited a long time for this,” he said. “It just means so much to me to win this tournament in front of my wife and boys.” Muller later told reporters: “It means a lot. I was waiting a long time. I played my fi rst fi nal in 2004. We are in 2017 and I waited 13 years to win my fi rst title. I’m just very happy. For the past two or three years, it was probably my biggest goal to win a title. “I always dreamed of that, and I was so close last year. So I was very scared and worried that I was going to be one of those players that maybe would never win a title. Everything that hap- pened tonight was like in a movie. Rod Laver there, standing on centre court with the trophy, my kids in the stands, I can’t ask for more.” Evans saved two set points before the opening set went to a tiebreaker. Muller took the set with a forehand winner Gilles Muller and a smash and then got a double-break to celebrates his win control the second set and cruise to victory. with sons Lenny Evans, who knocked out the top seed Aus- and Nils. (AFP) tria’s Dominic Thiem in the quarter-fi nals, was bidding to become the fi rst British singles champion in Sydney since Tim Henman in 1997. “He served too good. Obviously the fi rst-set tiebreak was a big one,” Evans said. “It would have been tough for him to regain focus and go again if I’d won the fi rst set, but I didn’t. He was good front runner. I couldn’t get anywhere near in 74 minutes. World number 40 Niculescu will Houston in 2015. “Winning the whole tourna- on the eve of the Australian Open, which starts his serve.” have little time to recover from missing out on ment and going through a whole week without Aussie Puttergill banned tomorrow amid frustration over growing cor- a fourth career title before she opens her 10th being beaten, is a massive confi dence booster, for six months over betting ruption in the sport in Australia. Australian Open campaign against a qualifi er in not only in the short term... but for the year. I Australia’s Nick Lindahl was banned for sev- Qualifier Mertens completes Melbourne on Tuesday. thought I was hitting the ball well. I was doing Australia’s Calum Puttergill has been suspended en years and fi ned $35,000 for corruption last fairytale run with Hobart title what I wanted to do, I was executing my game.” for six months and fi ned $10,000 after being found Tuesday as tennis authorities step up their fi ght Sock, the tournament fourth seed who had guilty of a betting-related corruption off ence, the against match-fi xing. Belgian qualifi er Elise Mertens completed her Sock wins Auckland Classic been extended in two three-setters early in the Tennis Integrity Unit announced yesterday. In a separate incident, police recently re- fairytale run at the Hobart International by American Jack Sock triumphed in the fi nal of week, broke at 3-3 when the Portuguese put a Puttergill was found to have used two online vealed an 18-year-old, reported to be Austral- beating third seed Monica Niculescu 6-3, 6-1 to the Auckland Classic yesterday with a 6-3, 5-7, backhand volley into the net to take command of betting accounts to place 291 bets on tennis be- ian Open boys champion Oliver Anderson, had clinch her maiden WTA Tour title yesterday. 6-3 win over Joao Sousa from Portugal. It was the fi rst set. tween May 2012 and November 2014. None of the been charged with match-fi xing at the second- The 21-year-old, ranked 127th in the world, a sweet outcome for Sock after he was forced After a break each early in the second set Sock bets related to matches in which the 23-year-old tier Traralgon Challenger event last October and was broken in her fi rst service game by her more to retire because of illness in last year’s fi nal was poised to take out the match at 5-4 with played, but under TIU rules, all players are ex- would appear in court in March. experienced Romanian opponent but rallied to against Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut. Sousa serving and down 0-30. plicitly prohibited from betting on any profes- Romania’s Mihaita Damian was also sus- become the third qualifi er to win the Hobart ti- This year he stayed healthy and took less However, Sousa fought back with four sional tennis match anywhere in the world. pended on Friday, receiving a 12-month ban and a tle after Mona Barthel (2012) and Garbine Mu- than two hours to dispose of Sousa, who had not straight points and continued to dominate when The fi nal three months of the suspension and $5,300 fi ne after being found guilty of a betting- guruza (2014). dropped a set previously in the tournament. It he broke Sock in the next game and went on to $5,000 of the fi ne are suspended on the condi- related corruption off ence. Damian, ranked 1,645 Mertens had passed up the chance to qualify was a satisfying win for the world number 23 who hold serve to level at a set each. tion that Puttergill commits no further violation in doubles, held two online betting accounts for the Australian Open singles draw by remain- hoped it lead to an impressive run through the year. In the decider, Sock made the crucial break prior to July 2017. through which 199 bets were placed on tennis be- ing in Hobart and was rewarded for her loyalty to “Any time you can take a title it feels re- in the eighth game and then held serve for the Puttergill has a current doubles ranking of tween November 2011 and February 2013. None the tournament when she wrapped up the title ally good,” said Sock who had previously won in championship. 891 and 1,207 in singles. His punishment comes of the bets related to matches in which he played.

BOXING Lara KOs Foreman to retain super welterweight belt AFP pointed Daniel Santos to become the match for him,” White said. “Conor Mc- Miami fi rst Orthodox Jewish fi ghter in more Gregor is his money fi ght. Tell you what, than 70 years to win a world title, but Floyd, here’s a real off er — and I’m the he had fought just twice since 2013, guy who can make the off er — we’ll pay rislandy Lara knocked out against lightly regarded opponents. you $25mn and Conor $25mn.” Yuri Foreman with a crush- “Of course I’m disappointed, but this White scoff ed at Mayweather’s claim ing left uppercut in the fourth is boxing,” Foreman said. “I got caught this week that he’d off ered McGregor Eround to retain his World Box- with a perfect punch and that’s what $15mn to climb into the ring with him. ing Association super welterweight happens. I have been hit harder in my Mayweather, who retired in 2015 world title yesterday. Cuban southpaw career, but I take nothing away from him. with a perfect 49-0 record, told ESPN’s Lara made good on his vow to make a He’s a very strong puncher in his prime First Take programme that a McGre- statement against former champ Fore- and I give him credit. I will take some gor bout was the only thing that could man, even though the knockdown he time to talk to my team and my family and tempt him to end his exile from the ring. was credited with in round three looked see what comes next, as far as boxing.” Mayweather said he’d talked to Mc- more like a slip by the challenger. Gregor’s representatives. “They know One round later, however, there was what my number is. My number is a no doubt as his well-placed uppercut UFC boss White off ers guaranteed $100mn,” he said, adding sent Foreman, a Belarus-born fi ghter Mayweather, McGregor that he considered himself the “A-side” based in the United States, reeling. of the promotion. Foreman eventually regained his feet $25mn each to fight “To think that you’re the ‘A’ side... but was disoriented and Lara won by he possibility of a duel between how are you the ‘A’ side?” White said. knockout at 1:47 of the fourth. Tboxer Floyd Mayweather and mixed “He’s claiming he’s made off ers. He “I promised I would do it and I did it,” martial arts star Conor McGregor got hasn’t made off ers to anybody. I just said Lara, who improved to 24-2-2 with another boost yesterday as Ultimate made a real off er. Conor McGregor will 14 wins inside the distance. Fighting Championship boss Dana fi ght anybody, anywhere, anytime, and The satisfi ed champion promptly White said he’d pay each $25mn to meet. there is a line of guys he’ll fi ght who’ll called out the cream of the middleweight White, president of the popular UFC do more than 1mn pay-per-view buys.” division — unbeaten champion Gennady mixed martial arts brand in which Ire- McGregor became the fi rst man to Golovkin of Kazakhstan, and Mexico’s land’s McGregor stars, seemed to in- simultaneously hold UFC titles in two former champ Canelo Alvarez. dicate in his comments on a Fox radio weight divisions when he beat Eddie “I’m ready to fi ght the best in the broadcast that the two would meet in a Alvarez in New York on November 12. world, Golovkin, Canelo,” he said. boxing ring, not the UFC octagon. At the end of November he was is- “Whoever is willing to step in the ring In addition to $25mn apiece, White sued a boxing license in the state of with me, I’m willing to fi ght.” said, each fi ghter would get a cut of pay- California in a development that fuelled Foreman fell to 34-3-0 with 10 per-view proceeds. “If they’re going to speculation about a showdown be- knockouts. In 2009, Foreman had out- box, Floyd looks at this as an easy boxing tween him and Mayweather. Gulf Times Sunday, January 15, 2017 11 TENNIS

SPOTLIGHT Australia braced for Kyrgios roller-coaster ride Reuters salving it with cortisone patches but 24-year-old told reporters at Melbourne Melbourne insisted yesterday that he would be fi t Park, quickly wearying of the continued enough for his fi rst round match against attention over his weight. “Will fi tness Portugal’s Gastao Elias. help them? I don’t think so.” ith fi rebrand Nick Kyrgios “Yeah, it’s feeling really good. I’ve Former US Open champion Saman- Australia’s top hope at the done four or fi ve treatments on it,” Kyr- tha Stosur, as ever, remains Australia’s year’s fi rst grand slam, local gios, a quarter-fi nalist at the 2015 tour- top hope in the women’s draw but has fans may be set for a thrill- nament, told reporters at Melbourne always suff ered from crippling nerves Wing, if occasionally bumpy roller-coaster Park. “Got one more tomorrow. Yeah, in the spotlight of her home grand ride at Melbourne Park. it’s feeling a lot better since I last com- slam, where she has never surpassed Kyrgios, a 21-year-old with a temper peted, which was in Perth. So I’ve had the fourth round. as prodigious as his talent, brings a 14th massive improvements in my knee.” The 32-year-old, who meets Briton seeding and a growing esteem from Kyrgios’s knee problems have added Heather Watson in the fi rst round, re- higher-ranked tour rivals despite his to fi tness concerns about Australia’s mains a formidable player on her day explosive tantrums and long rap-sheet number two Bernard Tomic, another and turned back the clock with a run of on-court transgressions. player with a record of poor conduct to the semi-fi nals at the French Open His last major meltdown occurred both on and off the court. last year. But she is in the midst of a at the Shanghai Masters in October, for Neither player has ever sounded en- huge form slump, having not won a tour which he was fi ned $25,000 and sus- thused about reaching Andy Murray- match since reaching the second round pended for eight weeks after clashing like levels of fi tness and Tomic, seeded at the US Open. with fans, the chair umpire and walking 27th in Melbourne, has raised alarm Australian women’s number two off court in the middle of a point. The bells over his weight, fi rstly for being too Daria Gavrilova, who plays another outburst came just days after he won heavy and then for going on a crash diet. Briton in Naomi Broady, may be bet- the Japan Open, his third title in a year Tomic, who plays Brazil’s Thomaz ter equipped to go deep, having fed off of impressive growth and improve- Bellucci in the fi rst round, said he had the crowd fervour on a run to the fourth ment, histrionics aside. shed 4.5 kg in a week, having been too round last year. Drama never seems far away far “fat” at the Brisbane International, “I’m not really thinking about last away from Kyrgios and his leadup to where he lost his opener against Spain’s year too much, but I know that it was Melbourne has been blighted by a knee David Ferrer. pretty cool times and I had big crowds,” problem which saw him limp through “There are some players not as fi t as the Russia-born 22nd seed told local the Hopman Cup in Perth. He has been me inside the top 10, 15 in the world,” the media. “That’s all I play for.”

RARING TO GO Trump not to Nadal’s taste ormer tennis world Nadal did criticise a Spanish number one Rafael Nadal political establishment left in Fsaid yesterday that US virtual paralysis for much of President-elect Donald Trump last year after inconclusive De- was not quite to his taste while cember 2015 elections before lamenting Spanish politics has conservative leader Mariano Djokovic defl ects also, in his view, become too Rajoy was sworn in to head a razzmatazz. new minority government. “It’s not my style. I was in “Everything is turning into a the United States when Trump show — and Spain is not a show. was on the campaign trail,” Spain is a country, our present Nadal told Spanish online site El and our future,” the 30-year- Espanol as he limbered up for old said, indicating he believed the Australian Open. “It is true supporters of diff erent strands Becker question that I don’t care for his manner of political opinion should reach of speaking — his way of ex- out for the good of the nation. pressing himself is not a style I Nadal, whose season was ‘We’ve had amazing success. It’s all I can say. I don’t want to go back and comment appreciate,” added Nadal, while plagued by a wrist injury last conceding he was no expert on season, said he was ready for on anything. I kept a very friendly relationship with Boris. We just went separate ways’ the US political scene. the Australian Open which “Also, I’ll be honest — the oth- starts tomorrow. er option didn’t do much for me “I feel good today,” said AFP either,” added the Spaniard in Nadal, currently ranked ninth, Melbourne allusion to defeated Democratic adding that if he could stay fit candidate Hillary Clinton. he could get back to competing Nadal consoled himself with with the best. ovak Djokovic yesterday said he the thought that in a globalised Nadal’s preparations were wasn’t planning to replace Boric world Trump would not neces- hit in terms of match fitness Becker in his coaching team and sarily be able to have things all at least when he lost to Milos defl ected criticism from the Ger- his own way. Raonic in the quarter-finals in manN about his work-rate as he prepared to The Mallorcan winner of 14 Brisbane after first winning an defend his Australian Open title. Grand Slam singles titles was exhibition event in Abu Dhabi. Djokovic, seeking a record seventh Aus- more guarded in his assessment “Injuries or no injuries I’ve tralian Open crown after being ousted as of the incoming president than had a fantastic career to date world number one by Andy Murray, heads actress Meryl Streep, who ear- — but that doesn’t mean I don’t into the year’s fi rst Grand Slam with long- lier this week used the Golden want to improve. Of course I time coach Marian Vajda and his newly ap- Globes ceremony to blast Trump. do,” he concluded. pointed assistant Dusan Vemic. “I’m not thinking of bringing anybody in. This is the coaching team that there is,” FOCUS said Djokovic, who split with Becker after three trophy-fi lled seasons late last year. Djokovic sidestepped a question about Becker’s remarks that the Serb’s training Kerber an inspiration for intensity had dropped during a sudden plunge in form in the second half of 2016. “We’ve had amazing success. It’s all I frustrated bridesmaids can say. I don’t want to go back and com- ment on anything. I kept a very friendly Reuters club last September when she relationship with Boris. We just went sep- Melbourne lost to Kerber at the US Open, arate ways,” Djokovic said. the fi rst time she had got past In Melbourne, Djokovic, seeded two, the third round at a grand slam. will be hoping to show he’s back to his ngelique Kerber’s sud- The 24-year-old big-serving best after a period of sustained domi- den emergence as a Czech broke into the top fi ve nance abruptly ended last year after the grand slam champion in the world on the back of her French Open. The Serb bettered Murray is an inspiration to the Flushing Meadows run and in a thrilling fi nal this month in Doha, a Aother players who are regulars in clinched her seventh career title performance that suggested he may be re- the top 10 but have yet to bag one in Brisbane two weeks ago. gaining his edge — although he insisted he of the major prizes, Agnieszka Her dominant form in the was never “invincible”. Radwanska said yesterday. most prestigious Australian “Nobody is invincible. I never thought of The German had enjoyed Open warm-up had some local myself as a superior player on the court, even marginal grand slam success media tipping her for a maiden though of course at times I was very confi - with a couple of semi-fi nal ap- grand slam crown in 2017 but dent, I was winning a lot of matches,” he said. pearances to her name over she was reluctant to claim a “But (I know) how it feels on the court a nine-year span before she place among the contenders at if you get overconfi dent, that’s why I don’t stunned the world and Serena Melbourne Park. want to get into that kind of state of mind. I Williams to capture the Austral- “I would defi nitely not take still want to put myself in a position where ian Open crown last year. me as a favourite of this tourna- I’m quite even to other players, fi ght for The 28-year-old opens her ment. It’s a big draw,” the 2010 this trophy as anybody else, even though Melbourne Park title defence Australian Open junior cham- I’m defending champion.” as world number one this week pion said. Djokovic said getting back to world having proved last year’s tri- “There is still, I think, many number one wasn’t his top priority. He umph was no fl uke by also more players better than me. starts the season with 12 Grand Slam titles, claiming the US Open title and I guess everyone is in shape two shy of Rafael Nadal’s tally and fi ve off reaching the Wimbledon fi nal. and everyone is excited to play Roger Federer’s 17. “I think this is big inspira- this grand slam. Everyone was “As a consequence of the results, if I be- tion for everyone,” Radwanska, working hard in the off -season, come number one, that’s great. Of course, third seed at Melbourne Park, so it’s tough to say. We will just that’s what I want. But it’s not my main said. “Winning two grand slams see after few rounds here.” priority, let’s say,” he said. the same year, other couple big Garbine Muguruza had also He faces a diffi cult fi rst opponent in the expect. You come to Australia during the confi dent, I was winning a lot of matches. While hardly putting him back in the fi nals. That’s for sure something played and lost her maiden shape of Fernando Verdasco, the Span- summertime, and the conditions can get “But, you know, knowing how it feels on pack, 29-year-old Djokovic’s second amazing. She really played un- grand slam fi nal before she ex- ish left-hander with a “complete” game quite challenging and extreme.” the court, if you get overconfi dent, that’s seeding has resulted in a tougher draw believable tennis whole season. acted revenge on Williams in who ousted Nadal in fi ve sets in last year’s Djokovic has dominated the blue courts why I don’t want to get into that kind of than in years past. She just proved that she can do her second trip to a major title opening round. of Melbourne Park for the best part of a dec- state of mind. I still want to put myself in a He faces a stern opening test against it. I mean, two grand slams just decider to secure the Roland “I still haven’t had any nightmares, so I ade but the defending champion still fears position where I’m quite even to other play- Spanish veteran Verdasco, who held fi ve from pretty much nowhere.” Garros title last June. can’t call it a nightmare draw. I just see it as over-confi dence could prove his undoing. ers, fi ght for this trophy as anybody else, match points over the Serb at the Qa- Radwanska, who has enjoyed The seventh seed retired a huge challenge. I hope I’ll be able to de- Set to bid for a record seventh title and even though I’m defending champion.” tar Open. A possible fourth round match an intense rivalry with Kerber, from her semi-fi nal at the Bris- liver,” Djokovic said. a second hat-trick of trophies after his After completing a sweep of the Grand against Bulgarian talent Grigor Dim- has reached one major fi nal over bane event with a thigh injury Another challenge could be Australia’s 2011-13 run, the Serb has often seemed Slam titles at last year’s French Open, itrov, in red-hot form after upsetting Kei her decade-long career, losing after a couple of long three- summer-time weather, with temperatures invincible in Australia. This time, how- Djokovic suff ered a form slump and Mur- Nishikori and Milos Raonic to win the the 2012 Wimbledon title de- setters in earlier rounds but said forecast to soar towards 40 Celsius (104 ever, he has arrived Down Under in a more ray poached his number one ranking at the Brisbane International, follows. cider to Williams. she would be raring to go against Fahrenheit) during the fi rst week. humble position, without the top seed World Tour fi nals, but winning back the But Djokovic has also enjoyed sound Simona Halep, the Romanian Marina Erakovic in the opening Djokovic has bitter memories of the for the fi rst time in three years after con- top spot was not the Serb’s “main priority”. preparation and landed a psychological fourth seed, has also played and round. Melbourne heat, after he was forced to ceding the number one ranking to Briton “As a consequence of the results, if I be- blow against Murray by beating him in the lost a solitary grand slam fi - “I had enough off days to pre- retire with “heat illness” during his 2009 Andy Murray. come number one, that’s great. Of course, fi nal at Qatar last week to snap the Scot’s nal, as has Slovakian sixth seed pare. I think it took me long than quarter-fi nal against Andy Roddick. “I never had an invincibility, although that’s what I want,” he added. “I really 28-match winning streak. Dominika Cibulkova, who was I thought to recover from those “I don’t know still a player that enjoys I thank you for the compliment,” he said. would like to take one tournament at a time “I couldn’t ask for a better start of the runner-up in Melbourne to Li matches,” the Spaniard said. playing in 40 plus or 35 plus (degrees). It’s “Nobody is invincible. I never thought of and try to win as many matches as possible. season,” Djokovic said. “I still haven’t had Na in 2014 but arrives this year “But, yeah, I feel good. I’ve been same for everybody. It’s not easy,” he said. myself as a superior player on the court, Then, as I said, as a consequence to that, if I any nightmares, so I can’t call it a night- as the WTA Finals champion. training here for the past three “At the end of the day, that’s what you even though of course at times I was very become number one, I’ll be thrilled.” mare draw. I just see it as a huge challenge.” Karolina Pliskova joined the days. Yeah, I feel ready.” Sunday, January 15, 2017 GULF TIMES TENNIS

FOCUS ‘Selfi sh’ Serena says engagement hasn’t sunk in AFP was her current priority as she sizes playing well, so it will be good for both pointed when they fi rst heard the news, Melbourne up a diffi cult fi rst-round clash against of us,” she added. but she was ecstatic. Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic — in Despite her recent lack of time on “My Twitter was blowing up. I was forecast sweltering heat. court, nobody is writing off Williams, like, ‘What’s going on?’ That’s when glowing Serena Williams “I won’t allow it to sink in because who is renowned for her fi ghting quali- I saw it,” she said, explaining how she said she’s so focused on try- I’m so focused. I’m really focused on ties. She entered the Australian Open learned the American great was her ing to win another Grand Slam training, cardio, all kinds of stuff ,” said last year under an injury cloud hav- opening-round opponent. “My fi rst re- title she hasn’t let her engage- the 35-year-old. “Now I’m on the road, ing played only a handful of matches, action was actually, really happy. So I Ament to Reddit co-founder Alexis Oha- already back at work. I don’t want to yet went on to make the fi nal before a think I’m super-pumped, excited I get to nian sink in. get too happy because I want to stay shock defeat to Kerber. play on the big court, I guess. Everyone The American powerhouse broke focused.” Melbourne Park has been a happy is like, ‘Oh, bad luck with the draw’. Me, the news of her impending nuptials Seeded two, Williams, who lost the hunting ground. She claimed her fi rst I’m pretty happy and excited about it.” with a poem in late December on her top world ranking to Angelique Kerber Australian Open title way back in 2003, Bencic, a winner of two career titles verifi ed Reddit account, revealing that last year, has her work cut out if she is beating elder sister Venus in the fi nal. who partnered fellow Swiss Roger Fe- the 33-year-old went down on one to go one better than Graf. Meanwhile, a “super-pumped” derer at the Hopman Cup this month, knee during a trip to Rome. If she gets past Bencic, she could Bencic says her Twitter account went has form against Williams, stunning But as she attempts to break Steffi then encounter either in-form Briton into overdrive when news broke that her in the 2015 Toronto semi-fi nals. Graf’s Open era-record of 22 Grand Johanna Konta, who won the lead- Williams will be her fi rst opponent at It was the biggest win of her career, Slam singles titles at Melbourne Park, up Sydney International on Friday, or the Australian Open, with the Swiss and still vivid in her memory. “The Williams isn’t allowing her personal sixth seed Dominika Cibulkova in the starlet itching to get on court. memories, they never go away. They’re life to interfere with her preparations. quarter-fi nals. on the court,” she said of Melbourne her season and she has a 1-1 record with The 19-year-old, a former world always there. The best ones, for sure,” “I’ve said from the beginning, I just Williams has barely played since the Park. “It feels really good to be back, Williams, winning their last encounter number seven but unseeded this year, she said. “I still remember the last didn’t want to think about it until after US Open last September due to injury. just hitting on Rod Laver (Arena), hit- in the Toronto semi-fi nals in 2015. said she can’t wait to test her skills game, like every point, everything. Australia because Grand Slams mean a Her build-up to the Australian Open ting on all the stadiums, it’s a good “It’s never easy for me. So I always once again against the 22-time Grand It was, for sure, my biggest win until lot to me,” she said yesterday. “It’s al- was far from ideal when she was bun- feeling. I love it here.” go out there, and all I can do is do my Slam champion. “It’s a big match, now. I hope I can take this memory and most a little unreal right now because dled out of the Auckland Classic last Bencic, a former world number sev- best,” said Williams. “I didn’t come playing against Serena Williams. It’s put it to positive energy to be super- I haven’t taken it in. I’m being rather week in the second round. en who is coached by Martina Hingis’ here to lose in the fi rst round, or the what everyone’s working for,” she said. confi dent on the court, and play good.” selfi sh and focused on my career.” Despite the setback, the six-time mother Melanie Molitor, will be a big second round, or at all.” Bencic, seen as a star of the future Bencic is playing her fourth Austral- Williams did say being engaged was winner remains confi dent. test. The Swiss starlet made the fourth “If I can play the way I’ve been prac- whose 2016 season was marred by in- ian Open, with a fourth round appear- “really great”, but she insisted tennis “I’ve been spending so much time round last year before injuries derailed tising, it will be fi ne. I know she’s been jury, added that her fans were disap- ance last year her best eff ort to date. SPOTLIGHT Don’t call me ‘Sir Andy’, Federer admits says Murray fear of unknown ‘I guess you do miss the matches at some point. You miss the feeling of winning, walking onto a stadium, seeing the guys. You know, it’s like an extended family... You walk around here... you see faces you haven’t seen in a while. It’s just nice to see everybody again’

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, Daria Gavrilova of Australia, Canada’s Milos Raonic and Roger Federer of Switzerland attend a promotional event in Melbourne yesterday, ahead of the Australian Open starting tomorrow. (Reuters)

AFP I’m not just going to leave Melbourne whilst my father-in-law is also in hospital,” he added. “Yeah, it was tough, and certainly not ndy Murray yester- a position I would want to put day said there was myself in again, or my wife, or no need to call him any of my family really.” “Sir” as he took a This time around, Murray is A in a far happier position and relaxed approach to his new status as a knight of the realm he will approach his opening and world number one at the match against Ukraine’s Ilya Australian Open. Marchenko in a relaxed frame The laconic Scot said just of mind. being called “Andy” was fine As well as becoming a despite a decision by Aus- father, he won his second tralia’s Channel Seven to refer Wimbledon title and success- to him as “Sir Andy Murray” at fully defended his Olympic the tournament. singles gold medal, before “I’m more than happy just reaching world number one being Andy. That’s enough for for the first time. me,” he said. “Yeah, if they call “I obviously feel pretty con- me ‘Andy’, that’s cool. I’d be fident after the way that last happy with that.” season finished,” he said. “I do Murray is entering his love it here. I love the condi- first Grand Slam since being tions. I have played really well knighted in Britain’s New here over the years, and just Year Honours, and his first as haven’t managed to obviously world number one after he get over the final hurdle. But I displaced Novak Djokovic late think I’m in a decent position last season. to do it. I think I have a chance He appears to have taken to win here. Obviously noth- both titles in his stride, insist- ing’s guaranteed. But, yeah, ing he didn’t feel anyone was why not?” treating him diff erently since He said he was also glad to he was crowned the world’s have Ivan Lendl as his coach top player. as he sets about trying to de- AFP It’s a prospect to give even the ice-cool matches since July, but he said he had The Swiss master had itchy feet dur- “I haven’t really noticed it. It fend his ranking, chiefly from Melbourne Swiss pause for thought as he tries to been trying to simulate the endurance ing his layoff to rehabilitate a troubled kind of happened for me right Djokovic who is showing signs craft his comeback from the longest in- needed for fi ve-set Grand Slam encoun- knee, his longest break in a career blessed at the end of the year, so I of a resurgence. jury break of his career, prompted by knee ters in training. with few serious injuries. He kept busy haven’t been on the tour much “I think it could be quite oger Federer said he was “clearly problems. “I trained as hard as I possibly could, as a tennis statesman, cheering old rivals as the number one player,” easy that once you get to an underdog” for the Australian Federer’s absence raised inevitable so I will be ready for it. I did numerous from the sidelines on social media while he said. “So I haven’t noticed number one that you think, Open and admitted to some un- questions about retirement, but he said he sessions where I trained over two-and-a- helping his greatest, Spaniard Rafa Nadal, it yet. I don’t know if that will ‘Well, actually, I just need to Rcharacteristic nerves as he pon- was delighted to be back in a Grand Slam half, three hours,” he said. launch his tennis academy in Mallorca. come over time, if I’m able to keep doing what I doing’,” he dered a treacherous draw at the year’s fi rst draw — even in the unaccustomed role of “I feel I’m ready. But, like I said, it is He took hikes through the Swiss Alps stay there or not.” said. “The reality is, in sport, Grand Slam yesterday. underdog. the unknown. It’s the part that I can only and attended his fi rst Formula One motor More importantly, Murray that things obviously keep The 35-year-old, back from a six- “Yeah, why not (underdog) for a change? know once I’ve been there.” race in Abu Dhabi before returning to the is pondering how to win his moving on, the game will get month injury lay-off , is seeded 17th at I mean, I prefer to be the favourite. Under- Just walking on court will be a pleas- court for the Hopman Cup in Perth at the first Australian Open title after better, I’ll obviously get older, Melbourne Park, complicating his at- dog is okay. Yeah, it’s fi ne,” he said. “As long ure for the father of four, who said he had start of the month. being an unsuccessful finalist the young guys will continue tempt for a record-extending 18th Grand as I’m healthy and I feel like I can go four, missed the atmosphere on tour during his But an exhibition tournament is no five times. to improve. Slam title. fi ve sets, I can go many matches in a row, time away from the court. substitute for the real thing and there was Last year’s appearance “And also Novak and Roger Two days from the start of the tourna- then I think it’s going to be fun.” “I guess you do miss the matches at a twinkle in Federer’s eye as he pictured was torrid for Murray, as his (Federer) and Stan (Wawrinka) ment, Federer was still in the dark about He added: “It’s a great draw because some point. You miss the feeling of win- himself walking onto the Rod Laver Arena wife Kim Sears was heavily and Rafa (Nadal) and all the his fi rst-round opponent as the qualifying I’m in the draw. So for me I’m super- ning, walking onto a stadium, seeing the tomorrow. “I have a lot of friends on the pregnant with their first child guys at the top are still going rounds continued. pleased that I made it here, that I have an guys,” he said. “You know, it’s like an ex- tour, you know, because I’m the returning and his father-in-law collapsed to be wanting to get there. So “Is it a lefty, a righty? It’s a big deal. Is he opportunity to win matches. How many tended family to some extent anyway. guest for like 20 years everywhere I go. It while watching a match. that’s why having someone a big server, a grinder?” said the Swiss. “A remains to be seen. I’m cautious myself. You walk around here... you see faces you feels good to see those familiar faces every “It was a tough tournament,” like Ivan on my team who has bit of an unknown here the fi rst round be- So, yeah, clearly an underdog this time haven’t seen in a while. It’s just nice to see single year. It’s something I couldn’t quite said Murray, who seriously been in that position before cause that’s the part of the draw I care most around.” everybody again.” enjoy the last six months. That’s probably considered pulling out and and knows what that’s like about because of having not been playing.” Physical fi tness could be a factor in The ‘extended family’ of tennis, the what I missed the most.” bolted for the airport after has been important. I need Federer’s path is strewn with hazards, what can be the most gruelling conditions thrust of competition and that winning The feelings are mutual from the ten- losing the final to Djokovic in to continue to improve,” he as he faces potential matches with Tomas of the year, with temperatures forecast to feeling— Federer missed them all during his nis-loving public, as witnessed by the straight sets. added. “Any weaknesses that Berdych and Kei Nishikori before a possi- soar towards 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) six months away from the circuit and said 6,000 fans who packed into the Perth “It was like, I want to be at are in my game, to try to get ble quarter-fi nal with world number one next week. he is relishing the prospect of rediscovering Arena just to watch Federer train at the home for the birth, but then rid of them.” Andy Murray. Federer has played only three singles them again at the Australian Open. Hopman Cup.