Bounedjah Powers Al Sadd to Sheikh Jassim Cup Win the Win Also Helped Al Sadd Avenge Their 4-1 Defeat Last Year to Lekhwiya, Who Have Been Now Rebranded As Al Duhail
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MLB| Page 5 RUGBY | Page 6 Rosario, All Blacks Escobar unleash help Twins ‘the beast’ to post win down Pumas Sunday, September 10, 2017 FOOTBALL Dhul-Hijja 19, 1438 AH Jesus shines as GULF TIMES Manchester City thrash Liverpool 5-0 SPORT Page 4 FOOTBALL Bounedjah powers Al Sadd to Sheikh Jassim Cup win The win also helped Al Sadd avenge their 4-1 defeat last year to Lekhwiya, who have been now rebranded as Al Duhail Qatar Football Association president Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani hands over the Sheikh Jassim Cup to Al Sadd’s Xavi and Hassan al-Haydous after their win over Al Duhail yesterday. At right, Al Sadd fans wave a mural of His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani during the match. At bottom, Baghdad Bounedjah celebrates his hat-trick goal. PICTURES: Shemeer Rashid and Noushad Thekkayil By Sports Reporter after he was brought down by Mohamed lowing the merger, they were thor- The Algerian was at it again in the Doha Moussa in the second half, which fellow oughly outplayed by Al Sadd, Qatar’s 20th minute, but it was Xavi it was who Algerian Jugurtha Hamorun converted. most successful club by a long margin. was the provider, steaming down the South Korean Nam Tae-hee and “We couldn’t get going today al- centre and passing to the Algerian, who aghdad Bounedjah scored a Moez Ali were on target for Al Duhail though we had our chances,” said Al again eased the ball past the goalkeeper scintillating hat-trick as Al either side of the break, the second goal Duhail coach Djamel Belmadi. with a left-footed shot. Sadd downed Al Duhail 4-2 coming seconds prior to the close af- “I But there’s a long season ahead and It looked like Al Sadd will take a Bto win the season-opening ter seven minutes of injury-time were we will surely make amends for today’s comfortable 2-0 lead into the second Sheikh Jassim Cup at the Abdulla bin added to the match. loss.” Although Duhail made a strong session but their goalkeeper Saad al- Khalifa Stadium yesterday. Al Sadd coach Jesualdo Ferreira had start by making a couple of deep forays Sheeb failed to block a Nam Tae-hee The win also helped Al Sadd avenge lamented his team’s build-up to the into the rival citadel, it was their own shot properly from close resulting in Al their 4-1 defeat last year to Lekhwiya, season saying their preparations were defence that let them down badly and Duhail’s fi rst goal in the 41st minute. who have been now rebranded as Al Du- hit by the World Cup qualifying com- allowed Al Sadd to establish control. Bounedjah got his hat-trick in the hail following their merger with El Jaish. mitments of his players but the huge In fact, all the three Bounedjah goals 66th minute with Xavi once again pro- Algerian Bouendjah, who was a vital margin of victory yesterday eased his were scored in identical fashion, low viding the assist from the centre and cog in Al Sadd’s Emir’s Cup and Qatar concerns barely a week before the start into the right corner of the net and with shooting past Ababacker, much in the Cup successes last year, struck in the of the QNB Stars League. the left foot, courtesy of a non-existent same way he had scored his fi rst two sixth, 20th and 66th minutes to help the “We always expected to do well but I Duhail defence. goals. Wolves bag their 14th Sheikh Jassim Cup, am thrilled that we won by such a con- In the sixth minute, Hamroun shook A few minutes later Bounedjah could which pits the league winners against the vincing margin,” he said. “It augurs well off the Duhail midfi eld and crossed to have had his fourth goal of the match Emir Cup champs of the previous season. for the season ahead,” he added. Bounedjah who had a free run on the but a heavy foul on him by Moussa saw He also played a role in Al Sadd’s But despite Al Duhail managing to left fl ank and eased the ball past goal- him limp off the fi eld. Hamroun made fourth goal, winning his team a penalty rope in some top El Jaish players fol- keeper Khalifa Ababacker. good of the resultant penalty. TENNIS Nadal and Anderson to clash for US Open title AFP four sets in the previous round left him spent. and plays very well on this surface. I have known New York “I have had an amazing season after some him since we were 12. tough moments with injuries in recent years,” “He’s had many injuries but the way he has said Nadal, who started 2017 by fi nishing run- come back is a great example to the kids.” afael Nadal moved one win away from ner-up to Federer in Australia. Del Potro, who saved two match points against a third US Open title and 16th Grand “It’s a very emotional year for me. I am in the Dominic Thiem in a last-16 tie from which he al- Slam crown Friday when he defeated fi nal again and get the chance to fi ght for another most retired with illness, gained the only break weary Juan Martin del Potro 4-6, 6-0, title which is very important.” of the fi rst set in the fi fth game off a fortunate net R6-3, 6-2. Nadal said the key to Friday’s win was a change cord. The 31-year-old Spaniard, the 2010 and 2013 of tactics after the fi rst set. However, few would begrudge Del Potro a champion in New York, will be playing in his 23rd “I played too much to his backhand and I felt little luck after he was pushed to the brink of Slam fi nal and third this year, looking to add the he was waiting for me there,” said Nadal after his retirement by four wrist surgeries that saw his US title to his record 10th French Open. 15th successive Grand Slam semi-fi nal win. ranking slip as low as 1,045 and forced him to In today’s fi nal, the world number one will face “I changed it and it worked very well. I made miss 10 Grand Slam tournaments. 32nd-ranked Kevin Anderson, the fi rst South him move more and make it all more unpredict- Nadal hit back with venom, gathering three African in the championship match in 52 years. able.” breaks to take the second set in just 26 minutes Anderson reached his maiden fi nal at the ma- Nadal fi nished with 45 winners and 20 un- as the Argentine suff ered a power cut of stagger- jors by beating 12th-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta forced errors to Del Potro’s 23 and 40. ing proportions. of Spain 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4. Despite a 4-0 winning record over Anderson, The Spaniard, watched by Tiger Woods in his For 2009 champion Del Potro, Friday’s Nadal said he will not underestimate his oppo- player’s box, then raced into a 3-0 lead in the match was one too many as the physical and nent on Sunday. third before Del Potro stopped the rot, having emotional toll of seeing off Roger Federer in “He is a very dangerous player with a big serve lost nine games in succession. Gulf Times 2 Sunday, September 10, 2017 TENNIS SPOTLIGHT LATE BLOOMER Anderson reaps rewards for patience Healthy year a and dedication Reuters New York ven in tennis, good things bigger prize for come to those who wait. At the age of 31, Kevin Anderson reached his Efi rst grand slam fi nal at the US Open on Friday thanks to a 4-6 7-6 6-3 6-4 victory over Spain’s Pablo Carrena Busta. In this era when players are Nadal than US title winning grand slam titles well into their thirties, Anderson al- Nadal, who lost to Roger Federer in the Australian Open final but won his 10th French most doesn’t qualify as a late from shoulder to knees and at the bloomer. end of last year, to his hip, he has Open crown in June, has reached three Slam finals for the first season since 2011 But the South African, the bounced back brilliantly to put fi rst born there to make a grand his name in the history books. slam fi nal since Kevin Curren at He will bid to go one better Wimbledon in 1985, has shown than Curren, who was runnerup patience, resilience and unend- at the 1984 Australian Open fi - ing dedication to make his grand nal before switching citizenship slam breakthrough. to the United States ahead of his “It’s been a lot of hard work to run to the Wimbledon fi nal. get to this point,” said Anderson, Johan Kriek was the fi rst South who will meet world number one African to win a grand slam sin- Rafa Nadal in the fi nal. gles championship at the 1981 “It feels fantastic. Australian Open but successfully “It’s been a long road to get defended the title in 1982 as a here and sometimes tough. naturalised American. We’ve been dominated by a se- “It’s defi nitely about persever- lect few individuals and there are ance,” Anderson said.