FFOOTBALLOOTBALL | Page 2 NBA | Page 5 Bayern fi re on LeBron leads To Advertise here all cylinders Cavaliers to Call: 444 11 300, 444 66 621 to out-gun win over Arsenal the Pacers Friday, February 17, 2017 CRICKET Jumada I 20, 1438 AH Kohli, Smith inspire GULF TIMES new England captain Root SPORT Page 7 FOOTBALL Infantino plays down violence fears at 2018 World Cup in Russia Reuters of this, the Russian government has Doha put in place an ID system which will help us when it comes to any poten- tial trouble. We need to be wary about IFA President Gianni Infantino spreading rumours about hooligans.” yesterday played down con- He was speaking ahead of a BBC cerns about possible violence documentary which claims to have at the 2018 World Cup in Rus- spoken to some of the Russian hooli- Fsia despite several fl ashpoints involv- gans involved in the 2016 trouble. ing their supporters at the 2016 Euro- Infantino also reaffi rmed that he pean Championship in France. hoped to use video referees at the “I’m not concerned about trouble tournament. and violence in 2018. I have full confi - “The proposal on the table is about dence in Russian authorities, they are using video technology to help ref- taking this matter very, very seriously,” erees. I’m really hopeful that for the he said in Doha. World Cup in 2018 we can have a video More than 100 England fans were system to help the referee take the injured following clashes with Rus- right decisions,” he said. sian supporters in Marseille before The new assistant referee technol- their group game at Euro 2016, causing ogy was tried out at the 2016 Club UEFA to threaten the team with expul- World Cup in Japan. sion from the tournament. But Infantino played down sugges- There have been fears of more trou- tions that FIFA was about to scrap the ble at next year’s tournament. But off side rule, following controversial Infantino said the organisers were al- remarks by its technical director Mar- ready putting plans in place to curb co van Basten. any hooliganism. “We discuss and debate everything, “They have been in contact with the off side rule, sin bins as punish- UEFA and French organisers to learn ments, additional substitutions, but the lessons from France and this mat- these are discussions that are still far, HH The Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Qatar Tennis Federation president Nasser Ghanem al-Khelaifi catch up on some tennis action at the Qatar Total ter is being taken in the utmost se- far, far away from any concrete pro- Open at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex yesterday. riousness by all,” he said. “As part posals,” he said. TENNIS / QATAR TOTAL OPEN Kerber crashes out aft er ‘I made too many mistakes in the important moments... loss to Russian teen it was, for sure, not my day’ By Sahan Bidappa and was leading 1-0 before rain forced them in- Doha doors. Third seed Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia got lucky as she escaped rain for the second suc- xactly a week after she landed in Doha, cessive day and booked her spot in the semi- Angelique Kerber fi nally hit the court fi nals. at the Khalifa International Tennis and The current WTA Finals champion ousted Squash Complex yesterday. It had been former World No.4 Samantha Stosur 7-5, 6-4, Ea frustrating wait for the top seed as she waited fi nally breaking her drought against the Aus- for rain to relent to play her fi rst match. tralian. But the off -court frustration would carry on Cibulkova had lost all fi ve of her previous to the court as the German crashed out of the matches against Stosur – all in straight sets, but Qatar Total Open. It was an error-strewn per- the Slovak has made vast improvements since formance from Kerber, failing to get any sort of their last meeting in 2014. She hit 18 winners to momentum as she fell to Daria Kasatkina in the just 10 unforced errors and converted fi ve of the second round. eight break point opportunities throughout the The Russian teen won 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 to seal rain-aff ected match. her place in the quarter-fi nals. It was the second “She was fi ghting and really into the match,” time this year that Kasatkina has won against said Cibulkova after winning the 400th match the former World No.1 after beating her at the of her career. “It came down to a few points here Sydney International last month, 7-6, 6-2. and there; you can see from the scoreline that it Kerber, who lost her No. 1 ranking to Serena was very tight. The conditions are tough here, Williams after she failed to defend her Austral- but I’m happy to have got lucky this week so far.” ian Open crown last month, was looking at the “I tried to have a new tactic against Sam be- Middle East swing – here in Doha and next week cause I’d never beaten her before, and it was re- in Dubai to recapture her form. Germany’s Angelique Kerber ally working hard today. I have to say, I was play- But the 29-year-old moved gingerly yester- ing well,” the Slovak added. day and was clearly struggling with her move- thing for me right now. Then, of course, looking Up next for the World No.5 is Chinese Zhang ments. “I was not feeling the best today; I’m forward to doing well next week in Dubai,” she Shuai or second seed Karolina Pliskova of Czech trying to fi nd my rhythm,” Kerber said. “But she admitted. Republic. The last quarter-fi nal match was to (Kasatkina) plays good. I made too many mis- Kasatkina was playing Olympic champion take place last night but now will be played to- takes in the important moments. I think it was, Monica Puig last night in the quarters, before day morning. for sure, not my day.” rain brought a halt to the proceedings. Puig of Earlier, Pliskova had made it through to the The 32nd-ranked Kasatkina, on the other Puerto Rico was leading 2-1 in the decider after last eight, after beating France’s Caroline Garcia hand, is a rising star in the women’s game. The both players had taken a set each. After a lengthy 7-5, 6-4. Zhang on Wednesday had upset fi fth 19-year-old is in her second year on the tour and delay, play was suspended for the night, with seed Garbine Muguruza. will be fancying her chances of a maiden WTA the players scheduled to return today morning title. to complete their match. RESULTS Kerber missed six break point chances in the Meanwhile, former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki Quarter-finals fi rst set, and Kasatkina capitalised on it. But dumped her close friend and fourth seed Ag- 3-Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) beat Samantha Kerber bounced back, blanking the Russian in nieszka Radwanska of Poland out of the tourna- Stosur (Australia) 7-5 6-4 the second set to get herself back on level terms. ment with a straight-sets 7-5 6-3 win. Second round Seemingly in command heading into the de- Denmark’s Wozniacki, who has slipped to No. Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) beat 4-Agnieszka cider, Kerber couldn’t get the momentum going 18, has looked in good rhythm so far in Doha and Radwanska (Poland) 7-5 6-3 and fell 6-4 in the third. It wasn’t easy for Ka- she was once again impressive yesterday. Darya Kasatkina (Russia) beat 1-Angelique Ker- satkina, who needed four set points to complete This was the 16th time the pair had faced off , ber (Germany) 6-4 0-6 6-4 the upset. Russia’s Daria Kasatkina hits a return to Germany’s Angelique Kerber during their Qatar Total Open with the Dane now leading 10-6 in the head- Samantha Stosur (Australia) beat 8-Barbora It meant that Kerber’s underwhelming start match at Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex yesterday. PICTURES: Noushad Thekkayil to-head. “We always have great matches. The Strycova (Czech Republic) 6-3 3-6 6-4 to the 2017 season only got worse, as she stands last two times we’ve played I’ve lost to her,” said 2-Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) beat Caro- at 4-4. And none of her four victories have been was keen to turn her fortunes in Dubai. not a big deal. I have to get ready again and feel Wozniacki. line Garcia (France) 7-5 6-4 over players ranked inside the top 50. “Of course, the weather, it can happen like good because, I was not feeling very good in the She was back on court in the evening for her Lauren Davis (US) beat 6-Elena Vesnina (Russia) Kerber was bewildered by her poor form and this,” she said. “We have to wait a lot, but this is last few days. I think this is the most important last-eight clash against qualifi er Lauren Davis 7-5 6-2 Gulf Times 2 Friday, February 17, 2017 FOOTBALL UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOCUS Benzema makes Brilliant Bayern Madrid click, says Zidane aft er Real fi re on all cylinders down Napoli AFP a mouthwatering second leg on Madrid March 7 as Dries Mertens blazed over with the goal at his mercy and former Madrid winger Jose eal Madrid boss Zin- Maria Callejon had a goal ruled edine Zidane hailed the out for off side late on.