SATURDAY 1 FEBRUARY 2020 SPORTSPORT 17 QSL PREMIER LEAGUE I had a lot of chances. I had 14 breakpoints. That should be plenty. Al Sadd vs Al Sailiya at Leicester City vs Chelsea Just got to execute better next time. But credit to him. He's Al Sadd Stadium: 16:35 Liverpool vs Southampton playing unbelievable Tennis right now: Alexander Zverev rues a Al Rayyan vs Al Duhail at Man United vs Al Sadd Stadium: 18:45 Wolverhampton Wanderers series of missed opportunities in his Australian Open semi-final ACTION TODAY’S TODAY’S Tireless Austrian marches into maiden Slam final Down Under Thiem beats Zverev to set up Djokovic showdown AFP – MELBOURNE 42 mins to give himself Marathon world Tireless Dominic Thiem came from a another record holder set down to outlast German Alexander chance to Eliud Kipchoge Zverev and make his first Australian break the Open final yesterday, booking a stranglehold of showdown with seven-time champion the Big Three and Record holders Novak Djokovic. win his first Grand The 26-year-old fifth seed, the first Slam. A jittery Thiem was Kipchoge, player from Austria ever to reach the broken in the opening game, Melbourne decider, battled past saving two break points before Kosgei in seventh-ranked Zverev 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 sending a backhand wide to imme- (7/3), 7-6 (7/4) on a sweltering evening. diately be on the back foot. Kenyan team Defending champion Djokovic Both players were nervous and awaits him after the second seed ended the German failed to consolidate, for Tokyo 2020 Roger Federer's dreams in straight sets broken straight back. Thursday to make his eighth Mel- Their momentum was interrupted REUTERS – NAIROBI bourne Park final. when rain began falling and the roof Thiem has his work cut out against needed closing, but it was only a brief Kenya’s world record the Serb who is on a 12-match intermission and Zverev resumed to holders Eliud Kipchoge and unbeaten streak this season and has hold for 2-2. Brigid Kosgei will lead a won all seven of the Australian Open Thiem was still struggling with his winner as star-studded marathon deciders he has contested. first serve and a double fault handed Zverev again team to the Tokyo Olympic And if Djokovic needs extra moti- the German a chance to go 4-3 in front lost concen- Games this year, Kenya’s vation, winning on Sunday will see him and he grabbed it. tration and the athletics chiefs said reclaim the world number one ranking Zverev took command, putting 90 momentum yesterday. after Rafael Nadal crashed to Thiem percent of his booming first serves in, appeared to shift. Multiple world in the last eight. and broke again to seal the set as the Thiem is one of the best champion and 2016 Rio de "It was an unreal match, two tie- Austrian error-count mounted. returners in the game and was Janeiro Olympic 5,000m breakers, so tough and so close. It was But the 22-year-old lost focus and getting almost every ball back. He gold medallist and 10,000m almost impossible to break him," said two double faults in game three of the looked to be on his way, but Zverev silver medallist, Vivian Thiem. second set handed Thiem a 2-1 lead. refused to surrender and broke Austria’s Cheruiyot and reigning "Being in the Australian Open final Zverev managed to break back but again to even it up. It went to a Dominic Thiem world marathon champion is unreal. What a start to the season he was too erratic as Thiem broke tiebreak where Thiem turned on in action during Ruth Chemngetich will also for me." again and clung on, firing an ace to the style to take a stranglehold his Australian represent the east African Thiem had dealt with semi-final take set two. on the match. Open semi-final nation. pressure before, although always on Bizarrely, play was halted for nine There was little between match against Valary Ayabei and Sally the slower red clay at Roland Garros, minutes one game into the third set them in the crucial fourth set Germany’s Chepyego are reserves, Ath- where he reached the past two finals when a light went out above the as they traded blows. It went Alexander Zverev letics Kenya (AK) said at a only to be beaten by Nadal. baseline and it bothered Zverev. When to serve and another tie- in Melbourne, news conference in the That experience paid dividends as they resumed, Thiem held serve and breaker when Thiem's experience Australia, capital. he coolly closed out the match after 3hrs then broke with an epic backhand helped him over the line. yesterday. Kenya is renowned for its middle and long distance running prowess, but has been beset by a spate of doping cases for the past six Confident Kenin ready to face Muguruza in title clash years. The other top names in REUTERS – MELBOURNE the men’s team are last Sofia Kenin vs Garbine Muguruzag year’s Boston Marathon Sofia Kenin will be making her winner Lawrence Cherono, debut in a Grand Slam final SOFIA KENIN GARBINE MUGURUZA world marathon medallist when she faces Garbine Age: 21 Age: 26 Amos Kipruto, with Titus Muguruza for the Australian Nation: United States Nation: Spain Ekiru and Bedan Karoki as open title today but what she World ranking: 15 Seeding: Unseeded reserves. lacks in experience the Seeding: 14 World ranking: 32 AK will name the rest of American more than makes up Grand Slam titles: 0 Grand Slam titles: 2 (French the team after trials in June for in courage and confidence. WTA titles: 3 Open 2016, Wimbledon 2017) in Eldoret, Kenya’s distance Muguruza has been in three ROAD TO FINAL: WTA titles: 7 running heartland some previous Grand Slam finals, First round: beat Martina ROAD TO FINAL (prefix denotes 350km north west of capital winning two of them at Roland Trevisan (Italy) 6-2, 6-4 seeding): Nairobi. Garros (2016) and Wimbledon Second round: beat Li First round: beat Shelby Rogers Olympic champion Kip- (2017), while the 21-year-old Ann (US) 6-1, 6-3 (US) 0-6, 6-1, 6-0 choge, 35, holds the official American had been beyond the Third round: beat Second round: beat Ajla Toml- world marathon record of third round only once -- beating Zhang Shuai (China) 7-5, janovic (Australia) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 2:01:39, which he set in Serena Williams at last year’s 7-6(7) Third round: beat 5-Elina Svi- Berlin on Sept. 16, 2018. French Open before losing to Fourth round: beat Coco tolina (Ukraine) 6-1 6-2 Kosgei won Chicago Ash Barty in the next round. Gauff (US) 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-0 Fourth round: beat Kiki Bertens Marathon in 2018 and 2019, But Kenin has shown at Quarter-final: beat Ons (Netherlands) 6-3, 6-3 where she ran a world Melbourne Park she has the Jabeur (Tunisia) 6-4, 6-4 Quarter-final: beat 30-Anastasia record time of 2:14:04 last game to beat the biggest names, Semi-final: beat 1-Ash Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) 7-5, 6-3 year. She also won the building on a stellar 2019 when Barty (Australia) 7-6(6), Semi-final: beat 4-Simona Halep London Marathon in 2019. she won all three of her singles 7-5 (Romania) 7-6(8) 7-5 Cheruiyot, 36, has par- titles to reach a career-high ticipated in four previous world ranking of 12. HEAD-TO-HEAD: Kenin leads Muguruza 1-0 Olympics, making her “No matter who I’m playing, 2019 Kenin d Muguruza 6-0 2-6 6-2 (Beijing, hard) Games debut in 2000 in where I’m playing, I’m going to Sydney where she reached fight for it. It doesn’t matter,” the final of the 5,000 she said. “Of course, I have a lot The world number one was and knows the American will be While 14th seed Kenin has Australian Open and had to metres. of respect for my opponents on the front foot for most of their no pushover. been the form player coming withdraw from the quarter- At the London 2012 when I’m playing. match but Kenin dug her heels “I think she’s playing great. I into Melbourne, Muguruza was finals of the Hobart warm-up. Games, she won silver in “When I’m going on court, in and fought back to defeat the think since a while she’s just pro- unseeded as a result of a largely But she recovered to take 5,000m and bronze in the I’m there to win, I’m there to do Australian in front of her home gressing up in the rankings and dismal 2019 season. her place at Melbourne Park 10,000m, before reaching my job. I’m doing my best.” fans. in the results,” said Muguruza. “So The Spaniard, who reached and has gone from strength to the top of the podium in Rio Barty learned the hard way Spaniard Muguruza lost her I think she deserves to be in the the top of the WTA rankings in strength, downing world four years ago, winning about Kenin’s fighting spirit in only prior meeting with Moscow- final with the tennis she has been 2017, also suffered from a viral number three Simona Halep in gold in the 5,000m. their semi-final. born Kenin, in Beijing last year, showing.” illness before the start of the a scorching semi-final.