CCRICKETRICKET | Page 4 NNBABA | Page 5 Pakistan’s Celtics beat Ajmal retires Raptors from all forms to extend of the game winning run FOOTBALL Tuesday, November 14, 2017 Safar 25, 1439 AH Croatia qualify for World Cup with GULF TIMES Greece draw SPORT Page 3 TENNIS QATAR-ICELAND FRIENDLY TODAY Tour Finals fair for all, says Federer amid clay talk Qatar star Karim Boudaif gestures as he trains with his teammates ahead of today’s friendly international against Iceland at Al Duhail Stadium. At right, Qatar coach Felix Sanchez gives instructions to captain Hassan al-Haydous. World Cup-bound Iceland have been camping in Qatar for more than a week now, and today’s match will be their second international in Doha. Earlier they lost to the Czech Republic 2-1. Qatar are preparing for the Gulf Cup in January. The match begins at 7.30pm. AFP clay, so there you have it. London “You can do indoor clay, I FOOTBALL guess, but that’s a bit silly. But I get his point.” oger Federer has dis- Federer has enjoyed a remarka- missed Rafael Nadal’s ble renaissance this year, winning claim that it would be the Australian Open and Wim- fairer if the ATP Tour Fi- bledon, as well as fi ve other titles. Rnals were played on clay courts. Despite that stunning return to As the world’s most formidable form, the 36-year-old won’t fi n- player on clay, Nadal has in the ish the year on top of the world Al Gharafa in past suggested it would be better rankings. if the season-ending Tour Finals Nadal wrapped up that honour at least occasionally took place on when Federer opted out of the re- his preferred surface. cent Paris Masters. The prestigious season-ending If world number two Federer event has never been held on clay had played and won in France, since its inception in 1970 and it’s he could have kept the race go- a tournament which Nadal has yet ing into the Tour Finals — where semis of QSL Cup, to conquer. he and Nadal are the leading con- It has mostly been played on tenders for the trophy. an indoor hard-court, with other But he was adamant he had stints on carpet, grass and outdoor no worries about missing out on hard-courts when it was staged pole position. in various cities before setting up “He was better throughout the home in London in 2009. year. He played more tourna- Federer has always thrived on ments. He was incredibly suc- Duhail bow out the indoor hard-court used at the cessful throughout,” Federer O2 Arena, as he showed once again said. Al Gharafa have 10 points but Al Duhail have only four points from four by kicking off his bid for a seventh “So, no, I don’t have any re- title at the event with a 6-4, 7-6 grets because I feel like in my stage By Sports Reporter (7/4) win over Jack Sock on Sun- of my competition, my age, either Doha day. it comes to me or it doesn’t. Asked about the world number “He had more gas left in the one’s desire for a clay fi nale to the tank than I did. I couldn’t play as l Gharafa qualifi ed for the season, Federer insisted the cur- much as I’ve wanted, or I over- semi-fi nals of the QSL Cup rent surface was a good choice played anyway. following a 1-1 draw with Al given the preponderance of other “My only regret was I would AKharaitiyat, while Al Du- events on the crushed earth. have loved to be in contention hail crashed out of contention despite There are currently three Mas- through the Montreal fi nals, beating Al Sailiya 2-1 in fourth round ters 1000 events held on Nadal’s Cincinnati, US Open. action yesterday. favoured clay, with none on the “But things evaporated very Al Gharafa have 10 points but Al faster grass that Federer prefers. quickly after he won the US Open. Duhail have only four points from four Of the Grand Slams, only the That’s when he made his fi nal matches in Group A, having lost two, French Open — won 10 times by push, was in Asia. That was it for won one and drawn one . Al Kharaiti- Nadal — is on clay, while Wim- me really. In some ways I’m happy yat, who are on eight, and Qatar SC bledon, where Federer has tri- he clinched it because he deserves (fi ve) still have a chance to progress umphed eight times — is the it. I can focus on playing the tour- ahead of Round 5. grass-court major. nament, and not having to talk The Al Kharaitiyat-Al Gharafa “’Fair’? I’m not sure if it’s the about that at the same time. match got off to an intense start at the right word. I think it’s right and “But, sure, I would have loved Al Ahli Stadium but it was the former fair that it’s indoors, as well,” Fe- to be it, but you can’t be it with who were rewarded on 11 minutes, Action from the Al Duhail-Al derer said. that many tournaments, so it’s no with Abdulla Al Anzi giving them the Sailiya match at the Al Wakrah “There is no Masters 1000s on problem for me.” advantage. Stadium yesterday. grass. There is one Masters 1000 It did not take the home side too indoors: Paris. So I feel like in- long to equalise as Luis Jimenez found doors also deserves its place. a way through the defence in the 29th. “Could it be switched up to ‘You can do From then on, it was an evenly-con- clay once in a while? Yeah, may- tested game and neither side was able be. Could we have more 1000s on indoor clay, I to make further breakthrough. Al Duhail were able to respond to Saleh Said’s eff ort while under 15 minutes as both teams started to grass? guess, but that’s Meanwhile, Al Duhail emerged quickly as Youssef Al Arabi fi red home pressure. sense opportunities, with a couple of “Yeah, we could have that, too. victorious at the Al Wakrah Stadium, from the penalty spot on the stroke of Another draw was played out at the chances being created at either end. Could we have less on clay, more a bit silly. But I but both teams could not make the half-time. Al Shamal Stadium, leaving Qatar SC Qatar SC brought on striker Michael or hard courts? Could we have cut. In the second half, Al Duhail’s on fi ve points and Al Khor on four, Babatunde in the second half in an at- more or hard courts, less on clay? get his point’ Al Duhail fi elded a much more ex- experience started to show as they with the latter now unable to progress tempt to get the winner. But in spite of “Yes, it’s all debatable. I think perienced side, but it was Al Sailiya dominated possession and controlled to the last-four stage. their superior possession, they were it’s not the time of the year for who broke the deadlock in the 40th the game. Deep into injury time, they The match started slowly. How- unable to break down the Al Khor de- through Mirghani Al Zain. were able to snatch full points, thanks ever, the pace did pick up in the fi nal fence and the stalemate continued. Gulf Times 2 Tuesday, November 14, 2017 FOOTBALL SPOTLIGHT WORLD CUP QUALIFIER O’Neill evokes Euro Prove yourselves, spirit for Ireland AFP during the World Cup qualifying Dublin campaign, with wins in Austria and Wales crucial to their sec- ond-place group fi nish. But now reland manager Martin they need to win at home, with O’Neill has urged his play- Denmark aware that a score draw Loew tells German ers to remember their Euro would be enough to book their 2016 playoff victory over place at next summer’s fi nals. IBosnia ahead of today’s World And O’Neill said the short Cup showdown with Denmark. turnaround held no fears for his The Irish drew the fi rst leg of the squad. “I think that this turna- November 2015 double header in round is nothing new to our- Bosnia, but progressed to France selves or our opponents,” O’Neill stars for French test after a convincing 2-0 home win said. “Three days, it’s the format at Lansdowne Road. now. You’ve got two games in After Saturday’s scoreless relatively quick succession when 'I want to see if certain players can prove themselves against the best' draw in Denmark, Ireland need you play international matches. to beat the Danes today to qualify The players are ready to go one AFP for Russia next year, and O’Neill more time. We may need a couple Berlin hopes the full house in Dublin of goals in the game because to France’s Antoine Griezmann can inspire the team to yet an- keep out Denmark for two games (left) and Kylian Mbappe other playoff success. “We’ve might be tough.” oachim Loew has told his Germany during training. (Reuters) had the experience of a couple of If neither side manage to break side to prove themselves in today’s years ago almost to the day,” said the deadlock after extra time, friendly against France as the de- O’Neill.