FRIDAY, JANUARY 11, 2019 16 Hosts UAE stir from slumber UAE survive early storm to beat India and kickstart 2019 Asian Cup campaign while Bahrain suffer loss Asian Cup ‘Messi Jay’ stunner Bahrain 0 1 Thailand puts• Thailand Jordan 2 0 Syria back on track India 0 2 UAE KNOW WHAT Jordan tame will still fancy their chances of chances you pay for it -- and Syria• to reach Asian reaching the knockout phase for we paid for it. I have 23 bitterly the first time. disappointed boys.” Cup knockouts Thailand had sacked “We created enough chances Jordan have claimed a perfect Serbian coach Mi- to win two games so I think we six points after first-half goals AFP | Dubai lovan Rajevac after deserved at least a draw,” said from Mousa Mohammad Sulei- their humiliating loss India coach Stephen Constan- man and Tareq Khattab earned osts United Arab Emir- to India tine. a 2-0 win over Syria in a tempes- ates threw off the “But if you don’t convert your tuous Group B clash. shackles at the Asian from the end -- his 47th goal in H United Arab Emirates’ forward Ali Mabkhout (2nd-R) heads the ball Cup yesterday, surviving a hairy 75 internationals -- to give the start to dispatch India 2-0 and versial late penalty last Saturday. opening game to earn compari- scoreline a somewhat flattering close in on a place in the last 16. “The Bahrain result was a sons with Indian cricket captain complexion but left UAE top of Jordan earlier became the first disappointment and I humbly Virat Kohli for his heroics. Group A on four points. side to book their place in the apologised to the fans,” said UAE The evergreen striker forced a knockout stages after winning a coach Alberto Zaccheroni, who smart save from UAE goalkeeper Car alarm bruising derby with Syria by the steered Japan to the Asian Cup Khalid Eisa before the home side Until Mubarak’s strike -- his same scoreline while the “Thai title in 2011. drew first blood against the run first for his country -- the 2015 Messi” Chanathip Songkrasin “But the players showed great of play. semi-finalists had been large- snatched a lifeline for the War spirit and willpower tonight and Mubarak whipped the ball ly restricted to pot shots that Elephants in Dubai. we deserved the victory. It’s im- home from an acute angle four threatened little but the fleets Khalfan Mubarak and Ali Ma- portant to grow into the tour- minutes before halftime for the of luxury cars in the stadium bkhout were on target in Abu nament.” Emirates, who were runners-up parking lot. Dhabi for the Emiratis, who India captain Sunil Chhetri the last time the country hosted India, who finished run - were fortunate to scrape a 1-1 overtook Lionel Messi in inter- the Asian Cup in 1996. ners-up on their Asian Cup de- draw in their curtain-raiser national goals as the Blue Tigers Mabkhout sealed the points but in 1964 when it was a four- against Bahrain after a contro- stunned Thailand 4-1 in their with a cool finish two minutes team competition won by Israel, Bahrain‘s Komail Hasan Alaswad and Thailand’s Chanathip Songkrasin vie for the ball Djokovic mauls Murray Cilic cruises at Kooyong ahead of Grand Slam AFP | Melbourne coaches. in Open practice match “I’m trying to take a positive ast year’s Australian Open outlook. I know the level that Lfinalist Marin Cilic round- I can play the game, where my ed off his preparations for this game should be.” year’s edition in style yesterday, With the Australian Open just winning his second match in days away, he is grateful to be as many days at the Kooyong out of the spotlight to focus on Classic. himself. With the first Grand Slam “It’s nice to be able to fly un- of the season starting on Mon- der the radar and do my own day, every opportunity is im- thing.” portant for the Croatian, who Shapovalov, 19, made up for went down in a battle to Roger lost time after losing in the first Federer in the Melbourne Park round at Auckland this week decider in 2018. and then crossing the Tasman to Serbia’s Novak Djokovic at a practice match against Britain’s Andy Murray Roger Federer of Switzerland and Serena Williams of the USA leave the court The world number seven beat after playing in the mixed doubles match squeeze into the Kooyong draw Reuters | Melbourne will have far lower expecta- Spain’s Fernando Verdasco 6-4, as a late entry. tions at the event starting on 6-4, backing up his three-set Under the rules, the first play- it around. “It’s great to be here and get orld number one No - Monday. victory a day before over world er to win at least 10 points by His form slump has been another match, fire a few balls,” Wvak Djokovic gave Andy The 31-year-old three-times No. 6 Kevin Anderson. a two-point margin takes the dramatic. He played 31 singles the world No.27 said. “It’s an- Murray a stinging reality check major champion returned to Earlier, American Jack Sock match. matches in 2018, winning a other chance to get the match in the lead-up to next week’s action last June but the former lost to fast-rising Canadian Ahead of the Australian mere nine. feel. Australian Open, dominating world number one cut short a teenager Denis Shapovalov 6-2, Open last year, Sock was at a “I had some pretty low mo- “You have some of the pres- the Briton 6-1 4-1 in a practice deflating season in September. 3-6, 10-7 after a final set played career-high eighth in the world ments last year, it was horren- sure, there’s a crowd watch - match at Melbourne Park yes- The Scot did enjoy a win - as a 10-point tiebreak -- the for- rankings, but after a horror sea- dous,” said Sock. “I did a lot of ing. It’s a chance to get a lit - terday. ning start to his season with a mat which will be used at the son he has plunged outside the regrouping in the off-season, tle bit more ready for the Murray has struggled to re- victory over local player James Australian Open from Monday. top 100 and is desperate to turn talking to family, team members, Slam.” gain form since undergoing Duckworth at the Brisbane hip surgery last January, and International on Jan. 1 but was was quickly dismantled by well beaten by Russian fourth the six-times Australian Open seed Daniil Medvedev in the champion at Margaret Court next round. Kohlschreiber flogs feeble Fognini in Auckland quarters Arena before the players called Murray is playing in Austral- time on their match after less ia under his protected ranking AFP | Auckland, New Zealand than an hour. of world number two, which is Serbian Djokovic heads into used to help players who have vergreen Philipp the tournament as favourite to suffered long-term injuries. EKohlschreiber rolled back I’m still improving my win a record seventh title and But the lack of a seeding the years to storm into the game even at 35-years his third Grand Slam in a row, has left him exposed to a Auckland Classic semi-finals old ... I have to be while five-times runner-up challenging early draw, and yesterday with a straight-sets ready for the young Murray, now ranked 230th, he will have to battle past a demolition of second seed Fabio ones and I’ll try to tough first-round opponent in Fognini. Spanish 22nd seed and former The 35-year-old German tore continue to play for a world number 13 Roberto Bau- apart the lacklustre Italian 6-3, few years yet BETTER tista Agut. 6-1 to remain in the reckoning at PHILIPP KOHLSCHREIBER Local hope John Millman, a tournament where he claimed who dumped Roger Federer the title way in back in 2008. few years yet,” he said. Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany serves during his quarter final match KNOW out of the fourth round at last Currently ranked 34th in the Kohlschreiber raced to an against Fabio Fognini of Italy year’s U.S. Open, is no slouch world, Kohlschreiber has not early break in the first set then either as a potential second dropped a set on his way to a fi- seeded this year, was a class upset results that have send all held on as Fognini stretched Serbia’s Novak Djok- round match-up for Murray, nal four showdown with Ameri- above world number 13 Fognini, the seeds heading for the exits. the German’s next service game ovic and Britain’s with 10th-seeded Russian Ka- can Tennys Sandgren, who beat who appeared unfocused and Kohlschreiber comfortably out for 10 minutes trying to re- ren Khachanov another likely Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer more interested in boarding a beat Sandgren in straight sets spond. Andy Murray have roadblock to the last 16. 6-3, 7-6 (7/5). plane to next week’s Australian in their only previous meeting But the German had all the met four times at the Murray, who has scheduled The other semi-final pits Brit- Open in Melbourne. in Monte Carlo last year. answers and Fognini’s resist- final of the season’s a news conference on Friday on Cameron Norrie -- a victor Despite his advancing years, “I’m still improving my game ance crumbled as the set wore opening Grand Slam, at Melbourne Park, admitted over American Tyler Fritz -- the veteran is shaping as a even at 35-years old ..