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Sports 18 Petrova upsets Radwanska to win Pan Pacific Open Afp
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amir, mccloskey in dec rematch talks
MONITORING DESK Amir Khan might rematch Paul McCloskey in December, a year and a half after a onesided fight that ended in a technical decision in Khan's favor. BBC Sport reports that there has been talk between the camps of Amir Khan and Paul McCloskey for a rematch on December 8 or 15 in Manchester, a year and a half after they first met in a sloppy, rather one-sided affair that went Khan's way on a technical decision. McCloskey's manager Francie McNicholl told BBC that he was contacted by "Khan's people" earlier this week. "Both parties are serious. The dates being mentioned are 8 or 15 December in Manchester," said McNicholl. McNicholl said a decision is likely in the next week. Khan (263, 18 KO) is looking to stop a two-fight skid, and the December date will be his first with new trainer Virgil hunter, who has replaced Freddie Roach. McCloskey (24-2, 12 KO) has been shaky since the Khan defeat, with a debatable win over Breidis Prescott, a TKO loss to veteran DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley, and a Sept 22 win over Manuel Perez where McCloskey just seemed to lack rhythm, or spark, or something like that. McCloskey is a totally decent fighter, but he's never been on Khan's level and never will be, so I'm feeling a little indifference to this idea -- considering Khan's on a bad run and McCloskey has wanted the rematch since their first bout, it's not that bad an idea, and it gives Khan a chance to go back home for a fight, too. I guess what I mean to say is I mostly just don't care if this happens or not. If it does, it could be worse, and if it doesn't, it's not that great a fight, and I already have no doubt that Khan can and should beat McCloskey again. Losses to Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia haven't changed that.
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Australia V South Africa 03:00PM Pakistan V India 07:00PM
Sharapova unsurprised by year-end withdrawals
TOKYO ADIA Petrova wrenched the Pan Pacific Open title from holder Agnieszka Radwanska as the Russian shocked the world number three 6-0, 1-6, 6-3 in a topsy-turvy final in Tokyo. "I feel amazing. This is the biggest tournament I ever won and this is a great accomplishment," said a jubilant Petrova, ranked 18th in the world. "At the beginning of the tournament I didn't expect to be here because I had a back injury, so it's delightful to be here right now." The victory caps a highly satisfying week for the 30-year-old after she stormed back from one set and 1-4 down to beat sixth seed Sara errani and went on to beat eighth seed Samantha Stosur in the last two rounds. For Petrova, whose only previous win over Radwanska came in Tokyo in 2008, it was a second title of the season following her victory at 's-hertogenbosch, and 12th overall. She was handed a winner's cheque of $385,000 and will move up to 14th in the world. The 23-year-old Radwanska, who became Poland's first Grand Slam finallist of the Open era at Wimbledon this season, had to be satisfied with the runner-up prize of $192,000. She said: "her biggest weapon is her serve, for sure, but to be honest, her return was not bad today. I really had to serve very good to win my game, so her serve and return were really working for her today. "I was really trying to get the title again this year, but unfortunately she was playing too good." Petrova fired a sizzling service return winner on a break point to take an early 1-0 lead before whitewashing the first set by finishing off with an ace on her second set point. A struggling Radwanska saved four break points to keep her service in the first game of the second set and pulled off her first break when Petrova hit a forehand into the net to move up 2-0. Petrova lapsed into making errors and took only one point each in the following three games before keeping the sixth game, but Radwanska hit three aces in a row and a service winner to comfortably even it at one set all. Neither had a break chance in the final set until the score went to 4-3 for Petrova, who took a break point in the eighth game thanks to Radwanska's two double-faults.
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BEIJING Afp
ToKYo: winner Nadia Petrova (r) and runner up agnieszka radwanska pose as they hold their trophies during the awarding ceremony after their Pan Pacific open final. AFP
World number two Maria Sharapova said Saturday she was not surprised to see players withdrawing from the end-ofyear "Asian swing" tournaments after Serena Williams pulled out of the China Open. The 25-year-old Russian, whose victory at Roland Garros in June completed her career Grand Slam, said the "long" WTA season meant that by the time Beijing came along energy levels were often down. "This is the end of the year for us and you know it's a pretty long season of 10 months of playing tournaments back to back," she said. "There is no doubt towards the end of the season you are not as fit as you are in the beginning, maybe don't have as much energy, because the last Grand Slam of the year (US Open) was only a couple of weeks ago. "You try to give your all for that. And then also we had the addition of the Olympics this year. So it was an incredibly busy summer for everybody."
Ivanovic eases through China Open first round BeijiNG: Former world number one Ana Ivanovic eased into the second round of the China Open on Saturday, defeating American Christina Mchale in straight sets 6-3, 6-2. The 24-year-old Serbian played aggressively from the start, hitting big first serves and powerful forehand drives which Mchale, ranked 28 in the world, was unable to match. Ivanovic's returns from Mchale's service game were too good for the 20-year-old, with the French Open champion of four years ago breaking the American in the eighth game of the first set and twice in the second. "I think that was the best service game I have ever had," said the eleventh seed, who wrapped up victory within an hour, agreeing that it had been a "perfect" start to the Beijing tournament. "The last match I played, in Tokyo, I served terribly. It was probably the worst I served in a very long time, so I was really determined to do better today," she said. "I really took more time and focused on that because I knew I could serve well and I did it in practice. So I had attention to serve well today, and it worked well and I'm very pleased." The world number 12 will play American Varvara Lepchenko, who defeated Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria, in the second round. Ivanovic admitted she didn't know much about her next opponent but was aware that "she serves big" and has "a powerful game". Afp
BeIJINg: maria Sharapova of russia speaks at a press conference during the china open tennis tournament. AFP
Davis Cup: Semifinal showdowns Comment SABA AzIz As the year’s last Grand Slam came to a close, action swung to the business end of the Davis Cup World Group starting with the semis. The draw pitted Spain against the United States, while the Argentines were to lock horns with the Czech, over the weekend. From the looks of it both were enticing encounters, featuring some of the world’s top men players. Despite Nadal’s absence, who was sidelined with a recurring knee problem, Spain had a formidable team with the likes of world number 5 David Ferrer, 12th ranked Nicolas Almagro and world number 24 Marcel Granollers completing the line-up. On the other side of the net, the United States, who had overcome a strong French side on the red clay earlier in April, comprised of world number 10 John Isner, world number 26 Sam Querrey and the best doubles team in the world, the Bryan brothers. heading into the weekend’s fixture, both the teams were tied at 5 wins a piece in their overall head to head record, with Spain having won their last encounter in Texas last year on their way to lifting the coveted trophy. evidently, the Americans had the daunting task of subduing the Spanish armada on their beloved red clay, a surface on which they thrive. With the home court advantage, the Spanish were well positioned to try and neutralize the big serves of Isner and Querrey. On the opening day, Ferrer kicked things off against Querrey in front of his home crowd in Gijon. he broke Querrey’s first
service game, but the lanky American came back to recoup the break in the eighth game, and broke serve again in the 10th game, to give U.S. the opening set. But Ferrer, ruthless as ever on the court, was not to be denied on the day. Brimming with confidence from a semifinal showing at the US Open, Ferrer was business-like as usual. he raced through the next two sets, before finally closing out the match in the fourth and giving the Spaniards a 1-0 lead. The second rubber saw Almagro go up against Isner, who had been instrumental in America’s wins over Switzerland and France earlier in the year. Almagro barely managed to scrape out a win after a thrilling five set tussle lasting four hours and 16 minutes. So the de-
fending champs ended the first day’s action with a 2-0 advantage, just one win away from another Davis Cup final. The Americans had some respite, as the Bryans carved out a 7-5/7-5/3-6/6-3 win over the duo of Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez on the second day. however, Ferrer put the final nail in the coffin and sealed the Americans’ fate by virtue of his 6-7/6-3/6-4/6-2 victory over Isner on a cloudy Sunday afternoon. The victory led Ferrer to an impressive 21-4 singles record in the competition and extended his perfect 16-0 winning singles streak when playing in home ties. On the other side of the Atlantic, Argentina was playing host to Czech Republic on the dirt in Buenos Aires. With world number 6 Tomas Berdych leading
the Czech charge, accompanied by the wily veteran Radek Stepanek, the hosts had their work cut out for them. World number 8 and 2009 US Open champ, Juan Martin del Potro opened proceedings on day one and got off to a flier with a comfortable straight sets win over Stepanek. Del Potro was playing against medical advice after hurting his wrist at the US Open and he broke down in tears as he gave his victory speech. The second rubber was a more closely contested affair. In an impressive comeback, Tomas Berdych dug deep to rally from two sets to one and 1-4 down in the fourth to beat Juan Monaco. In front of a raucous, 1300 Latin American crowd inside the Parque Roca, with football legend Diego Maradona and former tennis glamour girl Gabriela Sabatini amongst the audience, Berdych went on a nine game winning streak before sealing victory. With the tie leveled at one match a piece, both the teams had a lot riding on in the doubles. The Czech pair of Berdych and Stepanek clinched the crucial rubber in a one-sided match and put Czech Republic in the driving seat heading in to the final day. With Carlos Berlocq filling in for the injured Del Potro, the writing was on the wall for the hosts as Tomas Berdych, wearing the same shirt he wore at the Olympics, gave his nation the unassailable 3-1 lead over the home team. Czech Republic now hosts Spain in the final on 16-18 November, a rematch of the 2009 final when Spain was victorious. With the home court advantage to the Czechs and history backing Spain, the tennis fans are in for some exciting tennis ahead.
Sunday, 30 September, 2012