Thursday, April 2, 2015
EXTRATIME
H A R A F TO RACE
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Athletics
champion Mo Farah ritish double Olympic and world paign in Doha on cam gue will open his Diamond Lea . said May 15, organisers 0 metres in the opening Farah will compete in the 300 rking the 32-year-old’s first leg of the 14-meet series, ma appearance in Doha. gs about the track, the “I’ve heard so many great thin Doha,” said Farah. crowd and the competition in ng fields in the distances so stro very ays alw “There are test on the track for me. I’m this will be a great early season ance.” form looking forward to a good per metres double at the 00 10,0 and 0 Farah won the 5,00 year later became only the 2012 London Olympics and a s at the world championships second athlete to win both title in Moscow. of the greatest current “We are delighted to have one at our meeting this year,” Olympic and world champions president Dahlan Al Hamad. said Qatari Athletics Federation in Doha will ensure that nce “Mo Farah’s first appeara ance racing excellence will our tradition of early season dist continue this year.” gears up for the world Farah’s rivals in Doha as he August 22-30 include from championships in Beijing ers Ethiopia and Kenya. traditional distance running pow
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DOHA
Cricket
Vettori calls time on international career
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ew Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori has announced his retirement from international cricket after an 18-year career at the top. The 36-year-old was looking to bow out on a high in Sunday’s World Cup final but the Kiwis were blown away by a rampant Australia side at the MCG. However, the Auckland-born veteran can look back on his career with much pride after playing 113 Tests, 295 one-dayers and 34 Twenty20 internationals for his country. He claimed 705 international wickets and scored 6,989 runs across all three formats, while also captaining the Black Caps in all three versions of the game. The slow left-armer secured 361 Test wickets and would have taken many more but for a plethora of injuries late in his glittering career, and he is one of only three men – along with Sir Ian Botham and Kapil Dev – to have scored 4,000 Test runs and taken 300 Test wickets.
Tennis
MURRAY
‘key to producing new talent’
Tennis
NADAL
strategises on his game
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Nadal
afael Nadal says he will work on the mental side of his game as he begins preparations for the clay-court season. The 28-year-old crashed out of the Miami Open with a three-set defeat to Fernando Verdasco on Sunday. It ended a disappointing few weeks in the USA after he lost in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells to Canada’s Milos Raonic. The Spaniard did win a low-key event in Argentina back in February but it has generally been a below-par start to the year for the 14-time Grand Slam winner. The Majorcan has always been known for his mental toughness and he has been able to grind out results as his opponents wilted over the years. But, as he gets ready for another assault on the French Open and other clay-court tournaments, the nine-time Roland Garros champion admits that he still has much to work on.
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ndy Murray’s success on court is a key component in the development of future generations of British tennis stars, says Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) chief Michael Downey. Downey revealed the LTA has a four-year plan to try and increase participation in the sport. He has spoken to British number one Murray about the part he can play. “His role is to keep doing what he is doing and winning on the court in style,” said Downey. World number four Murray, 27, has appeared in six Grand Slam finals, winning twice. “Andy Murray winning court, doing well for the sport, being in the media every week, being on TV every Saturday and Sunday is the best thing he can do for this sport because it generates what I call water-cooler talk,” added Downey, who took over as LTA chief executive in January and was speaking on the Tennis Podcast. “We track the interest in him across the general population of this country and how people look at him in terms of a role model. “His numbers are very, very high and they continue to get high as he wins on court.”