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SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 2016
SPORTS Tortured Murray outlasts Raonic to set up showdown with Djokovic SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY VISIT
The Serbian Djokovic
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will again stand in Murray’s path on Sunday as the Scot seeks to add another grand slam title to his 2012 U.S. Open and 2013 Wimbledon crowns
MELBOURNE: Andy Murray went through paroxysms of frustration but seized another opportunity to break his Australian Open jinx with a four-hour, fiveset semifinal victory over Milos Raonic on Friday. Four times the British world number two has advanced to the final at Melbourne Park and four times he has been vanquished, three times at the hands of Novak Djokovic. The Serbian will again stand in his path on Sunday as the Scot seeks to add another grand slam title to his 2012 U.S. Open and 2013 Wimbledon crowns. “Five finals is a great achievement,” said Murray. “You can’t take that away from me. “I should be happy about that. There’s very few players that will have made five Australian Open finals, so I have to be proud of that achievement.” Raonic, meanwhile, was left heartbroken after suffering a thigh injury that hampered him from the middle of the third set of the 4-6, 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2 defeat. Winning tennis matches never looks like a walk in the park for Murray but for much of the contest against the Canadian, he at least had some justification for the tortured grimaces and explosions of anger that followed every setback. The 13th seed has been on fire this year and his big serve and huge forehands had one of the best returners in the game on the ropes, while his new-found net game helped him to a healthy 72 winners. Murray said earlier this week that he would waste no more energy on the histrionics but the
TOUGH WIN: Britain’s Andy Murray celebrates after winning his semifinal match against Canada’s Milos Raonic. – Reuters
‘SanTina’ do it again for maiden Australian Open crown MELBOURNE: World number one doubles pairing Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza clinched their first Australian Open doubles title together with a 7-6(1), 6-3 victory over Czech pair Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka on Friday. It was the 12th grand slam women’s doubles title for Hingis while the third for India’s Mirza, all of which have come with the Swiss in the last year. The pair, who have now won 36 successive doubles matches, are also the reigning Wimbledon and U.S. Open champions. “Thanks to my partner, we have had an incredible year,” Mirza said in a courtside interview. “We keep going and it’s great to have all these records with you.” Both pairs were broken four times each in the first set before
match was just minutes old when he returned to his chair muttering curses having been broken to love in his first service game. That was to be Raonic’s only
CUP OF CHEERS: Switzerland’s Martina Hingis, left, and India’s Sania Mirza pose with the trophy after winning their doubles final match at Melbourne Park. – Reuters
Mirza sealed it in the tiebreak after 62 minutes when Hradecka sent a forehand service return long over the baseline. Hingis, who was knocked
break of the match but it was enough to win the first set and, after Murray had pounced to even up the contest, he ramped up his 230 kilometre-per-hour serve
out by Mirza and Croatia’s Ivan Dodig in the mixed doubles quarterfinals, took a medical time out at the end of the first set to have treatment to her
to clinch the third on tiebreak. Most heartbroken “It was tough,” said Murray. “It was frustrating ... he didn’t miss
right shoulder, but did not appear troubled. Hradecka dropped serve in the first and fifth games of the second set, to give the top seeds a 4-1 lead, and while Sania Mirza lost her next service game they never looked like relinquishing control with Martina Hingis dominant at the net. The Swiss was then broken while serving for the title, though they sealed it on their fourth championship point when Hradecka’s running forehand sailed over the baseline, the third time she was broken in the set. “You have won two grand slam doubles so you were very tough,” Hingis said of the Czech pair. “I know everyone will say break, break, break but you guys have the best returns in doubles.” - Reuters
a first serve in the breaker and I had played some good tennis in that set.” The 25-year-old Raonic, hoping to become the first Canadian
TWENTY20
man to reach a grand slam final, was feeling the injury in the fourth set but Murray had also crucially got a better fix on his serve and broke for 4-3. Raonic almost claimed it back in the next game but Murray saved two break points, falling to one knee and roaring “Yes! Yes!” as he pumped his fist at the ground. Murray served out the set to even up the contest again and grabbed two breaks early in the decider as the wincing Raonic’s level dropped, the Canadian’s racket feeling the brunt of his frustration after the first. “It’s unfortunate, it’s probably the most heartbroken I’ve been on court,” Raonic said of his injury. “I think maybe that’s why I sort of lashed out at the start of the fifth set. I don’t think that’s like myself to do, but sometimes it’s a little bit too much to keep in.” Murray finished off his ailing opponent with a sublime crosscourt backhand volley to bring up a match point, which he converted with a handsome forehand winner. The 28-year-old pointed both index fingers at the roof of Rod Laver Arena before slumping into his courtside chair with a look of relief on his face. The relief will not be long-lived, however, as he will be back on the same court on Sunday attempting to dethrone five-times champion Djokovic. “I have a very good shot on Sunday if I play my best tennis,” he said. “There’s no reason it’s not possible for me to win.” Murray’s older brother Jamie will be bidding for silverware on Saturday when he teams up with Bruno Soares to take on Daniel Nestor and Radek Stepanek in the men’s doubles final. It is the first time two brothers have reached separate finals at the same grand slam. “You’re not going to see it very often,” Murray junior said. “We should enjoy it and be proud of it because it’s a tough thing to do.” That final will follow Angelique Kerber’s attempt to knock sixtimes Australian Open champion Serena Williams off her perch in the women’s final. - Reuters CRICKET
Rohit, Kohli power India to series win in Melbourne SCOREBOARD
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MELBOURNE: Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli maintained their prolific form with the bat to secure India’s series-clinching 27-run win over Australia in the second Twenty20 match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday. Man-of-the-series in India’s 4-1 defeat in the one-day internationals, Rohit hit a 47-ball 60 at the top of the order to give the touring side a fast start along with partner Shikhar Dhawan (42). India, who were put in to bat, rode an opening stand of 97 to reach 184-3 in their 20 overs with Kohli providing a late assault in a strong top-order performance with a swashbuckling unbeaten knock of 59. Kohli, who smashed an unbeaten 90 in India’s 37-run
JUBILANT BUNCH: India players leave the field after their victory against Australia during their T20 cricket match. – Reuters
win in Adelaide on Tuesday, hit seven boundaries and a six during his 33-ball knock. Australia, who made six changes in the side from their last defeat, also made a strong start with captain Aaron Finch providing the fireworks. Finch (74) and Shaun Marsh added 94 for the opening wicket to
keep Australia, who handed T20 debuts to three players, in the hunt but India’s spinners picked up quick wickets to halt their march. Finch hit eight fours and two sixes in his 48-ball knock before he was run out trying to steal a quick single. India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni missed a regulation stump-
INDIA R. Sharma run out (Maxwell/Wade) 60 S. Dhawan c Lynn b Maxwell 42 V. Kohli not out 59 MS Dhoni c Watson b Tye 14 S. Raina not out 0 Extras (lb-7, w-1, nb-1) 9 Total (3 wickets; 20 overs) 184 Fall of wickets: 1-97, 2-143, 3-181 Bowling: Shane Watson 3-0-17-0; John Hastings 3-0-35-0; Scott Boland 4-0-30-0; James Faulkner 3-0-35-0; Andrew Tye 4-028-1; Nathan Lyon 1-0-15-0; Glenn Maxwell 2-0-17-1 AUSTRALIA A. Finch run out 74 S. Marsh c Pandya b Ashwin 23 C. Lynn c Dhoni b Pandya 2
ing off Marsh but made amends with smart work with the gloves to dismiss dangerman Glenn Maxwell for one off left-arm spinner Yuvraj Singh. Dhoni was also lucky when
G. Maxwell st Dhoni b Yuvraj 1 S. Watson c & b Jadeja 15 M. Wade not out 16 J. Faulkner st Dhoni b Jadeja 10 J. Hastings b Bumrah 4 A. Tye b Bumrah 4 Extras (b-1, lb-2, w-5) 8 Total (8 wickets; 20 overs) 157 Fall of wickets: 1-94, 2-99, 3-101, 4-121, 5-124, 6-137, 7-152, 8-157 Bowling: Asish Nehra 4-0-34-0; Jasprit Bumrah 4-0-37-2; Ravindra Jadeja 4-0-32-2; Ravichandran Ashwin 4-0-27-1; Hardik Pandya 2-0-17-1; Yuvraj Singh 2-0-7-1 Toss: Australia, who chose to field Umpires: Simon Fry and Paul Wilson TV umpire: John Ward Match referee: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand)
the ball ricocheted off his pads to hit the stumps with James Faulkner out of his crease, the dismissal snuffing out Australia’s hopes of levelling the series at 1-1. - Reuters
De Villiers appointed Test captain JOHANNESBURG: AB de Villiers has been appointed as the full-time captain of South Africa’s Test team, ending speculation he could retire from the longest format of the game to ease his workload. Cricket South Africa made the announcement on Friday after De Villiers was appointed for the final two tests of the recently completed series against England on a temporary basis following the resignation of Hashim Amla. De Villiers, also captain of the one-day international side who take on England in a five-match series starting on Wednesday, believes his team can regain their number one test status after losing the Test series against England 2-1. — Reuters