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Saturday September 29, 2018
Kaieteur News
Tennis: Sabalenka to face Lewis Hamilton top in Russian GP practice as Ferrari struggle Kontaveit for Wuhan title Reuters Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus overcame last year’s runner-up Ashleigh Barty 7-6(2) 6-4 in the Wuhan Open semi-finals yesterday to set up a title clash with Estonian Anett Kontaveit today. Sabalenka began slowly and trailed 5-3 in the opening set. The 20-year-old broke back with some big first serves to level at 5-5 before taking the set in the tie-break. The Belarusian switched gears in the next set and sealed victory over the Australian in one hour and 25 minutes, firing 26 winners in the match. ”I just tried to focus on my game and focus on every point and this was the key. Tomorrow I just want to enjoy myself and show my best,” Sabalenka said. Barty said Sabalenka had had a phenomenal season.
Lewis Hamilton was fastest in second practice. (GettyImages) Aryna Sabalenka ”It was bound to happen, to be honest. She’s an absolute quality player.” Sabalenka won her maiden trophy on the WTA Tour at the Connecticut Open in August. Standing in her way is Kontaveit, who reached her first final of
the season after her Chinese opponent Wang Qiang retired from their semi-final with a thigh problem while trailing 26 1-2. Today’s match will be the first meeting between Kontaveit and Sabalenka.
Serena Williams to miss China Open in Beijing Serena Williams will miss the China Open and may not play again this season after her controversial US Open final defeat by Naomi Osaka. Her name, along with sister Venus, was not in the draw for the event, which starts in Beijing today. At the US Open, Serena was given a code violation for coaching, incurred a point penalty for racquet
smashing and was docked a game for verbal abuse. It is thought unlikely that the 37-year-old will play again this season. The American, who was aiming to equal Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles against Osaka, says she wants to move on from the controversy. She denies being coached from the stands,
despite her coach Patrick Mouratoglou saying he was sending her signals. ”I just don’t understand what he was talking about,” she said. After being punished for coaching and racquet abuse, she called umpire Carlos Ramos a “liar” and “thief”. She was later fined $17,000 (£13,100) for the code violations. (BBCsport)
Ian Daniels off to Barcelona Spain as winner of Milo Football Skills Tournament 2018 On June 9th, 2018 last, Neslté Milo© hosted the second edition of the Milo Football Skills Tournament at the Police Sports Club Ground, Eve Leary. The event is part of a global partnership between Neslté Milo© and FC Barcelona which was officially announced in 2016. The partnership between the two powerhouses is based on a shared vision to promote healthier lifestyles through physical activity among children, especially during their foundation years, 7 to 12 yearsold. The first edition of the tournament was hosted in
August 2017 and saw participation of over 150 kids from Guyana vying for the top spot and the grand prize of a trip to the Barca Academy in Barcelona Spain. This year more than 160 boys and girls between the ages of 7-12 participated in the tournament and were judged on the following skill sets; passing, dribbling, composure, running and control. Ian Daniels delivered a stunning performance and walked away with the grand prize of a trip to the Barca Academy where he will participate in a training camp hosted by the FC Barcelona Coaches together with 93 other winners from across the world.
Speaking at the Prize giving ceremony Geysha Thomas Davis Senior Consumer Marketing Manager said: “We are extremely happy for the support given and the team spirit shown by the kids that came out today showcasing their skills. Milo© will continue to invest in initiatives such as we work towards achieving our global objective to help 50 million children live healthier lives by the year 2030.” Ian will be travelling today along with other Caribbean winners from Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Jamaica along with two representatives from NESTLÉ to Barcelona Spain for this lifetime opportunity.
BBCsports - Lewis Hamilton headed Valtteri Bottas in a Mercedes onetwo in second practice at the Russian Grand Prix, as title rival Sebastian Vettel struggled. Hamilton pipped Bottas by 0.199 seconds while Vettel was fifth fastest in the Ferrari, 0.543secs off the pace. Vettel, who had a spin late in the session, starts the weekend 40 points behind Hamilton, with a maximum of 150 available over the remaining six races. The Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo were third and fourth. They will start from the back of the grid because Red Bull have fitted new Renault engines to both cars and, as they have exceeded the maximum number of engine parts, that means they will receive grid penalties. Mercedes’ pace on a single lap suggested they have an advantage over Ferrari at the start of the weekend, which is bad news for Vettel, who really needs to beat Hamilton this weekend
to revive his title hopes. Vettel set the pace in the first practice session, but he was only 0.33secs quicker than Hamilton despite using the softest hyper-soft tyre while the Mercedes was on the ultra-soft. The time difference between those two tyres is in the region of a second so both sessions told a similar story, of a Mercedes that has a chunk of time over Ferrari. However, Friday practice times can be misleading, as it is not clear what specification the cars are running in, so it would be premature to draw any conclusions. With the race expected to feature just a single pit stop, and overtaking difficult, grid positions are important - although the long run from the start to the first corner gives drivers on the second row a chance to get a tow and pass into the first corner, as Bottas did on his way to victory last year. Hamilton said: “Sochi has been one of the weaker circuits for me in the past, particularly last year. So I’ve
done a lot of work to understand the balance and see where I can improve to try and rectify this - today has been good in that sense.” ”We look quite far away from the rest of the field,” said Vettel. “Struggling a bit on one lap but also on the long run we went through our tyres a bit harder and quicker than the rest. “But just looking at ourselves it was not a good day in terms of feel for the car. There is more we need to get to. We have some catching up to do.” Both Toro Rosso drivers who have new, upgraded Honda engines this weekend - and the McLaren of Fernando Alonso, also with a new Renault engine, will join the Red Bulls at the back of the grid. And the auguries looked good for the new Honda power-unit. Pierre Gasly’s Toro Rosso was just pipped for the best of the rest slot in seventh by 0.015secs by Force India’s Sergio Perez, whose teammate Esteban Ocon was 0.01secs behind his fellow Frenchman.
T&T brace for tough opener against giants Russia Kobe, Japan, CMC – Trinidad and Tobago open their historic campaign in the FIVB Women’s World Championship today when they take on giants Russia at the Kobe Green Arena. The Caribbean side is the lowest ranked in Pool C at 34th while the Russians are fifth in the world and one of the title contenders. T&T have spent the last week preparing for the global event in a training camp in Himeji, where they also played a warm-up game against pro side Victorina, coming from behind to win 16-25, 25-18, 2725 at the Victorina Arena. The encounter was a good run out for Trinidad and Tobago, with Shannon
Krystle Esdelle Thompson and Sinead Jack both getting into double figures in kills. T&T also served and defended well and afterwards Cuba-born Francisco Cruz said he was pleased with the way his side had played.
The side, led by Sweden-based Renele Forde, are an experienced unit which includes the likes of Channon Thompson, KellyAnne Billingy, Sinead Jack, Darlene Ramdin and Krystle Esdelle. However, they will face a virtual trial by fire in the preliminary round as they also take on number 10ranked South Korea, number 16 Thailand and Azerbaijan, ranked 24th in the world. T&T are multiple time Caribbean champions and have been good enough to win the last three tournaments. The World Championship runs from September 29 to October 20 across six cities.