Australian Open: Maria Sharapova Roars Into Third Round

Agencies
January 18, 2018

Melbourne, Jan 18: Maria Sharapova showed she is a serious contender for this year’s Australian Open as she destroyed No. 14 Anastasija Sevastova, 6-1, 7-6 (4), on Thursday.

Against an opponent who thwarted Sharapova’s Grand Slam comeback in the round of 16 of the United States Open last year, the unseeded Sharapova sped through a scintillating first set in 23 power-packed minutes. She wobbled when serving for the match, but came through in a tiebreaker.

“When she broke back I thought: ‘Oh, it’s going to be three sets again,’” said Sharapova, who added, “At the U.S. Open she was fresher.”

Sharapova, back in the top 50 after a 15-month ban for taking the performance-enhancing substance meldonium in Australia in 2016, demonstrated all the shotmaking that made her a five-time winner of major tournaments.

In a one-sided first set, Sharapova powered home 12 winners and lost just nine points.

“I knew I had to get a good start and I’m happy to get through on a day like this,” she said after the second-round match, which lasted one hour 20 minutes.

As temperatures soared toward 104 degrees, it was a sizzling demolition of an opponent who had taken Sharapova to three sets in both their previous meetings.

Sharapova needed more than three hours to defeat Sevastova when the pair played in Beijing four months ago, and she was in no mood to take her time again as the temperatures rose.

She broke Sevastova to open the second set, but Sevastova broke back immediately. The jolt to the Sharapova juggernaut was evident, and she began to make unforced errors as service holds and breaks were exchanged.

At 4-4 a backhand winner got Sharapova to break point, and she converted on a follow-up screaming shot. But, once again, Sevastova broke back, and wound up forcing a tiebreaker.

Sharapova regathered herself and hit a scarcely believable forehand crosscourt winner on the run to get to 5-2. After squandering a pair of match points, she secured her victory.

Sharapova endured a string of defeats early in her comeback but she has been working her way back up the rankings. She broke through to win the Tianjin Open in October — her first title since 2015 — and enjoyed a run to the semifinal in Shenzhen to start the year.

The Wimbledon champion Garbiñe Muguruza fell out of the tournament after being beaten, 7-6 (1), 6-4, by Hsieh Su-wei.

Muguruza never looked comfortable, double-faulting on break point in the second set and recording 43 unforced errors.

She saved one match point in the ninth game on her serve before Hsieh served out the match in the next, clinching it with a winning backhand to the corner.

Muguruza had a troubled preparation for the tournament, retiring with cramps in the second round at the Brisbane International and withdrawing before her quarterfinal at Sydney because of a right thigh injury.

The British hope Johanna Konta’s love affair with the Australian Open came to an abrupt end when she was defeated by the American Bernarda Pera.

Konta, the No. 9 seed, first made her mark at Melbourne Park in 2016 when she reached the semifinals, and last year she made the quarterfinals. It is her most successful Grand Slam, but after an injury-marred lead-up to the tournament she fell, 6-4, 7-5, to the 123rd-ranked Pera, who is playing her first Australian Open.

On the men’s side, Sam Querrey was ousted after losing, 6-4, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-2, to the 80th-ranked Marton Fucsovics.

The 13th-seeded Querrey was one of 10 American players — men and women — to reach the second round from the 32 who started the main draws, the lowest number of Americans through to the second round in Melbourne since 2011.

Dominic Thiem survived his first career five-set match at the Australian Open, rallying from two sets down to defeat the American qualifier Denis Kudla, 6-7 (6), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.

Thiem, seeded fifth, was broken three times in the opening set and once in the second, then didn’t face another break point for the rest of the match.

On Wednesday night, third-seeded Grigor Dimitrov needed five sets to defeat a young American who had never won a tour-level match before qualifying for the tournament.

Mackenzie McDonald, ranked 186th, broke Dimitrov’s serve three times in the fourth set and pushed the fifth beyond 12 games — there are no tiebreakers in fifth sets at the Australian Open — before his first double-fault of the set gave Dimitrov a match point.

Dimitrov finished off a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 0-6, 8-6 win as midnight approached.

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News Network
February 11,2020

Dubai, Feb 11: Two Indian players-- Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi -- and three Bangladeshis have been charged by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for involvement in the quarrel just after the U-19 cricket World Cup summit clash in Potchefstroom, South Africa on Sunday.

Akash and Bishnoi and three Bangladeshi players -- Md. Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain and Rakibul Hasan -- were found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct after a few players from both sides nearly came to blows after Bangladesh beat India by three wickets to win their maiden U-19 World Cup title.

"Five players have been found guilty of a Level 3 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Support Personnel ... (they) were charged with violating Article 2.21 of the code, whilst Bishnoi received a further charge of breaching Article 2.5," the ICC said in a statement.

"All five players have accepted the sanctions proposed by ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup Match Referee Graeme Labrooy," it added.

A near brawl broke out after Bangladesh’s historic win over India in the final. The Bangladesh players were aggressive during the Indian innings with lead pacer Shoriful Islam frequently sledging the Indian batsmen.

As soon as the match ended, Bangladeshi players rushed into the playing area.

"India's Akash accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of eight suspension points, which equates to six demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years," the ICC said.

Compatriot Bishnoi accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of five suspension points, which equates to five demerit points.

"Bishnoi also accepted a level 1 charge of breaching Article 2.5 for a separate incident during the match, where he used language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter following the dismissal of Avishek Das in the 23rd over," said the ICC.

"For this he received a further two demerit points meaning seven demerit points will remain on his record for the next two years."

Bangladesh's Towhid Hridoy accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of ten suspension points, which equates to six demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years.

Shamim Hossain accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of eight suspension points, which equates to six demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years.

Rakibul Hasan accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of four suspension points, which equates to five demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years.

All charges were levelled by on-field umpires Sam Nogajski and Adrian Holdstock, third umpire Ravindra Wimalasiri as well as fourth umpire Patrick Bongni Jele. Level 3 breaches carry a minimum penalty of four suspension points and a maximum penalty of 12 suspension points.

The suspension points will be applied to the forthcoming international matches the players are most likely to participate in at either senior or U-19 level. One suspension point equals a player being ineligible for one ODI or T20I, U-19 or A team international match.

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News Network
February 11,2020

Mt. Maunganui (New Zealand), Feb 11: KL Rahul struck a combative 112 but New Zealand completed a 3-0 whitewash of India by winning the third ODI by five wickets, here on Tuesday.

Rahul helped India recover from a shaky start to post a challenging 296 for 7 but the Kiwis overhauled the target with 17 balls to spare.

This is the first whitewash that India has suffered in an ODI series in more than a decade.

Sent in to bat, India were down 62 for 3 in the 13th over after the dismissals of Mayank Agarwal (1), captain Virat Kohli (9) and Prithvi Shaw (40) but Rahul got a useful ally in in-form Shreyas Iyer (62) to take India to a competitive total.

Rahul, who hit nine fours and two sixes during his 113-ball innings, and Iyer stitched exactly 100 runs from 18.2 overs for the fourth wicket to revive the Indian innings.

After the end of the promising innings of Iyer, Rahul shared another 107 runs for the fifth wicket with Manish Pandey (42).

The Kiwis were off to a confident start in their chase with Martin Guptill (66) and Henry Nicholls (80) and putting on a 106-run stand. However, wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took three wickets to bring India back in the game.

Colin de Grandhomme (58) and Tom Latham (32), though, took their side past the finish line with an unbeaten 80-run partnership.

Brief Scores:

India: 296 for 7 in 50 overs (KL Rahul 112, Shreyas Iyer 62; Hamish Bennett 4/64).

New Zealand: 300 for 5 in 47.1 overs. (H Nicholls 80, M Guptill 66; Y Chahal 3/47).

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News Network
January 27,2020

Los Angeles, Jan 27: Kobe Bryant, the 18-time NBA All-Star who won five championships and became one of the greatest basketball players of his generation during a 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, died in a helicopter crash Sunday. He was 41.

Bryant died in a helicopter crash near Calabasas, California, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. A different person familiar with the case confirmed that Bryant's 13-year-old daughter Gianna also was killed.

Both spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the crash had not been released publicly. The crash happened around 10 a.m. about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said it was a Sikorsky S-76 and it was not known what caused the crash. The LA County Sheriff's Department confirmed five dead in the crash, but had not released identities.

Bryant lived south of Los Angeles in coastal Orange County for much of his adult life, and he often used helicopters to save time and avoid Southern California's notorious traffic. Even as a player, he often traveled to practices and games by helicopter, and he kept up the practice after retirement as he attended to his business ventures.

The crash occurred several miles from Mamba Sports Academy, Bryant's basketball training complex in Thousand Oaks, California. Bryant, who had four daughters with his wife, Vanessa, dedicated himself to boosting women's sports in his retirement.

Colin Storm was in his living room in Calabasas when he heard ``what sounded like a low-flying airplane or helicopter.''

“It was very foggy so we couldn't see anything,'' he said. ``But then we heard some sputtering, and then a boom.''

A short time later the fog cleared a bit and Storm could see smoke rising from the hillside in front of his home.

Bryant retired in 2016 as the third-leading scorer in NBA history, finishing two decades with the Lakers as a prolific scorer with a sublime all-around game and a relentless competitive ethic. He held that spot in the league scoring ranks until Saturday night, when the Lakers' LeBron James passed him for third place during a game in Philadelphia, Bryant's hometown.

“Continuing to move the game forward (at)KingJames,'' Bryant wrote in his last tweet. “Much respect my brother.''

Bryant had one of the greatest careers in recent NBA history and became one of the game's most popular players as the face of the 16-time NBA champion Lakers franchise. He was the league MVP in 2008 and a two-time NBA scoring champion, and he earned 12 selections to the NBA's All-Defensive teams.

He teamed with Shaquille O'Neal in a combustible partnership to lead the Lakers to NBA titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002. He later teamed with Pau Gasol to win two more titles in 2009 and 2010.

Bryant retired in 2016 after scoring 60 points in his final NBA game.

Bryant looms large over the current generation of NBA players. After James passed Bryant on Saturday, he remembered listening to Bryant when the superstar came to speak at a childhood basketball camp.

“I remember one thing he said: If you want to be great at it, or want to be one of the greats, you've got to put the work in,'' James said. “There's no substitution for work.''

James later teamed up with Bryant on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team in Beijing.

“He had zero flaws offensively,'' James said. “Zero. You backed off of him, he could shoot the 3. You body him up a little bit, he could go around you. He could shoot from mid-range. He could post. He could make free throws. ... He was just immortal offensively because of his skill set and his work ethic.''

Bryant was a basketball superstar for his entire adult life. He entered the NBA draft straight out of high school in 1996 after a childhood spent partly in Italy, where his father, former NBA player Joe “Jellybean'' Bryant, played professionally.

The Lakers acquired the 17-year-old Bryant in a trade shortly after Charlotte drafted him, and he immediately became one of the most exciting and intriguing players in the sport alongside O'Neal, who had signed with the Lakers as a free agent. Bryant won the Slam Dunk Contest as an upstart rookie, and the Lakers gradually grew into a team that won three consecutive championships.

Bryant and Gasol formed the nucleus of another championship team in 2008, reaching three straight NBA Finals and eventually winning two more titles.

In 2003, Bryant was charged with attacking a 19-year-old employee at a Colorado resort. He had said the two had consensual sex. Prosecutors later dropped the felony sexual assault charge against Bryant at the request of the accuser.

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