Sania and Martina win Aussie Open for third major trophy

January 29, 2016

Melbourne, Jan 29: In a perfect climax to their stupendous run, Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis were today crowned the Australian Open women's doubles champions after they tamed the spirited Czech duo of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka in straight sets for their 36th win in a row, here.

sania

The top seeds fought past the seventh seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 7-6 (1) 6-3 in the women's doubles final that lasted one hour and 45 minutes.

It was their third consecutive Grand Slam title for Sania and Martina, having won the Wimbledon and US Open in the 2015 season.

In an incredible feat, Sania and Martina have now extended their unbeaten run to 36 matches, winning eight titles in a row. They won five straight titles in 2015, starting from the US Open and before the Australian Open now.

It was Sania's second title at the Australian Open, having won the mixed doubles in 2009 with Mahesh Bhupathi.

The final though was not a stroll in the park for the world number one team with the Czechs putting up a great fight in the opening set. The match was littered with breaks with the two teams struggling to hold serve throughout.

Hlavackova was excellent from the baseline and Hradecka was terrific at the net, playing some breathtaking shots and winners.

The top seeds though had enough resources in their kitty to blunt the challenge of the Czech girls.

"I would like to thank everyone for coming out and supporting us. For me Australian Open is special, it's like home. I have special memories here. We had an incredible one year. Martina is an amazing champion and an amazing person, so it is a privilege for me to play with her," Sania said.

"We know how good you are (Czech team). We lost to you at Roland Garros. Hopefully we will have more finals to fight for," Sania said.

Martina was equally effusive in her praise for the Czechs.

"They pushed us to the limit. It was s tough tournament. We will try to defend our title next year."

In the opening set, the two pairs could manage to hold serve only twice each as it was full of breaks.

Hradecka ran frantically to her left from the net and smashed one volley past Sania off Martina's return and then the Swiss served two consecutive double faults to hand the Czechs an early break.

The top seeds had three break chances in the next game -- the fourth -- on Hlavackova's serve but the Czech team saved all.

Martina earned a fourth at deuce with a volley and converted that with a forehand passing winner.

A double fault by Sania at 30-40 gave the break back to the Czech players, who were now leading 3-2.

Hradecka sent a forehand long to give the top seeds a breakpoint and netted a backhand to make it 3-3.

There was no end to breaks with Martina dropping her serve next. Hlavackova's unreachable backhand lob gave the Czechs a breakpoint and the Swiss sent a forehand wide.

Hlavackova's long forehand at 30-40 meant that Sania and Martina had a break chance but Martina's return just landed wide and it was deuce.

The top seeds though made it 4-4 with Hlavackova's consecutive forehand errors from the baseline.

Sania went down 0-40 in the next game but saved all three break chances. A forehand to net by Sania at deuce point and the top seeds were facing another break chance but managed to saved that.

Another break chance and this time the Czechs converted to lead 5-4.

The seventh seeds came out to serve out the set but were broken.

Martina finally held her serve in the 11th game and the top seeds led 6-5, this time not allowing the Czechs to convert break opportunities.

Eventually the Czecks too held and it boiled down to a tiebreak in which the top seeds trampled their opponents, losing just one point, to pocket the opening set.

They broke Hradecka in the very first game of the second set and never looked back after that. Though Martina was broken in the sixth game but the favourites broke back for a 5-2 lead.

There was more drama as Martina was broken in the eight while serving for the match and they squandered three match points in the ninth game on Hradecka's serve.

Sania and Martina finally closed the championship in their favour on the fourth chance.

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News Network
June 3,2020

Colorado, Jun 3: Formula One boss Chase Carey has said that races will go ahead even if a driver tests positive for coronavirus.

His remarks come as organisers revealed a revised 2020 calendar and the schedule for the first eight races was put in the public domain.

"An individual having been found with a positive infection will not lead to a cancellation of a race. We encourage teams to have procedures in place so if an individual has to be put in quarantine, we have the ability to quarantine them at a hotel and to replace that individual," the official website of Formula One quoted Carey as saying.

"Some things we'd have to talk through and work through. The array of 'what ifs' are too wide to play out every one of them, but a team not being able to race would not cancel the race. I do not think I could sit here and lay out the consequences," he said.

Carey added the organisers will be having the necessary procedures in place so that the race does not get cancelled if a driver ends up testing positive for coronavirus.

"But we will have a procedure in place that finding infection will not lead to a cancellation. If a driver has an infection, teams have reserve drivers available," Carey said.

"We would not be going forward if we were not highly confident we have necessary procedures and expertise and capabilities to provide a safe environment and manage whatever issues arrive," he added.

The Formula One 2020 season will be beginning with the Austrian Grand Prix in July.

F1 currently expects the opening races to be closed events but hopes that fans will be able to attend again when it is safe to do so.

The season will kick off with the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring on July 5, followed a week later by a second race on the same track.

The Hungarian Grand Prix will follow a week after that, before a break. There will be then two back to back races at Silverstone, followed by the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

The Belgian Grand Prix will follow that, with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza a week later on September 6.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

New Delhi, Jan 16: Mahendra Singh Dhoni was on Thursday dropped from the BCCI's list of centrally contracted players, raising fresh doubts on the future of the former India captain who has not played since the World Cup semifinal loss to New Zealand last year.

The BCCI announced the central contracts for the period of October 2019 to September 2020. Dhoni was in the A category, which fetches a player Rs 5 crore, until last year.

Skipper Virat Kohli, his deputy Rohit Sharma and top pacer Jasprit Bumrah were retained in the highest A+ bracket of Rs 7 crore.

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News Network
June 27,2020

Jun 27: India's Test batting mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara cannot describe in words the influence that Rahul Dravid has had on his life but says he will always remain grateful to him for teaching the importance of switching off from cricket.

Often compared to Dravid, who was considered the 'wall' of Indian cricket, Pujara said he is thankful to Dravid for teaching him how to keep personal and professional lives separate.

"He helped me understand the importance of switching off from cricket. I had the same thought, more or less, but when I spoke to him, it gave me a lot of clarity about it and I was sure of what I needed to do," he told ESPNcricinfo.

"I also saw in county cricket how they keep personal and professional lives separate. I value that advice a lot. Many people consider me to be focused. Yes, I am focused, But I also know when to switch off. There is life beyond cricket."

In his illustrious international career, Dravid amassed 13288 runs in 164 Tests and 10889 runs in 344 ODIs. He also captained India in 79 ODIs, winning 42 of them, which includes the world record of 14 successive wins while chasing.

"I cannot say in one line what Rahul bhai means to me. He has always been an inspiration, and will remain one," Pujara said.

His mental fortitude and batting technique is often compared to Dravid but Pujara said "despite my enchantment with him" he never tried to "copy him."

"There is a similarity in our games, but that's not because of my fascination with him. That came mainly through my experiences with Saurashtra, where I learned that scoring a hundred alone isn't enough, you have to carry your team," he said.

"That is how I learned responsibility - it is about helping my team to raise a big total, and for that I ought to attach importance to my wicket. I learned that from my junior cricket days with Saurashtra, which was a weaker team in domestic cricket."

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