Hurting Djokovic, slow-starting Federer win at US Open

Agencies
August 29, 2019

New York, Aug 29: Top-ranked defending champion Novak Djokovic fought through shoulder pain to reach the third round of the rain-hit US Open on Wednesday while Roger Federer shook off another slow start to advance.

Djokovic, winner of four of the past five Slam titles and 16 in all, was treated for a sore left shoulder throughout his 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 victory over Argentina's 56th-ranked Juan Ignacio Londero.

"It was definitely affecting my serve and backhand," Djokovic said of his shoulder injury. "I was definitely tested."

Djokovic next faces 27th-seeded Serbian compatriot Dusan Lajovic or American Denis Kudla, but the injury casts grave doubts on his bid to be the first US Open repeat winner since Federer won from 2004-2008.

"This is something I've been carrying for quite a while now," Djokovic said. "It wasn't easy to play with the pain, but you have to hope you will get some opportunities and some lucky shots.

"It's not the first time I'm facing this kind of adversity or challenge. It is what it is and I'm just grateful to be on the court."

Djokovic won't play again until Friday and until then, "I'll probably freeze my arm for 48 hours, not do anything with it and see what happens."

Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam winner seeking his first US Open crown since 2008, rallied to beat 99th-ranked Bosnian Damir Dzumhur 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.

The 38-year-old Swiss third seed, who also dropped the first set against Indian qualifier Sumit Nagal in his opener, answered the wake-up call after conceding the first set with 17 unforced errors.

"When it happens like this, back-to-back matches, it's just a bit frustrating more than anything, especially when the level is that low and there is that many errors and the energy is not kind of there," Federer said. "But can only do better, which is a great thing moving forward.

"I didn't expect to hit 15 to 20 unforced errors, which is basically the entire set just sort of donated... I clearly have to play better from the get-go."

US eighth seed Serena Williams, seeking her 24th career Grand Slam title to match Margaret Court's all-time record, faces 17-year-old US wildcard Caty McNally in a later match under the roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Only 10 of 32 singles matches were played as rain wiped out play except in enclosed stadiums, with Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev and three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka among those postponed to Thursday.

"I definitely profit from everything I did in the game and my ranking to be put on center court on a day like this," Federer said.

Serbian star Djokovic broke on an errant Londero forehand to close the first set, then was broken twice in falling behind 3-0 in the second set only to win the next five games.

"Somehow I managed to find my way back," Djokovic said.

Londero broke him, held at love and forced a tie-breaker, but Djokovic won five of the last six points thanks to Londero errors and then dominated the final set.

"I want to congratulate Londero for showing a fighting spirit," Djokovic said. "It was a real fight."

Five-time US Open winner Federer, who lost to Djokovic in last month's epic Wimbledon final, started poorly but broke early in each of the last three sets and held serve to the end.

"I buckled down and told myself I was going to hang tough and not get broken and that made a big difference," Federer said.

Next in Federer's path is either French 25th seed Lucas Pouille or Britain's 58th-ranked Dan Evans.

Japanese seventh seed Kei Nishikori, the 2014 US Open runner-up, beat 108th-ranked American Bradley Klahn 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Nishikori, who could face Federer in the quarter-finals, stumbled after seizing a 5-1 edge in the final set and needed five match points to win.

"A little bit of lost focus after 5-1," Nishikori said. "He started playing better too."

French Open champion Ashleigh Barty, the second seed from Australia, eliminated 73rd-ranked American Lauren Davis 6-2, 7-6 (7/2), saving a set point before dominating the tie-breaker.

"I knew I was doing the right things," Barty said. "It was just about execution. I'm glad I came through in the tie-breaker."

Czech third seed Karolina Pliskova, seeking her first Grand Slam title, ousted 202nd-ranked Georgian qualifier Mariam Bolkvadze 6-1, 6-4.

Ukraine fifth seed Elina Svitolina defeated seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4 and US 10th seed Madison Keys, the 2017 US Open runner-up, trounced China's Zhu Lin 6-4, 6-1.

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News Network
June 10,2020

Jun 10: "It is never too late to fight for the right cause," said opening batsman Chris Gayle as he came out in support of former T20 World Cup-winning skipper Darren Sammy. The debate around racism in sport has kickstarted once again after former Windies T20 World Cup-winning skipper Darren Sammy alleged racism during his stint with SunRisers Hyderabad in the 2014 Indian Premier League. Taking note of Sammy's revelation, Gayle tweeted: "It's never too late to fight for the right cause or what you've experienced over the years! So much more to your story, @darensammy88. Like I said, it's in the game".

Earlier, Gayle had also revealed that he too has been a victim of racism, and added that racism is something that has been bothering cricket as well.

On Tuesday, Sammy had released a video specifying that the racial slurs against him were used within the SunRisers camp.

"I have played all over the world and I have been loved by many people, I have embraced all dressing rooms where I have played, so I was listening to Hasan Minhaj as to how some of the people in his culture describe black people," Sammy said in a video posted on his Instagram account.

"This does not apply to all people, so after I found out a meaning of a certain word, I had said I was angry on finding out the meaning and it was degrading, instantly I remembered when I played for SunRisers Hyderabad, I was being called exactly the same word which is degrading to us black people," he added.

Sammy said that at the time when he was being called with the word, he didn't know the meaning, and his team-mates used to laugh every time after calling him by that name.

"I will be messaging those people, you guys know who you are, I must admit at that time when I was being called as that word I thought the word meant strong stallion or whatever it is, I did not know what it meant, every time I was called with that word, there was laughter at that moment, I thought teammates are laughing so it must be something funny," Sammy said.

The former Windies skipper has been a vocal supporter of the protests that are currently going on in the United States over the death of an African-American man named George Floyd.

Sammy had also made an appeal to the ICC and other cricket boards to support the fight against social injustice and racism.

Ever since the demise of Floyd, protests erupted from the demonstrations in cities from San Francisco to Boston.

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Agencies
February 7,2020

New Delhi, Feb 7: It was on February 7, 1999, that Anil Kumble became just the second bowler in the history of cricket to take all ten wickets in an innings of a Test match.

He achieved the feat against Pakistan at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, now known as Arun Jaitley cricket stadium in Delhi during the second Test of the two-match series.

India had set Pakistan a target of 420 runs in the match and the visitors got off to a steady start as openers Shahid Afridi and Saeed Anwar put on 101 runs for the first wicket.

It was then Kumble who came into the attack and wreaked havoc on the Pakistani batting line-up.

The spinner, also known as 'Jumbo' first dismissed Afridi (41) in the 25th over. After the right-handed batter's dismissal, India kept on taking wickets through Kumble and Pakistan was reduced to 128/6 in no time.

Kumble then kept on taking wickets at regular intervals and he got his tenth scalp in the 61st over after dismissing Wasim Akram.

This effort enabled India to register a win by 212 runs, and Kumble became the second bowler after England's Jim Laker to take all ten wickets in a single Test inning.

Kumble finished with the bowling figures of 10-74 from 26.3 overs.

Kumble announced his retirement from international cricket in 2008 and finished with 619 wickets in the longest format of the game.

He has the third-highest number of wickets in Tests, only behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Australia's Shane Warne (708).

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Agencies
May 17,2020

Berlin, May 17: Top-flight football in Germany kicked off again on the weekend, becoming the first major sports league in the world to resume play, as parts of Europe took more tentative steps towards normality after the devastation unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic.

With the worldwide death toll past 310,000 and the global economy reeling from the vast damage caused by lockdowns, the reopenings in some of the hardest-hit countries provided much-needed relief from the pandemic.

The French returned to the beach and Italy announced a resumption of European tourism with outbreaks in Europe slowing, but the rising number of fatalities in the United States and Brazil were a grim reminder of the scale of the crisis, with more than 4.6 million infections reported globally.

With governments trying to reopen their economies while avoiding the second wave of infections that could necessitate more lockdowns, Germany's Bundesliga resumed its season on Saturday with games played in vacant, echoing stadiums.

League heavyweights Borussia Dortmund hosted rivals Schalke at the all-but-empty Signal Iduna Park -- which would usually be packed with more than 80,000 raucous fans.

"It's sad that matches are played in empty stadiums, but it's better than nothing," said 45-year-old Borussia Dortmund fan Marco Perz, beer in hand, as he prepared to watch the game on TV.

Dortmund's Erling Braut Haaland became the first player to score a goal after the two-month shutdown and celebrated by dancing alone -- away from his applauding teammates -- in keeping with the strict hygiene guidelines which allowed the league to resume.

The only noise was the cheering and clapping of players and coaches.

League champions Bayern Munich will play Union Berlin in the capital on Sunday, with the resumption in Germany seen as a test case as other top sports competitions try to find ways to resume play without increasing health risks.

"The whole world will be looking at Germany, to see how we get it done," said Bayern boss Hansi Flick.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy, however, said Saturday he needed more guarantees before the government can give the green light for the resumption of its top football league, which is struggling with logistical difficulties as clubs try to arrange training sessions and quarantine facilities.

With the Northern Hemisphere's summer approaching, authorities are moving to help tourism industries salvage something from the wreckage.

Italy, for a long stretch the world's worst-hit country, announced that European Union tourists would be allowed to visit from June 3 and a 14-day mandatory quarantine would be scrapped.

"We're facing a calculated risk in the knowledge that the contagion curve may rise again," Conte said during a televised address.

"We have to accept it otherwise we will never be able to start up again."

In France, the first weekend after the strictest measures were lifted saw many ventures out into the spring sunshine -- and hit the beach.

In the Riviera city of Nice, keen swimmers jumped into the surf at daybreak.

"We were impatient because we swim here all year round," said retiree Gilles, who declined to give his full name.

With the threat of a second wave of infections on their minds, authorities in many countries have asked people not to throng public spaces like beaches as they are made accessible again.

Officials in parts of England on Saturday warned people to stay away from newly reopened beauty spots and avoid overcrowding.

Germany also saw the latest in a growing wave of anti-lockdown protests in many parts of the world, with rallies in major cities bringing together conspiracy theorists, anti-vaccine activists and other extremists.

There were similar protests in France, Switzerland and Poland.

Since emerging in China late last year, the coronavirus has whipped up a catastrophic economic storm, which has left tens of millions unemployed in the United States and many are wondering when a recovery will be possible.

With more than 88,000 deaths and 1.47 million confirmed coronavirus cases, the United States is the worst-hit country on the planet, and the administration of President Donald Trump has faced intense criticism of the way it has handled the crisis.

Former president Barack Obama took a swipe at the response to the pandemic, telling graduates at a virtual commencement ceremony that many leaders today "aren't even pretending to be in charge" -- a remark widely regarded as a rare rebuke of his successor.

Trump is keen to reopen the US economy -- the world's largest -- despite warnings from experts that infections could flare up again if social distancing measures are eased too quickly.

Forty-eight of the 50 US states have now eased lockdown rules to some extent.

Much like Trump and his political allies, Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro is also keen to end lockdowns, which he claims have unnecessarily damaged the South American nation's economy over a disease he has dismissed as "a little flu".

But the virus has continued its deadly march in Brazil, where the death toll passed 15,000 on Saturday and it became the country with the fourth-largest coronavirus caseload with 230,000 infections.

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