Roger Federer crashes out of US Open

September 6, 2012
roger


New York, September 6: Roger Federer saw his dream of becoming the first man in 87 years to win six US Opens destroyed by big-swinging Czech Tomas Berdych Wednesday in the Swiss legend's earliest New York defeat in nine years.

The 17-time Grand Slam title winner, bidding to reach his 33rd Grand Slam semi-final, and ninth in a row at the US Open, was beaten 7-6 (7/1), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 by sixth-seeded Berdych.

"I have got to go back to the drawing board from here. The goal (of winning Wimbledon and getting back to number one) has been achieved, but this is very disappointing," said a despondent Federer.

Berdych was stunned by his triumph.

"It couldn't be better. There's no better moment so far than this one," said the Czech.

It was world number one Federer's worst defeat at the tournament since losing to David Nalbandian in the fourth round in 2003.

Berdych, who went into the quarter-final with a 4-11 record against the world number one, will now face British third seed Andy Murray for a place in Sunday's title match.

"I'll just try to bring something from today and try to add something a little more for my next match," Berdych said.

The 26-year-old Czech has reached the last four in New York for the first time while Saturday will be his first Grand Slam semi-final since he reached the Wimbledon final in 2010.

That was the tournament where he also defeated Federer in the quarter-finals.

In an extraordinary reversal of fortune, Wednesday's clash was Berdych's first appearance in a night match on the main stadium.

Wimbledon champion Federer, by contrast, went into the tie with a perfect 21 wins in his night-time outings.

Federer got off to a rock solid start, breaking in the first game before the Czech hit back at 3-3 and then romped through the tiebreaker.

Federer, 31, was under relentless pressure again in the second set when he was broken twice before the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd sensed a possible third comeback from two set to love down in three successive Grand Slams as the top seed cut the deficit.

But Berdych steadied himself in the fourth with a break in the eighth game and served out the match to love when Federer's weak service return was his 40th and final unforced error of the contest.

Berdych boasts a 4-2 career winning record over Murray, who reached a second successive US Open semi-final when Croatia's Marin Cilic squandered a set and 5-1 lead to lose 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, 6-0.

Murray won 15 of the last 18 games to secure a seventh win in eight meetings with the 12th-seeded Cilic.

"I've had a lot of tough matches -- everyone goes through them. We've seen Rafa, Novak and Roger struggle here," said Murray.

"There is pressure on you to perform well, expectations are high and sometimes you're nervous."

Tearful Andy Roddick said goodbye to the US Open, New York and his career in an emotional fourth-round defeat to Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro.

The 30-year-old, the last American man to win a Grand Slam event when he claimed the US Open in 2003, had already said this would be the last tournament of a 12-year career which yielded 32 titles and $20 million in prize money.

"I've loved every minute of it -- for the first time in my career I'm not sure what to say," said Roddick, who was in tears -- as was model wife Brooklyn -- as he addressed the crowd after his 6-7 (7/1), 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, 6-4 loss.

Seventh-seeded Del Potro, the champion in 2009, booked a Thursday quarter-final date with defending champion Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic was leading Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 6-1, 3-1 when the 18th-seeded Swiss retired after complaining of dizziness and handed the second seed a 14th successive Grand Slam quarter-final place.

His tie against Wawrinka had been held over from Tuesday because of rain with the world number two ahead 2-0 in the first set.

"It was a difficult situation for both of us with the rain yesterday. We were here for 10 or 11 hours, warmed-up and then stopped. It was hard to get ready for a match that way," said Djokovic, the 25-year-old Australian Open champion.

Djokovic has reached his sixth successive US Open quarter-final by dropping just 20 games in four rounds.

Wawrinka has now lost 19 matches in a row against top-10 players.

Djokovic's fellow Serb, eighth seed Janko Tipsarevic, reached his second successive US Open quarter-final.

Tipsarevic brushed past German 19th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 and goes on to face Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer for a place in the semi-finals.



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News Network
April 9,2020

New Delhi, Apr 9: The legendary Kapil Dev on Thursday slammed Shoaib Akhtar's idea of a made-for-television three-match ODI series between India and Pakistan to raise funds for the Covid19 pandemic, saying "India doesn't need the money" and it is not worth risking lives for a cricket match.

Speaking to news agency, Akhtar on Wednesday proposed a closed-door series to jointly raise funds to fight the deadly virus both in India and Pakistan. Dev said the proposal is not feasible.

"He is entitled to his opinion but we don't need to raise the money. We have enough. For us, what is important right now is how our authorities work together to deal with this crisis. I am still seeing a lot of blame game on television from the politicians and that needs to stop," Dev said.

"Anyway, the BCCI has donated a hefty amount (Rs 51 crore) for the cause and is in a position to donate much more if the need arises. It doesn't need to raise funds.

"The situation is unlikely to get normal anytime soon and organising a cricket game means putting our cricketers at risk which we don't need to," said the World Cup-winning former captain.

Dev said cricket should not even matter for at least the next six months.

"It is just not worth the risk. And how much money can you make from three games? In my view, you can't even think of cricket for the next five to six months," he said.

Dev said the focus, at the moment, should only be on saving lives and taking care of the poor who are struggling to make ends meet in a lockdown situation.

"Cricket will resume when things get normal. The game can't be bigger than the country. The pressing issue is to look after the poor, the hospital workers, the police and all other people who are on the frontline of this war," said the 61-year-old.

As an Indian, Dev feels proud that his country is in a position help other nations including the United States.

President Donald Trump has thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for helping the United States with the supply of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug being touted as a potential cure for Covid19 patients.

"Helping others is in our culture and I feel proud about that. We should not seek credit after helping others. We should strive to become a nation which gives more and more rather than taking from others," he said.

Like everyone else, Dev is at home and practising social distancing.

Asked how he views the current situation, he said: "Nelson Mandela stayed in a tiny cell for 27 years. Compared to that, we are in a privileged position (that we just have to stay at home for sometime)."

"There is nothing bigger than life at the moment and that is what we need to save."

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Agencies
May 31,2020

London, May 31: "Jacques Kallis, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli," replied umpire Ian Gould when he was asked to name the three best batsmen he loved watching when he was officiating as an umpire.

The former ICC elite umpire said that he was unlucky to not watch Ponting bat as much as he would have liked to.

"Jacques Kallis. I loved watching Jacques. He was a very, very fine player. Sachin. And probably Virat. I was unlucky in some respects. I didn't see the best of Ricky Ponting. He was an outstanding character, outstanding captain, such a proud Australian," ESPNCricinfo quoted Gould as saying.

"But his career was just starting to wane as I came on the scene. But he was incredibly helpful, so I'm disappointed I have to leave him out. Jacques Kallis, I could sit and watch all day, Virat, the same. And Sachin, if you want someone to bat for your life, he was the man," he added.

Gould had retired from the ICC's panel of elite umpires in 2019, after standing in more than 250 international matches over a 13-year career.

Over the years, comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar have been growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli has 70 centuries across all formats.

While, Kallis played 166 Tests, 328 ODIs and 25 T20Is for South Africa and he is often viewed as the greatest all-rounder the game has seen.

Many pundits of the game find it hard to pick between him and Sir Garfield Sobers.

Across his career, Kallis scored 25,534 runs in his career and he also managed to take 577 wickets.

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News Network
January 29,2020

Hamilton, Jan 29: India defeated New Zealand in the third T20 International via Super Over to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series here on Wednesday.

India posted a competitive 179 for five at Seddon Park after being sent into bat. Opener Rohit Sharma top scored for India with a 65-run knock while skipper Virat Kohli contributed 38 runs in team's total.

Later, skipper Kane Williamson smashed a 48-ball 95 but New Zealand faltered in the final over to take the match into the Super Over.

Needing nine runs of the last over, New Zealand lost Williamson and Ross Taylor to finish at 179 for six and tie the match.

In the Super Over, New Zealand scored 17, a target which India overwhelmed in the final ball with Rohit smashing Tim Southee for two consecutive sixes.

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