Federer, Sharapova knocked out of Wimbledon

June 27, 2013

federerLondon, Jun 27: Defending champion Roger Federer's remarkable run of reaching 36 consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals or better was ended in a shock second-round Wimbledon defeat by unheralded Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky on Wednesday.

Federer's 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-5, 7-6(5) loss in exactly three hours rocked Wimbledon to its core on a day that already seemed surreal after seven players withdrew or retired injured and third-seeded Russian Maria Sharapova also stumbled to defeat.

The last time Federer, who has won a record 17 Grand Slam titles, including seven gilded Challenge Cups, failed to reach at least the last eight was in the 2004 French Open.

But on day three of the championships an opponent ranked a lowly 116th in the world launched outrageous winners left, right and centre to bring Federer to his knees and condemn the Swiss to his earliest Wimbledon exit since a first-round loss in 2002.

Second seed Victoria Azarenka did not even take to the court as the knee injury she suffered in a first-round fall made it impossible for her to take on Italy's Flavia Pennetta.

The medical bulletins came thick and fast from the moment stricken American marathon man John Isner, who needed 183 games to beat Nicolas Mahut in 2010, survived only two before his knee buckled and he quit against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.

Next it was Belgian man-of-the-moment Steve Darcis whose challenge began with a bang by beating Rafa Nadal but ended with a whimper as he withdrew before his second-round match against Poland's Lukasz Kubot with a shoulder injury. Czech veteran Radek Stepanek, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Kazakh Yaraslava Shvedova all went out due to injuries.

Shvedova's no-show meant it was the worst day for withdrawals and retirements at a grand slam tournament, surpassing the five on the opening day here last year.

It inevitably led to questions about the condition of grass and during her injury time-out Sharapova was overheard to describe the Court Two surface as "dangerous".

"I don't think I've ever fallen three times in a match before in my career, so that was a little strange," the 2004 champion, who saved four match points, told reporters. "I noticed a few more players falling than usual. Understandably the first couple of days, they're always a bit (slippery), but I don't think I've seen as much as I have maybe in the last few years."

Amid all the thrills and spills home favourite Andy Murray kept a cool head to progress unscathed to the third round with an unremarkable three-set victory over Taiwan's Lu Yen-Hsun.

Second seed Murray, whose broad shoulders carry hopes of a first British men's singles winner since 1936, started slowly but took control to win 6-3 6-3 7-5 and set up a third round clash with Spaniard Tommy Robredo.  Murray's path looks a lot less tangled with Nadal's first-round defeat and Tsonga's demise and "Murray Mania" will move up a level in the coming days as the draw opens up.

Tsonga, Murray's predicted quarterfinal opponent, had looked in control against Gulbis, winning the first set 6-3. After losing the second set by the same score he required a strapping on his left knee and after losing the third set the Frenchman threw in the towel.

While pleased to be in the third round for the first time, Gulbis said he would have preferred a fight to the finish.

"Grand slam should be five sets, blood, fight five sets all the way until the end, until somebody is dead," he said.

After Wednesday's woes 10 singles players have withdrawn or retired from the tournament in the first three days. The most in a single grand slam is 17 - 11 men and six women - at the 2011 US Open.

Indians shine

Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza, along with their respective partners, advanced to the second round. Another Indian who enjoyed a winning day was Rohan Bopanna. Bopanna and his French partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin, who are seeded 14th, defeated Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen and Dmitry Tursunov of Russia 7-6, 2-6, 7-6 in their doubles opener.

Bhupathi and his partner Julian Knowle beat Leonardo Mayer and Alberto Ramos 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-2. Sania and Liezel Huber beat Czech Republic’s Renata Voracova and Klara Zakopalova in the women’s doubles 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

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News Network
March 4,2020

Mar 4: The BCCI has decided to implement strict cost cutting measures with the notable decision being IPL 2020 champions' prize money will be halved as compared to 2019. In a circular sent to all IPL franchises, the BCCI has notified that instead of a whopping Rs 20 crore, the IPL champion team will now receive Rs 10 crore only. "The financial rewards have been reworked as a part of the cost cutting measures. The champions will get Rs 10 crore instead of Rs 20 crore. The runners-up will get Rs 6.25 crore from earlier Rs 12.5 crore," a BCCI notification, in possession of news agency, read.

The two losing qualifiers will now get Rs 4.375 crore each.

"The franchises are all in good health. They also have multiple ways like sponsorships to bolster their income. Hence the decision on prize money taken," a senior BCCI source said.

However, a state association hosting IPL games will get Rs 1 crore each with franchises and BCCI contributing Rs 50 lakh each.

It has also been learnt that mid-level BCCI employees won't be allowed to avail business class flights like earlier times for flying to the Asian countries (Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, UAE) where the flying time is less than eight hours.

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News Network
March 4,2020

Sydney, Mar 4: Teenage Indian batting sensation Shafali Verma on Wednesday rose to the top spot in the ICC women's T20 International rankings, riding on her stellar run at the ongoing World Cup here.

The 16-year-old Verma takes over from New Zealand's Suzie Bates, who had been the top batter since October 2018 after wresting the spot from West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor.

However, Smriti Mandhana has slipped a couple of rungs to sixth in the latest list.

Verma and England spinner Sophie Ecclestone will go into the semifinals of the event as the top ranked batter and bowler respectively. India will take on England on Thursday.

Verma's explosive batting at the top of the order saw her score 161 runs in four innings, including knocks of 47 and 46 against Sri Lanka and New Zealand. It helped her become only the second India batter after Mithali Raj to top the women's T20I batting rankings, according to an ICC statement.

Ecclestone, who took eight wickets in four matches including a best of three for seven against the West Indies, is the first England bowler to be number one since Anya Shrubsole in April 2016 and the first England spinner at the top since Danni Hazell in August 2015.

Among the Indian bowlers, Poonam Yadav is up four places to eighth after a good run in World Cup.

Some valiant performances from Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu have seen her move from 18th to 14th spot for batters.

England's Nat Sciver is again in the top 10 and captain Heather Knight in the top 15 for the first time.

South Africa opener Laura Wolvaardt has advanced 23 places to 44th, while Pakistan's Aliya Riaz has gained 24 places and is 48th while New Zealand's Maddy Green is in the top 100 after advancing 28 slots.

In the bowlers' list, leg-spinners Amelia Kerr of New Zealand (up two places to fourth) and Australia's George Wareham (up nine places to 10th) have made significant gains in the latest rankings update.

Other bowlers to advance include new-ball bowler Diana Baig of Pakistan (up 34 places to 13th), Shashikala Siriwardena of Sri Lanka (up seven places to 14th), Anya Shrubsole of England (up five places to 17th), Dane van Niekerk of South Africa (up 12 places to joint-22nd) and Shikha Pandey of India (up 23 places to joint-22nd).

New Zealand captain Sophie Devine is now the sole number one all-rounder after coming into the tournament as a joint number one along with Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry.

India's Deepti Sharma has advanced nine places to seventh, the first time that she is among the top 10 in the all-rounders' list after also moving up to 53rd among batters.

Australia remain at the top of the T20I team rankings with 290 points and England in second position with 278.

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Agencies
January 5,2020

Mumbai, Jan 5: All-rounder Irfan Pathan on Saturday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, ending an injury-ridden career that prevented him from realising his true potential.

The 35-year-old's retirement was on expected lines, considering he last played a competitive game in February 2019 during the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy for Jammu and Kashmir.

He did not even put himself in the IPL auction pool, last month.

The left-arm seamer's bowling was like a breath of fresh air when he made his India debut against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in 2003.

He never had express pace but his natural ability to swing the ball into the right-handers got him instant success, also drawing comparisons with the great Kapil Dev.

It seemed India had found the all-rounder they were looking for since Kapil left the scene. Pathan, who last played for India in October 2012, featured in 29 Tests (1105 runs and 100 wickets), 120 ODIs (1544 runs and 173 wickets) and 24 T20 Internationals (172 runs and 28 wickets).

He was part of the victorious Indian team at the 2007 World Twenty20 and was the man-of-the-match in the final against Pakistan.

One of his best performances came on the tour of Pakistan in 2006 when he became the second Indian after Harbhajan Singh to take a Test hat-trick, removing Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yusuf during the Karachi game.

He also played a big role in India winning a Test match against Australia on a tough Perth wicket, which offered steep bounce.

Injuries and lack of form troubled him thereafter and his ability to swing the ball deteriorated.

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