Bartoli routs Lisicki to win first Wimbledon title

July 7, 2013

Wimbledon_titleLondon, Jul 7: Marion Bartoli romped to her first Grand Slam title as the French 15th seed thrashed Germany's Sabine Lisicki 6-1, 6-4 in the Wimbledon final today.

Bartoli, 28, is the fifth oldest woman to become a first-time Grand Slam winner in the Open Era.

Six years after losing to Venus Williams in the Wimbledon final, Bartoli returned to Centre Court and finally ended her long wait for a major crown with a supreme display of power hitting.

She took just 81 minutes to rout 23rd seed Lisicki, who broke down in tears as the match slipped away in the second set.

By finally winning her maiden major title in the 47th Grand Slam appearance of her career, Bartoli surpassed the previous record set by Jana Novotna, who won Wimbledon in 1998 after 45 appearances at the majors.

Bartoli, who will climb to seventh when the latest world rankings are released on Monday, didn't drop a single set in her seven matches and is the first Frenchwoman to win a Grand Slam singles title since Amelie Mauresmo at Wimbledon in 2006.

Ironically, Mauresmo has played a key role in Bartoli's remarkable renaissance over the last two weeks.

Bartoli's career had been on a downward spiral in recent years and she hit rock bottom in February when she struggled with the emotional decision to move on from her dad Walter, who had coached her since childhood.

She eventually turned to Mauresmo for help after failing to strike up a rapport with a series of coaches.

Her compatriot has brought a calmer approach to Bartoli's preparations, to the extent that the 28-year-old was even willing to sleep up to 30 minutes before her semi-final win over Kirsten Flipkens on

Thursday, and her influence was clear to see in the final as Bartoli recovered from a potentially disastrous start.

Bartoli was broken in the first game, but Lisicki then surrendered her own serve in error-strewn fashion.

Lisicki, 23, was a shadow of the bold stroke-maker who stunned defending champion Serena Williams in the fourth round.

But Bartoli had shaken off her early anxiety and took advantage of Lisicki's nerves to break again for a 3-1 lead.

Throughout her career Bartoli's game has been marked by bizarre routines as she jumps, skips, shuffles and twirls her racket before serving or returning.

And her quirky routine was on full display as she took the attack to Lisicki in the sixth game, breaking to seal the set thanks to a series of punishing forehands.

Lisicki had every reason to hang her head as she trudged off court to gather her thoughts during a bathroom break before the start of the second set.

The German finally held serve for the first time in the match when she returned to start the second set.

She then mounted her only serious threat to Bartoli's dominance, earning four break points in the second game, only to see the Frenchwoman come up with a series of blistering winners.

Bartoli had scented Lisicki's discomfort and landed the decisive blow with a break to move 2-1 ahead.

Liskci's beaming smile and all-action style had made her the darling of the Centre Court crowd this year, but this was a miserable end to her fairytale run and she was in tears when she served at 3-1 down.

Bartoli showed no mercy, breaking again as she took a 5-1 lead.

With the title within touching distance, tension crept into Bartoli's game and Lisicki was able to prolong the battle longer than expected.

But Bartoli eventually settled back down and sealed the biggest win of her life with an ace before climbing into stands to share a joyous embrace with Mauresmo and her father.

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News Network
April 12,2020

New Delhi, Apr 12: As devotees across the world celebrate Easter today, former Sri Lanka skipper and current Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) president Kumar Sangakkara on Sunday condoled the demise of people who lost their lives during last year's Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka and said someone must seek answers to the questions which still remain unresolved.

"A year on we all share the pain of the families grieving lives lost, we stand with you and for you. We remember. So many questions still unanswered, but answer them someone must," Sangakkara tweeted.

On April 21, 2019, multiple blasts ripped through Sri Lanka when the Christian community was celebrating Easter Sunday.
The explosions rattled churches and high-end hotels across the country, killing 258 people and injuring over 500.

A local terror group called National Thowheeth Jama'ath had claimed responsibility for the devastating attacks.

The island nation was put under a state of emergency for a period of four months from April to August.

The Sri Lankan police had then said that 293 suspects were arrested in connection with the Easter Sunday bombings in the island country in April.

This year, most of the devotees would be offering the prayers from their homes as mass gatherings have been suspended in most countries due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Easter marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ following his crucifixion on Good Friday. It also marks the culmination of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and penance.

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Agencies
January 9,2020

Jeddah, Jan 9: Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde criticised the new Supercopa format and said that "football has become a business and as a business it looks for income".

"The bottom line is football has become a business and as a business it looks for income. That's the reason we are all here," Goal.com quoted Valverde as saying ahead of Barca's semi-final against Atletico.

"It's a completely different format to what we're used to. It was always the first title and the opener of the season and to me, that seemed fine," he added.

The Supercopa was traditionally a two-legged affair played between the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey at the beginning of the season, but following last term's one-off meeting between Barca and Sevilla in Tangier, Morocco, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) went ahead with a full revamp.

Instead of just two teams being involved, the Supercopa has been expanded to also include the runners-up from La Liga and the Copa - meaning Barca and Valencia are joined by Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. It is also set to be hosted in Saudi Arabia for the next three editions.

"It's been changed and let's see, it will be judged once it has happened. It's interesting, with four good teams, but from a sporting point of view, I'm not sure," Valverde said.

"We must bear in mind that the football we are involved in is an industry, sources of income are sought and in the same way that there are special connotations in this country, there are also in Morocco, where we played last year," he added.

Barcelona will face Atletico Madrid in the semifinal of the Supercopa at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on January 10.

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News Network
February 5,2020

Aukland, Feb 5: Striker Navneet Kaur scored a brace to guide the Indian women's hockey team to a convincing 3-0 win over New Zealand in the last game of its five-match tour here on Wednesday.

Navneet found the net in the 45th and 58th minutes, while Sharmila scored a field goal in the 54th minute as India drew curtains on the New Zealand tour on a bright note.

After a goalless opening two quarters, Navneet finally broke the deadlock for India in the 45th minute.

Sharmila then doubled the lead when she struck a powerful shot past the New Zealand goalkeeper in the 54th minute. Navneet found the net again just two minutes from the final hooter with a beautiful field strike.

India began the tour by thrashing New Zealand Development squad 4-0 before suffering close 1-2 and 0-1 defeats to the home senior team.

In penultimate game of the tour, skipper Rani's lone strike handed India a 1-0 win over Great Britain.

"...I am happy we produced three goals against New Zealand in the last match. This tour gave us a good insight about where we need to improve and one of the things is to create faster play than we do now," said India's chief Coach Sjoerd Marijne.

Commenting on his side's performance during the tour, Marijne said, "Sometimes we tend to keep the ball too long on the stick and then we create pressure. We need to avoid that by passing faster.

"On the defence side, we need to be a bit more calmer and need to improve our tackling. We will have a four week camp after a short break when we return home and we will be working on these points."

The Indian team will return home on February 7.

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