Serena Williams, Defending Champion, Pulls Out of Australian Open

Agencies
January 5, 2018

Defending champion Serena Williams pulled out of the Australian Open on Friday, saying she was "super close" but still not at the level she needs to be after giving birth to her first child. The American 23-time Grand Slam winner made a tentative return at an Abu Dhabi exhibition late last month, losing to French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. Prior to that her last competitive match was at the Australian Open final almost a year ago, which she won despite being two months pregnant, memorably beating sister Venus in the decider.

Since then, she has given birth to her first child and married Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian at a star-studded wedding, where guests included Beyonce and reality TV star Kim Kardashian.

"After competing in Abu Dhabi I realised that although I am super close, I'm not where I personally want to be," the 36-year-old said in a statement.

"My coach and team always said 'only go to tournaments when you are prepared to go all the way'.

"I can compete, but I don't want to just compete, I want to do far better than that and to do so, I will need a little more time.

"With that being said, and even though I am disappointed about it, I've decided not to compete in the Australian Open this year," she added.

Her withdrawal deprives the opening Grand Slam of the year of another major star, after former world number one Andy Murray and Japan's Kei Nishikori both pulled out injured on Thursday.

In Abu Dhabi, Williams was clearly sluggish and had problems with her serve. She also stuck mostly to the baseline and only twice charged the net.

Despite this, she made it clear afterwards that she missed being on court and was desperate to play at Melbourne Park, where she has been crowned champion seven times.

'True champion'

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley expressed his admiration for her efforts to return to the game she loves.

"The true champion Serena is has been demonstrated in the Herculean efforts she has made over the past few months in her desire to play the Australian Open," he said.

"It was never going to be good enough for her to just compete, she wants to give herself the best chance to win.

"I've been in constant contact with Serena and her team and know this is why she has pushed it and pushed it until the eleventh hour to make her final decision."

Few players have successfully bounced back after giving birth, and even fewer have managed to go on to win Grand Slam titles.

Williams can look to Margaret Court, Kim Clijsters, and Evonne Goolagong Cawley as those who achieved the feat as mothers.

A key motivation for her is to match Court, who boasts 24 major titles and is renowned as the most successful player in Grand Slam history, but this must now wait until the French Open at the earliest.

The Australian Open starts on January 15, with a host of top names either out or battling to be fit.

Murray has returned home after failing to recover from a hip injury sustained last year, while Nishikori has been on the sidelines since August due to a torn tendon in his right wrist.

World number one Rafael Nadal and six-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic also have injury issues, having yet to play a competitive match this year.

Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic, Johanna Konta, and Garbine Muguruza are among others either on the comeback trail or fighting to be ready.

The irrepressible Roger Federer appears to be one of the few top names to be fully fit, leading Switzerland into the Hopman Cup final with another masterclass against top-10 rival Jack Sock in Perth on Thursday.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 29,2020

Sydney, Mar 29: Steve Smith's two-year leadership ban ended quietly Sunday, leaving him eligible again to captain Australia at a time of uncertainty over when international cricket will resume.

Smith was stripped of the captaincy and banned from leading Australia for two years over his involvement in the 2018 ball tampering scandal in South Africa. His sentence ended Sunday and he can again captain Australia if called upon.

Australian players were due this week to conclude a series of matches in New Zealand and, for some, to join the Indian Premier League. But it wasn't clear Sunday if the IPL will take place this year and when international matches will resume. Australia's scheduled mid-year tours to England and Bangladesh are in doubt.

Smith told Channel Nine television's Sports Sunday he is doing his best to stay mentally and physically fit, training in his home gym, going on 10 kilometer (6 mile) runs and practising the guitar.

"It's obviously not looking likely (the IPL will go ahead) at the moment," Smith said. "I think there might be some meetings over the next few days to discuss what the go is with it all.

"I'm just trying to stay physically and mentally fit and fresh and, if it goes ahead at some point, then great. And if not, there's plenty going on in the world at the moment. So just play it day by day."

It seems unlikely Smith will return to the captaincy when cricket resumes. Tim Paine is firmly established as Australia's test captain and at 35 is not immediately considering retirement. Aaron Finch has captained Australia successfully in white ball cricket.

The conclusion of Smith's ban ends the period of upheaval in Australian cricket that followed the ball tampering incident in the second test at Cape Town in 2018 when Cameron Bancroft, with the knowledge of Smith and his vice-captain David Warner, used sandpaper to change the condition of the ball.

Smith and Warner received one-year bans from international and most domestic cricket and Bancroft was banned for nine months. The scandal also resulted in the resignation of coach Darren Lehmann and the departure of Cricket Australia's chief executive, James Sutherland.

Warner remains under a career-long leadership ban.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 2,2020

New Delhi, Apr 2: It was on April 2, 2011, when the Men in Blue went on to win their second 50-over World Cup title.

India won its first World Cup in 1983 and then had to wait for 28 years to again lift the title.
Going into the 2011 tournament, India went in as the clear favourites as the competition was to be played in the sub-continent.

Under MS Dhoni's leadership, India lost just one match in the competition against South Africa.
India had defeated arch-rivals Pakistan in the semi-final to set up a summit clash with Sri Lanka.

In the finals, Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first. Mahela Jayawardene top-scored for Sri Lanka as he struck a century to take the team's score to 274/6.

India in their chase got off to a bad start as the side lost Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag with just 31 runs on the board.

But Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni stepped up and stitched a match-winning 109-run partnership.

Gambhir perished after playing a knock of 97 runs, but in the end, Dhoni and Yuvraj took the team over the line by six wickets.

The winning six struck by Dhoni is still viewed as one of the most exciting moments in India's sporting history. 

As the winning six was hit, Ravi Shastri was doing commentary then, and he famously remarked, "Dhoni, finishes it off in style, India lifts the World Cup after 28 years".
As soon as the match-winning shot was hit, Tendulkar erupted with joy and had tears to see his dream finally being fulfilled.

Earlier this year, former Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar's famous lap around the Wankhede Stadium after the 2011 World Cup win, titled 'Carried On the Shoulders Of A Nation', was voted the greatest Laureus Sporting Moment of the last twenty years.

The lap after the World Cup is still edged into everyone's hearts.

Playing in his last mega 50-over tournament, it was the last chance for Tendulkar to lift the coveted trophy.

Before the 2011 World Cup, Tendulkar had played five tournaments (1992,1996,1999,2003 and 2007), and he fell short every time.

The closest he came to winning the trophy was in 2003 as India made the finals under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly.

But the Men in Blue fell short in the finals against Australia.

Then in 2007, the biggest setback was in store for the legend has India bowed out of the tournament in the group stages.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
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.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.