Serena Williams Not Ready For Final Curtain

June 5, 2016

Paris, June 5: Serena Williams is closing in on her 35th birthday and has just suffered back-to-back Grand Slam final losses for the first time, but the American superstar is not ready to be dethroned any time soon.

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Williams's latest attempt to equal Steffi Graf's Open era record of 22 Grand Slam titles was thwarted on Saturday by Garbine Muguruza in the French Open final.

Back in January, Angelique Kerber pulled off a similar shock to snatch the American's Australian Open title while in New York last September, Williams's hopes of a calendar Grand Slam were upended by Italian journeywoman Roberta Vinci in the semi-finals.

So Williams's Grand Slam haul has stalled at 21, but she will still start as favourite to win a seventh Wimbledon when the third major of the year gets underway in three weeks.

"The only thing I can do is just keep trying," said Williams, who was attempting to win a fourth French Open after 2002, 2013 and 2015.

"In Australia, Ann Kerber made 16 errors in three sets, you know, so what do you do in that situation? Today Garbine played unbelievable. It's definitely something I want to dissect and see what I can learn from that and what can I do to get better from it."

Williams has been down and out before and bounced back in style.

In 2011, she underwent two foot surgeries and fought life-threatening blood clots on her lungs.

Her absence from the tour saw her world ranking slip to 103.

In 2014, she lost in the fourth round at the Australian Open, second round at the French Open and third round at Wimbledon but hit back with the US Open.

In between, she won 11 WTA titles in 2013 and put together a 34-match win streak between Miami and Wimbledon.

Last year, when she collected a sixth Wimbledon, it allowed her to celebrate a second "Serena Slam" of all four majors at the same time.

She had already achieved a first Slam sweep in 2002.

Despite her record and status as one of the greatest players of all time, there were, however, obvious problems in a damp and chilly Paris, hinting that her sheer power is possibly being diminished.

Serena finished top of the pile for aces served at 36 and sent down the joint fastest serve of the event at 196km/h in Saturday's final. But she had one of the lowest first serve percentage rates at 60% and managed to convert only 30 of 73 break points over the two weeks.

Her team and even her rivals insist that the American, despite being in her third decade on tour, is not finished as a force in the game.

Her French coach Patrick Mouratoglou has no doubts that she will reach the magical figure of 22.

"Serena was far from her best level today," Mouratoglou told eurosport.fr.

He has masterminded eight Slam titles in her last 16 tournaments compared to 13 from 47 before they hooked up after a first round loss at the 2012 French Open,

"It will take as long as it takes, but Serena will win a 22nd Grand Slam. It's not easy to break records, it wasn't easy for her to get to 18 (the number won by Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova)."

Muguruza's coach Sam Sumyk was also refusing to write off the American.

"It's not the end of Serena. She will be around for a long time. She is a fantastic player, we need her."

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Agencies
January 11,2020

London, Jan 11: Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's famous lap around the Wankhede Stadium after the World Cup 2011 win has been nominated in Laureas's list for the most inspiring sporting event in the last twenty years.

The moment featuring Tendulkar has been described as "Carried on the shoulders by a nation".

On his sixth attempt at the World Cup and with India not having won the competition since 1983, Tendulkar finally became a part of the team that lifted the coveted trophy. Carried on the shoulders of the Indian team, he made a lap of honour, shedding tears of joy after the victory was sealed in his home city.

The 2011 World Cup was also the first time, in which a host nation ended up winning the trophy.

Apart from Tendulkar, England's Andrew Flintoff is the only other cricketer to feature in the list. In 2005, England managed to defeat Australia in an Ashes Test, but Flintoff chose to first shake hands with Brett Lee rather than celebrate with his side.

Matthias Steiner (weightlifting), Natalie du Toit (swimming), Sky Brown (skateboarding), Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee (triathlon), Xia Boyu (mountaineering) have been nominated in the list.

Female tennis stars also feature in the list for coming up with an equal play, equal pay campaign. After pressure from Venus Williams and others, Wimbledon announced that female tennis players would receive prize money equal to the men's.

German international footballer Miroslav Klose was playing for Lazio in Italy's Serie A in 2012 against Napoli when he rose for a ball in the early moments of the game.

The ball came spiraling off his hand and skirted into the back of the net and a goal was awarded. While most players would carry on as if nothing had happened, Klose was honest with the referee and admitted that he handled the ball.

As a result, he also finds a place on the list.

The Laureus Sporting Moment Award celebrates the moments where the sport has unified people in the most extraordinary way.

This campaign has shortlisted 20 sporting stories from the last 20 years that have left their mark on the world.

The winner will be decided on the basis of public voting. It has already started, and the final date to cast the vote is February 16.

Finally, the result will be declared on February 17.
With three knock-out rounds, the top-20 moments will be whittled down to ten then five, with the top-five moments going head-to-head.

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News Network
March 16,2020

Mar 16: With COVID-19 outbreak killing over 5,400 people globally, former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar has lashed out at those responsible for making the coronavirus infect humans and blamed China solely for the outbreak.

"I don't understand why you have to eat things like bats, drink their blood and urine and spread some virus across the globe...I'm talking about the Chinese people. They have put the world at stake. I really don't understand how you can eat bats, dogs, and cats. I'm really angry," Akhtar said in a video posted on his Youtube channel.

"The whole world is at risk now. The tourism industry has been hit, the economy is badly affected and the whole world is going towards a lockdown.

"I'm not against the people of China but I'm against the law of animals. I understand this may be your culture but this is not benefitting you now, it is killing humanity. I'm not saying you boycott the Chinese but there has to be some law. You cannot go on and eat anything and everything," he added.

Coronavirus, which originated in China's Wuhan city, has so far spread to more than 100 countries, infecting over 1,30,000 people.

In Pakistan, the number of positive cases reached 28 on Saturday.

Many sporting events, including the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Pakistan Super League (PSL), have been affected by the disease which has now been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

While the IPL 2020, which was originally scheduled to start from March 29, has been postponed till April 15, the playoff stage of PSL has been curtailed and will be played behind closed doors.

"The biggest reason for anger is PSL...Cricket returned to Pakistan after so many years, the PSL was happening in our country for the first time now even that is at risk. The foreign players are leaving, it will take place behind closed doors," said Akhtar.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases across India has crossed 80 while two people have lost their lives due to the deadly disease. But Akhtar did not have the information and added: "God forbid the virus doesn't reach India. There are around 130 crore people there. I've been in touch with my friends in India and wishing them well."

In PSL, there will be no playoffs and the top four teams will now play semi-finals and then the final on March 17 and 18. The final was originally scheduled to be held on March 22.

"I've also heard that IPL has been postponed till April 15. The hotel industries, travel industries, broadcasters everything will incur losses because of this," he said.

The former Pakistan pacer also called on the world authorities to come out with a new animal protection law so that such diseases don't resurface in the future.

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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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