Smooth start for Federer, Nadal

July 1, 2015

London: Jul 1: Seven-time champion Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the 2008 and 2010 winner, raced into the Wimbledon second round on Tuesday as the tournament sweltered in near record-breaking heat.

NadalSecond seeded Federer, bidding to become the first man to win eight Wimbledon titles and take his majors tally to 18, enjoyed a 67-minute 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 win over Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia, the world number 88 he beat at the French Open this year.

Federer will face Sam Querrey of the nited States for a place in the last 32. "I was happy I played aggressive. I was always going to miss playing that way a little bit but also he hung around," said the 33-year-old Swiss.

"He changed up his game a little bit which made it a little bit more difficult so it was interesting for me. But I'm very happy, always, to win like that."

Nadal, defeated in the second, first and fourth rounds in the last three years, reached the second round with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win over Thomaz Bellucci, his fifth win in five meetings against the 42nd-ranked Brazilian.

Tenth-seeded Nadal, his lowest ranking for a decade, faces Germany's Dustin Brown for a place in the last 32.

Defending women's champion Petra Kvitova, the second seed, took just 35 minutes to reach the second round, cruising to a 6-1, 6-0 win over Kiki Bertens, the world number 108 from the Netherlands.

Kvitova, also the 2011 champion, dropped just one point on serve and next meets Kurumi Nara of Japan for a place in the last 32.

"It's great to be back on Centre Court and unbelievable to see all the people clapping," said the Czech, who had been laid low by illness in the week before the tournament.

Kvitova's only dropped point on serve came on a double fault in the final game of the match.

The powerful 25-year-old left-hander would have been relieved to have enjoyed a brief first round outing as temperatures rocketed to around 30 degrees Celsius.

Nadal, who lives in sun-kissed Mallorca, said he would be happy to see the sun keep shining. "In Australia it can be much, much worse so it's no comparison but actually it's beautiful," said the Spaniard.

"When you have this weather here in Wimbledon it's probably one of the best places in the world." French 13th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was probably wishing for a few clouds after he spent more than four hours to see off Luxemburg's Gilles Muller 7-6 (10/8), 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

Joining Kvitova in the second round was 10th seeded German Angelique Kerber who handed compatriot Carina Witthoeft a 6-0, 6-0 drubbing.

Kerber, a semifinalist in 2012 and who won the Birmingham tournament on grass in the run-up to Wimbledon, took just 45 minutes to clinch victory, firing 21 winners past the world number 53.

It was the third so-called "double bagel" result of the women's first round. Later Tuesday, 2013 champion and home favourite Andy Murray takes a 2-0 career lead over world number 59 Mikhail Kukushkin into their opener on Centre Court. Like Murray, Kukushkin is coached by a woman -- his wife Anastasia.

Murray beat his rival twice in 2012 at Brisbane and then at the Australian Open in the fourth round. That remains Kukushkin's best run at a major although he did reach the third round at Wimbledon in 2014 where he lost to Nadal.

Emotional farewell

Fighting tooth and nail as only he knows how old warrior Lleyton Hewitt waved an emotional goodbye to Wimbledon after losing a dramatic five-set match to Finland's Jarkko Nieminen on Monday.

Thirteen years after beating Argentina's David Nalbandian to win the title, the 34-year-old, who will retire after next year's Australian Open, went toe to toe with fellow veteran Nieminen but went down 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0, 11-9.

Cheered by his fans dressed all in gold, Hewitt saved two consecutive match points at 4-5 in the fifth set before succumbing in a match spanning four hours.

"I was always going to leave it all out there, everything I had in the tank. I certainly did that," the Australian, who has played 56 five-setters in grand slams during his career, told reporters.

"I didn't leave any stone unturned preparing. In the end, obviously disappointing to lose.

"I would have loved to have played Novak (Djokovic) in the next round. But Jarkko is a tough competitor."

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News Network
April 19,2020

Zurich, Apr 19: Former Indian captain Bhaichung Bhutia was among the 50 footballers to take part in the FIFA's initiative to pay tribute to 'humanity's heroes' amid the coronavirus pandemic.

FIFA, in its statement, expressed gratitude towards all the healthcare workers and other professionals who are giving their all to ensure society continues to function in the face of the coronavirus.

"To all of these heroic people: football thanks you, football remembers you and football supports you," FIFA said in a statement.

FIFA shared a video on their official Twitter handle where footballers from present and past came been seen applauding the frontline workers.

The 50 fotballer were Bhutia, Holger Badstuber, David Beckham, Lucy Bronze, Gianluigi Buffon, Cafu, Fabio Cannavaro, Iker Casillas, Deyna Castellanos, Giorgio Chiellini, Charlyn Corral, El Hadji Diouf, Youri Djorkaeff, Han Duan, Magdalena Eriksson, Samuel Eto'o, Pernille Harder, Javier Hernandez, Luis Hernandez, Kaka, Harry Kane, Carli Lloyd, Harry Maguire, Diego Maradona, Marta, Vivianne Miedema, Ajara Nchout, Michael Owen, Mesut Ozil, Norma Palafox, Pavel Pardo, Park Jisung, Pele, Gerard Pique, Alexia Putellas, Sergio Ramos, Nicole Reigner, Wendie Renard, Roberto Carlos, James Rodriguez, Ronaldo, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Virginia Torrecilla, Yaya Toure, Marco van Basten, Danielle van de Donk, Ivan Vicelich, Arturo Vidal, Javier Zanetti and Zinedine Zidane.
"As footballers, we are used to receiving applause, but this time, we have the opportunity to show our appreciation for the many people who are risking their lives to protect ours," FIFA.com quoted Beckham as saying.

"You are humanity's heroes and we want to show that all of football supports you and everything that you do to defend all of us," he added.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Mar 5: India reached a maiden women's Twenty20 World Cup final Thursday after their last four clash against England was washed out, sparking calls for the International Cricket Council to include reserve days in future events.

Harmanpreet Kaur's unbeaten side were due to face the 2009 champions at the Sydney Cricket Ground, but the rain began pouring early in the day with barely any let-up.

With a minimum 10 overs per side needed for a result and no break in the weather, the umpires called it off without a ball being bowled.

Normally, five overs per side are needed to constitute a Twenty20 match, but the rules are different for ICC tournaments.

Four-time champions Australia are scheduled to take on South Africa later in the second semi-final, with that match also under threat.

With no reserve day, the highest-ranked teams from the two groups move into the final if play is not possible

That would pit India against South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday, where organisers are hoping to attract 90,000 plus fans, denying Australia a chance to defend their crown.

A reserve day is allowed for the final and the lack of one for the semis has been criticised by some players, with England captain Heather Knight among those calling for change.

"If both semi-finals are lost it would be a sad time for the tournament," she told reporters ahead of the match. "It's obviously going to be a shame if it does happen and I'm sure there will be a lot of pressure on the ICC to change that."

Cricket Australia chief Kevin Roberts said he sought clarification from the ICC about adding a reserve day with the Sydney weather looking ominous, but the request was denied.

"We've asked the question and it's not part of the playing conditions and we respect that," he told Melbourne's SEN radio.

"It gives you cause to reflect and think about how you might improve things in the future, but going into a tournament with a given set of playing conditions and rules, I don't think it's time to tinker with the rules."

It is not the way India would have wanted to make the final, but they are deserving of being there having gone through the group phase as the only unbeaten team.

After opening their campaign by upsetting Australia, they beat Bangladesh, New Zealand and then Sri Lanka.

While the entire team played well, teenage batting prodigy Shafali Verma excelled, which saw her elevated to the top of the ICC T20 batting rankings this week aged just 16.

She is only the second Indian after Mithali Raj to reach number one, pushing New Zealand veteran Suzie Bates down to second.

Ranked four in the world, India had made three semi-finals before this year and lost every time, including against England at the last World Cup.

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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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