Stan Wawrinka stuns Novak Djokovic to clinch US Open title

September 12, 2016

New York, Sep 12: Stan Wawrinka became the oldest US Open men's champion in 46 years when he defeated world number one Novak Djokovic to claim a third Grand Slam title on Sunday.

Wawrinka

Wawrinka, the 31-year-old third seed, triumphed 6-7 (1/7), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 after almost four hours of high intensity tennis.

He even held his nerve when the final threatened to erupt into controversy afterDjokovic twice called medical timeouts in the fourth set.

Wawrinka is the oldest winner of the men's tournament since 35-year-old Ken Rosewall in 1970 and the first over 30 to take the title since Pete Sampras in 2002.

It was the Swiss player's first New York title, following his breakthrough 2014 Australian Open triumph and 2015 Roland Garros crown.

On both those occasions, Djokovic had been the fall-guy, losing in Melbourne in the quarter-finals and ending as runner-up in Paris.

Djokovic, the 2011 and 2015 champion, had been seeking a third Slam of the year and 13th major of his career.

But the 29-year-old Serb finished runner-up in New York for the fourth time after paying a heavy price for converting just three of 17 break points.

Wawrinka, who had to save a match point to beat unheralded Dan Evans in the third round, committed 51 unforced errors but crucially smashed 46 winners past his opponent.

The final started against a sombre but defiant background with Broadway star Norm Lewis delivering a stirring rendition of The Star Spangled Banner, a poignant performance on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Djokovic, playing in his 21st Grand Slam final and seventh in New York, was quickest out of the blocks.

He broke for 2-0 having won the first point of the game with two extreme, against-the-odds retrievals.

Trailing 2-5, Wawrinka, who had spent the best part of nine hours more than Djokovic getting to the final, saved two set points.

The Serb was made to pay for his wastefulness as the Swiss suddenly found his range, breaking back in the ninth game off a Djokovic double fault.

But Djokovic glided untroubled through the tie-break as Wawrinka's serve fell apart.

Wawrinka is used to chasing lost causes against Djokovic, coming back from losing the first set to win their 2014 Australian Open quarter-final and again at Roland Garros last year.

Calling on that expertise, he broke for 3-1 in the second set, recovered from handing the advantage back in the seventh to level the final when Djokovic unleashed a wild forehand on set point in the 10th.

Frustrated, Djokovic demolished his racquet, collecting a code violation from umpire Ali Nili.

Wawrinka saved three break points in the opening game of the third set, which featured a 28-shot exchange, broke in the second and saved another break point in the next for a 3-0 lead.

But at the sixth time of asking in the set, Djokovic clawed his way back with a break for 2-3.

Wawrinka, however, kept up the attack and on set point in the 12th game slotted a backhand deep and into the corner which Djokovic could only push wide.

The world number one looked spent. He appeared to start cramping in the fourth set as he quickly slipped 0-3 down.

Much to Wawrinka's irritation, at 1-3 Djokovic called the trainer and took a medical timeout for treatment for blisters. Djokovic apologised, claiming he needed attention as he couldn't stand.

At 2-5, the trainer reappeared but Wawrinka saw the job through leaving Djokovic to finish a Slam runner-up for the ninth time.

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Agencies
January 23,2020

Aurangabad, Jan 23: An FIR has been registered against three people including former cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin for allegedly duping a travel agent, Mohammad Shadab, of more than Rs 20 lakh.

However, Mohammad Azharuddin has refuted allegations and said: "I strongly rubbish the false FIR filed against me in Aurangabad. I am consulting my legal team and would be taking action as necessary."

Azharuddin's personal assistant Mujeeb lives in Augurangabad and has good relations with the travel agency of Shadab.

The travel agent alleged that Mujeeb asked him to book some flight tickets but did not pay the amount.

The police have booked the three under Section 406, 420 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

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News Network
February 21,2020

New Delhi, Feb 21: Vinesh Phogat yet again fell to Japanese nemesis Mayu Muakida to go out of the gold medal race but Sakshi Malik will fight for the title after winning her semifinal bout at the Asian Wrestling Championship, here on Friday.

Vinesh had lost twice to Mukaida in 2019 – at World Championship and Asian Championships —and the trend continued as the gritty Indian yet again struggled to break the strong defence of the Japanese.

In a tough opening round, Vinesh tried single leg attacks a number of times but every time Mukaida blocked her move and eventually got the upper body lock to subdue the home favourite.

In her last two meetings, Vinesh had not scored a single point against the 2019 world silver medallist. She managed a takedown this time before eventually losing 2-6.

The hard-working Vinesh will now fight for bronze against Vietnam's Thi Ly Kieu but even a medal won't suffice to lift her mood as she and the fans have high expectations from her.

Rio Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik, who has been struggling of late, lost her opening round 1-2 to Naomi Ruike from Japan but later overcame two weak opponents to eventually reach the final of the non-Olympic 65kg category.

She could hardly attack Naomi but outplayed Korea's Ohyoung Ha in the next round, winning by technical superiority.

In her semifinal against Uzbekistan's Nabira Esenbaeva, Sakshi led 5-0 but her rival pulled off consecutive two-point moves to make it 5-4.

Sakshi has been losing in closing stages of late but this time she managed to hold on to her narrow lead, surviving anxious last two seconds.

Also in medal contention are India's brightest youngsters Sonam Malik (62kg) and Anshu Malik (57kg).

Sonam, who had defeated Sakshi in the trials, showed good tactical mind in her resounding win against Korea's Hanbit Lee and also in the 2-5 defeat against world bronze medallist Yukako Kawai.

She pulled off a superb point-scoring move from a disadvantageous position and resisted the 2018 U-23 world champion Yukako in a good fashion.

She will now fight for bronze against Aisuluu Tynbekova.

Anshu Malik opened up her campaign against Kyrgyzstan's Nuraida Anarkulova, winning by technical superiority but was outplayed by reigning world champion from Japan Riskao Kawai.

She will have to beat Sevara Eshmuratova from Uzbekistan to grab a bronze.

In the non-olympic 72kg, Gursharanpreet Kaur is in bronze medal contention. She beat Uzbekistan's Svetlana Oknazarova but lost to Kazakhstan's Zhamila Bakberzenova.

She still made it to the semifinal in which she lost to Japan's Mei Shindo.

She is now up against Mongloia's Tsevegmed Enkhbayar.

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News Network
June 29,2020

Jun 29: The West Indies cricketers will sport a 'Black Lives Matter' logo on the collars of their shirts during the upcoming three-Test series against England to protest against racism in sports.

Skipper Jason Holder, who has voiced his support to the cause that has once again come to the forefront after the killing of American George Floyd, said in a statement on Sunday: "We believe we have a duty to show solidarity and also to help raise awareness."

The ICC-approved logo, designed by Alisha Hosannah, will be the one which featured in the shirts of all 20 Premier League football clubs since the sport's resumption earlier this month.

"This is a pivotal moment in history for sports, for the game of cricket and for the West Indies cricket team," Holder was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"We have come to England to retain the Wisden Trophy but we are very conscious of happenings around the world and the fight for justice and equality. "As a group of young men, we know of the rich and diverse history of West Indies cricket and we know we are guardians of the great game for a generation to come."

Holder, who wants racism to be treated at par with doping and corruption, said they arrived at the decision to wear the logo after much thought.

"We did not take our decision lightly. We know what it is for people to make judgments because of the colour of our skin, so we know what it feels like, this goes beyond the boundary. There must be equality and there must be unity. Until we get that as people, we cannot stop," he said.

"We have to find some way to have equal rights and people must not be viewed differently because of the colour of their skin or ethnic background."

The West Indies players are likely to wear the shirts for the first time in this week's four-day warm-up match at Emirates Old Trafford, starting on Monday.

The opening Test of the series, which will mark the resumption of international cricket after the coronavirus-forced hiatus, will get underway at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on July 8.

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