Nadal crushes Del Potro to reach U.S. Open final

Agencies
September 9, 2017

New York, Sep 9: It took eight years but Rafa Nadal gained his revenge, ending Juan Martin del Potro's hopes of another dream run to the U.S. Open final with a shockingly ruthless semi-final victory on Friday.

The 4-6 6-0 6-3 6-2 thrashing also moved the Spaniard to the brink of a 16th grand slam title.

In 2009 it was Del Potro who dismissed the Spaniard in straight sets to reach the Flushing Meadows final where he defeated Roger Federer to claim his one and only major.

With another inspiring march picking up steam with a fourth round win over sixth seed Dominic Thiem and a quarter-final upset of Federer, Nadal derailed the Del Potro train turning his dream into a nightmare.

"Today was the day to play well," said Nadal, a twice U.S. Open champion. "I was playing so-so at the beginning of the tournament, and I have been playing better and better every day.

"Today was the day to play the best match of the tournament since that moment, because I (was) going to play against the toughest opponent in that moment, and that opponent, as I said before, coming with big confidence.

"I wake up today and say to myself, 'Today is the day that I'll play'. I need to play with the right energy, and I need to increase the level of my game."

Nadal did not get off to the brightest of starts, dropping the opening set as he struggled to handle the towering Argentine's serve and huge forehand.

But in the second, the world number one seemed to flick a switch and ignite the after burners. Clearly the fresher of the two players after two speedy straight set wins, Nadal used it to his full advantage.

After a draining epic five-setter against Thiem and no less taxing four set quarter-finals win over Roger Federer, Del Potro simply seemed to run out of gas.

Nadal did not hesitate to inflict pain and punishment, rampaging through the rest of the match by winning 18 of 23 games, including nine straight ones to sweep the second set and a 3-0 lead in the third. "Important day for me. Important victory against a great opponent," beamed Nadal. "He came to that match with confidence after beating Roger (Federer), Dominic (Thiem) too.

"A lot of the matches he played this tournament have been a tough one. But at the same time, I think I played a solid match.

"After the first set, I changed it a little bit, changed my tactic, strategy a little bit. And that makes the difference."

After taking down the 6-foot, 6-inch (198cm) Del Potro, Nadal will face another tall order in Sunday's final where he will face 6-foot 8-inch (203cm) South African Kevin Anderson.

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News Network
June 3,2020

Colorado, Jun 3: Formula One boss Chase Carey has said that races will go ahead even if a driver tests positive for coronavirus.

His remarks come as organisers revealed a revised 2020 calendar and the schedule for the first eight races was put in the public domain.

"An individual having been found with a positive infection will not lead to a cancellation of a race. We encourage teams to have procedures in place so if an individual has to be put in quarantine, we have the ability to quarantine them at a hotel and to replace that individual," the official website of Formula One quoted Carey as saying.

"Some things we'd have to talk through and work through. The array of 'what ifs' are too wide to play out every one of them, but a team not being able to race would not cancel the race. I do not think I could sit here and lay out the consequences," he said.

Carey added the organisers will be having the necessary procedures in place so that the race does not get cancelled if a driver ends up testing positive for coronavirus.

"But we will have a procedure in place that finding infection will not lead to a cancellation. If a driver has an infection, teams have reserve drivers available," Carey said.

"We would not be going forward if we were not highly confident we have necessary procedures and expertise and capabilities to provide a safe environment and manage whatever issues arrive," he added.

The Formula One 2020 season will be beginning with the Austrian Grand Prix in July.

F1 currently expects the opening races to be closed events but hopes that fans will be able to attend again when it is safe to do so.

The season will kick off with the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring on July 5, followed a week later by a second race on the same track.

The Hungarian Grand Prix will follow a week after that, before a break. There will be then two back to back races at Silverstone, followed by the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

The Belgian Grand Prix will follow that, with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza a week later on September 6.

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News Network
April 14,2020

Melbourne, Apr 14: As all sporting action across the world has come to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic, Australian bowlers are pondering as to how Indian skipper Virat Kohli might play in front of no spectators.

India and Australia are scheduled to play a four-match Test series later this year, and it is being speculated that the series might end up taking place without any crowds due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australian spinner Nathan Lyon on Tuesday said that it would be interesting to see how Kohli goes about it if he does not get a chance to get the audience behind him.

"He is probably good enough to adapt to any scenario. But I was talking to Mitch Starc the other day and we actually said that if we are playing with no crowd, it'll be quite amazing to see Virat trying to rev up the empty seats," cricket.com.au quoted Lyon as saying.

"It is going to be a little bit different, but Virat is a superstar. He will be able to adapt to any climate that we are able to play in," he added.
During the 2018-19 series, India managed to defeat Australia in Australia for the first time in a Test series.

Australia, at that time were without the services of David Warner and Steve Smith. However, the series later this year promises to be a mouth-watering prospect.

"I am excited about the prospect of India coming out to Australia, it's up there with the biggest series alongside the Ashes. They are an absolute powerhouse of the cricket world, and to have those guys out here is going to be fantastic. Playing in front of crowds or no crowds is out of our control, we have got to follow the advice of all the amazing medical people around the world," Lyon said.

"I have not thought about no crowds or massive crowds, it is just about the opportunity of playing against India again. They had the wood over us last time they came over here but we are a much stronger Australian cricket side at the moment, and I am just unbelievably excited about playing them here at home," he added.

Lyon was slated to represent Hampshire in County Championship this year, however, his stint was called off last week due to COVID-19.
He is Australia's third-highest wicket-taker in the longest format of the game as he has total of 390 wickets in Test cricket.

Lyon was last seen in action in the Big Bash League for Sydney Sixers.

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News Network
February 11,2020

Mt. Maunganui (New Zealand), Feb 11: KL Rahul struck a combative 112 but New Zealand completed a 3-0 whitewash of India by winning the third ODI by five wickets, here on Tuesday.

Rahul helped India recover from a shaky start to post a challenging 296 for 7 but the Kiwis overhauled the target with 17 balls to spare.

This is the first whitewash that India has suffered in an ODI series in more than a decade.

Sent in to bat, India were down 62 for 3 in the 13th over after the dismissals of Mayank Agarwal (1), captain Virat Kohli (9) and Prithvi Shaw (40) but Rahul got a useful ally in in-form Shreyas Iyer (62) to take India to a competitive total.

Rahul, who hit nine fours and two sixes during his 113-ball innings, and Iyer stitched exactly 100 runs from 18.2 overs for the fourth wicket to revive the Indian innings.

After the end of the promising innings of Iyer, Rahul shared another 107 runs for the fifth wicket with Manish Pandey (42).

The Kiwis were off to a confident start in their chase with Martin Guptill (66) and Henry Nicholls (80) and putting on a 106-run stand. However, wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took three wickets to bring India back in the game.

Colin de Grandhomme (58) and Tom Latham (32), though, took their side past the finish line with an unbeaten 80-run partnership.

Brief Scores:

India: 296 for 7 in 50 overs (KL Rahul 112, Shreyas Iyer 62; Hamish Bennett 4/64).

New Zealand: 300 for 5 in 47.1 overs. (H Nicholls 80, M Guptill 66; Y Chahal 3/47).

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