Category: Sport

Iga Swiatek on Saturday became the first Polish player to win a Grand Slam as she beat Sofia Kenin 6-4, 6-1. Swiatek, 19, is the youngest French Open champion since Rafael Nadal in 2005, who was also aged 19.

After racing to a 3-0 lead in the first set, Swiatek was reeled back in as Australian Open champion Kenin began to find her range on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

The teenager again secured the break and held a set point on serve, only to be broken at 5-3. She however made up for the missed chance when she broke the American’s serve for the third time to secure the opening set after 50 minutes.

Kenin had fought through four three-set matches from her six matches coming into the final, including twice from a set down, and began the second set with a break.

But it was the only time she would lead all set. Following an off-court injury time-out to have her leg re-strapped, Kenin was unable to break the Pole’s momentum as she powered through the second set in just 31 minutes.

Also Read: Djokovic breaks Sampras’ record as world No. 1

Jofra Archer (3/24) led the way as Rajasthan Royals (RR) restricted Delhi Capitals (DC) to 184/8 in the 23rd match of the Indian Premier League here on Friday.

It was the first time this season that a team batting first in Sharjah did not score more than 200 runs.

RR managed to dismiss DC’s dangerous top order within the powerplay. Rishabh Pant (5) was run out after a bizarre mix-up with Marcus Stoinis (39) following which the latter combined with Shimron Hetmyer (45) to provide an impetus to the DC innings.

Hetmyer ended up being the highest scorer for DC, hitting five sixes and a four before falling to Kartik Tyagi (1/35) five runs short of his half-century.

Brief scores: DC 184/8 in 20 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 45, Marcus Stoinis 39; Jofra Archer 3/24)

Also Read: Rohit Sharma becomes third in IPL to cross 5K runs

Former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra is mighty impressed with the performance of youngsters Devdutt Padikkal and Ravi Bishnoi in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Padikkal, who is playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, has been in great form so far, amassing 178 runs in the five innings he has played. Bishnoi, on the other hand, is plying his trade with Kings XI Punjab and he has been able to scalp four wickets in five innings he has bowled.

“Ravi Bishnoi and Devdutt Padikkal, both have shown great character. As I said earlier, I would’ve liked Parthiv Patel to open, but that is out of the picture now. Looking at the future, I am impressed by Devdutt Padikkal and Ravi Bishnoi’s performance,” said Nehra while speaking on Star Sports show Cricket Connected.

Meanwhile, former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar heaped praised on SunRisers Hyderabad pacer T Natarajan, who has scalped five wickets in five innings. Bangar, in particular, has been impressed with Natarajan’s ability to bowl yorkers which in turn has sorted out the death bowling issue for SunRisers.

“The yorker ball is the most difficult ball in this format, and that too when the ball is wet, despite that T Natarajan bowled in the previous match and sorted out SRH’s death bowling issue,” said Bangar.

“I am really impressed by Natarajan. He is looking in good form and Natarajan will be my player of choice who has impressed me in the IPL,” he added.

Also Read: Padikkal, Chahal Steer RCB To Victory

Also Read: Bishnoi Hopes To Win IPL

Rishabh Pant has vastly improved his batting and he is a major asset for the Delhi Capitals, says legendary West Indies batsman Brian Lara.

Pant has been in good form in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), scoring 171 runs in the five matches he has played so far.

“I think he is a major asset for the Delhi Capitals, but today he has also vastly improved his game. I am talking about his batting and the improvements he made in that department,” said Lara while speaking on Star Sports show Cricket Live.

“On what is immediately noticeable is his propensity to try and get everything to the leg-side. Also look at his run scoring chart and that’s quite a proof of that fascination he has with the on-side. I think he has come to the realisation that this is not working and he went away and worked on improving his off-side play,” he added.

According to Lara, Pant has worked on improving his off-side play which in turn has helped him to score runs in all parts of the ground.

“Now he has the ability to score runs in all parts of the ground. His scoring charts are looking impressive, and yes, more worry for the bowlers,” said the former West Indies captain.

“He is now very well balanced and he is looking to score in key areas that he is not accustomed to scoring – over extra cover, over point, in front of point and his balance and his weight is staying there, he is not falling over to the off-side to create shots on the leg side. That is a vast improvement that he has made, which obviously going to help his all-round batting. I believe, this young lad has a long-long way to go,” he added.

Delhi Capitals, sitting pretty at the second spot in the points table, will on Friday evening take on Rajasthan Royals in Sharjah.

Also Read: Jadeja achieves rare all round feat in IPL

Even as Cricket Australia (CA) is yet to officially announce the dates for India’s tour of Australia that begins next month, controversy has flared up. It is not just the broadcasters Seven West Media, the owner of Channel 7, who are crying foul over the tentative schedule that the Australian board has prepared.

Former Australia cricketer Allan Border too has criticised Cricket Australia for bending over backwards and accommodating the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) demand to reschedule the series, the Sydney Test in particular.

The Sydney Test, usually known as the New Year’s Test, begins in the first week of January or January 3 or 4 to be precise but has been pushed back to January 7 in the new schedule.

The gap between the Boxing Day Test (December 26-30) and the New Year’s Test (January 3-7) is generally three days. However, India want an extended break of over a week.

The series-ending fourth and last Test will be played between January 15-19 at Brisbane. With the Brisbane Test scheduled to end on January 19, the series will also be clashing with the Australian Open which begins on January 14.

The Test series assumes significance for Border also because it is known as the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

“I don’t think it should be a negotiated scenario,” Border told Fox Sports News. “If it’s necessary because of what is happening globally with the virus then fair enough, but if it’s just because they want a bit of a spell off between Boxing Day and the New Year’s Test match then that’s rubbish.”

“We’ve been doing this for how many years now, back-to-back Test matches? It works a treat through that Christmas-New Year period and I wouldn’t be comfortable with it moving just because India want a couple more days off.

“I think they’re just playing mind games,” Border said.

“They consider themselves the strength of world cricket, and financially that is the case so they do have a fair say in things. But if the roles were reversed, we wouldn’t have much say in the itinerary, it would just be put in front of us and these are the dates that we’re going to play.

“You can negotiate as much as you like but these are traditional dates that everyone knows have been in the calendar forever, so to start negotiating now… it’s a tough one. I wouldn’t be bowing down to it – we’ve got traditional dates, let’s stick with them.”

Border also criticised the shifting of the Brisbane Test to the back-end from the traditional slot of being the season opener.

“The Brisbane Test match has traditionally been the first game for a lot of years now,” he added. “It’s such a great ground, it’s a pitch that we know well and play well on and it gives us a huge start to our international summer.

“Now obviously, India don’t want to play that first game in Brisbane, but that shouldn’t be the case. We should just be saying ‘these are the venues and these are the dates’. As far as of when games should and shouldn’t be played, I don’t think we should give an inch at all.”

Seven West Media had on Tuesday taken Cricket Australia to arbitration over the change on losses, demanding a cut in annual fees.

Also Read: Empty yet contented final lap for Dean Jones at MCG

Nicholas Pooran’s 77 was the only bright spot for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) on Thursday as they wilted to a 69-run defeat against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the 22nd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Dubai International Stadium.

Chasing a target of 202, Pooran was the only one who kept them in the chase while his teammates fell around him.

KXIP lost their first wicket through a run out in the second over of the match following a mix-up between Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul. Mayank had taken off for a second run after Rahul gave him the signal before reversing his call. Mayank had no chance of making it back and was dismissed for just 9.

Rashid Khan was the standout bowler for SRH, picking up three wickets, including that of the dangerous Pooran. The only noteworthy partnership for KXIP was between Pooran and Glenn Maxwell with the pair putting up 47 runs for the fourth wicket.

The partnership was broken by another run out with Maxwell being caught out by a brilliant direct hit from Priyam Garg.

Earlier Jonny Bairstow (97) and David Warner (52) on Thursday put up an opening stand of 160 runs as SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) scored 201/6 wickets in 20 overs against Kings XI Punjab at the Dubai International Stadium.

The mammoth opening stand was broken only in the 16th over by Ravi Bishnoi after which KXIP did well to restrain SRH down to a score just over 200. Bairstow was denied his second IPL hundred by Bishnoi in the same over.

KXIP took six wickets and conceded 41 runs in the last four overs. While wickets fell around him, Kane Williamson stood strong and was unbeaten on 20 off 10 balls. The only noteworthy stand outside of the opening partnership was between Williamson and Abhishek Sharma who put up 24 for the sixth wicket.

Brief scores: SRH 201/6 in 20 overs (Jonny Bairstow 97, David Warner 52; Ravi Bishnoi 3/29) vs KXIP 132 all out in 16.5 overs (Nicholas Pooran 77, Prabhsimran Singh 11; Rashidh Khan 3/12)

Also Read: Jadeja achieves rare all round feat in IPL

Also Read: Sharjah, France discuss water strategy for 5 years

Novak Djokovic and Petra Kvitova have entered the semifinals on the ongoing French Open after registering contrasting wins in their respective quarterfinal matches.

In the men’s singles event, Djokovic, despite visibly struggling with his left arm early on Wednesday evening, defeated Pablo Carreno Busta 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 in three hours and 10 minutes to make it to his 10th semi-final at the Roland Garros.

“Well, I definitely didn’t feel great coming into the court today,” the Serbian admitted after the match. “Few things happened in the warm-up. I had to deal with those physical issues coming onto the court. As the match went on, I felt better, didn’t feel as much pain.”

“But I don’t want to take away anything from his good performance. Especially for a set and a half he was the better player, dictating the play. I was very neutral. I didn’t have much energy really happening in my legs or movement or game itself,” he added.

The world number one will next face Stefanos Tsitsipas, who ousted Hamburg European Open champion Andrey Rublev in straight sets.

In other men’s singles semifinal, 12-time champion Rafael Nadal will lock horns with Diego Schwartzman.

Meanwhile, in the women’s singles event, Kvitova booked her place in the last four following a 6-3, 6-3 win over Laura Siegemund in 78 minutes.

The seventh seed, who is yet to drop a set this fortnight, was impressive against Siegemund as she claimed 77 per cent of her first-serve points and converted five of 10 break points.

“I think I’m still same clay player as I was before, but I just think that I find those conditions here and I’m still mentally tough,” Kvitova said. “I mean, I played indoor, outdoor, sun, wind, whatever, rain, whatever happens… I think eight years ago I think it was everything, you know, kind of (the) same, same weather.”

Kvitova will face this year’s Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin for a place in a maiden Roland-Garros final.

In other semifinal, Argentine qualifier Nadia Podoroska, who had defeated third seed Elina Svitolina, will compete against Polish teenager Iga Swiatek.

Also Read: Djokovic breaks Sampras’ record as world No. 1

Sixteen elite women and men boxers will travel to Italy and France for their overseas training and participation in international competition after the Covid-19 hiatus.

A 28-member contingent, that includes 10 male boxers and six female boxers along with the support staff, will travel for a period of 52 days from October 15 to December 5.

The teams will be training at Assisi, Italy. All the four events (men’s 57 kg, men’s 81 kg, men’s 91 kg, women’s 57 kg) where India are yet to win a quota, will have boxers who will be a part of the travelling contingent.

They will be accompanied by eight coaches and support staff in the men’s team and four coaches and support staff in the women’s team.

Thirteen boxers from the contingent will also participate in the ‘Alexis Vastine’ international boxing tournament to be held in Nantes, France from October 28 to 30, stated the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in a release.

Amit Panghal, Ashish Kumar, Satish Kumar, Simranjit Kaur, Lovlina Borgohain and Pooja Rani from among the contingent have earned quotas for the Tokyo Olympics.

“It is very good that we will be getting a feeling of competition again. I am very excited about this. With 10 months to go before the Olympics, getting to compete against European opponents will be really helpful,” said Lovlina.

Ashish said that this is good preparation as they would be coming up against opponents who they might face at the Olympics.

“It will be very helpful for us to play against competitors from abroad. We were already at camp in Patiala and regained our fitness, going abroad will really help. When we meet new competitors, we will get an idea of our level. It will help us get a better idea of where we stand and what aspects we need to improve on.”

Nine boxers, the highest ever for a single Olympics from India, have so far earned quotas for the Tokyo Games. The World Olympic qualifying event scheduled for next year is the last event for Indian boxers to obtain quotas for the prestigious quadrennial event.

CA Kutappa, chief coach of men’s team, said that the tour would provide the boxers with an opportunity to know where they stand against international competition after all the disruptions that have taken place due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“At this time last year, we were at peak competition fitness, participating in the World Championships and were training intensely. Thank the government for sanctioning this,” said Kutappa.

Also Read: ‘Ind-Pak Boxing Tournament a good Idea’