TENNIS MALAYSIAN OPEN 2012

MANCHESTER UNITED BUNDLED OUT

(Reuters) – Manchester United and Manchester City were bundled out of the Europa League by less glamorous opponents on Thursday as their wretched continental seasons ended in last-16 defeat.

Both had parachuted into the second-tier competition after group-stage exits from the elite Champions League and both boasted much bigger resources than their conquerors. But the manner of the exits could not have been more different.

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney shoots to score during their Europa League soccer match against Athletic Bilbao in Bilbao. - REUTERS

City clawed their way back from 2-0 down on the night to win 3-2 against visiting Sporting Lisbon but went out on away goals after a 3-3 aggregate result.

United were outclassed in both legs by Athletic Bilbao, losing 2-1 on the night in Spain and 5-3 overall.
Two down at halftime at Eastlands, City staged a breathtaking rally with two goals by Sergio Aguero and a Mario Balotelli penalty to stand on the verge of a remarkable comeback.

A fairytale ending was millimetres away when goalkeeper Joe Hart’s header whizzed just wide in the last minute of stoppage time.

There was no such passion on show by an apathetic United who were undone by a stunning first-half volley from Fernando Llorente and a deflected strike from Oscar de Marcos.
United forward Wayne Rooney scored a superb 80th-minute consolation goal but the damage was already done as the enthusiasm and talent of La Liga’s seventh-placed side proved too much for the English Premier League champions.

“I don’t think we can complain,” United manager Alex Ferguson told Channel Five television. “There are always lessons in every football match whether you win or lose.”

Sporting and Bilbao are joined in the last eight by Valencia, who drew 1-1 at PSV Eindhoven to go through 5-3 overall, and Hanover 96 who beat Standard Liege 4-0 for a 6-2 aggregate win.

AZ Alkmaar also progressed despite going down to 10 men after two minutes when Nick Viergever was sent off and falling two goals behind in the first quarter of an hour at Udinese.

The Dutch side eventually lost 2-1 but squeezed through 3-2 on aggregate.
Three La Liga sides advanced with Atletico Madrid joining Bilbao and Valencia in the next round after a 3-0 win at Besiktas gave them a 6-1 aggregate triumph.

Schalke 04 also made the quarter-finals having overhauled a first-leg deficit to beat Twente Enschede 4-1 on the night and 4-2 overall.

Metalist Kharkiv of Ukraine progressed on away goals after a 2-2 aggregate result against Olympiakos Piraeus.

INDIAN WELLS ATP 2012

INDIAN WELLS, California (Reuters) - Fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer was ousted from the Indian Wells ATP tournament on Tuesday as Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer both moved into the fourth round.

Roger Federer of Switzerland give a thumbs up to the crowd after defeating Milos Raonic of Canada in their match at the Indian Wells ATP tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, March 13, 2012. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok

Ferrer was upset 6-4 6-3 by Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin, Nadal swept past fellow Spaniard Marcel Granollers 6-1 6-4 and Federer survived an early storm from Milos Raonic before completing a 6-7 6-2 6-4 victory.

A winner of three titles this year, Ferrer had lost only once in 20 ATP matches this season before struggling badly on his second serve as he was outplayed by the 51st-ranked Istomin.

"I didn't play a good match even though I don't want to take credit from him," the Spaniard Tweeted in his native language. "He was the better player today and played very well, a fair winner."

Claycourt specialist Ferrer, a former world number four, had won titles in Auckland, Buenos Aires and Acapulco this year.

Second seed Nadal, Indian Wells champion in 2007 and 2009, dominated Granollers with his superb baseline game but lost a bit of momentum in the second set before triumphing in one hour, 25 minutes with an ace on his fifth match point.

"I played well. It was a comfortable first set," Nadal said. "I didn't play my best in the second. I had a few mistakes, especially for the backhand, and then I was in a little bit trouble. But I am happy that I finished the match well."

Federer was stunned by Raonic's power serving in the opening set but delivered a master class in the next two before wrapping up the win in just over two hours when the towering Canadian netted a forehand.
The Swiss, who had never previously played the 21-year-old, will next face Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, who benefited from a walkover when Russian Nikolay Davydenko withdrew due to illness.
FEDERER PRAISE

"I was impressed (by Raonic)," triple champion Federer said. "He played great and made it hard for me by winning that first set tiebreaker.

"He kept himself in the match till the very end, and obviously put a lot of pressure on me. I think the longer I stayed out there the better I started feeling."

Big-serving Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina survived a shaky second set to beat Spanish left-hander Fernando Verdasco 6-2 7-6 in the first match of the day on the stadium court.
Del Potro, who won his first grand slam title at the 2009 U.S. Open, breezed through his opening set in 39 minutes before struggling against his opponent's fluent ground strokes.

The six-foot six-inch (1.98m) Argentine saved four set points on his own serve in a marathon 10th game, and two more in the tiebreak, before sealing victory when a Verdasco backhand flew long.
Del Potro clenched his fists in delight before making a sign of the cross on his chest and looking skywards in relief as the stadium court crowd erupted in applause.

"I am still very nervous from that moment when Fernando played much better than me in the second set," the 23-year-old said. "Verdasco is a really difficult opponent, especially in the early rounds of the big tournaments.

"He's very, very tough and very dangerous. Sometimes you are lucky to win these kinds of matches."
Sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France battled back to beat Czech Radek Stepanek 6-7 6-3 6-2 while Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov scraped past Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 6-4 5-7 6-4.

CAN TIGER WOOD WIN?

MIAMI: Tiger Woods said on Monday that he has suffered only a mild strain of his left Achilles tendon and that he is hopeful of playing in the US PGA Arnold Palmer Invitational next week as planned.

Woods withdrew from the World Golf Championships event at Doral on Sunday after hitting his tee shot on the 12th hole, complaining of a tightness in his left Achilles tendon, the same one he hurt at last year’s Masters tournament.

After a physician examined Woods on Monday, the former World No. 1 reported the progress on his Twitter microblogging website.

In pain: Tiger Woods grimaces after hitting off the 12th tee during the final round of the Cadillac Championship golf tournament on Sunday. He withdrew from the tournament after that and was driven away in a cart. — AP

“Got good news from doc tonight. Only mild strain of left Achilles,” Woods posted on Twitter.
“Can resume hitting balls late in week and hopeful for next week.”

Woods had planned to play next week’s PGA event at Bay Hill as his final tuneup for the year’s first Major, the Masters, which tees off on April 5 at Augusta National Golf Club.

The latest injury scare for Woods has the golf world wondering if the 14-time Major champion will ever win again, much less challenge the all-time record of 18 Major titles won by Jack Nicklaus.

The former World No. 1 has not won an official event on any Tour since the Australian Masters on Nov 15, 2009, just before the revelations of a secret sex life that led to his divorce from wife Elin Nordegren.
For the fourth time in five years, Woods faces a major setback to his season, having battled through a left knee injury in 2008 to win the US Open, knee and tendon pain last year and the aftermath to his sex scandal in 2010.

Woods has undergone four operations on his left knee, including reconstructive surgery after he limped through a playoff to win the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines, his most recent Major triumph.
The biggest concern about the timing of the latest health scare for Woods is that he risks missing the Masters, the one major Woods has never missed since his 1995 debut as an amateur.

World No. 1 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, the reigning US Open champion and a solid favourite at the Masters with or without Woods in the field, hopes to see Woods among the pine trees at Augusta.
“It’s probably just precautionary but I really hope he’s ready for the Masters,” McIlroy said on Sunday.
“It’s a shame because he looked like he was coming out this year swinging it really well, playing good, getting himself into contention.

“Tiger Woods has been the face of golf for the last 15 years. Feeling like he’s coming back to his best, or something near his best, it’s great for the game. He can spark an interest in the game that no one else can.” – AFP

SOURCE : Thestar

ALL ENGLAND FINAL 2012

Chinese pin-up Lin Dan won his fifth All England men's singles title on Sunday against Lee Chong Wei, but only after his chief rival from Malaysia was forced to retire with a shoulder injury in Birmingham.

There was to be no record, no congratulatory phone call from the Malaysian prime minister. Chinese pin-up Lin Dan won his fifth All England men's singles title on Sunday against Lee Chong Wei, but only after his chief rival from Malaysia was forced to retire with a shoulder injury in Birmingham.

Lin had said before the final that he didn't care who won the showdown everyone was hoping for. But the world and Olympic champion clearly showed compassion when the world No 1 offered his hand when 21-19 and 6-2 down in the second game.

Before Chong Wei's injury - he played with his right shoulder heavily strapped - the Malaysian Datuk was perhaps slight favourite for a third successive All England title, a feat no men's singles player had achieved since Rudy Hartono, the Indonesian master of 38 years ago.

At least there were glimpses during their brief 31-minute foray as to why these two are considered the best in their discipline by some considerable distance.

Both defend with remarkable agility - which the packed Birmingham crowd had earlier witnessed to superb effect in a men's doubles thriller - while their speed and net play made sure of a 28th meeting. Lin has now prevailed in 19 of those encounters.

Despite their obvious ferocity on court, a unique bond exists between these two players off it, summed up when the two swapped shirts "on the spur of the moment" over the net, to the delight of the 8,000 inside the National Indoor Arena.

"We know each other very well," said a jubilant Lin. "We have been playing together since we were juniors. He has made my career more successful.

"We are both reaching the end of our careers and the game is not always about winning and losing. It's something more important."

Some will now see Chong Wei's defeat as another psychological dagger ahead of an anticipated Olympic final date later this summer.

Chong Wei, who lost out to his rival in a thrilling World Championships final at Wembley last summer, has had the measure of his opponent in recent months on the world tour. Lin, though, wins the pivotal matches when it matters.

Odds are that Chong Wei will retire after the Olympics. The Malaysian will now make sure of a full recovery before a final tilt at the biggest accolode.

Source: telegraph

ASIAN CYCLING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2012

Tinkering with the schedule at the last minute dented Malaysia’s hopes of grabbing at least another gold in the elite ranks of the Asian Cycling Championships at the Cheras Velodrome yesterday.

Melbourne-based track cyclists Azizulhasni Awang and Fatehah Mustapa could not turn on the speed they needed to put up a strong challenge in the men’s and women’s sprint finals respectively due to a lack of proper warm-up and had to settle for silver medals.

The Malaysian cyclists were caught off-guard by the organisers’ move to hold all the prize-giving ceremonies for all finals only after all the day’s competitions had been completed.

Sporting act: Malaysia’s Fatehah Mustapa (right) congratulating Hong Kong’s Lee Wai Sze for winning the women’s elite sprint gold Friday.

So the track competition started in the morning as the organisers wanted to wrap everything up before 1pm.

Azizul, who impressed by beating Guangzhou Asian Games sprint gold medallist Zhang Lei in the semi-finals on Thursday, did not perform to his best ability against Japan’s Kazunari Watabane in the final.

Fatehah failed to match the powerful Lee Wai Sze of Hong Kong, who went on to grab her second gold medal after winning the 500m time trial on Thursday.

Azizul, who last won the sprint title at the Asian meet in 2009, felt he could have done better if he had more time to warm up.

“I beat Zhang Lei yesterday and I thought to myself this morning, there was a good chance of me regaining the sprint gold medal,” he said.

“But I arrived in the morning and found out that we had to do the sprint immediately after the points race for the juniors had finished.

“I did not warm up properly while my rival had already warmed up as he did the team sprint for Japan earlier.”

Kazunari raced in the Japan team sprint trio who were beaten by China to the gold earlier in the morning.

“The schedule has been changing since the first day and I’m unhappy that I could not give my best for the country, the fans and also my family members who came to see me race on homeground after so long.

“But as a professional athlete, I have to acccept the outcome.

“My performance is not bad as I made the sprint final and I’ll see what I can do for the keirin next,” said Azizul, who only returned to action in November after a long lay-off due to a horrific calf injury suffered in the World Cup in Manchester last February.

Fatehah, making her first ever appearance in the sprint final, said her legs were heavy but admitted Wai Sze was the better cyclist.

“But I am very frustrated I did not get to put up a stronger fight.

“The organisers are not professional for changing the schedule just like that. How do they expect us to win medals for the country under this situation?” said Fatehah, who has a chance to make amends in the keirin starting today.

Source :Thestar

AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2012 - WOMAN FINAL

FORMER champion Maria Sharapova and Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka will fight for the Australian Open title and the number one ranking after winning nerve–wracking semi–finals.

Russia’s Sharapova gained sweet revenge for her Wimbledon final defeat to Petra Kvitova, after Azarenka survived a second–set collapse against defending champion Kim Clijsters to reach her first Major title match.

“I felt like my hand is about 200kg and my body is about 1,000kg,” Azarenka said, wiping away tears.

“Everything is shaking but that feeling when you finally win is such a relief. I can’t believe it’s over – I just want to cry.”

Both semi–finals were closely fought and impossible to predict, and each went to three tense sets with Sharapova winning 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 and Azarenka beating Clijsters 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

The Australian Open has heralded a shake–up in women’s tennis with Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki set to drop from world number one to four, and with Clijsters now following long–dominant Serena Williams out of the tournament.

Azarenka can now claim Belarus’ first ever Grand Slam title in tomorrow’s final, while resurgent Sharapova gets another shot at breaking a four–year Major drought since her previous Melbourne win in 2008.

Third seed Azarenka, 22, wept on court after she upset four–time Major champion Clijsters to go one step better than her previous Grand Slam best of reaching the semi-finals at last year’s Wimbledon.

She has often faltered on the big stage, most noticeably at the 2010 Australian Open when she led eventual champion Williams before imploding. But she stood firm yesterday to hold off Clijsters’ strong revival.

“Before, I think you all thought I was a mental case but I was just young and emotional,” she said. “But I’m really glad the way I fought. That’s the thing I’m most proud of, I fought for every ball.”

In the second semi-final, a rematch of last year’s Wimbledon decider, Kvitova and Sharapova threw everything at each other for almost two–and–a–quarter hours on Rod Laver Arena.

Sharapova dominated the first set and Kvitova the second, with the pair evenly matched in the third until Kvitova faltered at 4-5 to lose her serve and send Sharapova through to the final.

“I felt like in the third set she always had the advantage because I was always down on my serve,” said Sharapova, adding: “And I just thought you have got to go for it.”

Both the finalists have faced criticism over their loud on–court shrieking this week, with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announcing plans aimed at curbing the trend. – AFP

AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2012

SPAIN’S Rafael Nadal extended his mastery over Roger Federer when he came from a set down to win a gripping Australian Open semi-final.

In a rematch of the 2009 final, Federer opened like a train yesterday but he was gradually reeled in by the tenacious Nadal to suffer his fifth straight Grand Slam defeat to his great rival 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.

“For me it’s a dream to be back in the final,” said a smiling Nadal.

“It’s a real honour to play against Roger, it was a fantastic match. It’s fantastic to have one player in front of you who doesn’t make mistakes, having a totally complete game.”

Nadal will now face either defending champion Novak Djokovic or fourth seed Andy Murray, who play today, as he looks for his second Australian Open crown and his 11th Grand Slam title.

The 25-year-old strengthened his spell-binding hold on the otherwise masterful Swiss, who has won only two of their 10 Grand Slam meetings, both at Wimbledon, and none since 2007.

Sheer joy: Spain’s Rafael Nadal celebrates after booking his place in the Australian Open final in Melbourne. –EPA

Three years ago, Federer wept openly when Nadal won their epic, five–set Melbourne final. And on a chilly Melbourne night there was no revenge for the 16–time slam winner, who now extends a two–year Major drought.

Federer produced flawless tennis at the start of the match but his game unravelled when put under pressure by Nadal and he finished with 63 unforced errors.

Unleashing his full arsenal, four–time Australian Open champion Federer held serve to love and broke the Spaniard at his first opportunity with a devastating crosscourt backhand with Nadal struggling to gain a foothold.

Nadal broke back but third seed Federer raised his game again after his mid–set wobble and he took the tiebreak when Nadal went long.

The players swapped service breaks at the start of the second set but the turning point came when Nadal held off a Federer break point in the fifth game and then broke the Swiss in the very next game to move ahead 4-2.

The match was suspended for 10 minutes for Australia Day fireworks with Nadal leading 5-2 and when play resumed, Federer badly lost his focus, losing 11 consecutive points on top of straight three points he lost before the break.

Nadal, 25, levelled the match at one set apiece, took the first game of set three to love and held three break points after two consecutive Federer double faults, only for the misfiring Swiss to claw himself out of the hole.

Hard work: Roger Federer of Switzerland wiping his face during the semi-final against Rafael Nadal. –Reuters

Federer, 30, battled hard to break Nadal in game seven of the third set but the Spaniard broke back immediately to level things up and Nadal went on to take the tiebreak on his sixth set point.

A tense fourth set went with serve with Nadal looking stronger mentally, continuing to chase down balls from seemingly impossible situations.

He saved a break point from Federer in the eighth game and broke the Swiss in the following game.

But the Spaniard still had to fight hard to serve out for victory, saving two Federer break points, including an astonishing retrieval onto the baseline which the Swiss then wafted wide.

Federer, seeking his first Grand Slam win in two years, had not dropped a set until yesterday’s semi-final but Nadal, who now leads their overall series 18-9, once again proved he has the edge on the biggest stage.

The match was their 10th Grand Slam encounter, putting them equal with Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe for most matches played at Majors. – AFP