Cup offers Scolari banana skin

LONDON: Luiz Felipe Scolari's position has been strengthened after back-to-back wins but the Chelsea manager knows his future will once again be under the spotlight if his side falter against Ipswich this weekend.

On paper, the visit of the mid-ranking Championship team to Stamford Bridge should guarantee Scolari's side easy passage into the FA Cup fifth round. But Chelsea's season has so far been anything but routine and having lost their air of impregnability at home, the game suddenly carries far more significance than it would have done just a few weeks ago.

Scolari approached last weekend's league clash with struggling Stoke apparently battling to save his job after Chelsea had been humiliated by Manchester United and then required a replay to scrape past League One Southend United in the last round of the cup.

And with growing reports of player unrest - particularly in the case of Didier Drogba who was omitted from the squad and has this week been linked with a 15-million-pound move to Manchester City - the manager appeared to be losing his grip.

With Chelsea trailing against Tony Pulis' Stoke side with just three minutes to go, the odds on the Brazilian still being in charge for the visit of Ipswich had lengthened dramatically. A stirring finale, however, capped by a superb goal in added time from Frank Lampard transformed the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge and suddenly the talk at the club has been all about spirit and pulling together.

The reaction of the Chelsea players in mobbing the manager after Lampard's strike was an attempt to downplay reports of disunity in the camp. That upbeat mood will be shattered if Chelsea falter again and Scolari will take no chances in a clash that could consolidate his standing - for now, at least.

Nicolas Anelka, though, believes the Stoke win is a turning point in the club's season and could relaunch their bid for league and cup glory. "Against Stoke, we scored two goals in a short space of time to claim the victory," said the striker. "Winning after adversity is always positive. It proves that what goes around comes back around. This game can boost our confidence regarding our title chances. Manchester United are top. The Reds are hard to beat, they are really brilliant. But it's still possible."

Anelka's goals have been crucial to Chelsea's fortunes this season and the Frenchman insists he is ready to end his recent barren spell. "Okay, I haven't scored in the Premier League lately," he added. "But I scored in the FA Cup. Besides, I was played on the right wing in some games. I scored goals in the past. What I want to do is win titles. Happy days if I can finish top scorer, but it's secondary."

Drogba has been included in the squad for the match but could start on the bench, leaving Anelka to lead the attack. Scolari's hope that John Terry would be fit to return after a back problem were dashed with the centreback requiring more time to recover from an injury he suffered in the warm-up before last weekend's match against Stoke.

Ipswich's hopes of springing an upset won't been helped by the absence of German defender Moritz Volz who has a pelvic problem. But manager Jim Magilton has been lifted by a run of four unbeaten games culminating in last weekend's thrashing of Crystal Palace and is confident of springing a surprise.

Magilton said: "Saturday gives my players a chance to challenge themselves against some of the best players in the world."

Source; http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Didier_Drogba_returns_for_Chelsea/articleshow/4025178.cms

Kuznetsova continues steady progress

MELBOURNE: Svetlana Kuznetsova insisted on Saturday she doesn't care about the lack of attention she gets despite being a top 10 player as she continued her steady progress at the Australian Open.

The eighth seed is the forgotten Russian at this year's Australian Open, with most of the column inches devoted to Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva.

However, she won the US Open in 2004, beating Dementieva in the final, and has been in the top 10 for the last three years so cannot be discounted for the title. "I don't care about the (lack of) attention," she said.

"Before maybe I was thinking about it but now, no, I don't care. In the end what is important is the result." The 23-year-old from St Petersburg ensured a place in the fourth round when she downed Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko 7-6 (7/5), 6-4.

She survived three set points in the first set tie-break to clinch the set then broke Bondarenko early in the next set to take out a tense clash. "It was tough but I think I did the right things," Kuznetsova said. "I tried to play to my serve and wait for her mistakes, and she was waiting for my mistakes. Sometimes I went for too much and I made too many unforced errors."

Kuznetsova said saving the set points in the first set had been crucial. "It was great, I was just looking to fight for every point and that is what I did," she said.

The Russian next meets China's Zheng Jie, who beat Bondarenko's sister Kateryna 6-2, 6-2, and must be favoured to reach the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the first time since 2005.

"Zheng's tough -- I've never lost to her but I know she's very confident now and she's playing better," Kuznetsova said.

"She's very dangerous. I think I have to be very focussed. She plays very flat and she moves well."

Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kuznetsova_continues_steady_progress/articleshow/4025568.cms

Bhupathi-Knowles reach doubles third round

MELBOURNE: Mahesh Bhupathi and his Bahamian partner Mark Knowles advanced to the Australian Open men's doubles third round after a straight-set victory but it was curtains for Rohan Bopanna and his Finnish partner Jarkko Nieminen who lost their second-round match on Saturday.

Third seeds Bhupathi and Knowles had to fend off a tough fight from the unseeded Russian pair of Igor Kunitsyn and Dmitry Tursunov before emerging 7-5, 7-5 victorious in a 92-minute duel.

The Indo-Bahamian pair will next take on Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador and Tommy Robredo of Spain who defeated Bopanna and Nieminen 6-4, 6-4 in the second round.

Bhupathi and Knowles played near flawless tennis with no double faults and just three unforced to their opponents' 14 in the whole match. Though they had a slower service, the third seeded duo converted four out of nine break points that came their way.

Bopanna and Nieminen, on the other hand, were error-prone and committed as many as 16 unforced errors to their opponents' 11.

Another Indian, Leander Paes, and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy, seeded fourth, had also sailed into the third round defeating unseeded Italian-Croat pairing of Fabio Fognini and Ivan Ljubcic 6-3, 6-4 on Friday.

Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Specials/Australian_Open_2009/Bhupathi-Knowles_reach_doubles_third_round/articleshow/4025383.cms

Major upsets in junior tennis:

Major upsets in junior tennis:
Unseeded Lalruasaka of Mizoram caused an upset by defeating top-seed Partha Konwar of Jorhat 6-0 in the boy’s singles (under 14 years) pre-quarter final while Vanlal Rauta too made an upset by beating second-seed Parikshit Smani of Jorhat 6-3 in the boy’s singles (under 12 years) quarterfinal in the Oil India All Assam Junior Tennis Tournament played at Duliajan on Thursday. All the finals matches will be played on Friday which would be followed by the closing ceremony.

Results: Boy’s singles (under 12 years) Quarterfinal – Vishal Vivek Saikia bt Rishik Dutta 6-5, Subhankar Paul bt Animesh Sarma 6-3, Akrashish Talukdar bt Bijoy Mohanty 6-1, Vanlal Rauta bt Parikshit Somani 6-3.
Boy’s singles (under 14 years)

Pre-quarterfinal – Lalruatsaka bt Partha Konwar 6-0, Abhinandan Das bt Archis Borthakur 6-1, Subhankar Paul bt Trishant Talukdar 6-2, Innocent Lalrindika bt Anuresh Karmakar 6-2, Lalrammaiwa bt. Lalmalsawma 6-0, Manash Gogoi bt Rishik Dutta 6-3, Parikshit Somani bt Ruben Krishmattraya 6-3, Bedabrata Mohan bt Zathlangliana 6-2.

Boy’s singles (under 18 years) Pre-quarterfinal – Sabir Hussain bt Wasim Akhtar Ahmed 6-4, Sudhanta Mohanty bt Sidhartha Borgohain 6-0, Alok Tripathy bt Icirailee 6-0, Bikram Barua bt Izaz Ahmed 6-2.

Girl’s singles (under 18 years) Pre-quarterfinal – Sanghamitra Thakur bt Manmayuri Saikia 5-0, Manaswini Hazarika bt Meghna Dowerah 5-1, Upasana Nath bt Mitaksara Medhi 5-1, Nishigandga Misra bt Neha Roy 5-2, Sunita Mohanty bt Dpisikha Boro 5-1, Jyotishmita Khaund bt HT Lalengmawi 5-2, Somaya Begum bt Amrita Nath 5-2. (Correspondent, Tinsukia)

OILFC, Lajong FC in 2nd Division National League

OILFC, Lajong FC in 2nd Division National League
By our Sports ReporterGUWAHATI, Jan 22: Oil India Limited Football Club retained their position in the Second division National Football League which will kick off in February. On the other hand, Lajong Football Club of Shillong will make their maiden entry in the competition this year.
A meeting of the executive committee of the All India Football Federation was held on Wednesday in New Delhi and the teams for the forthcoming league was finalized in that meeting. The preliminary round of the tournament would be held in three clusters in three different venues. Asom will host the cluster ‘A’ matches where both OILFC and Lajong FC have been placed along with three other teams.
On the other hand, the cluster matches of group ‘B’ and ‘C’ would be held at Gurgaon and Kerala respectively. The top two teams of each group will qualify for the main round.
The secretary of the Assam Football Association Ankur Dutta while talking to The Sentinel over telephone from New Delhi said that the venue of the group ‘A’ matches of the Second Division National League would be decided very soon. It has been learnt that Guwahati and Silchar are the frontrunner for the venue of that cluster. Meanwhile, the meeting also decided to hold the 63rd edition of the Santosh Trophy Soccer Championship in the first week of May and the Tamil Nadu Football Association will host the championship.
Groups & VenuesGroup A — Venue : Asom:
Teams : ONGC , OIL India, Camelia George Telegraph & Bengal , Mumbai FC & Lajong FC
Group B—Venue: Gurgaon :Teams : Amity United SC, Pune FC, New Delhi Heroes, Simla Youngs and SESA Football Academy
Group C—Venue: Kerala Teams: Salgaocar SC, Viva SC, Happy Entertainment , Malabar United FC ,Chandni FC and Travancore Titanium.

Argentina beat India 4-2, level series

ARGENTINA: Indian hockey team succumbed to their second straight defeat, going down 2-4 in the final match to allow Argentina level the four-match Te
st series on Friday.

A shaky defence and a profligate forward line let down India as Sandeep Singh and his men squandered a 2-1 lead and conceded three second half goals to share the honours in the four-match series which they lead 2-0 at the midway stage.

Bharat Chikara opened India's account in the seventh minute with a field goal before captain Sandeep Singh sounded the board from a penalty corner set-piece.

Argentina struck in the 31st, 37th, 39th and 58th minutes through Matias Vila, Juan Gilardi, Facundo Callioni and Matias Paredes respectively to emerge winners at the Estadio Panamericano.

The Indian team kicked off its campaign on a positive note, blanking the hosts 2-0 in the series opener and following it with a narrow 3-2 win.

Trailing them 0-2, Argentina staged a brilliant comeback in the second half of the series and beat India 2-0 in the third Test to stay afloat and eventually drew level with Friday's win.

The Indian team now leaves for Mumbai en route to Chandigarh for the Four-Nation Punjab Gold Cup starting later this month. Apart from the hosts, the event will also feature Germany, Holland and New Zealand.

Soruce: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/opinions/4020590.cms

Redeemed Dokic continues Australian fairytale

MELBOURNE: Spurred on by a pumped up capacity crowd, Jelena Dokic continued her fairytale run through the Australian Open on Friday with her second successive victory over a seeded player.

Dokic, riding high on the wave of public sympathy and support, upset Denmark's 11th seed Caroline Wozniacki 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the fourth round of the year's first grand slam.

The Australian's victory came hot on the heels of her second round win over Russian 17th seed Anna Chakvetadze, which was her first over a player in the top-20 in five years.

Dokic, who was born in former Yugoslavia, will next meet either Alisa Kleybanova or 2008 runner-up Ana Ivanovic.

Wozniacki broke Dokic in the fourth game of the first set and established a 4-1 lead. She held on to the advantage to take the first set 6-3, despite some anxious moments in the final game when Dokic held three break points.

The former world number four, however, seemed to find an extra gear in the second set, breaking the Dane twice to go on a six-game winning streak.

That run only ended in the third set when Wozniacki broke her to tie at 1-1.

After the Dane held in the next game, Dokic set about demolishing her opponent by reeling off the next three games.

Dokic held three break points in the seventh game and let out a huge roar of 'C'mon' when she managed to clinch it, giving her the chance to serve out the match.

The 25-year-old held three match points and when Wozniacki's forehand sailed over the baseline, the crowd on Rod Laver Arena erupted.

Soruce: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Surprise_package_Dokic_into_fourth_round/articleshow/4021982.cms

Ecclestone confirms India F1 plans

LONDON: Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone said on Thursday that he is "fully committed" to holding a Grand Prix in India in 2011.

Asked in a BBC interview whether the event was still going ahead, after the announcement last year that it would be delayed from 2010 to 2011, he said: "Of course, otherwise we wouldn't have entered into an agreement with them."

The Indian side was "fully committed and we are too," he said, blaming the delay on the calendar of global sporting events and because "we have got one or two contracts we have to fulfill."

The BBC reported that the land had not yet been bought for the track on the outskirts of New Delhi, but it was expected to be resolved in April.

India's ambitious F1 plans were first unveiled in June 2007 when the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said it had received a letter from Ecclestone allowing the country to host a race.

The deal was subject to meeting certain conditions, like building a track. Millions of Indians watch F1 on television, often with the same passion they reserve for the country's most popular sport, cricket.

"It's a large, large country with a big population and it's good for the sponsors, good for the car manufacturers and its good for everyone involved in Formula One to be in their country," Ecclestone said.

He added: "I doubt in India anything will be a rival to cricket, but let's see."

Source: http://racing.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4019611.cms

Djokovic beats Delic to grab 4th round spot in Australia

MELBOURNE: Serbia's Novak Djokovic recovered from dropping his first set of the tournament to beat American Amer Delic 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 in the third round of the Australian Open on Friday.

The defending champion lost the second set after a brief lapse in concentration but regained his composure to win the next two, despite being pushed to a tiebreaker in the fourth.

Delic, who was promoted to the main draw as a lucky loser when Nicolas Kiefer pulled out, troubled the world number three with his booming serve but Djokovic's big-match experience proved decisive.

Djokovic's next opponent will be either Mardy Fish or Marcos Baghdatis.

Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Specials/Australian_Open_2009/Djokovic_beats_Delic_to_grab_round_4_spot/articleshow/4020423.cms

Sunil Chhetri for Coventry City trial

KOLKATA: India striker Sunil Chhetri will appear for trial at English club Coventry City.

Chhetri, who plays for East Bengal, has been granted a week's leave (from January 25-31) by his club, said an official.

"We have granted him a week's permission with an official letter. We hope he won't miss out on any matches on account of the trial," the official said.

East Bengal will play one match -- against Mumbai FC on January 31 -- in the I-League during that period, however the club official said Chhetri still might play the match if he returns in the morning.

Chhetri will play the match -- against United SC -- on January 24 before leaving for the English club which competes in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English league system.

The Delhi striker, who earlier represented JCT, has to his credit 15 goals in 35 appearances for the country.

Coventry City's only major title was in 1987 when they beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 to win the FA Cup.

They also reached two League Cup semi-finals in 1981 and 1989

Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Sunil_Chhetri_for_Coventry_City_trial/articleshow/4017984.cms

Tsonga through to second round at Melbourne Park

Last year's runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga overcame a patchy first set to thrash Argentine Juan Monaco 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 and advance to the second round of the Australian Open on Tuesday.

Tsonga was broken once in the first set by the world number 49, though Monaco was broken twice himself and saved one other opportunity before the Frenchman won the set in 40 minutes.

The second set followed a similar pattern before world number seven Tsonga ran away with the third set.

Tsonga converted all three of his break opportunities in the final set and sealed the match when he served to love to set up a second round clash with either Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic or Russia's Igor Kunitsyn.

Soruce: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4006447.cms

I followed my heart, says Kaka

MILAN: Brazilian superstar Kaka has revealed that he followed his heart in choosing to stay at AC Milan rather than take up an offer of a reported 15 million euros a season to join Manchester City.

Milan president and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced the news late on Monday to end one of the most dramatic transfer sagas of all time. Moneybags City, owned by the Abu Dhabi Group, had bid a reported world record 100 million euros for the former World Player of the Year and Milan gave the 26-year-old permission to talk to the English Premier League club.

But Kaka has told Milan's official TV channel that the Italian giants' fans had played a significant role in convincing him to stay. "All the messages I received convinced me to choose with my heart and I think in the end that's what I did. It was definitely not a financial decision," he said.

"There were bits of information, claims, a lot of speculation which over these last few days even created a bad impression of my father. That's not the case, I've never argued with my father. I always make decisions within the family, my wife has also been wonderful, she helped me a lot and has always supported me in my decisions. My family have been great and never tried to push me one way or another. In the end it is my history which has been decisive, where my legacy is and where in reality my heart is."

Kaka denied that he was using the interest from City to try to get a pay rise at Milan, where he is already supposedly the second highest paid player in Italy behind Inter Milan's Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

"There have also been claims made that every time offers are made for me it's because I want to renew my contract," he added. "That's not true. Every time a team has come and proposed something to me it's Milan who have tried to please me. For this I have to thank everyone who works at Milan."

Kaka, somewhat diplomatically, described Berlusconi and Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani as incredible people and thanked Milan's technical director and his compatriot Leonardo, a former player at the club.

"He is more than a friend, someone who is always close by," he said. "Right now I don't want to change anything, I want some peace and quiet."

A devout evangelical Christian who removes his jersey to display a T-shirt bearing the message 'I Belong to Jesus' whenever Milan win something, Kaka revealed he had prayed a lot over these last few days. "It was an emotional and unforgettable night," he said about Monday. "My team-mates have been great, they supported me, they touched me."

Fans who on Monday had protested against the proposed sale outside Kaka's home and Milan's headquarters on Monday quickly began celebrating. "He's staying with us, he's staying with us," went up the cheer after news broke that the Brazilian had rejected City.

Berlusconi, who had previously said Milan could not stand in Kaka's way with such a sum of money on the table, praised the attacking midfielder for rejecting financial riches. "We're all delighted," he said. "But he didn't want to leave even for a perfect offer from Manchester (City) and he said no without even knowing what the offer was. Hence, he is staying with us and we can't be anything but delighted because money is important but there are other things more important than money."

And the Italian prime minister insisted Milan had never accepted City's bid.

"No, we told Kaka to think about it, as we did with (Andrei) Shevchenko (when he joined Chelsea), we said we didn't want to prohibit someone from considering an offer that was double what Milan could pay, also because it was clear we could not make a counter offer because had we, we would have had to do likewise with all the other players and that wouldn't have been logical or in our budget. Kaka never expected us to make an offer and as a fan I have to say I'm delighted."

Galliani for his part said Milan's fans had to thank Berlusconi for not taking the money on offer. "Once more the fans should thank president Berlusconi for his economic strength," he said.

"Because there was a strong temptation in front of us and a number that was a stratospheric world record."

Source; http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/I_followed_my_heart_says_Kaka/articleshow/4006977.cms

Nadal blows Rochus off court

MELBOURNE: World number one Rafael Nadal sent out an ominous warning to his rivals when he blew Belgium's Christophe Rochus off court 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday.

The Spaniard was in devastating form, serving 10 aces and blasting 44 winners in a virtuoso display of power and precision.

Rochus was almost reduced to a spectator at times as Nadal's ground stokes either landed deep in the corner or hugged the sidelines.

When the Belgian tried something different and came forward to the net, Nadal's passing shots whistled by, leaving Rochus either stranded on the service line or lunging at thin air.

Nadal broke Rochus three times in the first set and barely conceded a point off his own serve as he won the set 6-0 in only 19 minutes.

Rochus finally got on the scoreboard in the ninth game of the match, but with his first serves hovering just below 180kmh and his second serves barely passing 130kmh, every service game was a struggle.

The second set lasted just 10 minutes longer than the first but at least Rochus began to get into the match.

However, Nadal was never in danger and he broke Rochus another two times in the third to take the match in a lightning quick 77 minutes.

Nadal, who took over from Roger Federer as world number one during 2009, said he felt little different coming to the year's first Grand Slam as the world's best player.

"I feel the same -- I am just trying to play my best tennis," he said.

"All that's changed is a number." He said he had been happy being number two and now he was just as pleased being in the top spot. "But in tennis your career continues -- you can't just stop (because you're number one)," he said.

Soruce: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Ruthless_Nadal_blows_Rochus_off_court/articleshow/4007958.cms

Man United tap Sahara for sponsorship deal

NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW: Imagine the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney turning out to play for their club with the name of an Indian company prominently emblazoned on their shirts.

This is no idle fantasy. Manchester United, the world's biggest football club, has reportedly approached the Sahara group for a sponsorship deal.

Sources said the club has been seeking sponsors and has sent a proposal to Sahara - which supports the Indian cricket team - for sponsoring the team's shirt.

Abhijit Sarkar, the head of Sahara's corporate communication, confirmed receiving the proposal but declined to comment further.

When TOI contacted Man U, a club official said, "We have been in touch with a lot of sponsors and hope to strike something in the near future."

Currently, American International Group (AIG) has a contract for sponsoring Man U shirts for £56.5 million (about Rs 415 crore). The four-year deal began in 2006.

But with AIG being hit hard by the financial meltdown, the deal appears to have run into trouble. That could explain Manchester United's search for new avenues of sponsorship.

Sahara keen on Man U proposal

World's premier football club Manchester United has sent a proposal to Sahara group for sponsoring the team's shirt.

According to sources, Man U's commercial director Richard Arnold has sent a proposal letter to the Lucknow-based group along with a host of related material like the club T-shirt with Sahara logo and a detailed dossier displaying pictures of Ronaldo and Rooney wearing T-shirts with the company name.

Sahara currently pays BCCI more than Rs 400 crore for shirt sponsorship of Team India for January 2006 to December 2009. The original amount was Rs 313 crore for three years, but the payout increased after the Indian board decided to play more One-day and Twenty20 matches.

This is the first time that any English football club - leave alone Man U, which has around 333 million fans worldwide - has looked to an Indian firm for sponsorship. Evidently, Sahara India's association with Indian cricket and hockey teams for more than a decade attracted the attention of Man U's bosses.

Sources in Sahara said they were keen on opening a dialogue with Man U but officials were tightlipped on proposal details.

"We have a healthy partnership with BCCI and the Indian Hockey Federation. Our foray into sports sponsorship has been very fruitful. But I can neither confirm nor deny the latest Man U move at the moment," said a top Sahara official.

Sources said Sahara wants the English club to first come to India and play a few matches. If Sahara does put its name on the Man-U shirt it will join the likes of AIG, Vodafone and Sharp who have done so earlier.


Sponsor Team Deal amount
Sahara Indian cricket team Over Rs 400cr
Tamoil Juventus 15m pounds a year
BenQ Real Madrid 14m pounds a year (2006)
T-Mobile Bayern Munich 11.4m pounds a year
Samsung Chelsea 10m pounds a year
Emirates Arsenal 100m pounds
AIG Man United 14m pounds a year
Carlsberg Liverpool 8m pounds a year

Arsenal amount also includes a 15-year stadium naming rights and eight-year team’s shirt deal

Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/eplarticleshow/4004105.cms

Murray eyes top spot in six months

MELBOURNE: Britain's Andy Murray on Tuesday said that his sublime form could make him world number one in six months as he targets a maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne.

Murray, 21, reached the Australian Open second round after just 12 games when veteran Romanian Andrei Pavel pulled out injured with the scores at 6-2, 3-1, and later quit.

The result means Murray has already bettered last year's first-round defeat to eventual finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as he hunts the first British Grand Slam win since 1936.

The Scot is currently the hottest player in world tennis, defeating all his fellow top-four players over the past year and reaching his first Grand Slam final at the US Open.

"I'd obviously love to be number one. I'm sure all players would at some point in their career. But I'd want to try and win a Slam first. I think that's the next step for me," he said.

"But if I play well the first six months of this year, I don't have a whole lot of points to defend. So there is a chance that I'd do it.

"I'm going to have to play like I did for the second part of the year last year. I'm going to have to do the same in the first part of this year, try and be very consistent."

Despite searing heat on Rod Laver Arena, Murray was coasting through the match after breaking twice to take the opening set in 31 minutes.

Pavel, playing in his 10th Australian Open and the second oldest man here at 34, called for treatment on his long-standing back injury between sets and lasted just four more games before pulling out, grimacing with pain.

Murray said it was a "shame" the Romanian's career was over. But he was glad to limit his playing time on Rod Laver Arena as temperatures soared to 40 C (104 F) in bright sun.

"Even when you sit down at the change of ends, you're expecting to go and chill out a little bit in the shade and it's roasting even when you're just sitting there," he said.

"That was tough. And if you have a long point, you can feel your feet burning a little bit."

The Florida-based Murray admitted he wasn't sure how he would cope with the conditions in a longer match but hoped his playing style, which relies heavily on drop shots and changes of pace, would help.

"I've trained as hard as I could and prepared very well. But when it's as hot as this, I don't know," he said.

"I think you just got to trust the work that you put in, you know, is good enough. When it's this temperature everyone's going to feel it. You just have to try and make your opponent do more running than you."

Murray won back-to-back Masters series titles either side of the US Open last year, taking his total to five for the season and his ranking to fourth, both British records.

He has already beaten Nadal and 13-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer in a six-match unbeaten run this year, raising hopes that the 73-year British Slam drought may be nearly over.

Soruce: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4004965.cms

I am ready to take on Nadia, says Sania

NEW DELHI: Sania Mirza survived a late onslaught from world number 61 Marta Domachowhska to set up a second-round clash with Russian 10th seed Nadia Petrova in the women's singles of the Australian Open, in Melbourne and Sania says 'she is ready'

Speaking exclusively to TIMES NOW, Sania said, "I am playing well, serving well and my forehand is back as before. I am not thinking about the match and am ready to take on Nadia."

On beating Domachowhska, she said, "It is 1-all now. She beat me once and I beat her now."

The unseeded Indian battled past the Pole 6-1, 6-4 in the first round. Nadia beat Kazakhstan Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3, 7-6 (3) in her opening round match.

Sania, playing her first singles match of the season after a long injury-lay off, was happy with her comeback match.

"It was a great way to begin after such a long break. I've not played a match in almost six months now. I'm just happy to have come through," she said after the match. Sania raced away with the first set in just 25 minutes, breaking the Polish player thrice.

The Indian led 2-0 in the second set before Marta stepped on the gas, winning four games on the trot, breaking Sania in the third and fifth games.

From a comfortable 2-0, Sania found herself trailing 2-4 in no time.

Under pressure, the 22-year-old Hyderabadi got her act together and went on to win the next four games to seal the issue.

Sania broke Marta in the eighth and 10th games in the process.

Sania had lost to Marta in 2003 in their first meeting and now the head-to-head record stands at 1-1.

Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4004876.cms

Murray, Williams sisters take easy route as Open sizzles

MELBOURNE: Andy Murray and the Williams sisters took the easy route at the Australian Open on Tuesday, breezing into the second round in furnace-like conditions.

As temperatures soared past 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), fourth seed Murray barely broke a sweat against Romanian Davis Cup captain Andrei Pavel who retired with a back injury when the Scot was leading 6-2, 3-1.

Second-seeded Serena Williams was equally comfortable in her 6-3, 6-2 mauling of China's Meng Yuan, not needing the ice vests offered to players between games in such sizzling heat.

Matching her sister, sixth seed Venus barely broke stride as she sauntered past Germany's Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-3.

While they cruised, Russian fourth seed Elena Dementieva survived a gruelling test before grinding down Germany's Kristina Barrois in three sets, while Polish ninth seed Agnieszka Radwanska became the biggest casualty so far.

Australian hope Lleyton Hewitt joined Radwanska on the scrap heap after slumping in five sets to Chilean 13th seed Fernando Gonzalez.

Murray is now undefeated in six matches this season as he goes in search of Britain's first Grand Slam title since 1936.

"Obviously you don't want to finish a match like that. Andrei's been having problems with his back for a year," said the world number four.

"It's unfortunate I had to stop but I felt like I was hitting the ball well. I guess if you want to do well in the tournament, it's good to conserve some energy. Hopefully that was a good thing."

The Scot, who was coasting through the match after breaking twice to take the opening set in 31 minutes, is the form player of recent months and is seen as a real chance to win his maiden Grand Slam title.

The experienced Williams is looking for her 10th major crown and her fourth in Melbourne.

Only a few select women, including Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, have won more major titles than the formidable 27-year-old.

Forgoing her usual flashy outfits for a nondescript dark blue number, the American powered past Meng in just 75 minutes.

"I think I hit some pretty solid shots, sometimes I even went for some shots just to try something different," she said, downplaying the effect of the heat.

"There wasn't so much humidity out there, the dry heat is actually better than the humidity. But it was definitely extreme conditions."

Venus, who has yet to lift the Melbourne title, was untroubled by Kerber.

"I'm feeling the best that I can and I'm glad to be in the second round," she said.

Dementieva is widely regarded as a dark horse for the championship after already winning two titles this year.

But the Beijing Olympic gold medallist was pushed to the limit in the 7-6 (7/4), 2-6, 6-1 win, emerging victorious to take her recent unbeaten run to 11 matches.

"I'm just happy to survive," she said.

Other players to progress included 13th seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, while China's unseeded Peng Shuai sent Italian 28th seed Francesca Schiavone packing. Wimbledon semi-finalist Zheng Jie beat France's Camille Pin.

Amelie Mauresmo, the champion in 2006, showed no signs of the thigh strain that forced her out of the Brisbane International in her 6-4, 6-3 win over Olga Govortsova.

On the men's side, French sixth seed Giles Simon quiety went about his business to beat unseeded Spaniard Pablo Andujar in straight sets.

World number one and top seed Rafael Nadal plays later on Tuesday.

Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4004841.cms

Murray, Williams sisters take easy route as Open sizzles

MELBOURNE: Andy Murray and the Williams sisters took the easy route at the Australian Open on Tuesday, breezing into the second round in furnace-like conditions.

As temperatures soared past 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), fourth seed Murray barely broke a sweat against Romanian Davis Cup captain Andrei Pavel who retired with a back injury when the Scot was leading 6-2, 3-1.

Second-seeded Serena Williams was equally comfortable in her 6-3, 6-2 mauling of China's Meng Yuan, not needing the ice vests offered to players between games in such sizzling heat.

Matching her sister, sixth seed Venus barely broke stride as she sauntered past Germany's Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-3.

While they cruised, Russian fourth seed Elena Dementieva survived a gruelling test before grinding down Germany's Kristina Barrois in three sets, while Polish ninth seed Agnieszka Radwanska became the biggest casualty so far.

Australian hope Lleyton Hewitt joined Radwanska on the scrap heap after slumping in five sets to Chilean 13th seed Fernando Gonzalez.

Murray is now undefeated in six matches this season as he goes in search of Britain's first Grand Slam title since 1936.

"Obviously you don't want to finish a match like that. Andrei's been having problems with his back for a year," said the world number four.

"It's unfortunate I had to stop but I felt like I was hitting the ball well. I guess if you want to do well in the tournament, it's good to conserve some energy. Hopefully that was a good thing."

The Scot, who was coasting through the match after breaking twice to take the opening set in 31 minutes, is the form player of recent months and is seen as a real chance to win his maiden Grand Slam title.

The experienced Williams is looking for her 10th major crown and her fourth in Melbourne.

Only a few select women, including Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, have won more major titles than the formidable 27-year-old.

Forgoing her usual flashy outfits for a nondescript dark blue number, the American powered past Meng in just 75 minutes.

"I think I hit some pretty solid shots, sometimes I even went for some shots just to try something different," she said, downplaying the effect of the heat.

"There wasn't so much humidity out there, the dry heat is actually better than the humidity. But it was definitely extreme conditions."

Venus, who has yet to lift the Melbourne title, was untroubled by Kerber.

"I'm feeling the best that I can and I'm glad to be in the second round," she said.

Dementieva is widely regarded as a dark horse for the championship after already winning two titles this year.

But the Beijing Olympic gold medallist was pushed to the limit in the 7-6 (7/4), 2-6, 6-1 win, emerging victorious to take her recent unbeaten run to 11 matches.

"I'm just happy to survive," she said.

Other players to progress included 13th seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, while China's unseeded Peng Shuai sent Italian 28th seed Francesca Schiavone packing. Wimbledon semi-finalist Zheng Jie beat France's Camille Pin.

Amelie Mauresmo, the champion in 2006, showed no signs of the thigh strain that forced her out of the Brisbane International in her 6-4, 6-3 win over Olga Govortsova.

On the men's side, French sixth seed Giles Simon quiety went about his business to beat unseeded Spaniard Pablo Andujar in straight sets.

World number one and top seed Rafael Nadal plays later on Tuesday.

Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4004841.cms

India beat Argentina, take 2-0 lead

MAR DEL PLATA (Argentina): India registered their second successive win, defeating Argentina 3-2 in the keenly-contested second hockey Test at the Es tadio Panamericano on Tuesday to take a 2-0 lead in the four-match series.

India, who made a comeback to international hockey after almost a year, beat Argentine 2-0 in the first Test on Monday.

Centre-forward Shivendra Singh (12th min), Prabhjot Singh (40th min) and captain Sandeep Singh (59th min) scored the goals for the visitors while Mario Almada (13th) and Pedro Ibarra (46th) found the net for Argentina.

Eight-time Olympic champions, India, started from where they left yesterday and launched a flurry of attacks on the Argentine goal from the word go.

Indian forward line of Prabhjot, last match's goal scorer Deepak Thakur and Shivendra continuously unnerved the experienced Argentine defence with frequent raids while Tushar Khandker was exemplary on the left flank.

As early as in the fourth minute, India had a chance of taking the lead but Argentina goalkeeper Juan Manuel Vivaldi saved Shivendra's deflection from a Prabhjot set up.

For the second consecutive day, the Indian mid-fielders and linkmen Vikram Pillay, Rajpal Singh and VS Vinaya were outstanding at their work, setting up the forwards with accurately measured passes.

The constant pressure on the Argentina goal finally bore fruit in the 12th minute when Shivendra deflected home from a Sandeep set piece to give India a 1-0 lead after Argentine medio Tomas Argento obstructed Thakur just outside the box.

However, the lead was shortlived as the hosts equalised in the very next minute through wily Almada who was lurking dangerously around the Indian striking circle and was quick to wrong foot the Indian defence.

Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India_beat_Argentina_take_2-0_lead/articleshow/4005796.cms

Milan are considering Kaka offer, says club TV channel

MILAN: AC Milan are considering an offer from Manchester City for Brazil playmaker Kaka, the director of the club's in-house TV channel said on Thursday.

"There's an offer for Kaka from Manchester City and it is being considered by Milan," channel director Mauro Suma said.

"Considered does not mean decided or accepted. We are not faced with a decision made or a done deed. There are still hours and days ahead."

A Milan spokesman said Suma's comments were not an official statement by the Serie A club.

Media reports have said City, the richest club in the world after being taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group, have bid more than 100 million pounds ($146.2 million) for the 26-year-old.

City manager Mark Hughes told reporters on Thursday that a deal to sign Kaka was still on for the Premier League club.

"It has been well documented that we have expressed an interest in signing the player," he said.

Soruce: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/eplarticleshow/3986314.cms