38 Email: gdnsport@batelco.com.bh<strong>Gulf</strong> <strong>Daily</strong> <strong>New</strong>s Wednesday, 20th February 2013WORLD SPORTA winningstart forWozniackil Injury forces Azarenka outDUBAI: Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki strolled intothe second round of the Dubai tennis championships by beatingLucie Safarova 6-2 6-2 yesterday after Australian Open championVictoria Azarenka withdrew due to a foot injury.Wozniacki 22, made short work of her Czech opponent, winning in an hour,although she lost her serve at 5-1 in the first set before breaking back immediately.Safarova double-faulted to gift the world number 10 a 3-1 lead in the secondset and she capped a miserable display with a shanked forehand to losethe match. Wozniacki ended 2010 and 2011 <strong>as</strong> the top-ranked women’s player,but endured a tough 2012, slipping down the standings <strong>as</strong> she made littleimpression at the grand slams.This year h<strong>as</strong> also proved difficult for the Dane, who h<strong>as</strong> gone beyond thel<strong>as</strong>t 16 in only one tournament, and she will now face Chinese qualifier JieZheng before a potential showdown with new world number one SerenaWilliams in the quarter-finals.Williams, who received a bye to the second round, will play France’sMarion Bartoli on Wednesday and the American’s chances of winning a 48thsingles tour title were boosted by the withdrawal of Azarenka.RestThe Belarussian, 23, who also pulled out of l<strong>as</strong>t year’s Dubai tournament,said she needed to rest after injuring her right foot.“I have been obviously playing a lot of tennis over the l<strong>as</strong>t five days, especially,so going to a new tournament is too much to handle right now - itkeeps getting worse,” said the world number two.Azarenka h<strong>as</strong> a near-perfect record this year, winning 12 matches in arow since she withdrew from her Brisbane International semi-final againstWilliams in January due to “a bad pedicure experience”.That run includes winning her second successive Australian Open title, plus theQatar Open in which she beat Williams in three sets in the final on Sunday.Earlier, Italy’s Sara Errani defeated Germany’s Julia Goerges 6-3 4-6 6-4.The diminutive world number seven will play Romania’s Sorana Cirstea in thesecond round.Czech Petra Kvitova put an indifferent start to 2013 behind her <strong>as</strong> shethumped qualifier Daniela Hantuchova 6-2 6-1.Kvitova won Wimbledon in 2011, but suffered a second-round exit atJanuary’s Australian Open.“At the beginning of the se<strong>as</strong>on I wish (I had) better results,” Kvitova toldreporters. “I changed my fitness preparation, so I needed some time to getused to it.”Brave Cilic rallies to beat DodigMEMPHIS, Tennessee: player to take to the court on a quiet Memphis in 2006, defeated <strong>New</strong>Marin Cilic struggled earlybefore finding his rhythm<strong>as</strong> the top seed scored a4-6 6-2 6-3 victory over friend andCroatian compatriot Ivan Dodigin the first round of the MemphisInternational on Monday.Cilic is bidding for a second successivetitle after winning in Zagrebl<strong>as</strong>t week and opened his campaignagainst a familiar foe in Dodig,the pair growing up in the sameneighbourhood and often practicingday with third and fourth-seeded JohnIsner and Sam Querrey scheduled toopen their campaigns on Tuesday.Aside from Cilic, American RhyneWilliams beat countryman SteveJohnson 7-6 6-4 while Poland’sLuk<strong>as</strong>z Kubot outl<strong>as</strong>ted anotherAmerican, Ryan Harrison, 6-4 6-7 7-6.VictoriousIn the women’s draw, the top twoseeds, Kirsten Flipkens and SofiaArvidsson, e<strong>as</strong>ed into the secondZealand’s Marina Erakovic in l<strong>as</strong>tyear’s final. This year, Arvidsson willface Erakovic again in the secondround after Erakovic beat Germany'sAnnika Beck 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4.Next up for Flipkens will beUkraine’s Lesia Tsurenko, whodefeated US qualifier Maria Sanchez6-2, 6-4.American Jamie Hampton downedSpanish wild card Garbine Muguruza6-3, 6-3 to book a second round datewith compatriot Coco Vandeweghe.together.round with straight-sets victories. French eighth seed KristinaDodig started well against theworld number 12 but w<strong>as</strong> unable tomaintain his form and intensity onceCilic improved his serving after droppingthe opening set.Cilic w<strong>as</strong> the only seeded men’sDefending champion Arvidssonof Sweden beat Slovakian qualifierJana Cepelova 6-4, 6-4 while Flipkenseliminated 2007 Memphis runner-upShahar Peer of Israel 6-2, 6-2.Arvidsson, who also won atMladenovic opened with a 6-3, 6-1victory over US wildcard CourtneyCollins and will next face another USwildcard, Victoria Duval, who foughtback to defeat Sweden's JohannaLarsson 3-6, 6-1, 6-3.n Wozniackireturnsthe ball toSafarovaNBA mourningHOUSTON: Kobe Bryant and the LosAngeles Lakers turned their attentionfrom bad b<strong>as</strong>ketball and tradetalk to more somber matters onMonday.The death of Jerry Buss, their longtimeowner, w<strong>as</strong> a blow for a franchise that w<strong>as</strong>so often ch<strong>as</strong>ing an NBA championshipunder his leadership. With Magic Johnsonand Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bryant andShaquille O’Neal, and finally Bryant andPau G<strong>as</strong>ol, the Lakers won 10 titles sinceBuss became the owner in 1979.The Bryant-G<strong>as</strong>ol-Dwight Howard-SteveN<strong>as</strong>h combination h<strong>as</strong>n’t been workingnearly <strong>as</strong> well.The Lakers’s record is 25-29, good foronly 10th place in the Western Conference,miles behind the Los Angeles Clippers intheir division and their own building, andout of the playoff race.McIlroy andWoods tipped<strong>as</strong> favouritesMARANA, Arizona:World No 1 Rory McIlroyand three-time winnerTiger Woods top the listof favourites in the $8.75 millionWorld Golf ChampionshipsMatch Play Championship thatbegins today.Woods, a 14-time majorchampion ch<strong>as</strong>ing the record 18majors won by Jack Nicklaus,comes off a practice round l<strong>as</strong>tweekend with US PresidentBarack Obama and a victoryl<strong>as</strong>t month at Torrey Pines onhis 2013 US PGA debut.McIlroy, who lost l<strong>as</strong>t year’sMatch Play final to AmericanHunter Mahan, missed the cutat Dubai in his only prior startthis year. McIlroy won the2012 PGA Championship andthe 2011 US Open.The Northern Irishmanopens against Irishman ShaneLowry in a Bobby Jones bracketthat also h<strong>as</strong> a first-roundmatchup between anotherNorthern Irishman GraemeMcDowell and Ireland’sPadraig Harrington, both p<strong>as</strong>tmajor winners.Woods tops the Gary Playerbracket with an opener againstUS compatriot Charles Howell.Woods lost in the second roundl<strong>as</strong>t year and h<strong>as</strong> not gone p<strong>as</strong>tthe second round since beatingStewart Cink in the 2008 final.Mahan, the only Americanfinalist in the p<strong>as</strong>t four years,starts at the opposite end ofthe same bracket against Italy’sMatteo Man<strong>as</strong>sero.The field of 64 is lackingtwo of the world’s top 64 playersafter 2012 US PGA playoffchampion Brandt Snedekerwithdrew with sore ribs andPhil Mickelson pulled out for afamily vacation.Sweden’s Fredrik Jacobson,who opens against reigningBritish Open champion ErnieEls of South Africa in the BenHogan bracket, and Lowry wereadded to the field to replaceSnedeker and Mickelson.Warburton onWales benchCARDIFF, Wales:Former skipper SamWarburton h<strong>as</strong> beenconfirmed in thereserves for Wales’ visit to Romefor this weekend’s Six Nationsrugby match against Italy.Interim coach Rob Howleyalready rewarded the teamwhich beat France 16-6, andended Wales’ eight-test losingstreak, by naming it l<strong>as</strong>t week,11 days before the Italy matchthis Saturday.Yesterday, he revealed thereserves, with recalls for flankerWarburton and lock Alun-Wyn Jones, giving the bench atotal of 264 caps. Both of themmissed the France game withshoulder injuries.During Wales’ first win inParis in eight years, flankerRyan Jones w<strong>as</strong> captain andJustin Tipuric wore No. 7.Welsh fans were already clamoringfor Tipuric before theFrance game after Warburton’squiet effort in the openinghome loss to Ireland.Until this tournament,Warburton had been the undisputedleader of the Welsh, aftertaking them to the semifinals ofthe 2011 World Cup and the SixNations Grand Slam a year ago.
Email: gdnsport@batelco.com.bhWORLD SPORT <strong>Gulf</strong> <strong>Daily</strong> <strong>New</strong>s Wednesday, 20th February 201339Williams car finally outn Williams’ driversMaldonado, left, Bott<strong>as</strong>and test-driver Wolff,right, pose with the newBARCELONA: Former championsWilliams hoped the l<strong>as</strong>t could befirst again after finally unveiling their2013 Formula One car yesterday at theBarcelona circuit where they were winnersl<strong>as</strong>t year.The l<strong>as</strong>t of the 11 teams to show off theirnew car, Williams hoped the FW35 wouldbe an improvement on the FW34 that tookVenezuelan P<strong>as</strong>tor Maldonado to their firstvictory in nearly eight years l<strong>as</strong>t May.“Given the rule stability over the winter,I’m ple<strong>as</strong>ed with the gains that we’vebeen able to make with this car,” saidtechnical director Mike Coughlan in <strong>as</strong>tatement for the rollout at the Circuitde Catalunya. “It’s a better, more refinedFormula One car than the FW34.”Founder Frank Williams, whose teamare the second most successful in FormulaOne in terms of constructors’ championships(nine) but finished l<strong>as</strong>t year in eighthplace, saw better times ahead.“We will have to wait until Australia totruly see what we have, but we believe it isa step forward from l<strong>as</strong>t year’s car whichw<strong>as</strong> also a very competitive vehicle,” hedeclared.F<strong>as</strong>testYesterday, Mercedes’ Nico Rosbergw<strong>as</strong> the f<strong>as</strong>test driver during FormulaOne prese<strong>as</strong>on testing, while FernandoAlonso took a long first spin withFerrari’s new car for 2013.Defending champion Seb<strong>as</strong>tian Vettelof Red Bull had the best time until lateinto the afternoon session when Rosbergunle<strong>as</strong>hed a flying lap of 1 minute,22.616 seconds. Vettel’s one-lap timeended up being the fourth f<strong>as</strong>test ofthe day.“We had a mixed day today withsome laps lost this morning. However,we were able to work through a goodprogram this afternoon and, of course,it’s always nice to be quickest at the endof the day,” said Rosberg, who is teamingup with newcomer Lewis Hamiltonthis se<strong>as</strong>on.Rosberg had to cut short his morningcarrun after 14 laps because of a problemwith his car’s gearbox. He w<strong>as</strong> able tocontinue after lunch and get in 54 lapson the day.“The car, compared to l<strong>as</strong>t year, h<strong>as</strong>a much better b<strong>as</strong>e. It rides lower, theaerodynamics are better, the platform isbetter. It feels a lot stronger. It’s f<strong>as</strong>ter,”Rosberg said. “It’s a ple<strong>as</strong>ure to drive.”Drogba’s presenceboosts Galat<strong>as</strong>arayISTANBUL: Galat<strong>as</strong>aray will be fired up by the arrivalof Didier Drogba, l<strong>as</strong>t year’s Champions League hero,and Dutch playmaker Wesley Sneijder when they hoststruggling Schalke 04 tonight.Drogba, who took the winning penalty for Chelsea in l<strong>as</strong>tse<strong>as</strong>on’s final, scored with a header five minutes into his Galat<strong>as</strong>araydebut on Friday, whetting the appetite of the 2000 Uefa Cup championsahead of the l<strong>as</strong>t 16 first-leg match.The Istanbul club’s confidenceis running high after they wonthat game 2-1 against AkhisarBelediyespor, strengthening theirlead at the top of the first division,which they lead by six pointsahead of arch rivals Fenerbahce.“It gave us a morale boostahead of the Schalke game,” saidGalat<strong>as</strong>aray manager Fatih Terim.Speaking after Friday’s victory,Terim said the club’s newarrivals had integrated rapidly <strong>as</strong>Galat<strong>as</strong>aray attempt to become thefirst Turkish side to reach the l<strong>as</strong>teight since Fenerbahce five yearsago.“When he is fit, Drogba h<strong>as</strong> theability both to keep the ball forus up front and to lead the team.When you add Sneijder to that,we will perform much better. Bothhave integrated with the team veryquickly,” he said.Terim added that Drogba, 34,would need some time to get fullyfit given that his se<strong>as</strong>on with theChinese club Shanghai ShenhuaICE HOCKEYNHL games on Monday:Ottawa 2 <strong>New</strong> Jersey 1(Shootout)Philadelphia 7 NY Islanders 0Colorado 6 N<strong>as</strong>hville 5Montreal 3 Carolina 0Toronto 3 Florida 0Phoenix 4 Calgary 0Anaheim 3 Columbus 2TENNISUS <strong>National</strong> Indoor Tennis Championshipsin Memphis (seedings in parentheses):Men’s singles (1st round:): Marin Cilic (1),Croatia, def. Ivan Dodig, Croatia, 4-6, 6-2,6-3; Rhyne Williams, United States, def. SteveJohnson, United States, 7-6 (4), 6-4; Luk<strong>as</strong>zKubot, Poland, def. Ryan Harrison, UnitedStates, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (2).CHAMPIONS LEAGUETODAY’S LAST 16FIRST-LEG CLASHES(Starting 10.45pm Bahrain time)AC Milan vs BarcelonaGalat<strong>as</strong>aray vs Schalkeended in November, despite havinghelped Ivory Co<strong>as</strong>t reachthe quarter-finals of the AfricanNations Cup.Drogba scored the equalisinggoal for Chelsea <strong>as</strong> they drew 1-1with Bayern in l<strong>as</strong>t year’s finalbefore netting the decisive penalty.He moved to Shanghai Shenhuaafter that but cut short his stayin China amid reports of unpaidwages.His deal with Galat<strong>as</strong>arayincludes transfer fees totallingsix-million euros ($8-million)and payments of 15,000 euros permatch, plus signing fees of fourmillioneuros.Women’s singles (1st round): KirstenFlipkens (1), Belgium, def. Shahar Peer,Israel, 6-2, 6-2; Sofia Arvidsson (2),Sweden, def. Jana Cepelova, Slovakia, 6-4,6-4; Kristina Mladenovic (8), France, def.Courtney Collins, United States, 6-3, 6-1;Lesia Tsurenko, Ukraine, def. Maria Sanchez,United States, 6-2, 6-4; Jamie Hampton,United States, def. Garbine Muguruza, Spain,6-3, 6-3; Victoria Duval, United States, def.Johanna Larsson, Sweden, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3;Marina Erakovic, <strong>New</strong> Zealand, def. AnnikaBeck, Germany, 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4; StefanieVoegele, Switzerland, def. Silvia Soler-Espinosa, Spain, 7-6 (5), 6-0.Copa Telmex at Buenos Aires Lawn TennisClub:Men’s singles (1st round): Nicol<strong>as</strong> Almagro(2), Spain, def. Guido Pella, Argentina, 6-3,6-2; Diego Schwartzman, Argentina, def.n Galat<strong>as</strong>aray’s Drogba, centre, waves to supporters <strong>as</strong> he arrives in Istanbul on February 8Drogba’s new team mateSneijder signed a three-and-halfyearcontract with Galat<strong>as</strong>aray l<strong>as</strong>tmonth after leaving Inter Milan.InspiredThe 28-year-old inspired Interto a Champions League, Serie Aand Italian Cup treble in 2010before helping the Netherlands finishWorld Cup runners-up.He struggled to maintain thatsuccess and w<strong>as</strong> caught up in acontract dispute at Inter this se<strong>as</strong>onafter failing to renegotiate his deal.Sneijder and Galat<strong>as</strong>aray strikerBurak Yilmaz are expected tosupport Drogba in attack tonight.Thomaz Bellucci (4), Brazil, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1;Aljaz Bedene, Slovenia, def. Horacio Zeballos(5), Argentina, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3; Albert Ramos(8), Spain, def. Flavio Cipolla, Italy, 6-1, 6-0;Federico Delbonis, Argentina, def. JoaoSousa, Portugal, 6-1, 6-4.Dubai Tennis Championships at DubaiTennis Stadium (seedings in parentheses):Women’s SinglesFirst Round: Sara Errani (5), Italy, def. JuliaGoerges, Germany, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4; PetraKvitova (6), Czech Republic, def. DanielaHantuchova, Slovakia, 6-2, 6-1; SamanthaStosur (7), Australia, def. Ekaterina Makarova,Russia, 6-3, 6-1; Caroline Wozniacki (8),Denmark, def. Lucie Safarova, CzechRepublic, 6-2, 6-2; Zheng Jie, China, def.Urszula Radwanska, Poland, 6-2, 2-6,7-5; Roberta Vinci, Italy, def. SvetlanaKuznetsova, Russia, 6-3, 6-2; Nadia Petrova,Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melois also expected to return to theteam after a four-game suspension.Schalke have been boostedby striker Kla<strong>as</strong>-Jan Huntelaar’srecovery from an eye injury.“I feel 100 percent again andam ready to play,” said the Dutchforward.Russia, def. Dominika Cibulkova, Slovakia,5-7, 6-3, 6-2.Women’s Doubles: Cara Black, Zimbabwe,and An<strong>as</strong>t<strong>as</strong>ia Rodionova, Australia, def. RaquelKops-Jones, United States, and Abigail Spears(3), United States, 6-2, 6-4; Nuria LlagosteraVives, Spain, and Zheng Jie (4), China, def.Daniela Hantuchova, Slovakia, and AnabelMedina Garrigues, Spain, 6-0, 6-3; Darija Jurak,Croatia, and Katalin Marosi, Hungary, def. VeraDushevina, Russia, and Klara Zakopalova,Czech Republic, 4-6, 6-4, 10-7.WTA tournament in Bogota (x denotesseeding):1st rd: Tereza Mrdeza (CRO) bt PaulineParmentier (FRA x7) 7-6 (7/5), 6-4; LourdesDom’nguez (ESP x3) bt Catalina C<strong>as</strong>tano(COL) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1; Timea Babos (HUN x8)bt Beatriz Garcia Vidagany (ESP) 6-4, 1-6,7-6 (7/4).n Goal-line systemset for World CupZURICH: Goal-line technology willbe used at the 2014 World Cupand two more systems could beconsidered in addition to the existingpair, soccer’s world governing bodyFifa said yesterday.Two systems, Hawkeye andGoalref, have so far been licensedby Fifa and both were used at l<strong>as</strong>tyear’s World Club Cup in Japan,one in each of the two stadiums,where goal-line technology w<strong>as</strong>employed for the first time.Fifa said a third system, developedin Germany, had alreadyp<strong>as</strong>sed examinations and thatthe providers were in licensingdiscussions. A fourth system, alsoGerman, h<strong>as</strong> also been tested withthe results due this week.n Cup hero, 75, diesPRAGUE: FormerCzechoslovakia star ZdenekZikan, who memorably scoredfour goals at the 1958 WorldCup, h<strong>as</strong> died at the age of 75.Zikan who only won fourinternational caps for hiscountry, scored five goalsincluding four at the 1958 WorldCup, two of which were during a6-1 thr<strong>as</strong>hing of Argentina.Only Oldrich Mejedly who w<strong>as</strong>top scorer at the 1934 WorldCup with five goals and Tom<strong>as</strong>Skuhravy who also scored fivegoals at the 1990 tournament,have bettered Zikan’s marksfor their country at the globalshowpiece.n Kleinveldt gets Test callJOHANNESBURG: RoryKleinveldt will replace fellow f<strong>as</strong>tbowler Morne Morkel in the SouthAfrican team for the third andfinal Test against Pakistan startingat Centurion on Friday.South Africa, who won both thefirst two Tests, will go into thefinal match knowing they areguaranteed a $450,000 bonus forbeing on top of the InternationalCricket Council rankings at theApril 1 cut-off date.Squad: Graeme Smith (capt), AlviroPetersen, H<strong>as</strong>him Amla, JacquesKallis, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis,Dean Elgar, Robin Peterson, VernonPhilander, Dale Steyn, Rory Kleinveldt,Jacques Rudolph, Kyle Abbott.n Jayawardene ruled outCOLOMBO: Former Sri Lankacaptain Mahela Jayawardeneh<strong>as</strong> been ruled out of nextmonth’s two-Test home seriesagainst Bangladesh afterdislocating the middle fingerof his left hand in a domesticmatch on Sunday.Jayawardene picked up theinjury while fielding in the slipsduring the Singhalese SportsClub’s Premier League matchagainst Nondescript’s CricketClub. “Initial scans showed thatit w<strong>as</strong> only a dislocation,” SriLanka team manager Michaelde Zoysa said.n Milkha faces police probeNEW DELHI: Former Indianathlete Milkha Singh is underinvestigation by police for hisalleged involvement in a brawl ona golf course in the northern cityof ChandigarhMilkha, whose son Jeev MilkhaSingh is a professional golfer, w<strong>as</strong>among two groups of players whocl<strong>as</strong>hed violently at the ChandigarhGolf Club on Saturday.The brawl “left the 16th tee bloodsplatteredand three senior clubmembers wounded”.The incident happened after anargument over which group wouldtee-off first.
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