| | |
| Tennis-Life tougher at the top, says Azarenka Friday, Jan 11, 2013 11:27 PM PST MELBOURNE, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Victoria Azarenka will carry her world number one ranking with pride in the defence of her Australian Open title, but knows she faces a grim task preventing Serena Williams seizing both. Williams, red-hot over the past six months, won the season-ending WTA Championships in Istanbul and promptly took a dig at the Belarusian, declaring herself the true number one. Azarenka lost all of her five matches against the intimidating American last year, including a hard-fought U.S. Open final. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tennis-Sharapova shakes rust by roughing up local boys Friday, Jan 11, 2013 11:11 PM PST MELBOURNE, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Short of tournament sharpness in the build-up to the Australian Open because of injury, Maria Sharapova has found a novel way of playing herself into form - roughing up the local boys. The Russian world number two has been getting into the groove by beating up on Australia's top young players, having pulled out of Brisbane with a neck injury last week. Sharapova has found some willing opponents in a couple of Australians, including Luke Saville, last year's junior champion at Melbourne Park. ... Full Story | Top |
| RPT-Tennis-Rested Federer aims to go deep in Melbourne Friday, Jan 11, 2013 10:52 PM PST (Adds dropped word in 15th para) MELBOURNE, Jan 12 (Reuters) - With a trophy cabinet straining at the hinges and a 53rd consecutive grand slam appearance looming, Roger Federer might be excused for feeling a little jaded ahead of his bid for a fifth Australian Open crown. Not a bit of it, the 31-year-old Swiss maestro said on Saturday, having passed his motivation test during punishing practice sessions in the off-season. ... Full Story | Top |
| Soccer-Morocco demand Taarabt apology over coach insults Friday, Jan 11, 2013 10:32 PM PST RABAT, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Morocco are demanding an apology from midfielder Adel Taarabt for insulting the national team coach, who left him out of the African Nations Cup. The Queens Park Rangers midfielder was accused of disrespecting Rachid Taoussi in an exchange of text messages and Moroccan media following his omission from the tournament in South Africa, which starts next week. "The Moroccan federation and its staff, the federal bureau seeks a written apology from the player," said a statement by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation. ... Full Story | Top |
| NBA-Thunder roll over short-handed Lakers Friday, Jan 11, 2013 10:28 PM PST LOS ANGELES, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder overpowered the injury-hit Los Angeles Lakers in a 116-101 victory on Friday, inflicting a rare sixth straight defeat on the home team. Durant scored a season-high 42 points and guard Russell Westbrook weighed in with 27 and 10 assists as the Thunder drew level with the Los Angeles Clippers at the top of the Western Conference. ... Full Story | Top |
| NBA standings Friday, Jan 11, 2013 10:16 PM PST Jan 12 (Infostrada Sports) - Standings from the NBA on Friday EASTERN CONFERENCEATLANTIC DIVISION W L PCT GB 1. NY Knicks 23 13 .639 - 2. Brooklyn 21 15 .583 2 3. Boston 19 17 .528 4 4. Philadelphia 15 22 .405 8 1/2 5. Toronto 14 22 .389 9 CENTRAL DIVISION W L PCT GB 1. Indiana 22 14 .611 - 2. Chicago 20 14 .588 1 3. Milwaukee 18 17 .514 3 1/2 4. Detroit 14 23 .378 8 1/2 5. Cleveland 9 29 .237 14 SOUTHEAST DIVISION W L PCT GB 1. Miami 23 11 .676 - 2. Atlanta 21 14 .600 2 1/2 3. Orlando 12 23 .343 11 1/2 4. Charlotte 9 26 .257 14 1/2 5. Washington 5 28 . ... Full Story | Top |
| UPDATE 8-NBA results Friday, Jan 11, 2013 10:08 PM PST Jan 12 (Infostrada Sports) - Results from the NBA games on Friday (home team in CAPS) TORONTO 99 Charlotte 78 BOSTON 103 Houston 91 BROOKLYN 99 Phoenix 79 ATLANTA 103 Utah 95 Chicago 108 NY KNICKS 101 MEMPHIS 101 San Antonio 98 (OT) NEW ORLEANS 104 Minnesota 92 Detroit 103 MILWAUKEE 87 DENVER 98 Cleveland 91 Oklahoma City 116 LA LAKERS 101 GOLDEN STATE 103 Portland 97 Full Story | Top |
| Reuters Sports Schedule at 0600 GMT on Saturday Jan 12 Friday, Jan 11, 2013 10:02 PM PST Reuters sports schedule at 0600 GMT on Saturday: - - - - TENNIS Australian Open (14-27) Holders Djokovic, Azarenka speak to media MELBOURNE - Defending champion Novak Djokovic, women'stitle-holder Victoria Azarenka and other top seeds talk toreporters ahead of the year's first grand slam. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hewitt beats del Potro to win Kooyong title Friday, Jan 11, 2013 09:50 PM PST  MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Lleyton Hewitt rolled back the years and gave local fans some excitement before the Australian Open next week by demolishing world number seven Juan Martin del Potro 6-1 6-4 to claim the Kooyong Classic title on Saturday. The 31-year-old Hewitt, who has been troubled with foot, toe, hip and hand injuries in recent years, also beat Canada's Milos Raonic and Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic at the eight-man invitational tournament. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cricket-Australia paceman Starc ruled out of second ODI Friday, Jan 11, 2013 09:44 PM PST Jan 12 (Reuters) - Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc has been ruled out of Sunday's second one-day international against Sri Lanka due to calf soreness, the country's cricket board said on Saturday. Starc was the latest addition to a long list of injured pacemen during the summer which has forced Cricket Australia (CA) to adopt a rotation policy to reduce players' workload. Pacemen James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus and all-rounder Shane Watson have all suffered injuries in the last year forcing them to miss matches for Australia. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tennis-Hewitt beats del Potro to win Kooyong title Friday, Jan 11, 2013 09:42 PM PST MELBOURNE, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Lleyton Hewitt rolled back the years and gave local fans some excitement before the Australian Open next week by demolishing world number seven Juan Martin del Potro 6-1 6-4 to claim the Kooyong Classic title on Saturday. The 31-year-old Hewitt, who has been troubled with foot, toe, hip and hand injuries in recent years, also beat Canada's Milos Raonic and Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic at the eight-man invitational tournament. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rested Federer aims to go deep in Melbourne Friday, Jan 11, 2013 09:39 PM PST  MELBOURNE (Reuters) - With a trophy cabinet straining at the hinges and a 53rd consecutive grand slam appearance looming, Roger Federer might be excused for feeling a little jaded ahead of his bid for a fifth Australian Open crown. Not a bit of it, the 31-year-old Swiss maestro said on Saturday, having passed his motivation test during punishing practice sessions in the off-season. Federer eschewed all warm-up tournaments for the year's first grand slam, dropping off the radar altogether in favor of a hermit-like training regime and time with his family. The break, coming off a disappointing ... Full Story | Top |
| Subdued Serena plans to keep it simple Friday, Jan 11, 2013 09:10 PM PST  MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Serena Williams has a simple plan as she enters the twilight of her career. One tournament at a time. Oh, and have some fun. The 31-year-old American, who is bidding for her sixth Australian Open title, enters the season-opening grand slam one of the raging hot favorites for the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Trophy arguably in the form of her life. Williams compiled a 31-1 run from Wimbledon until the season-ending WTA Championships in Istanbul, winning the grass court grand slam, the Olympic gold medal and the U.S. Open as well as the Championships titles. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tennis-Subdued Serena plans to keep it simple Friday, Jan 11, 2013 09:08 PM PST MELBOURNE, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Serena Williams has a simple plan as she enters the twilight of her career. One tournament at a time. Oh, and have some fun. The 31-year-old American, who is bidding for her sixth Australian Open title, enters the season-opening grand slam one of the raging hot favourites for the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Trophy arguably in the form of her life. Williams compiled a 31-1 run from Wimbledon until the season-ending WTA Championships in Istanbul, winning the grass court grand slam, the Olympic gold medal and the U.S. Open as well as the Championships titles. ... Full Story | Top |
| Vesnina wins first WTA title in Hobart Friday, Jan 11, 2013 09:04 PM PST (Reuters) - Russia's Elena Vesnina won her first WTA tour title when she beat 2012 champion Mona Barthel 6-3 6-4 in the final of the Hobart International tournament on Saturday. The unseeded 26-year-old played composed tennis throughout against the German, four years her junior, winning the match in just under 84 minutes. Vesnina had lost six previous finals, three in 2011 alone, and sank to her knees in relief when a Barthel backhand sailed wide of the tram lines to give her a first title. ... Full Story | Top |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment