Nadal wins record seventh Barcelona Open

Barcelona: Rafael Nadal became the first player in the Open Era to win two tournaments seven times after beating David Ferrer 7-6 (1), 7-5 in Sunday's Barcelona Open final.

The second-ranked Nadal's 21st straight victory on clay followed up his eighth straight win in Monte Carlo, as Nadal won the 10th all-Spanish ATP final for a 48th career win.

The sixth-ranked Ferrer lost his fourth Barcelona Open final to Nadal, who saved 12 of 15 break points for a 34th straight victory at Barcelona.

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Nadal skipped toward the net in celebration after hitting a backhand winner on match point. The six-time French Open champion displayed his normal resilience and steady play to overcome Ferrer in a match marked by grinding rallies and spectacular shot-making more reminiscent of a Major final.

"This is the hardest match I had on clay court this season, David always takes you to the limit," Nadal said. "A bit of it was lottery, luck fell on my side today."

Sushil finally qualifies for London Olympics

New Delhi: Former world champion and Beijing Olympics bronze medalist wrestler, Sushil Kumar finally managed to seal his London Olympics berth after winning the 66kg freestyle title at the World Qualifying Tournament in Taiyuan, China on Friday.

Sushil defeated Georgia's Otar Tushishvilli 3-0 in the final to qualify for the London Games in a thumping fashion. Sushil had already booked his ticket to London before the title clash when he defeated Andriy Kvyatkovskyy of Ukraine 3-1 in the semi-final.

The grappler from Haryana, got a bye in his opening bout before making short work of Radley Umang of Palau in the second round. Sushil then went on to beat Australia's Jayden Alexander Lawrence in the next round to set a semi-final clash against Kvyatkovskyy.

Sushil had qualified for the London Olympics in his third attempt. Sushil wasted his first chance after failing to defend his world championship title and then lost in the second round of the Asian Olympic Qualifiers held in Astana, Kazakhstan on March 30 to April 1 to make it two failures in a row before finally striking form.

It was, however, curtains for other Indian wrestlers in the freestyle category. Mausam Khatri (96kg) had a chance to book a ticket to the London Games through repechage round, but the Indian let the opportunity slip away as he lost to Poland's Radoslaw Baran.

Nadal, Murray reach Barcelona quarter-finals

Barcelona: Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray cruised into the Barcelona Open quarter-finals with straight-set victories on Thursday.

Nadal broke Robert Farah of Colombia in the first game on his way to a 6-2, 6-3 victory for his 31st straight win at the tournament. The six-time champion set up a last-eight match with fifth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic after the Serbian beat Frederico Gil 6-2, 6-2.

"It may sound stupid but against players like him you have to go for victory, if you look for a fight you've already lost," Tipsarevic said. "Rafa is playing like he always does on clay, the best, but I'll go out there looking to win and see what happens."

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Nadal beat Tipsarevic 6-1, 6-0, 6-2 in their last meeting, in the Davis Cup three years ago.

Murray made quick work of another Colombian in a 6-1, 6-2 win over Santiago Giraldo, the fourth-ranked Briton serving up nine aces.

Murray will play Milos Raonic next after the Canadian eased past Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-3.

Also, third-seeded David Ferrer broke Albert Montanes five times to brush aside the fellow Spaniard 6-0, 6-2, while 2010 winner Fernando Verdasco defeated Kevin Anderson of South Africa 6-4, 6-4.

Japan's Kei Nishikori beat Spain's Albert Ramos 7-6 (2), 6-3 and Feliciano Lopez also reached the last-eight with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Jarkko Nieminen.

Sania Mirza gives up on singles till Olympics

Sania feels her doubles performance has improved after giving up singles. (AP Photo)

KARACHI: The injury-prone Sania Mirza has given up playing singles in the lead up to theLondon Olympics following her third surgery in the last five years, adding that it was "impossible to pursue a singles and doubles career together" and preferred focusing on one.

"Tennis, and the surgeries, take a lot out of you. I realized at the start of the year that keeping my physical state in mind, it was impossible for me to pursue a singles and doubles career," Sania told Pakistan newspaper Express Tribune.

She feels her doubles performance has improved after giving up singles. "Ever since I've given up on my singles career, my performance in doubles matches has been really good. I even reached a career-best seventh in the world. That's why I've decided to concentrate solely on doubles."

Sania, meanwhile, has turned down an offer to partner Pakistan's Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi on the international circuit despite the Pakistani expressing interest to play alongside the Indian tennis star several times in the past. She is currently partnering Mahesh Bhupathi, who is ranked 15th in doubles, a place behind Aisam in the mixed-doubles competitions on the international circuit.

Aisam is now playing limited mixed-doubles events, partnering Czech Republic's Andrea Hlavackova on the court.

"I'm playing quite well with Bhupathi in Grand Slams, so I don't think I need to change anything right now," Sania, who is ranked eighth in doubles, said. "Playing with Aisam right now is not possible," she added.

Sania also ruled out playing in Pakistan in the near future despite an invitation from thePakistan Tennis Federation.

Sania Mirza turns down offer from Aisam

Karachi: Sania Mirza has turned down an offer to partner Pakistan's Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi in the international circuit despite the Pakistani expressing interest to play alongside the Indian tennis star several times in the past. Sania is currently partnering India's Mahesh Bhupathi, who is ranked 15th in the doubles, a place behind Aisam in the mixed doubles competitions on the international circuit. While Aisam is now playing limited mixed doubles events, partnering Czech Republic's Andrea Hlavackova on the court.

"I'm playing quite well with Bhupathi in grand slams so I don't think I need to change anything right now," Sania, who is ranked eighth in doubles, told the Express Tribune.Playing with Aisam right now is not possible," she added.

Sania, who is married to former Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik, also ruled out playing in Pakistan in the near future despite an invitation from the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF). The PTF has been keen on getting Sania to play exhibition matches or give coaching in Pakistan ever since she got married to Malik.

The Indian, however, ruled that out too, citing complete absence of international tournaments in Pakistan. "I haven't asked for a huge pay cheque in order to feature in charity matches in Pakistan. But as far as competitive matches are concerned, there are, unfortunately, no international tournaments taking place in Pakistan for obvious reasons. So there's no chance I can play there," she said.

India's Soniya bags bronze in Asian Weightlifting

New Delhi: N Soniya Chanu bagged a bronze in women's 48 kg category to open India's medal account on the opening day of the Senior Asian Weightlifting Championships at Pyeongtaek, South Korea, on Tuesday.

Soniya, who won a silver in the Delhi Commonwealth Games, finished third in snatch with an effort of 75 kg in the first competition of the championship, which is a London Olympic Qualification event. She was fifth in clean and jerk with an effort of 100 kg and finished fifth overall with a total lift of 175 kg.

Three medals are awarded in each of the snatch, clean and jerk and total lift in each weight category.

Another Indian in the fray in 48 kg category, K Sanjita Chanu, finished 10th in snatch (71 kg), 11th in clean and jerk (91 kg) and 11th in total lift (162 kg).

India are being represented by 15 weightlifters, including seven women.

Nadal beats Djokovic to win Monte Carlo title

Monaco: Rafael Nadal finally managed to beat Novak Djokovic in a final, thrashing the top-ranked Serb 6-3, 6-1 on Sunday to win the clay-court Monte Carlo Masters for the eighth consecutive year and end a run of seven straight defeats to his rival in title matches.

Nadal was hardly troubled by Djokovic this time and broke the Serb's serve five times in a one-sided matchup. He thrust his hands in the air after clinching victory in style with an ace that flew past the beleaguered Djokovic, who beat Nadal in an epic Australian Open final this year.

"Congratulations, you deserved to win for how you played this week," Djokovic told Nadal on court after the match.

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Nadal had promised to be aggressive and, after Djokovic held in his first service game at love, the Spaniard was relentless in running the Serb all over the court. It was his first title since last year's French Open. He has won 42 straight matches in Monte Carlo.

Djokovic, who has been playing through grief since the death of his grandfather Thursday, struggled to find a rhythm, making 25 unforced errors to just 11 winners. Nadal, meanwhile, timed most of his shots to perfection and pushed Djokovic further and further back.

Table tennis: Sharath misses out on Olympics berth

New Delhi: Achanta Sharath Kamal failed to seal the fifth Olympic qualifying spot at the Asian Qualification Table Tennis tournament in Hong Kong on Saturday but he still has a chance for a London Games berth.

Sharath Kamal lost 2-4 (12-10, 9-11, 9-11, 11-6, 8-11, 8-11) to Kim Song Nam of North Korea at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium. By losing the match to the North Korean, whom he had beaten earlier in group stages, the Indian made his job for qualifying much tougher as he will have to play two more matches and win them to fancy any chance of joining the Indian contingent to London.

Of the seven berths available at the qualifiers, six have already been grabbed and the lone seventh spot remains on offer. Sharath will have to bring in all his experience, first to beat the Chinese Taipei’s Wu Chi-Chi and then defeat the winner of the match between Jang Song Man of North Korea and Indian Soumyajit Ghosh.

If he does that, he will be the first Indian to make the Olympics grade for the third successive time. He had previously represented at both the Athens and the Beijing Games. Sharath, who was playing the fourth match of the day, had a mixed luck on Saturday. Before taking on Kim Song Nam, he played a tough match against world number one Ma Long and lost to the top Chinese in straight games of 9-11, 2-11, 4-11, 6-11.

Earlier, he had played a gruelling 95-minute match to beat a top-rung North Korean Jang Song Man 4-3 (11-8, 13-11, 9-11, 7-11, 12-10, 5-11, 11-7).

Tearful Radcliffe sees hopes of Olympic medal fade in Vienna

Paula Radcliffe's finishing time of 1hr 12min 3sec is the slowest of her career over half-marathon distance. Photograph: Ronald Zak/AP

Paula Radcliffe has had tougher runs, but not many that were so slow. Her finishing time in the Vienna half-marathon was 1hr 12min 3sec, the worst of her career over that distance. Radcliffe, 38, had never taken more than 70 minutes to run a half-marathon until this one. Her dream of winning an Olympic medal seems as distant from becoming a reality as it ever has.

Radcliffe has been suffering with bronchitis for the past two weeks, and came off antibiotics only the day before the race. Some will wonder why she ran here at all given that she was so ill she could only do a third of her training mileage in the buildup, but she wanted to fulfil her obligation to the race organisers.

After Radcliffe crossed the line she collapsed into a crouch, exhausted. When she stood up the first thing she did was apologise to the race director, Wolfgang Konrad, for producing such a disappointing performance. He insisted he was just happy to have her here at all. As Radcliffe and Konrad spoke she was still struggling for breath, and he later confirmed that underneath her sunglasses she was shedding a tear or two. He gave her a consoling hug, and Haile Gebrselassie patted her on the shoulder.

Poor start by Olympic hopefuls in archery

Kolkata: It was a none-too-impressive beginning to the Olympic calendar year for Indian archers as they finished with a solitary silver medal in the World Cup Stage I, which concluded in Shanghai on Sunday.

The women's compound team lost to Italy in the bronze play-off to end their campaign with only one medal - the silver that was earned by the women's recurve trio of Deepika Kumari, Laishram Bombayla Devi and Chekorvulo Swuro.

India had a poor ninth-place finish in the 12-team medal standings that was topped by the USA with five gold, one silver and one bronze, while Korea (2-0-1) and France (1-2-1) finished second and third respectively.

The London Olympics-bound trio of Deepika, Bombayla and Swuro had lost to their Korean counterparts on Saturday in the team final to settle for a silver, India's only medal from the season-opener.

India had a ray of hope on Sunday in the compound women's bronze play-off but Gagandeep Kaur, Parveena and Jyothi Surekha were thrashed by the Italian trio of Anastasia Anastasio, Laura Longo and Marcella Tonioli.

Man behind young Indian boxers' success ignored

New Delhi: The Olympic-bound trio of young Indian boxers spent their formative years under his guidance, but national youth coach G Manoharan remains an unsung hero and has been consistently ignored for the Dronacharya award despite being recommended five times by the boxing federation.

Olympic-bound L Devendro Singh (49kg), Shiva Thapa (56kg), Sumit Sangwan (81kg) and even the 20-year-old Vikas Krishan (69kg) honed their skills at the youth level with Manoharan at the Army Sports Institute in Pune.

Adding this year's recommendation, Manoharan's name has been nominated five times by the Indian Boxing Federation (IBF) but despite his proven credentials, the 55-year-old Sports Authority of India coach has been ignored for the honour.

"All these boys have submitted affidavits that Manoharan is the one who groomed them in their formative years to support his case. He has been a good coach," an IBF official said.

"This is the fifth time that the IBF is recommending him because he has produced consistent results since taking over in 2006," he added.

Verdasco, Melzer win at Monte Carlo Masters

Monaco: Seeded players Fernando Verdasco of Spain and Jurgen Melzer of Austria both advanced to the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters on Monday.

The 13th-seeded Verdasco, a finalist here in 2010, dropped serve twice in the first set, but then did not face another break point as he rallied to beat Belgium's Olivier Rochus 4-6, 6-2, 7-5. He next plays Croatia's Ivan Dodig.

The 15th-seeded Melzer had an easier match, breaking Polish player Lukasz Kubot's serve five times en route to a 6-2, 7-5 win. He will face Marcel Granollers of Spain or Frenchman Julien Benneteau.

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Paul-Henri Mathieu of France took a little over one hour to thrash Donald Young 6-0, 6-1. Mathieu did save four break points of his own, but he broke Young's serve six times and clinched victory when the American sent a heavy forehand long.

"I was happy the way I was moving, and I was keeping the ball in the court," said Mathieu, who is finding his way back after a long-term knee injury. "I don't have the knees of a 20-year-old anymore. But I'm able to play 100 percent without any problems. Things are improving."

Mathieu will next play No. 12 Kei Nishikori of Japan or Spaniard Albert Ramos, runner-up on Sunday at the Grand Prix Hassan II tournament.

In other first-round play, there were straight-sets wins for Australia's Bernard Tomic, Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, and Finland's Jarkko Nieminen.

Sania down to 182 in singles rankings

New Delhi: Sania Mirza continued to slide down the rankings ladder as the Indian is now placed at number 182, after a loss of 41 places, in the latest WTA list issued on Monday.

Sania slipped in the rankings after she missed out on making the singles main draw of the Miami WTA Premier event, losing in straight sets to American 10th seed Sloane Stephens.

The Hyderabadi girl has also lost two places in the doubles rankings to be in the ninth position, after she and her Russian partner Elena Vesnina suffered a shock first-round defeat at Miami.

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Meanwhile, the out-of-action Somdev Devvarman has lost 12 more places to be down at 197 in the latest ATP singles rankings list.

In the doubles rankings, both Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna continued to be at number seven and eight positions, respectively. Mahesh Bhupathi has also managed to maintain his No. 15 spot in the doubles ranking.

Asian Olympic Qualifiers: Shiva stuns Petchkoom to make boxing semis

New Delhi: Teen Indian boxer Shiva Thapa Monday stunned former Olympic silver-medallist Worapoj Petchkoom 16-10 to enter the semi-finals of the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Astana (Kazakhstan) and is now just one win away from booking a berth for the London Games.

The 18-year-old Youth Olympics silver-medallist notched up a comprehensive triumph over his 30-year-old Thai rival, who also happens to be an Asian bronze-medallist from the 2006 edition.

"In my first bout, my body felt a bit tight but it all turned out well in this bout. Now even my body feels good," the boxer from Assam told PTI from Astana, where he is competing in just his second senior international event.

Shiva had created quite a flutter by defeating a world champion in the finals in his debut senior international tournament, in Belgrade, where he went on to clinch a gold medal.

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India win reverse singles, lose Davis Cup tie 2-3

Namangan, Uzbekistan: India salvaged some pride by winning the two inconsequential reverse singles to reduce their margin of defeat against Uzbekistan to 2-3 in the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I second-round tie on Sunday.

Young Yuki Bhambri stunned Uzbek number one Denis Istomin in the first reverse singles of the day before Rohan Bopanna gave India their second win by beating Sarvar Ikramov.

20-year-old Bhambri and Bopanna showed a lot of character to win their singles encounters, even though India had already lost the tie on Saturday.

World number 295 Yuki inflicted on world number 43 Istomin his first defeat at home in six years, albeit in a dead rubber, with a 6-7(1), 7-6(3), 7-6(3) upset win in a hard-fought battle at the Sport Complex Pahlavon.

In the second match, Bopanna, a replacement for Sanam Singh, who was hospitalised for chicken pox after losing to Istomin on the first day, made amends for his doubles loss to defeat Ikramov 6-2, 6-7, 6-1.

Vijender qualifies for London Olympics

New Delhi: Vijender Singh (75kg) became the first Indian boxer to qualify for the Olympic Games for a third successive time after reaching the semi-finals of the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Astana, Kazakhstan on Sunday.

The first Indian to win an Olympic and World Championships medal - bronze in both events - Vijender outpunched Chuluuntumur Tumurkhuyag of Mongolia 27-17 to not just assure himself of an Olympic berth but also a medal at the ongoing tournament.

"I am back," were Vijender's first words while speaking to PTI from Astana after winning the crucial bout.

The 26-year-old had failed in his first attempt to book a ticket for London in last year's World Championships.

"I have answered all my critics, who said that I was finished (after losing in the first round of World Championships)," said the former world number one, who was gasping for breath after a draining encounter.

Before the 2008 Beijing Games, Vijender had won gold at the Asian Qualifiers at that time, which incidentally were also held in Kazakhstan.

Stosur prevents all-Williams semi-final in Charleston

Charleston: Reigning US Open champion Samantha Stosur put the latest match-up in the Williams sisters' sibling rivalry on hold by rallying past Venus Williams at the Family Circle Cup. The second-seeded Stosur won five of the last six games for a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory in the quarter-finals on a chilly, windy Friday at the season's first clay-court event. Stosur now has a chance at knocking out both Williams sisters on consecutive days when she meets Serena in Saturday's semi-finals.

While Stosur had never beaten Venus Williams before, she's had success against Serena. Stosur beat her to win the US Open title last September and won their only match on clay in the 2010 French Open quarters.

"For sure, clay's not my favorite surface," said Stosur, the 2010 Family Circle champion. "It's always tough playing Serena no matter where."

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Serena Williams advanced when Sabine Lisicki twisted her left ankle early in the opening set and had to withdraw after five games.

The buzz for a Williams' sisters showdown had grown all week as the two Americans moved through the draw. Both came into Friday without losing a set and appeared ready to settle some family business at the Family Circle Tennis Center.

David Cup relegation for India after doubles loss

Namangan, Uzbekistan: India were relegated to Asia Oceania Group II in Davis Cup after the seasoned doubles pair of Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna lost the doubles rubber, giving Uzbekistan an unassailable 3-0 lead in the Group I tie, here Saturday.

The Indians fought hard before going down 6(4)-7 4-6 6-3 3-6 to Denis Istomin and Farrukh Dustov in a must-win encounter at the Sport Complex Pahlavon.

The Indian team was banking heavily on Paes and Bopanna to pull one back in order to keep Sunday's reverse singles matches alive, after rookies Sanam Singh and Yuki Bhambri lost their respective singles matches Friday.

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But Istomin and Dustiv caused a major upset when they handed defeat to Paes and Bopanna, both of whom are ranked in the doubles top-10.

While the first set was stretched to the tie-breaker with none of the teams ready to bow down to each other, the Uzbeks did well to snatch the second.

The Indians though bounced back in the third set to keep their chances alive. However, they completely ran out of steam in the fourth to surrender meekly.

On Friday youngsters - Sanam Singh and Yuki Bhambri - lost their singles matches in straight sets against Istomin and Dustov, respectively in what turned out to be lop-sided contests.

Suranjoy, Sumit win Asian Olympic qualifying openers

Astana, Kazakhstan: Commonwealth Games gold medalist Suranjoy Singh (52 kg) and promising teenager Sumit Sangwan (81 kg) won their opening-round bouts in the Asian Olympic Qualifying boxing event on Thursday.

Both the Indian boxers registered contrasting victories over their opponents to advance to the next stage of the second Olympic qualifying tournament. While Suranjoy doused Dong-Myung Shin of South Korea in a hard-fought contest, Sumit pulverised Van Toan Luong of Vietnam in a completely lopsided affair.

Suranjoy now moves to the round-of-16 in the tournament and will have to at least make it to the semi-finals in order to make it to the London Games.

The 2010 Asian Games bronze medalist started strongly against Shin, taking a two-point lead after the opening three minutes of play. With some great combinations and power punches, he piled on the points in the second round as well and was leading with a five-point difference (13:8). In the final round, the South Korean boxer came back strongly and Suranjoy had to go on the defensive. But the former Asian champion managed to squeeze in a few nifty blows and keep Shin at bay. In the end, he went on to win the bout with a score of 16:14 on points. The 26-year-old Indian next faces 2009 World Championship silver medalist Tugstsogt Nayambayar of Mongolia.