The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Haas lead cut to one after strong Schwartzel finish Posted: 01 Jun 2013 08:30 AM PDT  Charl Schwartzel of South Africa watches his tee shot on the first hole during the second round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin. — Reuters picDUBLIN, June 1 — Former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel birdied his last two holes to trim Bill Haas' overnight lead to one shot when the weather-delayed second round of the Memorial Tournament was completed on Saturday. South African Schwartzel, the first-round pacesetter after opening with a sizzling seven-under-par 65, rolled in a 12-footer at the 17th and a four-footer at the 18th to card a 71 on a challenging layout made more receptive by overnight rain. That left him at eight-under 136, a stroke behind American Haas who had fired a 67 in tough, windy conditions at Muirfield Village Golf Club on Friday to take control of the PGA Tour event hosted by Jack Nicklaus. Five-times champion and last year's winner Tiger Woods was 10 strokes off the pace, having battled to a 74 the previous day, while Northern Irish world number two Rory McIlroy made the cut right on the number, after returning a 69. Schwartzel, one of 42 players who had to finish the second round on Saturday morning after almost two hours of weather delays on Friday, was delighted with his unexpectedly strong finish. "I thought if I could somehow get one back and get my round back to even, I'd be very happy," the 2011 Masters champion told reporters about his hopes with three holes to play. "I managed to make two, coming up 17 and 18. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. Yesterday we had some tough conditions, everyone did." Messy finish McIlroy, who had four holes to complete on an overcast Saturday morning at Muirfield Village, scraped into the third round despite a messy bogey-bogey-par finish. The 24-year-old found a fairway bunker off the tee at the par-four 18th and had to sink a four-footer for par and a three-under 69 to join 72 other players who made the cut at three-over 147. "Relieved and frustrated at the same time, I guess," said McIlroy, who had left himself with an uphill task to make the cut after opening with a 78. "Bogeying 16 and 17 wasn't really the plan, and having to make one up and down at the last. "Happy to be in on the weekend with a couple of rounds to work on things, but I need to commit more to my shots and not guide the ball as much, just let it go." Kyle Stanley was alone in third at seven under after shooting a 70, with fellow Americans Matt Kuchar (70) and Bubba Watson (67) a further stroke back. Among those failing to make the cut were US Open champion Webb Simpson, world number five Brandt Snedeker, three-times major winner Vijay Singh and 14-year-old Chinese Guan Tianlang. With heavy thunderstorms forecast for Saturday afternoon and evening, the players were set to start the third round in groups of three with a two-tee start. Organisers have made provision for a possible Monday finish. — Reuters |
| Sharapova and Azarenka forced to dig deep in Paris Posted: 01 Jun 2013 08:18 AM PDT  Sharapova of Russia serves to Zheng of China during their women's singles match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris. — Reuters picPARIS, June 1 — Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka both bludgeoned their way through to the last 16 of the French Open on Saturday as the sun finally returned to Roland Garros and the noise levels went up. Defending champion Sharapova was given a scare by China's Zheng Jie, recovering from a 4-1 deficit in the second set to win 6-1 7-5, while third seed Azarenka was pushed even harder before winning a three-setter against Frenchwoman Alize Cornet. Azarenka's 4-6 6-3 6-1 victory put her on collision course with former champion Francesca Schiavone who ended the hopes of another home favourite with a 6-2 6-1 beating of Marion Bartoli. With women's favourite Serena Williams enjoying a day off after motoring through to the last 16 on Friday, two American women took their chance to grab some of her limelight. Sloane Stephens, 20, emulated her run to last year's fourth round with a three-set victory over New Zealand's Marina Erakovic while unseeded Bethanie Mattek-Sands also survived a three-setter against Argentine Paula Ormaechea. The focus shifted to the men's draw later when Rafael Nadal was up against Italian Fabio Fognini, hoping to rediscover top form after a difficult first week of patchy form and rain, while top seed Novak Djokovic was taking on Grigor Dimitrov. Despite the pleasant conditions, the day began in stormy fashion on Suzanne Lenglen court where 13th seed Kei Nishikori became the first Japanese man for 75 years to reach the fourth round at the claycourt slam. His four-set victory over Benoit Paire, one of seven Frenchmen to reach the third round, saw his opponent given a penalty point for receiving coaching, prompting loud boos and jeers from the crowd packed on to court. Paire had been on set point at the time and after arguing with the umpire and a tournament rules official he calmed down enough to take the set before losing 6-3 6-7(3) 6-4 6-1. "I'm sure that if it was a top-five (player), they would never have done that, never taken the decision to say 'warning', 'penalty point' at that moment," the 24-year-old Paire told reporters. "They would never do it because they know full well that you just can't do that sort of thing." While Sharapova always looked capable of turning around her second-set deficit against Zheng, Azarenka looked in more trouble as she was knocked off her stride by Cornet. Belarussian Azarenka, the Australian Open champion, eventually found her range to keep her challenge for a first French Open title on course. "She's a machine, a juggernaut," Cornet told reporters. "She plays the same from the first to the last point." — Reuters |
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