The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Warrior Adebayor ready to face Arsenal in FA Cup Posted: 03 Jan 2014 07:55 AM PST That was not the only good news for Spurs on the injury front as Jermain Defoe, Andros Townsend and Lewis Holtby were all back in training on Friday after being sidelined with various ailments. "How important will Adebayor be tomorrow? It's huge," said Tottenham's new manager Tim Sherwood, who has revitalised the side since taking over from the sacked Andre Villas-Boas last month. "If Arsene Wenger saw him limping off at Old Trafford, I'm sure there were a lot of pleased Arsenal fans, management and players. "Unfortunately, he's going to be walking out against them tomorrow. It didn't look great when he came off on that stretcher, but he is a warrior. There is no holding him back at the moment." The fact Adebayor will play, having recovered from "various cramps", is a boost for Spurs after the 29-year-old Togolese scored four goals in the five matches he has played since his return. Last season at Arsenal he twice gave Spurs the lead and was then sent off, as the Gunners exploited his absence to end up 5-2 winners in a league match. Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger offered some grudging praise for the Gunners' fiercest rivals, who they meet in the Cup for the first time since beating them 2-1 in the semi-finals in 2001. "They won at Manchester United and they played well, but Man United have been a bit more vulnerable at home this season and they took full advantage of that, playing with good pace going forward," he said in his pre-match news conference. He added he had noticed a more attacking intent to Spurs' game since Sherwood took control. "They are more adventurous. With (Roberto) Soldado and Adebayor, they have found a balance. At the moment that suits the team well. They always looked dangerous at Man United and that's the pair we will have to keep quiet." With Adebayor set to play against his old club, Wenger is concerned about the threat from the striker he signed from Monaco in 2006, who didn't play under Villas Boas this season. "What is amazing is how fit he was when he came back, how quickly he adapted to top-level competition again," he said. "He's a player with special talent, I'm in a good position to know." Arsenal are coping with a long injury list with strikers Olivier Giroud and Nicklas Bendtner set to miss the game along with midfielder Aaron Ramsey (thigh) and defender Kieran Gibbs (calf), while playmaker Mezut Ozil is battling for match fitness. Form often counts for nothing in cup derbies, but both sides enter the match in good spirits with Arsenal top of the Premier League table and Spurs having taken 10 points from a possible 12 over the Christmas holiday period. Arsenal have lost only once at home to Spurs in any match since 1993 and will be looking to follow up their 1-0 league win in September, which came after successive 5-2 home league wins over Spurs. Both managers kept their cards close to their chests regarding players they might want to sign during the transfer window with Wenger saying he had not considered signing former Spurs striker Dimitar Berbatov from Fulham, despite widespread media speculation. - Reuters, January 3, 2014. |
| Serena extends winning streak over Sharapova to 14 matches Posted: 03 Jan 2014 06:37 AM PST In a match which involved poor serving and high-quality groundstrokes in equal measure, Williams maintained her hold over Sharapova to set up a final showdown with second seed Victoria Azarenka. Roger Federer who, like Williams, will be chasing an 18th grand slam title at the Australian Open later this month, breezed through to the men's semi-finals with a 6-1 6-1 thumping of Australian Marinko Matosevic. Williams and Sharapova played down their animosity before the match, but there was no eye contact during preliminaries and on a steamy night in Brisbane their body language remained distinctly frosty throughout. The result was a match with an intensity scarcely seen outside of a grand slam, something Williams feels is of benefit to her. "(I) feel like I'm being pushed into the deep end straightaway," she said. "It's a good thing. In Melbourne, if I have to face Maria again, I'll know a bit more what to expect. I didn't know what to expect today." Williams secured the first of the 10 service breaks in the match in the fourth game and though Sharapova broke straight back, she lost her serve twice more as the American ran out a comfortable first set winner. The Russian responded well to hold a 2-1 lead after three consecutive breaks of serve in the second set, before calling her coach Sven Groeneveld to courtside. His words illustrated the match held more importance than a normal grand slam warm-up. "You're letting her know you're in her face," he said, adding that she "must commit" to her serve. Sharapova did win the ensuing service game, but lost the next one to restore parity. In the tiebreak Williams' brutal groundstrokes gave her the advantage, but consecutive double faults kept her opponent in it and she needed three match points before sealing victory with an ace. Azarenka secured her place in the final with a see-saw victory over Serbia's Jelena Jankovic 1-6 6-3 6-4. Top seed Williams feels the match will be a good barometer of where they are ahead of the first grand slam. "It'll be a good match to see where we both stand as the two most consistent players of the last year and a half," Williams said. Federer, however, is unlikely to gauge much about where his game stands up against the likes of rivals Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray after enjoying another easy workout in Brisbane. He was 0-40 down on serve in the first game against Matosevic, but survived and did not face another break point as he eased to the most comfortable of victories. He will now meet eighth seed Jeremy Chardy in the semi-final after the Frenchman beat Australia's Sam Groth 7-5 6-4. There is local interest in the other semi-final as Lleyton Hewitt faces number two seed Kei Nishikori of Japan. Hewitt beat Romania's Marius Copi 6-4 6-2, while Nishikori topped Croatian Marin Cilic 6-4 5-7 6-2. - Reuters, January 3, 2014. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider : Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan