The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Cibulkova romps into quarters in Malaysia Posted: 17 Apr 2014 09:02 AM PDT Top seed Dominika Cibulkova stormed past Hsieh Su-Wei today at the BMW Malaysian Open for her WTA-leading 22nd match win of the year, passing Li Na and Agnieszka Radwanska. Cibulkova, who is the Slovakian world number 10, came out like a house on fire as she stormed through the first set despite another rain-delayed day. Just like in her first round match against Turkey's Pemra Ozgen, she had a slight hiccup, allowing Taiwan's tennis hero Hsieh to win two games in a row to make it 2-2. But the 25-year-old Cibulkova bounced right back, winning four games in a row to end it, 6-1 6-2 in just over 70 minutes. Cibulkova had been tied for WTA-level match win leader for the year with Li and Radwanska at 21, but is now the stand-alone leader. And with three more rounds potentially, she could go as high as 25 wins here. Awaiting Cibulkova, who is seeking her fifth career WTA Tour title, in the quarter-finals will be number six seed Zarina Diyas, who won her second round match on Wednesday. Meanwhile second seed Zhang Shuai of China overcame a second set blemish to reach the quarter-finals. Zhang Shuai, the world number 45, notched her second straight win over Hong Kong's Zhang Ling 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 to set-up a quarter-final match against Poland's Magda Linette on Friday. In the first set, Zhang Shuai, the reigning Asian Games women's singles champion, started impressively – breaking Zhang Ling's serve twice for the advantage. However the Hong Konger turned the tide in the second set, relying on her serve-and-volley style to level proceedings. Zhang Shuai, who won her first tour title in Guangzhou last year, tightened her game and broke Zhang Ling's serve three times for the third set win. It will be Zhang Shuai's second quarter-finals appearance this season having reached the semi-finals in Acapulco in February. "The humidity affected my game today," she said. Turkey's Cagla Buyukakcay achieved her first ever quarter-finals appearance following an impressive performance in the second round. The world number 150, who has won two International Tennis Federation titles this season, easily outpaced world number 134 Tadeja Majeric of Slovenia 6-4, 6-4 in only her sixth appearance in the main draw of a tour event. Kuala Lumpur often experiences heavy rain that has marred play on all four days so far. The tournament was also dealt an early setback when former world number one Venus Williams pulled out, reportedly due to a throat infection. – AFP, April 17, 2014. |
| Bale delivers his magical moment for Real Madrid Posted: 17 Apr 2014 07:33 AM PDT With the clock running down and Madrid tied at 1-1 with eternal rivals Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final, Bale set off on a stunning individual run and finish to hand Madrid the trophy for the 19th time. The goal was the Welshman's 20th of the season, but until his crowning moment at the Mestalla there was a sense that he had failed to perform when it really mattered in the biggest games. Afterwards, a beaming Bale appeared before the world's media happy to admit that winning his first trophy as a Madrid player had been the highlight of his career to date. "It is a dream come true," he said. "It feels amazing. It is my first trophy and hopefully the first of many." However, the 24-year-old wasn't as amazed as most about the run and finish that tilted the game in Madrid's favour, having scored in similar fashion for Wales against Iceland back in March. Bale set off down the left wing and despite Marc Bartra pushing him well off the side of the pitch, he galloped through on goal to slot low past Jose Manuel Pinto. "I actually scored a similar goal for Wales not too long ago when I ran off the pitch. I was just trying to get round him and get on the ball. "I haven't seen it back, but I was just focused on trying to get to the ball and score." The pages of the Spanish sports pages today paid homage to Bale's strength and power as Madrid daily Marca recreated his 58 metre run at an average speed of 27 kilometres an hour on its front page. Inside he was christened "Gareth Bolt" thanks to a burst of pace reminiscent of Jamaican sprinter and six-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt. Madrid's other sports daily AS led with "Bale brings the bullet", whilst he was also roundly believed to have won his personal head-to-head with Barca's Brazilian star Neymar in the battle of last summer's big money buys. Bale's teammates were also in awe as he sped away to mark a memorable night for Los Blancos with World Cup winner Xabi Alonso claiming he had "never seen anything like it". And Real assistant boss Paul Clement hailed Bale's stamina to be able to make such a decisive burst at that stage for the match. "I think it just shows what an incredible athlete he is," said the Englishman. "He has great ability technically but that just shows what immense power and strength he has – so late in the game too. "To be 84 minutes in and to produce that kind of run was quite incredible. "He was a key player tonight and he has just shown what talent he has. He is a world class talent, no question about it." – AFP, April 17, 2014. |
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