Men's final postponed due to rain US Open

Men's final postponed due to rain US Open

Rafael Nadal will have to wait at least one more day for a chance to complete his collection of grand slam titles after persistent rain washed out Sunday's US Open men's final against Novak Djokovic.

For the third year in a row, the championship decider was postponed until Monday after foul weather ruined any chance of the match proceeding as scheduled. Rain began falling less than two hours before the match was due to begin, forcing a halt to the women's doubles final that was nearing completion in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

About three and a half hours later, with no end in sight to the downpour, tournament officials decided to abandon play and reschedule the men's final at 4 p.m.

"Due to the continued uncertainty of the weather forecast for the remainder of the evening, and with the desire to be fair to the players and to our fans, the US Open men's singles championship will be postponed until Monday," tournament organisers said in a statement.

"I'm sure I will be fit to play my best tennis." The postponement once again raised questions about why there is no roof over centre court at the US Open. The centre courts at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon have retractable roofs while organisers of the French Open are in talks about covering up their main court. But US Tennis Association officials have balked at the idea because of the cost of covering Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest tennis stadium in the world.

"It's technically complex and financially challenging," USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier said. "At a cost of more than $ 150 million, do you spend that on a roof or continue to fund grassroots tennis programs in this country?"

Ler Mais

England beats Pakistan by 4 wickets in 2nd ODI

England beats Pakistan by 4 wickets in 2nd ODI

Andrew Strauss scored his fifth one-day century on Sunday to help steer England to a four-wicket win over Pakistan in the final over and take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

England's captain was dropped on 23 but went on to score 126, guiding his team to 295-6 after a vital second wicket partnership of 146 with Jonathan Trott (53).

Pakistan was given the perfect platform by openers Akmal and Mohammed Hafeez (43) with a stand of 122 amid unusually ill-disciplined bowling and fielding by England. Tim Bresnan's first three overs cost 25 runs as Akmal scored five boundaries in seven deliveries.

Paul Collingwood struck with his second ball, trapping Akmal lbw as he attempted a sweep to a ball that struck him in line of the off stump. It was the first ball Akmal received from the medium-pacer, and he exited after scoring 12 fours.

Asad Shafiq (50) and Mohammed Yousuf (46) helped to rebuild the Pakistan innings after the openers departed with a stand of 74. England followed a 3-1 test series win and a 2-0 Twenty20 series victory with a 24-run win at Durham in the first one-day international on Friday.

Ler Mais

Wayne Rooney has No more nonscence

Wayne Rooney has No more nonscence

Wayne Rooney had missed Manchester United's clash against Everton after being dogged by allegations on his private life.

Publicly, Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has insisited that he left the England striker out from the match at Goodison Park to save him from the abuse expected.

"The manager there (Ferguson) knows what he's doing and I'm sure he did what he thought was right.

"Maybe he was just making sure everybody realises if you play for United you have to conduct yourself in a certain manner and the football club doesn't really care who you are."

Ferguson has already said Rooney will be back for tomorrow's Champions League opener against Rangers at Old Trafford.

Ler Mais

Sorry Hamilton focuses on title fight

Sorry Hamilton focuses on title fight

Lewis Hamilton was left apologising to his McLaren team following a first-lap crash of an Italian Grand Prix weekend to forget.

Hamilton admitted to making a mistake after qualifying with regard to his set-up after choosing the wrong path in comparison to team-mate Jenson Button.

"I made a good start, gained a position, got up to fourth, and at that moment perhaps I should have just stayed there for a while," said Hamilton.

"But I put my car up the inside of Felipe trying to get third, and that was probably a little bit too much.

"I was trying to position the car in a certain way, but I was too close to Felipe and his left rear clipped my right front.

"The car was damaged after that, and there was nothing I could do. You try your best, but some things just don't go your way.

"It's a shame, and I want to say sorry to the team.

"But the championship certainly isn't over, although I have to admit that days like this one don't help."

"It was a very tough race mentally, and it was tricky holding off the challenge from behind," said Button of Alonso.

"I spent the first half of the race either looking in my mirrors or at the TV screens to see where Fernando was.

"Maybe it was the wrong call to pit when we did, but the team felt the new prime (harder) tyres were faster than the options (softer).

"But I couldn't find any grip on the new tyres, and lost a little bit of time on them. When I saw Fernando emerge just ahead of me, I was very disappointed.

"Overall we didn't quite have the pace to win. But this weekend was definitely a good one.

"I scored some good points, and this second place is very useful for my world championship hopes.

"There's still everything to play for over the next five races."

Ler Mais

Sushil Kumar create history to wins Gold at WC'ships

Sushil Kumar create history to wins Gold at WC'ships

Sushil Kumar created history by becoming the first Indian wrestler to win a gold medal at the World Championships.

Sushil was only the second Indian to win an Olympic medal when he grabbed a bronze at Beijing Games in 2008.

The Haryana grappler overcame Russia's Gogaev Alan 3-1 in the final to clinch the gold.

He had defeated Azerbaijan's Hasanov Jabrayil in the semifinal of the free style 66kg category event.

After getting a bye in the first round, he beat Akritidis of Greece, Martin Sebastian of Germany and Buyan Jav of Mongolia en route to the final.

All other Indian contenders had crashed out before the finals in the championship.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh congratulated Sushil Kumar for becoming the first Indian wrestler to win a gold medal at the World Championships in Moscow.

"Sushil Kumar has done the country proud and is a role model for the youth," Singh said in a message.

Ler Mais

Warriors take on Victoria with confindence

Warriors take on Victoria with confindence

High on confidence after winning their opening match, Warriors will look to continue in the same vein when they take on Victoria Bushrangers in an ACTL20 match on Monday. mark boucher led a solid batting display with a hurricane 26-ball unbeaten 40 to lead Warriors to victory on Saturday.

Bushrangers, however, will be a different ballgame altogether for the Warriors.

The Australian side may not have regular skipper Cameron White, who is turning out for Bangalore Royal Challengers, but in stand-in captain david hussey, Brad Hodge, and Aaron Finch, Bushrangers have a host of Twenty20 specialists.

From the team's point of view, it will be important that these star players fire on all cylinders.

Rob Quiney is another batsman expected to shine for the Australian side. The opener struggled on the slow and low wickets in the third edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Rajasthan Royals, but is likely to find the South African conditions much easier for his style of play.

The Bushrangers have an enviable record in this format of the game, winning the KFC big bash four out of five times.

The side had beaten teams like Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australian Redbacks on their way to title triumph in the last edition of the KFC tournament.

All-rounder John Hastings was the most successful bowler of the tournament, claiming 10 wickets in seven matches, while Finch, with 189 runs in six matches, finished as the side's top scorer.

Bushrangers, who could not make the final of the inaugural edition of the league after losing to last year's winners New South Wales in the last four stage, will look to improve on their performance this time around.

Warriors, on the other hand, will be a lot more confident going into tomorrow's match. Chasing a modest 154 for victory, the South African side, led by Boucher and Justin Kreusch's unfinished fourth-wicket partnership of 63 from 44 balls, won their opening fixture comfortably.

Boucher, who played for Bangalore in the IPL, struck four fours and two sixes during his 26-ball stay while Kreusch hit three fours in his 29-ball innings.

Opener and captain Davey Jacobs contributed 26 while one down Colin Ingram chipped in with a solid 28-ball 34 on a lively St Georges' Park pitch.

Ler Mais

Djokovic clashes Roger Federer and enter into the Final

Djokovic clashes Roger Federer and enter into the Final

It was only fitting that for Novak Djokovic to finally dethrone five-time US Open champion Roger Federer, he would have to do it the hard way.

After falling to Federer in the 2007 final and 2008 and 2009 semifinals, Djokovic served at 4-5, 15-40, in the fifth set against the Swiss Saturday. Resigned to Federer's greatness the past three years, Djokovic finally had enough, firing forehand winners to save both match points before rallying for a 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 win.

"It's one of those matches that you will remember for the rest of your life," said Djokovic, "not just because you won against one of the best players that ever played this game, but coming back from match points down and playing good tennis to win in the end. I am very proud of myself."

"I got a little bit nervous at end of the first and third sets, and that's why I lost those sets," said Djokovic. "But everything except that, I played overall a great game, fighting and being aggressive when I had the chance, and defending well. I just knew I had to be patient and not lose my emotions too much, because that was the case in the past where I was losing the momentum with him. He uses that nervousness of the opponent. He feels it."

"I kind of closed my eyes on the forehands on the match points and just went for the shots," said Djokovic. "I was lucky. This is the edge that you always have when you're playing a top player. Two top guys are playing against each other, and there is not much difference, to be honest. I knew before the match that very few points would decide the winner."

"Looking back, I missed a few too many forehands at the very end, but the match wasn't decided on winners only," said Federer, who finished with 18 forehand winners and 35 forehand unforced errors. "You can also see mistakes, and he pushed me to make those. Credit to him."

"He had to come up with a couple of good shots on match point, so I don't feel I have that many regrets in that regard," said Federer. "Obviously, you feel like you left something out there if you lose the match having had match point."

"The fifth set was very intense - mentally and physically - and took a lot out of me," said Djokovic. "But in the end, it's a remarkable win, and I'm sure I will find the strength to give my best tomorrow in the court."

Ler Mais