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text-decoration:none; } img {border:none;} The Sport Review: “Novak
Djokovic hits 20 in Miami: Who can stop him?” plus 4 more- Novak Djokovic hits 20 in Miami: Who can stop him? - Leinster announce triple boost ahead of next season - Wolves striker Kevin Doyle could miss rest of the season - McLaren reserve Pedro de la Rosa set for final Pirelli test - Mourinho was ‘hours’ away from becoming England boss Novak Djokovic hits 20 in Miami: Who can stop him? Posted: 28 Mar 2011 04:38 PM PDT Here we are at the fourth round of the Miami Masters, and the Novak Djokovic story has changed little since the first day of 2011. He is still winning. But not only is the dominant Serb winning—20 matches without loss thus far—he's doing it in a style that must be sending a shiver through the tour. And not only has he won all three tournaments he's played but he's done it for the loss of only five sets: two of them to men who were, at the time, Nos1 and 2 in the world. In Miami, he has barely lost a game—three in two matches, to be precise—and the man he now faces, compatriot Viktor Troicki, managed just one game against him last week in Indian Wells. Beyond that? Well at best Djokovic faces the No30 seed, John Isner, so it looks, at worst, like another semi-final place, and that would take him to 22 wins on the trot. No wonder he sounds confident: "I think I'm quite a complete player." All the signs are that he will face one of the last four standing in Indian Wells, but the one he didn't meet there: Juan Martin Del Potro. The style and speed of the Argentine's return to centre stage has been impressive, but most experts anticipated a tight match between Del Potro and another big man with a big game, the Swede Robin Soderling. There were two question marks, though. Did the Argentine have enough in the tank after a succession of good runs so early in his comeback season? And was Soderling still carrying a foot problem? It transpired that neither was an issue. Del Potro simply brought his best power game to the table, broke in the fourth game of the first set and ran to a 6-3 advantage. The punishment continued into the second set with an immediate break of the Soderling serve and another break at 4-2 to speed Del Potro's run to a straightforward win. Soderling did not manage a single break point, even against Del Potro's 57 percent first serve rate, and that was a reflection of the Argentine's power off the ground rather than any particular Soderling weakness. David Ferrer is still a factor in Del Potro's quarter, and his was a harder win over Somdev Devvarman than the 6-4, 6-2 score suggested. It took Ferrer an hour and 40 minutes in blistering heat, together with all his terrier-like skills and some decent net attack, to get the better of the Indian's nimble footwork. Ferrer, though, does not have the power to hit through the court in the way that Del Potro can, and—give or take the challenge of a Mardy Fish starting to find his form of last summer—the unseeded Argentine looks a shoo-in for the semis. The upper half of the draw has continued the trend that began in the first round of the Floridian heat: The surprises flowed. Although No13 seed Mikhail Youzhny looked in fine fettle after his first match, losing just one game, he faded badly against the unexpected challenge of Olivier Rochus. The Belgian had fought through two three-setters in his first rounds, and he had to fight through another against the Russian. It looked, initially, as though the flair and slice of Youzhny would give him another near-whitewash when he took the opener 6-1, but Rochus produced some neat, all-court play to pull back a win in 6-3, 6-3. It was one of many close, highly competitive matches that have characterised this year's Miami with, in the end, just one point separating the two men: 84 to 83. Monday turned out to be a day of hard work for several other seeds, too. Tomas Berdych took two and a quarter hours to battle through the No71-ranked Argentine, Carlos Berlocq, in two arduous sets. The pleasing factor in the Berdych game, though, was the frequency with which he approached the net. This added dimension to his game is what may take the tall Czech to the next level and, with the unseeded Florian Mayer as his fourth-round opponent, Berdych may soon have the chance to find out how he measures up against the best, Rafael Nadal. Federer also had his work cut out by Argentine Juan Monaco, the lowest seed in the draw. Federer drew first blood to go 2-0 up but was pulled back by some Ferrer-like persistence and accuracy that kept Monaco in the long rallies and drew a steady flow of errors from an overhitting Federer. The Swiss had three break points to win the opening set but played five errors in a row and it went to a tie-breaker. Eventually, Federer put together some calm, tactical points to edge the set. Monaco continued to play attacking and confident tennis, but the balance of power went Federer's way in the decisive ninth game, leaving him to serve out the set and the match, 6-4. Federer is rarely kept on court for an hour and three-quarters—especially in a straight-sets match. It was a credit to Monaco that he made his illustrious opponent fight every inch of the way. The slow, humid conditions certainly did not favour the serve-and-volley game of Feliciano Lopez and, like many others in Miami, he had two long three-setters in his legs already. So against an opponent of Nadal's calibre, he was always going to struggle, and he did. The No1 advanced, 6-3, 6-3. So the biggest challenges to Djokovic are still heading nicely through the draw. Federer and Nadal may first have to play each other for the privilege of that final showdown with the Serb, and he will be pretty happy with that. Not only will they have a fight on their hands in the semis, he knows he beat both of them only last week. So who can stop Novak? Right now, it could be no-one. Leinster announce triple boost ahead of next season Posted: 28 Mar 2011 04:30 PM PDT Leinster have announced a trio of new signings to strengthen their squad ahead of next season. The Magners League side have poached Sharks lock Steven Sykes, fly-half Matt Berquist from Cantebury Crusaders and Connacht prop Jamie Hagan. Sykes and Hagan have both agreed three-year deals while Berquist has signed a one-year contract with the option for a further year. Opting to swap King’s Park for Ireland was a difficult for 26-year-old second-row Skyes, who has established himself at the Sharks as one of the top locks in Super Rugby. “Of course it was not an easy decision to make,” said Sykes. “I don't for one second want anyone to think I am unhappy here or unhappy at the Sharks. I have played over 130 games for the Union and loved every minute of it. “However I believe that it will be very good for my rugby to make the move and I am looking forward to the experience of playing in European conditions week-in and week-out, learning about their way of playing – which I think will suit me. “Leinster is a leading European club, regularly challenging for top honours, and I can't wait to be involved.” Front-row forward Hagan, 23, returns to his home province and the club he played for at Academy level. He has made 23 appearances for Connacht this season and 46 in total since he joined the club in 2009. Hagan said of his move east: “I am delighted to be heading back home to Leinster and I am looking forward to the new challenges that I will face. “I’m looking forward to pushing on from my experience in Galway to make an impact when I return to Leinster in the summer." Berquist, 27, also joins Leinster after spells at Hawke’s Bay, Otago, Auckland and most recently at the Crusaders. The natural goal-kicker made his provincial debut in 2003 and has played 21 times at Super 14/15 level. Berquist will be eyeing up more starts after playing second fiddle to Dan Carter at Saders but will have to oust Irish No10 Jonathan Sexton. “I have always been keen to test myself in Europe and the Magners League and Heineken Cup competitions will certainly provide a real challenge,” said Berquist. “I am delighted to join an ambitious club who are on the up. Leinster have a strong reputation in New Zealand and I am excited by the opportunity to test myself in a new environment.” Leinster coach Joe Schmidt said of his acquistions: “We are pleased to have secured all three players and I am sure that they will prove to be strong additions to the side over the coming seasons.” Wolves striker Kevin Doyle could miss rest of the season Posted: 28 Mar 2011 11:44 AM PDT Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Kevin Doyle could miss the rest of the season after tearing a knee ligament while on international duty. The 27-year-old suffered the injury during the Republic of Ireland's 2-1 victory over Macedonia in their Euro 2012 qualifier in Dublin on Saturday. Wolves confirmed that Doyle is expected to be sidelined for between four and eight weeks with a torn medial knee ligament, effectively ending his participation in the 18th-placed club's relegation battle. “The scan has confirmed that Kevin has torn his Medial Collateral Ligament,” said Steve Kemp, head of Wolves’ medical department on the club's website. Kemp added: “We will be working with Kevin to get him back as quickly as the injury allows but the likely timespan is anywhere between four and eight weeks.” Wolves defender Christophe Berra admits losing the striker is a blow to the club's survival hopes but believes Mick McCarthy’s men will find goals elsewhere. “It’s a massive blow for us, he’s a top player, he does a great job for us up front,” said Berra. “But we’ve got good strikers on the bench in Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Steven Fletcher, who have come in this season and done well and scored goals for us. So we won’t be getting down about that, we’ll move on.” McLaren reserve Pedro de la Rosa set for final Pirelli test Posted: 28 Mar 2011 11:22 AM PDT McLaren reserve driver Pedro de la Rosa will conduct a final test for tyre manufacturer Pirelli in Turkey next weekend. The 40-year-old, who raced for Sauber in the first half of 2010, became Pirelli's test driver after being dropped by the Swiss team, but rejoined long-term employer McLaren earlier this month after failing to secure a race seat for the new season. The private test at Istanbul Park, home of the Turkish Grand Prix, will allow Formula 1's new supplier the opportunity to evaluate its tyres against the unique challenge of turns eight and nine, as well as begin work on its 2012 models. Speaking to Autosport.com, Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembery said: "I've written to the tyre working group advising them that Pedro will be doing that test. I haven’t had any negative feedback from them. "We need to use him actually. He drove the car last year and we have modified the Toyota very heavily–going outside of the current regulations to create much higher downforce. The objective of that is to try and replicate 2010 downforce levels. "From what I understand the cars here are close to the end of 2010 levels, which is extraordinary, considering the number of changes we have had. “So we need him to tell us the differences between the car then and the car now, and we will go through a screening of the current products and work with the new products. "The test is about working primarily for 2012, and we are working on new products too. It is also a check for us for Turkey because Turns 8 and 9 at Istanbul are a big challenge. I am not talking compound but structurally. We want to go there and have a double check to be sure." Pirelli works in partnership with former F1 team Toyota, who withdrew from the sport in 2009, using a modified version of their unused 2010 car to evaluate the tyres to be used for the next three seasons. Mourinho was ‘hours’ away from becoming England boss Posted: 28 Mar 2011 08:02 AM PDT José Mourinho has revealed he almost succeeded Steve McClaren as England manager before having a change of heart. The former Chelsea boss, now at Real Madrid, left Stamford Bridge in September 2007 and had the opportunity to take charge of England two months later when McClaren was dismissed as head coach of the national side. But Mourinho, who opted to take the reigns at Inter Milan when approached in June 2008, explained that he wanted to remain in club management despite seriously considering the Football Association’s offer. “I was hours away – I almost signed up for the England national team," said Mourinho, speaking in an interview with French sports daily L'Equipe. “But at the last minute I began thinking, ‘I am going to coach a national side, there will be one match a month and the rest of the time I will be in my office or overseeing matches. “And then to have to wait until the summer to compete in a European Championship or a World Cup’? No, it wasn’t for me. “So at the last moment I pulled back, preferring to wait for the right job to come along, a good club, a challenge that could motivate me. That was Inter.” Mourinho revealed he enjoyed the first couple of months away from football after leaving Chelsea, but it was not long before he became fed up by his absence from the touchline. “When I left Chelsea, the first month was fantastic. I went to Africa, to Japan, I did tons of things I had not been able to do,” he added. “The second month was also good, but from the third onwards it was horrible, just awful.” An FA spokesman insisted current boss Fabio Capello was always their first choice. “Fabio was our first choice for England manager,” a spokesman said. “We have made that clear from the outset.” You are subscribed to email updates from The Sport Review To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. Email delivery powered by Google Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 -- Posted By Mas Item Arekjowo to The Sport Review at 3/29/2011 12:09:00 AM -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Gugukluhayat" group. 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