SPORT

South Africa bowled out for 249

ABU DHABI: South Africa were bowled out for 249 in their first innings on the second day of the first Test against Pakistan at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Centurion Hashim Amla was dismissed off the second ball of the day still on his overnight score of 118. Paceman Mohammad Irfan finished with 3-44 while left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar took 3-89.

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Novak Djokovic reigns supreme in Shanghai

          Djokovic struck 47 winners in total and was particularly impressive at the net, winning 18 of 19 points

SHANGHAI: Novak Djokovic overcame a fierce challenge from Juan Martin del Potro yesterday to defend his Shanghai Masters title with a 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7/3) victory, improving his phenomenal winning streak in China to 20 matches.

The Serbian top seed looked set to wrap up the final in double-quick time after a one-sided first set but the Argentine, who conquered Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals, hit back hard to take the match into a third set tie-break.

Djokovic held his nerve in the shoot-out to win a gripping contest lasting more than two-and-a-half hours for his fifth title of the season.

The victory keeps alive his slim chances of overtaking Nadal in the battle for the year-end number one ranking.

“It was a great experience again in Shanghai with a thrilling performance from both my opponent and myself,” said Djokovic.

“I think the tournament had a fantastic final. I’m just very glad to go out as a winner from the court from such a close match.”

“I think either one of us could really take the title. I just managed to hold my emotions and I managed to believe in the victory enough in the end to play the right shots at the right time.”

Del Potro, who came into the final against the top seed brimming with confidence after his semi-final demolition of Nadal, lauded his opponent.

“The match was really close and I think Nole played unbelievable points in the tie-break,” said Del Potro, who added that poor serving

was partly to blame for his slow start.

“I was lucky in the second (set) because I broke very early,” he added. “The crowd helped me because they want to watch a longer match, for sure… I think I played another really good match. But today [Sunday] I lost.”

Djokovic, displaced this week by Nadal as world number one, now has 15 Masters titles.

Del Potro, 25, has qualified for the elite season-ending World Tour Finals in London, featuring the season’s top eight players.  Other confirmed qualifiers are Nadal, Djokovic and Spain’s David Fer rer

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Top-seed Angelique Kerber beats Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 7-6 (6) in Linz to win 1st title of year

LINZ, AUSTRIA –  Top-seeded Angelique Kerber won her first WTA title of the season and third overall by defeating two-time champion Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 7-6 (6) at the Generali Ladies on Sunday.

The 10th-ranked German used three breaks to win the opening set and saved four set points for Ivanovic in the second.

Kerber reached her third final of the year. She lost to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago.

Kerber didn't intend to play in Linz but was given a late wild-card entry to replace Kvitova after the former Wimbledon champion pulled out with a back injury.

The former top-ranked Ivanovic, who won the event in 2008 and '10, appeared in her first final since winning her 11th career title in November 2011 in Bali, Indonesia.

English Premier League: We have let Moyes down, says Rooney

United have collected just 10 points from a possible 21 in the Premier League, making it their worst start to a season since 1989.

LONDON: Manchester United’s players have let down new manager David Moyes after making the club’s worst start to a season since 1989, according to striker Wayne Rooney.

The defending champions won 2-1 at Sunderland on Saturday but they have claimed just 10 points from their first seven Premier League games and lie six points below leaders Arsenal in ninth place.

Moyes has come under severe scrutiny since succeeding United great Alex Ferguson as manager but Rooney believes the players need to accept some of the blame for the team’s recent failings.

“Obviously the manager is under a bit of pressure but we know as a team it’s us who have let him down,” he said.

“We have to pull together for the manager and show the sort of fight we have done here (in Saturday’s 2-1 win at Sunderland) and we’ll be fine.

“This will be a transition season because it’s a new manager with different styles and we have to adapt to them. More importantly, we need to do better for him than we have been.”

Moyes gambled by handing 18-year-old winger Adnan Januzaj his first league start at Sunderland and the Belgium-born youngster rewarded his faith by turning the match around with a pair of fine second-half goals.

Rooney believes the decision to play Januzaj was testament to Moyes’s bravery.

“There was big pressure on us but the manager has trusted him (Januzaj) and he has repaid that,” he said. “He’s very confident, that’s great to see. It was a brave move to play him in the circumstances and we’re delighted it’s paid off.”

Hammers thrashing a wake-up call, says Villas-Boas

Andre Villas-Boas admitted Tottenham’s shock 3-0 defeat against West Ham will serve as a major wake-up call to his players.

Villas-Boas’s side paid the price for a lacklustre display as they slumped to just their second Premier League defeat of the season and their first loss against the Hammers at White Hart Lane since April 1999.

After being tipped as potential title contenders following their strong start to the campaign, this was a significant setback for Tottenham.

“It is a defeat, we don’t like it, but it’s a wake-up call and we have to react. I trust the team to do it,” said Villas-Boas.

“It is not for me to speak about the strategy of West Ham. They have done very well defensively this season, but their goals were nothing related to that strategy.

“We were about to go to four strikers to get more firepower, but they managed to score the second. I don’t want to undermine their strategy but I don’t think it surprised us.”

Villas-Boas is adamant the defeat shouldn’t be too discouraging for Spurs and he added, “We can’t undermine what we have been doing until now. The team spirit is good and they will come back in the right frame of mind to bounce back.”

Standings

TEAM             P W GD Pts

Arsenal           7  5   6   16

Liverpool        7  5   6   16

Chelsea          7  4   6   14

Southampton 7  4   5   14

Man City         7  4   9   13

Tottenham     7  4   1   13

Everton           7  3   1   12

Hull City         7  3   -1  11

Man United    7  3   1   10

Aston Villa     7  3   1   10

Newcastle      7  3   -3  10

West Brom     7  2   1    9

West Ham      7  2   2    8

Cardiff            7  2   -2   8

Swansea         7  2   -3   7

Stoke              7  2   -3   7

Fulham           7  2   -4   7

Norwich          7  2   -4   7

Crystal Palace    7   1   -8       3

Sunderland      7              0              -11          1

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 Nadal rises to world number one

SHANGHAI: Rafael Nadal was confirmed as the new world number one in the latest ATP tennis rankings published on Monday, pushing Novak Djokovic to second as Roger Federer drops to seventh.

Nadal has 11,160 points, just 40 ahead of Djokovic, who lost his grip on the top spot despite defeating the Mallorcan to win the China Open on Sunday.

Britain's Andy Murray, currently recuperating from back surgery, is third in the revised rankings but Swiss great Federer sinks one place from sixth to seventh.

Spain's David Ferrer remains at number four, just 185 points off Murray's tally, while Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro moves up two places to fifth after winning the Japan Open.

Since returning in February after seven months out with a left knee injury, Nadal, 27, has won 10 titles, including the French Open and US Open.

Until Sunday's loss to Djokovic, he had been unbeaten since Wimbledon, where he was a shock first-round loser to Belgium's Steve Darcis.

Nadal has previously had two stints at the summit of men's tennis. He first became number one in August 2008 and stayed there for 46 weeks, regaining top spot in June 2010 and adding 56 weeks to his tally.

ATP world rankings

1 Nadal, Rafael (ESP) 11,160 (+1)

2 Djokovic, Novak (SRB) 11,120 (-1)

3 Murray, Andy (GBR) 6,895

4 Ferrer, David (ESP) 6,710

5 Del Potro, Juan Martin (ARG) 4,925 (+2)

6 Berdych, Tomas (CZE) 4,610 (-1)

7 Federer, Roger (SUI) 4,515 (-1)

8 Wawrinka, Stanislas (SUI) 3,150 (+1)

9 Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried (FRA) 3,115 (-1 0

10 Gasquet, Richard (FRA) 3,095

11 Raonic, Milos (CAN) 2,815

12 Haas, Tommy (GER) 2,355

13 Isner, John (USA) 2,115 (+3)

14 Simon, Gilles (FRA) 2,095

15 Janowicz, Jerzy (POL) 2,060

16 Almagro, Nicolas (ESP) 2,030 (+1)

17 Fognini, Fabio (ITA) 1,885 (+2)

18 Nishikori, Kei (JPN) 1,840 (-5)

19 Robredo, Tommy (ESP) 1,830 (-1)

20 Anderson, Kevin (RSA) 1,775 (+1)

(AFP)

IRELAND: Pakistan defeated Iran 5-3 in a snooker match in Carlow, Ireland, winning the World Team Snooker Championship, Express News reported on Sunday.
It was speculated earlier that Iran would take the lead but Pakistan followed a good strategy to secure a win.
Mohammad Sajid and Mohammad Asif from Pakistan were playing against Iran’s Sohail and Amir.
Final Best of 9 Frame Result
Pakistan beat Iran 5-3 – (33-70(50), 18-68(58), 9-74, 88-20(83), 67-11(50), 87-15, 75-43(51), 58-35).
Earlier, a nerve-racking game of snooker on Saturday had ended with the Pakistani snooker team prevailing against a seasoned Ireland team in the semi-final.
Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Sajjad had gone into the match on the back of a good run in the championships, having beaten Poland and India to reach the semi-final.
The Irish duo of Michael Judge and Robert Murphy had proved to be a stern test for Pakistan, after the team had prevailed against the UAE side in the quarter finals.