Mcenroe stunned by Federer’s longevity ›
To see a guy at that age and play at that level and move better than he did when he was 28, but I don’t understand how the hell he’s doing it! JOHN MCENROE, tennis legend
LONDON: John Mcenroe is stunned by Roger Federer’s form at the age of 36, describing the Swiss star’s latest performances as one of the craziest things he has ever seen.
Mcenroe, a seven-time grand slam champion, said Federer’s form late in his career was amazing.
“It’s still beyond belief and one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen in the 25 years I’ve been doing commentary and the additional 15 years that I’ve played,” he said.
“To see a guy at that age and play at that level and move better than he did when he was 28, maybe not when he was 25 or 26, but I don’t understand how the hell he’s doing it.
“But it’s truly amazing to
watch.”
SHARAPOVA MAKES AN EXIST FROM
QATAR OPEN
DOHA: Five-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova suffered a shock defeat in the first round of the Qatar Open on Monday, dumped out in three sets by outsider Monica Niculescu.
The Romanian, ranked number 92, 51 places behind the Russian, won 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. In a match lasting more than two and a half hours, Sharapova hit 52 unforced errors as opposed to just 17 from Niculescu.
“I did a good job of winning the longer rallies, even though that’s not really what I wanted to get myself into,” said Sharapova afterwards.
“So, physically I felt good. I just got pretty passive in the end and starting making too many errors.” It was the 30-year-old’s first appearance in Doha since 2013 and her first match since losing to Angelique Kerber in the third round of the Australian Open last month.
‘RAINA DID WELL’
NEW DELHI: Sania Mirza feels Ankita Raina’s performance in the recent Fed Cup was encouraging.
“We see great progress in young talent but never make the next jump. That is something we are totally missing,” said Sania. “It is very encouraging to see Ankita have those couple of wins against the top 100 players. I have been asked about who is the next Sania for many many years and I have always said why next Sania? We should try to aim better than Sania. Why just me?”