Sushil doubtful for Asian meet
Roger Federer picked up where he left off at the Australian Open on a day when Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic helped ensure there were all kinds of comebacks.
Defending champion Federer beating Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in a night match, his first on Rod Laver Arena since clinching a career-reviving title here last year. The 19-time major winner has been met on court after wins here previously by tennis greats Laver, John Mcenroe and Jim Courier. On Tuesday night, he got something different. Comedian Will Ferrell stepped out of the crowd and, slipping into character as Ron Burgundy from the movie Anchorman, conducted the post-match interview. As usual, the 36-year-old Federer stayed classy.
Six-time champion Djokovic and 2014 Australian Open winner Stan Wawrinka earlier made successful returns from injury layoffs with victories in their first matches since Wimbledon.
SHARAPOVA CRUISES
Sharapova barely missed a beat in her first match in Melbourne since a failed doping test here in 2016 resulted in a 15-month ban from tennis. The five-time major winner recovered from an early break in the second set and closed out her 6-1, 6-4 victory over Tatjana Maria with an ace.
“It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been back here — obviously I wanted to enjoy the moment,” the 2008 Australian Open champion said after blowing kisses to the crowd.
Former No. 1-ranked Kerber, the 2016 Australian Open winner, continued her resurgent run with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over AnnaLena Friedsam to extend her streak to 10 consecutive wins.
Djokovic tweaked his service motion while recovering from an injured right elbow, and used it to good effect in a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 win over Donald Young. Djokovic lost in the second round here last year, but won five of the previous six Australian Open titles. “Obvi- Viktor
ously I wanted to start with the right intensity, which I have,” Djokovic said. “I played perfect, like I never stopped.” Wawrinka, who had six months out after surgery on his left knee, beat Ricardas Berankis 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (2).
RAONIC EXITS
No. 4-ranked 4-Alexander Zverev, No. 5 Dominic Thiem, No. 7 David Goffin, No. 19 Tomas Berdych advanced, but No. 20 Roberto Bautista Agut lost to Fernando Verdasco and former Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic lost to Lukas Lacko. No. 13 Sam Querrey restored some order for the U.S. men with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over Feliciano Lopez.
Madison Keys reversed a trend, becoming the only one of the four American women who contested the U.S. Open semifinals four months ago to reach the second round in Australia.
No. 17-seeded Keys, the U.S. Open runner-up, advanced with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Wang Qiang and will be one of four American women in the second round. Topranked Simona Halep Elina Julia Goerges
had to save set points at 5-2 down in the first set, and badly twisted her left ankle early in the second, before beating teenage wild-card entry Destanee Aiava 7-6 (5),
6-1. Halep next plays
2014 Wimbledon finalist
Eugenie Bouchard. Wimbledon champion Garbine Mugurza, No. 6 Karolina Pliskova, No. 8 Caroline Garcia, No. 9 Johanna Konta, No. 16 Elena Vesnina, No. 26 Agnieszka Radwanska, No. 28 Mirjana Lucic-baroni and No. 29 Lucie Safarova advanced. NEWDELHI: Sushil Kumar’s participation in the upcoming Asian Wrestling Championships, to be held at Kyrgyzstan from February 24 to March 4, is doubtful.
While confirming the development, his long time coach Yashvir Singh said that his knee injury had aggravated last week during a practice session. The Dronacharya awardee added that if Sushil isn’t able to train properly for 15-20 days before the Asian meet, he will not compete. “If you aren’t fit, chances of getting injured again are very high. Taking risk in the continental meet and then missing other major events isn’t good,” he added.
To recover from the injury, the two-time Olympic medallist withdrew from the ongoing the third edition of Pro Wrestling League (PWL) that began on January 9.
The injury cropped up on December 29 during the national selection trials for Asian championships and Commonwealth Games held at the Capital.
After the trials, focus shifted to PWL. During the players’ auction, Sushil was picked up by Delhi Sultans for ~55 lakh, the highest in the league. However, Sushil had to be replaced by Vinod Omprakash in the 74kg.
Sushil’s absence will also mean that his mouth-watering bout against arch-rival Parveen Rana, who is representing Veer Marathas, will not happen.
Sushil has been India’s most successful wrestler in the Olympic Games—he won medals in back-to-back editions, in 2008 and 2012.
However, his comeback to the competitive sport reeks of his growing clout. At the national championships in Indore, he was crowned champion amidst controversy as he got three walkovers. Also, after the national trials, Rana had alleged that Sushil’s supporters had thrashed his brother Naveen. Rana has lodged a complaint with Delhi Police.
Even though the coach has expressed doubts over Sushil’s fitness for Asian Championships, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) isn’t ruling him out. “He is there on the list,” said Vinod Tomar, secretary, WFI.
Sushil, however, remains a certainty for the Commonwealth Games in April. “There is enough time for the Games. He (Sushil) should be fit by then,” said Yashvir.