Bangladesh strike back after Warner’s fighting ton
“In tie-breakers you have to play smart but you have to be aggressive. You can’t just sit back and hope. I didn’t want to hope, I wanted to be doing something about my future.” — Venus Williams after beating Petra Kvitova on a third-set tie-break in their quarterfinal. CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh: David Warner hit his second hundred in a row before Bangladesh fought back with quick strikes on a rain-hit third day of the second Test against Australia on Wednesday.
The visitors were 377-9 when bad light stopped play with 13 overs remaining after rain washed out the entire first session at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium in Chittagong.
Australia now lead by 72 runs with Steve O’Keefe on eight and Nathan Lyon, who was yet to open his account, at the crease. Bangladesh, who elected to bat first, made 305.
Mustafizur Rahman and Mehedi Hasan took three wickets each to bring Bangladesh back into the contest after Warner and Peter Handscomb put on 152 runs for the third wicket.
Warner showed remarkable patience during his uncharacteristically sedate 123 that came off 234 balls.
This was Warner’s 20th Test century and second in successive innings, having made 112 in the first match which Australia lost by 20 runs in Dhaka. He was dismissed by leftarm paceman Mustafizur, who was celebrating his 22nd birthday.
The century saw Warner join a select group of 12 Australian cricketers who have scored 20 or more Test tons, Venus Williams had lost her last four matches against lefthanded players in Grand Slams before her 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(2) victory over Petra Kvitova. Kevin Anderson beat 17th seed Sam Querrey 7-6(5), 6-7(9), 6-3, 7-6(7) to become the first South African to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam since Wayne Ferreira, who made the Australian Open last four in 2003. NEW YORK: Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams became the oldest semifinalist in US Open history at age 37 on Tuesday by defeating two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/2).
US ninth seed Williams, seeking her third US Open crown, advanced to a Thursday matchup against 83rd-ranked compatriot Sloane Stephens for a spot in Saturday’s final.
“I’m so fortunate to have won that match. It came down to the wire,” Williams said. “I try to tell myself enjoy the competition, enjoy the battle and I think I was able to do that.”
In the men’s event, South Africa’s Kevin Anderson reached a Grand Slam semi-final for the first time where he will face Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta who will also be appearing in his maiden lastfour at a Major.
Stephens, who missed 11 months with a left foot injury before returning at Wimbledon, matched her best Grand Slam showing by outlasting Latvian 16th seed Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/4).
“This is just incredible,” Stephens said. “When I started my comeback at Wimbledon I could never have dreamed of coming back and having these results. It’s indescribable.”
Stephens has won 13 of her past 15 matches and matched her 2013 Australian Open semifinal run for best Slam effort.
Williams, who improved to 2-4 all-time against the Czech 13th seed, will return to the world top five for the first time since January 2011, a span that saw her diagnosed with the energy-sapping disease Sjogren’s Syndrome.
Williams, the oldest Slam semifinalist since Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon in 1994, won the 2000 and 2001 US crowns.
She was runner-up this year at Wimbledon and the Australian Open and could reach three Slam finals in a year for the first time since 2002.
Kvitova battled back from a five-month absence after a knife-wielding home intruder injured her left hand last December.
“I’m glad I’m still able to compete on the high level against the top players which I hope will give me some confidence to continue to play well, to know that it’s still there somewhere,” Kvitova said.
If Americans Madison Keys and CoCo Vanderweghe win on Wednesday, they will produce the first all-American US Open semifinals since 1981. “That would be huge,” Williams said. “I’d love that.” American Sloane Stephens came back from 3-1 down in the third set to beat Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(4) to progress to her first US Open semifinal. It was her first Grand Slam semifinal since the 2013 Australian Open.
“This is amazing,” Stephens said. “I hope there are four Americans in the semifinals.”
Legends Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal each practiced ahead of Wednesday quarterfinals in which wins by each would set up their first US Open meeting in an epic Friday men’s semifinal.
The other half-bracket, however, will offer a firsttime Slam finalist.
South African 28th seed Anderson downed 17th-seeded American Sam Querrey 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (9/11), 6-3, 7-6 (9/7) to book a berth in Friday’s semifinals.
Anderson, the first South African in any Slam semifinalist since Wayne Ferreira at the 2003 Australian Open, will meet Spanish 12th seed Carreno Busta, who has not dropped a set, for a place in Sunday’s final.
“To play in one of the most famous courts in the world at night and to get through, it feels fantastic,” said Anderson.
Carreno Busta, the first player in any Grand Slam to face four qualifiers, cruised into his first Slam semi-final by ousting Argentine 29th seed Diego Schartzman 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
“Incredible,” Carreno Busta said. “It’s something that I always dreamed about but something I never thought was going to arrive here. It’s a great feeling.”
With Anderson standing 6ft 8in (2.02m) and Querrey 6ft 6in (1.97m), it was the tallest matchup ever so late in any Slam.
‘I’M NOT A ROBOT. SORRY.’ Sevastova, who matched her best major run from last year at New York by ousting Maria Sharapova to reach the last eight, led 3-1 in the third set before Stephens rallied.
“I just told myself to keep fighting and stay consistent,” Stephens said. “I knew if I just stick with it and stayed in every point I’d have my opportunity and I did.”
In the tie-breaker, Stephens took four of the last five points, three on Sevastova errors before hitting a down-the-line backhand winner ensured her win to reach the top 35 in next week’s rankings.
Sevastova admitted nerves got to her in the tiebreaker, saying, “It’s normal. You play for semifinals of US Open. I’m not a robot. Sorry.” US OPEN RESULTS Men (quarterfinals) Kevin Anderson (RSA x28) bt Sam Querrey (USA x17) 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (9/11), 6-3, 7-6 (9/7); Pablo Carreño-Busta (ESP x12) bt Diego Schwartzman (ARG x29) 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 Women (quarterfinals) Venus Williams (USA x9) bt Petra Kvitova (CZE x13) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/2); Sloane Stephens (USA) bt Anastasija Sevastova (LAT x16) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/4) with his skipper Steve Smith the most recent to achieve the feat.
Warner, who resumed the day on 88, received good support from Handscomb, who made 82 off 144 balls before being run out by a sharp throw from Shakib Al Hasan at midwicket.
Handscomb responded to a call for a single that would have completed Warner’s century but was sent back from halfway down the pitch.
Mehedi put down Hilton Cartwright off his own bowling on six, before making amends by having the same batsman caught at slip by Soumya Sarkar for 18 on the stroke of tea. Bangladesh first innings 305 Australia 1st innings (overnight 225-2): M Renshaw c Rahim b Mustafizur 4 D Warner c Imrul b Mustafizur 123 S Smith b Taijul 58 P Handscomb run out 82 G Maxwell c Rahim b Mehedi 38 H Cartwright c Soumya b Mehedi 18 M Wade lbw Mustafizur 8 A Agar b Shakib 22 P Cummins lbw Mehedi 4 S O’ Keefe not out 8 N Lyon not out 0 Extras (b8, lb3, w1) 12 Total (for 9 wkts; 118 overs) 377 Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-98, 3-250, 4-298, 5-321, 6-342, 7-346, 8-364, 9-376 Bowling: Mehedi 38-6-93-3, Mustafizur 20-2-843, Shakib 30-2-82-1, Taijul 21-1-78-1, Nasir 6-2-140, Mominul 2-0-6-0, Sabbir 1-0-9-0