Stepanek exits Novak’s team
Stuart’s freak 147
NOVAK DJOKOVIC has split with coach Radek Stepanek days after the departure of head coach Andre Agassi from his team.
“The private relationship with Stepanek was and will remain great, and Novak has enjoyed working with him and learning from him,” read a statement on Djokovic’s website.
“He remains grateful and appreciative of all the support he has received from Radek.”
The 12-time Grand Slam winner ended his collaboration with Agassi last week after struggling to rediscover his form following a long lay-off with an elbow injury. STUART BINGHAM followed Ronnie O’Sullivan’s lead with another China Open 147 yesterday – thanks to a refereeing howler.
Former world champion Bingham, 41, edged into the third round in Beijing and also sealed a Crucible place with a 6-5 win over Ricky Walden.
But the controversial highlight was an astonishing incident in the seventh frame that resulted in Bingham making the fourth maximum of his career. Both players left the Stepanek joined Djokovic’s team on a part-time basis after eight-time Major winner Agassi came on board ahead of last year’s French Open. Following defeat at Roland Garros last year, the 30-year-old retired in the Wimbledon quarter-finals and was sidelined for six months.
After crashing out of the last-16 at the Australian Open in January, he had surgery on his elbow but has failed to get back to his best.
Djokovic is set to return to action at the Monte Carlo Masters, which begins on April 14. arena mid-frame for a toilet break with Bingham ahead – and were stunned to come back and see referee Zhang Yi had mistakenly re-racked the balls.
Bingham spoke to tournament director Martin Clark but decided after looking at a screen grab that replacing them would be too difficult. When the frame was replayed he rolled in his 147. REPORTS ARSENE WENGER finally admitted to “concern” at the empty seats at the Emirates in recent weeks but he expects it to be a different affair tonight.
“Thursday nights, Channel 5,” a much fuller Emirates used to chorus to their Tottenham counterparts in the good old days when the Gunners perennially seemed to pip their neighbours to a place in Europe’s elite competition and consign them to what was then the UEFA Cup – an afterthought of a tournament, on an uncharacteristic channel played on an atypical football night.
Now, until the end of the season, these Europa League clashes are the only things to which the Arsenal fans have to look forward.
This, remember, is a competition that until this season the only time they were bad enough to participate in it – when they exited the Champions League early in 2000 – they breezed to the final.
There have been European quarter-finals since, of course – in fact this is the sixth. It is only when you look at the Premier League table, you realise why this one is so special.
In 2001, Arsenal were second. In 2004, the Invincibles were top; 2008, third; 2009, fourth; 2010, third. Today, they are sixth, 33 points away from the leaders, closer to West Brom at the very foot of the table.
No wonder winning their last two home domestic home games has done little to get the fans pouring in through the turnstiles – even though, as is advertised to increasing comic effect match on match, an official attendance figure consistently close to capacity shows the tickets have already been paid for.
“I’m always concerned when our stadium is not completely full but I don’t think that will be a problem for this game,” said Wenger. “For us, it’s about our performance and our crowd will be behind us.
“The crowd, when something is at stake, is always there and behind us. On top of that, what will decide the crowd’s attitude is the quality of our game.
“The target for us is not to count the fans in the stand. The target for us is to focus on our performance and win the game and accept the public judgment.
“We have to do our job and not be concerned about that. Our job is to perform on the pitch and
SPORT IN BRIEF
play well and all the rest. To deal with it. It is as simple as that.” Evidence that winning games is not a popularity contest is there to be seen in Wenger’s likely choice for the goalkeeper’s shirt. It is also a measure of just how much is riding on tonight’s game against CSKA Moscow. In recent seasons, even when it was only the cup competitions holding together Arsenal’s campaign, he has stuck throughout with his ‘cup’ goalkeeper David Ospina. Yesterday, though, his reluctance to discuss the issue seemed to indicate the more experienced Petr Cech will be the man trusted to hold things together at the back. “I don’t know yet,” he said evasively. “I will see. Tomorrow morning I will decide. Yes, I always played Ospina. I played Ospina on Sunday, but I don’t want to give my team out. It is as simple as that.” Shadowing this important night on the pitch for the club is the deepening tension between the two parent countries, with 500 Russian fans expected to
HOW THEY LINE UP
Cech; Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal; Ramsey, Xhaka; Ozil, Wilshere, Mkhitaryan; Lacazette. Akinfeev; V Berezutski, Ignashevich, A Berezutski; Kuchayev, Golovin, Natkho, Dzagoev, Shchennikov; Musa, Wernbloom. travel to Britain despite ongoing diplomatic crisis.
The Metropolitan Police said yesterday: “There is a proportionate policing plan in place. As with all high-profile European fixtures, officers will be monitoring any intelligence related to the game and appropriate resources will be allocated to the match based on a comprehensive risk assessment.”
Ahead of training at the Emirates last night, Viktor Goncharenko, the CSKA manager, made a passionate appeal for calm.
“Let’s leave politics for policymakers,” he said. “We are football coaches and players and we came here to play football.
“We are thinking about football and we are certain the supporters here and in the return leg in Moscow are going to support their teams.
“Let’s think about football, do our best to win tomorrow’s match and not go into the details on politics please.” the