Serena faces old foe Halep in last eight
—eyes 2021 national chess championships and next year’s Olympiad
MELBOURNE, (Reuters) - Serena Williams will lead the charge of American women in the last-eight of the Australian Open and continue her bid for a recordequalling 24th Grand Slam title when she meets a familiar foe in second seed Simona Halep today.
Williams, 39, is among three Americans who have made it to the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park this year and tomorrow’s clash between Jennifer Brady and Jessica Pegula has ensured that at least one from the country will be in the last four.
In contrast, Mackenzie McDonald was the only American male player to make the last 16 stage at this year’s Australian Open.
“I think it’s great for American tennis ... three women in the quarter-finals of a slam, I think that’s great,” said German Michael Geserer, who coaches Brady. “I know each - yeah, each girl and they’re working very hard individually.”
Shelby Rogers, who lost to world number one Ash Barty in the fourth round, Brady and Pegula were all in action in the top half of the draw yesterday and were among 16 American women in the main draw at Melbourne Park - the most from any country.
“They’re very close off the court. They hit a lot. They like to practise with each other a lot,” said Pegula’s coach, David Witt. “I think it’s one of those things where they’re pushing each other. They root for each other.
“They see one do well; they all three want each other to do well. I think it’s almost like, for them, a little sister thing where they’re kind of pushing each other to do well in tournaments.”
The trio would have had no better idol at the start of their careers than Williams, who will meet Romanian twice Grand Slam winner Halep in the evening session at the Rod Laver Arena in their 12th meeting on tour.
Williams leads 9-2 in the head-to-head but lost the most recent meeting when she was beaten by Halep in the 2019 Wimbledon final - one of her four defeats in Grand Slam finals since returning to the circuit in 2018 after becoming a mother.
Japan’s Naomi Osaka, who moved to the United States as a three-year-old and lives and trains there, was another player who defeated Williams in the 2018 U.S. Open to win the first of her three majors and could be next up for the American.
Osaka, currently ranked third, will kick off today’s proceedings at Melbourne Park against unorthodox 35-year-old Hsieh Suwei of Taiwan, a first time major quarterfinalist. Also in action will be eight-time Australian Open champion and top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who will have concerns over an abdominal injury when he plays sixth-seeded German Alexander Zverev, the finalist at the 2020 U.S. Open.
In the day’s other singles match, Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev, ranked 114th, will look to continue his spectacular run on his Grand Slam debut when he takes on 18th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria.
Candidate Master (CM), Taffin Khan said yesterday that he is not looking too far ahead following his win at the just concluded National Chess Championships but was taking it one step at a time.
Khan’s win on Saturday made him a four-time men’s chess champion and he is crediting preparation for his undefeated run at the 2020 National chess championships following his final round victory over Davion Mars Saturday.
Khan won the tournament with six and one half points with former national champion Wendell Meusa second on five and one half points.
The two played to a draw in their encounter.
Glenford Corlette took the third position with four and one half points while Mars and defending champion Anthony Drayton were tied for fourth position with three points each. National captain Loris Nathoo took the sixth position with two and one half points while Errol Tiwari and Rai Sharma rounded out the final positions with two and one point respectively.
The Guyana Chess Federation-organised tournament signaled the return to over-the-board action at the National Stadium, Providence in the sevenround Swiss system tournament.
Khan admitted that his toughest match came in the fifth round against Meusa who, according to Khan, played a safe game which
resulted in a draw.
Khan won all his other matches including his final round encounter against Mars.
“I played the NimzoIndian defence. There were some tactics in the middle game and after some exchanges I ended up with two rooks, a bishop and four pawns versus Mars’ bishop, knight, rook and four pawns. Going into the
endgame, Mars lost a pawn and I exchanged one of my rooks for Mars’ own. Mars had to give up his knight for two passed pawns and resigned after losing his remaining bishop and two pawns,” Khan recalled of his final encounter.
Defending champion Drayton did not have a good tournament and lost key matchups to the seasoned players such as Khan
and Meusa as well as to Mars and Corlette.
Following Khan’s crowning as a four-time champion he told this publication, “The Chess Olympiad is next year so the 2021 National championships later this year that will be my main focus. I’m taking it one step at a time.”
With a 1999 FIDE rating, Khan is expected to
move up to 2017 after this tournament.
The new champion believes that the time away from over-the-board action did not have much effect on the players nor did the new conditions due to the COVID-19 regulations.
Khan last won the tournament in 2012 but lost it to Meusa in 2013. The tournament was not played between 2014 and 2017.
NORTH SOUND, Antigua, CMC – Captain Kieron Pollard undermined Barbados Pride with a devastating maiden five-wicket haul and veteran Jason Mohammed followed up with his sixth List A hundred, to power Trinidad and Tobago Red Force to a three-wicket win in the Regional Super50 Cup here yesterday.
Chasing an uncomplicated 254 at Coolidge Cricket Ground, Red Force overhauled their target with five balls to spare, with the right-handed Mohammed topscoring with 122 off 161 deliveries.
Opener Evin Lewis extended his purple patch of form with 61 off 46 deliveries but no other batsman reached double figures as Red Force, cruising on 121 for one in the 21st over, lost four wickets for 37 runs in quick time to decline to 158 for five in the 32nd over.
Mohammed kept his cool, however, punching 10 fours and three sixes to marshal the lower order, before falling to the final delivery of the penultimate over with just two runs needed for victory, whipping pacer Jason Holder to Roston Chase at mid on.
Sent in earlier, Pride finished on 253 for nine thanks to opener Justin Greaves’s top score of 62 off 81 balls, and 56 apiece from Jonathan Carter and Chase.
On 200 for three at the end of the 42nd over, Pride appeared well placed to post a large total but Pollard scythed through the innings in a destructive threeover spell of five for 17 as six wickets tumbled for 44 runs off 41 deliveries.
The victory for Red Force was their third straight, keeping them unbeaten, but Pollard said there would be no let up in intensity.
“Cricket is a funny game so it’s not a matter of easing off. Every time we get an opportunity to play cricket you want to do your best, you want to improve and you want to win,” Pollard stressed afterwards.
“Winning is a habit, losing is a habit so for us, we just want to continue playing good cricket and trying to get that four points, so no stepping off the gas.”
In contrast, the defeat was the third on the bounce for Pride leaving them bottom of the standings with two games left in the preliminary phase.
A frustrated captain Jason Holder said, however, they were still holding out hope of a strong finish to the campaign.
“There are still two games to play [so] you never know. You never know how the tournament may go,” the all-rounder said.
“Quite a few teams are jumbled at the very bottom as well so we’ve got to win those last two games to give ourselves the best chance.”
Seeking to halt their losing slide, Pride started strongly with Greaves posting 44 for the first wicket with Zachary McCaskie (16) and a further 42 for the second wicket with Shamarh Brooks (20).
Greaves was third out after counting half-dozen fours and a six, caught at the wicket off seamer Ravi Rampaul but Carter and Chase combined in a 103-run fourth wicket stand to rebuild the innings.
Left-hander Carter struck three fours and a six off 70 balls while Chase scored faster, hitting five fours and a six off just 57 deliveries.
Left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein (2-44) broke the stand when he got Carter to hole out to long on at the end of the 43rd over and Pollard claimed Chase after the right-hander added 32 with Holder (18), taken at wide long on by Nicholas Pooran dashing around the ropes at 241 for five in the 48th over.
Off the next legal delivery, Holder scooped Pollard to wide mid on before Dominic Drakes steered his first delivery to backward point, to give the Windies white ball skipper his third wicket of the over, as the innings slumped.
In reply, Red Force lost Kjorn Ottley cheaply for four in the second over, lbw to left-arm seamer Drakes (2-47), before Mohammed and Lewis dominated in adding 117 for the second wicket.
Red Force were cantering when Lewis, who struck three fours and half-dozen sixes, topedged a sweep at off-spinner Chase (3-21) and was taken at backward square in the 21st over.
Mohammed and Denesh Ramdin (10) put on 29 for the third wicket but Chase removed both Ramdin and Pooran (0) in the 29th over, and when Pollard
sparred at a short ball from Drakes and lobbed a simple catch to point in the 32nd over, Red Force were floundering.
However, Mohammed calmed
the storm, adding 49 for the sixth wicket with Sunil Narine (18) and 45 for the seventh with Hosein (16 not out), to frustrate Pride’s victory bid.