Sports Roundup -- Monday, July 14

Cricket:

SA seal satisfying series win

South Africa rode on aggressive hundreds from Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers to beat Sri Lanka by 82 runs in the third and final one-day international in Hambantota on Saturday.

Left-hander De Kock smashed a 127-ball 128 while skipper De Villiers hit a fiery 71-ball 108, making a century off just 66 balls, as South Africa posted their highest total against Sri Lanka of 339-5 in windy conditions at Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium.

The Proteas then restricted the hosts to 257 in 44.3 overs for their first-ever one-day series win on the island by 2-1.

South Africa Innings 339 for 5 (50.0 overs)

Amla c Senanayake b Herath 48

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De Kock c Mendis b Senanayake 128

Kallis lbw b Herath 4

AB de Villiers c Priyanjan b A Mendis 108

Duminy c and b A Mendis 29

Miller not out 4

McLaren not out 2

Extras 0nb 9w 4b 3lb 16

Total for 5 (50.0 ovs) 339

Sri Lanka Innings 257 all out (44.3 overs)

K Perera c AB de Villiers b Parnell 37

Dilshan run out (AB de Villiers) 30

Sangakkara c de Kock b McLaren 36

M Jayawardene c Steyn b Tahir 2

Thirimanne b Duminy 22

Mathews c M Morkel b McLaren 58

Priyanjan c de Kock b McLaren 30

Senanayake c Kallis b M Morkel 13

Herath c de Kock b M Morkel

A Mendis not out

Malinga c and b Duminy 0

Extras 2nb 20w 2b 4lb 28

Total all out (44.3 ovs) 257

India survived a scare to draw the first Test at Trent Bridge and extend England’s winless run to nine matches.

India 457 & 391-9 dec drew with England 496

Rugby:

Super rugby:

Sharks’ director of rugby Jake White praised his side’s defensive efforts following their 34-10 win over the Stormers at Newlands on Saturday. The Sharks were presented with a perfect dress rehearsal for their Super Rugby playoff against the Highlanders next week, after running out worthy victors against the hosts, who enjoyed the majority of possession.

“Defence is not something that can be coached. It is something that comes from the players, it comes from the heart,” White said after the game. Their victory broke a sequence of back-to-back defeats heading into the match. White said his outfit would draw inspiration from the way their defence triumphed over a determined Stormers unit.

The Lions’ best-ever Super Rugby season came to an emphatic climax with their biggest victory in the competition, a 60-25 rout of the Cheetahs in Johannesburg on Saturday. Lions’ coach Johan Ackermann said the landmark result was a testament to the players’ dogged determination. “We are thankful and grateful for the win… It is good to see everything come together and a lot of hard work went in from the players. They were always positive at trainings and even before that patch before tour and on tour,” Ackermann said.

He said the team’s success came courtesy of camaraderie instead of the influence of individual superstars. “There will be mistakes and one has to accept that, but if you ask players to play with commitment, passion and pride and they put in the work, and then you can’t ask for more.”

The Vodacom Bulls produced a workmanlike performance to end their season on a high, beating the Melbourne Rebels 40-7 in their Vodacom Super Rugby match at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night. It was a night where the Bulls gave Super Rugby debuts to a host of young stars and one where the fortunes of two in particular stood out for different reasons.

Lock Paul Willemse said farewell to Loftus with a magnificent performance, putting in some massive hits and scoring a brace of tries, reminding all at Loftus just why he will be so missed when he heads to Grenoble next year. Of course it would be easy to blame the Bulls recruiting policies for his absence, but the truth is that the loss of the big lock will hurt the Bulls more as they simply couldn’t match the big money contract, rumoured to be worth R5-million.

RESULTS:

July 2014

12 DHL Stormers 10 – 34 Cell C Sharks Newlands, Cape Town

12 Lions 60 – 25 Toyota Cheetahs Ellis Park, Johannesburg

12 Reds 3 – 34 Waratahs Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

12 Crusaders 34 – 8 Highlanders AMI Stadium, Christchurch

11 Vodacom Bulls 40 – 7 Melbourne Rebels Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

11 Brumbies 47 – 25 Western Force Canberra Stadium, Canberra

11 Blues 8 – 11 Chiefs Eden Park, Auckland

REMAINING FIXTURES:

19	Brumbies	v	Chiefs	Canberra Stadium, Canberra	11:40
19	Cell C Sharks	v	Highlanders	Kings Park, Durban	17:05

Absa Currie Cup Qualifiers | RESULTS

July 2014

12 GWK Griquas 40 – 25 Valke GWK Park, Kimberley

12 Boland 23 – 55 Leopards Boland Stadium, Wellington

11 Border 15 – 41 Down Touch Griffons BCM Stadium, East London

Absa Currie Cup Qualifiers | LOGS

Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA BPts Pts

1	GWK Griquas	5	5	0	189	89	100	27	12	3	23
2	Leopards	5	4	1	253	126	127	36	14	6	22
3	South Western Districts	5	3	2	151	188	-37	21	24	3	15
4	Down Touch Griffons	5	2	3	154	193	-39	21	28	5	13
5	Boland	6	2	4	140	156	-16	17	21	4	12
6	Valke	5	2	3	173	194	-21	23	27	2	10
7	Border	5	0	5	103	217	-114	14	33	2	2

SOCCER WORLD CUP

Germany 1 – 0 Argentina

Germany was crowned world champions for the fourth time as Mario Gotze’s extra-time winner beat Argentina in the 2014 Fifa World Cup final.

Gotze demonstrated perfect technique and commendable calm to chest down Andre Schurrle’s pass and sweep in a left-foot finish with the prospect of a penalty shootout only seven minutes away. Argentina, with skipper Lionel Messi looking subdued despite flashes of his talent, could not respond and Germany claimed their first World Cup since they beat the same opponents in Rome 24 years ago.

The success means Joachim Low’s side has become the first European team to win the trophy in South America. Gonzalo Higuain wasted Argentina’s best chance in the first half while Germany defender Benedikt Howedes hit the post with a header seconds before half-time.

Golden Boot

Colombia forward James Rodriguez won the Golden Boot for finishing as the top scorer at the 2014 Fifa World Cup. The 23-year-old, who plays for Monaco, scored six goals in five matches as his side reached the quarter-finals, where they lost to hosts Brazil.

Rodriguez finished ahead of Germany forward Thomas Muller, who netted five goals as his side won the tournament. Argentina’s Lionel Messi, who won the Golden Ball for the tournament’s best player, was in a tie for third. His four goals were matched by Brazil striker Neymar and Netherlands forward Robin van Persie.

Rodriguez’s goals helped Colombia progress further than they had before at a World Cup. He scored against Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan as they topped Group C before netting twice, one a sublime volley, during the 2-0 last-16 win against Uruguay.

Rodriguez’s final goal of the tournament was a late consolation as Colombia lost 2-1 to Brazil.

TENNIS

Novak Djokovic: Boris Becker has high hopes for Wimbledon winner

Newly-crowned Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic can get back to winning major titles after ending his 18-month drought, says coach Boris Becker. The Serb beat Roger Federer in five sets on Sunday to end a run of three consecutive Grand-Slam final defeats.

Becker said: “We are looking good. Back to number one. Wimbledon champion. The next big one is the US Open.” Seven-time Grand-Slam winner Djokovic had lost five of his last six finals and appointed Becker in December to help him get back to his best.

At Wimbledon, the 27-year-old failed to convert a championship point in the fourth set as Federer fought back and Becker said it was a nervous time for the coaching team. We were all dying out there,” the 1985, 1986 and 1989 Wimbledon winner told the BBC. “We were all keeping it cool from the outside, but burning inside.” However Djokovic, who lost the final of the French Open against Nadal in June, showed mental toughness to get back on top. The Serb told BBC Sport that his work with Becker had made a difference.

“We spoke about various things, but mostly how to prepare myself mentally,” he said. “And if I get to the critical moments where I feel a little bit down on myself and my opponent starts playing better – how to react, how to respond. I’m an emotional player; I like to express my emotions. Yesterday I felt like I wanted to hold my composure and not allow my opponent to see I’m frustrated, even though I was definitely in certain stages of the match. “I stayed tough and that’s what got me the trophy.”

Three-time Grand Slam champion and former world No 1 Lindsay Davenport was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday, saying she fell in love with the sport the first time she picked up a racquet.

“I was five years old when I first hit a tennis ball and a racquet was put in my hand,” the American said at her enshrinement along with legendary tennis coach Nick Bollettieri, five time Paralympic medallist Chantal Vandierendonck, tennis executive Jane Brown Grimes and British broadcaster John Barrett in ceremonies at Newport, Rhode Island.

Results:

Sunday 13th July 2014

ATP Mercedes Cup – Final

3rd seed R Bautista-Agut (SPA) beat L Rosol (CZE) 6/3 4/6 6/2

ATP Ski Star Swedish Open – Final

P Cuevas (URU) beat 5^th seed J Sousa (POR) 6/2 6/1

MOTORSPORT

Marquez wins ninth straight MotoGP

MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez chalked up his ninth victory in a row at the Sachsenring on Sunday despite starting the German Grand Prix from the pit lane after pre-race rain. The 21-year-old Honda rider became the first since Italian Giacomo Agostini in 1970 to win the first nine races of a season. Agostini won the opening 10 races that year.

In an unusual start, more than half of the field lined up at the pit lane exit after leaving it late to switch from wet tyres to slicks. That left Germany’s Stefan Bradl, who had put on the dry weather tyres before the formation lap, alone on the front row of the grid and followed at some distance by a bunch of back markers.

Marquez, who last year became the youngest ever MotoGP champion, had qualified on pole but had to fight through from 10th before taking the lead after six laps and then pulling away comfortably. The Spaniard has now won in Germany for the last five years – in 125cc in 2010, Moto2 in 2011 and 2012 and then the top category.

Marquez’s Repsol Honda teammate and compatriot Dani Pedrosa finished second, 1.466 seconds behind, with double world champion Jorge Lorenzo completing an all-Spanish podium with third for Yamaha.

Marquez now has 225 points to Pedrosa’s 148.

Italian Valentino Rossi finished fourth on the other works Yamaha.

RESULTS

1. Marc Marquez (Spain) Honda 41:47.664

2. Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda 41:49.130

3. Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha 41:57.981

4. Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha 42:06.858

5. Andrea Iannone (Italy) Ducati 42:11.173

6. Aleix Espargaro (Spain) Yamaha 42:15.473

7. Pol Espargaro (Spain) Yamaha 42:20.917

8. Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Ducati 42:21.532

9. Alvaro Bautista (Spain) Honda 42:21.895

10. Cal Crutchlow (Britain) Ducati 42:22.340

11. Scott Redding (Britain) Honda 42:25.408

12. Hiroshi Aoyama (Japan) Honda 42:32.682

13. Karel Abraham (Czech Republic) Honda 42:32.841

14. Nicky Hayden (U.S.) Honda 42:34.340

15. Danilo Petrucci (Italy) ART 42:40.433

CYCLING

Martin wins Tour de France stage nine

Tony Martin raced to a solo victory on stage nine of the Tour de France as Tony Gallopin took over the race lead. Germany’s three-time world time trial champion Martin was in an early break with Alessandro di Marchi but rode clear 50km from the finish in Mulhouse.

France’s Gallopin finished in a group two minutes, 45 seconds back to take the yellow jersey from Vincenzo Nibali, who had led since winning stage two. Nibali finished eight minutes behind Martin with the other race favorites. Once the early breakaway had been allowed to go clear, Nibali’s Astana team were content to let Martin and Di Marchi build up an advantage of more than six minutes as they went up and down a couple of category two and category three climbs in the first half of the stage.

Martin made his move on the next ascent, the category one 10.8km climb up Le Markstein, and continued his attack over the shorter slopes of Grand Ballon as the stage reached its peak at 1,336m above sea level. The Omega Pharma – Quick-Step rider then used his time-trialing skills to good effect on the 20km descent before maintaining his form on the 20km run-in to the finish. “I’m happy I could make my own time trial,” Martin told BBC Sport.

“I felt good in the hills on Saturday so I took my chance today. I wasn’t really suffering at the end and I had the power to go fast so I’m happy with my performance.

“The victory is one of the biggest of my career.”

Stage nine results:

1. Tony Martin (Ger/Omega Pharma – Quick-Step) 4hrs 09mins 34secs

2. Fabian Cancellara (Swi/Trek) +2mins 45secs

3. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel/BMC Racing)

4. Tom Dumoulin (Ned/Giant-Shimano)

5. Matteo Montaguti (Ita/AG2R)

6. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spa/Movistar)

7. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned/Belkin)

8. Mickael Cherel (Fra/AG2R)

9. Brice Feillu (Fra/Bretagne-Seche)

10. Tiago Machado (Por/NetApp Endura)

General Classification after stage nine:

1. Tony Gallopin (Fra/Lotto-Belisol) 38hrs 04mins 38secs

2. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita/Astana) +1min 34secs

3. Tiago Machado (Por/NetApp Endura) +2mins 40secs

4. Jakob Fuglsang (Den/Astana) +3mins 18secs

5. Richie Porte (Aus/Team Sky) +3mins 32secs

6. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol/Omega Pharma – Quick-Step) +4mins

7. Alejandro Valverde (Spa/Movistar) +4mins 01secs

8. Pierre Rolland (Fra/Europcar) +4mins 07secs

9. Alberto Contador (Spa/Tinkoff-Saxo) +4mins 08secs

10. Romain Bardet (Fra/AG2R) +4mins 13secs

Hockey:

The South African men’s hockey team beat Scotland 3-0 at London’s national hockey stadium Sunday to earn the Investec Cup bronze medal.

South African captain Austin Smith netted penalty corners in the 45th and 64th minutes, while teenager Dan Sibbald complemented one of a host of inventive attacking moves with a well-taken goal in the 62nd minute. South Africa could have wrapped up the bronze medal with a number of chances in the first half, but Scotland goalkeeper Gavin Somerville was in good form to keep his side in the game. The South African men meet Wales in unofficial test matches at England’s training headquarters, Bisham Abbey, on Monday and Tuesday before leaving for Glasgow on Thursday, ahead of an unofficial test match against Canada next Saturday.

Golf:

Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open | LEADERBOARD

1	Justin Rose	-16	F	-6	69	68	66	65	268
2	Kristoffer Broberg	-14	F	-5	65	71	68	66	270
3	Marc Warren	-11	F	-1	67	69	67	70	273
4	Stephen Gallagher	-10	F	-8	72	69	70	63	274
Matteo Manassero	-10	F	-6	69	72	68	65	274
Shane Lowry	-10	F	-5	72	68	68	66	274
Tyrrell Hatton	-10	F	-3	69	71	66	68	274
8	Robert Karlsson	-9	F	-5	71	71	67	66	275
Scott Jamieson	-9	F	-7	74	67	70	64	275
Rickie Fowler	-9	F	-6	71	71	68	65	275
11	Phil Mickelson	-8	F	-6	68	73	70	65	276
Pablo Larrazábal	-8	F	-3	69	73	66	68	276
Danny Willett	-8	F	-4	70	71	68	67	276
14	Paul Casey	-7	F	-6	69	71	72	65	277
Rory Mcilroy	-7	F	-4	64	78	68	67	277

European Tour money list | 07 July 2014

1	BJÖRN Thomas	14	€1,534,244
2	KAYMER Martin	10	€1,517,568
3	DONALDSON Jamie	12	€1,424,659
4	MCILROY Rory	8	€1,355,051
5	STENSON Henrik	12	€1,164,541
6	DUBUISSON Victor	10	€1,068,266
7	OOSTHUIZEN Louis	7	€1,062,728
8	JAIDEE Thongchai	14	€1,043,762
9	JIMÉNEZ Miguel Angel	15	€1,011,025
10	GALLACHER Stephen	13	€1,006,848
11	GARCIA Sergio	10	€994,559
12	MCDOWELL Graeme	7	€931,395
13	ILONEN Mikko	13	€785,420
14	BLIXT Jonas	6	€776,794
15	LUITEN Joost	13	€740,371
16	SCHWARTZEL Charl	10	€704,391
17	WESTWOOD Lee	6	€670,795
18	LARRAZÁBAL Pablo	14	€624,350
19	ZANOTTI Fabrizio	18	€607,435
20	LOWRY Shane	14	€606,372

US PGA Tour money list | 06 July 2014

1	Bubba Watson	14	5,102,161
2	Jimmy Walker	20	4,933,790
3	Dustin Johnson	15	4,104,527
4	Martin Kaymer	12	3,938,602
5	Matt Kuchar	17	3,755,578
6	Jordan Spieth	19	3,612,823
7	Patrick Reed	20	3,254,590
8	Jim Furyk	13	3,076,615
9	Brendon Todd	22	3,059,743
10	Justin Rose	13	3,022,858
11	Webb Simpson	17	2,930,161
12	Chris Kirk	20	2,861,899
13	Harris English	21	2,820,251
14	Adam Scott	10	2,733,165
15	Sergio Garcia	10	2,640,270
16	Kevin Na	19	2,576,065
17	Ryan Moore	17	2,573,322
18	Jason Day	8	2,440,210
19	Matt Every	20	2,429,776
20	Rickie Fowler	19	2,406,407
21	Zach Johnson	18	2,353,997

Men’s world golf rankings | 06 July 2014

1	Adam Scott	41	9.0095
2	Henrik Stenson	52	8.0029
3	Bubba Watson	47	7.0031
4	Matt Kuchar	52	6.8296
5	Jason Day Click to join movement	40	6.5632
6	Justin Rose	50	6.5579
7	Tiger Woods	40	6.5344
8	Rory McIlroy	49	6.4646
9	Sergio Garcia	49	6.2305
10	Jordan Spieth	47	5.8626
11	Jim Furyk	46	5.5217
12	Martin Kaymer	52	5.4844
13	Phil Mickelson	48	5.2099
14	Dustin Johnson	50	4.9538
15	Hideki Matsuyama	42	4.9495
16	Zach Johnson	52	4.7985
17	Graeme McDowell	48	4.7075
18	Jimmy Walker	52	4.2087
19	Steve Stricker	40	4.1235
20	Luke Donald	50	3.9691

Sports Roundup — Monday, July 14

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