Sports roundup — Monday, August 18

Cricket:

Hashim’s ton eases SA to opening win

Hashim Amla’s 15th one-day international hundred guided South Africa to a comfortable 93-run victory in the first game of a three-match series against Zimbabwe on Sunday.

Amla batted through the innings to finish unbeaten on 122 from 132 balls as the Proteas posted 309 for three, before spinners Imran Tahir and Aaron Phangiso took three wickets apiece to bowl Zimbabwe out for 216. 

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The one-sided nature of the match at the Queen’s Sports Club was established right from the beginning as Amla shared a century stand with Quinton de Kock. While the early starts in Zimbabwean ODIs traditionally give plenty of assistance to the side bowling first and the game began under cloudy skies, the home side’s young attack was unable to capitalise on those conditions. Seamer Neville Madziva and 19-year-old all-rounder Luke Jongwe were both handed international debuts but both struggled against an aggressive De Kock, who went to his fifty in just 42 balls. 

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However, the left-hander failed to convert a fifty into a century for the first time in his young career when a mis-hit off the bowling of off spinner John Nyumbu, who was making his one-day debut, saw him depart for 63. The dismissal prompted a period of slower scoring as Faf du Plessis bedded in and Zimbabwe’s spinners dragged the game back, before the batting power play sparked the South African innings once more with Du Plessis and Amla taking 40 runs from the five overs. Although Du Plessis sliced a Nyumbu delivery to extra cover to depart for 59 soon after, Amla went to his third hundred in four matches and AB de Villiers and JP Duminy scored quick late runs as the Proteas added 101 runs in the last 10 overs. 

“There was talk of 250 at one point, and even when Hash came off he said that he never thought we’d get to 300-plus,” De Villiers said. “It shows you that we’re quite dangerous with wickets in hand in the last 15 overs.” While scores of above 300 have twice been chased down at Queens Sports Club in recent years, Zimbabwe failed to make the solid start they required as they were reduced to 34 for three. 

“Unfortunately we lost too many wickets early on and to bring it back from there is always hard – especially against a team like South Africa,” Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura said. Although Hamilton Masakadza and Sean Williams revived the innings with a 100-run stand for the fourth wicket that breathed some life into the crowd, Wayne Parnell snuffed it out when he had Masakadza caught for 61. Williams became the first of Imran Tahir’s three wickets when he departed for 51 soon after, before the leg spinner cleaned up the tail along with Phangiso.

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South Africa Innings 309 for 3 (50.0 overs)

Runs

de Kock

c Taylor

b Nyumbu

63

Amla

not out

122

du Plessis

c Sibanda

b Utseya

59

de Villiers

c Williams

b Nyumbu

21

Duminy

not out

22

Extras

0nb 16w 0b 6lb

22

Total

for 3 (50.0 ovs)

309

Bowler

Overs

Maidens

Runs

Wickets

 

S Masakadza

10.0

1

77

0

 

Madziva

6.0

0

35

0

 

Jongwe

6.0

0

45

0

 

Utseya

10.0

0

44

1

 

Williams

10.0

0

50

0

 

Nyumbu

8.0

0

52

2

 

 

Zimbabwe Innings 216 all out (49.5 overs)

Runs

Sibanda

c de Kock

b Parnell

7

Mutumbami

c de Kock

b McLaren

13

H Masakadza

c du Plessis

b Parnell

61

Taylor

c Miller

b Phangiso

6

Williams

c du Plessis

b Tahir

51

Chigumbura

c Miller

b Phangiso

36

Jongwe

lbw

b Tahir

19

Madziva

c Duminy

b Tahir

2

S Masakadza

lbw

b Phangiso

6

Utseya

b Duminy

5

Nyumbu

not out

1

Extras

1nb 4w 0b 4lb

9

Total

all out (49.5 ovs)

216

Bowler

Overs

Maidens

Runs

Wickets

 

Abbott

8.0

2

27

0

 

Parnell

8.0

0

43

2

 

McLaren

8.0

0

22

1

 

Phangiso

9.5

0

43

3

 

Tahir

10.0

1

44

3

 

Duminy

6.0

0

33

1

 

 

 

 

England v India: Hosts romp to innings win to secure series 3-1 

Rampant England thrashed India inside three days in the fifth Test to complete a 3-1 series victory. 

The pitiful tourists were skittled out for 94 in only 29.2 overs as England won by an innings and 244 runs at The Oval. After James Anderson and Stuart Broad broke through with the new ball, Chris Jordan took four of the last five wickets to kick-start the celebrations in the south London sunshine. England had earlier plundered a broken India for 101 runs in 11.3 overs to post 486 in reply to India’s first-innings 148, with Joe Root making an unbeaten 149. 

Their third successive victory capped an extraordinary turnaround since the hosts were beaten by 95 runs in the second Test at Lord’s to go 1-0 behind in the series. That defeat took England’s winless streak to 10 matches, following a 5-0 Ashes whitewash in Australia and a first home series defeat by Sri Lanka. Since then, England have won by 266 runs in Southampton and an innings and 54 runs in Manchester before taking their dominance to even higher levels at The Oval. India’s total was their lowest at The Oval and the first time they have been bowled out for fewer than 100 since 2008. 

“It was an amazing turnaround after Lord’s,” said England captain Alastair Cook. “India crumbled at the end but that was from the relentless pressure.” Cook praised coach Peter Moores and assistant coach Paul Farbrace, adding: “We have needed a kick up the backside and they have been brave enough to do that.” England’s brutal assault with the bat on Saturday evening and Sunday morning left India facing the improbable task of scoring 338 just to make the hosts bat again. And they made a miserable start by losing both openers cheaply before rain forced an early lunch. Murali Vijay was trapped lbw by Anderson for two and Gautam Gambhir was run out for three when he set off for a single, turned back and was beaten by a direct hit from Chris Woakes. After a delay of an hour-and-a-half, normal service was resumed. Anderson had Chesteshwar Pujara caught behind, Ajinkya Rahane was brilliantly caught by Gary Ballance at slip off Stuart Broad and captain Mahendra Dhoni glanced Woakes to short leg. 

Jordan then took over with three wickets in two overs. Virat Kohli’s wretched series continued when he edged to Alastair Cook at first slip for 20 before Ravichandran Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar Kumar also fell to outside edges. Varun Aaron was run out attempting a second run and the match was ended when Ishant Sharma fended a short ball from Jordan into the air, enabling Moeen Ali to walk in from silly point and take a simple catch. 

England had set the tone for another utterly one-sided day in a riotous first hour. Root completed his fifth Test hundred – and third of the summer – off 134 balls and Jordan made a breezy 20. Broad, batting for the first time since having his nose broken by an Aaron bouncer, played with no fear as he cut and pulled short balls in a blistering 37 off 21 balls, including five fours and a six. Broad and Anderson then set about dismantling India’s top order, with Anderson closing to within three wickets of Ian Botham’s England Test record of 383. 

India 1st Innings 148 all out (61.1 overs)

England 1st Innings 486 all out (116.3 overs)

India 2nd Innings 94 all out (29.2 overs) 

Rugby:

South Africa 13 Argentina 6

Boks survive Loftus monsoon.

South Africa moved to the top of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship by overcoming rain and hail to beat a brave Argentina 13-6 at a soaked Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night. On a day where the weather moved from unbelievable winter rains, to a bizarre monsoon drench and even hail, the Boks needed to battle their own demons as well to get out of this dogfight with a victory. It wasn’t nice to watch, it wasn’t pretty. And given what we’ve come to expect from the Bok side under coach Heyneke Meyer, it wasn’t even close to what they would be satisfied with.

But on a night where the dreadful conditions – easily the worst Loftus has seen in the past 20 years – dictated just how the game would be played, the win will be greeted with a mixture of relief and disappointment, especially with a tougher return game next week in Salta awaiting the Boks. Perhaps in a way it was a firm reminder for the Boks. After spending week after week with Meyer talking about speeding up the game, and the need for quick ball to score tries, of the Boks preaching the gospel of an all-encompassing game plan and their impressive try-scoring list over the past few years, it was perhaps fitting that the game we all love would remind the Green and Gold that sometimes you simply have to win ugly.

Given that the Rugby World Cup next year is likely to take place in similar conditions, it was perhaps fitting to be reminded that points on the board, and not necessarily the style of play, will determine the next world champions. Yet, that is all good for afterthought, but the Boks will return to their camp with a long, hard look at themselves after they failed to meet the standards they set for themselves. Ironically there were two moments that settled the contest – as close as it was – and denied a plucky Argentinean side a historic draw in South Africa.

The fact that both took place virtually in the same area may be a coincidence, but the Boks will be extremely happy they managed to squeak home in a game that could have gone horribly wrong for them. The first strike – coming no less than 75 seconds in the game – gave the Boks the advantage. A monster lineout drive from the first set piece, opened a gap for Ruan Pienaar to dart blind, complete a perfect one-two with Cornal Hendricks to score in the corner and give the Boks an excellent start. It perhaps created a false sense of security, especially after the Boks won so handsomely at the FNB Stadium last year, but in the context of the game, the strike was massive.

Yet it was the second moment, coming three minutes from time, that really will be remembered by the Boks. Willie le Roux – a tower of strength and one of the few to actually hold his name high on the night – took a high ball with ease, but then inexplicably tapped and passed back to Morne Steyn. Steyn’s kick was charged down and it took a desperate dive by Damian de Allende to save what would have been a score-equalling try. Desperation indeed and it paid off for the Boks.

RETHINK TACTICS

The less said about the Boks performance in the rest of the game the better. While Argentina have always been a nuggety team who like to get under the skin of their opposition, in these particularly harrowing conditions, the Boks own ineptitude at times compounded this fact even more. There were times the Boks simply couldn’t hold onto the ball, spilled it in promising positions and looked flat as they became more and more frustrated with themselves. De Allende’s save was perhaps his most memorable action, and the long layoff both he and captain Jean de Villiers have had showed up more than usual today, at times unsure in a combination that still needs to settle.

The same can be said of Handre Pollard, who looked a bundle of nerves and perhaps tried to hard at times, being replaced by Steyn in the second half, even though the Boks frustrations continued. Pollard will learn from the experience and come back stronger, as will De Allende, but the Boks may be forced to rethink tactics when the weather doesn’t suit them. The late withdrawal of Willem Alberts to a hamstring strain would also have hampered them, as they were robbed of their first option of ball carrier and a solid lineout man as well. But it did also give Marcel Coetzee some valuable game time in the process. All in all, the Boks will be happy they escaped the monsoon embarrassment of being upset at home. They weren’t great, will have more than enough to talk about at the video review and have enough to work on when they head for Argentina.

In a Rugby Championship that was always going to be tough, Argentina proved that no team can be taken for granted. The game proved weather is a great leveller and you always need to play the conditions to the best of your ability. The Boks were shown up in areas at Loftus, by the opposition and the rain. But a win puts them top of the Rugby Championship. They have much food for thought after this performance and a week to put it right before they meet Argentina again.

SCORERS:

South Africa – Try: Ruan Pienaar. Conversion: Handre Pollard. Penalties: Pollard, Morne Steyn.

Argentina – Penalties: Nicolas Sanchez (2).

Australia 12 New Zealand 12

Australia were left to rue opportunities squandered against New Zealand after playing out a draw that means the Wallabies must secure their first victory away from home against their arch rivals in 13 years to avoid another Bledisloe Cup defeat.

Australia held New Zealand to a 12-12 draw in their Rugby Championship opener on Saturday to prevent the All Blacks from claiming a world record 18th consecutive win. The Wallabies, however, were left wondering how they failed to win a game they dominated in all but the score line – having enjoyed greater possession, more metres with ball in hand and more territory. “We wanted to win the game,” said Australia coach Ewen McKenzie. “All our preparation was about winning, we don’t go out there to have draws so it is a bit of a hollow outcome in that sense.” Australia captain Michael Hooper shared his coach’s disappointment.

“There were a few incidences there where we were just a few metres out, different things could happen, we could have got that try there and it’s a different game,” said Hooper. They twice failed to capitalise on a one-man advantage after New Zealand prop Wyatt Crockett was sin-binned just before halftime and replacement back Beauden Barrett was given a yellow card with just over 10 minutes remaining. Hooper decided against kicking for goal on a number of occasions before halftime, allowing New Zealand to go into the break with a 9-3 lead.

“We felt like we were getting the upper hand. They had a card. I thought we could get the ascendancy there,” Hooper said. McKenzie backed the decision, but had fly half Kurtley Beale slotted any of the three attempts, Australia may have secured their first victory over New Zealand since 2011. Australia will now have to beat New Zealand next week to have any chance of securing the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 2002. Australia last beat New Zealand away from home in 2001.

The match is at Auckland’s Eden Park, a venue where the All Blacks have not tasted defeat in 20 years, while a third clash outside the Rugby Championship will be played later in the season. Despite the missed opportunity Hooper said the Wallabies can take heart in pushing the world champions so close. “It is certainly a good challenge and we certainly have some momentum heading into it. It is a fantastic opportunity,” said Hooper.

 ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division | RESULTS

August 2014

16 Free State Cheetahs 34 – 27 Griquas Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein

16 Golden Lions 60 – 19 Eastern Province Kings Ellis Park, Johannesburg

16 Western Province 41 – 17 Blue Bulls Newlands, Cape Town

15 Sharks 34 – 17 Pumas Kings Park, Durban

ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division | LOGS

1

Golden Lions

2

2

0

0

101

32

69

2

10

2

Western Province

2

2

0

0

76

33

43

2

10

3

Sharks

2

2

0

0

65

41

24

1

9

4

Free State Cheetahs

2

1

0

1

55

55

0

2

6

5

Pumas

2

1

0

1

45

55

-10

0

4

6

Griquas

2

0

0

2

51

65

-14

3

3

7

Blue Bulls

2

0

0

2

30

82

-52

0

0

8

Eastern Province Kings

2

0

0

2

35

95

-60

0

0

 

Soccer:  

Pirates are too strong for Wits.

A strong second half showing form Orlando Pirates saw them run out 2-0 winners over Bidvest Wits in a MTN8 semifinal, first leg match at Bidvest Stadium on Sunday afternoon.  After a rather dull opening 45 minutes the game sprang into life in the second stanza with goals from Siyabonga Sangweni and Thabo Matlaba handing the Buccaneers a two goal advantage ahead of the second leg next weekend.

The first 45 minutes was a snooze fest as both teams struggled to find their rhythm and chances on goal were few and far between. The most significant action from the opening half came in the 37th minute when Sangweni met a corner-kick, but the Pirates captain headed wide from ten-yards out. The second half was a much more entertaining affair, with the Buccaneers in particular looking more threatening in attack. Pirates made their pressure tell ten minutes after restart when Sangweni volleyed home a corner-kick from six-yards out under no pressure whatsoever, 1-0.

The away side then doubled their lead in the 73rd minute when a quick counter-attacking move saw Thabo Matlaba break through on goal and he duly slipped the ball under the onrushing keeper, 2-0. Wits tried to find their way back into the game, but were unable to do so and are left with a mountain to climb in the second leg next weekend.

Bidvest Wits (0) 0

 Orlando Pirates (0) 2 (Snagweni 56’, Matlaba 73’)

Maluleka gives Chiefs advantage.

Kaizer Chiefs have one foot in the final of the MTN8 after claiming a 2-0 away win over Platinum Stars in a semifinal, first leg clash at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg on Saturday night. George Maluleka’s superb brace of second-half goals was enough to separate the teams, who will meet for the second leg at FNB Stadium next week Sunday.

The winner of the tie will face either Bidvest Wits or Orlando Pirates in next month’s final. Chiefs started the brighter of the two teams and almost claimed an early lead through Maluleka, whose glancing header from a corner kick flashed just off target in the eighth minute. Stars’ first chance arrived just before the midway point of the first half, with Tintswalo Tshabalala flicking on a Vuyo Mere free kick, but Itumeleng Khune made a fine diving save low to his left. Less than a minute later the ball fell kindly for Robert Ng’ambi in the penalty area, but his left-footed volley was tipped onto the crossbar by Khune. Shortly thereafter Ndumiso Mabena had a glorious chance to lob the ball over the stranded ‘keeper but failed to find the target. The visitors’ best chance of the first 45 arrived just a couple of minutes before the break. Siboniso Gaxa provided a great cross and Mandla Masango’s effort, which was more off his shoulder than his head, went straight into the arms of Siyabonga Mpontshane.

Chiefs broke the deadlock six minutes into the second half. A corner kick saw Kingston Nkhatha’s effort headed off the line by Luvolwethu Mpeta, but the ball went only as far as Maluleka, who belted home a volley through the crowded penalty area to make it 1-0.

With 15 minutes of regulation time left Chiefs should have doubled their lead. George Lebese provided a great pull-back from the left by-line for Reneilwe Letsholonyane, but the dreadlocked midfielder shot over the bar under pressure from a defender. That miss almost cost the Amakhosi dearly, with substitute Joseph Banyane providing a perfect cross to the back post for Mpeta, only for the defender to blaze a shot high over the bar and blow Stars’ best chance for an equalizer. Maluleka added a brilliant second goal in the last minute of the 90, firing a shot direct from a free kick into the back of the net via the inside of Mpontshane’s right-hand post. The keeper made a valiant effort, but had no chance of stopping Maluleka’s precise shot.

Platinum Stars 0

 Kaizer Chiefs (0) 2 (Maluleka 51’ 90’)

Barclays Premier League

Manchester City began the defense of their Premier League title with a routine win at Newcastle thanks to David Silva and Sergio Aguero goals.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side was rarely troubled by the hosts and took the lead when Silva tucked in following a brilliant back heel by Edin Dzeko. Substitute Aguero added a second in stoppage time when he poked in after his initial shot was saved by Tim Krul.

Dzeko had a shot blocked by Krul, who also stopped Samir Nasri’s drive. That was the sum total of City’s best chances during a match in which they did not have to be at their best and their keeper Joe Hart – preferred to summer recruit Willy Caballero – was rarely tested. Pellegrini was confident enough to leave influential striker Aguero on the bench and for £32m signing Eliaquim Mangala to remain in Manchester. City got on top of Newcastle from the whistle, with Yaya Toure, the often maligned Martin Demichelis and another newcomer Fernando first to the second ball in dangerous areas without over-exerting themselves.

In attack, Silva, who did not show his true form at the World Cup, was back to his brilliant best while Montenegro’s Stevan Jovetic, frustrated by niggly injuries in his first season, was exceptional in his role as roving midfielder. The 24-year-old played the role of quarterback in the opening moments, producing a delightful lofted pass for Dzeko who could only strike his effort at Krul, who read the situation. The Netherlands keeper, who played a starring role in the World Cup quarter-finals, was also called into action soon after when he dived to his right to prevent Nasri’s pile driver from bursting the net.

Containment seemed to be the Magpies’ primary focus, although £12m midfield signing Remy Cabella was a willing outlet on his debut. Against a potent City side that defensive tactic rarely bears fruit, and seven minutes before the break the final line of defense was breached. On this occasion, Toure found Dzeko in the area with a long pass and he then took two Newcastle defenders out with a back heel for Silva to stroke home. Pellegrini’s side had gone into the match having beaten Newcastle in their previous nine league meetings. However, late in the game that run looked like it would come to an end when substitute striker Ayoze Perez, who replaced ineffective fellow newcomer Emmanuel Riviere, was found in the area.

He jinxed inside and fired in a shot that took a vital deflection off Fernando to take it past the post. That was the best of two good opportunities for the Magpies, with full-back Paul Dummett heading over earlier when Hart misjudged a delivery into the area. Newcastle lacked a cutting edge but, with promising attacking midfielder Siem de Jong waiting in the wings, manager Alan Pardew stressed afterwards he was happy with his options.

Magpies’ fans probably wish they could afford someone like Aguero, who dealt the final blow after coming on late to calmly slot in City’s second, after his initial angled strike was saved.

As It Stands Table

Team

Played

Goal Difference

Points

Man City

1

2

3

Arsenal

1

1

3

Liverpool

1

1

3

Swansea

1

1

3

Aston Villa

1

1

3

Hull

1

1

3

Tottenham

1

1

3

Everton

1

0

1

Leicester

1

0

1

Sunderland

1

0

1

West Brom

1

0

1

Burnley

0

0

0

Chelsea

0

0

0

Crystal Palace

1

-1

0

Man Utd

1

-1

0

Southampton

1

-1

0

QPR

1

-1

0

Stoke

1

-1

0

West Ham

1

-1

0

Newcastle

1

-2

0

Golf:

Made In Denmark | LEADERBOARD

 

1

Marc Warren

-9

F

-3

71

70

66

68

275

2

Bradley Dredge

-7

F

-1

66

68

73

70

277

3

Phillip Archer

-4

F

-2

70

70

71

69

280

4

Thomas Björn

-3

F

-2

66

73

73

69

281

4

Oliver Fisher

-3

F

-2

75

65

72

69

281

4

Eddie Pepperell

-3

F

-2

73

68

71

69

281

7

Lasse Jensen

-2

F

-4

72

69

74

67

282

7

Thorbjørn Olesen

-2

F

E

69

70

72

71

282

9

Simon Wakefield

-1

F

+2

71

67

72

73

283

9

Mikael Lundberg

-1

F

E

72

69

71

71

283

9

Stuart Manley

-1

F

+1

73

69

69

72

283

9

Rikard Karlberg

-1

F

-2

73

70

71

69

283

9

Gareth Maybin

-1

F

+2

75

67

68

73

283

9

S.S.P Chowrasia

-1

F

E

70

71

71

71

283

15

Søren Kjeldsen

E

F

-1

71

73

70

70

284

15

Richard Bland

E

F

E

71

74

68

71

284

15

David Drysdale

E

F

-2

71

68

76

69

284

15

Craig Lee

E

F

-1

73

72

69

70

284

15

Roope Kakko

E

F

-1

70

71

73

70

284

15

Tom Lewis

E

F

-1

72

70

72

70

284

15

David Lipsky

E

F

-3

72

71

73

68

284

 Motorsport:

Pedrosa ends Marquez’s streak.

Dani Pedrosa took the spotlight away from Marc Marquez as he claimed the victory in the Czech Republic, ending his teammate’s bid for a record-breaking 11th straight win. Arriving on the Brno grid on Sunday afternoon, Marquez needed just one more victory to not only beat Mick Doohan’s ten in a row in one season but also to eclipse Italian legend Giacomo Agostini as the first rider to win the first 11 races of a season. Although he started from pole position, the Honda rider once again made life difficult for him as he dropped to fifth place by the end of lap one.

While the Championship leader set about fighting back, Jorge Lorenzo took the lead from the Ducati’s of Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso who also lost out to Pedrosa. Marquez was the next to attack the Ducati’s and – after a thrilling fight with Iannone that saw the two touch at least twice – was up to third by the end of lap five, dragging Valentino Rossi and his injured little finger along with him. With his teammate closing fast, Pedrosa attacked Lorenzo as soon as he closed up and he led the race into lap 7 of 22.

Going full throttle, Pedrosa began to etch out a lead over Lorenzo and was 1.4s ahead of the Yamaha rider at the halfway point of the race. At the same time, Lorenzo was 1.4s ahead of Marquez who just didn’t have the pace to close up. While Pedrosa continued to pull away from Lorenzo, Rossi closed up on Marquez and attacked for third, relegating the World Champ off the podium – again he lacked the pace needed to fight back.

As the laps counted down, Pedrosa managed his gap to Lorenzo, controlling the pace at the front to take the chequered flag 0.410s ahead of the double World Champion. Rossi brought his YZR-M1 home in third place, a further five seconds down. Marquez crossed the line in fourth place, a disappointing result for the 21-year-old and for many of the 138 000 strong crowd who expected – and some who even hoped – to see a new MotoGP record set on Sunday. It was the first time since he entered MotoGP that Marquez finished a race off the podium.

The Ducati’s of Iannone and Dovizioso were fifth and sixth ahead of Stefan Bradl and the top Open class rider of Aleix Espargaro. There were five retirements as Yonny Hernandez parked his bike in the pits with a front tyre issue, Michael Laverty crashed out as did Pol Espargaro while Cal Crutchlow, who crashed on the opening lap but rejoined the race, pulled into the pits on lap eight, calling it quits. Danilo Petrucci also retired.

Marquez continues to lead the Championship by 77 points over Pedrosa with Rossi a further 13 off the pace.

RESULT

01 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 42’47.800

02 Jorge LORENZO Movistar Yamaha MotoGP +0.410

03 Valentino ROSSI Movistar Yamaha MotoGP +5.259

04 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team +10.454

05 Andrea IANNONE Pramac Racing +17.639

06 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team +17.834

07 Stefan BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP +23.819

08 Aleix ESPARGARO NGM Forward Racing +29.621

09 Bradley SMITH Monster Yamaha Tech 3 +30.364

10 Alvaro BAUTISTA GO&FUN Honda Gresini +37.639

11 Scott REDDING GO&FUN Honda Gresini +55.604

12 Michele PIRRO Ducati Team +56.727

13 Hiroshi AOYAMA Drive M7 Aspar +56.908

14 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing +1’04.135

15 Leon CAMIER Drive M7 Aspar +1’04.902

16 Alex DE ANGELIS NGM Forward Racing +1’20.666

17 Hector BARBERA Avintia Racing +1’24.282

18 Mike DI MEGLIO Avintia Racing +1’27.436

19 Broc PARKES Paul Bird Motorsport +1’38.867

NOT CLASSIFIED

Danilo PETRUCCI Octo IodaRacing Team +2 Laps

 Cal CRUTCHLOW Ducati Team +15 Laps

 Pol ESPARGARO Monster Yamaha Tech 3 +16 Laps

 Michael LAVERTY Paul Bird Motorsport +16 Laps

 Yonny HERNANDEZ Energy T.I. Pramac Racing +17 Laps

Tennis:

Serena Williams beats Ana Ivanovic to win first Cincinnati title.

World number one Serena Williams won her first Cincinnati title with a straight-sets victory over Ana Ivanovic at the Western & Southern Open. The 32-year-old American fell behind early on but recovered to win 6-4 6-1 in 62 minutes.

It is her first victory at the event in six attempts since 2006. Williams has now won 62 WTA titles and five in 2014, and she will try for a sixth US Open win when the final Grand Slam of the year begins on 25 August. There will be US$4m (£2.4m) on offer for Williams should she win the title in New York, having already sealed the US$1m (£600,000) bonus for winning the US Open series as the best player across the US summer hard-court season.

She made a slow start to Sunday’s final, just as she had 24 hours earlier in the semi-final against Carolina Wozniacki, but again the 17-time Grand Slam champion wrestled control from her opponent. Ivanovic, seeded 12th, started confidently off the back of a landmark win over Maria Sharapova in the semis but she could not convert a point for a double-break at 3-1. Williams slammed the door shut with a big serve and never looked back, taking the set after two consecutive double faults from Ivanovic and rolling through the second set.

It was the American’s third win in four matches against Ivanovic this year, with the Serb having won their contest at the Australian Open in January.

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