Bopanna & Qureshi lose to Bryan brothers in final

Bopanna (right) and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi's brilliant run came to an end in the final against Bob and Mike Bryan on Friday.

NEW YORK: Pakistan's Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and India's Rohan Bopanna, trying to inspire peace between their homelands, were beaten by US top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan in the US Open men's doubles final.

With United Nations ambassadors Hardeep Singh Puri of India and Abdullah Hussain Haroon of Pakistan sitting together cheering on the “Indo-Pak Express”, Qureshi and Bopanna were beaten by the top-ranked duo 7-6(5), 7-6(4).

The Bryans stretched their record ATP doubles title total to 65 with their third US Open crown and ninth Grand Slam title, two shy of the all-time record set by Australians Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde.

“This has been the best match we ever played,” Bob Bryan said. “These guys played incredible. We had to step up and match their energy.”

Bopanna and Qureshi had bested the Bryans for the first time last month at Washington in their most recent prior meeting, the only loss the Bryans have suffered in 20 matches since Wimbledon.

Bob Bryan became the first man in 28 years to win men's and mixed doubles crowns in the same US Open after teaming with compatriot Liezel Huber to claim the mixed title on Thursday over Qureshi and Czech Kveta Peschke.

Qureshi, who dedicated his efforts to 21 million flood victims in Pakistan, apologized to his homeland for falling short twice in the finals.

World No.1 Rafael Nadal, seeking his first U.S .Open title to complete a career Grand Slam, advanced to the last four on Thursday by defeating eighth-seeded Spanish compatriot Fernando Verdasco.

Nadal, who has not lost a set in the tournament, rolled 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 and will play for a final berth on Saturday against Russian 12th seed Mikhail Youzhny, who ousted Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 3-6, 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Nadal moved within two wins of a ninth Grand Slam title although his remarkable domination from the service line was finally punctured by Verdasco, who ended his string of winning every service game in the tournament at 62 in the first set.

The defeat dropped Verdasco to 0-11 against Nadal.

“It was a very important victory,” Nadal said. “It's a very nice feeling to be in the semifinals third time in a row in one of the most important tournaments in the world, for me right now probably the most important.”

History beckons

Nadal has never made it to the final, losing to Britain's Andy Murray in 2008 and eventual winner Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina last year.

“For me, the semifinal is amazing but I have to keep playing better if I want to win the final,” Nadal said. “It's a great thing for me, especially without losing a set. I played every day better.”

Nadal seeks his third Major title in a row in 2010 after Wimbledon and the French Open. Only Roger Federer, Pete Sampras and Rod Laver have won three Slams in a row in the Open era that began in 1968.

“I have to play my best tennis,” Nadal said. “That's the only way I'm going to get to the last round. Nadal could join Federer, Andre Agassi, Don Budge, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver and Fred Perry as the only men to complete the career Grand Slam, but says his main concern now is Youzhny.

Nadal, 24, has a 7-4 career record against Youzhny, but has won four of their past five meetings, most recently in the fourth round at Wimbledon 2008. The Russian could foil hopes for a Nadal-Federer final at the only Grand Slam where they have never played in the title match.

“I'm ready to be the bad person,” Youzhny said. “I'd love to be the bad person in this case.”

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi was thwarted in his first attempt to win a U.S. Open title when he and partner Kveta Peschke lost to Liezel Huber and Bob Bryan 6-4, 6-4 in the mixed doubles final. — Agencies

“It was a great tournament for us and we played some great tennis and Bob and Mike proved why they are the best in the world. Hoepfully, we will play much better against them again. I thank the crowd and the people of New York for their support and it was a wonderful week for us here,” said Bopanna, who also thanked his parents who flew in from India to watch the final.

Qureshi too echoed his sentiments and added a political statement. “We Pakistanis are peace-loving people and don't think of us as terrorists.” He regretted that he could not give his sister a birthday present, which she deserved today.

He also thanked the Bryans for making a contribution to flood victims in Pakistan.

Bob Bryan also paid rich compliments to the Indo-Pak team, saying “these guys are going to be around for a long time, knocking at doors of more Slam finals.”

Results:

Men's singles: Quarterfinals: 12-Mikhail Youzhny (Rus) bt 25-Stanislas Wawrinka (Sui) 3-6, 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-3; 1-Rafael Nadal (Esp) bt 8-Fernando Verdasco (Esp) 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.

Women's doubles: Semifinals: 2-Lizel Huber (USA)-Nadia Petrova (Rus) bt 7-Chan Yung-Jan (Tpe)-Zheng Jie (Chn) 6-3, 6-2.

Mixed doubles: Final: 1-Liezel Huber & Bob Bryan (USA) bt Kveta Peschke (Cze) & Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi (Pak) 6-4, 6-4 .

Men's Doubles Final: 1-Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan (USA) bt 16-Rohan Bopanna (Ind) & Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (Pak) 7-6(5), 7-6(4) .

Himilton Leads in championship by win Belgian GP

— PHOTO: AP

DELIGHTED:McLaren's Lewis Hamilton celebrates after winning the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday.

SPA—FRANCORCHAMPS: McLaren's Lewis Hamilton won a chaotic and thrilling Belgian Grand Prix to seize back the Formula One championship lead from Red Bull's Mark Webber on Sunday.

Hamilton's victory, despite a near-miss with the barriers in the challenging conditions ranging from dry to wet, lifted him three points clear of second-placed Webber at the top of the standings with six races remaining.

“It was a great weekend, and very tough racing,” said the Briton.

The success, his third of the season, contrasted to team mate and reigning World champion Jenson Button's misfortune on a sweet and sour day for the British team and their two World champions.

Button, running behind Hamilton in a McLaren one-two at the fast and flowing circuit, was shunted out of the race by Webber's young German teammate and title rival Sebastian Vettel on the 17th of the 44 laps.

Vettel was handed a drive-through penalty for causing a collision and then plunged further back through the field after tangling with Force India's Vitantonio Liuzzi and puncturing the left rear tyre.

The German ended up 15th and out of the points for the third time this year.

Webber, winner of four of the 13 races so far this season, had been on pole position but suffered a terrible start on an afternoon where the fickle Spa weather played its hand to full effect and the safety car was twice deployed.

“Lewis deserved the win, he did a good job,” the Australian said.

Poland's Robert Kubica finished third for Renault, losing second with a pit stop error but still taking a morale-boosting result for a team who this time last year became embroiled in a major race-fixing scandal that led to a suspended permanent ban.

Hamilton has 182 points to Webber's 179 and Vettel's 151. Button is on 147.

“I thought I was doing a good job of keeping my position and fairly. I don't know what Sebastian was doing,” said Button of his incident.

Massive blow

“It's a massive blow, I'm really disappointed. I felt that under the difficult conditions I found grip better than others.”

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, fifth in the standings, retired after an incident-filled afternoon.

He collided with Brazilian Rubens Barrichello on the opening lap and dropped to 20th place.

The debris from that incident, apart from ending Barrichello's 300th race without the Williams veteran completing a lap, brought out the safety car.

The Spaniard pitted for a new front wing and fought his way back to eighth but finally crashed out six laps from the end when he spun and hit the barriers between Les Combes and Rivage.

The Ferrari was stranded on the track, again bringing out the safety car.

Brazilian Felipe Massa finished fourth for Ferrari, ahead of Germany's Adrian Sutil in a Force India.

Schumacher seventh

Seven-time World champion Michael Schumacher, who had started in 21st place after a 10-place penalty for an incident with Barrichello at the previous race in Hungary, finished seventh at his favourite circuit.

The 41-year-old former Ferrari ace tangled twice with Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg, their cars touching once, before the younger German grabbed sixth place.

Force India's Vitantonio Luizzi moved up into tenth place as Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari had 20 seconds added to his race time by the Spa stewards for cutting the final chicane on lap 42, whilst defending from Liuzzi during their late-race battle.

The results:

1. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 1hr 29m 4.268s;

2. Mark Webber (Red Bull) +1.571;

3. Robert Kubica (Renault)+.493;

4. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) +8.264;

5. Adrian Sutil (Force India) +9.094;

6. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes GP) +12.359;

7. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes GP) +15.548;

8. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) +16.678;

9. Vitaly Petrov (Renault) +23.851;

10. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India) +34.831;

11. Pedro de la Rosa (Sauber) +36.019;

12. Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso) +39.895;

13. Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) +29.457(finished 10th, penalised 20 seconds);

14. Nico Hulkenberg (Williams);

5. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull);

16. Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus);

17. Lucas di Grassi (Virgin);

18. Timo Glock (Virgin);

19. Jarno Trulli (Lotus) all + 1 lap; Sakon Yamamoto (HRT) + 2 laps.

Did not finish:

Rubens Barrichello (Williams) first lap;

Bruno Senna (HRT) sixth lap; Jenson Button (McLaren) 16th lap;

Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 38th lap.

Drivers' standings:

1. Lewis Hamilton, 182 points;

2. Mark Webber 179;

3. Sebastian Vettel 151;

4. Jenson Button 147;

5. Fernando Alonso 141;

6. Felipe Massa 109;

7. Robert Kubica 104;

8. Nico Rosberg 102;

9. Adrian Sutil 45;

10. Michael Schumacher 44;

11. Rubens Barrichello 30;
12. Kamui Kobayashi 21;

13. Vitaly Petrov 19;

14. Vitantonio Liuzzi 12;

15. Nico Huelkenberg 10;

16. Sebastien Buemi 7;

17. Pedro de la Rosa 6;

18. Jaime Alguersuari 4.

Constructors' standings: 1. Red Bull 330 points; 2. McLaren 329; 3. Ferrari 250; 4. Mercedes GP 146; 5. Renault 123; 6. Force India 57; 7. Williams 40; 8. Sauber 27; 9. Toro Rosso 11 .

Hemilton thrills Chennai

source : The Hindu

CHENNAI: Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 Formula One champion, who was in the city for a promotional event here on Friday, enthused over the proposed Indian Grand Prix that is scheduled to take place next year in Noida, New Delhi.

“It's been long overdue. It's been in the pipeline for a while now, and when it does happen, I imagine it's going to be spectacular. Judging by the enthusiasm of the crowd here, it will certainly be noisier than the Turkish Grand Prix, where the atmosphere was quite dull.”

The 25-year-old McLaren driver took the winners of the SMS and online contest conducted by Vodafone on hair-raising laps around the Madras Motor Race Track, Irungattukottai, where a sizeable throng of racing enthusiasts had gathered.

By the end of the event, the tarmac wore a number of circular rubber imprints laid down by Hamilton's tyres while performing the ‘ donut', a manoeuvre that tests the limits of a car's turning radius while spewing fiendish quantities of smoke.

Monza crash

Later, addressing a press conference, Hamilton reflected on the first-lap incident that saw him crash out of the Italian Grand Prix last weekend, and also fall out of the lead in the driver's championship.

He said that he could have avoided the ambitious, failed overtaking move on Ferrari's Felipe Massa, but defended his aggressive driving style.

“It's a split-second decision, and I would have pulled it off nine times out of ten.”

Hamilton spoke out against team orders, an issue that has split Formula One following the recent controversy surrounding the German Grand Prix, in which Ferrari was fined for instructing its driver Felipe Massa to let teammate Fernando Alonso pass him.

“We (McLaren) don't have team orders,” he said. “I haven't experienced it. I don't know how Felipe, for instance, must be feeling. When you have team orders, it's not necessarily the best driver that wins, just the guy the team favours.”

Breaking into a boyish grin, he also recalled the first time he met McLaren's long-time Team Principal Ron Dennis, at an awards ceremony when he was a 10-year-old karting champion.

“My dad had given me this autograph book, and was pointing out to me – ‘that's Michael Schumacher, that's Damon Hill.'

“When he told me about Ron Dennis, I had to meet him, since I was a huge fan of Ayrton Senna, who had won so many titles with McLaren,” he said.

“So I went up to him and told him I would be winning the World Championship one day, in his car, and he said to me, ‘call me in nine years.'

“Three years later, he called me himself (to offer him a place in McLaren's Young Driver Support Programme), which was even better.”

India Defeat Brazil as 3-2 in Davis cup

Chennai, Sep 19: India entered to the elite Davis Cup World Group by scripting a sensational 3-2 win over Brazil in the play-off tie on Sunday, Sep 19.

The new Indian tennis wonders, Somdev Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna, defeated their higher-ranked rivals in a do-or-die situation and led India to its first ever win in a Davis Cup tie from a 0-2 deficit.

Earlier on Friday, Sep 17, Somdev and Bopanna were defeated by the Brazilian players and the visitors took a 2-0 lead. Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi had brought India back in the tie by beating Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares in the doubles rubber on Saturday.

On Sunday, Chennai SDAT Stadium witnessed a dramatic come back by the Indian players. Somdev defeated Thomaz Bellucci, ranked 27 in the world, 7-6 (3) 4-0 and Rohan Bopanna beat Ricardo Mello 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-3 in the second reverse singles.

The 479th-ranked Bopanna won the rubber without dropping his serve as he saved two set-points in the 10th game of the second set, which he won in a tie-breaker.

India were forced into the play-offs after losing to Russia 2-3 in the World Group first round in Moscow in Mar 2010.

Nadal Clears his US Grand Slam

AMAZING feeling:The magical moment that Rafael Nadal was looking for in the final of the U.S. Open came after three hours and 43 minutes of exceptional shot-making.

NEW YORK: World No. 1 Rafael Nadal completed a career Grand Slam title sweep on Monday by capturing his first US Open crown, defeating Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.

The 24-year-old Spanish left-hander overwhelmed Djokovic with uncanny shotmaking to win the $1.7 million top prize as well as his third consecutive Grand Slam crown and his ninth Grand Slam title overall.

Nadal became the seventh man to complete a career Grand Slam sweep, joining Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Don Budge and Fred Perry in having won Wimbledon and the US, French and Australian Open titles.

“It's a dream to have the career Grand Slam, but this is more than a dream to have the US Open,” Nadal said.

“It's an unbelievable feeling because I worked a lot all my life, in all the difficult moments, to be here but I never imagined having the four Grand Slams.

“This one is very special to me because it was the last one remaining.”

Showers pushed the final to Monday for the third year in a row and halted the match for one hour and 48 minutes, a rain delay that only delayed Nadal's reign on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts.

“For the first time in my career I played a very good match at this tournament,” Nadal said. “I played my best match in the US Open at the most important moment and I'm very happy for this.”

A ninth Slam title moved Nadal alone into seventh on the all-time list — passing Agassi, Perry, Ken Rosewall and Ivan Lendl and just seven shy of Federer's all-time record, three ahead of Federer's pace at the same age.

“It's too far — 16 for me, it's too far right now,” Nadal said. “It's the same (goal) — keep improving and be a better player.”

In elite company

After winning Wimbledon and the French Open earlier this year, Nadal joined Federer, Laver and Pete Sampras as the only men to win three Slams in a row in the Open era that began in 1968.

“He has all the capabilities to be the greatest ever,” Djokovic said. “He's playing the best I've ever seen him play on hardcourts. He has the game now for each surface. He has won each Major. He has proven to the world he's the best.”

No Spanish man had won the US Open title since Manuel Orantes in 1975 and the only other Spanish US Open champion was Manuel Santana in 1965. Not since John McEnroe in 1984 has a left-hander won the US Open men's title.

Nadal was broken only five times in the tournament, matching the mark for fewest broken serves by a US Open men's champion set by Andy Roddick in 2003.

Djokovic, whose lone Grand Slam title came at the 2008 Australian Open, had won his three prior matches against Nadal, all on hardcourts, but has still never defeated the Spaniard in a final or at a Grand Slam event.

Nadal improved to 9-2 in Slam finals, his only losses coming to Federer at Wimbledon in 2006 and 2007, and 15-7 against Djokovic, who saved 20 of 26 break points against him but could not combat Nadal's relentless performance.

After the rain delay, Djokovic held and broke Nadal to claim the second set, the Spaniard spraying a backhand wide and netting a forehand to drop his only set of the tournament.

“When he's playing at his best he's very difficult to stop,” Nadal said.

Nadal responded with exceptional shot-making in the third set, breaking Djokovic for a 2-1 lead. Djokovic fought off three break points in the fifth game and five more in the seventh, but Nadal held twice more to claim the third set and broke Djokovic in the third game of the fourth set to tighten his grip on victory.

“There were some moments in the third and fourth sets where I dropped my focus a little bit and he took (the match) away from me and I never had a chance to get it back,” Djokovic said.

Djokovic netted a forehand to hand Nadal a break and a 4-1 lead and when the speedy Serb missed a break chance when a forehand went long, his last gasp was done, Nadal holding twice more to make history.

The magical moment came after three hours and 43 minutes when Djokovic hit a forehand wide. Nadal put his face in his hands and fell to the ground on his back, then rolled over and savoured the moment.

After receiving congratulations from Djokovic at the net, Nadal dropped to his knees on the court and raised his hands in victory. “It was an amazing feeling,” Nadal said.

Djokovic surrendered a break on Nadal's sixth break-point of the fifth game and held from there to take the set.

Nadal was 107-1 in prior Grand Slam matches when winning the first set and 91-0 when taking the first two sets, arousing Djokovic's urgency.

Djokovic broke Nadal at love to lead 3-1 but Nadal broke back in the seventh game and was at 4-4 when rains hit, halting play for one hour and 48 minutes.

King-Shvedova triumph

Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova added the US Open women's doubles title to the Wimbledon crown they won in July.

The US-Kazakh duo defeated second seeds Liezel Huber of the United States and Nadia Petrova of Russia 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(4).

The final had been suspended due to rain at a crucial moment of the game on Sunday with King serving to level at 5-5 in the deciding set.

On resumption a Shvedova's forehand winner down the line saved a match point for the sixth seeds and two games later it went down to a tie-breaker.

King and Shvedova opened up an early lead in that and after securing two match points they clinched it with a perfect lob over Petrova. — AFP

Prefix denotes seeding

Men's singles (final): 1-Rafael Nadal (Esp) bt 3-Novak Djokovic (Srb) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.

Women's doubles (final): 6-Vania King (USA) & Yaroslava Shvedova (Kaz) bt 2-Liezel Huber (USA) & Nadia Petrova (Rus) 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(4).

Junior girls (final): 1-Daria Gavrilova (Rus) bt Yulia Putintseva (Rus) 6-3, 6-2.

Junior boys (final): Jack Sock (USA) bt 10-Denis Kudla (USA) 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 .

Alonso made exciting victory in Italian Grand Prix on home soil for Ferrari

— PHOTO: AFP

DELIGHTED:Fernando Alonso celebrates after winning the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday.

MONZA: Fernando Alonso kept alive his challenge for the drivers' World championship with a near-flawless drive to an emotional and exciting victory in Sunday's Italian Grand Prix, his maiden race on home soil for Ferrari.

The 29-year-old Spaniard, who had said he needed a victory to maintain his bid for a third World title in his first season with the Italian ‘scarlet scuderia', delivered a stirring performance to the delight of a notably sparse crowd in the grandstands of the old Autodromo Nazionale.

Alonso lost a place after starting from his 19th pole position, but fought back and aided by a dazzling Ferrari pit-stop was able to hold on to win ahead of second-placed defending champion Jenson Button of McLaren and Felipe Massa, in the second Ferrari.

Third win

It was his third win this season and the 24th victory of his career and, unlike his triumph in Germany in July, was this time produced without the aid of any team orders at Ferrari.

He now has 166 points and is back within reach of the championship leaders who, once again, shuffled their positions.

Sixth-placed Mark Webber took over on top from Lewis Hamilton who crashed out in his McLaren on the opening lap. Webber is on 187 points, five clear of luckless Hamilton with five races to go.

Amazingly, German Sebastian Vettel finished fourth after surviving early engine problems and diving in for an extraordinary 3.3 seconds pit-stop on the final lap.

Fellow-German Nico Rosberg finished fifth in the second Mercedes, ahead of Webber, German Nico Hulkenberg of Williams and Pole Robert Kubica of Renault who was eighth.

Schumacher ninth

Seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, 41, gave his fans something to cheer after finishing ninth in the second Mercedes and his former Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello was 10th for Williams.

No points for Force India

Force India returned empty handed for the fourth time this season with Vitantonio Liuzzi finishing 12th and Adrian Sutil 16th.

It is third time in the last four races that Force India has failed to get a point in an otherwise impressive season.

Before this race, Force India had returned without any points from the Chinese, German and Hungary Grand Prix.

Sutil, who began 11th on the grid, was pushed back to the rear after an opening lap trouble which also forced him an early pit stop, but the German driver raced amazingly to move up.

He switched on to hard tyres and moved to 17 by the lap 18. In another five laps, he was in top 15.

With the 16th-place finish, Sutil dropped one position to 10th.

It was a home race for Liuzzi, who started on P20, and the Italian made full use of the opening lap mix-up, which also saw Mclaren's Lewis Hamilton crashing out of the race.

Liuzzi soon was in 12th position and maintained that till he took first pit stop in lap 32 and joined the race back at 13th position.

Apart from Hamilton, BMW Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi, Hispania's Bruno Senna and Lotus' Jarno Trulli also failed to finish the race.

The results: 1. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 1hr 16min 24.572sec, 2. Jenson Button (McLaren) 2.938secs, 3. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 4.223, 4. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 28.196, 5. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes GP) 29.942, 6. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 31.276, 7. Nico H|lkenberg (Williams F1) 32.812, 8. Robert Kubica (Renault) 34.028, 9. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes GP) 44.948, 10. Rubens Barrichello (Williams F1) 1:04.213.

11. Sibastien Buemi (Toro Rosso) 1:05.056, 12. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India) 1:06.106, 13. Vitaly Petrov (Renault) 1:18.919, 14. Pedro de la Rosa (Sauber) 1 lap, 15. Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) 1 lap, 16. Adrian Sutil (Force India) 1 lap, 17. Timo Glock (Virgin Racing) 2 laps, 18. Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus) 2 laps, 19. Sakon Yamamoto (Hispania) 2 laps, 20. Lucas Di Grassi (Virgin Racing) 2 laps.