Berbatov alone too much for Liverpool



HATTRICK HERO: Manchester United's Dimitar Berbatov (R) is about execute a spectacular back volley for his second goal against Liverpool during their English Premier League match at Old Trafford yesterday.

Dimitar Berbatov scored a hattrick as Manchester United overcame a Liverpool fightback to win 3-2 in a classic Premier League battle at Old Trafford on Sunday.



Berbatov rose high to nod home an 84th-minute header to seal maximum points for United, who had seen Liverpool recover from two goals down thanks to a second-half brace from skipper Steven Gerrard.

The win saw Sir Alex Ferguson's side go level on points with second-placed Arsenal, and one point behind leaders Chelsea, who play Blackpool later on Sunday.

All the pre-match attention had been on the return of Wayne Rooney but it was in-form Bulgarian striker Berbatov who stole the show with a virtuoso display that left Liverpool shattered.

Berbatov put United 1-0 ahead on on 42 minutes after being left in acres of space by marker Fernando Torres when Ryan Giggs swung in a corner.

The Bulgarian then doubled United's lead on 59 minutes with a sublime effort, using one touch to control a Nani cross before sending an overhead kick crashing in off the underside of the Liverpool bar.

Ferguson later hailed the performance of Berbatov, who is enjoying his best run of form for United since his transfer from Tottenham in 2008 in a deal worth 30.75 million pounds (36.86 million euros).

"There was a lot of criticism of him last season from the media, and it happens when we buy a player for a lot of money and he's not scoring a hat-trick every game," Ferguson told Sky Sports.

"This season he's started off in the right fashion, his pre-season training was very good, the pre-season tour was good and he's carried that on.

"But there's never been any doubt about the quality of the man. And we saw that again today."

However, for the second league match running, United's defensive frailties were exposed once more as Ferguson's men saw a two-goal lead evaporate.

Centre-back Jonny Evans blatantly brought down Torres in the box to allow Gerrard to convert a spot-kick on 64 minutes.

Then, six minutes later, United's defence were at fault again for Liverpool's equaliser.

Referee Howard Webb booked John O'Shea for a tackle on Torres that left Gerrard with a free-kick from the edge of the area.

Gerrard's shot was accurate and hit with power but went straight through a hole in the United wall left by Darren Fletcher, to the disgust of United's beaten keeper Edwin van der Sar.

It was the second time in the space of a week that United had let slip a two-goal lead, having been held to a 3-3 at Everton last weekend.

Buoyed by the goals, Liverpool looked capable of taking all three points, but Berbatov's late header ended their fightback and left Roy Hodgson's team with only one win from five games.

"I thought our second-half performance was good and we deserved to get back in the game," Hodgson said.

"I think we were a bit unlucky to go two down when we did -- and of course to concede late on was tough. Had we had a little bit more composure at the end, maybe we'd have seen the game out."

Hodgson also defended the mixed performance of Spanish World Cup winner Torres, who was at fault for Berbatov's opening goal before winning the penalty and free-kick that allowed Liverpool to get back on level terms.

Real Madrid go on top

Real Madrid's Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo (L) leaves his marker behind during their Spanish league match against Real Sociedad at the Anoeta stadium in San Sebastian on Saturday.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a fortunate first goal of the season with his deflected 75th minute free-kick proving the winner in a 2-1 win at promoted Real Sociedad as Real Madrid moved to the top of La Liga for the first time under Jose Mourinho.

Ronaldo saw his free-kick take a huge deflection off team-mate Pepe and loop in 15 minutes from time and the world's most expensive player seemed embarrassed to celebrate the winning goal which handed Mourinho his first away win.

Argentine international winger Angel di Maria a 25 million-euro summer signing from Benfica  scored a memorable first Real goal on 51 minutes only for veteran Raul Tamudo to equalise as Real conceded their first goal under Mourinho.

However, Ronaldo had the final say with his freak goal and Madrid rode their luck to go top  a point ahead of Atletico Madrid and Valencia who have played one game less.

Despite the win, Mourinho was far from happy throwing his water bottle in the dug out late on.

"It was great to get my first goal and the points in a tough match against a very good team," said di Maria. "Now we'll see what Atletico (Madrid) do against Barcelona."

Champions Barcelona are four points behind Real and travel to league leaders Atletico on Sunday.

It was Sociedad's first defeat of the season but the league newcomers tested Real to the limit in a sensational atmosphere at the Anoeta stadium and were denied a late equaliser at 2-2 by goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

Mourinho made just one change from the side that convincingly beat Ajax 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu in the Champions League on Wednesday with Sergio Ramos replacing Alvaro Arbeloa.

It was a special game for Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso who began his career at hometown club Sociedad and was part of the Sociedad side that finished league runners-up to Real in 2003.

Real started on the front foot but it was Sociedad who had the best chances with French midfielder Antoine Griezmann guilty of two glaring misses.

In the fifth minute Xabi Prieto found Griezmann unmarked in the penalty area but he headed over the crossbar to the relief of Casillas.

Sociedad continued to attack and on 25 minutes everyone was celebrating -- in particular Sociedad coach Martin Lasarte  the opening goal only to realise that Griezmann had shot just wide.

The Frenchman was one-on-one with Casillas but contrived to shoot wide and let Madrid off the hook again.

Real had long distance efforts from Ronaldo, di Maria and Alonso to show for their attacks but then needed a last ditch intervention from Ricardo Carvalho to stop the hosts from scoring on 31 minutes.

Real were lucky to be level at half-time after Sociedad's missed chances, yet, Mourinho refused to change things for the second half and di Maria shot the visitors ahead on 51 minutes curling in with his weaker right foot for his first Real goal.

Sociedad showed real character to equalise 10 minutes later with Real failing to defend a fizzing cross and Tamudo was on hand to slot in the leveller.

However, Ronaldo's deflected free-kick 15 minutes from time sealed a fortunate win with Casillas pulling off a late save from the hapless Griezmann.

Earlier Danish coach Michael Laudrup enjoyed his first win in charge of Real Mallorca as the islanders recorded a 2-0 home victory over Osasuna.

Mallorca scored their first goal of the season with a Chori Castro penalty on 25 minutes and a first club goal from Dutch midfielder Jonathan de Guzman helping former Barcelona and Real Madrid star player Laudrup to his maiden league win.

"I can say the same thing as (Jose) Mourinho and that is that my teams play better in the second season," explained Laudrup."

Venus Williams wins against Shahar US Open

When Israel’s Shahar Peer was denied a visa to play in the United Arab Emirates last year, Venus Williams spoke out on her behalf because she felt it was the right thing to do under those circumstances.

When Peer and Williams meet on a tennis court, as they’ve done rather frequently lately, the American shows not a trace of empathy because that is the right thing to do under those circumstances.

The No. 3-seeded Williams got through a tougher-than-expected test and beat the 16th-seeded Peer 7-6 (3), 6-3 Sunday to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the 10th time. It was their sixth head-to-match, fourth this year alone, and Williams has won every time in straight sets.

“Every time I played Venus, I had tough time, and she was always kind of killing me,” Peer said with a smile. “So today was much closer.”

Afterward, both women discussed what happened at the Dubai Tennis Championship in February 2009.

Peer was blocked from entering the country because of what the government said were security concerns. Williams was critical of the decision, first in a news conference, then far more publicly during the trophy ceremony after she won the title there.

“She was really supportive for me,” Peer said Sunday. “She stood up in that final and spoke for me. … She understands what I feel.”

Williams was honored by the Anti-Defamation League last year for her stance in Dubai, but Sunday said that “in a way, I don’t think it’s something too huge.”

No, instead, it seemed like the obvious thing to do.

“Well, I think just because of my history, too, as African-American my parents both came from the South in the ’40s and ’50s, and just, it was an outrage, really. Just like, ‘Are you serious? Can you really exclude someone, Williams said. “This is professional tennis in 2010. We’re all athletes here. We’re not politicians or anything like that.”

“So really,” she continued, “the feeling inside of me was just one of almost rage and discontent. Like, ‘Is this for real

Williams made it clear she would defend her Dubai title this year only if Peer were allowed to play, and the WTA fined tournament organizers a record $300,000 and told them they needed to make sure Israeli players would be able to compete.

As it happened, Peer did play at Dubai in 2010 and met Williams in the 2010 semifinals there. They also faced each other at Rome and Madrid this season.

In none of their encounters before Sunday did Peer ever manage to win more than four games in any set, but she made things more interesting at Flushing Meadows. Peer probably must have thought she deserved to take the opening set Sunday, because she broke Williams’ big serve twice and played solidly, making only 13 unforced errors, three fewer than the American.

Serving while down 6-5, Peer fell behind love 40, but saved those three set points. Peer would go on to save two more set points in that game, a 22 point marathon that featured eight deuces and lasted more than 10 minutes.

But two-time U.S. Open champion Williams finally found her form in the tiebreaker, taking four consecutive points including a service winner and ace  to lead 5-1. There was one more blip for Williams, a double-fault at 6-2, her sixth set point, but she closed it with a big cross-court forehand that forced an error by Peer.

“Winning the first set always feels good,” said Williams, whose younger sister Serena watched from the stands, “instead of having to regroup and figuring out how you’re going to win the match.”

That, of course, is where Peer was left, much as she always is when standing across the net against Williams.

The owner of seven Grand Slam singles titles is playing in her first tournament in more than two months, having missed time with a left kneecap injury that forced her to skip a pair of hard-court tuneup events. Before coming to New York, Williams hadn’t competed anywhere since June 29, when she was upset in the Wimbledon quarterfinals by a woman ranked 82nd.

To get to her first major semifinal since Wimbledon in 2009, Williams will have to beat French Open champion Francesca Schiavone next. The sixth-seeded Italian defeated 20th-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 6-0 Sunday to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time since 2003

“When the tournament started, it was a little uncertain on … how I would hit the ball in a match,” said the 30-year-old Williams, who is 7-0 against Schiavone. “It’s just very exciting to obviously be here and hitting well and getting the games on my side, so that’s what I want to continue. I haven’t played as much as the other players, but still I’m getting the win, so that’s what’s important.”

US open showdown Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray

US teenager Ryan Harrison plays an extraordinary shot against Sergiy Stakhovsky of the Ukraine during their third round match of the US Open at the Flushing Meadows on Friday. Despite his best efforts, the American lost the five-setter 6-3, 5-7, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6.

Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray stayed on course for a US Open semifinal showdown in Friday's second-round action with both recording straight sets victories.

Top-seeded Nadal pounded his way past Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-2, 7-6, 7-5 in the featured night session match on Arthur Ashe Stadium court.

Fourth-seeded Murray saw off Jamaica's Dustin Brown 7-5, 6-3, 6-0 on the same court earlier in the day.

Nadal next plays France's Gilles Simon who defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 4-6, 6-3, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3, while Murray takes on Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland who ousted Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.

There were mixed fortunes for US hopes with teenager Ryan Harrison squandering three match points against Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky in a fifth set tie-breaker before losing 6-3, 5-7, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6.

But twin giants Sam Querrey and John Isner both won through in the same quarter as Murray.

At the start of the day there were nine Spaniards and seven Frenchmen involved in the 16 ties that made up the top half of the draw.

By the end of play, seven of the Spanish had survived (the two losers going down to compatriots) and only two Frenchmen remained.

Nadal  seeking in New York to become just the seventh man to complete the career Grand Slam of Australian, French, Wimbledon and US crowns -- was made to dig deep from 1-5 down in the second set tie-break against the 39th-ranked Istomin, taking six points in a row.

He then grabbed the only additional break he needed in the 12th game of the third set to clinch the win.

Murray had been expected to sweep past the unconventional Brown with little or no effort, and in the end he did so.
 

But he was left scratching his head at times in the first set by the towering Brown's unorthodox play focused around a huge, whipping serve and some outrageous drop shots.

On top of that, early play was suspended for around 20 minutes as, courtesy of Hurricane Earl churning up the US eastern seaboard, a rain shower dampened the Flushing Meadows courts.

In the end, the dreadlock Brown, ranked 123rd in the world, had little left to offer and Murray even went for some extra practice afterwards to complete his day

The emotional high of the day for home fans came out on the atmospheric Grandstand Court where 18-year-old Harrison, the youngest player left in the tournament, had three match points against Ukraine's Stakhovsky in the fifth set tie-break.

But a double fault and some brave net play from a tiring Stakhovsky saved the day for the east European

There was better news for US hopes, however, shortly afterwards on the adjacent Louis Armstrong Court when Wimbledon marathon man Isner won through to the third round with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 win over Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland, setting up a third round clash against Mikhail Youzhny of Russia.

Querrey then cruised past Spain's Marcel Granollers 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.

Tommy Robredo got the Spanish challenge off to strong start when his French opponent, Julian Benneteau, retired in a second set tie-break after injuring his left wrist stretching for a shot. Robredo had won the first set 6-4

David Ferrer, the 10th seed, then bulldozed his way past Benjamin Becker of Germany 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and Feliciano Lopez saw off the challenge of France's Benoit Paire 6-4, 6-7, 5-7, 7-6, 6-2.

French hopes suffered another blow when Jeremy Chardy fell to Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain 4-6, 6-2, 6-0, 7-6 and then Fernando Verdasco ousted Chardy's compatriot Adrian Mannarino 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.

But serve and volley expert Michael Llodra brought some consolation for the French when he defied a painful left foot injury to defeat Victor Hanescu of Romania 7-6, 6-4, 6-2.

And late in day, Simon came through against Kohlschreiber to set up a third round clash with Nadal.

Trio appears for probe

Pakistan cricketers (L-R) Mohammad Aamer,
Mohammad Asif and captain Salman Butt leave the team hotel in
Taunton yesterday to face questions from Pakistan Cricket Board
chairman Ijaz Butt and Wajid Shamsul Hasan,
Pakistan's high commissioner to Britain in London.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three Pakistan players embroiled in betting scam allegations headed to London on Wednesday to face questioning which is almost certain to sideline them from the team's tour of England.

Test captain Salman Butt plus bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif look set to miss Pakistan's match with county side Somerset in Taunton Thursday, a warm-up match before their limited overs internationals against England.

The trio, all casually dressed, left the team hotel in Taunton at 11:12am (1012 GMT) accompanied by team security officer Major Khawaja Najam, flanked by private security guards and police officers.

Butt shook his head when asked by a reporter if he was "guilty".

The trio were due to face questions from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt and Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan's high commissioner (ambassador) to Britain, in London on Thursday.

"The boys are leaving today [Wednesday]. They will have a meeting at the High Commission [Embassy] tomorrow [Thursday]," Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed had earlier told reporters.

It appears increasingly likely the trio will play no further part in the tour amid mounting calls for the trio to be barred from appearing while the probe into the allegations is ongoing.

Following the Somerset warm-up, Pakistan play two Twenty20 matches against England in Cardiff on Sunday and Tuesday, then five one-day internationals.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has promised "prompt and decisive action" if the "spot-fixing" allegations linked to betting rings made by Britain's biggest-selling newspaper are proven.

Its chief executive Haroon Lorgat hopes there will be "some sort of conclusion" to the probe within the next few days.

England's players meanwhile are reportedly reluctant to line up against a Pakistan team containing the tainted trio, according to Professional Cricketers' Association chief executive Angus Porter.

"The England players understand it is important the games go ahead and they will be professional but they would or will find it really difficult to play against the guys directly implicated," Porter told the Daily Telegraph.

Customs officials in Britain meanwhile said they had arrested and bailed two men and a woman "as part of an ongoing investigation into money laundering". A source confirmed the arrests were linked to the cricket scandal.

Meanwhile the ramifications of the affair were being felt far beyond the world of cricket, with Asif dropped from a planned role in a film, Indian media reported Wednesday.

The bowler had been slated to play the lead role in the Malayalam-language film "Mazhavillinattamvare" (Till The Tip of The Rainbow), which charts the life of a Pakistani cricket coach in the southern Indian state of Kerala.

The furore erupted on Sunday when The News of the World alleged Mazhar Majeed, a 35-year-old agent for several Pakistan players, took 150,000 pounds (185,000 euros, 230,000 dollars) to arrange for deliberate no-balls to be bowled at precise points in last week's Test match against England.

The information would be of enormous value to the spot-betting industry, where money is wagered on specific incidents in matches.

Majeed was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers in the wake of the allegations, but was released on bail without charge on Sunday, to return at a later date.

Detectives interviewed Butt, Asif and 18-year-old prodigy Aamer, who delivered the no-balls -- normally an accidental and unpredictable occurrence -- and police seized their mobile phones.

The world of cricket has reacted with shock and dismay to claims that huge sums of money had changed hands in alleged fixing schemes at international level, linked to shadowy betting rings.

Investigators from the ICC's anti-corruption and security unit are in Britain looking into the allegations.

Meanwhile in Australia, it has emerged that four cricket stars were targeted by a suspected illegal bookmaker.

Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson were targeted by the unnamed figure who approached two team-mates in England last year, reports said on Wednesday.

The Sydney Morning Herald and Daily Telegraph said Lee and Johnson were confronted in the team hotel's bar during the tour of England, fuelling fears over illegal betting after a newspaper sting snared an alleged match-fixer.

Nadal wins US Open 1st-round

NEW YORK: For all of Rafael Nadal’s considerable talents with a racket in hand, the part of his game that’s most often been criticized by himself and others is his serve.

Serving at up to 131 mph and saving the only break point he faced, Nadal began his bid to complete a career Grand Slam at this year’s U.S. Open by beating 93rd-ranked Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the first round Tuesday night.

“My serve worked well. Hopefully, I’ll continue like this,” Nadal said. “My serve is not my best shot, but I always try hard to keep improving. I know if I want to have chances to win here not just this year, but any year I need to serve really well.”

Asked if he’s been focusing on making his serve better this summer, Nadal replied with a smile: “All my life, I worked on my serve. Not this summer, no; all my life.”
In Tuesday’s match, there were zero breaks of serve until 3-all in the third set, and the No. 1-seeded Nadal broke there when Gabashvili put a forehand into the net. Nadal threw his head back and yelled, “Si!”

The 24-year-old Spaniard broke serve again to end the match, closing with a three-game run.
While it was a straight-set victory, it wasn’t necessarily easy for Nadal. He failed to convert any of his first seven break points, and had to weather 49 winners from the big-hitting Gabashvili, 19 more than Nadal produced.

“I had a difficult match,” Nadal acknowledged, “but I think I did play well.”

The match lasted nearly three hours and, because it began late after three lengthy contests preceded it in Arthur Ashe Stadium, they didn’t finish until 11:32 p.m.
 
The result extended Nadal’s Grand Slam winning streak to 15 matches, after his titles at the French Open in June and Wimbledon in July. He owns eight major championships, but has yet to make it past the semifinals at Flushing Meadows, losing at that stage each of the past two years.

Nadal hopes to become the seventh man in tennis history with at least one title from each of the four Grand Slam tournaments.

Gabashvili, meanwhile, has lost in the first round of the U.S. Open two consecutive years. His best showing at a major tournament came at Roland Garros this season, when he upset Andy Roddick on the way to the fourth round.

In the second round, Nadal will face 39th-ranked Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, who beat Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina 7-5, 7-5, 6-1 earlier Tuesday.

Might Nadal hit serves even faster against Istomin than he did against Gabashvili?

“Wait,” Nadal said, grinning to make sure everyone knew he was kidding. “Wait for the next one. (I’m) going for 135.”