NST Online: Sports

Tennis / Malaysian Open: Tricky tie for Melzer

Posted: 28 Sep 2011 05:04 PM PDT

2011/09/29
By Ajitpal Singh and Fadhli Ishak
nstsport@nstp.com.my

Jurgen Melzer returns a shot to Rik De Voest in the Malaysian Open yesterday. Melzer won 6-0, 6-4. — Picture by Fariz Iswadi Ismail

AUSTRIA'S fourth seed Jurgen Melzer and Russia's seventh Dmitry Tursunov cruised into the quarter-finals of the Malaysian Open after breezing past their opponents at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.

Joining them in the last eight was the tournament's only surviving wild card player Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, a former Australian Open finalist.

Melzer, the World No 21, broke serve four times and won 86 per cent of points behind his serve for an impressive 6-0, 6-4 victory over South African qualifier Rik De Voest. The debutant faces a tricky quarter-final match against Baghdatis, who is seeking his fifth career title, tomorrow.

"I started really well. The first set was one of the best sets I've played all year for sure. I'm feeling really good here, hopefully it can continue," said Melzer yesterday.

"The conditions are very slow but if you have enough power, it can give you a little more time to set up for your shots and go for some winners, which is nice for my game."

Baghdatis edged India's Asian and Commonwealth Games champion Somdev Devvarman 7-5, 6-4 in 105 minutes.

Somdev started well by breaking in the seventh game and had a break point opportunity to seal the set at 5-4. However, Baghdatis won the game in deuce before breaking the World No 89 in the 12th game for victory.

In the second set, the 26-year-old Baghdatis saved three consecutive break points before holding serve in the first game. He went on to break Somdev in the fourth and 10 games to make his second straight quarter-final appearance.

"I was quite impatient at the beginning but I changed my style of play once I realised things were not working out. It was tough as the courts here are very slow and tough to hit winners.

"I took my time and slowly managed to get back into the match. I am glad that I've beaten Somdev as matches between us have always been tough," said Baghdatis.

Tursunov, the World No 41, defeated Belgian wild card David Goffin 6-3, 6-3 to set-up a quarter-final clash with either Serbia's second seed Viktor Troicki or Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin.

In a first round match, Italy's World No 96 Flavio Cipolla got the better of Australia's World No 56 Bernard Tomic, a quarter-finalist in Wimbledon, 6-2, 6-2 to claim only his fourth ATP-level win of the season in 72 minutes.

The Italian faces Serbian third seed Janko Tipsarevic, who received a bye through the first round, today.

Local wild cards Ahmad Deedat Abdul Razak and Ariex Elyaas Deen Heshaam, as expected, were beaten 6-2, 6-2 by Frantisek Cermak- Filip Polasek in the doubles first round.

Hockey: Good start for Sultan of Johor Cup

Posted: 28 Sep 2011 05:02 PM PDT

2011/09/29
By J.J. Shah
nstsport@nstp.com.my

Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, Malaysian Hockey Federation president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman with the sponsors of the Sultan of Johor Cup at yesterday's launch. — Picture by Zulkarnain Ahmad Tajuddin

THE state government's bid to turn Johor Baru into a sporting hub received a shot in the arm when the inaugural Sultan of Johor Cup was launched by Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar at the Johor International Convention Centre yesterday.

It will become the second annual international tournament in Johor Baru, joining the five-year-old Iskandar Johor Open Golf which draws big names from the European and Asian tours.

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Ghani Othman listed cricket as the next international event that could be held in Johor Baru.

The Sultan of Johor Cup received a tremendous boost with a total of RM1.25 million in sponsorship at the launch.

In this year's tournament, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, South Korea and hosts Malaysia will compete at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium on Nov 5-12. The tournament, held in conjunction with the Sultan of Johor's birthday celebrations, has been sanctioned by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and will feature on its hockey calendar.

"Due to time constraint, it is a six-nation tournament this year but we hope to bring European teams in the coming years and probably increase the total to eight or more teams," said Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.

Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar launched the tournament.

A total of RM1.25 million was raised from various sponsors with the Johor State Government contributing RM500,000 while other major sponsors include Johor Corporation, Danga Bay, Genting Berhad, Sapura Holdings, Sports Ministry, Century Logistics, Malaysian Pacific Corporation, SAJ Holdings Sdn Bhd, Central Malaysian Properties, BCB Berhad, UEM Land Holdings Berhad, Tenaga National and Titan Chemicals Corporation.

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Rabu, 28 September 2011

NST Online: Sports

NST Online: Sports

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