Aces continue to shine
Dubai: Indian Aces continued their dominance in IPTl 2 with a 25-18 win over Japan Warriors on the opening day of tournament's Dubai leg here on Monday. It was the seventh win for Aces in eight matches. The mixed doubles pair of Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza defeated Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Kirsten Flipkens 6-4 to set the tone for the match. The next two sets were way too one-sided for the Aces. Agnieszka Radwanska trounced Mirjana lucic-Baroni 6-1 in the women's singles before Fabrice Santoro blanked Thomas Enqvist 6-0 in the legend's singles. The men's doubles went into the tie-break with Bopanna and Ivan Dodig edging Herbert and leander Paes 6-5 (7-2). Warrior's won the lone set of the contest through Philipp Kohlschreiber, who beat Bernard Tomic 6-3.
Vijender laughs off Samet's threats
New Delhi: Samet Hyuseinov has promised to send Vijender Singh back to India "beaten and broken" come December 19 but the Indian boxing star merely breaks into laughter at the very mention of the threat, saying he would respond in kind inside the ring. Vijender (75kg) said he has increased his sparring sessions ahead of his third bout and is focusing on endurance and power. "How do you respond to such threatsIJ I can only laugh, let him say what he feels like. He has all the freedom to say what he wants. But I talk only in the ring and in a language he will understand quite well," the former Olympic World Championships bronze-medallist said. Bulgaria's Hyuseinov is the most experienced rival of Vijender's nascent pro career so far, having fought 14 bouts and winning seven.
Serena is SI's SPOTY
NEW YORK: Serena Williams is Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson of the Year — the first female athlete honored on her own by the magazine in more than 30 years. Williams came within two matches of tennis' first Grand Slam since 1988. Runner Mary Decker in 1983 was the last female athlete to earn the award by herself. The US women's national football team was picked by SI in 1999; speed skater Bonnie Blair (1994) and gymnast Mary lou Retton (1984) were co-honorees with male Olympians.