Djokovic gives Serbia early lead
BElGRADE/BIRMINGHAM:Novak Djokovic won the first point for Serbia against Kazakhstan in their Davis Cup first-round tie by defeating Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 on Friday. Top-ranked Djokovic, who overcame eye infections to play then seemed bothered by a sore shoulder, faced only one break point, in the third set. Djokovic says, "I lost some of the momentum in the third set, but it was enough to win the match." Elsewhere, playing his first match since becoming a father, Andy Murray beat Taro Daniel 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 to give Davis Cup champion Britain a 1-0 lead against Japan in the opening round of its title defense on Friday. "The second and third sets were tough," Murray said. "I haven't played for a long time. I was a little bit out of breath Murray and Djokovic could face each other in the Davis Cup in July, with the winner of the Britain-Japan match playing either Kazakhstan or Djokovic's Serbia.
India enter final
Kuala lumpur: It was a memorable day for the Indian paddlers as they entered the finals of the second division of the World Championships in both men's and women's sections on Friday. After defeating Nigeria 3-2 to in the quarterfinals earlier in the day, Indian men defeated Egypt 3-1 in the semifinals to achieve the rare feat of making it to the final. It also sealed India's entry in the Champions Division. The Indian men will take on Brazil, who downed Serbia 3-1 in the other semifinal, in the final tomorrow that will decide the position they achieve in this championships. In the women's section, India beat Serbia 3-2 to enter the final. 2016.
lahiri placed tied 11th at WGC C’ship
Doral (US): Anirban lahiri got off to fine start carding a decent two-under 70 to be placed tied 11th at the end of the first round of the $9.5 million World Golf Cadillac Championship, the first WGC event of the year here. The event has no cut and the field has just 66 players. lahiri was four behind Scott Piercy and Marcus Fraser, who opened very strongly with 66 each. Tied at 11th with lahiri were Rickie Fowler, Jamie Donaldson, Hideki Matsuyama and Matt Kuchar. Playing at the Blue Monster at Doral, lahiri had three birdies and three bogeys in his first nine, which started on the 10th. But on the second nine, he started with birdies on first and second and then added a third birdie on eighth.
Jitu strikes gold at ISSF World Cup
Bangkok: A fit-again Indian shooter Jitu Rai edged past a strong field, including former Olympic champion Pang Wei, to clinch the 50m pistol gold at the ISSF World Cup on Friday. Jitu, who had been nursing a palm injury for some months, beat China's former World and Olympic Champion Wei to second place shooting 191.3 to Pang's 186.5. Wang Zhiwei, also of China and an Olympic Bronze medallist, finished third with a final round score of 165.8. India's Prakash Nanjappa shot 549 in the qualification round to be placed 17th.
INDIA’S CAMPAIGN OVER IN GERMAN OPEN
Mulheim an der Ruhr: PV Sindhu fought her heart out before losing her quarterfinal while Parupalli Kashyap retired hurt midway through his match at the German Open, dealing a fresh blow to his Olympic qualification hopes, here. Seventh seed Sindhu, lone Indian in the women's singles, 16-21, 18-21 to fourth seed Chiense Wang Shixian today.
Already racing against time to seal his Olympic berth, Kashyap was back on the court after recovering from a series of injuries which derailed his preparation for the Summer Games. Kashyap is being attended by physiotherapist Dr Johnson Solomon but the extent of his injury is still not clear.
Meanwhile, World No. 10 Kidambi Srikanth, seeded sixth, also bowed out of the men's singles event after losing 21-18, 18-21, 18-21 to 12th seed NG Ka long Angus of Hong Kong in another pre-quarterfinals match.