KUALA LUMPUR — Kei Nishikori, Asia's top player, will face a tough fight in the ATP Tour's Malaysian Open which begins on Monday.Nishikori, the third seed for the event at the Putra Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, is joined in draw by the in-form world No. 5 and top seed David Ferrer of Spain, and world No. 11 Juan Monaco from Argentina, the second seed.Rising star Nishikori, the world No. 17, receives a bye into the second round of the 28-player tournament as one of the top four seeds.But lying in wait for Nishikori, who reached the last four in 2011, is a likely semifinal against Monaco and, should he win that, a potential final against Ferrer.Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov, ranked 19th in the world, completes the top four seeds."I was a losing semifinalist last year, and even then, it was difficult just to reach the top four," Nishikori said on Saturday."That shows how difficult this tournament is. I hope to do better this year, but there are three tough players to contend with. We shall see how it goes."Nishikori said recently in Singapore that he needed to emulate U.S. Open champion Andy Murray's new aggressive style of play if he is to challenge the top players in the men's game.Spaniard Ferrer is enjoying the best season of his life. He has won five titles on the ATP tour in 2012, reached Grand Slam semifinals at the U.S. and French Opens and the made quarterfinals of the Australian Open and Wimbledon.Ferrer took a week off after leading Spain into the Davis Cup final with victory over the Czech Republic in Gijon last Sunday.Monaco is making his Malaysian Open debut but comes to Kuala Lumpur with three 2012 ATP Tour victories under his belt.Brian Baker of the U.S., the world No. 62 who made a remarkable comeback in 2011 after six years out with multiple injuries that required five surgeries, also plays in the event which has a prize purse of $947,750.SEOUL — Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki beat injury-plagued Kaia Kanepi 6-1, 6-0 Sunday to win the KDB Korea Open.Wozniacki from Denmark needed only about one hour to defeat the third-seeded Kanepi of Estonia to win the tournament on Seoul's Olympic Park hard courts. It was Wozniacki's 19th career WTA victory.She defeated Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 in the semifinals while Kanepi advanced the finals after beating Varvara Lepchenko of the United States 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Showing posts with label Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Challenge. Show all posts
Monday, September 24, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Lampard set for challenge
MUNICH — Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard is determined to end a tumultuous year in style on Saturday after a roller-coaster season which has veered from exile to the brink of Champions League glory.
Get ready: Frank Lampard (rear) and Ashley Cole take part in a practice session on Tuesday at Chelsea's training ground. APThree months ago, Lampard's Chelsea career appeared to be drawing inexorably to a close, with the 33-year-old left on the bench as the Blues crashed to a 3-1 first leg defeat against Napoli in the last 16.It followed months of tension with Andre Villas-Boas, the young Portuguese manager who had been saddled with the task of breaking up the Chelsea side that had won three league titles since 2005.Villas-Boa's abrupt dismissal in early March however proved to be the catalyst for change in both Lampard and Chelsea's fortunes.With Roberto Di Matteo appointed as interim manager, Lampard returned to the starting lineup and scored a nerveless penalty as Chelsea overturned a 3-1 deficit against Napoli with a stunning 4-1 victory.Although he did not start in the 1-0 first leg quarterfinal win over Benfica, he has played in every match since, producing superb displays in both semifinal matches against Barcelona.In both games against Barca, Lampard's vision from midfield helped create crucial goals for Didier Drogba and Ramires.In the absence of the suspended John Terry, Lampard will now captain Chelsea on Saturday for a challenge the long-serving playmaker is relishing."I think we were pretty unfancied to get this far at different stages — we looked on the way out against Napoli, then we were drawn against Barcelona," Lampard reflected this week."Not that we have surprised ourselves, but when you don't see it coming the fact that you're there in the final is even more enjoyable in a way."We've obviously still got to go and win it but it's been a nice thought for the past couple of weeks."Lampard himself admits that Chelsea's prospects looked bleak in late February as Napoli threatened to cut loose in the last 16 on their way to a 3-1 win."We were struggling. It's not just because I was sitting watching it from the outside but you could see that," Lampard said."You wouldn't have looked too far ahead of yourself and seen where we are now. We're experienced enough to know things can change very quickly."But on that night we were very despondent in the dressing room afterwards and it took a big effort in the weeks in between the two games to turn things around. The home game was obviously a massive turning point — was the major turning point — in our season."With experience you know that football changes in two seconds. You go from the worst to the best in a second and the other way around pretty quickly as well. That's the nature of the game."We always knew and I always knew that we had the quality. Losing the Napoli game, we knew we were better than that and it took a big effort from everyone at the club — staff, players included — we all had to improve."While satisfied that his season has been transformed since the departure of Villas-Boas, Lampard is determined to finish on a high in what might be his last opportunity to lift European club soccer's greatest honor.He agrees with the suggestion that a season of extremes could swing between his lowest ebb as a Chelsea player to its zenith with victory on Saturday.
Get ready: Frank Lampard (rear) and Ashley Cole take part in a practice session on Tuesday at Chelsea's training ground. APThree months ago, Lampard's Chelsea career appeared to be drawing inexorably to a close, with the 33-year-old left on the bench as the Blues crashed to a 3-1 first leg defeat against Napoli in the last 16.It followed months of tension with Andre Villas-Boas, the young Portuguese manager who had been saddled with the task of breaking up the Chelsea side that had won three league titles since 2005.Villas-Boa's abrupt dismissal in early March however proved to be the catalyst for change in both Lampard and Chelsea's fortunes.With Roberto Di Matteo appointed as interim manager, Lampard returned to the starting lineup and scored a nerveless penalty as Chelsea overturned a 3-1 deficit against Napoli with a stunning 4-1 victory.Although he did not start in the 1-0 first leg quarterfinal win over Benfica, he has played in every match since, producing superb displays in both semifinal matches against Barcelona.In both games against Barca, Lampard's vision from midfield helped create crucial goals for Didier Drogba and Ramires.In the absence of the suspended John Terry, Lampard will now captain Chelsea on Saturday for a challenge the long-serving playmaker is relishing."I think we were pretty unfancied to get this far at different stages — we looked on the way out against Napoli, then we were drawn against Barcelona," Lampard reflected this week."Not that we have surprised ourselves, but when you don't see it coming the fact that you're there in the final is even more enjoyable in a way."We've obviously still got to go and win it but it's been a nice thought for the past couple of weeks."Lampard himself admits that Chelsea's prospects looked bleak in late February as Napoli threatened to cut loose in the last 16 on their way to a 3-1 win."We were struggling. It's not just because I was sitting watching it from the outside but you could see that," Lampard said."You wouldn't have looked too far ahead of yourself and seen where we are now. We're experienced enough to know things can change very quickly."But on that night we were very despondent in the dressing room afterwards and it took a big effort in the weeks in between the two games to turn things around. The home game was obviously a massive turning point — was the major turning point — in our season."With experience you know that football changes in two seconds. You go from the worst to the best in a second and the other way around pretty quickly as well. That's the nature of the game."We always knew and I always knew that we had the quality. Losing the Napoli game, we knew we were better than that and it took a big effort from everyone at the club — staff, players included — we all had to improve."While satisfied that his season has been transformed since the departure of Villas-Boas, Lampard is determined to finish on a high in what might be his last opportunity to lift European club soccer's greatest honor.He agrees with the suggestion that a season of extremes could swing between his lowest ebb as a Chelsea player to its zenith with victory on Saturday.Saturday, May 21, 2011
Maradona excited about new challenge
Buenos Aires — Diego Maradona accepted the offer to coach United Arab Emirates club Al Wasl because it offered "good money," he said on Wednesday.The Argentine great stunned the soccer world by taking the job with the little-known Dubai outfit on Monday, his first post since leaving the Argentine national side after the World Cup."It's a marvelous experience," Maradona told the TyC sports channel. "It's the chance to be in a country where perhaps there aren't many stars, but there's a squad to command and good money."The 50-year-old Maradona signed a two-year deal and will take control of the club when the new season starts in September. The terms of his contract have not been released.Al Wasl, fourth in the domestic league, had been looking for a new coach since firing Brazilian Sergio Farias in March.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
The Champions Challenge Program
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