Anand draws second match
Sao Paulo: World Champion Viswanathan Anand played out his second draw on the trot, signing peace with Levon Aronian of Armenia in the second round of 5th Final Masters here. With draws from two white games so far, it turns out to be a mediocre start for Anand, who is back to competitive chess after a four-month break. The Indian ace will certainly feel the pressure as the tournament progresses with five black and just three white games remaining for him in the last eight rounds. Meanwhile, the youngest participant, Fabiano Caruana of Italy, continued with his impressive run by beating Russian Sergey Karjakin to maintain an all-win record after two rounds. (PTI)
Sharapova reaches Tokyo quarters
TOKYO: Maria Sharapova overcame more problems with her serve to beat Czech Lucie Safarova 6-2, 7-6 and reach the quarterfinals of the Pan Pacific Open on Wednesday. French Open champion Sharapova finished the match with an ace but double-faults on big points almost cost the Russian the second set as the sun set over Tokyo. “Obviously, I had a bit of a let-down in the second set,” said the second seed, almost forced into a decider having blown a 3-0 advantage in the set before digging in to claim the tiebreak 7-5. “Hopefully I’ll play better tomorrow.” Sharapova will next face eighth seed Samantha Stosur of Australia after last year’s US Open champion beat Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova 6-4, 7-5. Italy’s Sara Errani ended the French resistance in Tokyo, overcoming ninth seed Marion Bartoli 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the last eight of the WTA premier five event. The sixth seed won in two hours and 22 minutes, clinching victory with a crunching forehand her opponent could only dump into the net. Errani set up a quarterfinal against Russia’s Nadia Petrova, after she battled to a 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 victory over Croatia’s Petra Martic. (Reuters)
McIlroy aims to lead on course
MEDINAH (USA): Northern Irish world number one Rory McIlroy plans to lead by example out on the course at this week’s Ryder Cup but says he prefers to play a background role in the European team room. While McIlroy is the only multiple major winner in the 12-man European lineup, he knows he still has much to learn about the Ryder Cup as a 23-year-old making only his second appearance in the biennial competition. “There are leaders on our team who will lead with experience,” McIlroy told reporters on Wednesday before heading out on to the par-72 layout at Medinah Country Club for the second day of official practice. “The way I’ve played the last couple of years, I don’t think my role is a leader in the team room; I think it’s more as a leader out on the course and trying to lead in that way. Try to put points on the board and try to get my point. There’s a lot more guys that have played more Ryder Cups than me and are more experienced in the team room and know when to speak up and have different views on things. I’m still getting to know and still learning about the Ryder Cup.” Wet behind the ears though McIlroy might be when it comes to the cut-and-thrust of Ryder Cup golf, he is the game’s hottest player having triumphed three times in his last five PGA Tour starts. “Obviously, he’s a marked man,” US Ryder Cup veteran Jim Furyk said last week. “He’s right now the present-day Tiger Woods where everyone’s eyes are on him.” (Reuters)