Davis Cup: Djokovic, Murray, Sinner gear-up for showdown
Malaga (Spain), Nov 20: The record 24-time Grand Slam winner and current World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will return to action as he aims to guide Serbia to their second-ever Davis Cup title when eight teams will battle it out in the Davis Cup Finals will be played in Malaga, Spain this week. Djokovic, however, will face a stern test from the Andy Murray-led Great Britain in the quarterfinal of the tournament of the 2023 edition of Davis Cup, known as World Cup of Tennis, which will be played from November 21. The tournament is expected to be a cracker, with reigning champions Canada along with Finland, Italy, Netherlands, Czechia, Australia, Serbia and Great Britain all featuring in the Final 8 in Malaga, the Sony Sports Network informed in a release on Monday. Apart from Djokovic and Murray, Italian young sensation and current World No. 4 Jannik Sinner will also feature in the crucial stage of the tournament for their respective countries. Interestingly, Djokovic defeated Sinner in the Nitto ATP Finals on Sunday. The Serbian legend, who has already won three Grand Slams this year, would be looking to end the season on a superb high. Furthermore, with the 2023 tennis calendar coming to its fag end, the stakes are as high as ever for Davis Cup and the fans can look forward to some enticing battles on the court. The 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic on Monday begins a record-extending 400th week as No. 1 in the men’s rankings, more than 12 years after he first rose to the top. Djokovic, who clinched ATP Year-End No. 1 for a record eighth time during the ATP Finals, claimed a record-breaking seventh season finale title Sunday in Turin to welcome in his 400th week at the top in style. “It’s a pretty good achievement, 400 weeks at No. 1. Someone will eventually break it, but hopefully it stays there for a long time,” said Djokovic. The 36-year-old has surpassed several iconic names across both tours including Steffi Graf (377), Serena Williams (319), Martina Navratilova (332), and one of his longtime rivals Roger Federer (310) for the most weeks at No. 1 and by some margin. (IANS)
Hojgaard clinches maiden
Rolex Series Golf title
Dubai, Nov 20: Nicolai Hojgaard won his first Rolex Series title as a back-nine birdie barrage saw him sign for a closing 64 and a two-shot victory at the DP World Tour Championship. The Dane had led after days one and two at Jumeirah Golf Estates but entered the final round three shots off the pace before pulling himself right into contention with a front nine of 33. He was back on top with a gain on the tenth and then reeled off five birdies in a row from the 13th to get to 21 under and hold off the challenge of his Ryder Cup team-mates Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland and overnight leader Matt Wallace. Højgaard finished fourth over the Earth Course in his only previous appearance at this event in 2021, catapulting himself into the top ten on that season’s final Rankings and he will finish 2023 second behind Race to Dubai champion Rory McIlroy. While becoming an international player and starting his career on the PGA TOUR this year, he recorded seven DP World Tour top tens to earn his place in Europe’s Ryder Cup team, winning half a point as Luke Donald’s men defeated the United States. He added to that tally by finishing second at last week’s Nedbank Golf Challenge and brought that form to Dubai, where he is now a three-time DP World Tour champion and enters the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time. (IANS)
Pressure is off ahead of Argentina duel: Brazil teenager Endrick
Rio de Janeiro, Nov 20: Teenage forward Endrick Felipe says that a conversation with Brazil manager Fernando Diniz has left him feeling more at ease in the national squad ahead of Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier against Argentina. Endrick made his international debut when he was introduced in the final minutes of Brazil’s 2-1 defeat to Colombia in Barranquilla on Thursday. The Palmeiras player, who will join Real Madrid when he turns 18 in July, hopes to play a greater role for Brazil against the reigning world champions at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana stadium. “I was a little nervous … but he [Diniz] told me to be happy, to dribble and to enjoy my football,” Endrick said in news conference as quoted by Xinhua. “That took a big weight off my shoulders. I thought that I wouldn’t be able to play that way in the national team. Now I’m much more relaxed.” Endrick’s cameo against Colombia made him the fourth youngest player to represent Brazil in an official match. At 17 years and 118 days, he surpassed legendary striker Ronaldo, who made his debut at 17 years and 183 days in 1994. Pele, at 16 years and 257 days, remains Brazil’s youngest debutant followed by Jonas Americo, better known as Edu, and Antonio Honorio. When asked how he felt about the prospect of playing against Lionel Messi, Endrick could not hide his enthusiasm. “Messi is phenomenal,” he said. “I just want to enjoy the moment of being able to play against him, being in the same stadium as him and looking at him up close. I’ve only seen him in video games. It’s going to be wonderful.” (IANS)
Germany sweeps all five golds at IBSF World Cup in Yanqing
Beijing, Nov 20: Pilot Johannes Lochner led his crew to clinch another 4-man bobsleigh gold on Sunday, as German racers grabbed all five golds at the IBSF World Cup in Yanqing, Beijing. At the National Sliding Center, team Lochner and team Francesco Friedrich of Germany achieved a 1-2 finish in the 4-man bobsleigh on Saturday, while Sun Kaizhi, Zhen Heng, Ding Song, and Ye Jielong finished third to win the first medal for China in the event, reports Xinhua. After the first run on Sunday, the two German teams still ranked as the top two in 58.22 and 58.25 seconds respectively. The Italian squad piloted by Patrick Baumgartner rallied in the second run to secure a silver with a total time of 1:56.92, just 0.01 second ahead of the bronze medalist team Friedrich. Team Lochner bagged the gold in 1:56.61. Sun and his teammates ranked sixth, while another Chinese team, consisting of Li Chunjian, Wei Peng, Zhu Zilong, and Chi Xiangyu, finished eighth. In other events, last season’s World Cup overall champion Tina Hermann of Germany claimed a victory in the women’s skeleton, and her compatriot Christopher Grotheer, gold medalist of the Beijing Winter Olympics, won the men’s skeleton. The German pair Lochner and Georg Fleischhauer seized the gold in the 2-man bobsleigh. Zhao Dan won a historic silver for China in the women’s skeleton, while China’s Chen Wenhao and Yan Wengang took the silver and bronze in the men’s skeleton respectively. (IANS)