Pat Rafter named new vice captain for Team World at Laver Cup
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 19: Australian tennis legend and former World No.1 Pat Rafter has been selected for the role of Team World Vice Captain for the Laver Cup, joining forces with Captain Andre Agassi.Rafter will take over from American Patrick McEnroe who has been Vice Captain of Team World since the inaugural Laver Cup in Prague in 2017.“Rafter, a two-time US Open Champion, will debut in his new position at the eighth edition of the tournament, taking place at San Francisco’s iconic Chase Center from September 19-21,” Laver Cup said in a statement.As a player, the Australian icon was a fixture in the game’s upper echelon during his career, highlighted by his consecutive US Open titles in 1997 and 1998. He also reached the Wimbledon final in 2000 and 2001 and was World No.1 in 1999.The Laver Cup pits six of the best men’s players from Europe against six of their counterparts from the rest of the World over three days of intense team competition. Each team is captained by a legend of the sport. (IANS)
ITF W50 singles event: Tatiana emerges as champion
NEW DELHI, Jan 19: Tatiana Prozorova saved six match points to bag the singles title at the ITF W50 tournament, edging past second seed Panna Udvardy in a marathon final here on Sunday.Seventh seed Prozorova saved three match points in the 12th game of the second set and then three more in the tiebreaker to force a decider and finally prevailed 4-6 7-6(6) 6-4 in the three-hour-long final that was littered with breaks and unforced errors from the two players. It was Prozorova’s first singles title in four months, her last trophy coming in September 2024 when she triumphed at the ITF W100 event in Incheon.Udvardy, who hails from Hungary and featured in top-100 in 2022, was playing her first final since June 2024 when she ended a runner-up in the WTA 125 event on clay in Italy and yet again missed out on a title.The two players traded early breaks to be at 3-3. From there, Prozorova had the chance to keep it a close affair but unforced errors let her down. She was down 0-40 in game seven but managed to save all three break chances.She netted a backhand at decuce and then hit a forehand marginally long to drop her serve again.Udvardy too struggled to keep the ball within the lines and also her first serve troubled her. She saved four break points in the game eighth but eventually lost her serve, making it 4-4.Prozorova, by dropping her serve again, allowed Udvardy to be in a position from where she could have served out the opening set and the Hungarian did not miss the opportunity this time. Udvardy bagged the set when Prozorova hit a forehand long.Prozorova did not help her cause by not holding her serve at the start of the second set, handing that one-break cushion to her rival. Udvardy, though, could not consolidate the advantage, hitting a forehand error on a breakpoint in game six to allow her rival make it even-Stevens again.At 5-5, 30-all, Prozorova hit a backhand wide but Udvardy could not convert the chance. However, the Hungarian got the break when her rival again made a backhand error.Udvardy came to serve out the match, and had three match-points but lost all and was facing a breakpoint when she netted a forehand at deuce point. Prozorova grabbed the opportunity with a crushing backahnd down-the-line winner, stretching the set to tie-break Udvardy earned three more match-points when she hit a backhand winner at 5-3 but could convert none with Prozorova making some powerful returns.Prozorova finally closed the set with a screaming backhand winner on Udvardy’s return that landed in the middle of the court.The seventh seed cashed in on a break and finally closed the match in her favour. (PTI)
Chennaiyin FC sign defender Pritam Kotal from Kerala Blasters
CHENNAI, Jan 19: Chennaiyin FC have completed the signing of Indian international defender Pritam Kotal from Kerala Blasters FC on a two-and-a-half-year deal. In his international career, the 31-year-old has already produced more than 50 caps for the national team.A versatile defender, who can play anywhere in the backline, Kotal joined Chennaiyin after spending the last year-and-a-half with Kerala, which included a spell of 14 games during the first half of the ISL 2024-25 season. The 31-year-old has already trained with the club and is set to make his debut in the coming days.Kotal, a key defender in Indian football, has consistently excelled since the ISL began in 2014. adding the league titles in the 2016 and 2019-2020 seasons to his burgeoning trophy cabinet.Beyond his abilities and silverware, Kotal is also known for his leadership qualities on the pitch. The defender has previously captained Mohun Bagan Super Giant, leading them to eight consecutive victories in the Kolkata derbies. (IANS)