SPORTMonday 8 January 2018

Kyrgios claims Brisbane title with scintillating

display in the final

Monfils expecting a tough draw at Australian Open

PAGE | 31 PAGE | 34 PAGE | 35

Johnson grabs lead in Tournament of

Champions

Joi

THE PENINSULA

CHANGZHOU: Qatar, coached by Felix Sanchez, take on Uzbekistan tomorrow in their opening match of the AFC U23 Championship with firm hopes of making it to the knock-out stage of the region’s premier Olympic squad tourna-ment.

With the latest edition of the AFC U23 Championship set to begin tomorrow, football fans across Asia are once again look-ing forward to seeing the region’s finest young talent lock horns en route to continental glory.

After their first-round clash tomorrow, Qatar will face Oman

(January 12) before meeting hosts China (January 15) in the prelim-inary stage of the tournament.

In total, 16 teams will be vying to claim the title won by Japan two years ago in Qatar,

and with the likes of Iraqi ace Hussain Ali and host nation livewire Wei Shihao set to grace the competition, expectation is high that the tournament will further enhance its already bur-geoning reputation.

This month’s action in Jiangsu Province – which will conclude with the competition’s final on January 27 – gets underway at the Changzhou Olympic Sports Center when head coach Massimiliano Maddaloni’s talented China side tackle Oman.

Reigning champions Japan are scheduled to begin their title defence against competition deb-utants Palestine on Wednesday.

Qatar set for Uzbekistan clash at AFC U23 Championship in China

COMPETING TEAMS (Top two sides qualify for the quarter-finals)

GROUP A: China, Oman, Qatar, UzbekistanGROUP B: Japan, North Korea, Thailand, PalestineGROUP C: Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, MalaysiaGROUP D: South Korea, Australia, Syria, Vietnam OPENING FIXTURES

GROUP AJanuary 9: China Vs Oman Qatar Vs UzbekistanGROUP BJanuary 10: North Korea Vs ThailandJapan Vs Palestine

GROUP CJanuary 10: Iraq Vs Malaysia Jordan Vs Saudi ArabiaGROUP DJanuary 11: Australia Vs Syria Korea Republic Vs Vietnam

Did you know?: There have been 64 games played over the two editions of the AFC U23 Championship with a total of 176 goals scored – 2.75 per game. The 2016 tournament saw 103 goals, with 73 scored in 2014.

Sneijder arrives in Doha, set for Al Gharafa spell

THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Football giants Al Gharafa announced yester-day that it has signed Dutch star Wesley Sneijder with-out specifying the contract duration or the financial details of the deal.

Sneijder, a 33-year-old attacking midfielder, under-went a medical examination in Doha and is expected to be presented to the media in the coming days.

"The signing of Sneijder is a big gain for our club and the QNB Stars League," Mahmoud Al Ghazal, head of the club's football team," said yesterday.

"We are confident that signing Sneijder is a new beginning for the club. He is a leader on the pitch and a role model to follow for young players," Al Ghazal was quoted as saying.

"Al Gharafa is in transi-tion phase and our young players will gain a lot from

his presence. He will have a positive impact on our young players, especially in

commitment outside and inside the stadium," he added.

The Dutch national, who took part in the 2010 FIFA World Cup final in South Africa, played for Ajax between 2002 and 2007 before moving to Real Madrid for two seasons. He won the Serie A title, the Italian Cup and the UEFA Champions League trophy in 2010 with Jose Mourin-ho's Inter Milan.

He also spent 4 years with Turkish giants Galatasaray before joining Nice last summer.

Al Gharafa are seventh in the QNB Stars League standings with 11 points from 11 matches at the end of the first phase.

Sneijder is expected to play his first match with Al Gharafa next Friday against Al Ahli in round 12.

Al Gharafa’s Dutch player Wesley Sneijder (left) poses for a photograph with Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben in Doha.

Stoke City sack HughesREUTERS

LONDON: Stoke City have sacked manager Mark Hughes after four and half years in charge, the Premier League club said on Saturday.

The decision came within hours of a shock 2-1 defeat in the FA Cup third round by Coventry City, three leagues below them.

“We would like to thank Mark for all he has achieved for the Club over the last four and a half years, notably in guiding us to three successive ninth-place finishes in the Premier League, and we wish him every success for the future,” Stoke said in a state-ment. “The Club will look to appoint a new manager as soon as possible and will be making no further comment at this time.”

Keeping Stoke in the top half of the table for three suc-cessive campaigns was followed by a drop to 13th last season and an unsuccessful transfer window with new signings having made little impression.

This season they have fallen into the Premier League relegation places and have lost six of their last eight games in all competitions, having won only five league matches out of 22. Hughes did not help himself by fielding a weak-ened team in a 5-0 defeat at Chelsea last weekend to save players for what he felt was a more winnable game at home to lowly Newcastle.

They lost 1-0, dropping into the bottom three, before the FA Cup humiliation at Coventry in his 200th game at the club.

Wesley Sneijder

Qatar under-23 players in action during a training session in Changzhou, china yesterday.

30 MONDAY 8 JANUARY 2018SPORT

Aussies cruising towards win in Sydney AFP

SYDNEY: Nathan Lyon was spinning Australia toward an emphatic victory in the final Ashes Test as beleaguered England unravelled on a torrid day in Sydney yesterday.

The Australians amassed a massive 303-run innings lead in blistering heat and then reduced the battle-weary tourists to 93 for four at the close with a day to play.

Compounding England’s woes was a finger injury for skip-per Joe Root, his team’s last major hope of staving off a 4-0 series rout today’s final day of the Test.

Root was unbeaten on 42 at the close with Jonny Bairstow not out 17.

Australia called a halt to their epic first innings at 649 for seven, and soon had England in trouble after the tourists had been cooked in the field for more than two draining days.

Mark Stoneman was leg before wicket to Mitchell Starc for a duck and lost a review in the process, and next ball Alastair Cook was put down at first slip

by Shaun Marsh off Josh Hazle-wood for five.

But Cook’s reprieve did not last long and he was bowled for 10 when a sharp Lyon turner hit the top of off-stump in the off-spinner’s first over.

Cook, who became during his innings only the sixth bats-man to score 12,000 Test runs,

finished the series with 376 runs at 47. James Vince survived a caught behind off Lyon on review on 15, but three runs later edged Pat Cummins to Steve Smith at slip.

Dawid Malan followed when Lyon trapped him leg before wicket for five.

Shaun and Mitchell Marsh

earlier became the third set of brothers to score centuries in the same innings for Australia.

The Marsh boys joined Greg and Ian Chappell and Steve and Mark Waugh to score brotherly centuries for Australia, while it was the eighth time overall it had happened in Test cricket.

Mitchell Marsh almost spoiled his century in all the excitement as he embraced his brother mid-pitch before he had completed the second run scrambling back to his crease to avoid being run out.

Mitchell Marsh was bowled next ball by Tom Curran for 101

off 141 balls with 15 fours and two sixes. The century came after his 181 in the third Test in Perth.

He was the third centurion of the massive Australian first innings total, following Usman Khawaja’s 171 on Saturday.

Shaun Marsh was eventually dismissed after lunch, run out for 156 by Stoneman’s direct throw from the covers.

He batted for 403 minutes and faced 291 balls for his sec-ond century of the series and his sixth in 28 Tests.

Starc slogged Moeen Ali for six and was out the next ball finding Vince at long on for 11.

Rain washes out day 3 in Cape Town REUTERS

CAPE TOWN: Rain washed out day three of the first Test between South Africa and India yesterday, preventing any chance of play in the finely balanced opener to the three-game series between the top two ranked sides in world cricket.

South Africa were set to resume their second innings on 65 for two, a lead of 142 on what is a lively wicket offer-ing plenty of assistance to the seamers.

Hashim Amla (four) and nightwatchman Kagiso Rab-ada (two) are the not out batsmen who will now wait until today to resume their innings, with no rain forecast for the remainder of the game.

South Africa were bowled out for 286 in their first innings, before restricting India to 209 in reply. The home side have confirmed that fast bowler Dale Steyn will miss the remainder of the Test.

Australia’s Mitchell Marsh (right) celebrates with brother Shaun Marsh after scoring his century in Sydney yesterday.

England (I innings) ............................... 346Australia (I innings) (overnight 479-4)C Bancroft b Broad ....................................................0

D Warner c Bairstow b Anderson ...................... 56

U Khawaja st Bairstow b Crane .......................... 171

S Smith c and b Ali ..................................................83

S Marsh run out (Stoneman) ...............................156

M Marsh b Curran ..................................................101

T Paine (not out) ......................................................38

M Starc c Vince b Ali .................................................11

P Cummins (not out) ............................................. 24

Extras (B2, LB4, W1, NB2) ....................................9

Total (7 wkts dec;) ................................649 Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-86, 3-274, 4-375, 5-544, 6-596,

7-613

Bowling: Anderson 34-14-56-1, Broad 30-2-121-1, Ali

48-10-170-2, Curran 25-3-82-1 (1w), Crane 48-3-193-1

(2nb), Root 8-3-21-0

England (II innings)A Cook b Lyon ...........................................................10

M Stoneman lbw b Starc ..........................................0

J Vince c Smith b Cummins ....................................18

J Root (batting) ........................................................42

D Malan lbw b Lyon ..................................................5

J Bairstow (batting) ................................................ 17

Extras (LB1) ................................................................1

Total (4 wkts) ......................................... 93Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-15, 3-43, 4-68

Bowling: Starc 9-2-17-1, Hazlewood 9-1-26-0, Lyon

19-6-31-2, Cummins 7-1-12-1, Smith 2-0-6-0

SCOREBOARD

Arsenal crash out of FA Cup to Nottingham Forest AFP

LONDON: FA Cup holders Arsenal were dumped out of the FA Cup by Nottingham Forest yester-day, losing a dramatic tie 4-2 in the biggest shock of the third round.

Eric Lichaj scored twice for the home team in the first half either side of a Per Mertesacker goal before Ben Brereton converted from the pen-alty spot to give Forest a 3-1 lead after the break.

Danny Welbeck gave the 13-time winners hope with just over 10 minutes to go but Kieran Dowell netted from the penalty spot again to seal a 4-2 win for the second-tier side over the Pre-mier League visitors.

Meanwhile, lowly Newport County came from behind to send Championship side Leeds United crashing out of the FA Cup yesterday but Premier League West Ham stayed alive with a goalless draw at Shrewsbury.

Elsewhere, Tottenham scored three goals in just eight second-half minutes to see off the chal-lenge of League One side AFC Wimbledon while Arsenal took on Nottingham Forest.

West Ham had goalkeeper Joe Hart to thank for keeping them in the Cup with a 0-0 draw after an uninspired performance against Shrewsbury Town of the third tier. The England goalkeeper made a fine save from Mat Sadler with about 10 minutes to go until the interval and repeated the trick against Alex Rodman to keep the score at 0-0.

N ew milestone for Messi as Barca thrash Levante AFP

MADRID: Lionel Messi marked his 400th appearance in La Liga with the opening goal as Barcelona eased to a 3-0 win over Levante at the Camp Nou yesterday.

Messi’s 365th goal in Spain’s top flight came inside 12 minutes, with Luis Suarez adding the second before the interval and Paulinho complet-ing the victory late on as Barcelona stretched their lead at the top of the table back to nine points over Atletico Madrid.

The Catalans are still unbeaten in La Liga this season and have Philippe Coutinho to come in, with the Brazilian expected to be officially unveiled as a Barcelona player on Monday following the announcement of his 160m-euro ($192m) move from Liverpool.

The 25-year-old Brazilian, whose transfer is the third-biggest in foot-ball history, was not in attendance at the Camp Nou as the club’s previ-ous record recruit Ousmane Dembele started.

The Frenchman, signed for 105m euros from Borussia Dortmund at the start of the campaign, was included in the line-up for the first time since tearing his hamstring nearly four months ago.

He came close to scoring on a

couple of occasions, including from one 20-yard strike that was beaten away by Levante’s ex-Barcelona goalkeeper Oier Olazabal.

But it was Messi who broke the deadlock from a Jordi Alba assist, a combination that has proved

fruitful on so many occasions this season.

The Argentine’s flighted pass found Alba, and the left-back headed the ball down for Messi, arriving in the area, to finish first-time in off the far post for his 16th league goal of

the campaign. The second goal arrived seven minutes before the interval, as Suarez controlled Sergi Roberto’s fine ball into the box before firing home.

It was the Uruguayan’s 400th professional goal, his 131st for Barca putting him seventh on the club’s all-time list of leading scorers.

Levante, who have now won just once in 13 La Liga games and are hovering just above the drop zone, did not threaten a comeback in the second half.

A little over half-full Camp Nou did afford Dembele an ovation as he came off in the 67th minute to be replaced by Nelson Semedo.

And Barca rounded out the vic-tory in the third minute of added time as Messi’s low ball across goal at the end of a jinking run was turned in by Paulinho.

Atletico beat Getafe 2-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday, with Diego Costa scoring and then being sent off in his first league appearance since returning to the club from Chelsea.

Valencia are 11 points behind Barcelona in third after coming from behind to beat Girona 2-1 at Mestalla on Saturday. Real Madrid are a mas-sive 17 points adrift of the leaders in fourth spot, although they do have two games in hand.

Lionel Messi (right) celebrates after scoring a goal with Jordi Alba.

Newport 2 (Shaughnessy-og 76, McCoulsky 89) Leeds 1 (Berardi 9)

Shrewsbury 0 West Ham 0

Tottenham 3 (Kane 63, 65, Vertonghen 71) AFC Wimbledon 0

Nottingham Forest 4 (Lichaj 20, 44, Brereton 64-pen, Dowell 85-pen)

Arsenal 2 (Mertesacker 23, Welbeck 79)

FA CUP RESULTS

Dakar Rally: Despres claims Stage 2 victory AFP

PISCO: Frenchman Cyril Despres (pictured) steered his Peugeot to victory on the second day of the Dakar Rally yesterday, speeding across 267km in 2hrs 56min 51sec on the dunes of Ica along the coastal roads around Pisco in Peru.

His win puts him top of the overall standings, 27sec ahead of his team-mate and defending champion Stephane Peterhansel, with South Africa’s Giniel De Villiers, who was originally announced as yesterday’s winner in his Toyota through a timing error, now sit-ting third and 5min 44sec off the pace.

“That was a great day,” said Despres, a five-time winner at Dakar in the motorbike section.

“It’s the first time our car has been in these conditions. Big, easy to climb dunes as well as very soft plateaus. We saw others stuck in the sand (notably Carlos Sainz) but we avoided that.”

Run around Pisco, which is known

for its local liquor of the same name, Sebastien Loeb also enjoyed the dunes and recovered from a horror show on Saturday, which saw him suffer a brake failure, to climb to fourth overall.

“It went better than yesterday,” said the nine-time world rally champion-ship winner who is bidding for his first Dakar win.

Loeb, who was third on the day to complete a Peugeot sweep, said it had

been confusing in the dunes to find the best path.

“We always follow the tracks because we don’t want to lose them. We’ve got much to lose if we can’t find a waypoint. For example, near the end, we had to look hard for the last one.”

“We want to make it out of Peru in good shape,” he said.

Two-time winner Nasser Al Attiyah steered his Toyota to victory on the opening stage of the 9,000km Rally on Saturday, but he had a bad day yester-day after his co-driver fell sick.

Another driver who had a poor day was Argentine Lucio Alvarez, who bar-relled his Toyota down a dune, eventually emerging unscathed from his upturned vehicle.

Today’s third stage runs from Pisco to San Juan de Marcona with a 502km run along the Pacific coast with 295km of specials. The first entrant to pull out was Mini driver Bryce Menzies who wrecked his car, injuring his co-driver’s ankle in the process.

Toyota’s Qatari driver Nasser Al Attiyah and his co-driver Mathieu Baumel of France compete during the Stage 1 of the 2018 Dakar Rally on Saturday.

PGA: Johnson grabs lead in Tournament of Champions

203 - Dustin Johnson 69-68-66

205 - Brian Harman 68-68-69

207 - Jon Rahm (ESP) 71-70-66

208 - Rickie Fowler 69-71-68,

Jason Dufner 71-68-69

209 - Jhonattan Vegas (VEN) 68-70-71,

Pat Perez 72-66-71

210 - Chris Stroud 72-66-72

211 - Daniel Berger 73-70-68, Billy

Horschel 70-71-70,

Jordan Spieth 75-66-70

TOURNAMENT OFCHAMPIONS SCORES

Hamilton’s last-gasp goal gives Flames winAP

CALGARY: Dougie Hamilton was as surprised as anybody that he was left alone in the slot late in Saturday night’s game.

Hamilton made it count, scoring with 16 seconds left to lift the Calgary Flames over the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 on Saturday night.

Hamilton took a pass from Micheal Ferland and tucked a shot past John Gib-son to give the Flames their third straight win.

“I was just jumping up and Ferly made a great pass and I realised I had a break-away and tried to be patient, make a move and it just went in,” Hamilton said.

Ferland and Mark Giordano also scored for the Flames, while Mike Smith made 27 save for his 17th win.

“We’ve had the same mindset these last few games,” Ferland said.

“We know how big these points are right now. We’ve just been playing simple hockey and waiting for our chances. I think it’s working for us right now.”

Jakob Silfverberg and Ryan Getzlaf scored in the third for the Ducks, who trailed 2-0 after 40 minutes. Gibson made 28 saves.

“Any time you lose in the last couple seconds like that, it’s tough,” Silfverberg said. “You don’t come by these losses a lot, but obviously they sting you quite a bit.”

Giordano had a great chance to open the scoring 27 seconds into the first period when he one-timed a pass from Matthew Tkachuk, but Gibson kicked out his left pad to make the save.

Ferland gave the Flames a 1-0 lead at 7:51 when he converted a feed from Johnny Gaudreau, who pounced on a turnover by Brandon Mon-tour to set up the goal.

Just 44 seconds later, Giordano’s point shot deflected off Kevin Bieksa and past a stunned Gibson.

Silfverberg nearly scored in the second period, but Smith got just enough of the shot with his glove before the puck bounced off the post behind him.

Silfverberg scored a short-handed goal 2:56 into the third when he skated into the Calgary zone and cut into the slot before slipping a shot through Smith’s legs.

Getzlaf pulled the Ducks even at 6:50 of the third when he blasted a slap shot from the high slot into the top cor-ner, blocker side behind Smith.

Curry shines as Warriors down ClippersAFP

LOS ANGELES: Stephen Curry (pictured) erupted for 45 points to propel the Golden State Warri-ors to a 121-105 NBA victory over the Clippers in Los Angeles on Saturday.

Curry, who has dazzled since returning from an 11-game injury absence, connected on eight of his 16 three-point attempts and made a career-high 15 of his 16 free-throws.

He sat out the entire fourth quarter, but his 45 points in 29 minutes on the floor marked the fifth time in NBA history that a player scored 45 or more in 30 minutes or less.

In the four games since his return, Curry has averaged 36 points while shooting 65.6 per-cent from the field.

Curry’s performance meant the reigning NBA champion Warriors hardly missed forward Kevin Durant, who was again sidelined with a right calf strain.

Leading by nine at halftime, the Warriors out-scored the

Clippers 39-21 in the third quar-ter, expanding the lead to as many as 30 points.

For the Clippers, it was more than a demoralizing defeat as Blake Griffin suffered a concus-sion less than three minutes left in the first quarter.

Griffin was driving to the basket and seemed to slip before Warriors reserve center JaVale McGee inadvertently caught him in the forehead with an elbow.

Griffin collapsed to the court, shaking as he held his head in his hands.

He remained down for sev-eral minutes before he was able to make his way to the locker room.

Cavs snap road skid The Cleveland Cavaliers,

who have dueled with the War-riors in the past three NBA Finals, snapped their five-game road losing streak with a 131-127 vic-tory over the Magic in Orlando.

LeBron James scored 33 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and handed out nine assists.

The Cavs star made 12 of 23

shots from the field, including four of seven from three-point range. He also had six steals and a blocked shot.

The Magic trailed by three at halftime, but the Cavaliers pulled away in the third, when they out-scored Orlando 40-23.

Isaiah Thomas, making his first start for Cleveland after injury sidelined him until this month, took a little time to adjust, going scoreless in the first quarter before finishing with 19 points and four assists in 21 minutes.

The Cavaliers improved to 26-13, third in the Eastern Con-ference led by the Boston Celtics -- who held on for an 87-85 vic-tory over the Nets in Brooklyn.

Jayson Tatum’s dunk with 1:16 remaining gave Boston the lead for good in a game that saw the lead change hands eight times in the fourth quarter.

Tatum’s three-pointer pushed Boston’s lead to 87-83 with 45.7 seconds left. But the Nets wouldn’t go away. Joe Har-ris scored on a put-back and

Brooklyn thwarted a drive by Kyrie Irving before finding them-selves unable to come up with a game-tying basket despite four chances in the wan-ing seconds.

Irving finished with 21 points to lead the Celtics, who notched their sixth straight win. Pistons down Rockets

In Detroit, the Pistons shook off the injury absences of Andre Drummond, R e g g i e Jack-

son and Stanley Johnson to beat the Houston Rockets 108-101.

Tobias Harris scored 27 points, one of six Detroit players to

score in double figures in the win over a

Rockets team that in the absence of injured star James Harden slumped

to a seventh defeat in nine games.

oo yn t wa ted a d ve byKyrie Irving before finding them-selves unable to come up with a game-tying basket despite four chances in the wan-ing seconds.

Irving finishedwith 21 points tolead the Celtics,who notched theirsixth straightwin. Pistons down Rockets

In Detroit,the Pistons shook off the injury absences of Andre Drummond, R e g g i eJack-

so a d Sta ey Jo so to beatthe Houston Rockets 108-101.

Tobias Harris scored 27 points,one of six Detroit players to

score in double figuresin the win over a

Rockets team thatfin the absence of

injured star JamesHarden slumped

to a seventh defeatin nine games.

NFL: Falcons topple Rams in play-off opener AFP

LOS ANGELES: The Atlanta Falcons kept their bid for Super Bowl redemp-tion on track on Saturday with a 26-13 victory over the upstart Los Angeles Rams in the first round of the NFL play-offs.

Matt Bryant booted four field goals and the Falcons defense kept the explo-sive Rams offense in check as the Falcons booked a second-round clash with the National Football Conference top seeds Philadelphia in the second round.

In American Football Conference action, the Tennessee Titans rallied from an 18 point deficit to beat the Chiefs 22-21 in Kansas City.

The Chiefs haven’t won a home play-off game since January of 1994 -- and have now gone 0-6 since then at Arrowhead Stadium in the post-season.

With the Rams in their second season back in Los Angeles, the Southern Cal-ifornia city was hosting a playoff game for the first time since the Raiders made it to the post-season in 1994.

The Falcons, devastated by the New England Patriots comeback victory in last season’s Super Bowl, squeaked into the playoffs after an erratic season.

But their experience paid off against a young Rams team that had earned the third seed in the NFC.

Devonta Freeman rushed for a touchdown for the Falcons and quar-terback Matt Ryan added a scoring pass to Julio Jones – an eight-yarder that gave Atlanta a 26-13 lead with 5:48 remaining.

The vaunted Rams offense, mean-while, produced just one touchdown.

Quarterback Jared Goff completed 24 of 45 passes for 259 yards, includ-ing a 14-yard touchdown pass to

rookie Cooper Kupp that pulled the Rams within 13-7 with 2:34 left in the first half.

A Sam Ficken field goal pulled the Rams within 13-10 at halftime, and Ficken booted a 32-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to narrow the gap to 19-13 before the Falcons closed out their methodical victory.

There was drama in Kansas City, where Tennessee quarterback Marcus Mariota’s exploits included catching a touchdown pass from himself.

The remarkable play came as the Titans opened the third quarter trailing 21-3. Mariota marched them 91 yards and had rolled left and thrown toward Corey Davis in the end zone.

Chiefs cornerback Darrelle Revis deflected the pass back toward him and Mariota reeled in the ball and plunged into the end zone credited with a six-yard TD pass to himself.

Atlanta Falcons’ players celebrate during their NFC Wild Card play-off game against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday.

REUTERS

NEW YORK: World number one Dustin Johnson put the hammer down and surged to a two-shot lead after the third round at the Sentry Tournament of Champi-ons in Hawaii on Saturday.

Boosted by an eagle at the par-four 12th, where he flicked a 70-yard shot into the hole, Johnson matched the day’s best score with a seven-under-par 66.

Johnson, who drove the ball prodigious distances, posted a 16-under 203 total, while joint halfway leader Brian Harman remained in the hunt with a steady 69 to stand alone at 14-under on another breezy day at the Kapalua Plantation course on Maui.

Spaniard Jon Rahm played the final five holes in five under to match Johnson’s 66 and trail by four shots.

“I drove it really well, obvi-ously that’s a big bonus around here, and I hit a lot of good iron shots and I feel like I’m rolling it well (on the greens),” Johnson told Golf Channel.

His eagle did not hurt his score either.

“I landed my shot perfect and it got on the green and tracked

to the hole,” he said of the shot, which he landed some 30 yards short of the cup and watched as he ball rolled down the steep slope and into the hole.

Johnson had been in similar imperious form early last sea-son before he had to withdraw from the Masters following a fall down some stairs.

A bruised back kept him out of action for four weeks and by time he regained his form the majors had passed, and atten-tion had turned to the likes of Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth.

Johnson, however, is show-casing similarly good form in Hawaii and is determined not to repeat the experience of last October when he surrendered a six-shot lead in the final round at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai.

“That was just kind of a fluke day,” he said.

“I was playing a new set of irons and I wasn’t that comfort-able with them. I’m a lot more comfortable with them now. I feel like I can control the ball very well.

“I’ve got a good game plan around here. I’m not going to play any different tomorrow,” he said.

31MONDAY 8 JANUARY 2018 SPORT

32 MONDAY 8 JANUARY 2018SPORT 33MONDAY 8 JANUARY 2018 SPORT

AFP

BARCELONA: Philippe Coutinho finally got his wish on Saturday when Barcelona agreed to sign the Brazil-ian star from Liverpool for €160m ($192m) in the third richest deal of all time.

The swoop for the 25-year-old attacking midfielder - which con-tains a €400m release clause - will be the third biggest deal in football.

Last year, Paris Saint-Germain shelled out a world record €222m to lure Brazilian star Neymar from Barcelona before the French cham-pions then agreed to pay Monaco €120m for Kylian Mbappe in a deal which will be officially activated once the striker’s loan period is completed.

“It is with great reluctance that we - as a team and club - prepare to say farewell to a good friend, a wonderful person and a fantastic player in Philippe Coutinho,” Liver-pool manager Jurgen Klopp told the club’s official website.

“It is no secret that Philippe has wanted this move to happen since July, when Barcelona first made their interest known.

“Philippe was insistent with me, the owners and even his teammates this was a move he was desperate to make happen.”

Rio-born Coutinho arrived at Anfield from Inter Milan for £8.5m in January 2013 and scored 54 goals for the club in all c o m p e t i t i o n s , although he won no silverware during his five-year stay.

Barcelona had tried to sign him in the sum-mer, but his departure is a blow to Liverpool as the playmaker has just returned to top form after an injury-hit start to the season.

He scored six goals in the last seven games of 2017 to put his side firmly in the Champi-ons League places.

Capturing Coutinho allows Barcelona to move on from the bit-ter experience of losing his Brazil teammate Neymar last summer.

Coutinho had stayed in Liv-erpool on Saturday while his teammates jetted off to Dubai for warm-weather training, fuelling speculation that he was set to leave the Premier League club.

He was then photographed giv-ing a thumbs-up as he left London for Spain accompanied by his wife, Aine.

Coutinho is expected to watch his new team host Levante on Sun-day afternoon at Camp Nou.

Video posted on the club web-site showed a locker bearing his name had already been reserved for their new recruit.

Coutinho’s age is highly attrac-tive to Barca, whose three main stars, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and

Andres Iniesta are all in their thirties. Iniesta, at 33, has shown signs of fatigue this season.

French media group beIN Sports reported on Saturday that Liverpool will immedi-ately spend €55m of their

windfall on Leicester striker Riyad Mahrez.

They claimed Mahrez will have a medical at Liverpool on Sunday before penning a four-

year contract.Liverpool have

also been strongly linked with Monaco forward Thomas Lemar, who Arsenal tried to sign before the season.

Coutinho played no role in Liv-erpool’s 2-1 victory over city rivals Everton in the FA Cup on Friday.

Liverpool’s winning goal was scored by Virgil Van Dijk, the Dutch defender signed last week from Southampton for £75m ($101.7m, €84.5m).

Former Liverpool defender Phil Thompson said his old club had probably got the bet-ter deal.

“It’s hard to get my head around

what Philippe is going to gain because he can’t play Cham-pions League football for them, they are running away with the league, and he’s got the World Cup at the end of the season,” Thompson said on Sky Sports.

“Will he play regularly every week at Barcelona? I’m not too sure. Philippe could have carried on (at Liverpool). He could have been playing in the Champions League.”

Meanwhile, later Saturday, Liverpool said they will offer sup-porters who bought shirts bearing the name of Coutinho a £50 voucher to help offset the impact of the Brazilian star’s departure.

“The offer follows today’s announcement that Coutinho will join Barcelona and reflects the exceptional circumstances behind the player’s departure,” said the club.

“Supporters should present their 2017-18 Coutinho replica shirt at any official club store where the voucher will be issued...the shirt will not be retained but proof of purchase will be required.”

Record signing reflects Barcelona’s long-term ambitions REUTERS BARCELONA: Barcelona’s capture of Philippe Coutinho from Liver-pool will have only marginal impacts on the team’s objectives this season but is a major statement in their aim to remain a global soccer superpower which had been bruised by the departure of Neymar.

British media reports say the La Liga leaders will pay around £142m ($193m) for Coutinho, making him the third most expen-sive transfer ever after Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, both at Paris St Germain, and ahead of new Barca team mate Ousmane Dembele.

Coutinho’s renowned pace and ability to pick out key passes on the break will give an extra edge to a Barca side which has proved highly functional under Ernesto Valverde but has lacked the sparkle of their former Brazilian forward, and has been over-reliant on the endur-ing brilliance of Lionel Messi.

Coutinho, who like Neymar is 25, will pick up the baton of rejuvenating Valverde’s ageing squad, with serial win-ners Gerard Pique, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Messi all either over or approaching the age of 30.

Barca enjoy a six-point lead at the top of the league standings which they can extend to nine by beating Levante on Sunday, although Coutinho should make them even more formidable in attack and ensure they stay on track for a 25th Liga title.

The Brazil international’s appearances for Liverpool in the Champions League mean he cannot play again in Europe’s elite competition this season. However, his arrival will allow Valverde to rest his other top attacking players in league games to keep them sharper for the big European ties.

Coutinho hit 20 goals in his last 41 league games for Liverpool so he should take some of the responsibility for scoring from Messi, while his expertise in long range strikes could also could prove useful when teams sit back against Barca.

The Brazilian enjoyed a strong relationship on and off the pitch with Luis Suarez at Liverpool and his arrival should propel the Uruguayan, who has struggled at times this season without the space Neymar’s flair used to free up for him.

Coutinho’s arrival may have a nega-tive impact on captain Iniesta, who at 33 is in the final stages of his career at the elite level and is often the first player to be substituted by Valverde.

The Spain international, however, said last month he would welcome the Brazilian to the Nou Camp with open arms.

“I think he’s a player who combines very well with oth-ers, he has a lot of talent, he is both footed, he scores goals and can drift between midfield and attack,” he told Mundo Deportivo.

“He’s a player that has a similar profile to Barca and would be a great signing if he comes here in the end. I don’t view him as competition for my place, I see him as a leap forward for the club.”

It is with great reluctance that we - as a team and club - prepare to say farewell to a good friend, a wonderful person and a fantastic player in Philippe Coutinho: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp

Coutinho’s renowned pace and ability to pick out key passes on the break will give an extra edge to a Barca side which has proved highly functional under Ernesto Valverde but has lacked the sparkle of their former Brazilian forward, and has been over-reliant on the enduring brilliance of Lionel Messi.

Last year, Paris

St Germain shelled

out a world record

€222m to lure Brazilian

star Neymar from Barcelona

before the French champions

then agreed to pay Monaco €120m

for Kylian Mbappe in a deal which

will be officially activated once the

striker’s loan period is completed.

The swoop for 25-year-old attacking

midfielder Coutinho - which contains

a €400m release clause - will be the

third biggest deal in football.

MOST EXPENSIVE SOCCER TRANSFERS OF ALL TIME

€222m: Neymar

€180m: Kylian Mbappe

€120m: Philippe Coutinho

€105m: Ousmane Dembele

€105m: Paul Pogba

€101m: Gareth Bale

€94m: Cristiano Ronaldo

€90m: Gonzalo Higuain

€86.2M: Neymar

€84M: Romelu Lukaku

€81.7m: Luis Suarez

€84m: Virgil van Dijk

Barcelona to Paris Saint Germain, (2017)

Monaco to PSG (To be completed in June, after current loan spell ends)

Liverpool to Barcelona, 2018

Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona, 2017

Juventus to Manchester United, (2016)

Tottenham to Real Madrid, (2013)

Manchester United to Real Madrid, (2009)

Napoli to Juventus, (2016)

Santos to Barcelona, (2013)

Everton to Manchester United, 2017

Liverpool to Barcelona, (2014)

Southampton to Liverpool, 2018

in January 2013 and scored 54 goals for the club in all c o m p e t i t i o n s , although he won nosilverware during his five-year stay.

Barcelona had tried to sign him in the sum-mer, but his departure is a blow to Liverpool asthe playmaker has justreturned to top form afteran injury-hit start to theseason.

He scored six goals in thelast seven games of 2017 to puthis side firmly in the Champi-ons League places.

Capturing Coutinho allowsBarcelona to move on from the bit-ter experience of losing his Brazil teammate Neymar last summer.

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Liverpool to Barcelona, (2014)

Southampton to Liverpool, 2018

AFP

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool will offer supporters who bought shirts bearing the name of Philippe Coutinho a £50 voucher to help offset the impact on fans of the Brazilian’s move to Barcelona.

“The club is to offer supporters who bought a 2017-18 replica shirt printed with Philippe Coutinho’s name and number a £50 voucher, once the move is completed,” said a statement from Liverpool.

“Supporters should present their 2017-18 Coutinho replica shirt at any official club store where the voucher will be issued. The shirt will not be retained but proof of purchase will be required.”

Liverpool offers refunds for Coutinho’s shirts

‘Dream’ summer move was what he wanted , says Klopp

Barca capture Coutinhoin third richest de al AFP

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admitted that Barcelona-bound Philippe Coutinho was “desperate” to move to the La Liga giants, and had wanted to leave for Catalo-nia since Barca bid for the Brazilian ace in July.

Coutinho will finally make his ‘dream’ move after being denied in the summer, with the two clubs agreeing a reported €160m ($192m) deal for a player that Liverpool signed in 2013 from Inter Milan for just £8.5m.

“It’s no secret that Philippe has wanted this move to happen since July, when Barcelona first made their interest known,” Klopp told the Liverpool website.

“Philippe was insistent with me, the owners and even his teammates this was a move he was desperate to make happen.”

Klopp said that he had fought to keep Coutinho on Merseyside last summer, when Liverpool reportedly turned down a £138m (€155.6m) deadline-day bid from Barca, but that the lure of the runaway La Liga leaders was too much for the attacker to resists.

“We managed to keep the player here beyond the summer window, hoping that we would be able to persuade him to stay and be part of what we are look-ing to do,” added Klopp.

“I can tell the Liverpool sup-porters that we, as a club, have done everything within our means to convince Philippe

that remaining part of LFC was as attractive as moving to Spain, but he is 100 per cent certain his future -- and that of his family -- belongs at Barcelona.

“It is his dream and I am now convinced there is nothing left at our disposal to change his mind.”

Klopp also hailed Coutinho’s “professionalism” after being denied the transfer to Spain and thanked him for his five years of service to the Premier League club.

Coutinho came to Liverpool following a poor five years as an Inter player that included an ini-tial two-year loan spell at hometown team Vasco da Gama and then a year at Barcelona-based club Espanyol after failing to impress in Italy.

He flourished under Klopp following the German’s arrival

from Borussia Dortmund in 2015, and while he didn’t win any tro-phies in his time at Liverpool, he made enough of a splash to attract the interest of the world’s biggest clubs.

“Philippe has made a fantas-tic contribution to this club over his five years of service and as disappointed as we are he doesn’t want to extend that, the relationship we have for him means with a heavy heart we wish him well,” he said.

“The player remained dedi-cated and committed to helping us win matches, producing good performances and training hard each day at Melwood after the summer window had closed, despite failing to convince us to allow him to leave during that period and that level of profes-sionalism reflects positively on him.”

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Liverpool must act quickly to find a replacement: Aldridge AFP

LONDON: Liverpool legend John Aldridge yesterday urged the club to move quickly to replace playmaker Philippe Coutinho, who has swapped the Premier League giants for Barcelona.

“I am not surprised but disappointed he (Coutinho) is leaving because he is a fantas-tic player to watch,” Aldridge told BBC Radio 5 Live. “£140 million is a lot of money and Liverpool have to spend it wisely.

“They have spent £75m of it wisely on Vir-gil van Dijk -- a player we have needed for some time in a leader at the back -- but he (Coutinho) needs replacing and we have got to do it” as soon as possible.

Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez, a key player for the Foxes when they won the Premier League in 2016, has been linked to the club.

And Aldridge believes the Algeria inter-national must be considered.

“If you look at the way Coutinho plays, he (Mahrez) is very similar,” Aldridge added. “He is older, he has played in the Premier League for some years and everybody has seen the ability he has got, so he ticks a lot of boxes.

“You need that type of player similar to Coutinho who sees that pass, can do some-thing extraordinary outside the box, can bend it in the top corner and is good on free-kicks as well.”

Rio-born Coutinho arrived at Anfield from Inter Milan for £8.5m ($11.5m, €9.5m) in Jan-uary 2013 and scored 54 goals for the club in all competitions, although he won no silver-ware during his five-year stay.

Barcelona had tried to sign him in the summer -- his departure is a blow to Liver-pool as the playmaker has just returned to top form after an injury-hit start to the season.

Capturing Coutinho allows Barcelona to move on from the bitter experience of losing his Brazil teammate Neymar last summer to Paris Saint-Germain.

Coutinho was expected to watch his new team host Levante yesterday at Camp Nou.

I am not surprised but disappointed he (Coutinho) is leaving because he is a fantastic player to watch. £140 million is a lot of money and Liverpool have to spend it wisely: Aldridge

John Aldridge

Jurgen Klopp

34 MONDAY 8 JANUARY 2018SPORT

Kyrgios claims Brisbane title with scintillating display in the finalAFP

BRISBANE: Nick Kyrgios was at his brilliant best as he downed American Ryan Harri-son to claim the Brisbane International in straight sets yesterday.

The 6-4, 6-2 win was the third-seeded Australian’s fourth title on the ATP tour and his first on home soil.

“I didn’t know what kind of performance I was going to put in this week, whether I was going to do well,” he said.

“But as the week went on, I felt that I was serving a lot bet-ter, hitting the ball better. And I knew today was obviously a great opportunity.”

Kyrgios is a polarising fig-ure in Australian sport -- his superb tennis skills are often marred by poor behaviour on court.

But the packed crowd at the Pat Rafter Arena saw only his brilliant side, with Harrison having no answer to the mer-curial Australian’s huge serve and stunning all-court play.

Kyrgios beat top seed and world number three Grigor Dimitrov in the semi-finals and if he maintains form and moti-vation, he will be a major threat at the Australian Open this month.

“Even if I had lost the first round here, I would probably still feel good next week, going

into next week,” he said.

“But obviously, just playing a lot of matches, that’s confidence for any player.

“Right now it’s all about recover-ing and feeling the ball for the Oz Open. Because obviously I’m playing wel l under pressure and in pressure situations.”

After strug-gling with his first three service games when he had to defend five break points, Kyr-gios lost only one point on serve after that.

He fired down 17 aces in the two sets while Harri-son’s normally strong serve began to falter.

Kyrgios broke Harrison in the seventh game of the first set to take the opener in 36 min-utes, at which point the American left the court to change his clothes.

Kyrgios complained to the umpire about the length of time Harrison was taking.

But the delay did nothing

to upset Kyrgios’s rhythm and he broke Harrison twice more to take the title in one hour and 13 minutes, fittingly winning the title with an ace.

Kyrgios and Harrison have a history of bad blood dating back to 2015 when in a match against Stan Wawrinka, Kyr-gios told the Swiss star that fellow Australian Thanasi

Kokkinakis had slept with his girlfriend.

A week later Harrison and Kokkinakis had to be separated by officials during a fiery match, with Harrison report-edly saying “Wawrinka should’ve decked Kyrgios and I should deck that kid.”

But apart from Kyrgios’s frustration with Harrison leav-ing the court at the end of the first set, there was no evidence of tension and the two shook hands warmly at the end of the match. Harrison conceded later he had his chances but Kyrgios was just too good.

“I thought that he hit his spots really well, especially on big points,” Harrison said yesterday.

“And, you know, sometimes it goes like that. I mean, you got a guy who serves that well, you’re not going to get looks on every service game. My chances happened to be early in the match, and then he converted his chances.”

The men’s doubles title yes-terday was won by Australian John Peers and Finland’s Henri Kontinen (pair pictured left), who defeated Argentine com-bination Leonardo Mayer and Horacio Zeballos 3-6, 6-3, 10/2.

Makarova stuns Ostapenko in sweltering Sydney REUTERS

SYDNEY: Ekaterina Makarova kept cool in the fierce Australian heat to upset the French Open champion and world number seven Jelena Ostapenko 7-6(3) 6-1 in the opening round of the Sydney International yesterday.

Makarova, who reached the Australian Open semi-finals after stunning Serena Williams three years ago, rode an early break for a 5-3 lead and, even though her Latvian opponent got back to 5-5, raced away with the first set tiebreak.

Third seed Ostapenko, who also lost her opening match in Shenzhen last week, put up a fierce fight at the start of the second set.

But she faded after losing her first service game and Makarova moved on to face Barbora Strycova or Daria Kasatkina.

“It was first match of the season so of course I was nervous at the beginning,” said Makarova.

“But I tried to stay solid, to stay with my aggressive game, and it worked in the important moments.”

With temperatures in western Sydney well above the 40 degrees Celsius mark, some withdrawals might have been expected and local Ellen Perez progressed when France’s Kristina Mlade-novic retired at 6-4 4-2 down.

German seventh seed Julia Goerges also withdrew from the tournament citing a knee injury having won the Auckland Clas-sic earlier in the day.

Venus Williams, Garbine Muguruza and Johanna Konta, the reigning champion, are all also in a strong women’s field at Syd-ney’s Olympic Park.

In the men’s draw, twice former champion Viktor Troicki went out in the first round 6-3 6-7(3) 7-5 at the hands of unorthodox Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov.

The Australian Open goes hi-tech with new chairsAUSOPEN.ORG

MELBOURNE: A new state-of-the-art umpires chair will be unveiled at Australian Open 2018.

The hi-tech chair, to be featured on Rod Laver Arena, MCA and Hisense Arena, has been fully automated, with officials rising up to the occasion at the touch of a button, a story on the event’s official website said.

“We look at every aspect of the field of play to see how we can improve the experience for our players, officials and fans,” Tennis Australia’s Chief Operations Officer Tom Larner said.

“The new, automated umpire’s chair is not only practical for our chair umpires, but it will be great fun for the fans.

“I’m sure they’ll enjoy the anticipation as the official walks onto court, buckles up, and pushes the button to rise to the required height.”

Sam Groth, who will play his final Australian Open this month, was delighted to step into the chair and take it for a test drive. “Well that’s inventive, the fans are going to love it,” said Groth as he rose up and down in the chair, hamming it up with US star Madison Keys during her practice session at Rod Laver Arena.

New court furniture will be unveiled on all 22 courts at Austral-ian Open 2018, with the automated umpire chair featuring on the three stadium courts. The process has taken a full year from con-cept, tender and build, with Synergy Australasia appointed to design and create the new look.

“We generally refresh the court furniture every five years or so,” Larner said.

“This new look has also given us the opportunity to bring the contemporary new AO brand to life, both in the shapes of the fur-niture and through the built-in LEDs on the automated chair, adding another element of colour and entertainment to the field of play.”

Sam Groth tests the new umpire’s chair

Nick Kyrgios seen with the winner’s trophy with Ryan Harrison. RIGHT: Kyrgios in action.

35MONDAY 8 JANUARY 2018 SPORT

Doha conqueror Monfils expecting a tough draw at Australian Open

AFP/AGENCIES

DOHA: Gael Monfils said he expected a “tough” Australian Open despite claiming his first title of the season on Saturday after he won the Qatar Open by beating Andrey Rublev.

Monfils, returning to action after a knee injury which brought a premature end to last season, said he would still be unseeded in Melbourne and expected a tough draw.

“Australia is definitely something else,” the 31-year-old said after the one-sided final.

“It’s a Slam. I know it’s going to be tough because I won’t be seeded.”

“It’s been a while since I played without being seeded. It’s always an advantage in a Grand Slam.”

“It’s going to be interesting to see the draw, where I will be. I know I can have a very tough first round.”

He may, in fact, still have a slim chance of being seeded in Australia, depending on injuries to top players as

well as his move up the rankings fol-lowing his 6-2, 6-3 win in Qatar.

Going into Doha, Monfils was ranked 46th in the world.

With the new rankings out next week, he is expected to rise to 39, still seven places outside the seedings.

However, injuries to players such as Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori have already ensured players outside the top 32 will be seeded, including Rublev, and more dropouts would help Monfils.

Monfils said he was pleased to have returned to action after a lengthy lay-off.

“I am very happy. It’s been a while -- it’s been a year and I was waiting for that moment to get back in shape,” Monfils said.

“It was in 2016, I was almost on my top and I had a very good year, finished 6, and couldn’t really defend my chances in 2017.

“Definitely, I haven’t played so much in 2017 at 100 percent. And I had a long rest and (to) come back strong in

2018 was a goal. I wouldn’t say I was expecting to win the first tournament, but I’m more than happy that I did,” he added.

Rublev is currently the world number 39 but his ranking will rise to at least 33 after Doha. Injuries to oth-ers mean he is assured of a seeding in Melbourne for the season’s first Grand Slam which starts on January 15.

Asked about his chances in Aus-tralia, Rublev, 20, said he was “more confident” after his showing in Doha.

“I’m happy to be seeded and, of course, I feel a little bit more confident. But we’ll see what happens. You never know who you are going to play and there’s many guys that are not seeded but they are really, really tough to beat.”

Monfils praised Rublev’s performance.

“I think he’s young. He’s coming up well. He’s going to be very strong. He had very solid end to the year last sea-son. We could see already that he could beat the top players for sure,” he said.

Qatar ExxonMobil Open champion Gael Monfils of France is seen with Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF) President Nasser Al Khelaifi after the final of the tournament on Saturday. Monfils, a three-time finalist, won his first Qatar ExxonMobil Open title on his fourth attempt. LEFT TOP: QTF officials and members of the organizing committee are seen with Monfils following the final staged at Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha on Saturday night.

Qatar receives top ATP Tour award

QNA

DOHA: The Tournament Director of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open Karim Alami on Saturday received the award for best competition in the 250 points category for the year 2017 from the ATP during a ceremony held at the Khalifa Interna-tional Tennis and Squash Complex.

It is the second time that Qatar Tennis Feder-ation (QTF) has scooped up the award which is based on the votes of the players.

The previous award was won by QTF in 2016. ATP Tour Supervisor Lars Graff handed the

award to Alami during the final day of the competition.

President of Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF) Nasser Al Khelaifi was present when the Tourna-ment Director received the trophy from Graff.

The Tournament Director expressed his delight that Qatar ExxonMobil Open managed to win the

honour for another year. “It was a result of the big efforts made by the

organizing committee headed by QTF President Nasser Al Khelaifi,” Alami, a former ATP Tour player, said.

“The award will be a big boost to all who work

on organizing the tournament. The staff will con-tinue to do their best going forward,” he added.

He said ATP Tour players voted for Qatar Exx-onMobil Open because they get a good experience when they participate in the tournament that pro-vides the players with every comfort they need to win.

He added that it was no surprise that the tour-nament received the accolade, given that each year sees a host of the top-ranked players taking part in the event.

The competition also has the highest prize money in its category which helps add more cov-erage from regional and international broadcasters.

The latest study showed that 150 million homes

around the world watched the event this year. Local print media and television have been covering the competition since it began in 1995.

The day of the final clash also saw chief of umpires at Qatar ExxonMobil Open Ashraf Hamouda receive a gold badge, becoming the first Arab umpire to achieve the feat. Gold badge is the highest rank for any umpire.

It is usually given to those umpires who officiate in Grand Slam finals. Hamouda expressed his delight after being acknowledged as the top chair umpire.

He noted that there weren’t any errors this year on the part of the participating umpires nor were there any complaints from the players. A total of 100 people officiated this year’s matches, he informed.

A spectacular view of the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex seen by night A spectacular view of the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex seen by night during last week’s Qatar ExxonMobil Open that ended with the final on Saturday. during last week’s Qatar ExxonMobil Open that ended with the final on Saturday.

The Qatar ExxonMobil Open is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series. The sic-day event is being held annually in January at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Qatar since 1993.

President of Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF) Nasser Al Khelaifi President of Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF) Nasser Al Khelaifi is seen with Tournament Director of the Qatar ExxonMobil is seen with Tournament Director of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open Karim Alami and ATP Tour Supervisor Lars Graff in Doha Open Karim Alami and ATP Tour Supervisor Lars Graff in Doha on Saturday.on Saturday.

36 MONDAY 8 JANUARY 2018SPORT