Tag: Yahoo Sport

Premiership, QPR

Premiership: Harry Redknapp resigns as Queens Park Rangers manager

Harry Redknapp has tendered his resignation as Queens Park Rangers manager, the club have announced.

Redknapp cited imminent knee surgery for his decision to resign from his post just one day after the close of the transfer window.

“I have had such a fantastic time at QPR,” he said. “I would like to thank the board, the players and all my staff, and especially the supporters who have been absolutely fantastic to me since I arrived at the club for their tremendous support.

“Sadly I need immediate surgery on my knee which is going to stop me from doing my job in the coming weeks. It means I won’t be able to be out on the training pitch every day, and if I can’t give 100 per cent I feel it’s better for someone else to take over the reins.

“My relationship with Tony Fernandes has been one of the highlights of my footballing career and I wish the club every success. I am confident they will survive in the Premier League this year.”

Redknapp was working hard on deadline day, trying to bring in targets like Matt Jarvis and Emmanuel Adebayor in an effort to drag Rangers out of the prolonged slump that has left them 19th in the Premier League with five wins from 23 games.

However, he has now vacated his position – with former Tottenham caretaker Tim Sherwood the odds-on favourite to replace him.

Les Ferdinand and Chris Ramsey – both of whom worked with Sherwood at Spurs last season – have been placed in temporary charge of the team.

Chairman Tony Fernandes told the club’s official website: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Harry for everything he has done for QPR during his time in charge. We part on good terms and I would personally like to wish him all the best for the future.”

Redknapp was appointed QPR boss in November 2012 but could not prevent the club from being relegated as an expensively-assembled squad failed to gel.

He won immediate promotion last season but QPR have struggled again in the top flight, losing every single away game this season to set a new record.

Read more at Yahoo Sport

Australian Open, Tennis

Australian Open: Andy Murray’s fiancée Kim Sears responds to critics with brilliant T-shirt

Kim Sears wins the day with a wonderful T-shirt in response to her critics…

Well played, Kim Sears, very well played…

Sears, the fiancée of Andy Murray, responded in quite brilliant fashion to her critics after she swore during her man’s previous match at the Australian Open.

All eyes were always going to be on Sears after her outburst during Murray’s semi-final match against Tomas Berdych, and she found the perfect riposte.

The response on social media was one of delight with many quick to laud Sears for her humour in reacting to the controversy in such fashion.

kim-sears-t-shirt-response-tweet kim-sears-t-shirt-response

On Thursday, the TV cameras had alighted on Sears during a particularly intense moment: Murray was down 5-4 in the first set against Berdych, which he would go on to lose in a tie-break.

And amateur lip readers up and down the country were quickly accusing Sears of turning the air blue with what appeared to be a very rude outburst.

Read more at Yahoo Sport

Cordoba, La Liga, Real Madrid

La Liga: Cordoba 2-1 Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off for lashing out at Edimar as Real Madrid beat Cordoba 2-1 thanks to a dramatic late Gareth Bale penalty.

Cordoba took an early lead when Bebe fired a shot from distance against the arms of Sergio Ramos, and the referee awarded a penalty. Nabil Ghilas calmly converted from the spot.

Real struggled to create many chances in response, but Karim Benzema equalised after stabbing home Gareth Bale’s flick-on from a James Rodriguez corner.

In the second half, Cordoba continued to play brightly, despite gradually dropping deeper, and they almost took the lead against when Florin Andone lifted a volley over the head of Iker Casillas, only to see his effort bounce off the crossbar.

Real Madrid went close when Juan Carlos saved Benzema’s shot from the left, but minutes later Cristiano Ronaldo saw red for kicking out at Edimar after the two tussled for a cross, and also became involved with Jose Angel Crespo.

Minutes later, Bale won a penalty when Federico Cartabia was given a second yellow after he handballed his free kick. He fired his shot down the middle to win the game with minutes to spare.

Read more at Yahoo Sport

Australian Open, Tennis

Australian Open: Dominant Novak Djokovic marches past Fernando Verdasco

The Serbian cemented his status as tournament favourite with a forensic dismantling of the number 31 seed Verdasco, who barely laid a racket on the Djokovic serve.

So rarely was the end result in doubt that the greatest moment of tension came when a fan chose to propose to his girlfriend during a change of ends. She said yes, Djokovic applauded.

The four-times winner in Melbourne will face Gilles Muller of Luxembourg in the last 16, after Muller defeated John Isner in straight sets.

Read more at Yahoo Sport

Dakar, Motorsport

Dakar: Bikes: Coma claims fifth Dakar crown

Spain’s Marc Coma cruised into Buenos Aires a hero as he claimed his fifth Dakar Rally bike title.

Ivan Jakes won the shortened final stage of the race from Rosario to Buenos Aires, but the day belonged to Spanish legend Coma, who clocked an overall time of 46 hours three minutes 49 seconds for the gruelling race.

Portugal’s Paulo Goncalves finished second, 16:53 behind, with Australian rookie Toby Price finishing a magnificent third on his debut.

Coma’s tally of five wins sees him equal the mark of the great Cyril Despres – who took part in the car race this year – and puts him one victory away from matching the overall record of Stephane Peterhansel.

“I’m over the moon, that’s for sure. But even on the last day we weren’t able to take it easy. There was a storm, the ground got muddy and with desert tyres it wasn’t too easy,” said Coma.

“Our arrival in Bolivia heralded a decisive moment. We knew that. I survived and made it through Salar de Uyuni. That was the key moment.

marc-coma-in-action

“So I’m very happy. Delighted to be here. It’s been a life’s work with the entire team, the ideal bike… Now, after so much effort, it’s time to relax and have fun.”

Goncalves was left to rue an engine change following the 10th stage on Wednesday night, bringing with it a 16 minute penalty that extended Coma’s lead to 21 minutes at the time – and allowed the Spaniard to drive more conservatively over the final few days.

“There was a time when I was within striking distance of Marc Coma because there were hardly five minutes between us, but then I got a penalty for changing my engine,” he said.

“I was helped by my team-mate Jeremías Israel, who gave me his engine and without whom I’d never made it here to take second place. So this one’s for him. And we’ll try again next year.”

Price had no such misgivings after one of the best Dakar debuts in years.

“Being here in third place is insane! I’m at a loss for words,” he said.

“When I decided to sign up three or four months ago, I was quite nervous, I didn’t know what I was getting into. And now I’m on the finish line… happy.”

Final standings

1. Marc Coma (ESP/Ktm) 46 h 03:49.

2. Paulo Goncalves (POR/Honda) 16:53. (pénalité: 17:00.)

3. Toby Price (AUS/Ktm) 23:14.

4. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI/Ktm) 38:38.

5. Stefan Svitko (SVK/Ktm) 44:17.

6. Ruben Faria (POR/Ktm) 1 h 57:50. (pénalité: 41:00.)

7. David Casteu (FRA/Ktm) 2 h 00:14.

8. Ivan Jakes (SVK/Ktm) 2 h 18:18.

9. Laia Sanz Pla-Giribert (ESP/Honda) 2 h 24:21.

10. Olivier Pain (FRA/Yamaha) 3 h 09:09.

Read more at Yahoo Sport

Dakar, Motorsport

Dakar: Cars: Al-Attiyah storms to second Dakar crown

Nasser Al-Attiyah completed a dominant victory in the 2015 Dakar Rally car race after safely coming through the final day’s stage to make the finish line in Buenos Aires.

Robby Gordon won the shortened final stage of the race in 13 minutes 16 seconds ahead of Leeroy Poulter, but Al-Attiyah’s sixth spot – 39 seconds back – was easily enough to give him a second Dakar victory following his 2011 triumph.

The Qatari driver was one of the hot favourites ahead of the event, and justified that status by winning the opening stage – only to be stripped of that honour by being handed a two-minute penalty for speeding on a link section. He quickly shrugged it off, winning the second stage of the race in fine style by almost ten minutes to take charge of the race, and he never looked back thereafter.

“I’m delighted I’ve won the Dakar,” he said afterwards.

“It’s fantastic because we’ve dominated the race from the beginning and were able to control the rally throughout. I’ve got lots of people to thank for this.

nasser-al-attiyah-in-action

“I came to the Dakar in top-notch form, both physically and mentally. Then, we managed to do our job day after day. It’s fantastic. Now I want to win even more.”

His arch-rival for the title, Nani Roma, suffered a catastrophic breakdown on the second stage that cost him over two hours and took him out of the equation, and South Africa’s Giniel de Villiers eventually finished second – some 35 minutes 34 seconds off Al-Attiyah’s winning aggregate time of 40 hours 32 minutes and 25 seconds.

“Everyone wants to finish on the top step, but we’ve got reason to be proud of what we’ve done because we took the fight to Nasser for quite a while,” said De Villiers.

“He did the best race, well played. It’s a bit frustrating, but that’s racing for you. It takes several years to develop a car that can win the Dakar. After four years of existence, the Toyota Hilux has made leaps and bounds, a lot of work’s gone into it.”

In third place, almost an hour further back, was Poland’s Krzysztof Holowczyz, finishing on the podium at last in his 10th Dakar.

“I decided to drive fast but safely, and this strategy works at the rally,” he said.

” I stayed calm every day, whether I was fourth or fifth… and I ended up on the podium. I think I found my pace.

“Of course, we look at the top of the podium, but I’m delighted with my third place. I’ve won races and events in other disciplines, but standing on the podium of the Dakar is something new because this race is really special.
“When you finish this rally, you’re so tired you never want to come back, but two months later you’re ready to jump back in.”

Final standings

1. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Matthieu Baumel (QAT/FRA/Mini) 40 h 32:25. (penalties: 2:00.)

2. Giniel De Villiers/Dirk Von Zitzewitz (RSA/GER/Toyota) à 35:34.

3. Krzysztof Holowczyc/Xavier Panseri (POL/FRA/Mini) 1 h 32:01.

4. Erik Van Loon/Wouter Rosegaar (NED/NED/Mini) 3 h 01:52. (penalties: 40:00.)

5. Vladimir Vasilyev/Konstantin Zhiltsov (RUS/RUS/Mini) 3 h 12:41.

6. Christian Lavieille/Pascal Maimon (FRA/FRA/Toyota) 3 h 15:58.

7. Bernhard Ten Brinke/Tom Colsoul (NED/BEL/Toyota) 3 h 42:02.

8. Carlos Sousa/Paulo Fiuza (POR/POR/Mitsubishi) 3 h 44:59. (penalties: 40:00.)

9. Aidyn Rakhimbayev/Anton Nikolaev (KAZ/RUS/Mini) 4 h 08:44. (penalties: 30.)

10. Ronan Chabot/Gilles Pillot (FRA/FRA/Smg) 4 h 42:36.

Read more at Yahoo Sport

Tennis, WTA Brisbane

Tennis: Sharapova storms into semi-finals of WTA Brisbane

Maria Sharapova eased into the semi-finals of WTA Brisbane with a hugely-convincing win over Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro.

The Russian took an hour and eight minutes to beat the seventh seed 6-1 6-3, breaking serve five times as she did so, and earning a spot in the last four against up-and-coming Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who knocked out Angelique Kerber.

Top seed Sharapova was relieved to have cruised past an opponent who has given her problems in the past.

“We went back and forth with our victories in 2014 so I’m always a little bit aware of girls that I lose to,” Sharapova said.

“I certainly know that she’s capable of playing really well, though. She plays defence great and makes you hit a lot of balls.

“Especially on a slower court like here, you just don’t want to give her that much time to play her game. I thought I did a good job of that today.
“Maybe I made a little too many unforced errors in the beginning, but I finished strong.”

Svitolina, who had come from 6-3 3-0 down to stun Kerber in a 4-6 7-5 6-3 victory, sounded thrilled to be facing Sharapova.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Svitolina said. “It’s always great to compete against these players. You see what you need to improve. I’ll try and fight as I did today, and hopefully I can win tomorrow.”

Sharapova was also keenly anticipating the match.

“She’s a young girl that’s already in the Top 30 with a tremendous amount of potential, and someone you’ll be seeing in the top very soon,” Sharapova said.
“She definitely has a good game. She’s an all-around player. It’ll be a tough match-up for me, but one that I’m looking forward to, actually.”

WTA BRISBANE RESULTS

1-Maria Sharapova (Russia) beat 7-Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) 6-1 6-3

Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) beat 3-Angelique Kerber (Germany) 4-6 7-5 6-3

Varvara Lepchenko (U.S.) beat Alla Kudryavtseva (Russia) 7-5 7-5

Read more at Yahoo Sport

Copa Del Rey

Copa Del Rey: Atletico Madrid 2-0 Real Madrid

Fernando Torres’ first game back at Atletico Madrid ended in victory, securing a 2-0 Copa Del Rey win over rivals Real Madrid.

Having completed his return to the Vicente Calderon from Chelsea, via a loan move from AC Milan, Torres was handed a place in the starting line-up by Diego Simeone, with seven changes made to the team that beat Levante on Saturday.

Cristiano Ronaldo missed out for Real Madrid, only making the bench as he struggled with a minor knee injury, with Keylor Navas given the nod in goal as Carlo Ancelotti fielded a strong selection.

And Real came close to taking the lead within the opening two minutes, when Jan Oblak was required to make a close range save from Sergio Ramos to deny the defender from finding the net with a powerful header.

Atletico grew into the game after a strong start by the visitors but had to wait until the second half for the breakthrough, with Ramos conceding a penalty for hauling Garcia to the ground inside the area. The forward brushed himself off and converted from 12 yards, despite Navas diving the right way.

Ronaldo was introduced as Real Madrid chased the game, but Atletico soon gave themselves a 2-0 lead to take into the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu. Gimenez climbed highest from a corner kick to head into the far corner with a well-directed effort, giving Navas no chance.

Read more at Yahoo Sport

 

Dakar, Motorsport

Dakar: Al-Attiyah impresses on stage four to extend overall lead

A blistering late stint from Nasser Al-Attiyah on stage four of the Dakar Rally helped him extend his lead to over eight minutes.

Spain’s Nani Roma finished second, two minutes and 40 seconds adrift, with Giniel de Villiers taking third as the 9,000 kilometre race travelled from Chilecito to Copiapo.

Al-Attiyah leads de Villiers in the overall standings by eight minutes and 15 seconds. Yazeed Al Rajhi is in third, more than 23 minutes off the pace.

The day was overshadowed by the news that Polish motorbike rider Michal Hernik had died during the race in Argentina.

Hernik is the fifth driver to die since the race moved to South America in 2009.

Stage four results

1 Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) 3:09:18
2 Nani Roma (ESP) 3:11:58 +02:40
3 Giniel de Villiers (RSA) 3:12:15 +02:57
4 Yazeed Al Rajhi (KSA) 3:12:43 +03:25
5 Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) 3:15:06 +05:48
6 Bernard ten Brinke (NED) 3:15:28 +06:10
7 Ronan Chabot (FRA) 3:20:41 +11:23
8 Christian Lavieille (FRA) 3:26:24 +17:06
9 Leeroy Poulter (RSA) 3:26:35 +17:17
10 Erik van Loon (NED) 3:26:49 +17:31

Overall standings

1 Nasser Al-Attiyah 12:30:44
2 Giniel de Villiers + 8:15
3 Yazeed Al Rajhi + 23:33
4 Bernard ten Brinke + 42:32
5 Krzystof Holowczyc + 43:30
6 Erik van Loon + 45:14
7 Carlos Sousa + 59:26
8 Christian Lavieille + 1:00:44
9 Aidyn Rakhimbayev + 1:04:23
10 Ronan Chabot + 1:11:30

Read more at Yahoo Sport

LA Galaxy, Liverpool, MLS, Premiership

Premiership: LA Galaxy confirm Steven Gerrard signing

MLS side Los Angeles Galaxy have confirmed Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard will join the club in July.

In an interview with the LA Times, Galaxy manager Bruce Arena revealed the news, which was later confirmed via the club’s official website.

“Steven Gerrard arrives in July and by then we will certainly have a plan available,” Arena, who has led the club to three Major League Soccer titles in four years, told the newspaper.

“He’s a player of quality. I’m not concerned about how he’s going to fit in with our team.

“We have a club now with a proven history of success. All those things go hand in hand in making LA Galaxy a very attractive team for players such as Steven Gerrard.”

la-galaxy-confirm-gerrard-signing-tweet

Galaxy president Chris Klein described the Reds captain as “the perfect fit”.

“We just started thinking in the universe of players that are out there, we want to make a decision on what signifies a Galaxy-designated player.

“When we look at that, Steven Gerrard is the perfect fit with what he brings to us on the field and the character that he has off it.”

Read more at Yahoo Sport