Sports

Novak Djokovic back on top Down Under, win Australian Open

Published

4 years ago

2023/01/30

MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic found this trip to Australia far less complicated, and far more successful, than that of a year ago.

Unable to enter his best event in 2022 after being deported from the country because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19, Djokovic accomplished all he could have wanted in his return: He resumed his winning ways at Melbourne Park and made it back to the top of tennis.

Only briefly challenged in the final on Sunday night, Djokovic was simply better at the most crucial moments and beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) for a record-extending 10th Australian Open championship and record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title overall. As a bonus, Djokovic will vault from No. 5 to No. 1 in the ATP rankings, a spot he already has held for more weeks than any other man.

“He’s the greatest that has ever held a tennis racket,” Tsitsipas said.

Djokovic stretched his unbeaten streak in Melbourne to 28 matches, the longest run at the tournament for a man in the Open era, which dates to 1968. He adds trophy No. 10 there to the seven from Wimbledon, three from the U.S. Open — where he also was absent last year because of no coronavirus shots — and two at the French Open, to match rival Rafael Nadal for the most by a man in tennis history.

Margaret Court, with 24, Serena Williams, with 23, and Steffi Graf, with 22, have the most among women.This was also the 93rd ATP tour-level title for Djokovic, allowing the 35-year-old from Serbia to break a tie with Nadal for the fourth-most. Jimmy Connors holds that mark, at 109.

Djokovic was participating in his 33rd major final, Tsitsipas in his second — and the 24-year-old from Greece’s other one also ended in a loss to Djokovic, at the 2021 French Open.

He was superior throughout against Tsitsipas, but especially so in the two tiebreakers. He took a 4-1 lead in the first and after it was 4-all, pulled off three points in a row. He led 5-0 in the closing tiebreaker and, when it finished, he pointed to his temple then climbed into the stands, pumped his fist and jumped with his coach, Goran Ivanisevic, and other members of the entourage, and collapsed, crying.

Little doubt this is of no solace to Tsitsipas, but there is no shame in failing to defeat Djokovic in Melbourne. Challenging his dominion on those blue hard courts is every bit the monumental task that taking on Nadal on the red clay at Roland Garros is.

Perhaps surprisingly, Tsitsipas was willing to engage in the kind of leg-wearying, lung-searing back-and-forths upon which Djokovic has built his superlative career. How did that work out? Of points lasting at least five strokes, Djokovic won 43, Tsitsipas 30,

Then again, on those rare occasions that Tsitsipas did charge the net, he likely regretted the choice, because Djokovic often conjured up a passing shot that was too tough to handle.

One of Djokovic’s many other strengths is his return game, and he accumulated three break points within 17 minutes, converting the last for a quick 3-1 lead when Tsitsipas double-faulted.

The trophy for which they were playing was displayed on a pedestal near a corner of the court, and both men would get within reach of it whenever wandering over to towel off between points at that end.So close, yes, but for Tsitsipas, never truly close enough.

It’s not as though Tsitsipas played all that poorly, other than a rash of early miscues that seemed to be more a product of tension than anything.

It’s that Djokovic was, put simply, too good. Too accurate with his strokes — making merely 22 unforced errors, 20 fewer than his foe — and anticipation. Too speedy and flexible chasing shots (other than on one second-set point, when, running to his left, Djokovic took a tumble). Too dangerous with his returns and damaging enough with his serves.

Djokovic pushes and pushes and pushes some more, until it’s the opponent who is something less than perfect on one shot, either missing or providing an opening to pounce.There has been more than forehands and backhands on Djokovic’s mind over the past two weeks.

There was the not-so-small matter of last year’s legal saga — he has alternately acknowledged the whole thing served as a form of motivation but also said the other day, “I’m over it” — and curiosity about the sort of reception he would get.He heard a ton of loud support, but also dealt with some persistent heckling while competing, including applause after the faults Sunday.

There was the sore left hamstring that has been heavily bandaged for every match — until the final, that is, when only a single piece of beige athletic tape was visible — and had worried him at the beginning of Week 1, prompting him to turn to what he said was “a lot” of pain-killing pills and other treatments he didn’t detail.

And then there was the more complicated matter of his father, Srdjan, being filmed with a group of people with Russian flags — one with an image of Vladimir Putin — after Djokovic’s quarterfinal victory. The tournament banned spectators from bringing in flags of Russia or Belarus, saying they would cause disruption because of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Both Djokovic and his father said it was a misunderstanding, based on Srdjan thinking he was with a group of Serbian fans.

Because of that episode, Srdjan Djokovic did not attend his son’s semifinal victory over Tommy Paul on Friday, and was not seen in the Djokovic guest box on Sunday.No matter any of it, Djokovic managed to excel as he so often does, winning 17 sets in a row after ceding one in the second round last week.

(ESPN)

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Sports

David Pieris Group of Companies and Golden Green Plantations vie for Abans Challenge Trophy today

Published

21 hours ago

2026/08/29

Thilina Walpola

MCA – ABANS PREMIER LEAGUE 2026

David Pieris Group of Companies and Golden Green Plantations will vie for the ‘Abans Challenge Trophy’ in the final of the MCA – Abans Premier League 2026 at the Thurstan College ground today.

In the league stage, David Peiris Group of Companies led by Manjula Gannile defeated DFCC Bank by 154 runs, Nawaloka Hospitals by 8 wickets and lost to Golden Green Plantations by one wicket to lead the league stage with a higher run rate. In qualifier one David Pieris Group of Companies defeated Golden Green Plantations by 55 runs to gain direct entry to the final.

Golden Green Plantations led by T M Sampath defeated Nawaloka Hospitals by 192 runs, David Pieris Group by one wicket and lost to DFCC Bank by 50 runs to take second spot in the league. Qualifier two between Golden Green Plantations and DFCC Bank which was to be played at the DHH Sports Complex was abandoned twice in succession due to rain and bad ground conditions.

David Pieris Group of Companies Team:

Manjula Gannile (C), Ron Chandraguptha, Santhush Gunathilake, Vinuka Rubasinghe, Mineth Premarathne, Asitha Wanninayake, Lahiru Samarakoon, Tharinda Nirmal, Mihiranga Nimsara. Silva, Lakshan De Silva, Dilanka Auwardt, Akila Elabodage, Mayura Dihan, Udara Bandara, Vihara Attanayake, Shehan Rathnayake

Golden Green Plantations Team:

TM Sampath ( c), Gimandu Malkam, Randika Mihiranga, Upul Hettiarachchi, Mohomad Shamaz (wk), Dhanuja Induwara, Heshan Madhushanka, Malith De silva, Vikum Sanjaya, Johan Pathirana, Kovindu Wickramasinghe, Nuwan Dineth, Liviru Senmith, Thivin Vshvika, Lineth Vithana

Sports

Tharanga storms past 92m in Zurich

Published

21 hours ago

2026/08/29

Thilina Walpola

(File pic) Rumesh Tharanga

World-leading javelin thrower Rumesh Tharanga underlined his status as the man to beat in world athletics with another sensational performance, winning the men’s javelin at the prestigious Weltklasse meeting in Zurich with a massive 92.07 metres.

‎Tharanga’s best effort came in the final round and left him just 21 centimetres short of the meeting record of 92.28m, which has stood for three decades

.‎The 23-year-old first overcame the first round challenge from two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada. Peters took the early lead with a first-round throw of 86.93m, but Tharanga responded in the second round with 88.23m to move ahead.

‎He then increased his advantage in the third round before producing his best effort of the night in the final round, sending the javelin soaring to 92.07m.

Peters had to settle for second with 86.93m, while Poland’s Dawid Wegner was third with 85.16m. Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott finished fourth with 83.02m, followed by Kenya’s Julius Yego (81.66m) and American Marc Anthony Minichello (80.38m).

‎The Zurich victory further strengthens Tharanga’s position at the top of the world javelin hierarchy at a crucial stage of the season. With the Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels just a week away and the World Athletics Ultimate Championship looming, he has emerged as the athlete everyone will be watching.

‎Tharanga’s latest 92-metre-plus throw also provides a timely reminder of his extraordinary consistency at the highest level, as he continues his remarkable rise among the world’s elite javelin throwers. (RF)

Sports

It’s still a queendom, but Sri Lanka are more than just Athapaththu now

Published

1 day ago

2026/08/28

Priyan

Sri Lanka aren't only about Chamari Athapaththu anymore [Cricinfo]

Sometimes all you need is a little push.

The 2024 Asia Cup was a watershed for this young Sri Lanka outfit. Prior to that exhilarating climax in Dambulla , Sri Lanka’s flashes of international brilliance were almost exclusively engineered by Chamari Athapaththu. Sure, they could occasionally trade heavy blows with the world’s elite, but they lacked the collective capacity for a sustained fight. This was a queendom, one where removing Athapaththu early meant the game was as good as won.

That lopsided dynamic had been there ever since Athapaththu’s debut back in 2009. So it was impossible not to share her heartbreak when she bemoaned her team’s failure to make the T20 World Cup semi-finals earlier this year – “It’s a sadness beyond words… I could never get a chance to take my team into a semi-final of a World Cup… I think I’m a failure as a captain.”

The tragedy of that lament lay in the irony of its timing. For the first time in Athapaththu’s career, she wasn’t actually marooned by herself. The world had already been treated to a glorious glimpse of the team’s ceiling in 2024, when Harshitha Samarawickrema and Kavisha Dilhari struck the winning runs against a heavily favoured India side.

But keeping the progress going is rarely that straightforward – think less ladder and more hiking path with troughs and peaks. And it was a truth that Sri Lanka quickly learned. The euphoria of Dambulla was swept aside by a winless group stage exit at the T20 World Cup in 2024, followed by a barren 2025 devoid of series wins.

The year ended in structural upheaval as the team parted ways with head coach Rumesh Ratnayake, whose calming influence and fatherly reassurance had been foundational to their initial breakthrough.

So was it any surprise that in the last throes of an astonishing career, Athapaththu might have felt her time was up? At 36, with retirement on the not-so-distant-horizon, Athapaththu could be forgiven for thinking her last chance had come and gone.

But women’s cricket has shown in recent times that traditional career timelines, calibrated on the men’s game, might not necessarily make sense. Athapaththu has only grown stronger with age. After a quiet 2025 where she scored just 190 T20I runs at a strike rate of 113.77, she has struck 476 at 143.80 in 2026 – her best strike rate in a calendar year.

And if it was motivation that she needed, her younger colleagues are playing their part in keeping the queen locked in for as long as possible.

Imesha Dulani, 24, has had a breakthrough year, becoming the first Sri Lanka woman not named “Chamari Athapaththu” to score a T20I century, while centuries from Vishmi gunerathne, 21, and Samarawickrama, 28, led a successful chase of 275 – Sri Lanka’s third highest in ODIs – against Pakistan earlier this year, with Athapaththu watching on like the rest of us.

This was also the first year that Sri Lanka Cricket’s annual awards, had Athapaththu going without a nomination in the best women’s ODI batter category, as Samarawickrama won over the electric Nilakshika Silva. Athapaththu was still the big winner overall, though. In fact, there is now genuine competition for places at the top of the batting order, with the likes of Dulani, Gunaratne and Hasini Perera all vying for top-order berths.

The arrival of Jamie Siddons as head coach earlier this year has helped. Since he took over in March, Sri Lanka have made a noticeable shift to a more aggressive brand of cricket – something Siddons had signposted upon arrival. Whereas boundary-hitting had taken a back seat previously, Siddons has sought to bring the team’s approach in line with modern practices.

“We win in singles and twos, but we don’t score more boundaries than the opposition, and that’s why we lose against the best teams,” Siddons had said when he took over.

All this is to say that, this Sri Lanka is not the same Sri Lanka that entered the Asia Cup two years ago, nor is it even the one that won it. While they remain distinct underdogs against a formidable India, this is now a side equipped with multiple match-winners and a swelling sense of belief.

It’s also a side that is yet to touch its ceiling. There have been times when Athapaththu has not clicked and others have bailed the team out, but it’s those scintillating periods when it has all come together that this unit has shown its true fire. If they can put together more of those days, then a consecutive Asia Cup crown might well be within their reach.

[Cricinfo]