Sports
Andy Murray beats Tomas Etcheverry to reach second round at Indian Wells
Andy Murray won a deciding set for the seventh time this season to reach the second round at Indian Wells.The British former world number one defeated Tomas Etcheverry 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-4 in a match that lasted three hours and 12 minutes.Murray had no fewer than 20 break points, 16 of which were saved by the 23-year-old Argentine.
“I really felt like I was in the driving seat for much of the match,” Murray told BBC Sport.
“I was creating lots of opportunities but I just wasn’t able to capitalise. I made some poor decisions at times, but in the end did really well to get through that.”
Etcheverry was the sharper man in a first set tie-break, which he won 7-5, and had a break point for a 2-1 lead in the second.But Murray saved that break point before running away with the second set.
Both players had chances in the deciding set. Etcheverry had two break points at 4-3 but Murray saved them with some fine serving, then secured the decisive break in the next game as the Argentine double faulted.
“I’m not going to keep winning every three-set match that I play, but it’s been an amazing start to the year,” Murray continued.
“It was still a good effort to turn that around as the first set was extremely long and I was thinking ‘here we go again’.
“This is a place where I haven’t always played my best tennis so I was really happy that I managed to turn that around.”
Murray will play Spain’s world number 17 Pablo Carreno Busta in the second round on Saturday.Murray’s victory came after 21-year-old compatriot Jack Draper thrashed Switzerland’s Leandro Riedi 6-1 6-1, to set up a second-round meeting with fellow Briton Dan Evans.
The left-hander had not played since mid-January when he lost to Spain’s Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open.Showing no signs of the leg injury he had been dealing with, Draper looked sharp as he dismantled 135th-ranked Riedi’s serve.Draper, ranked 56th, broke in six of his seven return games as well as dominating on his own serve.Despite a seven-week lay-off, Draper showed why is one of the ATP Tour’s rising young stars by striking the ball confidently and consistently in an impressive performance.
The rapid win sets up an intriguing match against 24th seed Evans, who will surely provide a sterner test than Riedi did on his debut in an ATP Masters event.Evans, 32, received a first-round bye in the Californian desert and the Davis Cup team-mates will play each other competitively for the first time later this week.Speaking about Evans, Draper told BBC Sport: “He’s a really nice human being and whenever I’ve had moments where I’ve not felt great he’s always sent me a message, and I appreciate that from an older player.
“He definitely cares and it’s the same with Murray and [Cameron] Norrie – they’ve paved the way for me a little bit and they’ve always been supportive in my practice sessions and given me the confidence I’ve needed to get to this level quicker, so I’m very grateful to the likes of Dan.”
(BBC Sports)
Sri Lanka Athletics has invited India, the Philippines and the Maldives for next month’s Relay Championships conducted by Sri Lanka Schools Athletics Association in a bid to provide the men’s 4×400 metres relay quartet with a chance to reach qualifying standards for the World Relays.
Currently Sri Lanka men’s 4×400 metres relay team is within the required ranking position to compete at the prestigious World Relays taking place in Guangzhou, China. The 3:04.48 seconds finish to win the gold medal of the men’s 4×400 metres at the Asian Relays in May last year has placed Sri Lanka in the 31st position in the ‘Road to Guangzhou’ rankings.
But with many competitions coming up within the next couple of months Sri Lanka Athletics wants to leave no stone unturned in their quest to keep the ranking position within the qualifying range.
The teams in the first 32 positions according to the times produced within the qualifying period (January 1, 2024 to April 13, 2025) become eligible for the World Relays taking place on May 10 and 11 in Guangzhou.
Sri Lanka’s chances of improving the current standings (31st) at this week’s World Indoor Championship in China are minimal as Olympian Aruna Dharshana, who is the fastest of the current crop of athletes will not be available for the event.
Dharshana is currently training and competing in Australia. He is looking forward to reach qualifying standards or reach the required ranking position for World Championships in the 400 metres.
The World Athletics has set a tough standard of 44.85 seconds for the men’s 400 metres. While only 17 are selected through direct qualifying standards, 31 athletes are selected through rankings for the 400 metres. Dharshana is yet yo enter rankings to be eligible for the World Championships.
Sri Lanka Athletics will field Dharshana, Kalinga Kumarage, S.B.R. Madushan and Sadew Rajakaruna for the relay event in April.
by Reemus Fernando
Defence Services Beach Volleyball Championship 2025 was held from March 12 to 14 at the SLAF beach volleyball courts, Katunayake. During the finals SLAF Men’s team defeated SL Army (2-0) while the SL Navy Women’s team defeated SLAF Women’s team (2-0). Incidentally is the seventh Defence Services Beach Volleyball title won by the SLAF Men’s Team.
Base Commander SLAF Base Katunayake AVM Dhammika Dias graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Chairman of SLAF Volleyball, Group Captain Milinda Mendis, Senior Officers from SL Army and Navy were also present for the finals.
The Central Province Badminton Association (CPBA) is now accepting entries for one of Sri Lanka’s most anticipated badminton competitions, the Summer Season All-Island Open Championships 2025, which will be staged at the Municipal Council Indoor Stadium in Nuwara Eliya from April 21 to 27.
The highly followed seven-day annual badminton tournament, held during the Nuwara Eliya April Holiday Season, is known to attract Sri Lanka’s top ranked shuttlers. The National Ranking Level 1 competition, sanctioned by Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB), is one of the key sporting attractions of Nuwara Eliya during April every year, known to generate increasing public interest.
The championship will feature a wide range of events from Under-11 to Under-19 in the Junior category and Over-30 to Over-70 in the Senior category, with an addition of three Combined Age segment of 100+. The main attraction of the competition will be the Open events comprising Men’s and Women’s Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles, with an addition of a Plate Championship for the losers in Men’s and Women’s Singles.
The opening ceremony will take place on April 21st at 9:00am, followed by the preliminary rounds, leading up to the climax on April 26 with the quarter-finals and semi-finals. The excitement will continue on April 27 with the highly anticipated semi-finals and final matches, followed by the Closing Ceremony to mark the culmination of this championship.
The main draw seeding will be determined based on SLB Ranking as of April 13, followed by the draw on April 16 at 11:00am at No.2, Cambridge Terrace, Colombo 7. Entries will close on April 10 at noon. Entries can be submitted online or by contacting Sadeesha Adithya on 0761759017 and further details of the tournament are available in the prospectus published in the SLB website.
A total prize money of Rs.750,000 for all events based on the number of entries will be on offer, in addition to trophies, medals and certificates guaranteed for winners, runners-up and semi-finalists of each event of the tournament. Junior winners will receive appropriate gifts instead of prize money, according to a decision taken by the tournament organisers. The tournament is sponsored by Mobil, Li Ning, McFoil, 3M and GAC.
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