Djokovic backs Murray for Grand Slam

By Alaric Gomes

Dubai: Novak Djokovic has strongly backed his long-time rival Andy Murray to eventually win a Grand Slam.

"I am sure it is not easy for him to lose the third Grand Slam final in-a-row," Djokovic said.

"But he has faced that situation before and I am sure he is going to recover fast because he is mentally strong player.

"He [Murray] needs a little bit more time to find his way through to the title. He has everything he needs to get one. He has shown it many times before."

Djokovic beat Murray in straight sets in last month's final of the Australian Open. And prior to that, Murray had fallen to Roger Federer on two successive occasions - the 2008 US Open and 2010 Australian Open.

Source: http://gulfnews.com
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Rossi collects Laureus Award in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi was the venue on Monday night as multiple MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi collected his prestigious ‘Comeback of the Year’ Laureus Award, following a 2010 season which saw the then Yamaha rider return from a broken leg at Mugello to win the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Nine-time World Champion Rossi, who switches from Yamaha to Ducati for this season, saw off numerous sporting stars for the award including US golfer Paula Creamer, American sprinter Tyson Gay, Belgian tennis star Justine Henin and athletes Carolina Kluft and Merlene Ottey.

The chief awards, Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year, were picked up by Spanish Grand Slam tennis Champion Rafael Nadal and American skier Lindsey Vonn, respectively.

During the ceremony it was also announced that five-time 500cc World Champion Mick Doohan has been elected to join the Laureus World Sports Academy, joining fellow two-wheeled title winner Giacomo Agostini in the process.

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Nieto announces MotoGP retirement

Fonsi Nieto has announced that he is to retire from racing, having been unable to fully recover from injuries to contest the 2011 season in a suitable manner. The Spaniard, nephew of former multiple motorcycle title winner Ángel and now 32, has released a statement in Spanish on his personal website.

‘As you all know I was ready to participate in Moto2 this season, but after trying much medication all winter I have decided to end my career,’ he writes.

‘Making the decision has been difficult for me and, thanks to my cousins and my personal sponsor Confremar, I was in a privileged position in these difficult times for everyone.

But unfortunately for me, my foot still is not 100 percent to compete at the highest level and I would be unable to offer much to my team and everyone who supports me.

Retirement is a withdrawal which causes me endless grief because the motorcycle has been and will always be my life. But I'm satisfied. Satisfied with what the world and the bike have given me, both in sporting and human terms.

I have lived through great moments, moments I would never have dreamed of, and I have known and worked with amazing people who made a child’s dream come true.’

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Heidfeld stakes his Renault claim

Nick Heidfeld (1:20.361) set the fastest time on day three of the Jerez test as he staked his claim to taking over Robert Kubica's seat at Renault.

As well as Heidfeld familiarizing himself with the car, the team ran flow viz paint as engineers verified aerodynamic characteristics. "I really enjoyed the day," Heidfeld said. "It was fun driving the car although it obviously takes time to get used to things when it's your first time in a car and working with a new team. We had a good day, without too many problems, and luckily all the changes we made to the car went in the right direction and improved things, so I was able to push harder and harder. In terms of the lap times, it's very difficult for me to compare with the other teams because we don't know the fuel levels or what the others were doing. My first impressions of the car were positive, although there are always areas where you can improve."

Team principal Eric Boullier added: "Today we had the chance to give Nick time in the car and we carried out a big evaluation. Our first feelings are very positive: he worked well with the team, gave good feedback and improved the car during the day. We managed to cover 86 laps and the times are encouraging."

Fernando Alonso (1:20.493) took over testing duties for Ferrari, completing 131 laps and finishing the day second fastest after trying all four Pirelli tyre compounds.

Michael Schumacher (1:21.054) ended up just over half a second shy of the Ferrari as Mercedes concentrated on systems checks with the adjustable rear wing and then general balance over longer runs. "At the end of my two test days in Jerez, I can only be happy with what we have achieved here," Schumacher said.

A shortage of spares meant that Lewis Hamilton (1:21.090) was only able to record 36 laps during the third day of McLaren's work. New components will arrive overnight in time for Jenson Button to take over in the new MP4-26 once again tomorrow.

Kamui Kobayashi (1:21.242) had his first full day of testing with Sauber's C30 and concentrated on general set-up work until his day was cut short by an engine problem.

World champion Sebastian Vettel (1:21.574) mirrored Mark Webber's programme from yesterday in Red Bull's RB7, concentrating on longer runs, while Sebastien Buemi (1:21.681) returned to the Toro Rosso cockpit and was only slightly slower as he completed more than a race distance.

"The team has done a good job moving on with the development since I last drove the car in Valencia," Buemi said. "It's definitely better although at the moment there is no point in talking about its performance level, as we are still working on understanding the cars."

Heikki Kovalainen (1:21.711) was driving for Team Lotus, an exhaust problem not spoiling a positive day: "Today was very encouraging and I really enjoyed driving the car. My feeling is the same as at Valencia - it's a fundamentally good car and there's more to come from it."

Rubens Barrichello (1:22.227) found his Wlliams programme interrupted by more KERS problems which cost the team track time again, while Paul di Resta (1:22.945) and Jerome D'Ambrosio (1:25.471) put more mileage on the new Force India and Virgin chassis respectively.

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Barrichello on top at Jerez test concludes

Rubens Barrichello (1:19.832) set the fastest time of the week as the second pre-season F1 test of 2011 drew to a close at Jerez. The Williams then caused one of the day's red flags when it stopped with a hydraulic leak.

"Nothing was going to stop us from doing over 100 laps today!" smiled technical director Sam Michael, acknowledging the lost running earlier in the week largely down to the KERS system. "Rubens was trying various things to learn about the Pirelli tyres - some worked, some didn't. Now we've also gathered some data on the Pirelli wet tyre after a small shower at the end of the session. At the next test we will also have KERS back on the car as we ran without it today."

Kamui Kobayashi (1:20.601) was second quickest but brought out a red flag when he put the Sauber C30 into the gravel in the morning and then had to stop early because of a power train related problem,

Fernando Alonso (1:21.074) finished up third fastest for Ferrari but concentrated largely on longer runs with heavier fuel loads and again ran more than 100 laps.

Sebastien Buemi (1:21.213) was fourth with the Toro Rosso and had his first taste of the super soft dry compound Pirelli and also the Italian company's intermediate rain tyre.

"I'm satisfied with the past two days, even if we know there is a long way to go in terms of developing the car," Buemi said. "Reliability improved throughout the test and since Valencia, so we must continue working in this direction while also beginning to think more about performance."

Bruno Senna (1:21.400) enjoyed his first experience of the Renault R31 with Eric Boullier stressing this was not a shoot-out with Nick Heidfeld, merely an opportunity to give the young Brazilian some mileage.

"It was an awesome day and I'm pleased with how things went," Senna said. "It was very much a learning day for me. I had never used the adjustable wing or the KERS before, so I had to adapt to these. It's not easy at first, because there is a big workload and you are operating two factors that change the balance of the car, but by the end of the day it became more like second nature. I started the day pretty relaxed; gradually built up my confidence, and then by lunchtime I was feeling pretty comfortable. I was looking forward to doing some hard laps at the end of the day but with the red flags and the weather, there wasn't enough time."

Heikki Kovalainen (1:21.632) got Mike Gascoyne's new Lotus T128 round just a couple of tenths slower, while Nico Rosberg (1:22.103) again suffered some mechanical interruptions to his Mercedes programme.

"The four days in Jerez have proved to be extremely useful although the test has not been without its challenges," Ross Brawn said. "We had good reliability for the middle two days which allowed us to accumulate a lot of mileage, however there are issues to be resolved so that we can maximise our track time for the remaining two tests. Both Michael and Nico continue to feel comfortable in the car and our priorities remain reliability, developing our understanding of the tyres and the KERS, whilst simultaneously pushing on with the developments still to come."

Sebastian Vettel (1:22.222) continued to put more miles on the consistent looking Red Bull but Jenson Button (1:22.278) was unable to find a suitable balance with the McLaren MP4-26 and the team's progress was brought to an early end in the middle of the afternoon following the failure of an internal component.

Jerome D'Ambrosio (1:22.935) stopped the Virgin on track in the morning with an oil feed problem and Paul di Resta (1:23.111) went off at the Dry Sack hairpin with just under half an hour remaining in the Force India, reporting a front suspension problem.

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Renault signs Nick Heidfeld

After completing a successful test with Renault at Jerez, Renault has announced that Nick Heidfeld will join the team to replace the injured Robert Kubica.

Heidfeld will join the team at the end of the week at the test in Barcelona.

Nick Heidfeld said, "I would have liked to come back to Formula 1 in different circumstances, but I'm proud to have been given this chance. Everything has happened so quickly, but I've been very impressed by what I have seen so far in terms of the facilities and the dedication of the people at Enstone. I really enjoyed the test last week in Jerez and I've already settled in well with the guys at the track. I have a good feeling for the car, which is quite innovative. I'm extremely motivated and can't wait for the season to begin."

Team principal Eric Boullier said, "The team has been through a very difficult couple of weeks and we had to react quickly. We gave Nick a chance in Jerez last week and he really impressed us. He's quick, experienced and is very strong technically with his feedback and understanding of the car. We always said the priority was to have an experienced driver in the car and we feel he is the ideal man for the job. We are pleased to welcome Nick to the team and look forward to a strong start to the season with him and Vitaly in Bahrain."

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Messi bags late winner as Argentina beats Portugal

Lionel Messi scored a last-minute penalty to give Argentina a dramatic 2-1 victory over Portugal while France maintained its renaissance under coach Laurent Blanc with a 1-0 win over five-time world champion Brazil on Wednesday.

Cristiano Ronaldo looked to have earned Portugal a draw in Geneva with a 21st-minute equalizer but the Real Madrid forward was upstaged by his Barcelona rival, who converted from the spot with seconds remaining.

Karim Benzema was France's matchwinner in Paris, the Real Madrid striker scoring in the 54th minute after good build-up play by Jeremy Menez. Brazil was down to 10 men by that stage following the sending-off of Hernanes.

In other high-profile international friendlies, Manchester City winger David Silva scored an 86th-minute winner in Spain's 1-0 victory over Colombia to end the team's poor recent run of results, Italy drew 1-1 in Germany and England beat Denmark 2-1.

Messi and Ronaldo - who both play their club football in Spain and are arguably the world's leading two players - were always going to hog the limelight in the first match between Argentina and Portugal since 1972.

Messi had the last laugh, tucking away his penalty for his 16th international goal after Javier Pastore was adjudged to have been fouled.

Argentina went ahead in the 14th when Madrid winger Angel di Maria ran onto a pass by Messi to lift a finish over advancing goalkeeper Eduardo, but Ronaldo leveled by sliding home seven minutes later after Hugo Almeida had flicked the ball on.

The France-Brazil match at the Stade de France was a repeat of the 1998 World Cup final, which the French won 3-0, and the hosts deservedly got the better of their South American opponents again 11 years on.

France, which claimed a fifth straight win and built on the 2-1 away victory over England in November, made the most of the numerical advantage given to the team by Hernanes' red card, brandished to the midfielder for a dangerous tackle on Benzema.

The striker got back to his feet to lead the French charge, squandering a host of chances except for the one that brought France victory.

Menez went past two players and crossed the ball for Benzema to tap in for his 12th goal in 33 internationals.

Benzema also brought two great saves out of Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar while the visitors' best chance for an equalizer came when substitute Hulk saw a shot pushed away by home goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

Spain was winless in its last three friendly games going into the international against Colombia, its most recent match being a 4-0 thrashing by Iberian neighbor Portugal.

The world and European champions struggled to keep up with the visitors at times at Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium but snatched a morale-boosting victory when Silva turned in a cross right winger Jesus Navas.

Germany and Italy were playing in Dortmund, the venue of their last meeting when the Italians won 2-0 after extra time in the semifinal of the 2006 World Cup.

The Germans were heading toward avenging that loss when Miroslav Klose scored in the 17th minute, latching onto a cross by Bayern Munich midfielder Thomas Mueller.

Giuseppe Rossi grabbed a draw for Italy in the 81st, however, when the Villarreal striker got away from Per Mertesacker and beat goalkeeper Manuel Neuer at the second attempt.

Ashley Young came off the bench to grab England's 68th-minute winner in Copenhagen, becoming the second Aston Villa forward to score after Darren Bent had canceled out the opener netted by Denmark defender Daniel Agger in the eighth.

Wesley Sneijder, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Dirk Kuyt were the goalscorers for the Netherlands in a 3-1 victory over Austria while the night's most surprising result saw Luxembourg - ranked 131st in the world rankings - upset 20th-ranked Slovakia 2-1.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com
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