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| Murray to miss Doha title defence • British No1 to team up with Laura Robson• Scot will miss Doha defenceAndy Murray believes skipping his title defence in Doha this week will better prepare him as he aims to claim his first grand-slam title at the Australian Open. Murray has opted to miss the event and fly to Australia early to acclimatise to the conditions.The Scot will instead compete at this week's Hopman Cup in Perth – a mixed team event that will see him play alongside Laura Robson."I am looking forward to getting to Australia early and making sure I'm over the jet lag and fully ready," said Murray. "What I did before, going to Doha in the first week of the year, you play every match at night and it is cold."In the past I was coming back from Miami and going to Scotland for a few days over Christmas, so I was spending three or four weeks training in the heat, coming back to Scotland where it's cold, going to Doha where it's cold and then go to Australia and have five days to get used to the heat again. I think this way will work much better."Australia's Lleyton Hewitt, who will partner Sam Stosur as the top-ranked team in Perth, echoed Murray's thoughts that a change of plan could help the Scot's chances breaking his grand slam duck."He always plays well in Doha, but I suppose this way he gets used to the conditions here a bit earlier," Hewitt said. "It could work for him, Doha's a great tournament to play, but I can understand his thoughts behind it."Andy MurrayLaura RobsonAustralian OpenTennisguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
England rebuild after flurry of wickets on second day of third Test The final session of an eventful day on which 11 wickets fell went South Africa's way when Alastair Cook and Ian Bell both gave their wickets away when apparently well set. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |
Harlequins captain Rob Purdham to miss first two months of season • Severity of shoulder injury not diagnosed at first • Loose-forward also missed start of last seasonHarlequins have suffered a major injury blow with confirmation that their captain, Rob Purdham, will miss at least the first two months of the new engage Super League season after undergoing shoulder surgery. The 29-year-old Cumbria-born forward, who played for England in the 2008 World Cup, sustained the injury during the club's training camp at an Army barracks in Kent before Christmas but the severity only came to light a week ago."I slipped and fell over but didn't think it was that bad," he said. "I carried on and completed the camp but it was quite painful for a while. I left it until after the Christmas break and the physio said he would give me an injection."I then went for a scan and found out I had torn the ligament off the bone, which was a bit of a shock."Purdham, who has his arm in a sling, has been told he faces between three and four months on the sidelines but hopes to be back in action in early April.The tough-tackling loose-forward, who has led the London club for the past three years, missed two months of last season with a blood clot in his hand. "I had just got back to full fitness but hopefully this will be the end of my injury problems," he said.Quins kick off their season with a home game against Wakefield on 30 January, a round three fixture brought forward to enable them to play the Australian champions, Melbourne Storm, on 21 February.Harlequins rugby leagueSuper LeagueRugby leagueThe Crusadersguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
British No2 Katie O'Brien into second round of Australian Open • Past first round of grand slam for only the second time• Will face either Jelena Jankovic or Monica Niculescu nextBritish No2 Katie O'Brien joined Elena Baltacha in the second round of the Australian Open after a straight sets win over Patricia Mayr today. The 23-year-old won 6-3 6-3 to progress past the first round of a grand slam for just the second time in her career.O'Brien's best ever result at a major was reaching the second round at Wimbledon in 2007 and a confident display, against a player ranked three places behind her in 90th, ensured she would at least match that. A difficult task could, however, await her in the next round where she will play the winner of today's match between the No8 seed Jelena Jankovic and Monica Niculescu.O'Brien, from Hull, had seen fellow Briton Baltacha win through in straight sets yesterday before her scheduled match was postponed because of the rain. That meant O'Brien was first on court four today and quickly found her stride, breaking her Austrian opponent in the fifth game to go 3-2 ahead and then, with Mayr serving to stay in the set, breaking again to take the advantage.Mayr broke early in the second set, but from there the Austrian's serve let her down. O'Brien pounced on the opportunity and broke on three consecutive occasions to surge ahead before wrapping up the match when Mayr dumped a forehand into the net.Australian OpenTennisguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Lindsey Vonn wins fifth straight World Cup downhill Lindsey Vonn made it a perfect five wins in five World Cup downhills this season with another decisive victory Saturday. rssfeeds.usatoday.com |