Murray steadies himself to take Montreal Masters title

SPORTS DIGEST:TENNIS: Andy Murray overcame sweltering heat and to beat Argentine Juan Martin Del Porto 6-7, 7-6, 6-1 in the Montreal Masters final yesterday.

A day after replacing Rafael Nadal as world number two, the Scotsman delivered a gritty performance to wear down the towering Argentine in two hours, 42 minutes.

It was Murray's fifth win of the season and he become the first Britain in 128 years to lift the Canadian title. The victory completed a perfect start to the North American hardcourt season for the 22-year-old, who was returning to action for the first time since his loss to Andy Roddick at Wimbledon.

Del Potro took the opening set in a tie-break 7-4. But Murray did not buckle under Del Potro's thundering groundstrokes, getting back on level terms after clinching the second set with a 7-3 tie-break.

The Argentine had nothing left in the third set as Murray recorded two breaks to go 4-0 up before finishing the match with an emphatic ace.

Coventry's effort not enough

CRICKET: Zimbabwe's Charles Coventry smashed 194 not out against Bangladesh yesterday to equal the record individual score in a one-day international.

The 26-year-old Coventry’s 156-ball knock in Bulawayo matched the effort of Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar against India in 1997. Coventry lifted Zimbabwe to a total of 312 for eight, but Bangladesh overhauled it with 13 balls to spare, clinching a four-wicket victory to take a 3-1 lead in the series.

Radcliffe considers Berlin marathon

ATHLETICS: Briton Paula Radcliffe won the New York half marathon yesterday in her first race in nine months and said she was heading to Berlin where she will decide if she is fit enough to run the world championships marathon.

Radcliffe, who had foot surgery in March and has not raced since winning the New York City Marathon in November, clocked 1:09:45, more than a minute ahead of Mamitu Daska of Ethiopia with Catherine Ndereba of Kenya third.

“I need to see how I come out of it,” said Radcliffe.

“My legs felt a bit heavy in the last few miles. At this stage not really sure.

“I’ll see how my legs feel in the next two or three days,” she said.

“At this stage, I’m not really sure. (It’s) more likely now than last week.”

Radcliffe, the world marathon record holder and 2005 world champion, broke away from her rivals near the seventh mile.

Rossi cruises to another win

MOTO GP:World champion Valentino Rossi of Italy won the Czech MotoGP yesterday for the second year in a row after his Yamaha team mate Jorge Lorenzo of Spain crashed out late in the race.

Spanish rider Dani Pedrosa took second, finishing nearly 12 seconds behind and Toni Elias of Spain was third on his Honda.

Rossi and Lorenzo finished one-two in qualifying, setting up an eagerly anticipated race between the two leading world title challengers on a warm, clear day in front of around 138,000 spectators.

Rossi took an early lead with Lorenzo pushing him furiously until the Spaniard leaned too far into a turn and crashed out, leaving it to the Italian to easily cruise to victory on the 5.4-km course.

Rossi has 212 points, followed by Lorenzo on 162.

Contador to stay with Astana

CYCLING: Tour de France winner Alberto Contador will continue riding for Astana in 2010, the Kazakh-funded team said yesterday.

Contador’s brother and agent, Fran, had said last month the rider turned down an offer to extend his contract with Astana and wanted to leave the team.

Contador’s current contract runs until the end of next year.

“The Astana cycling team management reconfirms that 2009 Tour de France winner Alberto Contador is expected to ride for Team Astana in 2010,” the team said in a statement.

The 26-year-old, who also won the Tour in 2007, endured a difficult relationship with American team-mate Lance Armstrong in this year’s race. Armstrong has already said he would quit Astana to form a US-based team next year.

Astana said in the statement that Contador was definitely part of their plans for next year and was going nowhere.“It is clear that Alberto Contador will be our absolute leader of the team for next season.”

Carter named in All Blacks squad

RUGBY: Daniel Carter has been named in a 26-man squad for New Zealand's Tri-Nations test against Australia in Sydney on Saturday.

Carter, the All Blacks’ first-choice outhalf, played two matches in New Zealand’s top-flight provincial competition in recent weeks, after being sidelined for six months by a serious Achilles injury.

Piri Weepu was left out of the squad after rolling his ankle at training, leaving Jimmy Cowan and Brendon Leonard to shoulder halfback duties.

Tamati Ellison was included as backline cover, while prop Neemia Tialata was omitted.

The final team will be named tomorrow.

NEW ZEALAND SQUAD: J Afoa, D Carter, J Cowan, W Crockett, A De Malmanche, S Donald, J Eaton, O Franks, A Hore, C Jane, J Kaino, T Latimer, B Leonard, L McAlister, McCaw, M Muliaina, M Nonu, K Read, J Rokocoko, I Ross, S Sivivatu, C Smith, R Sooialo, B Thorn, T Woodcock, T Ellison.