A round-up of today's other stories on brief
Martin wins Paris-Nice
CYCLING: Tony Martin won the Paris-Nice race at the end of the 124-km eighth and final stage yesterday.
The HTC-Highroad team leader became only the third German to win the Race to the Sun, which hardly deserved its nickname this year as the final stages were drowned in heavy showers and storms. Martin finished ahead of compatriot Andreas Kloeden by 36 seconds, with Briton Bradley Wiggins third, 41 seconds adrift.
Yesterday’s final stage was won by French champion Thomas Voeckler. A below-par Nicolas Roche was a non finisher on the penultimate stage on Saturday.
Doherty and Davis fail to make Crucible cut
SNOOKER: Ken Doherty saw his Crucible hopes shattered last night after suffering a stunning evening collapse. The former world champion crashed to a shock 10-6 defeat to England’s world number 56 Jimmy Robertson at the final qualifying stage.
And Dubliner Doherty will now miss the World Championship for only the second time in 18 years.
The 41-year-old looked in total control against Robertson as he led 6-3 going into the evening session. But Doherty then sat and watched the 24-year-old win all seven frames to turn the match on its head.
Six-time winner Steve Davis also failed to qualify after he was thrashed in the final round of qualifying by Stephen Lee.
Davis lost 10-2 as Lee claimed a prized place. in the Crucible first-round draw. The World Championship begins on April 16th.
The margin of defeat could have been worse for Davis – at one stage he trailed 8-0 but managed to avoid a whitewash by splitting the next four frames.
Gilbert times run to perfection
CYCLING: Belgian Philippe Gilbert timed his effort to perfection to claim the fifth stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico race as Australian Cadel Evans snatched the overall lead yesterday.
One-day race specialist Gilbert beat Wouter Poels on the line at the end of a 240-km stage from Chieti after the Dutchman caught breakaway riders Andrey Amador of Costa Rica and Italian Davide Malacarne with 250 metres to go.
Poels launched the sprint, only for Gilbert to surge ahead just in time and secure his third victory of the season. Today’s sixth and penultimate stage is a 178-km ride from Ussita to Macerata.
Australia book spot in quarter-finals
CRICKET: Holders Australia claimed their place in the last eight of the World Cup yesterday but they were made to work surprisingly hard by Kenya who restored pride with a defiant performance despite losing by 60 runs. Collins Obuya in particular had a day to remember, finishing unbeaten just two short of a century for Kenya. Earlier, opener Brad Haddin had made 65 but Australia found themselves under unexpected pressure at one stage at 143-4.
Michael Clarke (93 off 80 balls) and the returning Mike Hussey (54) then bailed their team out of trouble to help set up a daunting 324-6 before Kenya defied the much-vaunted Australian fast bowling unit to score a respectable 264-6 in Group A. The win, however, stretched the four-time winners unbeaten run in the World Cup to 33 matches. New Zealand booked their passage from Group A after Brendon McCullum set up a 97-run victory over Canada.
Murray beaten on day of upsets
TENNIS: Fifth seed Andy Murray, sixth-seeded David Ferrer and defending champion Ivan Ljubicic all fell by the wayside on a day of startling upsets at the Indian Wells ATP tournament.
British world number five Murray was eliminated 7-6 6-3 by American qualifier Donald Young, Spaniard Ferrer crashed out 7-6 6-3 at the hands of Croat Ivo Karlovic and Ljubicic was beaten 5-7 6-4 6-2 by Argentine Juan Martin del Potro.
Spanish world number one and top seed Rafa Nadal, however, had little trouble with his opening match as he demolished South African qualifier Rik de Voest 6-0 6-2 after just an hour on the showpiece center court.
Sweden’s fourth seed Robin Soderling fended off a late fightback by Germany’s Michael Berrer to win 6-3 7-6 while India’s Somdev Devvarman upset 19th-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 7-5 6-0.
