Sports Digest

A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Kvitova moves to second in world following victory

TENNIS:Petra Kvitova provided further proof that she is the rising force in women's tennis when she beat Victoria Azarenka 7-5 4-6 6-3 to win the WTA Championships yesterday.

The 21-year-old Czech, who shot to fame by winning Wimbledon this year, overpowered Azarenka to the $1.75 million jackpot after remaining undefeated at the year-ending event which featured the worlds top eight players.

Victory also confirmed Kvitova at a career-high second in the WTA rankings and she will enter the new year with number one 1 Caroline Wozniacki in her sights.

Left-handed Kvitova’s led the opening set 5-0 before losing the next five games. She finally edged the set on a fifth set point but Azarenka, who could also have taken the number two ranking with victory, kept her nose in front to win the second set.

Azarenka had three break points at the start of the third set but could not convert any of them and it was to prove a pivotal moment.

Ireland hit England for six again

CRICKET:Ireland finally succumbed to Pakistan at the quarter-finals stage of the Hong Kong Sixes yesterday but not before beating England for a second time this year, writes Emmet Riordan.

England went on to lose the final to Pakistan, who claimed the £50,000 (€35,350) top prize, while Ireland took home €5,650.

Ireland beat England by six runs on Saturday to add to the famous World Cup win back in in March.

Kevin O’Brien was the hero of that night and he hit 14 off eight balls at Kowloon Cricket Club before older brother Niall smashed an unbeaten 35 off the same number of deliveries as Ireland finished on 88 for three off their five overs.

Batting first against Pakistan in the quarter-finals, Ireland made 86 for two, with Paul Stirling (33 not out) and Niall O’Brien (28 not out) making the runs. In the end it proved just too light as Umar Akmal’s unbeaten 40 got Pakistan home with two balls to spare.

O'Riordan wins Fastnet Rally

MOTORSPORT: The Bantry based Westlodge Hotel Fastnet Rally, the final round of the Dunlop National Rally Championship was won by Cork driver, Daragh O'Riordan (Subaru WRC) and his Derry co-driver, Tony McDaid, who fended off the challenge of Eugene Donnelly/Alan Keena (Toyota Corolla WRC) and emerged victorious by six seconds.

Local crew, Denis Cronin/Coleman Hurley (Subaru WRC) were third, 41 seconds further adrift. Lisburn’s, Wesley Patterson/Martin McGarrity (Escort) clinched the rally.ie award within the Dunlop series.

Meanwhile, Barry Meade/Liam Moynihan (Ford Escort) were the top Modified crew, they were fourth overall. Stephen Carey/Breda O’Driscoll (Honda Civic) won the Group N category.

Even though Frank Kelly finished ahead of Wesley Patterson, the latter won the rally.ie award. The Dunlop “Drive of the Day” award was won by Clonakilty’s, Cal McCarthy/Eamonn Dullea.

Holy Trinity claim hat-trick of titles

BOXING:Bernard Dunne's ex coach Harry Hawkins was celebrating a Holy Trinity BC hat-trick at the National U-21 Championships finals at Dublin's National Stadium on Friday.

Hawkins, who was working the Belfast club’s corner along with his brother Michael, helped steer Sean McComb, Mark O’Hara and Conrad Cummings to victory.

Meanwhile, Sean Turner, who is attracting strong interest from the Los Angeles Matadors in the World Series of Boxing, stopped Ken Okungbowa in round three in the super-heavyweight class.

Tommy McCarthy, who lost out to Ken Egan in two Elite finals, recorded a landslide 32-2 win over Thomas Farrell in the heavyweight decider.

Gary Sweeney, a silver medal winner for Ireland at the 2011 European Youth Champs, lost out 13-10 to Ciaran O’Griofa in an all-Connemara 85Kg battle.

Cardinals complete epic comeback

BASEBALL: The St Louis Cardinals completed their magical comeback season by beating the Texas Rangers 6-2 in a deciding Game Seven to clinch the World Series.

After left-fielder Allen Craig caught David Murphy’s fly for the final out, the Cardinals could celebrate a season in which they overcame a 10-1/2 game deficit to reach the play-offs and battled back twice in the postseason

The World Series MVP award went to David Freese, whose two-run triple in the bottom of the ninth sent Game Six into extra innings before his 11th-inning home run forced the seventh game.

The Cardinals rallied one last time in their season of heart- stopping comebacks by spotting the Rangers a 2-0 lead in the first inning before surging to victory.

Lynch in the money in Lyon

EQUESTRIAN:Although he failed to win a class over the weekend, Denis Lynch picked up nearly €50,000 in place prize-money at the French World Cup show in Lyon.

On Saturday night, the Tipperary-born 35-year-old partnered his own Contifex into second place in the Equita Masters, a competition only open to the 12 best riders in the world Rolex rankings present at the show.

Lynch and the eight-year-old stallion posted one of just two double clears but their time was bettered by Australia’s Edwina Tops-Alexander riding Vleut. On board Sue Davies’s mare Tinka’s Serenade, Billy Twomey finished third fastest in a four faulter.

Yesterday, Lynch was the sole Irish rider to get through to the jump-off in the World Cup class but Thomas Straumann’s Lantinus finished in sixth place.