A round-up of other sports news in brief...
Murray makes solid start
GOLF: Alan Murray, in his debut season on the Challenge Tour, carded a flawless round of three-under-par 67 which saw him trail clubhouse leader Victor Riu of France by three shots.
The Dubliner professed himself pleased with his day’s work, saying: “I had feared the worst because I played poorly in practice, but I was hardly in trouble at all today.
“I had to sink a couple of four footers for par, but other than that I played some very steady golf.”
Riu posted six birdies and an eagle in his six-under-par 64.
GOLF: Tara Delaney opened her account on the Ladies Tour with a three-under-par 69 in the Deutsche Bank Swiss Open at Golf Gerre Losone in Ticino yesterday.
Delaney trails Stacy Lee Bregman who fired eight birdies for a flawless 65 to lead by two from Finland’s Jenni Kuosa, Sweden’s Emma Zackrisson and India’s Smriti Mehra.
Rogan has first defence against Sexton in Belfast
BOXING: Martin Rogan’s fairytale boxing career continues tonight in the Odyssey Arena, Belfast, reports Johnny Watterson.
The heavyweight, who shot to fame with wins over Britain’s Olympic gold medallist Audley Harrison and Matt Skelton, faces 24-year-old Sam Sexton in the first defence of the Commonwealth title he won in Birmingham in March.
Rogan, a former taxi driver from west Belfast and one-time Antrim minor hurler is, at 37, the older of the two by 13 years.
His durability and his willingness to fight has upset his previous two opponents but with Sexton’s faster hands, the challenger is expected to try to keep the Belfast man at bay and not get sucked into a brawl as Skelton did before going down in the 11th round.
Rogan astonished the boxing world when he won the belt in only his 12th professional fight. His career really only kicked off last year when he beat three opponents in one night to win a Prizefighter contest in London’s York Hall.
Teams want to remain in FIA
MOTOR SPORT: Formula One teams want to stay within the framework of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) despite several threats to pull out of next year’s championship, Renault team boss Flavio Briatore said.
Talk of a rival series is also premature, the Italian added, after Renault joined Ferrari, Toyota and the Red Bull teams in saying they would not enter the 2010 F1 championship unless new FIA rules on budget caps were abandoned.
The horse trading has already begun before a meeting between the teams, FIA chief Max Mosley and Formula One’s commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone in London today.
“I must be clear that we, Ferrari and the others have no intention of breaking with FIA. We want to be there, to participate, to preserve the future,” Briatore said.
Under the regulations, teams accepting the cap would have far greater technical freedom than those continuing with unlimited budgets in order to level the playing field.
Nadal eases into last eight
TENNIS: A new centre court equipped with a retractable roof will be used at Roland Garros for the French Open by 2013 or 2014, tennis officials said yesterday.
The court, with a capacity of 14,600, was supposed to be ready for the 2012 Olympics but France’s failure to secure the Games has delayed the project.
“This project is very important for French tennis, our tournament’s future depends on it,” French federation (FFT) president Jean Gachassin said.
The new centre court, whose roof is set to fully close in 10 minutes, will also host the Paris Masters, usually played at Bercy sports hall, but no date has been set yet.
The overall cost of the French roof has been estimated at around €120 million, Gachassin said.
McGeechan to leave Wasps
RUGBY: Ian McGeechan (above) has stepped down as director of rugby at Wasps.
McGeechan (62), head coach for the Lions’ tour to South Africa, spent four seasons at the club and could yet be handed a consultancy role. McGeechan said: “We are currently discussing the format of my involvement next year to ensure a successful transition takes place.” The Scot has been on a sabbatical this season due to his commitments with the Lions, who have been paying his salary.
New centre court for Roland Garro
TENNIS: World number one Rafael Nadal was handed a walkover into the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open yesterday when his third-round opponent Philipp Kohlschreiber was forced out of the claycourt event with a left leg injury.
Nadal was joined in the last eight by world number two Roger Federer, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over 14th seed James Blake, and Briton Andy Murray, who coped well with the blustery conditions in the Magic Box stadium to dispatch Spanish 16th seed Tommy Robredo 7-5, 6-1. Serbias Novak Djokovic, chasing a fifth straight final appearance, also advanced with a routine 6-4, 6-4 victory over unseeded Italian Andreas Seppi.
Women’s world number one Dinara Safina overcame a gutsy fightback from Lucie Safarova to beat the unseeded Czech 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 and seal her place in the last eight of the Madrid Open. Safina will play Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko today for a place in the last four.
