Former Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian stirred the seeds of animosity ahead of the Davis Cup semi-final clash between Argentina and Australia by claiming his team-mates don't like Lleyton Hewitt.
Hewitt has been at the center of several spats with Argentines over the last few years and the ill feeling has grown to such an extent that he has reportedly employed two Australian bodyguards for the trip to Buenos Aires this weekend.
"No-one is friends with Hewitt and he does not worry me at all," said the Argentine, who was beaten convincingly by Hewitt in the 2002 final at the All England Club.
"We won last year over there [4-1 in Sydney] and now we will win here."
There had been talk that Hewitt would pull out over security fears but Nalbandian thinks his presence in the team will make little difference.
"With Hewitt, this tie will be a little more difficult but that doesn't change much really," added the world No. 4. "Whichever team comes here to play knows that, at home, we are very strong. And now we have a great chance to make the final."
Earlier, Argentine player Jose Acasuso blasted Hewitt for overreacting to the perceived animosity he will encounter.
"Hewitt seems to think that he's come to Iraq, that they are going to plant a bomb," Acasuso said. "But we're not bothered because this is the circus that he wanted to set up. Nothing's going to happen and we shouldn't pay any attention to it. We're just worried about Argentina. Whether Hewitt has one bodyguard, or 500 bodyguards, that's up to him."
Former world number one Hewitt, who was named alongside Mark Philippoussis and doubles specialists Wayne Arthurs and Paul Hanley for the tie, had previously expressed reservations about playing in the tie because of security concerns.
The bad blood between Hewitt and the Argentines began at last year's Australian Open when Juan Ignacio Chela took exception to the his histrionics and spat at him as they changed ends in their third round match, picking up a fine for unsportsmanlike conduct.
It continued later last year when Hewitt and Guillermo Coria traded insults and accused each other of bad sportsmanship after an ill-tempered Davis Cup singles rubber in Sydney.
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
Shin Oebori coaches the Fukagawa Hawks youth baseball team in Tokyo, and he is very aware how Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani touches his players. “With Ohtani, the kids think everything is possible,” Oebori said, wrapping up practice yesterday on an all-dirt field set alongside a local Buddhist temple, below an elevated highway, and in the shadow of tall apartment blocks in central Tokyo. “Nothing is impossible with him. A dream is not a dream,” Oebori said, stepping out of the fenced practice field that keeps balls from landing on the temple grounds. None of the players hitting sponge-soft baseball has reached
Italian defender Marco Curto has been banned for 10 matches for racially abusing South Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan while playing for Como 1907 against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a pre-season friendly in July. Curto, who is on loan from Como to Serie B club Cesena, would serve half of the punishment immediately with the other half suspended for two years. “The player Marco Curto was found responsible for discriminatory behavior and sanctioned with a 10-match suspension,” a FIFA spokesperson said. “The player is ordered to render community services and undergo training and education with an organization approved by FIFA.” Wolves said the club would
CRICKET Azhar’s 59 leads Stallions Aashir Azhar’s blazing half-century guided the Taipei Stallions to victory over Taipei Super 11 in the Taiwan Premier League’s Group A at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei yesterday. The Stallions were 102-3 and into the 12th over of 20 when Azhar came to the crease. He hit seven sixes and two fours in the 25 deliveries he faced to push his side to 171-5. Gokul Kumar was the star with the ball for Super 11, taking 3-17. In the reply, Deepak Vishnu outscored Azhar with 77 from 50 balls, but nobody else got past 20 as
RSS