Tue, Feb 19, 2008 page19

• Sports Briefs

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  ■ TENNIS

  Almagro wins Brasil Open

  Second seeded Nicolas Almagro of Spain successfully fought off an attempted comeback by countryman Carlos Moya to win his third Brasil Open 7-6 (4), 3-6, 7-5 in Costa do Sauipe on Sunday. It took Almagro two-and-a-half hours to defeat top-seeded Moya in the seaside resort in northeastern Brazil and win a top prize of 52,688 euros (US$77,300). Almagro used a powerful backhand and several well-placed shots to beat the 31-year-old Moya, who appeared tired during much of the match. The five matches played by Moya in the tournament lasted three sets and an average of two hours each. The 23-year-old Almagro has now won three career ATP titles.

  ■ CRICKET

  South Africa beat Windies

  An unbeaten 58 by Rilee Rossouw led South Africa to a three-wicket victory over the West Indies yesterday, while New Zealand defeated Zimbabwe by 98 runs in first round matches of the Under-19 World Cup. Meanwhile, Bangladesh hammered Bermuda by 178 runs while Sri Lanka defeated Nepal by 61 runs. Chasing a West Indies' score of 222-for-eight, South Africa reached the target with 6.1 overs to spare, recovering from an early shock when opener Pieter Malan was leg-before for a duck on the second ball of the game. Rossouw, whose 74-ball knock included four boundaries, was helped by the other opener, J.J. Smuts, who made 45 in 43 balls. West Indies captain Shamarh Brooks took four-for-39.

  ■ RUGBY UNION

  Palu resigns for Wallabies

  Wallabies No. 8 Wycliff Palu has resisted overseas offers and agreed a new two-year deal with the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) and NSW Waratahs, the ARU said yesterday. Palu, man of the match in the Waratahs' opening Super 14 win over the Wellington Hurricanes on the weekend, will remain with Australian rugby until at least the end of the 2010 season, the statement said. "The ARU is very happy that Wycliff has decided to stay in Australia after fielding larger offers to play offshore," ARU High Performance manager Pat Howard said.

  ■ RUGBY UNION

  Williams starts Romania job

  South African World Cup winner Chester Williams was yesterday to formally take up his role as technical director to Romanian side Dinamo Bucarest, the Mediafax news agency reported on Sunday. Williams, 37, and a mainstay of the 1995 World Cup-winning Springbok side in which he was the only black player, moved into coaching last year after injuries curtailed his playing career in 2000 after 27 caps which saw him score 14 tries. He coached the national sevens side in his homeland for two years, before taking charge of the Uganda national side and then having a spell with Tunisia. Williams had been shortlisted as a possible successor to South Africa's 2007 World Cup winning coach Jake White.

  ■ BASKETBALL

  Kidd headed to Mavericks

  Jason Kidd is headed to the Dallas Mavericks after all, although in a trade that's slightly different than originally arranged. The new deal -- as reported by various media outlets on Sunday night, all citing anonymous sources -- has Kidd and forward Malik Allen going to Dallas for point guard Devin Harris, center DeSagana Diop and swingman Maurice Ager, plus a few new pieces: retired forward Keith Van Horn and Trenton Hassell. New Jersey will also get two first-round draft picks and US$3 million.

  ■ TENNIS

  Pennetta triumphs in Chile

  Flavia Pennetta of Italy won the Cachantun Cup on Sunday, beating Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic, who had to retire late in the second set because of a left ankle injury. Pennetta was leading Zakopalova 6-4, 5-4 when the Czech player fell to the ground grimacing in pain after twisting her left ankle. After an examination on the court by a doctor, the young Czech player indicated she was retiring.

  ■ SWIMMING

  Coughlin breaks record

  Five-time Olympic medal winner Natalie Coughlin set a world record in the 100m backstroke on Sunday during a preliminary race at the Missouri Grand Prix. Coughlin finished in 59.21 seconds, lowering her previous world record in the event by 0.23 seconds. The world record was the second in two days at the meet: on Saturday, Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe set the mark in the 200m backstroke. "I was thinking about barbecue and no warm down," Coughlin said after the race. "I really didn't expect it."

  ■ Soccer

  Milan keeper injured

  AC Milan goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac may miss tomorrow's Champions League game against Arsenal because of a finger injury. Kalac dislocated the index finger on his right hand during a training session on Sunday, Milan said. The Australia goalkeeper recently won the starting position from Dida, who was out with a back injury and never regained his spot. Kalac made several key saves in Saturday's 0-0 draw with Parma. Dida is also a question mark for tomorrow's game after a recurrence of his back pain during Saturday's match, which he was watching from the bench. If neither Kalac nor Dida can play against Arsenal, Milan will have to call on Valerio Fiori, who has not played an official game since December 2003.

  ■ SOCCER

  Three teams receive bans

  North Korea, Iraq and Tajikistan were banned from the Asian under-16 championships and each fined US$4,000 after medical tests confirmed they had used over-age players in qualifying matches. The Asian Football Confederation said it had conducted Magnetic Resonance Imaging tests during last year's qualifying tournaments and found that several teams had broken the rules regarding age limits. The AFC Disciplinary Committee announced the ban yesterday. Bhutan, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan and Macau, all fined US$4,000 for using ineligible players, did not qualify for the championships. The AFC said it would soon announce the full list of teams for the under-16 championship, to be held in Uzbekistan in October.

  ■ CRICKET

  Aussies play waiting game

  At least five Australian players are waiting until the last minute to sign up for the Indian Premier League, with 15 mentioned by local media as likely starters in the lucrative Twenty20 competition. The Indian league's Australian agent Neil Maxwell said yesterday that five players who had been granted an extension to the deadline to sign contracts were spending the day going through last-minute details before committing to the competition. He said the players needed to assure themselves that they were not in breach of any contractual arrangements with Cricket Australia regarding existing sponsors. He declined to name the last five players to sign.
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