Monday, May 21, 2012
Sports World |
| Posted: 21 May 2012 07:24 AM PDT Andy Murray says that he hopes to have fully recovered from a back injury in time to make a real impact at the upcoming French Open. The British number one was forced to pull out of last week's Madrid Open, having suffered a recurrence of a back injury, but returned to the ATP Tour in Rome. Murray crashed out of the clay-court event at the third round, after losing in three sets to Frenchman, Richard Gasquet, 6-7 (1/7) 6-3 6-2. The 25-year-old admitted after the match that all was not well with his fitness – a real concern with the French Open, on May 28. Murray is behind both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the stakes to win the French Open, according to the Betfair Tennis betting website. Murray said: "My back was a little bit sore towards the end, but I was expecting that coming into the tournament. "I've had it a while, since December. Obviously, since then, there hasn't been that much time to take an extended break." Even though there is not much time until the year's second Grand Slam gets underway, the world number four remains optimistic about the impact that he can have at the Roland Garros. Murray added: "Hopefully, by the time the French Open comes around, I'll be in peak condition. That's the goal." Murray, who has one title to his name so far, this year, had made a sound start to the 2012 clay-court run, before his recent injury setback. The three-time Grand Slam finalist reached the quarter-finals in both Monte Carlo and Barcelona, although on both occasions he was beaten by lower-ranked players - Tomas Berdych and Milos Raonic. For more information on gambling on professional tennis, visit the betting.betfair.com website.  |
| Misbah sees fielding improvement Posted: 21 May 2012 06:25 AM PDT Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq is backing his side to defy the latest odds, after claiming that he has seen drastic improvements in his team's fielding and fitness ahead of June's tour of Sri Lanka. Pakistan are in buoyant mood after whitewashing the best Test side in the world earlier in the year. England struggled to cope with Pakistan's spin attack and fell to an embarrassing 3-0 defeat in the United Arab Emirates. While Pakistan have a bowling attack to match the best sides in the world, they continue to struggle in the fielding department and their standards are well below the likes of England and Australia. Misbah insisted fielding has always been a priority and mistakes in the field are not down to a lack of effort in training. Former Surrey fielding coach Julian Fountain joined Pakistan's coaching staff in March and Misbah believes the team is making strides. "Whether it was under Waqar Younis (former coach) and Ijaz Ahmed (fielding coach) everyone did a good job and now Julian is doing a great job and I think we have shown good improvement in fielding and fitness," said Misbah. Misbah's men have recent history on their side going into the one-day and Test series in Sri Lanka. Pakistan beat Sri Lanka 1-0 in the three-match Test series and won the one-day series 4-1 in the UAE late last year. However, their last trip to Sri Lanka in 2009 ended in defeat in both forms of the game. Misbah expects a fierce challenge and wants Pakistan to rise to the occasion and prove a point to cricket's betting community. "We have to be at our best in all departments because Sri Lanka is a tough opponent no matter where you play them and in their own country they are even tougher," he added. Pakistan will play two Twenty20s, five one-day internationals and three Tests on the tour, which starts on June 1.  |
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