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Tuesday January 23, 2018

SWISS star Roger Federer con-tinued his comfortable passage through the Australian Open, easing past Marton Fucsovics in the fourth round yesterday.

The Swiss maestro was untroubled in a convincing 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 victory over Hungary’s Fucsovics, who was in the last 16 of a major for the fi rst time, at Rod Laver Arena.

Federer is yet to drop a set at the year’s fi rst major on his way to a 52nd Grand Slam quarter-fi nal.

Awaiting him is a familiar opponent in Tomas Berdych, who will face Federer for fi fth time at the Australian Open with the Czech still searching for a fi rst win over the 19-time slam champion in Melbourne.

In what was always a quarter of the draw that was likely to hold no fears for Federer, the defending champion is yet to be tested.

The 36-year-old also became the oldest man to reach the last eight at the Australian Open since Ken Rosewall in 1977.

While Fucsovics produced a gritty hold in the sixth game of the opening set, it seemed only a matter of time before Federer would pounce.

The moment, and only break of serve in the set, came in the 10th game, a Federer overhead sealing the opener 6-4.

Fucsovics showed he could match Federer for periods, but the world number 80 lacked the weapons to hurt the Swiss star.

Federer, at times showing off some fi ne defense, took the second set in a tie-break before cruising through the third.

On Sunday, Rafael Nadal got a fi tness test in his nearly four-hour, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3 win over Diego Schwartzman.

After embracing Schwartzman at the net, his spot in a 10th Aus-tralian Open quarterfi nal secure, the top-ranked Nadal draped an arm around his Argentine friend and patted him on top of the head.

“A great battle ... he’s a good friend of mine,’’ Nadal said. “This is the fi rst big match that I played in 2018.’’ (SD-Agencies)

AFTER a near-miss in their last game, the Orlando Magic were rewarded for another solid effort.

Elfrid Payton had 22 points and the Magic won for just the third time in their last 20 games, overcoming Kyrie Irving’s 40 points to beat the Boston Celtics 103-95 Sunday.

“It feels good to get a win, especially after playing well,” Payton said. “We felt we played well against the Cavs and didn’t come out with the victory. So to get the win today feels good.”

Orlando snapped a 14-game losing streak at Boston. The Magic had lost 10 in a row on the road overall since early Decem-ber including a one-point loss to Cleveland in its previous game.

Irving sat out Boston’s pre-vious game to rest a sore left shoulder. Despite his efforts, the Celtics dropped their season-worst third straight overall and at home.

“We haven’t played well consistently on both ends for a while now,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “I felt like they were shooting layups for the most part tonight.”

Evan Fournier added 19 and Aaron Gordon had a double-double with 11 points and

DESPITE watching Cristiano Ronaldo go off covered in blood, Real Madrid fans got to celebrate at home again with the team’s biggest win of the season in the Spanish league.

Ronaldo, who left the game late with a cut to his face, scored twice as Madrid routed Deportivo La Coruna 7-1 Sunday, ending a three-match winless streak at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium and easing the pressure on coach Zin-edine Zidane and his players.

Gareth Bale and Nacho Fer-nandez also scored twice, and Luka Modric added another goal for Madrid as it regained fourth place in the standings. Madrid remains 19 points behind leader Barcelona, which later routed Real Betis 5-0 in Seville with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez each scoring a pair of goals.

At the start of the league’s second half, Barcelona is 11 points in front of second-placed Atletico Madrid and 14 points ahead of Valencia. Atletico lost ground after a 1-1 home draw against Girona on Saturday, while Valencia lost 2-1 at Las Palmas.

Madrid is fi ve points behind Valencia but has a game in hand.

Ronaldo had to leave with about fi ve minutes remain-ing after being hit by defender Fabian Schar’s boot while scor-ing the team’s sixth goal with a header. He was attended on the fi eld for a while and could not continue as blood spilled over his face.

While walking off the fi eld,

Real Madrid nets 7 to end poor run

with his face still stained by the blood, Ronaldo asked for the doctor’s cell phone to take a look at the injury.

Zidane said the Portugal forward needed “two or three stitches but was fi ne.”

Madrid had already made three substitutions, but the much-needed victory was already secured by then.

The fans who had loudly jeered the team in recent matches were cheering on their feet after the fi nal whistle at the Bernabeu.

The easy win followed a series of poor results that all but ended Madrid’s title chances.

Deportivo gave Madrid an early scare when Adrian Lopez opened the scoring midway through the fi rst half.

Nacho and Bale helped Madrid rally before halftime, and each scored again in the second half along with Modric. Bale’s fi rst goal came from a neat left-footed shot that was curled into the top corner by the far post.

Ronaldo, who hadn’t found

the net in three games and had been among those criticized by fans, scored with a shot from close range just a few minutes before getting injured. He did not celebrate.

Meanwhile, Barcelona scored fi ve second-half goals against mid-table Real Betis after an even fi rst half at Benito Villa-marin Stadium in Seville.

Ivan Rakitic opened the scor-ing, then Messi and Suarez took over and added to their scoring runs. (SD-Agencies)

Magic overcome Irving’s 40 points to beat Celtics

12 rebounds for the Magic.“It was a really good win for

us and we are playing really hard right now,” Fournier said. “We almost let it slip, but made a few plays to close the deal and it feels really good.”

Trailing 59-58 at halftime, Orlando outscored the Celtics 32-12 in the third quarter while shooting 60 percent. The Magic held Boston to four fi eld goals, three by Irving, and led 90-71 after three.

“I thought Payton was the leader of the pack,” Magic coach

Frank Vogel said. “The Elfrid in the third quarter was the guy driving the engine.”

Jayson Tatum sparked a fourth-quarter run by scor-ing seven of his nine points to draw the Celtics to 93-84, but both teams traded points and Orlando maintained control the rest of the way.

Orlando shot 61 percent on combined 27 of 44 in the second and third quarters. The Magic came into the game 14th in the NBA in fi eld goal percentage.

(SD-Agencies)

Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving (R) drives to the basket while Orlando Magic center Khem Birch (C) defends during the second half at TD Garden in Boston on Sunday. SD-Agencies

Roger Federer of Switzerland hits a shot against Marton Fucsovics of Hungary during their match in Melbourne, Aus-tralia, yesterday. SD-Agencies

Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo receives treatment after sustaining an injury while scoring their sixth goal against Santander at Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, on Sunday. SD-Agencies

Federer sets up another Berdych showdown

DEFENDING champions New England Patriots booked a third Super Bowl trip in four seasons Sunday, edging Jacksonville 24-20 to reach an (National Football League) NFL champi-onship showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Five-time Super Bowl cham-pion Tom Brady’s two fourth-quarter touchdown passes rallied the Patriots into Super Bowl 52 against an Eagles squad that routed Minnesota 38-7, humbling the Vikings’ top-rated defensive unit. The Patriots boosted their record of Super Bowl appearances to 10 and could match Pittsburgh’s record six Super Bowl triumphs Feb. 4.

“It’s pretty crazy,” Brady said. “It’s pretty amazing to be on a team that wins these kind of games. It’s so great.”

Nick Foles, who took over as Philadelphia’s quarterback last month after an injury to Carson Wentz, completed 26-of-33 passes for 352 yards and three touchdowns as the underdog Eagles humiliated the visitors.

(SD-Agencies)

Patriots will defend Super Bowl crown against Eagles