THE PENINSULA/ATP – DOHA

Lorenzo Musetti and Carlos Alcaraz will lead the Next Gen ATP charge in the Australian Open qualifying draw, which kicks off in Doha from today due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Doha hosts 128 players and other officials who will be con-verging in the Qatari capital for the 2021 Australian Open qual-ifiers which get underway today at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.

Ahead of the four-day event, being held outside of Australia for the first time in its 116 years history, the venue has been transformed to feature a new appearance and looks splendidly radiant.

The Next Gen ATP Finals contenders will aim to reach the main draw at a Grand Slam for the first time, in just their second Grand Slam qualifying appear-ances. Musetti came within one victory of a place in the Aus-tralian Open main draw last year, but fell short with a straight-sets loss to Tallon Griekspoor.

Since then, the Italian has soared more than 200 positions in the ATP Rankings. During a breakthrough run on home soil last year, Musetti stunned Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, captured his maiden ATP Challenger Tour trophy in Forli and advanced to his first ATP Tour semi-final in Sardinia.

The 18-year-old, who is the second youngest player in the Top 200, will meet Botic Van de Zandschulp in his opening match. Musetti shares his section of the qualifying draw with 32nd seed Blaz Rola of Slovenia. Rola will face 2014 Roland Garros semi-finalist Ernests Gulbis of Latvia in his first match.

In one of the most exciting sections of the draw, third seed Aslan Karatsev will face Next Gen American Brandon Nakashima. Karatsev, a four-time Challenger finalist last year (2-2), and Nakashima are both aiming compete in the Aus-tralian Open main draw for the first time.

Former Australian Open finalist Robin Haase will compete in the first round of the qualifying tournament for this

year's edition of the tournament against Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild, the number 6 on the placement list, the official draw revealed yesterday.

A total of sixteen qualifying slots are up for grabs in Doha, with winners earning a spot in the Australian Open main draw to be held from February 8 to 21 in Melbourne.

The ticket-free tournament is open to all, and spectators will be allowed in on a first-come, first-served basis as only 30 percent stadium capacity is allowed in line with the essential health protocols and guidelines occasioned by the prevailing global COVID-19 pandemic.

The tournament is scheduled to be overseen by 64 Line umpires, 18 chair umpires and five management officials drawn from across the world.

Meanwhile, the Local Organising Committee in coor-dination with Tennis Australia is leaving no stone unturned in its bid to ensure that the tour-nament is held under the strictest health and safety condition.

To ensure this, all the members of the organizing committee, staff, and volun-teers have undergone a PCR test to protect all the participants’ safety.

Another round of PCR test scheduled for everyone involved in the tournament was held yesterday.

Qatar Tennis Federation

(QTF) Board Member, Karim Alami, said, “We are impressed with the level of our prepara-tions and readiness for The qualifiers of the 2021 Australian Open. Qatar’s reputation as a history-maker, especially in sports, is well-known globally, and we are happy that we are about to add to the long list of our sporting achievements with this event. All the participants are assured of a safe, conducive and well-organised envi-ronment at this event, and we look forward to welcoming everyone.”

Live scoring and live streaming of qualifying where available will be hosted via ausopen.com and the AO app.

QBF SENIOR MEN'S LEAGUE: Al Wakrah (Franklin Session Jr 26) 71-67 Al Shamal; Al Gharafa (Wael Arkaji 30) 93-83 Al Rayyan

SUNDAY 10 JANUARY 2021

Australia take charge against India with lead of 197 runs in Sydney TestIt was a good day, woke up this morning hoping we wouldn’t still be bowling by the close of play and to have a lead of 200, yeah, great day.

Sport |07

AwIwa

Australia's Pat Cummins

Sport

We are impressed with the level of our preparations and readiness for The qualifiers of the 2021 Australian Open. Qatar’s reputation as a history-maker, especially in sports, is well-known globally, and we are happy that we are about to add to the long list of our sporting achievements with this event: Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF) Board Member, Karim Alami

IJF World Tour: Lusail venue wears new look ahead of Doha MastersTHE PENINSULA – DOHA

With less than a day to the start of the IJF World Judo Masters Doha 2021, the venue, Lusail Multipurpose Hall, is already wearing a new look in read-iness for the 2020 Tokyo Games qual-ifying event.

The three-day event takes place at the ultra-modern venue from tomorrow.

The hall is looking splendidly radiant after the branding’s com-pletion, and the necessary makeovers have also been done as Doha is set to host some of the world’s best judokas.

Aside from this, all the venue facil-ities are in top shape with all the required technical and logistical equipment in place.

The tournament features over 320 athletes - 184 male and 136 female - from 63 countries representing five continental federations namely the African Judo Union, Judo Union of Asia, and European Judo Union, Oceania Judo Union and Pan-American Judo Confederation.

Top on the list of top judokas who

will be in action in Doha includes Teddy Riner of France, a two-time Olympic gold winner and 10-time world champion in the +100kg, Idalys Ortiz of Cuba - the 2012 Olympic gold medallist in the +78kg female category, and Japan’s Soichi Hashimoto - world

No.1 in the lightweight division and four-time World Championships gold medallist.

Aside from the branding and venue preparation, the tournament organ-isers are also not leaving any stone unturned in ensuring that the

competition is held under the safest condition given the current global COVID 19 pandemic.

To this end, the International Judo Federation (IJF) and Qatar Taekwondo, Judo and Karate Federation (QTJKF) have jointly set up health protocols in

collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health, and the Ministry of Interior to accommodate all delega-tions in one hotel in a quarantine. All the participants will undergo PCR test, first on arrival before being taken to their hotels.

Another test will be conducted before they compete on each day of the tournament.

Tournament Director Eid Al Meraikhi said, “We are happy with the progress of things so far, and we are very impressed with the level of our prepa-ration for the IJF World Judo Masters Doha 2021. All arrangements are in place to ensure a smooth and stress-free tour-nament. We are ready to host the world, and we believe all participants will leave Doha at the end of the competition with lasting memories. Qatar is globally renowned for hosting very successful sporting events, and we are building on that reputation with this tournament.”

The tournament will feature com-petition in seven categories for both men and women, and it will be streamed live on the IJF website and social media channels.

QUALIFIERSMEN'S SINGLES 1ST ROUND

At Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex from 10.30am

ORDER OF PLAYCourt A

B. Mott vs E. YmerA. Santillan (WC) vs M. Huesler (27)

C. Stebe (11) vs T. FabbianoM. Ebden (WC) vs J. Kubler (WC)

A. Hoang (8) vs T. Robredo

Court BH. Laaksonen (15) vs T. KamkeV. Troicki vs J. Rodionov (23)

F. Meligeni Alves vs M. Klizan (30)H. Moriya vs D. Brown

I. Marchenko vs K. Coppejans

Doha - Court 1T. Daniel (5) vs R. Cid SuberviE. Donskoy (9) vs Z. Zhang

F. Horansky vs C. Alcaraz (21)S. Stakhovsky vs B. Zapata Miralles (28)

A. Rinderknech vs D. Masur

Doha - Court 2A. Vatutin vs S. DiezT. Wu vs J. Clarke

M. Moraing vs M. TorpegaardF. Mena vs E. Karlovskiy

A. De Greef vs M. Safwat (31)

Doha - Court 3D. Istomin vs L. Giustino (29)

F. Bagnis (10) vs R. RamanathanG. Garcia-Lopez vs F. Cerundolo (19)L. Musetti (13) vs B. Van de Zandschulp

Doha - Court 4B. Gojo vs S. Ofner

A. Kuznetsov vs U. BlanchR. Hijikata (WC) vs C. EubanksR. Marcora vs C. Taberner (22)

Doha - Court 6M. Trungelliti vs M. Marterer

A. Giannessi vs M. Vilella MartinezT. Machac vs J. DominguesJ. Menezes vs A. Collarini

Next Gen stars look to excel as Doha set to stage AO Qualifiers

The Lusail Multipurpose Hall is all set to host the IJF World Judo Masters Doha 2021.

Serena, Osaka to join top men in AdelaideREUTERS – MELBOURNE

Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka will join Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic in playing a pre-Australian Open w a r m - u p exhibition in Adelaide after serving their quarantine in the South Australian city, Tennis Australia (TA) said yesterday.

The “A Day at the Drive” event will take place at the city’s Memorial Drive Tennis Centre on Jan. 29, a week before the delayed Grand Slam gets underway at Melbourne Park.

A u s t r a l i a n O p e n

tournament director Steve Tiley had already flagged that Ash Barty and Simona Halep would be among the eight players involved in the exhibition with US Open champion

Dominic Thiem now confirmed

as the t h i r d man.

Adelaide will also host a WTA tour 500 level event, the Adelaide International, in the week after the Australian Open as TA look to give players every opportunity to compete after travelling Down Under and isolating for two weeks.

“These two tournaments are a real coup for South Australia,” state Premier Steven

Marshall said in a news release.“This is a real show of support for the

way that South Australia has managed the COVID-19 pandemic and underlines

our ability to attract world-class events.”Other warm-up tournaments, including

a shortened version of the ATP Cup involving Nadal, Djokovic and Thiem, will be held in Melbourne before the Australian Open.

Djokovic in playing n w a r m - u p e after serving n the South s id

ive” t the

Tennisweek

nd Slam ourne

O p e n

in the exhibition with USm com

isola“

fof r SMa

wthe

oour

a shinvobe hOp

Dominic Thiemnow confirmed

asa thet h i r d man.

Lorenzo Musetti

Carlos Alcaraz. ATP

Serena Williams Naomi Osaka

07SUNDAY 10 JANUARY 2021SportQatar Basketball League: Al Shamal and Al Gharafa clinch full points

Al Shamal and Al Gharafa players in action during their Qatar Basketball League match at Al Gharafa Sports Club Hall yesterday. Al Shamal won the match 71-67. RIGHT: Al Gharafa player (centre) attempts to score against during yesterday's second match. Al Gharafa won 93-83.

Australia take charge against India with lead of 197 runs in SydneyREUTERS — SYDNEY

Australia lost both openers in the final session but were in control on 103 for two with a lead of 197 runs at the close of play on the third day of the third Test against India yesterday.

Pat Cummins had taken 4-29 as Australia rolled through the Indian batting order on a sunny afternoon at Sydney Cricket Ground to dismiss the tourists for 244, the last six wickets tumbling for the addition of just 49 runs.

“It was a good day, woke up this morning hoping we wouldn’t still be bowling by the close of play and to have a lead of 200, yeah, great day,” said Cummins.

The most significant inter-vention from the pace attack, however, might be the deliv-eries from Cummins and Mitchell Starc that resulted in Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja leaving the ground for scans on their left elbow and thumb respectively.

Wriddhiman Saha replaced Pant behind the stumps and was soon in action to help India remove Australia’s new opening partnership inside 10 overs at a cost of 35 runs.

The reserve snaffled up an easy catch off a pearl of a delivery from Mohammed Siraj that debutant Will Pucovski could only edge behind for 10.

David Warner followed for 13 soon afterwards, trapped in front by Ravichandran Ashwin while attempting a sweep slog to leave Australia’s hopes of a

good score again in the hands of first-innings centurion Smith and Labuschagne.

The pair had put on a part-nership of 68 by the close of play with Smith on 29 not out and Labuschagne, who scored 91 in the first innings, unbeaten on 47.

It was the breaking of the p a r t n e r s h i p b e t w e e n Cheteshwar Pujara and Pant that triggered the collapse that ended India’s hopes of batting deep into the day and getting close to Australia’s first-innings tally of 338.

They resumed on 96-2 but Ajinkya Rahane and Hanuma

Vihari departed relatively cheaply in the opening session to leave Pujara and Pant chipping away at Australia’s lead in the face of some fine bowling.

Josh Hazlewood forced the breakthrough when he had the injured Pant caught in the slips for 36, and in the next over Cummins finally winkled out Pujara after the batsman had scored a half century from 176 balls. Notwithstanding some fine fielding, Indian fans will be aggrieved that three of their batsmen were run out on a day when they needed to occupy the crease for as long as possible.

All-rounder Jadeja scored 28 not out despite his injury, as the tail-end wickets tumbled around him. India will be des-perately hoping he has not made his final contribution to the match.

“It’s tough, especially losing Jadeja because we are one bowler short at the moment,” said Pujara.

“We need to pick up a couple of wickets in the morning and not allow them too many runs in the first session.”

The hard-fought series is tied 1-1 after the first two tests with the final clash scheduled to start at the Gabba next week.

Cricket Australia are pressing ahead with those plans despite reports of concerns in the India camp over the level of isolation they will endure in Brisbane, which went into three days of lockdown on Friday after a COVID-19 case was found in the city.

Australia players celebrate Pat Cummins’ wicket of Cheteshwar Pujara, yesterday.

AUSTRALIA FIRST INNINGS 338INDIA FIRST INNINGSR. Sharma c&b Hazlewood ............................26S. Gill c Green b Cummins ...............................50C. Pujara c Paine b Cummins ..........................50A. Rahane b Cummins ..................................... 22H. Vihari run out (Hazlewood) ......................... 4R. Pant c Warner b Hazlewood ..................... 36R. Jadeja not out ..............................................28R. Ashwin run out (Labuschagne) ................ 10N. Saini c Wade b Starc ..................................... 4J. Bumrah run out (Labuschagne) ................... 0M. Siraj c Paine b Cummins .............................. 6Extras (lb1, w5, nb2) ........................................ 8Total (10 wickets, 100.4 overs) ...........244Fall of wickets: 1-70 (Sharma), 2-85 (Gill), 3-117 (Rahane), 4-142 (Vihari), 5-195 (Pant), 6-195 (Pujara), 7-206 (Ashwin), 8-210 (Saini),

9-216 (Bumrah), 10-244 (Siraj)Bowling: Starc 19-7-61-1, Hazlewood 21-10-43-2, Cummins 21.4-10-29-4, Lyon 31-8-87-0, Labuschagne 3-0-11-0, Green 5-1-12-0AUSTRALIA SECOND INNINGSD. Warner lbw b Ashwin .................................13W. Pucovski c Saha b Siraj .............................. 10M. Labuschagne not out ................................. 47S. Smith not out ................................................29Extras (lb1, nb3) ............................................... 4Total (two wickets, 29 overs) ............... 103To bat: Matthew Wade, Cameron Green, Tim Paine, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh HazlewoodFall of wickets: 1-16 (Pucovski), 2-35 (Warner)Bowling: Bumrah 8-1-26-0, Siraj 8-2-20-1, Saini 7-1-28-0, Ashwin 6-0-28-1Toss: Australia

SCOREBOARD

Indian players allegedly suffer racial abuse from crowd: Reports

REUTERS — SYDNEY India’s players were allegedly subjected to racial abuse from a section of the crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in the third Test against Australia yesterday, local media reported.

India captain Ajinkya Rahane and other senior players spoke to the umpires at the end of the third day’s play after quicks Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj complained of hearing racist slurs while fielding near the boundary rope, the reports said.

India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara did not answer when asked about the matter at the e n d - o f - d a y n e w s conference.

The two boards and the International Cricket Council (ICC) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“We’ve come to know about the issue,” BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla told Indian news agency ANI in an interview.

“Cricket is a gentleman’s game and these kinds of things are not allowed or accepted.”

According to the ICC anti-discrimination policy, the host board would have to probe any incident relating to ‘inap-propriate conduct’ and submit a report to the world gov-erning body within two weeks.

Schalke’s Hoppe nets hat-trick to snap 30-game winless runREUTERS — GELSENKIRCHEN

Schalke 04’s teenager Matthew Hoppe became the first American to score a Bundesliga hat-trick when he carried his struggling side to a 4-0 victory over Hoffenheim yesterday and snap the Royal Blues’ 30-game winless streak in the league.

Hoppe, who made his Bundesliga debut in November and scored three goals in only his fifth league match, opened his account when he chipped the ball over keeper Oliver Baumann after a superb pass by Amine Harit to finish off a quick break three minutes before

halftime. With Sead Kolasinac, on loan from Arsenal, back in the squad, Schalke scored again when Harit and Hoppe combined twice more for the 19-year-old to strike again in the 57th and 63rd minute of the match.

“I have no words for this day. I cannot really describe it,” a beaming Hoppe said, holding on to the match ball. “Just very happy.”

Schalke, whose previous league win was back in January 2020, were a defeat away from matching Tas-mania Berlin’s Bundesliga record of 31 matches without a win from the 1965/66 season.

Schalke 04’s Matthew Hoppe celebrates after scoring their second goal, yesterday.

FA Cup: Everton avoid scare; Chorley beat virus-hit DerbyREUTERS — LONDON

Everton’s Abdoulaye Doucoure scored an extra-time winner as they edged Rotherham United 2-1 in an absorbing FA Cup third round tie yesterday, while sixth-tier side Chorley beat a Derby County team weakened by their COVID-19 outbreak.

After 90 minutes the score at Goodison Park was level at 1-1 with Cenk Tosun’s first Everton goal since Nov. 2019 cancelled out by a 56th minute strike from lowly Champi-onship (second-tier) side Rotherham’s American right back Matthew Olosunde.

But three minutes into extra time the Premier League side got the decisive goal when sub-stitute Doucoure latched onto Colombia playmaker James Rodriguez’s precise through ball before sliding it past helpless goalkeeper Jamal Blackman.

With five-time FA Cup winners Everton resting top scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Brazilian forward Richar-lison, Turkish international Tosun was handed a rare opportunity to lead the attack and got on the scoresheet inside

10 minutes. The visitors responded with a string of chances and were rewarded 10 minutes into the second half when Olosunde swivelled in the box before slotting the ball past keeper Robin Olsen.

Everton thought they had grabbed the winner near the

end of normal time when Tosun struck in the 86th but his effort was ruled offside by VAR and it was left for Frenchman Dou-coure to secure a spot in the fourth round with his extra-time strike.

In the absence of first-team players and interim manager

Wayne Rooney, a youthful Derby County side were defeated 2-0 at National League North outfit Chorley.

The COVID-19 outbreak at Derby meant nine of the starting 11 were making debuts and the visitors fell behind when Connor Hall put Chorley ahead in the first half before Mike Calveley added a second in the 84th to secure a maiden fourth round berth.

Norwich City strolled to a 2-0 win over fellow Champi-onship (second-tier) side Cov-entry City after midfielder Kenny McLean and forward Jordan Hugill scored inside seven minutes.

Millwall’s Danish striker Kenneth Zohore and defender Shaun Hutchinson led the Championship side to a 2-0 win over fifth-tier third-round deb-utants Boreham Wood, while Nottingham Forest beat Cardiff City 1-0 with an early goal by striker Lyle Taylor.

Luton Town beat Reading 1-0 in another all-Champi-onship clash to reach the fourth round for the first time since the 2012-13 season thanks to mid-fielder George Moncur.

Everton’s Abdoulaye Doucoure (right) celebrates with team-mates after scoring their second goal, yesterday.

Gasanova stuns former World No.1 PliskovaREUTERS — ABU DHABI

Russian qualifier Anastasia Gasanova, who made her maiden WTA main draw appearance this week, could barely believe what she achieved yesterday after breezing past former world number one Karolina Pliskova in the second round in Abu Dhabi.

The 21-year-old qualifier, ranked 292nd, had won her first-ever tour-level match in the opening round of the WTA 500 event to set up the clash with Czech Pliskova in her first meeting with a top 100 player.

But Gasanova, whose goal is to break into the top 200 this year, took just 72 minutes to secure a 6-2 6-4 victory against world number six Pliskova.

“It was not me on the

court,” Gasanova told reporters amid continuous giggles. “I was so sure of myself. I’m really happy right now.

“I’m really surprised, but when I woke up today, I thought, ‘Why not? Why can’t I win this match?’. Actually, I thought I would lose in qualifiers or some-thing like that, but I just kept pushing myself, like, I need to win and I want to win.”

Gasanova will next play Spain’s 66th ranked Sara Sor-ribes Tormo in the last 16.

Also yesterday, Elina Svi-tolina reached the third round with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Russian veteran Vera Zvonareva.

Svitolina will play 17th-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova in the third round after a routine win over Zvonareva in just over an hour.