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In what is undoubtedly a huge step towards unearthing motorsport talent in Qatar, Losail Circuit Sports Club (LCSC) yesterday announced the launch of the Qatar Motorsport Academy. At a press conference on the sidelines of the MotoGP Grand Prix of Qatar at the Losail International Circuit, LCSC Vice President and General Manager Khalid al-Remaihi said the academy will come into effect from October 2018.  For its ambitious project, LCSC has tied up with Dorna Sports, the commercial rights holder for the MotoGP, and Qatar’s Aspire Academy. The announcement was made in the presence of Minister of Culture and Sports of Qatar HE Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali, Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta, General Director Aspire Academy Ivan Bravo, QMMF President Abdulrahman al-Mannai and Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) President Vito Ippolito. Al-Remaihi said the aim of the Qatar Motorsport Academy was to create a platform for younger talents in the age bracket of 6 to 14 and nurture them into future MotoGP riders. “The Qatar Motorsport Academy will more or less be the platform for youngsters to get into the sport. We want to accept 6 to 14-year-old kids into the academy, which includes locals, people of different nationalities living in Qatar and also those who are living around us in the region,” said al-Remaihi yesterday. “We want to capitalise on the opportunities we have in Qatar, like in the winter season where we can practice the sport here. At the same time in Europe and other parts of the world it’s the off season. With the help of Aspire and Dorna we can provide that service even for people in Europe,” he added. The LCSC Vice President said one of the major objectives of the club was to create an environment for the existing motorcycling enthusiast in the country and in the Gulf. “Since the establishment of the Club in early 2016, we had three major objectives. One to promote the sport to get the community in Qatar involved in the sport, and the second was to make full use of the facilities. I am happy to say that we have achieved those goals. An example of that is 81% utilisation of the facilities, which shows how much we have increased the events and quality of the events and how we have attracted people come to come to the circuit,” said al-Remaihi “Now when it comes to promoting the sport, we understood that we needed to create an environment for the existing enthusiast, people who like the sport already. Those who come enjoy the championship and atmosphere in the events as that would help in creating the culture in the country for the sport. We also understood that we need to create a platform to nurture younger talent and we were working on the possibilities we have,” he added. On LCSC’s tie up with Dorna Sports and Qatar’s Aspire Academy, al-Remaihi hailed them as the best possible partners in reaching academy’s goals. “What we found out is we need to have an alliance with right partners. This is why Losail Club has tied up with Dorna Sports, who with their vast experience and knowhow of the motorcycling racing will create programmes for younger generations that will be their stepping stone into MotoGP. And also Aspire Academy is an icon in sports training, education and excellence in sport. To have that kind of support in Qatar is a great value to us,” al-Remaihi said. “Specific to Dorna’s and Aspire’s involvement from a collective point of view, it’s a platform for growth of MotoGP. Our friends in Dorna have a great record and we believe in their great capabilities and support to reach our goal. And with the help of Aspire they will cater to the special talents selected. It’s an opportunity for us achieve our maximum potential. Our target is to launch this programme in October 2018, which is the beginning of our season. From now on until that point of time, we will fully mobilise all our collective resources to be able to deliver our programme. We hope people will see the fruits of our collaboration,” he noted. The LCSC General Manager also thanked QMMF and its’ President Abdulrahman al-Mannai for the support. “We do not want forget the cooperation of local federation QMMF and Abdulrahman al-Mannai and his team, which is essential for what we want to achieve. Hopefully in near future, we will get to see Qatari rider or someone living in Qatar or someone from the region in the MotoGP class,” he said. Carmelo Ezpeleta, the Dorna CEO said the Qatar Motorsport Academy is very important to the future of sport and was excited to collaborate with LCSC. “Qatar was the first country to conduct floodlight race, which was necessary for MotoGP. They have conducted the MotoGP races successfully over the last 15 years and have been pioneers for the sport in general. Through this academy, it’s a continuity of our association with them. It’s a social responsibility for us to teach the sport to newer and enthusiastic audience. That’s what we intend to do with our tie-up with LCSC and Qatar Motorsport Academy. For us at Dorna its very exciting project. One of the main aims is to give opportunities to people, who have never raced before. The Qatar Motorsport Academy is very important to the future of the sport and we are excited to collaborate with LCSC,” Ezpeleta said.

Valentino Rossi put to bed rumours of his retirement yesterday, after the Italian MotoGP legend announced that he has agreed a new two-year contract with Movistar Yamaha. With his existing contract due to expire at the end of this season, the new deal means Rossi will continue racing in MotoGP until the end of 2020 season, by which the nine-time World champion will be 41!  That will make him the first MotoGP rider to race into his 40s since Colin Edwards in 2014. But such is the desire and motivation of Rossi that he refuses to call it a day on his illustrious career.  At 39 years of age, Rossi is the oldest man on the grid but is also one of the fittest and most experienced. Having himself been a brand and carried MotoGP’s popularity’s to new heights over the years, his age wasn’t much of an issue for Japanese manufacturer Yamaha, as Rossi remains the highest paid rider in the grid. Ahead of the opening race of the 2018 season – the Grand Prix of Qatar – Rossi understandably hogged the limelight. On Sunday at the Losail International Circuit, Rossi will begin his mission for a 10th world title, having last won the title back in 2009. And the Italian is keen to extend his glorious career. “I am happy because two years ago when I signed the last contract, I thought maybe it is the last one,” Rossi said yesterday. “In my mind I was always very clear that I wanted to try to continue. And the challenge is very high because to stay at the top level and to stay competitive is always more difficult. But I think I have enough strength and enough motivation,” he added. During the pre-season testing, there were rumours flying around that Honda’s reigning champion Marc Marquez could take Rossi’s position at Yamaha. But Marquez signed a two-year contract extension with Honda, as it became clear Rossi was going to stay at Yamaha. Rossi joined the factory Yamaha team in 2004 after winning three-straight titles on Honda machinery in the premier class. He won that championship, and followed it up with titles in 2005, 2008 and 2009. Rossi spent two sour years with Ducati Team in 2011 and 2012 before returning with Yamaha in 2013. Rossi is Yamaha’s most successful winner in GP history with 56 wins, 43 runner-up and 35 third-place finishes. He has raced 206 GPs with Yamaha, and claimed 11 percent of Yamaha’s 500 GP victories. The Italian said he didn’t wanted to make the same mistake as Michael Schumacher, who quit Formula 1 at the end of 2006 only to return in 2010, as well as his old MotoGP rival Max Biaggi and World Superbike legend Troy Bayliss. “I saw a lot of great riders and also drivers stop at the maximum of their career, like Schumacher, also Biaggi or Troy Bayliss,” said Rossi. “Schumacher and Bayliss came back on the track (after retiring). So I decided I will race to the end. I don’t want to think in the future, ‘maybe I can do another two seasons’. It can be a risk (that I become less competitive), yes. But if I follow this (logic), I would have stopped already six, seven or eight years ago,” he reasoned.  Rossi believes other riders could follow in his footsteps if they remain sufficiently healthy and motivated. “I think that I’m maybe one of the first that tries (to race into his 40s),” said Rossi. “I think also all the other riders that are here are able to keep the top level until (they are) 40. Physically, if you are strong, you can [continue]. It depends on your motivation, on your life. If you like to continue, I think everyone can do.” Rossi said he was eager to use the winter tests to understand both his level of performance and his YZR-M1 pace before deciding on a new contract. “At the end of last season I spoke with Yamaha and said I would decide during the winter tests. If I was able to survive the winter tests I could sign. At the end of the winter tests it was quite good. I like the bike as I feel comfortable and feel quite fast.” Rossi did acknowledge though that Yamaha have a lot of work to do, if they are to fight for race wins. “The whole package is very important. I think we have some areas where we have to work because sometimes in some tracks and particular conditions we are still suffering a bit. It is about getting everything to work together, the engine, the chassis and the electronics which is very important,” he added. What other riders say about Rossi Marc Marquez, Honda’s reigning champion: “It is impressive the way he finds the motivation as he knows MotoGP is now really demanding and he knows he needs to be at the top level. It is impressive because it is not plus two years it is three years as we have the current season in front. “Congratulations to him and I am happy to have him here for two more years because you are racing against a legend of MotoGP so we will try to learn more things about him. Andrea Dovizioso of Ducati: “Like Marc said it is impressive but I am not surprised about that because if you know a little bit about Vale it is not surprising. I already knew this before he said it today because he is fast and he will never stop as long as he is fast like this. So you never know when he will stop.” Johann Zarco, Tech3 Yamaha rider “I think we must say thank you to him for the newcomers and new guys like me it makes our dreams come true because it is fantastic. If he had to stop before we can go to MotoGP it wouldn’t mean the dream to follow Valentino but we have this opportunity so thank you to him for continuing.”

Salmeen Sultan al-Suwaidi couldn’t have chosen a bigger stage to announce himself, as the Qatari rider emerged triumphant in HH The Emir’s Sword Equestrian championship yesterday. The 23-year-old stole the thunder at the Qatar Equestrian Federation’s outdoor arena as he guided his veteran grey gelding Cantaro 32 to victory in the Big Tour class. Al-Suwaidi was thrilled to receive the Emir’s Sword from His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. “It’s a pleasure for anyone to shake Emir’s hand and receive the sword from Emir. It’s such an honour,” the young rider said. Al-Suwaidi and Cantaro 32 proved to be a formidable combination as they galloped the long course and jumped clear with a faultless round, stopping the clock at an impressive 78.16secs. Unlike in the previous years, when a rider would win the championship if he did well on a particular day, this time the riders had to perform consistently over the three days of the championship. And al-Suwaidi walked away with the honour and QR68,750 in prize money after tallying highest points on the back of his impressive show yesterday. “I held up my points since first day. It was three days of jumping. I made sure that I had very good time on the first day because it would help me on the last day if I jump clean then I can win title,” he said. Al-Suwaidi paid credit to his horse Cantaro 32 for the victory. “It’s my first Emir Sword win. It was a big challenge as there were strong competitors. I have an 18-year-old horse, which refuses to give up and pushed hard to today. I have been riding Cantaro 32 now for two and half years. Today, I was under pressure but it ended nicely. So I am very happy,” he said. Qatari Olympic rider Hamad Ali al-Attiyah and his 11-year-old gelding Clinton finished second, while Salman Mohammed al-Emadi and Zorro Z took third spot. “I was bit unlucky on the first day. But thank God I was fifth and held my ground in key rounds and today I finished second. I am very happy. Salmeen is a very good rider with a really good horse. Both of them deserve it, as they worked hard so hard the whole season to achieve this victory,” al-Attiyah said. “This is my best result in Emir Sword. Every year I have come here with my second horse, this year I had a good horse. We were not ready for the show but we did what we can and we ended up second. We could have won but it was my mistake that cost us and not my horse’s fault,” he added. Meanwhile, Khalid Mohammed al-Emadi won the Medium Tour class with his 10-year-old gelding Fiji. Al-Emadi was richer by QR41,250 after his victory. Sheikh Abdulla bin Nasser al-Thani (Dollar Van Ze Zuuthoeve) was second, while Cyrine Cherif (Gerlin VD Waterkant) came third. The Small Tour title went to Mohammed al-Ghazali, who rode Michael Jackson to victory and clinch QR25,000 in prize money. Saeed Hamad al-Rashdi (Graffiti De Lully CH) finished second, while Mohammed Nasser al-Qadi (Vlacido) third. In the dressage events, Hassan al-Nuaimi (Leslie Ann 2) won the Level 1 event, followed by Saeed hamad al-Rashdi (Graffiti De Lully CH) in second and Amna Ahmad al-Saffar (Rhythm) in third. The Dressage Level 2 top spot went to Mennatallah Hesham Mourad (Quick Dance). Aisha Ahmed al-Ahmadi (Wait And See Ze) took runner-up spot, while Maha Matar al-Kuwari (Fokke Van Orshof D’17) completed the podium. Meanwhile, Hamad bin Abdulrahman al-Attiyah, President of the Qatar and Asian Equestrian Federation, hailed the HH The Emir’s Sword Festival. Al-Attiyah said: “The Emir’s Sword Festival has achieved outstanding success. We are proud to contribute to the success of the two federations – Qatar Equestrian Federation and Qatar Racing Club,” he said.  “I also want congratulate the Salmeen Sultan al-Suwaidi for winning the championships and winning the precious sword.  I want to congratulate other Qatari riders too who competed for the podium,” he added.

After a terrifying knife attack in December 2016 that seriously injured her left hand, not many gave Petra Kvitova a chance to play tennis again. They didn’t know, however, that the Czech is a tough character, with steely determination instilled in her by her father from a very young age. Last night at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, Kvitova displayed her never-say-die attitude in abundance as she continued her remarkable turnaround by clinching her maiden Qatar Total Open title.  With her back against the wall for second night in succession, No. 16 seed Kvitova came back from a set down to outlast fourth seed Garbine Muguruza 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the title clash. It was Kvitova’s 13th straight win, having come to Doha with victory in St. Petersburg followed by Fed Cup wins. It also rocketed the two-time Wimbledon champion back into top-10 for the first time since June 2016, having started the year at No. 29. She also beat three top five players in six matches that she played in Doha. “It feels great. It’s a beautiful trophy. It took a while to win it, for sure definitely,” said Kvitova after taking home $591,750 in prize money.  “Today it was a big fight. Coming back from one set down was very difficult. I spent two and something (hours) on the court again. So I don’t know how I did it. But it’s worth it,” the Czech added, while grinning ear to ear with trophy by her side. The triumph is even more extraordinary as Kvitova is still suffering from nerve damage to her playing hand and cannot entirely clench her fist or feel two of her fingers.  “I couldn’t really dream about it one year ago when I was in a totally different position, trying to come back and play. I couldn’t really wish for more. I played great tennis, St. Petersburg and here as well. So that means a lot to me,” Kvitova said. “It feels great to be in top 10. I think that it feels much better right now because top 10 is the number. Of course, it’s such a great achievement to be back there. But I never really was thinking about the numbers, but about the game and kind of results, which I have it now. So it’s a nice bonus,” she added. The road to her 22nd career title in Doha wasn’t easy for the 27-year-old, which is why Kvitova would treasure the Golden Falcon trophy more. Coming into the final, Kvitova had spent 8 hours and 22 minutes on court, including 2 hours and 35 minutes on Saturday night to beat No.1 Caroline Wozniacki in the semi-finals.  Muguruza, on the other hand, spent half of that time and was also lucky to get a free pass into the final, after Simona Halep pulled out from the semi-final with a foot injury.  The effects of that long semi-final showed last night, at least in the first set, as Kvitova found herself 0-5 down in no time. The Czech struggled with her serves and committed 15 unforced errors as Muguruza capitalised to pocket the first set, despite being broken while serving for the set at 5-1.  The match looked like it would not last an hour before Kvitova found her range in the second set. Her resilience came through, too, as she saved a break point in the fifth game with a stunning backhand slice to go 3-2 up. It soon became 4-2 to Kvitova as she converted her third break point from Muguruza’s serve. Going for a decisive lead, Kvitova was once again in trouble as Muguruza earned a break point only to see the Czech turn it around with a stunning backhand crosscourt winner to make it 5-2 . She then served out the set in the first opportunity. With her serve improving as the match went on, Kvitova was holding all the aces in the deciding set. Playing her third three-setter of the tournament, mentally too she seemed more prepared than Muguruza. After saving two break points to make it level at 2-2, Kvitova took a giant step towards the title by breaking Muguruza in the fifth game for a 3-2 lead. Any hopes of a comeback also disappeared for the 2016 French Open champion Muguruza, with the Spaniard twisting her knee while going for a deep shot and had to call for a trainer.  With a bandaged left knee, she held her serve in the ninth game but Kvitova sealed the title on her second championship point as a Muguruza backhand found the net. Muguruza, who will climb one place to third in the rankings paid tribute to her opponent.  “I think she (Kvitova) has great shots, so she puts you in difficulties very soon in the point. She has a good serve. She has a very good first, second shot, so it’s always tricky to find your game or your rhythm,” she said. The Spaniard also rued her missed opportunities, when she could not convert five break points on offer in the second set. “I think in the first set she wasn’t maybe playing her best. I think she made a lot of unforced errors right away, so it gave me a lot of advantage. In the second set it was more what I was expecting, a tough match. And in the third it was just a little bit more equal. I think I had a lot of break points, and I didn’t convert them. I think also because she came out with all those winners. I think if I would have get one of those break points, it would be different,” she said. Dabrowski and Ostapenko clinch doubles title in Doha Gabriela Dabrowski and Jelena Ostapenko won their maiden doubles title as a pair after defeating No.8 seeds Andreja Klepac and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-3, 6-3 in the final to clinch the Qatar Total Open.  Playing just their fourth tournament together, the unseeded duo Dabrowski and Ostapenko beat seeded pairs en route to winning the title in Doha. For Dabrowski, it marked her seventh career doubles title and second of the year following Sydney, alongside Xu Yifan. The Canadian had also won the Australian Open mixed doubles crown with Mate Pavic and the Roland Garros mixed doubles title with Rohan Bopanna.  Latvia’s Ostapenko, meanwhile, maintained an unbeaten record in doubles finals to claim her third title with as many partners, following St. Petersburg and Stuttgart last year with Alicja Rosolska and Raquel Atawo respectively. Yesterday at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash complex, Dabrowski and Ostapenko were on top of their game against long-time doubles specialists Klepac of Slovakia and Martinez Sanchez of Spain. The duo saved a break point in the opening game, but did not face another for the remainder of the set. Martinez Sanchez was broken in the fifth game, as Ostapenko served out the first set. The second set followed a similar pattern as Dabrowski and Ostapenko once again broke Martinez Sanchez to seal the title.

Petra Kvitova’s game plan of aggressive tennis against Caroline Wozniacki almost backfired on the night. But that’s the way the Czech plays, and despite a bunch of unforced errors while losing the first set, she never ditched her strategy. And that, ultimately brought her dividends at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex yesterday. After losing the first set, the former two-time Wimbledon champion hit some exceptional forehand winners to outgun top seed Wozniacki 3-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5 and seal her place in today’s Qatar Total Open final against Garbine Muguruza. Spain’s Muguruza did not take the court yesterday after her semi-final opponent, No. 2 seed Simona Halep pulled out of the tournament citing a foot injury after winning her quarter-final match on Friday. While Muguruza enjoyed her day off in the hotel, she could well have watched the only semi-final played yesterday, which lasted for two hours and 35 minutes and swung like a pendulum. Australian Open champion Wozniacki had things under control when she won the first set and served for the match not once but twice in the second. But both times 16th seed Kvitova emerged from the deep hole with some stunning forehand winners. In the first set, Kvitova was all over the place as she belted eight winners but also committed double the unforced errors. And Wozniacki, who had five winners and as many unforced errors, took advantage of Kvitova’s scrappy game. Wozniacki took the first break of the match at 4-2, but was broken right back by Kvitova. The Dane, however, reeled off the next two games to take the opening set. In the second set, Wozniacki continued to stand like a wall as errors flew from Kvitova’s racquet as she raced to a 2-0 lead. But Kvitova was not the one to give up as she pulled things back to draw level at 3-3.  At 5-4 and 6-5, Wozniacki had a chance to close out the match, but Kvitova held on and won four straight points in the tie-break to send the match into a third set. In the decider, while Kvitova was all charged up, Wozniacki was clearly annoyed to have wasted opportunities. At 4-4, a contentious line call made an annoyed Wozniacki complain to the chair umpire for a long time as the Dane lost her focus. She lost her serve the next game only to break right back as Kvitova served for the match. But Kvitova didn’t let it get away from her, saving her best tennis for last to close out the battle. In the end Kvitova’s winners made all the difference. The 27-year-old Czech belted 50 winners to Wozniacki’s 14. Last night’s victory also extended Kvitova’s dominance over Wozniacki, which stands at 8-5 and she has won last four encounters between the two. It was also Kvitova’s 12th successive win, having won in St. Petersburg a fortnight ago, followed by Fed Cup wins last weekend. “It’s definitely disappointing when I had a chance to serve it out twice in that second set,” said Wozniacki, who was seeking to make her third Doha final but has never won before. “I didn’t get many first serves in the first game, and in the second game she played aggressively and I made a few unforced errors. I felt that was frustrating because I had my opportunities there,” the 27-year-old said. Kvitova, meanwhile, will play her maiden final in Doha, having not gone beyond the quarter-final stage in her previous five attempts. For the 27-year-old, it will also be her first final appearance at Premier 5 level or above since her title in Wuhan in October 2016 – and the biggest final of her comeback from the knife injuries she sustained in a home invasion that year. Meanwhile, Gabriela Dabrowski and Jelena Ostapenko made it to their maiden final as a pair in the doubles. The Canadian-Latvian duo scored a comfortable 6-3, 6-3 win over fellow unseeded pair, Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova of Czech Republic, in the semi-finals. Dabrowski and Ostapenko were awaiting the winners of the other semi-final between Monique Adamczak and Lyudmyla Kichenok, and No.8 seeds Andreja Klepac and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, who were playing a late match last night.

Elina Svitolina’s frustration knew no bounds yesterday as the third seed crashed out of the Qatar Total Open, once again falling to the guile of 16th seed Petra Kvitova. Svitolina was up against a player who had been her nemesis. She had lost six straight times to Kvitova coming into last night’s third round match. At the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, the two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova made it seven in a row over Svitolina as the Czech booked her spot in the quarter-finals with a 6-4, 7-5 win.  Svitolina’s exit followed that of Karolina Pliskova’s, after the defending champion and World No. 5 was knocked out by qualifier Catherine Bellis, who continued her impressive run with a 7-6(4), 6-3 win. While Halep shook off a slow start to survive tricky Latvian Anastasija Sevastova 6-4, 6-3, Caroline Wozniacki was left annoyed and mocked qualifier Monica Niculescu for her grunting, before closing out the match 7-5, 6-1. But the match of high quality came on Court 1, despite Svitolina’s poor record against Kvitova, which stands at 1-7. Svitolina has won the most titles on the WTA Tour since last year, while Kvitova was on a nine-match winning streak after winning in St. Petersburg the week before, followed by two Fed Cup win in the weekend for Czech Republic. Not to mention her brave comeback from the horrific knife attack in December 2016, which injured her left hand. After trading breaks in the first two games, it was a battle between Svitolina’s defence  and Kvitova’s aggressive attacking play. In the key moments though, Kvitova stood out, using her deft touch to outsmart her opponent.  In both the sets, the 27-year-old broke Svitolina’s last service game, which proved costly for the latter. Kvitova has never advanced further than the last eight in Doha and today she will be keen to improve on that as she faces ninth seed Julia Georges. The ace-serving German scored a routine 6-2, 6-2 win over Mihaela Buzarnescu, who had shocked sixth seed French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia on Wednesday. Earlier, Bellis claimed the biggest win of her career after taking down Pliskova. Bellis broke the defending champions five times en route to her first Top 5 win of her fledgling career. “This was huge for me,” said the 18-year-old Bellis, who will be up against 2014 champion Halep. “I think I played a really good match and just tried to track down as many balls as I could. Obviously, I’ve watched her play for many years and she’s one of my idols for sure. I’m just really happy I was able to get through it,” the American added.  With Halep’s win yesterday, her hopes of snatching the No.1 ranking from Wozniacki is alive. Should the Romanian finish the tournament with one win more than the Dane, she will reclaim the top spot she lost after the Australian Open. “I don’t have any idea about the points,” Halep said. “I know that there is like 300, or it was at the beginning of the tournament. But I’m not thinking about that. I just want to play my matches and to win them.” Meanwhile, fourth seed Garbine Muguruza had few problems in getting past Sorana Cirstea 6-0, 6-4 in the third round match that kicked off the proceedings yesterday. “I think I played very well in the first set, and in the second set she came out much better, reached a high level, I made a few mistakes, and there we go, the match is equal,” Muguruza said.  The Spaniard will face No.7 seed Caroline Garcia today for a place in the last four. Frenchwoman Garcia ended the run of teenage qualifier Anna Blinkova 7-6(3), 7-5.    Results Singles (3rd Round) 1-Caroline Wozniacki bt Q-Monica Niculescu 7-5, 6-1 2-Simona Halep bt 13-Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) 6-4, 6-3 4-Garbine Muguruza (ESP) bt Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 6-0, 6-4 Q-Catherine Bellis (USA) bt 5-Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 7-6 (4), 6-3 16-Petra Kvitova (CZE) bt 3-Elina Svitolina (UKR) 6-4, 7-5 7-Caroline Garcia (FRA) bt Q-Anna Blinkova (RUS) 7-6 (3), 7-5 8-Angelique Kerber (GER x8) bt 10-Johanna Konta (GBR x10) 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 9-Julia Georges (GER) bt Mihaela Buzarnescu (ROU) 6-2, 6-2 Today’s Order of Play Singles Quarter-finals Centre Court   (Starts 3:30 pm)           7-Caroline Garcia (FRA) vs 4-Garbine Muguruza (ESP) Followed By: Q-Catherine Bellis (USA) vs 2-Simona Halep (ROU) Followed By: 1-Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) vs 8-Angelique Kerber Not before 8pm            16-Petra Kvitova (CZE) vs 9-Julia Goerges (GER)

Catherine Bellis is on the fast lane to global fame. Not long ago the American teenager was playing on the college circuit for Stanford but an impressive run of results meant she turned professional after the 2016 US Open. The world first noticed Bellis though at the US Open in 2014, when as a 15-year-old prodigy, she stunned Dominika Cibulkova. Since then her career has taken an upward swing. Bellis ended the 2016 season as the youngest face inside the Top 100, while in 2017 she walked away with WTA’s Newcomer of The Year award. Currently ranked 48, Bellis came through the qualifiers to make it to the main draw of the Qatar Open Total. Yesterday she continued her impressive run at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex as she knocked out compatriot 12th seed Madison Keys 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 to enter the Round of 16. In the first round she had it easy when Russian World No. 24 Daria Kasatakina retired after injuring her neck while trailing 7-5, 4-1. But against last year’s US open finalist Keys, Bellis had to fight back from a set down. Playing her fourth match on the faster outside courts of Doha, with wind behind her back, Bellis got better as the match went on. As Keys’ game floundered, Bellis grew in confidence, wrapping up the third set in no time. “I think maybe halfway into the second set it started shifting a bit. I got a little lucky on a few balls the wind took, and I think she shanked a few,” Bellis said after the match.  “And then the third I just really started to get a good rhythm, making a lot of first serves.” Bellis and Keys had never faced each other before, but they know each other’s game well as they train at the USTA National Campus in Florida. In Doha, both of them shared a physio and fitness trainer as well. “We know each other’s game pretty well, but it wasn’t like we’d played a bunch of (practice) sets over the years,” Bellis said. “It’s definitely tough to play against people that you know that well. But it’s just something that’s going to happen for sure.” Last year in Doha, Bellis had lost in the qualifiers itself but a week later she stunned then-world No. 6 Agnieszka Radwanska, en route to the quarter-finals in Dubai. Today she can repeat that feat in the Premier 5 event, if she beats fifth seed and defending champion Karolina Pliskova in the round of 16 match.

Caroline Wozniacki and Simona Halep wasted little time in getting off the blocks as the top two seeds launched their Qatar Total Open campaigns with quick wins at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. Australian Open champion and World No. 1 Wozniacki lost just two games as she swept aside Carina Witthoeft 6-2, 6-0, while No.2 seed Halep, playing her first match since losing the final in Melbourne, conceded three games in her 6-3, 6-0 rout of Ekaterina Makarova. However, there was one final drama on Day Three as Romanian Mihaela Buzarnescu knocked out French Open Champion and sixth seed Jelena Ostapenko 6-1, 6-3 in the second round.  Wozniacki and Halep didn’t have any problems though, as they dominated their opponents to stay on course for the much-anticipated title clash. Halep had taken three weeks off after a gruelling Australian Open to rest her bruised ankle and foot. However, she hardly showed any rustiness as she got off to a quick start against 36th-ranked Makarova. She raced to a 5-2 lead early twice, but while serving for the set Russian Makarova put up a fight and was on a break point. But Halep swiftly fired back to close out the set. The 26-year-old found another gear in the second set – despite at one point facing four break points in her opening service game – as she romped home. “I’m pleased that I could play what I had in my mind,” Halep said in her. “To be aggressive, to try to finish the points, to make some winners, which I did, and in the end the serve helped me a lot. At one point I just started to roll it, and then I just shaked my head and I said that I have to hit it, so I hit it and it helped me a lot,” she added. Halep did not show any discomfort in her ankle or foot, but later admitted she felt pain. She confirmed though she will take court for her third round match against No.13 seed Anastasija Sevastova, after the Latvian beat Japanese qualifier Naomi Osaka a 6-4, 6-1. Later, Wozniacki too was dominating in her victory over 22-year-old German Witthoeft. The Dane needed just 57 minutes to beat Witthoeft, who is was billed as a rising star after reaching the third round at all four Grand Slams. But against Wozniacki, Witthoeft found it tough from the beginning. The World No. 1 lost a service game but reeled off the last four of five games to pocket the first set. The second got over much quicker as Witthoeft wilted under Wozniacki’s power. Up next for Wozniacki is qualifier Monica Niculescu, who had sent packing Maria Sharapova in the first round  Yesterday, Niculescu was on course for a win over No.14 seed Magdalena Rybarikova, who retired after trailing in third set 6-7(6),6-2,3-0. Meanwhile, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova set up a mouth-watering third round clash today with third seed Elina Svitolina Czech Republic’s Kvitova was forced to dig deep to extend her winning streak to nine matches in Doha, coming from a set down to defeat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4.  After the match, Kvitova said:  “I have no idea, first of all, how I turned it around, but I felt pretty exhausted. Not like physically but most like mentally. It’s pretty tiring all these matches, but you know, on the other hand I’m very proud of myself that I won it because I don’t know how, but even the first set took like hour and something...I had my chances and everything, and then I won in the third, so that was pretty good for me.” Ukrainian Svitolina, playing her first match since a quarter-final defeat at the hands of Elise Mertens at the Australian Open, had it easy against qualifier Marketa Vondrousova 6-2, 6-4. Results Second Round [1] C. Wozniacki (DEN) d C. Witthoeft (GER) 6-2, 6-0 [2] S. Halep (ROU) d E. Makarova (RUS) 6-3, 6-0 [3] E. Svitolina (UKR) d [Q] M. Vondrousova (CZE) 6-2, 6-4 [5] K. Pliskova (CZE) d A. Cornet (FRA) 6-2, 6-3 M. Buzarnescu (ROU) d [6] J. Ostapenko (LAT) 6-1, 6-3 [8] A. Kerber (GER) d S. Stosur (AUS) 6-4, 6-1 [9] J. Goerges (GER) d B. Strycova (CZE) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 [10] J. Konta (GBR) d C. Suárez Navarro (ESP) 6-2, 6-2 [Q] A. Blinkova (RUS) d [11] K. Mladenovic (FRA) 6-3, 6-3 [Q] C. Bellis (USA) d [12] M. Keys (USA) 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 [13] A. Sevastova (LAT) d [Q] N. Osaka (JPN) 6-4, 6-1 [Q] M. Niculescu (ROU) d [14] M. Rybarikova (SVK) 6-7(6), 6-2, 30 Retired S. Cirstea (ROU) d [15] E. Mertens (BEL) 7-5, 6-4 [16] P. Kvitova (CZE) d A. Radwanska (POL) 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4 TODAY’S ORDER OF PLAY  CENTRE COURT start 14:00  S. Cirstea (ROU) vs [4] G. Muguruza (ESP)  [5] K. Pliskova (CZE) vs [Q] C. Bellis (USA)  [13] A. Sevastova (LAT) vs [2] S. Halep (ROU)  Not Before 19:00 [1] C. Wozniacki (DEN) vs [Q] M. Niculescu (ROU)  [10] J. Konta (GBR) vs [8] A. Kerber (GER)  COURT 1 start 15:30  [7] C. Garcia (FRA) vs [Q] A. Blinkova (RUS)  [9] J. Goerges (GER) vs M. Buzarnescu (ROU)  [3] E. Svitolina (UKR) vs [16] P. Kvitova (CZE)  G. Dabrowski (CAN) / J. Ostapenko (LAT) vs [3] L. Safarova (CZE) / B. Strycova (CZE)

The smile is back on Simona Halep’s face. The Romanian shed a few tears after the heart-breaking loss in the final of the Australian Open to Caroline Wozniacki last month. But a three-week break from the game seems to have given Halep time to overcome the agonising defeat at Melbourne Park. Halep not just lost her No. 1 ranking to Wozniacki in the aftermath of the Australian Open defeat, she is now 0-3 in major single finals and has lost all of them in three sets. Every time she thought she was closer to realising her Grand Slam dream, the 27-year-old has seen the trophy slip away. In the 2014 French Open final, Halep lost 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-4 to Maria Sharapova, while a free-swinging unseeded 20-year-old Jelena Ostapenko from Latvia came back from the brink of defeat to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, in last year’s French Open final. Halep was up, 3-1, in the final set before dropping the final five games. The Australian Open loss was equally a hard pill to swallow for Halep. She had saved match points in two matches — in the third round against the unseeded American Lauren Davis and in the titanic semi-final against former No. 1 Angelique Kerber. But an ankle injury and a determined Wozniacki, who herself was chasing her maiden Slam — shattered Halep’s dream in a 2-hour-49-minute final played on a sweltering Australian summer. Now in Doha for the Qatar Total Open, after a much-needed break to her bruised body and recovering from mental fatigue, Halep is ready to restart her season. Having had time to reflect her Australian Open loss, she even said “everything was beautiful at that tournament”. “It was really nice to see that the people appreciated the way I fought and the way I played,” Halep said yesterday at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. “They also appreciated my speech, which I was a little bit surprised because I didn’t feel that it was something special. But it was nice. Everything was beautiful at that tournament, even if I lost the final, I took only the positives and I’m really motivated to go ahead. So everything was really good for me. Also the game, I changed a little bit, so I want just to keep it, and now just to play every match like there. But I will be careful with my health, of course,” she added. Halep was back on court practising only last week and hopes that her ankle and foot is ready for match play for the upcoming hard-court tournaments. “The foot is okay now, but I have just to play an official match to see if it stays like that. I really hope that nothing will come back and I will be able to play,” Halep said. “My mind is set on the health first. I have to be very sure that the foot is okay and I can push. I’m ready because I practised a few days. I practised today. I will practice again today here. So I feel that I’m ready to play, but tomorrow I will see exactly how it is.” A champion here in Doha in 2014, Halep will open her campaign today against Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova, against whom she has won her last two complete matches. For Halep, the next five days also presents an opportunity to reclaim her No. 1 ranking. Seeded second, the Romanian must make the quarter-finals to have a chance to unseat Wozniacki. If both Halep and Wozniacki advance to the quarter-finals then Halep will need to go one round further than the Dane to overtake her. The two can only meet in the final, and it would be quite a title clash if both women manage to come out unscathed till that stage. “Everyone from Top 10 is able to win any tournament and any match,” Halep said, not looking far ahead of herself. “So I’m just ready to face anyone, and I’m just focusing on myself because if you pay attention to yourself, it’s much better. You don’t get distracted by anything. Just do your job on court.” At the Australian Open, Halep also made news for playing without a clothing sponsor after her Adidas contract had expired. The red dress she wore during the tournament was something she designed in a hurry, which was then hand-sewn by a seamstress in China. It became a social media joke, with Halep saying in jest that she had ordered her dress online. Yesterday, however she was all smiles as she revealed that she had signed a deal with Nike, which the Romanian media reported to be worth $2 million a year. Some money earned from that deal might go to shopping in Doha! “Well, for sure the shopping,” Halep said when asked what she liked about Doha. “And I have already planned something. It’s a nice city. The weather is perfect this period, and also the people are very nice with me. So I enjoy the time here,” she added. Halep might like Doha even more if she goes on to lift the Qatar Total Open title this Sunday and wrestle back the No. 1 ranking.

If there is anything unpredictable in tennis, it’s a tournament without Serena Williams. The American has dominated the women’s tennis for a long time and is the owner of 23 Grand Slam singles titles. It’s the most number of Grand Slam wins in the Open Era, and is second on the all-time list behind Margaret Court’s 24. In Serena’s absence, it’s anyone’s title in women’s tennis. Rankings or being in form rarely matter. The Qatar Total Open, beginning today at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, has attracted nine of the top 10 stars in women’s tennis. Only world number eight Venus Williams, who is playing Fed Cup, is missing in Doha from the top 10. Sister Serena, who took a year out to give birth to daughter Alexis Olympia, was expected to play doubles later yesterday in the Fed Cup tie against the Netherlands. In such a fascinating scenario, this coming Sunday it could be anyone from the strong 64-field draw who could lift the Golden Falcon trophy and take home $591,750 in prize money in Doha. Caroline Wozniacki is obviously a strong contender, having won her maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open last month and reclaiming the World No. 1 ranking. But playing her first tournament in St Petersburg, since that breakthrough triumph, the Dane lost to Russia’s World No. 23 Daria Kasatkina in the quarter-finals. While a ten-day break after that loss might have rejuvenated Wozniacki, the 27-year-old has a fight on her hands if she has to claim her maiden Qatar Total Open title and cling on to her top ranking. Wozniacki lost in the final in the last year’s edition, going down to Karolina Pliskova. While Pliskova is in the other half of the draw this time, Wozniacki will have to contend with Angelique Kerber, Elina Svitolina and Jelena Ostapenko in her half. Then there is two-time champion Maria Sharapova, who could meet Wozniacki as early as in the round of last 16. Unseeded and No. 41, Sharapova has received wild card from the tournament. The five-time Grand Slam champion is yet to come back to her best after returning from a doping ban last year, but the Russian still remains a major threat. Sharapova opens her tournament today against qualifier Monica Niculescu and would face either Magdalena Rybarikova or Fatma al-Nabhani in the second round. Wozniacki, who has a bye into the second round, will open against either Tatjana Maria or Carina Witthoeft on Wednesday. “I never look at the draw,” said Wozniacki yesterday. “I know my first-round opponents, and I play either Tatjana or Carina. And both are good players. And I know one is here, one is playing Fed Cup. So I’ll play on Wednesday. But I’m excited for the challenge, and at the end of the day I think I’m just going to go out there, have fun and see what happens,” she added. Simona Halep, who will be hurting from that loss in the final at the Australian Open, will be gunning for her revenge in Doha. Seeded second, Halep will have an opportunity over the next two weeks to reclaim the top spot from Wozniacki. The two can only meet in the final, and it would be quite a title clash if both women manage to come out unscathed till that stage. Halep can retake the No.1 ranking in Doha but must make the quarter-finals to have a chance. If both Halep and Wozniacki advance to the quarter-finals then Halep will need to go one round further than the Dane to overtake her. There is a doubt whether Halep is fully fit to play in Doha. The Romanian pulled out of St. Petersburg tournament due to an ankle injury, but a fortnight’s rest since that gruelling final at Australian Open would have lifted her spirits. Halep too has a first-round bye and will play either Ekaterina Makarova or Zhang Shuai, with Anastasia Sevastova or Katerina Siniakova potentially looming in the Round of 16. Garbine Muguruza, Pliskova and Carolina Garcia are in the bottom half of the draw as Halep and all three are capable of playing a spoilsport. Last year’s Wimbledon champion Muguruza has not had best of starts to the year and has turned to fellow Spaniard and a former winner at All England Club, Conchita Martinez, to improve her form. “Conchita and I, we’ve known each other since I was little. And she’s always been a little bit in the shadow, you know, helping me here and there. And of course, everybody saw me and her in Wimbledon, and we had the best success possible. I always get along well with her. And I thought, you know, that it might be a good idea to have her in the next couple of tournaments till Miami,” Muguruza said yesterday. Reigning French Open champion Ostapenko will also be a major threat. The hard-hitting Latvian will not be easy to face on fast courts of Doha. The 20-year-old struggled with a leg injury in Australia but a fully-fit Ostapenko can blow any one off the court on her day. Outside the top eight seeds, British World No. 11 Johanna Konta, France’s Kristina Mladenovic, ranked 13th, and Belgium’s Elise Mertens, who made it to the semi-finals in Melbourne, can walk away with the title if they find their stride over the next seven days. Today’s Order of Play Centre Court (from 12:00 noon) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) Followed by Catherine Bellis (USA) vs Daria Kasatkina (RUS) Elena Vesnina (RUS) vs Anna Blinkova (RUS) Monica Niculescu (ROU) vs Maria Sharapova (RUS) Mona Barthel (GER) vs Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) Naomi Osaka (JPN) vs Katerina Siniakova (CZE) Court 1 Ons Jabeur (TUN) vs Ying-Ying Duan (CHN) Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) vs Shuai Zhang (CHN) Lesia Tsurenko (UKR) vs Mihaela Buzarnescu (ROU)

Caroline Wozniacki has always had this infectious beaming smile. Now if anything, that smile of her has been glowing even more. The Dane is enjoying the best time of her career, so why would she stop smiling? After many years of consistently failing to win a Grand Slam title, also while being World No 1, Wozniacki finally laid hands on that elusive trophy when she won the Australian Open last month. It buried a long-standing question she would encounter, whether she has it in her to win a Grand Slam? That Wozniacki proved the critics wrong in Melbourne, is something that has brought her relief and joy in equal measure. “I think the only thing that has changed with people treating me differently is that I have not gotten the question of being No 1 without a Grand Slam. So that’s a big difference and that’s a change that I’m very happy about,” said Wozniacki yesterday, ahead of the Qatar Total Open, which will begin from today at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. The icing on the cake in that Australian Open victory for Wozniacki was she returned to the No 1 spot, six years since she had last done so. However, the 27-year-old claims life hasn’t changed much since her breakthrough triumph at Melbourne Park. “Life hasn’t changed at all. Still the same when I go back on the practice courts. I still have things that I need to work on, and I still get stuff from my dad saying move your feet, do this. So nothing has changed in that regard,” she said. Wozniacki was brought down to earth, when she suffered a quarter-final defeat to Russia’s World No 23 Daria Kasatkina at the St Petersburg Ladies’ Trophy before last week. However, a week-long break has refreshed her mentally and physically. “I didn’t hit at all when I was home and just enjoyed some hikes and walking around. I went to the gym a couple of times just to kind of stay active and get a sweat going, but other than that it was a lot just about having good food and relaxing, sleeping, just catching up and those things that I haven’t had the time to do yet. So it was very nice,” she said. In Doha, Wozniacki is one of the favourites to win the title in a field that features nine of the top 10 players. Last year, she had lost to Karolina Pliskova in the final. But buoyed by her victory at Australian Open, Wozniacki would fancy her chances of going all the way this time in Doha.

Wesley Sneijder has an impressive resume, having played for top football clubs like Ajax, Real Madrid and Inter Milan in his stellar career. That Al Gharafa managed to sign the Dutch star is a coup of sorts for the QNB Stars League side. Yesterday, Sneijder was unveiled as the Gharafa player as the 33-year-old embarked on a new chapter of his life. It was a grand welcome for the midfielder, with Gharafa’s top officials and past players present to welcome their new and biggest addition. Sneijder is 33, but what Gharafa want from him is his experience and to carry the club forward by nurturing the young talent. So it wasn’t a surprise that he was given the captain’s armband and No 10 jersey as soon as he touched Doha. “I am very excited to be here,’ said a beaming Sneijder to packed audience. “I feel very welcome. I am here to bring my experience and quality into the team. Also I want to help out the young players and improve their skills and qualities. From what I have heard, this team has lot of quality and also good young players. I hope we can have a great season together,” he added. The most capped Dutch footballer with 133 matches under his belt, Sneijder, has played in three World Cups and also won Champions League with Inter Milan in 2010. Sneijder confirmed that he has signed an 18-month contract with Gharafa, who will be hoping he can change their fortunes with the club occupying seventh place in the standings at the halfway stage of the QNB Stars League. Mahmoud al-Ghazal, Al Gharafa’s Football Head revealed it was not the first time they had tried to sign Sneijder. “We are very happy that today amongst us we have a great player. We tried to sign him four years ago in 2014 but couldn’t. We are glad we have finally signed him. He will be a great asset to our team and inspire youngsters. He is a great player and will be the captain of the team,” al-Ghazal said. For Sneijder, it didn’t need much of convincing to move to Qatar. He spoke to Dutch midfielder of Moroccan-origin Anouar Diba, who plays for rivals Al Kharaitiyat. And he only had good things to say about Qatar and Al Gharafa. The Dutch star played four games during a spell with French club Nice this season having been released by Turkish side Galatasaray in July. He received many offers from around the world, including US, China, Mexico and Brazil, but chose to go with the advice of Diba. “I had an opportunity to talk a friend here, Anouar Diba, who has played in Qatar for 10-11 seasons. He told me about the league and also about the club. So I had enough information about everything here, about the club and league. I am very happy to have made this choice and I can’t wait to start,” Sneijder said “To be honest, my choice to come here was to play football. There was speculation about me going to the US, about going to China or others, but I never read about ‘he will go to Qatar’. Of course, there were more offers and they came from everywhere. “I had a couple of days to think about it, spoke to different people and then I made this choice. I feel very welcome here and I am happy that I chose Al Gharafa. To be honest, I can’t wait to start training tomorrow and to help the team,” he added. Gharafa will take on Al Ahli on Friday after winter break and Sneijder could feature in the playing XI, but the midfielder left it to club’s new coach Bulent Uygun to make that decision. Sneijder said he had not spoken to Xavi Hernandez, the former Barcelona legend who plays for Al Sadd, but added he will reach out to the Spaniard soon. Meanwhile, Iran striker Mehdi Taremi is to join Al Gharafa. Mehdi, who had an outstanding career with defending Iranian league champions Persepolis since 2014, is expected to strengthen Gharafa’s attack along with Dutch superstar Wesley Sneijder. Hailing from the city of Bushehr, 25-year-old Taremi started his senior career with home side Shahin Bushehr. He was later brought to Persepolis by Iranian legend Ali Daei. Mehdi has represented Iran 22 times, scoring 10 goals.

In what was an anti-climax, Volvo’s Thed Bjork clinched the World Touring Car Championship title, after his nearest rival Honda’s Norbert Michelisz failed to rise up to the challenge in the final round at the Losail International Circuit last night. It was meant to be the closest battle for WTCC title in years, with Sweden’s Bjork carrying just a six-and-half-point lead over Michelisz. But the Hungarian suffered a brake issue in qualifying and had to start from 11th. He could not make up ground, and finished ninth and eighth in Opening Race and Main Race respectively. Bjork, starting seventh from the grid, finished fifth in first race, with teammate Yvan Muller protecting the championship leader from behind. Carrying a 16.5-point lead over Michelisz heading into Race 2, with 30 on offer, Bjork just had to maintain his starting position of fourth in the main race to guarantee the drivers’ crown. But the 36-year-old Swede went one better finishing third even as Michelisz limped to the finish line in his Honda Civic. A triumphant Bjork stood on top of his Volvo S60 car, held his arms aloft as he celebrated with his team. “It’s the best night of my career,” said the Swede. “Unbelievable, absolutely crazy. Thank you so much everybody,” added the new champion on the radio as he crossed the finish line. To make it a double delight, Volvo also won the manufacturers’ title. Honda had something to cheer about as Esteban Guerrieri won the Main Race. Sebastian Loeb Racing’s Tom Chilton claimed victory in the penultimate race, which clinched the Brit the WTCC Trophy title. Argentina’s Guerrieri was never threatened after starting from pole in the 12-lap Main Race. He and Bjork were joined on the podium by Munnich Motorsport’s Rob Huff, who made a determined bid to rise from his third position on the grid by taking to the grass on the run down to Turn 1 at the start. Nicky Catsburg played the lead support to Bjork, before finishing third in his Volvo S60, ahead of the new champion. WTCC Trophy champion Chilton was fifth. Mehdi Bennani, Chilton’s teammate lost all hope of beating the Briton to the title at Turn 1 following the start. The Moroccan, who won here last year, came into heavy contact with WTCC legend Muller, who pushed him off and a few laps later Bennani retired his Citroen C-Elysee with damage and a puncture on the front right corner. From 11th on the grid, Michelisz made up one position off the line and benefited from a collision between Chilton, Bennani and Muller to climb to ninth. He then passed John Filippi’s Sebastien Loeb Racing Citroen further round the opening lap, but found Muller’s Volvo a more difficult obstacle to clear. The Hungarian ultimately ended up stuck behind Muller — who had come out of retirement to assist Volvo’s title push — for the remaining 11 laps and crossed the line in eighth. It was a disappointing finish to the campaign for Michelisz, who had made a late march towards the title after wins in Portugal, Argentina and Japan. In the Opening race of 10 laps, Chilton passed teammate Bennani with a little over two laps of the race to go and eased home from there to a winning margin of 2.175 seconds. Chilton tailed Bennani after both had passed pole position starter Kevin Gleason in his RC Motorsport entry. The two French cars put on an entertaining battle, which included some contact, before Chilton made the decisive move on lap eight of 10. “Yes! The race of my life!” he shouted in delight over the radio after taking the chequered flag. “Oh wow. It really was the race of my life. We didn’t give each other an inch and at one point I thought Mehdi was going to put me into the tyres. But this is for an FIA world championship – and now I’m leading it,” he added. His victory meant he led Bennani by 1.5 points going into the Main Race. Eventually it didn’t matter, as Bennani crashed out in the late night race, easing Chilton of any pressure.

‘If we were really crazy and took out each other on the first lap, then I think we’d be handing the championship to others’ There was such nice camaraderie between Thed Bjork and Norbert Michelisz yesterday that it was easy to forget that the two will go all out against each other tonight for the 2017 World Touring Car Championship title. The WTCC title race has come right down to wire, with the tensions brewing in both the Polestar Cyan Racing and Honda team camps, ahead of the Qatar round of WTCC at the Losail International Circuit tonight. But the drivers seemed to be quite chilled out, refusing to play the mind games and are expecting a fair fight. Going into the final round of the season, Bjork leads Michelisz by just 6.5 points. What adds spice to the contest is that there are still six drivers who can win the championship, mathematically at least. With 60 points available in Qatar, Sebastian Loeb Racing’s Mehdi Bennani and Tom Chilton are also in the running, 39.5 and 45 points behind the leader respectively. While Michelisz and Bjork’s teammates Esteban Guerrieri and Nicky Catsburg are also in hypothetical contention. But the spotlight has been on Bjork and Michelisz quite naturally. The two are in the best possible scenario to win the title and are determined to fight it fair till the last corner. There was quite a bit of banter between the two at the press conference yesterday, as the other drivers – Bennani, Chilton and Rob Huff – joined in the fun too. As the two title contenders praised each other, Munnich Motorsport driver Huff chipped in: “It would be much more fun if you hated each other. Why are you both so nice?” When Bjork and Michelisz were asked if they would like to send a special message to each other like the boxers do before a big fight, Chilton remarked: “Don’t stall on the start line!” Bjork did try to join the banter, when he said: “I would like to have a nice fight with him. He’s a bit angry on the track so I hope he can keep it under control!” But Michelisz would have none of it and said: “I would say it’s not a shame to come second in the end!” To which Bjork responded: “It’s not so bad, I agree.” It was remarkable how Bjork and Michelisz handled themselves before the biggest night of their careers. On a serious note, both the drivers said they would approach tonight’s race in the same way they have done all season. For Michelisz the strategy has worked wonderfully well so far, with the Hungarian counting himself out of contention after his home race back in May. But wins in Portugal, Argentina and Japan has turned his season around. “Of course, there is a bit of extra excitement, but so far, it’s like a usual race weekend,” said Michelisz. “We just have free practice sessions today, so there’s not really much at stake right now. I’m really just focussed on the job of being well prepared for tomorrow. Right now, I feel strong and confident; I feel like there’s nothing to lose in the championship really, I’ve always been trying to catch up. Just three races ago in Japan I was more than 30 points behind, now it’s 6.5, so I’ll just try to carry this momentum through the weekend,” the 33-year-old, who drives Honda Civic, added. Michelisz reckons playing catch-up puts him in a better position than Bjork. “My target is not to look at what others are doing,” he said. “I’m not approaching the race weekend with the thought of winning the championship; I just want to do my best regardless of the points gap to the others behind. We’ve seen many times before in motorsport that anything can happen, so I’m not counting them out, but I’m not focussed on the people behind,” he noted. While Bjork said that he was ‘relaxed’ ahead of the showdown, it would be a major disappointment for Swede if he were to lose the title after leading the championship. “I’m not really thinking about that,” Bjork said. “It feels like this is the showdown and the fight (between myself and Norbert). If we were really crazy and took out each other on the first lap, then I think we’d be handing the championship to the others, but I don’t think we will do that. We would like to have a good fight and see what happens through both races,” the 36-year-old said. While the drivers remained cordial and respected each other, Bjork’s team Polestar Cyan Racing have pulled out a card by bringing in Yvan Muller, the most successful driver in WTCC history, to race in Qatar. Four-time champion Muller is coming out of retirement to support Bjork’s title bids, as the team decided to bench Argentine driver Nestor Girolami. Muller has spent 2017 testing for Volvo’s factory team in the WTCC and performing an advisory role for the squad. But he’s back on track after almost a year out of competition, and could yet play a pivotal role in the championship outcome. “He (Muller) brought so much to the team with the winter testing, setting up the car,” said Bjork. “He knows the car, the team decided we have that card to play and we’ll play it and see what happens, simple as that. I am just very proud he decided to come and work with us – we’re in a world championship fight together with him, he’s so successful, so experienced, he’s a really great guy also. Without him it would have taken us longer to get to where we are, longer to get to where I am. Maybe now he’s in the car maybe we can learn one step more,” added Bjork. Michelisz insisted Muller’s late addition won’t alter his approach. “It’s not changing my approach or my position,” said the Hungarian. “I’m sorry for Nestor, he did a good job. I don’t know what’s really in the background but, for me, it doesn’t’ really matter.”

Having arrived in Doha just a day before, Rene Tebbel stole the thunder at the QNB Al Rayyan International Show Jumping Championship as the Ukrainian won the Grand Prix title yesterday. At the Qatar Equestrian Federation’s outdoor arena, Tebbel took out an impressive victory with 10-year-old stallion Cosun taking long strides around the course to give the rider his maiden win in Qatar.  Just like the rest of the field, the 48-year-old Tebbel was clearly stunned by his unexpected victory. “It’s just an unbelievable feeling,” said Tebbel. “I arrived here just a day ago, just for these two classes. I have come to Qatar many times before, but had never ridden here at QEF. It’s a beautiful place. I was thinking I may finish second or third, but the jump off was really good. I knew it’s really a good horse. I just came for two days and I had hoped to do well. But this is really a surprise,” he added. Only four of the 12 riders made it to the jump off for Grand Prix title, the biggest prize money event of the championship. Tebbel and Cosun were last to go, with Edwina Tops-Alexander and Inca Boy Van T Vianahof’s time of 51.81 seconds to beat. The pressure was on Tebbel put he kept his composure and found a perfect sync with Cosun, which flew around the course as the pair came home fastest in 48.18 secs. Tebbel, who earned €22,975 for his victory, was gushing in his praise of Cosun. “The horse is owned by (Russian rider Vladimir) Tuganov. I just ride him on the shows. He is trained by Tuganov. I have ridden him in many shows and I know how good he is. I had a good result this time. I was thinking maybe I won’t be fast enough in jump off. But after Cosun took few strides I felt could beat the time. My previous best was fifth here. This is my first win in Qatar,” said Tebbel. Edwina, who had won on Friday to break her victory drought, finished runner-up, her second on the day. She had also taken second spot in 145cm class. The third place went to Great Britain’s Alexandra Thornton, who despite making a fault with Cornetto K, made it to the podium. It was a disappointing night for star Qatar rider Sheikh Ali bin Khalid al-Thani, who failed to make jump off with First Devision, to finish fifth. Earlier, Derin Demirsoy of Turkey won the 145cm class with his 14-year-old bay Dadjak Ter Puttenen. The pair were comfortable winners, with more than two and half second margin over Edwina Tops-Alexander and Veronese Teamjoy. Demirsoy’s winning time was 49.03 secs, while Edwina came home in 51. 89 secs. The third place went to Greece’s Athina Onassis, who mounting Vannan finished her round in 64.01 secs.  “It was a great competition overall,” said the 23-year-old Demirsoy. “Everything went well and I am very pleased with this outcome. We had two fantastic weeks though we were a bit unlucky at times. It’s a great facility here in Qatar and I am very happy to be part of it,” he added. The Turkish rider listed out his future plans, and was looking forward to returning to Qatar next March. “I have international shows indoors in Holland. That’s an indoor event as it will be freezing outside. There are some young horses. I will ride them. Then I have a big show in Austria after that. Hopefully I will be back in Doha, maybe next March,” he noted. In the 135cm class, Kuwaiti rider Ali al-Khorafi continued his good run in Qatar as he led Loki Doki to victory. The winning time was 56.53 secs. Qatar’s Awad al-Qahtani was second with Gerenice of Colors in 57.65 secs, while Yara al-Hunaidi capped off a wonderful day for Kuwait as she finished third with Dinky Toy Van De Castershoeve in 58.92 secs. Results GRAND PRIX - World Cup Competition| Two Rounds 160cm class €91,900 1. Rene Tebbel (Ukraine) Cosun. Time: 48.18 secs. €22,975 2. Edwina Tops-Alexander (Australia) Inca Boy Van T Vianahof. 51.81 secs. €18,380 3. Alexandra Thornton (Great Britain) Cornetto K. 60.00. €13,785 Table A, One Round + Winning Round FEI Art. 276.2.1, 2.3 | Max. 145 cm | Prize Money € 24,600 1. Derin Demirsoy (Turkey) Dadjak Ter Puttenen. Time: 49.03 secs. Prize money: € 6,150 2. Edwina Tops-Alexander (Australia) Veronese Teamjoy. 51.89 secs. € 4,920 3. Athina Onassis (Greece) Vannan. 64.01 secs. € 3,690 Table A, Against the clock FEI Art. 238.2.1 | Max. 130/135 cm | Prize Money: €7,000 1. Ali al-Khorafi (FEI) Loki Doki. Time: 56.53 secs. Prize money: €1,750 2. Awad al-Qahtani (Qatar) Gerenice of Colors. 57.65 secs. €1,400 3. Yara al-Hunaidi (FEI) Dinky Toy Van De Castershoeve. 58.92 secs. €1,050

Sheikh Ali and his horse First Devision were by far the best combination on the field as they flew around the course Sheikh Ali bin Khalid al-Thani and his trusted 12-year-old gelding First Devision dazzled under the lights at the Qatar Equestrian Federation’s outdoor arena as the ace Qatari rider clinched the Grand Prix of Qatar International Show Jumping championship. In what was a memorable day for hosts, Qatari riders won all three classes on the last day of the championship. In the Grand Prix, which was also the Arab qualifying event for next year’s World Cup, Sheikh Ali and his Olympic horse First Devision were by far the best combination on the field as they flew around the course. The two were in perfect sync on the night as they came out fastest in 55.77 seconds. Australia’s Edwina Tops-Alexander had to settle for second spot once again, after having finished runner-up to Qatar’s Bassem Hassan Mohamed earlier. The two-time Global Champions Tour winner astride Inca Boy Van T Vianahof finished almost eight seconds of winning time. The third place went to Kuwait’s Ali al-Khorafi, flying under the flag of FIE, on Cheril as the pair came home in 53.57 secs but incurred four faults which dealt a blow to victory hopes. “It’s a good win as it will give me confidence for next week also,” said Sheikh Ali, after collecting his prize from HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, the president of the Qatar Olympic Committee. “This was very good practice for future events. My horse has won three times before and he was sixth in the Olympics,” he added. “It seemed too easy for him but to win is always special. It is very important for me to make my country happy. We did that today. We dominated at this championship because we have a good team now. We have good horses and good trainers. We work hard (for the wins) and you can see that every year. Hopefully we will have the best team in the future also,” the popular Qatari rider added. Despite finishing second, Edwina was content with the results. “I am very happy. This was the first time he went out for this Grand Prix. I couldn’t be happier. I am also happy that Ali won. It was a very good ride by him,” she said. Earlier, Qatar’s Bassem carried his winning form from the last weekend’s Global Champions Tour, as he clinched the 145cm class. Bassem, astride The Toymaker, took out a comfortable error-free round even as his rivals faltered. The pair’s winning time of 54.75 was two and half seconds better than Edwina Tops-Alexander, who came home on Veronese Teamjoy in 57.37 secs. Greece’s Athina Onassis committed two faults on Vannan, which meant she had to settle for third place. “It’s really a nice feeling to win the competition.  The horse just came back and we made a plan and it worked. Today was his day,” said Bassem, who pocketed €6,150 for his victory. “The horse just came back to the competition. I am so happy how he jumped today. I am looking forward to the next events,” he added. His confidence sky high having won the Doha leg of the GCT at Al Shaqab, Bassem looked back at last weekend’s turn of events and called it the best victory of his career. “Last week’s win at Global Champions Tour was the biggest win of my career. To win especially here in Doha, I am so happy. I am motivated for the coming shows. I just need to stay focus and follow the plan from trainers. When you also have support from His Highness the Father Emir, His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, HE Sheikh Joaan, then everything is possible,” the 30-year-old said. Bassem is currently second in the Arab League rankings with 44 points as he looks good to qualify for the next year’s World Cup in France. “I feel confident. This event may not be as big as GCT but it’s an important one for us. It’s a good class, there are fast riders too and some good horses. In each class you have to respect the riders and horses,” he said “I am in the second place in the Arab rankings to qualify for the World Cup. I need to finish in the top-3 in total. I will only do two shows here in Doha and will skip the rest. Then wait and see what will happen,” he added. In the opening event of the final day, Qatar’s Saeed Nasser al-Qadi mounting Daydreamer EC cruised to victory in the 135 cm class. The two combined to record the fastest time of 66.36 secs, which was a good six seconds ahead of their nearest rival. France’s Cyrine Cherif (Gerlin VD Waterkant) finished second, while Kuwait’s Yara al-Hunaidi (Dinky Toy van de Castershoeve) riding under the flag of FEI came third. Results GRAND PRIX - World Cup Competition | Two Rounds Min 140 - Max. 160cm Prize money: €91,900 1. Sheikh Ali bin Khalid al-Thani (Qatar) First Devision. Time: 55.77 secs. Prize money: €22,975 2 Edwina Tops-Alexander (Australia) Inca Boy Van T Vianahof. 63.09 secs. €18,380 3. Ali al-Khorafi (FEI) Cheril 4. 53.57 secs. €13,785 Table A, One Round + Winning Round FEI Art. 276.2.1, 2.3 | Max. 145 cm | €24,600 1. Bassem Mohamed (Qatar) The Toymaker. Time: 54.75 seconds. Prize money: €6,150 2. Edwina Tops-Alexander (Australia) Veronese Teamjoy. 57.37 secs. €4,920 3. Athina Onassis (Greece) Vannan. 77.06 secs. €3,690 Table A, Against the clock FEI Art. 238.2.1 | Max. 130/135 cm | Prize Money €7,000 1. Saeed Nasser al-Qadi (Qatar) Daydreamer EC. Time: 66.36 secs. Prize money: €1,750 2. Cyrine Cherif (France) Gerlin VD Waterkant. 73.05 secs. €1,400 3. Yara al-Hunaidi (FEI) Dinky Toy van de Castershoeve. 79.32 secs. €1,050

‘It was a great win. I am very happy with my horse’s performance on the first day and we are looking forward to the next two days’ Qatar’s Salman Mohamed al-Emadi put on an excellent round with Zorro Z to emerge triumphant on day one of the QNB Qatar International Show Jumping Championship. At the Qatar Equestrian Federation’s outdoor arena yesterday, the young Qatari rider surprised the experienced field, which consisted of Derin Demirsoy of Turkey and Australia’s Edwina Tops-Alexander, to clinch the feature event – the two-phased 145cm class. The 16-year-old Zorro Z, who was in the past ridden by Edwina, gave al-Emadi a night he won’t forget in a hurry as the gelding showed utmost agility through the course to clock the fastest time of 35.34 seconds. Past winners here, Demirsoy and Edwina had to be content with second and third place respectively on the night. Al-Emadi, who pocketed €6,765 for his victory, was delighted with the victory and was already looking to the next two days of competitions. “It was a great win. I am very happy with my horse’s performance on the first day and we are looking forward to the next two days of competition. My horse jumped really great. That’s what I was expecting from Zorro Z. I hope it can continue in the way. When I entered the competition, I was ready. Now we are looking forward to the next competition in this championship,” al-Emadi said. Demirsoy also enjoyed a good round with Dadjak Ter Puttenen but the pair had to settle for second place, having clocked 36.87 seconds. “It was a great start for me and my horse. It was a good day,” said Demirsoy, who took home €4,920 in prize money. “You know never know in this sport but today everything went according to plan. I am competing with the same horse (today),” the Turkish rider added. Two-time Global Champions Tour winner Edwina and Veronese Teamjoy came home in 38.32 seconds for a third-place finish, which fetched the veteran Australian rider €3,690. “I have a young horse. She is just eight. She was on the plane for the first time. So it is a good result. I will try two more horses over the course of this event,” Edwina said. Qatar’s Bassem Hassan Mohamed was unable to replicate his famous GCT victory at Al Shaqab last weekend. Bassem mounting The Toymaker could only finish eighth, having taken 41.91 seconds to complete the round. Earlier, Qatari rider Salmeen Sultan al-Suwaidi astride Guilder’s Empire of The Sun cruised to victory in the 130/135cm class. Al-Suwaidi marshalled his 8-year gelding perfectly for a comprehensive win in a time of 58.75 seconds. Awad al-Qahtani, astride Cassander Van Het Bremhof, secured the second spot in a time of 64.26 seconds. In third place was Kuwait’s Ali al-Khorafi, who riding under the FEI flag guided Cheril home in 64.54 seconds. In the championships’ opening competition, Qatar riders made a clean sweep of podium in the 120cm class, which also had riders from Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Pakistan and Kuwait. Saeed Nasser al-Qadi, who has been in fine form in the National Series Hathab, continued his winning run in the international event too. Al-Qadi topped the timesheets with his go-to horse, 15-year-old gelding Jessico 4 to take the victory in 24.17 seconds. Compatriot Mohammad al-Ghazali, astride Jackson 58, finished in second spot in a time of 26.73 seconds, while Ghanim Nasser al-Qadi and Fudine finished third in 27.27 seconds. Results Table A, Special Two Phases FEI Art. 274.5.6 | Max. 145 cm | Prize money €24,600 1. Salman Mohamed al-Emadi (Qatar) Zorro Z. Time: 35.34 secs, Prize money: €6,765 2. Derin Demirsoy (Turkey) Dadjak Ter Puttenen. 36.87. €4,920 3. Edwina Tops-Alexander (Australia)  Veronese Teamjoy. 38.32 secs. €3,690. Table A, Against the clock FEI Art. 238.2.1 | Max. 130/135 cm | Prize Money €8,000 1 Salmeen Sultan al-Suwaidi (Qatar) Guilder’s Empire of The Sun. Time: 58.75secs, Prize money: €2,000 2. Awad al-Qahtani (Qatar) Cassander Van Het Bremhof. 64.26secs. €1,600 3. Ali al-Khorafi (Kuwait) Cheril. 64.54secs. €1,200 Table A, Two Phases FEI Art. 274.5.3 | Max. 120 cm | Prize money: €5,600 1. Saeed Nasser al-Qadi (Qatar) Jessico 4. Time: 24.17secs. Prize money: €1,400 2. Mohamed al-Ghazali (Qatar) Jackson 58. 26.73secs. €1,120.00 3. Ghanim Nasser al-Qadi (Qatar) Fudine. 27.27secs. €840.00 Today’s Schedule 13:30: Table A, Against the clock with Jump 120 cm 15:30: Table A, Against the clock with Jump Off 135 cm 18:00: Qualifying competition for the FEI World Cup Table A, Against the clock 145 cm.

Two high quality events – Qatar International and Al Rayyan Show Jumping championships – will be held on consecutive weekends at the Qatar Equestrian Federation’s (QEF) outdoor arena. The annual championships hosted by the QEF, will begin with Qatar International Show Jumping meet from tomorrow. The four-star event will see 57 riders and 85 horses from 11 countries in action over three days.  The FEI-sanctioned event will be followed by another top-class tournament – the Al Rayyan championship from November 23 to 25.  The three-day event features a Grand Prix Class of 160cm high fences within the Arab League qualifications of riders and horses for the 2018 World Cup, which will be held in France next April. There are nine classes in total with three each to be contested tomorrow,  on Friday and Saturday. While revealing the details, QEF Event Director Ali al-Rumaihi said: “We have received good response for both the events, with each carrying 240,000 Euros in prize money. Besides that, it’s a good platform for young Qatari riders to show their potential and learn.” Besides top Qatari riders like Sheikh Ali bin Khalid al-Thani and Bassem Hassan Mohamed, two-time Global Champions Tour winner Edwina Tops-Alexander of Australia will be the star attraction. Athina Onassis of Greece, Jordan’s Hani Bisharat Ibrahim, Vladimir Tuganov of Russia and Turkey Derin Demirsoy are other top riders in the field. Riders from UK, Indonesia, Uzbekistan and Pakistan will also make their presence felt.  Bassem, who won the Doha leg of the GCT last weekend, is currently second in the Arab League rankings with 44 points just four behind Jordan’s Ibrahim. Al-Rumaihi hoped that the two home events will help the Qatari riders accumulate crucial points as they look to qualify for the next year’s World Cup.  “Our hope is that the Qatar riders will get highest number of points during the two championships. Bassem and Sheikh Ali, who are always contesting in major tournaments, are in a good position to qualify,” he said.  Omar al-Mannai, Commercial Director of Al Shaqab, said the level of competition will be high despite the absence of neighbouring boycotting countries. He stressed that they have not faced any issues with transportation of horses. “We did not face any issue so far because most of the participants and their horses are coming from Europe and Asia so we did not have any kind of negative impact. With regards to the regional participants, we have riders from Kuwait and Jordan. Other Gulf countries are welcome to take part but we did not receive any entries from them,” al-Mannai said. He added that there was no special requirement to qualify for the events. “There are no special criteria’s but we follow the process of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) for entries for these two competitions. Anyone who feels that he or she can take part in the competition at this level have been welcomed,” al-Mannai added.  On the QEF and Al Shaqab joining hands to organise equestrian events, al-Mannai said: “The guidance of HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee, led to the formation of a joint committee to organise all events related to equestrian sport, which is a well-known and important Olympic sport. The tie up between QEF and Al Shaqab is a fruitful one and there will be continuous co-operation in the future too,” Qatari riders, who participate in the National Series Hathab will also take part in the international championships. The three legs of the QR1mn Hathab series has already taken place, with the remaining rounds to commence next month. The entry will be free for the spectators, with a fun zone for kids and other activities for families in place at the QEF. Both the events will be shown live on Alkass channels.  “We also have collaboration with Bedaya for food and beverage kiosks around the venue. There will be a lot of other community activities. There will also be a raffle draw and the prizes will be announced during the events,” al-Mannai said. The Qatar International and Al Rayyan championships are annually held in month of December and January respectively, but has been pushed forward a month to give the riders an opportunity to take part in other competitions in the region.  “We advanced the meets this year, to make it easy for the riders to participate in all tours in Gulf. Between the Qatar events and those in Saudi Arabia they have eleven days break in between, and another twelve days between the events in Saudi and the UAE. So we did to help and facilitate the riders, so that they and horses can get ample rest,” al-Rumaihi said.  Schedule Tomorrow 13:30:  Two Phases 120 cm 15:30: Table A, Against the clock 130/135 cm 18:00: Special Two Phases 145 cm   On Friday:  13:30: Table A, Against the clock with Jump 120 cm 15:30: Table A, Against the clock with Jump Off 135 cm 18:00: Qualifying competition for the FEI World Cup Table A, Against the clock 145 cm On Saturday  Table A, Against the clock 130/135 cm Table A, One Round + Winning Round 145 cm Grand Prix – World Cup Competition | Two Rounds 160 cm