The Fiji Times

Tennis: Tsitsipas ATP Finals triumph shows young guns are ready to rule

LONDON (Reuters) – Rafael Nadal will end the year as the world’s top-ranked player and the “big three” retained their stranglehold on the Grand Slam titles, but when Stefanos Tsitsipas was crowned ATP Finals champion on Sunday it felt like a watershed moment. “I believe I’m really close on being crowned a Grand Slam champion....

Cricket: Australia’s Pattinson to return home after abuse ban

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Fast bowler James Pattinson has left the Australia camp in Brisbane and will return to his home state Victoria in the wake of his one-test ban for personal abuse of an opponent. Pattinson was handed the ban when he admitted abusing a Queensland player during a domestic match last week. He had...

Tsitsipas fights back to beat Thiem and claim ATP Finals title

LONDON (Reuters) – Stefanos Tsitsipas confirmed his meteoric rise into the highest echelon of men’s tennis by battling back to beat Austrian Dominic Thiem 6-7(6) 6-2 7-6(4) in a compelling title duel at the ATP Finals on Sunday. The 21-year-old debutant, the youngest of the eight qualifiers for the elite season-ender at the O2 Arena,...

NBA roundup: Kings snap Celtics’ 10-game streak

Richaun Holmes hit a pair of go-ahead free throws with 13.3 seconds left as the host Sacramento Kings ended the Boston Celtics’ 10-game winning streak with a 100-99 victory Sunday afternoon. Buddy Hield led all scorers with 35 points and hit seven 3-pointers, as the Kings won for the fifth time in seven games. Nemanja...

AFL Junior team in full force

AUSTRALIAN Football League (AFL) Fiji junior team is in full force in their final preparations as defending champions of the AFL Oceania Cup. Coach for the Fiji Junior Tribe Dean Ryan said winning was not only part of the game plan. “Although we are defending champions, we got new players who have come in, majority...

Players to battle for spots

TWENTY eight Lautoka Raiders AFL Football Club players will compete for a spot in the Australian Football League Fiji team that will compete at next year’s Aussie Rules World Cup. The players were part of the Western Force team that brought home the 2019 Vanua Cup Challenge. Western Force Coach Luke Snow said the players...

Navula on cloud 9

IN 2015 Kinisimere Navula of the Nadi athletics team won three gold medals and helped her team win the under-11 girls title, however four years later, her younger sister Filomena Navula did exactly the same in the same grade at the 2019 Chow Games in the weekend. Navula scooped three gold medals in the 75...

RFMF Commander wishes both teams well

THE Republic of the Fiji Military Forces Commander Rear Admiral Viliame Naupoto has wished both the RFMF and the Fiji Police Force well ahead of the ANZ Ratu Sukuna tournament games this week. The games set to kick start today with the overall theme on Let’s Fight the War against Drugs for those who can’t,...

MLB notebook: Trout, Bellinger earn MVP honors

Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout became the 11th player in baseball history to win at least three MVP awards, topping Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman in results announced Thursday. In voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America, Trout received 17 first-place votes and 355 voting points. Bregman was the runner-up with...

American English leads in Mexico; Australian Day misses cut

(Reuters) – Former amateur standout Harris English, back in the sizzling form he displayed early in his professional career, surged to the halfway lead at the Mayakoba Classic in Mexico on Saturday. English capped off his second round in style by chipping in for birdie at the final hole for a seven-under-par 64. At 13-under...

NBA roundup: Celtics rally for 10th straight win

Jayson Tatum converted a Daniel Theis steal into a go-ahead dunk with 1:36 to play Friday night as the Boston Celtics scored 13 of the game’s final 16 points to rally for a 105-100 victory over the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco. Tatum finished with a game-high 24 points, Brown 22 and Walker 20...

Kaepernick ready to play for any team after tryout

(Reuters) – A spirited Colin Kaepernick said he was ready to play anywhere in the National Football League after a long awaited tryout at an Atlanta area high school on Saturday. “I’ve been ready for three years. I’ve been denied for three years,” said the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who made headlines by kneeling...

Officials support one break rule at FMF Chow Games

THE implementation of the one break rule at the FMF National Chow Games over the weekend has raised certain issues on the games officials and supporters with the question arising as to why the officials have to disqualify the athletes for false start at a young age with no second chances. Osea Waqa is one...

Suva starts cricket tourney

SUVA Cricket Association have kickstarted their 2019/2020 season with a positive turnout yesterday at Albert Park in Suva. Eleven clubs are part of this year’s season which will be running until next year. Association board member Nishantha Fernando said there was a positive turnout in this year’s competition and a new team has joined which...

Dyer secures Aussie rules contract

NEWLY signed Aussie Rules player William Dyer is looking forward to stamp his mark in the Australian Football League. The 21-year-old from Bau, Tailevu, was signed by the Coreen Daysdale Hopefield Buraja United (CDHBU) Club in Melbourne and is set to begin his professional AFL career in 2020. Dyer was part of the Western Force...

Simply the best

The 2019 Chow Games under-14 girls blue ribbon winner Adi Repeka Vakalolo of Lautoka has set her eyes on the Coca-Cola Games next year. Vakalolo, 14, of Yakete, Ba played a cool character as she took out first place with a time if 13.19 seconds. “I thank God Almighty for the strength and the win,”...

Suva dominates FMF National Chow Games

SIMPLY the best could be a term used to describe the Suva athletes after they managed to clinch the girls and boys titles at the FMF National Chow Games at the ANZ Stadium in Suva. In the girls division Suva and former champions Nadroga Navosa were locked with 14 gold medal each but Suva claimed...

Association impressed with district performances

SUVA dominated proceedings on day one of the 2019 FMF Games leading with seven golds, three silvers, and nine bronze medals at the ANZ Stadium in Suva yesterday. Fiji Primary Schools Athletics Association secretary Patrick Bower said they were impressed with the performances put in by all district teams on day one. “For what we...

Suva Golden Oldies Club raise awareness on prostate cancer

THE Fiji Police Force oldies team is taking part in the Suva Golden Oldies Club tournament today to raise awareness on prostate cancer. Senior Police Office Aminisitai Seru acknowledged the club for hosting the tournament and said it was also a chance for the the men in the force taking part today to get tested....

Aiming for a record

THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD Vilivo Whippy enters the second day of the FMF Chow Games today hoping for another good outing after winning the 200 metres final yesterday. The young athlete added another gold medal to his name to help his Suva team lead the medal tally in the first day of the competition. The Kadavu lad has...

Medal for her late cousin

NADI’S Tokasa Turuva crossed the finish line in the 200 metres final with tears flowing down her cheeks wishing her late nine-year-old cousin Joana Kamanalagi, who passed away on Sunday, was here to cheer for her. The Narewa lass scooped the silver medal in the under-13 200 metres final yesterday with one focus and that...

Trout joins elite list with third AL MVP honor

Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout became the 11th player in baseball history to win at least three MVP awards, topping Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman in results announced Thursday. In voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America, Trout received 17 first-place votes and 355 voting points. Bregman was the runner-up with...

Ainslie aims to rule America’s Cup new wave with historic ‘Britannia’

PORTSMOUTH, England (Reuters) – Ben Ainslie named his new multi-million-dollar America’s Cup yacht “Britannia” on Friday as he launched the revolutionary foiling AC75 he hopes will bring international sport’s oldest trophy back to Britain. Ainslie’s INEOS TEAM UK are aiming to challenge Emirates Team New Zealand for the America’s Cup in Auckland in 2021 and...

India’s Kohli hails Australia’s Maxwell on mental health issue

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has set an example by taking a break from the game to address his mental health issues and there should not be any negativity about such situations, India captain Virat Kohli said on Wednesday. Maxwell has taken an indefinite break from the game to deal with an...

Browns waive WR Callaway amid suspension report

The Cleveland Browns waived wide receiver Antonio Callaway on Thursday, four days after he was benched, and shortly before NFL Network reported he is facing a 10-game suspension. Callaway was a late scratch for the Browns’ 19-16 home victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, for what multiple outlets reported was a late arrival to...

NASCAR notebook: Several playoff hopes take huge hits

FORT WORTH, Texas – After another disaster on the race track, Chase Elliott has a crystal clear vision of his only path to a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship. On Lap 9 of Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, Elliott’s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet broke loose as he was running a...

Hamilton, Hurricanes top Sabres in OT

Dougie Hamilton scored midway through overtime as the Carolina Hurricanes recovered after surrendering a two-goal lead to defeat the host Buffalo Sabres 5-4 on Thursday night. Hamilton, a defenseman, is tied for the team lead with nine goals. He was set up by Martin Necas’ rush into the zone with the puck before ending the...

Murray faces ‘Baby Fed’ instead of Federer at ATP Cup

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Former world number one Andy Murray is in line to play Grigor Dimitrov in the opening round of the inaugural ATP Cup, with Bulgaria qualifying among the final six teams in the nation-based tournament. Briton Murray, on the comeback trail after hip surgery, was initially set to face Roger Federer in a...

Heat dump Cavs, extend best start in six years

Rookie Kendrick Nunn had 23 points and eight assists as the visiting Miami Heat enjoyed a fast start before holding on for a 108-97 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday. Nunn shot 10 of 16 from the floor on Thursday after going 21 of 60 in his previous five games. The Heat, who have...

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Tennis: Tsitsipas fights back to beat Thiem and claim ATP Finals title