‘It’s going to be a very close tie’: Netherlands’ Sander Arends ahead of Davis Cup Round 1 Qualifiers

Hyderabad, June 20 (IANS) The fifth day of the Rugby Premier League Season 2 witnessed Mumbai Dreamers continue their undefeated run, and Chennai Bulls (women) defeat the table toppers at the Ganti Mohana Chandra Balayogi Athletic Stadium, Gachibowli, Hyderabad on Saturday.

In the first match in the men’s RPL, Mumbai Dreamers produced a dominant display as they continued their onward march by beating Chennai Bulls 26-7.

Mumbai Dreamers recovered from an early setback to defeat Chennai Bulls. Filipe Sauturaga opened the scoring for the Bulls late in the first quarter, but Demetri Patterson took charge in the second, scoring two tries to put the Dreamers ahead, alongside a penalty try. Mumbai continued to dominate after the break, with Kaleem Baretto extending the lead in the third quarter. Despite Chennai’s efforts in the final period, the Dreamers remained resolute to secure a convincing victory.

In the women’s section, Chennai Bulls edge Kolkata Banga Tigers 33-28 on the fifth day of the competition.

Savannah Bauder continued her impressive form with an early try, while Larah Wright added another to give Chennai Bulls a strong start against the table-topping Kolkata Banga Tigers. Nia Toliver kept Kolkata in the contest with two brilliant individual tries before Sofia Gonzalez levelled the scores in a fiercely contested third quarter. Amandeep Kaur restored Chennai’s lead, but Toliver struck again early in the final period. Adia Pye responded almost immediately, and the Bulls held firm in a tense finish to secure a hard-fought victory.

Later in the day, the women’s franchise of Mumbai Dreamers will face the Delhi Redz while the men’s team of Hyderabad Heroes will clash with Kolkata Banga Tigers in the last match of the day. Mumbai Dreamers beat Delhi Redz 31-14 in the men’s section, while Chennai Bulls edge Delhi Redz 31-27 in women’s RPL.

–IANS

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Kansas City, June 26 (IANS) The Netherlands grabbed two early goals to help secure top spot in Group F and qualify for the Round of 32 after they overcame already eliminated Tunisia 3-1 here at Kansas City Stadium.

Ronald Koeman’s team opened the final group match against Tunisia like the lightning bolts. Within seven minutes, Oranje were 0-2 up thanks to an own goal and a strike by Brian Brobbey. The second half became tense for a moment, but it was Jan Paul van Hecke who put an end to all uncertainty with his first international goal.

The Dutch needed just three minutes to break the deadlock against their already-eliminated opponents, with captain Ellyes Skhiri slicing into his own net from Denzel Dumfries’ cross as he looked to prevent the ball reaching Brian Brobbey.

And it was 2-0 soon after, with Brobbey bagging his third goal of the tournament from close range after Virgil van Dijk headed a free-kick back across the face of goal, FIFA reports.

This was the first time in their 58 World Cup matches that the Netherlands have scored two goals in the opening seven minutes of a game.

Tunisia, who have endured a challenging tournament after heavy defeats to Sweden and Japan, had come close to scoring in the opening moments, only for Ismael Gharbi to side-foot over when well-placed.

From then on, Herve Renard’s side were largely on the back foot and they came close to conceding a third early on during a rain-soaked second half with Skhiri blocking well to prevent Dumfries’ powerful effort from troubling Aymen Dahmen.

Tunisia pulled themselves back into the contest when Hazem Mastouri was given too much freedom in the penalty area to head home Hannibal Mejbri’s corner, but the Dutch responded immediately through Jan Paul van Hecke as he glanced home Tijjani Reijnders’ delivery.

–IANS

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Montreal, Aug 12 (IANS) Ben Shelton continues to thrive as defending champion as he eased into the Canadian Open semifinals without dropping a set after he overcame Jakub Mensik 6-3, 6-1.

The 23-year-old American made it four straight-sets wins in as many matches at this year’s edition of the Canadian ATP Masters 1000.

Shelton powered 18 winners, three unforced errors and 89 percent first-serve points won. He didn’t face a break point and even unleashed a 147 mph serve.

“It felt great,” said Shelton. “I was very happy with my return game. The way that I played from the ground, from point one, for me, that’s where I want to be at. I think the level I maintained throughout the match was really high. I’m super happy with my performance. Hope to continue to build on this in the semis.”

The only Top-10 player remaining in the Montreal draw, Shelton will take on 12th-seeded American Learner Tien. Tien leads 2-0 in the pair’s rivalry, having defeated Shelton earlier this year in the second round at Indian Wells.

Tien registered a 6-3, 6-2 victory against Daniel Merida. With his one-hour, 12-minute victory, the 20-year-old advanced to his first Masters 1000 semi-final.

He made his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open, first Masters quarterfinal in Indian Wells and landed his first clay-court title in Geneva.

“No matter how Ben is feeling, he is going to serve well,” Tien said about playing Shelton. “He is going to hit a big ball off the baseline. He is playing with a lot of confidence right now. I saw him play earlier today. He is playing very, very well.”

–IANS

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