Spieth undone by quadruple-bogey at Waialae

Jordan Spieth was basking in the Hawaiian sun until his day fell apart in stunning fashion with a late quadruple-bogey to finish six shots back of first round Sony Open leaders Zach Johnson and Chris Kirk on Thursday.

Defending champion Justin Thomas, who last year opened with a 59 before going on to set the tour's all-time scoring record in a 72-hole event at 253, could not conjure up that same magic as he carded a three-under 67, four back of the leaders.

Thomas had five-times major champion Phil Mickelson's former caddie, Jim 'Bones' Mackay, on his bag since his usual looper is unavailable due to injury.

World number two Spieth, the highest ranked player at the Waialae Country Club, overcame a rocky start and was inside the top five when he reached his penultimate hole, the par-four eighth, where disaster struck and he fell back to even par.

The British Open champion birdied his final hole for a one-under-par 69 that left him tied for 65th on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, but it did little to ease the sting of the quadruple-bogey eight.

Spieth's tee shot at the eighth hole clipped a tree on the left side of the fairway, and his second shot barely advanced after it caromed off another branch. He hit a tree with his next two shots before finally finding a greenside bunker.

The three-times major champion, who is riding a string of six consecutive top-10 finishes and had been installed as the favourite a week after a ninth place finish at Kapalua, declined to speak with the media following his round.

Twice major winner Johnson carded a bogey-free seven-under 63 in the afternoon wave that included a birdie at 18 to grab a share of the lead with early starter Kirk, who stormed into the clubhouse with four birdies over the final six holes.

The duo were one shot ahead of Vaughn Taylor, Kyle Stanley, Talor Gooch and Brian Harman.

"It felt really good, it was nice to get a good start in under my belt," said Kirk, who hit 11 of 14 fairways and 15 greens in regulation.

"My swing kind of felt better and better as the day went on. Hit a few loose shots in the front but really kind've tightened it up as the round progressed." (Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Peter Rutherford; )

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Williams beats Li to claim seventh Miami title

MIAMI - Proving there is no place like home, world number one Serena Williams swept past China's Li Na 7-5 6-1 in the final of the Sony Open on Saturday, collecting a record seventh win on the Miami hardcourts.

Williams, who lives an hour's drive from the Tennis Center at Crandon Park and considers the tournament her home event, treated the second ranked Li like an unwelcome guest, needing just two hours on a steamy centre court to collect her 59th career title, the $787,000 winner's purse pushing her career earnings over $55 million.

In 14 appearances at the Miami event Williams has driven back to her Palm Beach Gardens home with the trophy half the time, her seven titles two better than the five each she has won at Australian, U.S. Open and Wimbledon grand slams.

EXCITED
After watching Li's forehand return slam into the net to end the contest, a delighted Williams danced around the court, raising seven fingers in the air signaling each of her Miami titles.

"I was actually super excited at the end, because I remember sitting here last year trying to get to six, obviously I wanted seven but I don't want to put the pressure on myself to get to seven," said Williams, who had shared the tournament record of six titles with Andre Agassi. "I wanted to have the most titles here.

"I guess that I've grown up coming to this tournament as a kid, watching so many players and to be one of those players now is really, really awesome for me."

While Williams was critical of her performance earlier in the tournament, calling it unprofessional, the 32-year-old American has been at her best against top players, winning 15 straight over top 10 opponents.

"I feel like when you're going up against the top players, for me, I have to be ready because they are the best in the world, the whole planet," said Williams. "So you have to be ready to play.

"I enjoy playing people that are ranked like that because I feel like I can eventually bring out the best in me."

A minority owner in the National Football League Miami Dolphins, a smiling Williams stepped out onto centre court to wild applause from the home crowd dressed in the orange and turquoise colours of her team.

The ovation, however, failed to inspire Williams as a determined Li seized the early initiative, breaking the American to open the contest and again in the seventh game to storm to a 5-2 lead.

But with Li serving for the set, Williams made her stand, overwhelming her Chinese opponent by sweeping 11 of the next 12 games.

"I don't think I was playing bad," said Li. "Maybe she just started to play a little bit better after 5-2 down.

"I don't think today I was doing a wrong game plan or I was play totally wrong.

"I think it was pretty good match."

Williams launched her comeback by fighting off two set points to record her first break at 5-3 and broke again at 5-5 to get back on level terms against an unsteady Li.

A screaming, fist-pumping Williams, now in top gear, held serve to take the lead for the first time and then added one more break to steal the first set from a crumbling Li, who was now in full meltdown.

Williams may have needed a while to warm up on a hot humid afternoon but once on track there seemed little Li could do to derail the 17-times grand slam winner.

Li held her opening serve of the second set but a ruthless Williams moved in quickly to deliver the knockout punch roaring through the next five games.

"I definitely don't do it on purpose," said Williams when asked about her slow start. "Everyone comes out there, they come really strong.

"Sometimes I do get off to a slow start, but then again, sometimes I get off to a fast start.

"I think for the most part, I try to do the best I can and sometimes things I'm doing don't work out, but they are the right things and eventually they start to work." (Editing by Gene Cherry)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Djokovic ends Murray's reign to reach Miami semis

MIAMI - World number two Novak Djokovic ended Andy Murray's reign as Sony Open champion on Wednesday easing past the sixth seeded Briton 7-5 6-3 to advance to the Miami semi-finals.

For Djokovic, a three-time winner on the Miami hardcourts, the victory was a small measure of revenge as the rivals clashed for the first time since Murray beat the Serb in last year's Wimbledon final.

Murray, playing his first event since splitting with coach Ivan Lendl last week, had looked increasingly comfortable and confident on his own but Djokovic kept the Scotsman under almost constant pressure in blustery conditions.

"I was not surprised about the way he played," said Djokovic, whose coach Boris Becker was also not in Miami as he is taking time off to undergo double hip surgery. "I expected him to play well, to be a little bit more aggressive.

"I tried to not allow him to be in the comfort zone because when he strikes the zone, when he feels comfortable on the court, he's striking the ball so well, maybe best in the world."

The road to a fourth Miami title does not get any easier for Djokovic with a possible semi-final meeting with 17-times grand slam winner and two-times Miami champion Roger Federer up next.

Federer, who lost to Djokovic in the final of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells 10 days ago, takes on Japan's Kei Nishikori in another quarter-final later on Wednesday.

In dramatic contrast to the women's semi between Dominika Cibulkova and Agnieszka Radwanska that ended moments earlier on centre court and featured 19 breaks of serve, breaks were hard to come by for Djokovic and Murray in a tight opening set.

Murray had only a single break opportunity against the Serb while Djokovic was able to convert one of his three chances, with the help of a controversial point.

The first set ended in an argument between Murray and the chair umpire, the Scotsman furious that Djokovic was given a point to open the decisive game even though it was clear the Serb reached across the net to hit the ball.

A distracted Murray then lost the next three points on unforced errors as Djokovic claimed the break and set.

"I wasn't sure, from where I was standing, it was a very hard thing to see," said Murray. "I knew it was close. So that's why I went and asked Novak and he told me he was over the net. That was it.

"(The chair umpire) said, 'yes, he was over the net but he was in line with the net,' so I didn't really understand.

"It maybe had a slight bearing on that game but I was still up a break in the second set."

Djokovic admitted later that he did indeed cross the net but claimed he was unaware it was against the rules because he did not touch the net.

"It's an important point but mentally obviously it distracted him more than it gave me an encouragement," said Djokovic. "It was him, that he got upset ... he made three unforced errors and the set was gone." (Editing by Frank Pingue)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com