Australia: Focus Back On Summer Sport
- January 21st, 2011
- Posted by EUEditor
SPORTS: The drive to return to normal patterns of life has seen people in Australia this week, wherever they could find dry ground, picking up on the sports agenda — abetted by many friends and competitors from distant parts.
Thousands of cyclists at all levels have been racing through their paces at the Tour Down Under in Adelaide, an event fast gaining traction and world attention through the involvement of professionals from Europe and elsewhere.
The current top ten on Friday in the event (running 16-23.1.11) includes riders from Germany (Andre Greipel), the United Kingdom (Ben Swift), Spain (Francisco Ventuso) , Italy (Manuele Mori and Alessandro Ballan), and New Zealand (Greg Henderson). Australia’s Matthew Goss began the day wearing the leader’s ocre jumper; other local contenders Robbie McEwen, Michael Matthews and Allan Davis also in the group. Lance Armstrong (USA) further back in the field in what is expected to be his last contest outside of the United States, has volunteered to go on to a charity ride in aid of flood victims in Queensland .
Australian cricketers are wanting to balance it up after the drubbing received in the Ashes series just finished, playing today in the second game of the one-day series, at Bellerive Oval by the Derwent Estuary in Hobart (picture) – having won the first in Melbourne. (Australia won at Bellerive by 46 runs – 22.1.11).
The women cricketers are playing their Australia-England Ashes match in Sydney, beginning tomorrow.
In tennis, two Australians – eighteen year-old Bernard Tomic, and fifth-seeded Samantha Stosur –   were still in competition at the end of the week in the Australian Open, being played at Melbourne (picture)                   (17-30.1.11).
Top-seeded players:-
Men: Rafael Nadal (Spain), Roger Federer (Switzerland), Novak Djokovic (Serbia), Robin Soderling (Sweden), Andy Murray (Scotland). Women: Caroline Wozniacki, (Denmark), Vera Zvonareva (Russia), Kim Clijsters (Belgium), Venus Williams (USA), Samantha Stosur (Australia).
Reference
Australian Open Grand: Slam of Asia / Pacific, Melbourne, (home). http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/players/index.html, (21.1.11).
Cricket Australia, (home), Australian cricketers’ Assn., Melbourne. http://cricket.com.au/, (21.1.11).
Santos Tour Down Under, 16-23.1.11, Adelaide, (home). http://www.tourdownunder.com.au/race/results-2011/IG-markets-stage-2-results-2012, (21.1.11).
Pictures
Tas.gov.au, eftours, TDU