Kuznetsova tames Kuznetsova tames Safarova to reach quarter Russian Starykh banned
January 1, 2015 at 3:59 pm,
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Svetlana Kuznetsova survived a mid-match wobble to stay in pursuit of a second French Open title as she beat the Czech Republic's Lucie Safarova 6-3 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals on Monday. The Russian, who won her two grand slam titles five years apart and hence believes this could be her year again following her 2009 success at Roland Garros, appeared to be heading for a straightforward victory when she led 3-0 in the second set. But her biggest weakness has been her inconsistency and so it proved again on Monday when she allowed her left-handed rival to draw level at 4-4. But with the sun setting over the Court One bullring, Kuznetsova let out a roar of delight as Safarova dragged a backhand into the net on match point. The Russian will next meet in-form Romanian fourth seed Simona Halep for a place in the last four. (Reporting by Pritha Sarkar, editing by Mark Meadows). Russian Irina Starykh, who won the women's 7.5-km sprint at the 2013 European biathlon championship, has been banned for two years for doping, the International Biathlon Union (IBU) said on Wednesday. The 26-year-old tested positive for the banned blood booster EPO in an out-of-competition test conducted on Dec. 23, 2013 in Slovenia. "Irina Starykh is ineligible to compete for a period of two years, commencing from December 23, 2013," the IBU said in a statement. "All Irina Starykh's competition results obtained from the date the sample was collected are struck off with the resulting consequences." The case can be appealed within 21 days at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Starykh, who was seen as a medal hope for Russia at the Sochi Olympics last February, was withdrawn from the team on the eve of the Games following a positive 'A' sample. (Reporting By Dmitriy Rogovitskiy; Editing by Rex Gowar). World welterweight title contender Amir Khan has been released on bail after the British boxer was arrested on suspicion of two assaults in the early hours of Friday morning, according to media reports. Greater Manchester Police would not confirm that it was Khan who had been arrested but they did issue a statement on the incident. "Just before 1.30am on Friday 4 July 2014 police were called following reports of an assault in Bolton," the statement read. "Officers discovered two 19-year-old men had been assaulted. Their injuries are not serious. "A 27-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of two assaults and has been bailed until mid-July pending further enquiries." Khan, however, played down the incident on social media. "All nonsense please don't believe what you read. アグ クラシック ショート I'm home with my family and nobody got beat up," the boxer said on his Twitter account. Khan is hoping to challenge Floyd Mayweather Jr. for the unbeaten American's World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council titles. Mayweather beat Argentine Marcos Maidana on points in a title fight in Las Vegas in May and on the undercard of the same bill Khan outpointed American Luis Collazo. (Writing by Tony Jimenez and Sudipto Ganguly; Editing by Ed Osmond/John O'Brien).