Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/685221
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 29 MAY 2016 53 Sport ATHLETICS TENNIS National Middle Distance Triathlon Champion Rudolph Agius qualifies for Ironman 70.3 World Championships FRESH from winning the championship title at the 2016 Garmin Ocean Lava Mal- ta 113k Triathlon, Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club's Rudolph Agius delivered a fine performance at the Ironman 70.3 Calella Barcelona last Sunday, clocking a time of 4 hours 56 minutes in what was yet another challenging course. Agius battled a strong swell in the 1.9km swim segment, hills and strong winds in the 90km cycle segment and a fast hard fought 21km run. Agius secured a respect- able eight place in his hard fought age group and secured a place in the coveted Ironman 70.3 World championships to be held in Australia in September. Agius will be the third Maltese to be on the start line in Australia, since Hannah Pace and Graham Borg had qualified ear- lier on. "It has been a very successful week for me, first winning the Maltese middle distance title and now qualif ying for the World Championships. Am very pleased with my performance, the training and race strategy having worked well", com- mented Agius immediately after the race. "I am grateful for the support of my fam- ily and sponsors – BigMat Malta, Attard Brothers, Nectar Group, The Cyclist and Garmin" Agius' next commitment is Ironman Frankfurt in June after which he will be focusing on his participation in the World Championships. Rudolph Agius German may sue over defeat at French Open Germany's Tatjana Maria is considering legal action over her controversial defeat to Alize Cornet at the French Open - but admits she is not sure who to sue MARIA believes Cornet broke the rules over treatment for cramping during her 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 second- round win. Cornet cramped up in her right leg during the second set tie-break of her second-round clash and needed regular treatment throughout the deciding set. But Maria insists the rules, which forbid treatment for cramping, were broken while she was equally furi- ous that the trainer and the tourna- ment supervisor physically helped Cornet to her chair after she col- lapsed in agony on the court. Maria also claims that Cornet also exceeded the 20-second rule be- tween points as she tried to ride out the cramping. "We want this (legal action) be- cause it was simply not fair in the match," she said. "I think that's important for the sport. It's not about the defeat. I ac- cept that." Maria said her husband Charles had already consulted a French lawyer with expertise in sports litigation. There are more meetings planned in the coming days, she added. However, she admitted that they are not certain who they will sue - the International Tennis Federa- tion, the WTA or the French Open. Maria said she would not pursue action against Cornet. The German added that she had received widespread backing for her complaints from other players in the dressing room "Even French players have told me that they are behind me. That was nice to hear, because the defeat hurt," she said. Maria had a degree of revenge for her loss when she teamed up with Madison Brengle of the United States to defeat Cornet and Poland's Magda Linette in the doubles Fri- day. Cornet, 26, insisted she did not seek treatment for cramping but had developed pain in her left hip and called for the trainer before completing her win. She said she was mystified by Ma- ria's frustrations. "I didn't understand so much why she was so mad at me. She even told me when we shake hands that she thought I was not fair play. "I didn't choose to cramp at the end of the second set, and I didn't choose to have this pain in my leg, and I needed a treatment for that. I didn't take a treatment for my cramp because I know the rule, and I respect it." Tatjana Maria is furious over alleged rule breaches Murray aware of Nadal injury during practice last week ANDY Murray knew nine-times French Open champion Rafael Nadal was struggling with a wrist injury when he practised with the Spaniard during the build-up to Ro- land Garros. "I practised a bit with him last week and I knew there were some issues with the wrist," world num- ber two Murray, who is through to the last 16 in Paris told Eurosport. "He's won this nine times and was playing really well so for him to withdraw from the tournament, it would have to be a pretty serious in- jury. It's a great shame for Rafa and the fans and a shame for the tourna- ment." Fourth seed Nadal, who will be 30 next week, stunned the tourna- ment on Friday when he announced he was pulling out despite dropping only nine games in his first two rounds. He said the problem was with a tendon in his left wrist and that scans had shown he was in danger of a serious injury if he did not stop playing. It was a huge blow to the tourna- ment as Nadal had been expected to face world number one Novak Djok- ovic in the semi-final, having lost to the Serb in the quarters last year. Seven-times grand slam cham- pion John McEnroe called Nadal's latest injury "extremely disappoint- ing". "We've seen him play for many years and it's always been a concern about how his knees would hold up," the American told Eurosport in his daily spot. "After last year, we all hoped he would be able to get his health and fitness back and get his game to- gether and it looked like that was happening. "We all know how much he want- ed (title) number 10 and we were looking forward to seeing play No- vak in the semis." Former French Open champion Mats Wilander said the decision had been a no-brainer for Nadal. "A slight miss-hit and that's going to hurt like crazy," the Swede said. "He's turning 30 in a few days and still has two or three years left so this was an obvious decision." Andy Murray