Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/731331
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 25 SEPTEMBER 2016 Sport 54 FORMULA 1 TENNIS Ricciardo backs Rosberg for title Daniel Ricciardo has backed Nico Rosberg to pip Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to the world championship title this year ROSBERG moved eight points clear of Hamilton in the drivers' stand- ings with his third straight victory in Singapore at the weekend, while Ricciardo split the pair on the po- dium by finishing second. And Ricciardo, who crossed the line less than half a second behind Rosberg in a tight finish at Marina Bay, believes the German can over- come the three-time world cham- pion to secure his first crown. The Red Bull driver said: "Before the summer break when Lewis made up that deficit on Nico, I thought no one was going to touch Lewis, but Nico has come back! "I'm going to throw a spanner in the works and say Rosberg [will win it]." Ricciardo also joked that the si- lences between the title rivals can be somewhat awkward after the race. "It's awkward for me because it's so silent!" said the Australian. "I don't like silence too much, so I'm like try- ing to either talk to myself or make conversation with them, but they're happy to enjoy the awkward silence. It's quite fun!" Nico Rosberg (left) and Daniel Ricciardo (right) Radwanska through to last four Defending Pan Pacific Open champion Agnieszka Radwanska eased into the semi-finals with a straight-sets victory over Olympic champion Monica Puig in Tokyo WORLD number four Radwans- ka breezed past her Puerto Rican opponent 6-2 6-3 in one hour 18 minutes, breaking her serve five times during the match. Meanwhile, French Open champion Garbine Muguruza crashed out following a 6-2 4-6 6-3 win by Ukraine's Eli- na Svitolina while former world num- ber one C a r o l i n e W o z n i - acki se- cured a 6-3 6-4 victory over G e r m a n y ' s Magda Li- nette. Home favourite Naomi Osaka over- came Belarusian Aliaksandra Sas- novich in a 6-3 7-6 (8/6) victory and will face Svito- lina for a place in the final. In Seoul's Korea Open, sec- ond seed Johanna Larsson was comfortably beaten 6-4 6-0 by Spain's Lara Arruabarrena-Veci- no to reach the semi-finals. She will take on Patricia Ma- ria Tig for a final spot after the Romanian edged out Spanish world number 139 Sara Sorribes Tormo 7-6 (7/2) 2-6 6-3 in two hours and 34 minutes. Compatriot Monica Niculescu also went through when she beat Slovakian Jana Cepelo- va 6-4 6-4 while third seed Sh- uai Zhang made the last four with a 6-2 6-4 success over Camila Giorgi of Italy. At the Guang- zhou Open, Ser- bia's former world number one Jelena Jankovic needed one hour 44 min- utes to beat rising star Ana Kon- juh 7-5 7-6 (9/7) to reach the final where she will come up against Ukraine's Lesia Tsuren- ko following her 6-4 6-2 win over Estonia's Anett Kontaveit. Agnieszka Radwanska beat the Olympic champion