Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/827430
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 24 MAY 2017 23 Sport Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Wednesday WEATHER: Fine with some high clouds VISIBILITY: Good WIND: Variable force 2 to 3 mainly Westerly SEA: Slight A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 White to play and mate in four moves A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Last week's solution Sudoku rules are extremely easy: Fill all empty squares so that the numbers 1 to 9 appear once in each row, column and 9x9 box. SUNNY 26 º C / 16 º C UV INDEX: 2 Today's Weather Chess Sudoku Pursuits Across 1. Domesticates (5) 6. Highland (7) 8. Odd (7) 9. Cut off (3) 10. Capital of Peru (4) 12. Small harp-like musical instrument (4) 15. Eccentric (3) 16. British rock group (7) 18. Most tidy (7) 19. Perspire (5) Down 1. Hollywood (6,4) 2. Heath (4) 3. Rotates (5) 4. Captures (5) 5. Actually (6) 7. Disagreeable (10) 11. Insane person (6) 13. Monastery of an abbot (5) 14. Trousers (5) 17. Similar (4) ..... h3+ Kh1 g2 mate TENNIS Novak Djokovic & Andre Agassi 'a perfect match-up', says Greg Rusedski FORMER British number one Greg Rusedski has described Novak Djokovic and new coach Andre Agassi as "the perfect match-up". After weeks of speculation, Djokovic confirmed on Sunday that Agassi had agreed to link up with him, just weeks after he axed his entire support team in a bid to halt what has become something of a slump. Eight-time Grand Slam cham- pion Agassi has already been advising Djokovic over the phone for the past fortnight and Rusedski says improvements can already been seen – and that more will follow. Speaking ahead of the French Open, which starts on Sunday, the Eurosport pundit said: "They are two of the greatest returners in the history of the game. They are perfect match-up of person- alities and styles. I think it will be great for the game of tennis. "They've not had a catalogue of work yet. "(Djokovic) is still on the build- ing blocks with a new team around him and I expect him to take great strides. "He needed to make a change and you saw an immediate im- pact in Rome where he was more passionate and got to take a step forward. "He beat Dominic Thiem (for the loss of one game in the semi-finals) in what was his best match of the year." The Serb went on to lose the following day's final to Alexan- der Zverev, leaving him with just one title – from Doha in January – in 2017. That is a far cry from his 2016 form when he had al- ready captured five titles before completing a career Grand Slam at Roland Garros. The slump began soon after with Djokovic having since ad- mitted that he struggled for mo- tivation and stopped enjoying the game. When axing his coaching team, including long-stand- ing coach Marian Vaida, the 12-time Grand Slam champion said he had reverted to "shock therapy" in a bid to find answers. Djokovic has since turned 30 and Rusedski, who regularly competed against Agassi dur- ing the pair's days on the ATP World Tour, feels the decision to change direction could also relate to that fact. He added: "Obviously when you let go of your whole team, from physio to coach, you want to start afresh. "I'd expect Andre to bring in a team around Novak and do things a little bit differently. "What Andre did in his own playing days was maximise the end of his career to its full potential (he won two Grand Slams after turning 30). Perhaps that's an area he can help with." Despite Djokovic's recent im- provement - Rusedski also high- lighted him playing well for pe- riods during his Madrid Open defeat to Rafael Nadal - the for- mer world number four does not believe he will successfully de- fend his crown in Paris over the next fortnight. "Nadal – he is my favourite for Roland Garros," added Rused- ski. "I said after he won in Madrid that I would not be surprised to see him lose in Rome but he's still the favourite. "He's 31 years of age – you can't win Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome and Roland Gar- ros. "Losing in Rome is almost a blessing. He'll get a few days off, additional preparation and more time in Paris as well. "He's the man to beat, he's playing great." Asked to pick potential alter- native champions, Rusedski mentions in-form young guns Zverev and Thiem but believes it is "a little too early for those guys" in terms of winning a Grand Slam. Novak Djokovic and Andre Agassi