US Open champion Stan Wawrinka ended a four-match Swiss Indoors losing streak as he saved face for seeds on a day of first-round upsets at Basel.

Svetlana Kuznetsova claimed her second titanic victory in a row when the Russian outlasted Karolina Pliskova 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(6) in a thrilling White Group encounter at the WTA Finals yesterday.

‘I’d love to win in China again and I’ve played well enough here to win but just haven’t done enough when it mattered. Hopefully this year will be the year to change that’

Interesting facts about the performance of your favourite manufacturers in Qatar Aprilia is currently the team to beat at Losail: they are the only manufacturer to have recorded four straight wins there: a double by Sylvain Guintoli in 2014 and a win each for Jordi Torres and Leon Haslam last year.

‘I am happy to finish the season here at Losail because it is a circuit that I really enjoy. The atmosphere of Qatar, being a night race, in the middle of the desert, is cool’

QATAR | Sport

Leg-spinner Yasir Shah took six second-innings wickets in Pakistan’s crushing 133-run second Test win over West Indies in Abu Dhabi yesterday as they took an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

‘Results haven’t gone our way in the last couple of months but that’s the game of cricket sometimes. You have to move on and try and improve. We probably let a few opportunities slip so we’ve got to move forward and try to improve’

Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq showed disappointment over the downfall of once-mighty West Indies after Pakistan achieved a series-clinching win in the second Test in Abu Dhabi yesterday.

‘When we first hosted the F1 it was a big deal. First in Asia outside Japan. Now so many venues. No first mover advantage. Not a novelty’

Doha Ladies travelled to Abu Dhabi on Friday for their second tournament of the season. Both the Oryx and the Trojans played four games each during the day, with the former emerging with a clean sweep, while the latter ended a lacklustre day with a commanding win.

Pampanga VOB held on strong in the dying minutes to quell a scathing comeback by GGBAI Guardians to claim a well-deserved 69-65 victory in the Aspirants Division of the Nissan Cup 2016, organised by Pinoy Basketball of Qatar (PIBAQ), at Al Gharafa Training Gym over the weekend.