A round-up of other sports news stories from the weekend...
TENNIS:Top seed Gael Monfils beat second seed Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6 3-6 6-2 in the Metz ATP tournament final yesterday to win the second title of his career.
Frenchman Monfils (23), had been chasing a title since his victory in 2005 in Sopot, Poland. He had lost six finals since.
The gifted but erratic Monfils relied on his strong serve and held his nerve to seal victory in two hours and 13 minutes.
EQUESTRIAN SPORT:Britain secured an eighth successive team gold at the European eventing championships at Fontainebleau yesterday, with Tina Cook also landing individual gold and championship newcomer Piggy French, who was competing as an individual, taking silver with the Irish-bred Some Day Soon, writes Margie McLoone.
Ireland briefly looked booked for the bronze medal on Saturday’s cross country phase, but when final team member Elizabeth Power (Kilpatrick River) was eliminated, as was pathfinder Sacha Pemble (I’ve Been Dun), the team were out of contention.
France, who won team silver on seven occasions, looked booked for that position again overnight but couldn’t field a team for yesterday’s show jumping stage, so the silver went to Italy. Belgium won bronze.
In show jumping, Francis Connors won his 11th national Grand Prix title at the Newcastle show.
BOXING:Vitali Klitschko scored a convincing victory to retain his WBC heavyweight title, but claimed his 10-round stoppage of Cris Arreola was not as straightforward as it appeared.
Klitschko, just three fights into a comeback following a four-year retirement from the ring, was in impressive form as he out-fought and out-thought his Mexican- American rival at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles. Arreola’s corner called it quits at the end of the 10th after a game but ineffective challenge.
Yet Klitschko, whose younger brother Wladimir holds the IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles, said: “It’s never easy. You have to be at your best. Arreola had his chance, he had a great performance and I was very surprised. He had a great chin, and after my right hook, many opponents go to the floor but he still stayed up. Big respect.”
WOMEN'S HOCKEY:Railway Union opened the defence of their Leinster League title with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Old Alexandra at Park Avenue on Saturday. Jean McDonnell scored twice for the champions in a game they dominated and could have won by more, writes Mary Hannigan.
Hermes, too, had the better of their clash with Loreto at Beaufort but failed to convert any of their chances, including nine short corners, and were punished by a Nikki Keegan penalty stroke that gave the hosts the points.
Pembroke Wanderers and Corinthian got their campaigns off to winning starts with 2-1 victories over Glenanne and Bray, respectively. Pembroke player-coach Natalie Fulton and teenager Sinead Loughran got the goals at Serpentine Avenue, while Lynsey Watson and Susie Geoffroy ensured Stewart Walker’s reign as Corinthian coach began with a win.
CRICKET:England qualified for the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy after beating hosts South Africa by 22 runs in Pretoria last night. England scored a daunting 323 for eight, their sixth biggest total in 50-over contests, and South Africa came up short in response despite a brilliant 141 by captain Graham Smith.
Led by Middlesex duo Owais Shah and Eoin Morgan, England had a record 12 sixes.
Shah crashed at 98, clearing the ropes six times, in an awesome display of power-hitting while Irishman Morgan, who kept wicket due to the absence of Matt Prior through illness, proved equally devastating.
Left-hander Morgan took just 26 deliveries to reach his third half-century for England, and was eighth out for 67 in the final over.
GOLF:A brilliant display by David Drysdale and Alastair Forsyth, coupled with a collapse by Portugal, enabled Scotland to join Wales in qualifying for the World Cup yesterday.
After three rounds in Estonia, the Scots were down in fifth place and needed to climb above Austria and Portugal to make it through to Mission Hills in China – the course where Colin Montgomerie and Marc Warren won the title only two years ago.
Drysdale and Forsyth fired a closing 66 in the foursomes, while Portuguese pair Jose-Filipe Lima and Antonio Sobrinho had five bogeys in seven holes and finished with a 74 to miss out by three.
Canada and Wales secured the top spots.
