Sports x 07CONTACT US AT: 8351-9190, WINDYSJF@HOTMAIL.COM

Monday January 8, 2018

SATURDAY’S game between the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors was halted after Clippers forward Blake Griffi n took an inadvertent elbow to the head.

Griffi n suffered a concussion on a drive to the basket late in the fi rst quarter. Golden State’s JaVale McGee attempted to cut off Griffi n’s drive but accidentally struck Griffi n on the side of the head with an elbow.

Griffi n remained down on the court for several minutes before returning to his feet and going into the locker room for further evaluation. (SD-Agencies)

ROGER FEDERER’S perfect start to the new year continued when he dismantled the game of world number four Alexander Zverev in the fi nal of the mixed teams Hopman Cup in Perth on Saturday.

Unbeaten in his three singles matches in the tournament prior to the fi nal as he prepared for his Australian Open title defense, the 19-time Grand Slam cham-pion dropped the fi rst set against Zverev, but recovered to win in three sets, 6-7 (4/7), 6-0, 6-2.

It gave Switzerland a 1-0 lead in the fi nal, with Federer aiming to add to the title he won in Perth with Martina Hingis in 2001.

Zverev came out all guns blaz-ing in a high-intensity fi rst set where both players produced moments of brilliance, with both holding multiple break points.

However, the young German managed to prevail in the tie-breaker as he aimed to repeat his singles win over Federer at the Hopman Cup last year, when all three sets were decided by tie-breakers.

Federer’s frustration was obvi-ous, dropping his racquet after missing an easy volley and then launching a ball towards the

SERGIO AGUERO fi red Man-chester City to a 4-1 win over Burnley in the FA Cup, while Mark Hughes is fi ghting to remain Stoke boss after a 2-1 loss at minnows Coventry on Saturday.

While City strolled into the fourth round, Chelsea faced an unwanted replay after being held to a 0-0 draw at Championship side Norwich.

City boss Pep Guardiola named a strong team including Aguero, Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling at Eastlands, but the runaway Premier League leaders fell behind in the 25th minute.

Ashley Barnes blasted into the top corner after City defender John Stones sliced his attempted clearance.

However, Burnley hadn’t won at City since 1973 and Argentina striker Aguero ensured that run continued.

City players, who last tasted defeat in domestic competition in their FA Cup semifi nal against Arsenal in April, were level in the 56th minute when Aguero fi red home from Ilkay Gundogan’s pass.

Aguero then fi nished off a superb backheeled pass from Gundogan in the 58th minute.

Sane prodded home to put the result beyond doubt in the 71st minute and Bernardo Silva made it four in the 82nd minute.

Hughes could face the sack after fourth-tier Coventry rolled back the years with a memorable cup result at their Ricoh Arena.

With Stoke in the relegation zone, it was reported last week that the club’s hierarchy had considered dismissing Hughes

PHILIPPE COUTINHO is join-ing Barcelona after Liverpool agreed Saturday to sell the Brazilian in a deal that makes him one of the most expensive players in soccer history.

Barcelona did not reveal the cost of the deal for the 25-year-old playmaker but a person familiar with the details told The Associated Press that the transfer is worth 160 million euros (US$192 million).

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment pub-licly about the deal, which would be a club record for Barcelona.

Coutinho’s transfer cost is only surpassed by Paris Saint-Germain’s acquisition of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe last summer. Barcelona has now reinvested the 222-million-euro windfall it received from PSG following Neymar’s world-record transfer to the French club in August.

Barcelona said Coutinho will sign a contract for the rest of the ongoing season and fi ve more seasons. He still needs to fi nal-ize personal terms and pass a medical examination.

Liverpool rejected three bids from Barcelona for Coutinho in August and hoped to convince him to stay beyond this season. He even captained the side in recent games.

The Spanish league leaders broke their own transfer record to sign France forward Ous-mane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund in August for a fee of 105 million euros that could rise to 147 million euros. Barcelona hoped to sign Coutinho at the same time but it has taken until the January transfer window to convince Liverpool to sell one of its most creative players.

Barcelona said in September that it rejected a last-minute offer by Liverpool to sell Coutinho for 200 million euros (then US$237 million) because it would have been an “irresponsible” fi nancial risk for the club. Five months on, Barcelona has managed to nego-tiate a cheaper deal.

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said the club tried to keep its prized player, but that Coutinho had wanted to leave for the Catalan club since July.

“He is 100 percent certain his future — and that of his family — belongs at Barcelona,” Klopp said. (SD-Agencies)

Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero scores their second goal as Burnley’s Nick Pope attempts to save during their match at Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Saturday. SD-Agencies

Aguero lifts Man City in FA Cup

and whether he can survive any longer must now be in doubt.

Coventry has fallen on hard times since winning the FA Cup in a classic 1987 fi nal against Tottenham and now resides in League Two — its fi rst time at that level since the 1950s — after a spell having to play its home matches in Northampton due to a stadium row.

Jordan Willis put the under-dogs ahead in the 24th minute with his fi rst goal in a year.

Willis conceded a 52nd minute penalty with a foul on Ramadan Sobhi and Charlie Adam stepped up to equal-ize. But Coventry right-back Jack Grimmer weaved his way through Stoke’s defense and

side-footed past Jack Butland in the 67th minute.

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte made nine changes at Carrow Road, with Eden Hazard rested and Alvaro Morata only used as a substitute for last season’s FA Cup runners-up.

The result was a disjointed display from the Blues, who now face an extra match that will add to Conte’s frustration after his recent complaints about the draining effects of fi xture con-gestion.

The only fl ash-point in a tame tie saw Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger square up to a fan after the sup-porter threw away the ball when the defender tried to retrieve it.

At the Vitality Stadium, Bour-

nemouth manager Eddie Howe made eight changes as he pri-oritized Premier League survival, and it needed a second half revival from his understudies to rescue a 2-2 draw against Wigan.

Northern Ireland forward Will Grigg gave Wigan a fourth minute lead from close-range and there was worse to come for Howe in the 29th minute when Emerson Hyndman’s own goal doubled the visitors’ lead.

Yet Lys Mousset reduced the defi cit for Bournemouth in the 55th minute and League One leader Wigan, which won the FA Cup in 2013, was denied a surprise win by Steve Cook’s goal two min-utes into stoppage-time.

(SD-Agencies)

Griffi n leaves game with concussion

Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffi n (R) is hit while attempting a shot during the fi rst half against the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Saturday. SD-Agencies

Federer remains unbeaten at Hopman Cup

roof. However, it soon passed as he started to blunt the German’s power and his superior court craft turned the momentum.

“It’s nice. I work part time now. I work in the morning, I’m off in the afternoons... It’s good being a dad, it’s good being a husband and it’s good being a tennis player.”

Federer took pace off his shots and used the drop shot repeat-edly to catch Zverev out, racing through the second set.

The German was the one who lost his cool as the match slipped

away, copping a code violation for an audible obscenity after disput-ing the chair umpire’s decision to replay a Zverev serve in the second set.

Zverev’s serve, and resolve, was broken in the third game of the third set and fi ttingly it was a Federer drop shot, which sealed the win.

“I played great throughout the three sets and Sasha probably dropped his level a little bit in the second and third sets,” he said. (SD-Agencies)

Switzerland’s Roger Federer (L) and Belinda Bencic hold the trophy after winning the Hopman Cup fi nal against Germany’s Angelique Kerber and Alexander Zverev in Perth, Australia, on Saturday. SD-Agencies

Philippe Coutinho

Coutinho leaving Liverpool for Barcelona