INDIAN tennis player Sania Mirza is on the comeback trail after a doctor suggested by cricketer Yuvraj Singh helped heal the right-wrist injury that cut her season short last year.

The 22-year-old Mirza, who became a star in India after reaching the US Open fourth round in 2005, pulled out of the first round of the Beijing Olympics in August last year and missed the rest of the season because of the injury. The player’s ranking then dropped to No100.

Mizra said she wasn’t sure what was wrong with her wrist after returning to India from the Olympic games — until Singh called with the recommendation.

“I went to see the doctor and after about five days, my pain in my wrist — which I was not able to hold a spoon properly with — had suddenly gone. “I had complete range of movement back and everything. About two weeks later I was playing tennis again,” Mirza said yesterday , adding that her wrist has felt healthy for the past several months.

She said the doctor practised Korean-style physical therapy.

Mirza was speaking ahead of the January 7-10 team-format exhibition tournament in Hong Kong, which also includes world No1 Jelena Jankovic, seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, Vera Zvonareva, Anna Chakvetadze, Agnes Szavay and Zheng Jie.

AFP

AN AUSTRALIAN fast bowler from a team called the Bushrangers, who once won a wood-cutting title, chopped down the South African batting at Sydney yesterday.

Peter Siddle, a 24-year-old medium-pace bowler from the Victoria Bushrangers team, wrapped up the Proteas’ first innings with five wickets for 59 runs. At times he was quick for someone regarded as only medium-pace, hitting the speed button at 140km/h. The man who was once the junior wood-chopping champion of West Gippsland, a rural part of Victoria to the east of Melbourne, but gave up the activity in which his father and grandfather had been experts because “I didn’t want to cut any of my toes off. It can be a bit dangerous”. So he concentrated on football (that’s the Aussie Rules version) and cricket, bowling in particular. Until yesterday , he had taken only five wickets in the series, one in the first Test at Perth and four in the second at Melbourne. Australia lost both. But yesterday he doubled that total with his best figures in his four- Test career (he played in the second Test against India in November, which Australia lost by 320 runs where he took four wickets). He only came into the Australian Test team because of an injury to regular fast bowler Stuart Clark in the Mohali Test, and kept that place when Clark was ruled out of the series against South Africa. Yesterday, he exploited a breaking Sydney pitch to wrap up the South African innings with four wickets in just 22 balls while conceding only seven runs during that spell. Having trapped South African stand-in skipper Neil McKenzie lbw the day before for 23, Siddle finally broke the Mark Boucher- Morne Morkel sixth-wicket partnership by bowling Morkel for 40. The pair had put on 115 to take South Africa safely past the follow-on target of 246. After Morkel’s wicket, Siddle trapped Paul Harris leg before, then bowled Dale Steyn, who played the ball from somewhere near square leg, before ending the innings by knocking over Boucher’s middle stump as the South African keeper tried desperately to reach a century with big hits. “It’s very pleasing to get my first five-for,” he told reporters after playing yesterday . “I’m very happy about that. It’s good to go out there and be able to stand up for the team and be part of the team. “It was a tough day. The main focus coming into today was team bowling, bowling in partnerships and all working together. We did that and in the end I was able to get the rewards. It was a good day for Australia and a good result.”

Bruce Manly In Sydney

FORMER All Blacks coach John Mitchell said yesterday he needed to temper his coaching style at Australian Super 14 rugby team Western Force, following complaints from players and club staff.

The Force resumed pre-season training yesterday with Mitchell in charge ahead of next month’s kickoff to the southern hemisphere season, but he is currently subject to an independent review initiated by the club.

Mitchell, 44, who is contracted to the Perth-based Force until the end of 2011, said he needed to curb his approach after the complaints forced the club to put him on restricted duties amid a mediation process.

“I am the first to admit that I am not perfect and I need to evolve my leadership , and I am looking forward to that,” said Mitchell.

He said: “I don’t think I need to explain my style; I have had success in the past with groups and there is no reason why we won’t gain success here as a group going forward.”

Retired West Australian supreme court judge Robert Anderson has completed interviews with players and staff and a club spokesman said the judge is expected to hand down the findings of his review later this month.

Sapa-AFP

Formula One driver Fernando Alonso and four tourists were unhurt when the double world champion's private jet clipped a wall before take-off in the Kenyan resort of Malindi, officials said.

The luxury jet's wing was damaged when it hit the wall as it prepared to lift off at an airport in Malindi, an Indian Ocean resort popular with celebrities, the airport's deputy manager Ali Farah told AFP.

A police officer from the region confirmed the Renault driver was involved in a runway accident late Sunday.

“It was a minor incident… What I can tell you is that they all emerged fine and went back to their hotel,” said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Alonso, his wife Raquel del Rosario, and their three guests arrived in Malindi two weeks ago for Christmas and had been staying at the “Lion in the Sun,” a luxurious getaway owned by Renault Formula One boss Flavio Briatore.

A new private jet was sent from Spain to pick up the stranded tourists.

Malindi is a high-end haven for the rich and famous and has long been frequented by western celebrities and tourists, including British supermodel Naomi Campbell and her ex-boyfriend Briatore.

AFP

Fiji's Vijay Singh fired a final-round 67 to win the 5.75 million-dollar Chevron World Challenge hosted by Tiger Woods.

Singh finished with an 11-under total of 211 yesterday to claim 1.35 million dollars from the 5.75 million-dollar purse. Steve Stricker finished second, carding a 68 for 278.

Overnight leader Anthony Kim and Hunter Mahan were four strokes back on seven-under 281, Kim falling back with 73 and Mahan shooting a 68.

Singh and Stricker both started the day at 6-under, two shots behind Kim and one behind Jim Furyk.

But both Kim and Furyk struggled on the back nine, while Singh and Stricker shot matching 32s on the final nine holes.

Stricker and Singh were tied going into the final hole, where Singh converted a 10-foot birdie putt for the victory.

“It was very unexpected,” said Singh, who claimed the richest prize of golf's “Silly Season” to go with his 10 million-dollar bonus for winning the US PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs.

“Jim and Anthony were playing so well. My thought was if I shot 68 or 67 I would have a chance.”

Singh said one of the holes on the front nine was the key to his day.

“I had bogeyed the sixth hole all week,” Singh said. “I birdied it today and that fired me up.”

After his successful season and post-season, Singh said he'd still be at work on Christmas Day.

“It's the best time to hit balls,” Singh said. “There's nobody on the golf course. You'd be surprised.”

AFP