Irandaily | No. 4429 | Sports

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Glock Parts Company With Marussia

German Timo Glock will not race for Marussia this year after he and the team “agreed to part company with immediate effect”.
The German, 30, has raced for Marussia since their debut in 2010 as Virgin. Team boss John Booth said “commercial” considerations were behind the move, BBC wrote.
“Tough economic conditions prevail and the commercial landscape is difficult for everyone,” Booth added.
Glock earned a salary; Marussia need a driver who brings sponsorship.
Marussia did not say in their statement who would be replacing Glock. They have already confirmed the English novice Max Chilton in one of the seats.
Brazilians Bruno Senna, who raced for Williams last year, and novice Luis Razia have been linked to the team.
Booth said, “Timo is a fantastic driver and he has been a very popular member of the team.
“Our team was founded on the principle of benefiting from proven experience while also providing opportunities for young emerging talent to progress to the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Thus far, this philosophy has also been reflected in our commercial model.
“The ongoing challenges facing the industry mean that we have had to take steps to secure our long-term future.
“Tough economic conditions prevail and the commercial landscape is difficult for everyone, Formula 1 teams included.
“We would like to thank Timo for working with us to reach this decision, especially as he had a valid contract, and also for the contribution he has made to our team.”
Glock, who is expected to race in the German Touring Car Championship (DTM) this year, said, “I have had three excellent years with the Marussia F1 Team, during which I had the chance to actively participate in building and developing the team in its endeavors to succeed within the Formula 1 World Championship.
“I would like to wish the team good luck in navigating this next period and thank everyone for the great times we shared and the support I have received.
“Although it is not the path I expected to be taking, I am in fact very excited about what the future holds in terms of my own career and I hope to comment on that very soon.”

Spurs Hold Off Hawks

With Tim Duncan given a night off and Manu Ginobili still out with a hamstring injury, Tony Parker took the lead for the San Antonio Spurs.
Parker had 23 points and 12 assists, and the Spurs held off the short-handed Atlanta Hawks 98-93 on Saturday night for their fourth straight victory, AP reported.
‘’Tony is just incredible,’’ said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. ‘’What competitiveness. What a will to win. What a will to carry the team. He’s really fun to watch at both ends of the court. And he’s been doing that all year.’’
The Spurs snapped a streak of three straight road losses with their first win away from San Antonio since Jan. 2.
Matt Bonner added 17 points, and Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter each had 14 for the Spurs.
Parker had 10 points in the final period as the Spurs held off the Hawks’ comeback. He was effective with his drives and when setting up Splitter on pick-and-roll plays.
‘’In the fourth quarter I was trying to be aggressive and take more shots and at the same time still find Tiago on the roll,’’ Parker said. ‘’It worked out pretty well tonight.
‘’That’s what I do best. I go to the paint and try to create, and if I feel comfortable when I go to the basket, I always feel like I can get a shot up. I’ve been doing that my whole life.’’
The Hawks began the game with a new depth problem in their backcourt. The problem reached crisis level in the second half.
The Hawks announced about 90 minutes before the game that guard Lou Williams faces season-ending surgery for a torn ACL in his right knee. Williams was hurt Friday at Brooklyn and the tear was found when Williams was examined on Saturday by Dr. Michael Bernot in Atlanta.
Then the Hawks lost guard Devin Harris to a sprained left ankle early in the final period. Harris didn’t return from the locker room after having the ankle taped.
Hawks coach Larry Drew said he had ‘’no idea’’ on the severity of Harris’ injury. Harris was hobbling in the locker room after the game, unable to put weight on his left foot.
‘’We are down to one point guard,’’ Drew said, referring to Jeff Teague.
‘’We’re certainly going to have to talk about getting some more bodies in here because we are depleted.’’

Murray Eases Into Quarters

Andy Murray barely broke sweat as he reached the last eight at the Australian Open with victory over an exhausted Gilles Simon.
In a low-key afternoon encounter on Hisense Arena, the Briton won 6-3 6-1 6-3 in one hour and 32 minutes, BBC wrote.
Murray, 25, is through to the quarterfinals in Melbourne for the fourth year in a row, and will play another Frenchman, Jeremy Chardy, on Wednesday.
He has yet to drop a set in four matches and enters the final stages as fresh as he could possibly hope for.
Up against a player who could barely walk after his near five-hour win in the last round, and with a 9-1 record in their previous meetings, Monday’s match never threatened to extend the Scot.
“It was a tough situation for both players--more obviously for him,” said Murray. “After the first few games, it didn’t feel that competitive. At this stage of a Grand Slam, you’re sort of geed up and prepared for a tough battle.
“That’s why it becomes hard, because the emotions aren’t quite into it. You’re not quite necessarily feeling pressure, but you’re wanting to try to finish the match as quickly as possible.
“It was quite a tough situation for both of us.”
Simon, 28, said he had “completely lost control” during the grueling four hours and 43 minutes required to see off Gael Monfils in round three, and gave himself little chance of challenging Murray.
The US Open champion did his best to help him out early on.
After breaking serve immediately, Murray handed it straight back to love with a poor service game that saw him misjudge a Simon drop shot and then fire a backhand wide and a forehand into the net.
Murray was hardly bristling with intent, and the Hisense Arena crowd--in marked contrast to the previous night’s crackling atmosphere on Rod Laver Arena--was sleepy.
Simon simply did not have the legs to test Murray, who sensibly had him on the move from the word go. The Frenchman sent a forehand wide to make it three breaks in a row, and that was pretty much that.
Murray wrapped up the first set after 37 minutes that had seen the pair hit 31 unforced errors between them, and just 11 winners.
Simon was visibly struggling by now, barely moving for one thumping Murray forehand, but the third seed again handed back an early break thanks in part to a wayward overhead.

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