In a world of diminishing attention spans, it sometimes falls upon Cristiano Ronaldo to remind everyone that he is a footballer possessed of so much more than a surly pout and a neck like a tree trunk. Ronaldo scored five times in Real Madrid’s 9-1 deconstruction of Granada, including three goals in eight minutes, thus equalling Lionel Messi’s record of 24 hat-tricks scored in La Liga. The win halted a run of three defeats in four for Real, a truth not lost on manager Carlo Ancelotti: “It’s better to win nine games 1-0 than one 9-1,” he admitted. In England, the four Champions’ League qualifying places look all but taken after Arsenal’s 4-1 drubbing of Liverpool left the fifth-placed Merseysiders seven points adrift of Manchester City, who also lost at Crystal Palace. A 2-1 win over Stoke kept Chelsea on course for the Premier League title.
Ko equals sub-par golf record
It was also a record-equalling week for Lydia Ko, the wunderkind of women’s golf, whose 29 consecutive sub-par rounds drew her level with a mark set 11 years ago by Sweden’s Annika Sörenstam before a poor showing at the ANA Inspiration tournament in California ended the run. “In a way, I’m relieved that nobody is going to ask me this question again until I do that again – hopefully I can,” said the 17-year-old New Zealander, who also lost her world No1 ranking following the ANA tournament, which was won in a playoff by Brittany Lincicome.
Murray mauled in Miami
Once the jaunty realm of the Fab Four, men’s tennis is these days all about the brutal bass lines of Novak Djokovic. Having beaten Roger Federer to win the Indian Wells title last month, the Serb chewed up and spat out Andy Murray in the final of the Miami Open. Djokovic described his 7-6, 4-6, 6-0 win as “a positive” going into the clay court season, a view that will not be shared by many of his rivals. Indeed, Djokovic’s status as world No 1 looks unchallengeable after Rafael Nadal departed the tournament early, blaming a crisis of self-confidence. In the women’s final, world No 1 Serena Williams swatted aside Carla Suárez Navarro 6-2, 6-0 for her eighth Key Biscayne title, having notched up her 700th career victory earlier in the tournament.
Iran lifts ban on women fans
A sliver of rationality returned to sport in Iran, where a government ban was lifted so that women are now permitted to attend some major sporting events alongside men. The policy gained worldwide attention last year after a British-Iranian woman, Ghoncheh Ghavami, was jailed for five months after trying to watch a men’s international volleyball match. “Although this proposal is likely to be enforced with some limitations in the beginning, fortunately the issue of women demanding to be allowed in stadiums has gained much public support in the country thanks to the efforts of women’s rights activists in the past 10 years,” said Ghavami.
