MONTREAL: Andy Murray confirmed his new-found status as world No2 with a battling win over Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro to take Montreal Masters Tennis title.A tense and high-quality game saw Murray concede a mini-break at 4-4, and with the help of a Hawkeye challenge, Del Potro served out to win the tie break 7-4, and take the first set.The second set proceeded in similar fashion, but only after the opening two games. First Murray broke the Argentine's serve on his fourth opportunity in the game after a bruising series of deuces and break points.But the World No2 then ceded the advantage, losing his serve in the very next game with a combination of errors and some powerful groundstrokes by his opponent.When the set reached 6-6, Del Potro called for the trainer to get some treatment on his shoulder, but he was able to continue. But he made a crucial error in the second tiebreak of the match to allow the Scot to take the lead 4-2. Murray then endured a barrage of Del Potro forehands, as the Argentine attacked the second serve. But the Scot held on to his advantage and won the tie break 7-3 to level the match.The final set was one-sided, as Murray took advantage of a tired-looking Del Potro who began poorly to concede a break in the second game of the final set. After opening up with a double-fault, he dropped his head. Murray raced into a 4-0 lead with a second break of serve after he held his own to love, and although he gave one of the breaks back in the sixth game, the result looked in little doubt. Murray won the final two games to win the match 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
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