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Something From The Weekend: Hope for Murray; Shame for Soumillon; Boring Serie A

The Good, The Bad and The Odd

Giles Lucas
Saturday 22 October 2011 08:44 BST
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The Good: Hope for Murray

Many believe Andy Murray will never reach the zenith of tennis, but the Scot gave us a reason to believe he has what it takes yesterday. His 7-5, 6-4 win over David Ferrer in the final of the Shanghai Masters elevated him above Roger Federer in the rankings to world No 3. How times change. Visions of the Swiss maestro bedazzling spectators with cross-court winners are doubtless indelible in Murray's mind, but Federer has lost much of his ferocious form and Murray's determination has seen him raise his game. Next hurdle: leapfrogging Rafael Nadal.

The Bad: Shame for Soumillon

You have to feel empathy for jockey Christophe Soumillon. One minute, the Belgian celebrated winning the £1.3m Champion Stakes; the next, he was docked his £50,000-plus share of the prize-money and given a five-day ban for flouting whipping rules. "They changed the rules five days before the race," he told BBC Five Live's Sportsweek. "How can they do that?"

The Odd: Boring Serie A

Serie A the most exciting league in the world? Think again. Before Lazio played AS Roma last night, while Bologna beat Novara 2-0, five matches ended goalless. That's worth repeating: five games lasted 90 minutes in which teams failed to find the net. Had that happened in the Premier League, radio presenters would have been frazzled by furious fans on phone-ins complaining of a league bereft of entertainment. There may be myriad defensive errors in England's top flight but at least there are more goals on the field than yawns in the stands.

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