Roberto Martinez was hired as the new manager of Everton on Wednesday, concluding a four-year spell at Wigan where he established a reputation for playing entertaining football but couldn’t prevent its slide out of the English Premier League.
Martinez signed a four-year deal as the replacement for David Moyes, who is taking over from Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, to become only Everton’s 14th permanent manager in its 135-year history.
Linked heavily with jobs at Liverpool and Aston Villa in recent seasons, his stock remained high despite failing to keep Wigan in England’s top division for the fourth straight season. He guided the northwest team to a first major trophy thanks to a surprise 1-0 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final in May and insisted on adopting an easy-on-the-eye style that earned plaudits across the country. “Roberto has been for us one fantastic manager ... he’s just such a wonderful character. He is going to a great club, great supporters and I wish him the best of luck,” said Wigan owner Dave Whelan.
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Ankita reaches ITF quarters in Uzbekistan
New Delhi, June 5: Ankita Raina upset fifth seed Teodora Mircic of Serbia 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals of the $25,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Karshi, Uzbekistan.
This will be the first-ever appearance in the quarters for the 20-year-old, who had to qualify for the main draw. She will now face third seed and local favourite Nigina Abdurakhimova.
Facing a player ranked 200 places above her in ranking, Ankita struggled to find her rhythm in the first set and had to wait till the sixth game to hold her serve and win her maiden game of the match. The youngster regrouped herself during the break after the first set and won the next two sets to win the match. — PTI