FOREST » two events, a poor showing in the shot put - he

Britains Katarina Johnson-Thompson moved a step closer to qualifying for the Rio Olympics after shining in Gotzis on day one of the heptathlon. The 23-year-old, looking to bounce back from the agony of last years World Championships when three fouls in the long jump dashed her medal hopes, was in fine form after recording three personal bests (PB) to leave her in second place at the Hypo-Meeting.She excelled in the 100 metres hurdles, high jump and 200m to build a total of 3932 points on Saturday. She trailed Canadas Brianne Theisen-Eaton, the world indoor champion, by 40 points, with the long jump, javelin and 800m to come on Sunday.The Liverpool athlete needed 2,268 more points to get the Olympic qualifying standard of 6,200.That looked comfortably achievable, with her overnight score nine more than it was when she set her overall PB of 6,682 points on the way to winning in Gotzis in 2014.Fellow Briton Morgan Lake, however, ended a disappointing day in 29th place on 3,498 points, while Jessica Ennis-Hill was absent, not ready for a heptathlon following her Achilles injury.Johnson-Thompson got her day off in Austria to a perfect start with an equal PB in the 100m hurdles of 13.37 seconds before she cleared 1.92m in the high jump, an outdoor PB. Johnson-Thompson clocked a personal best in the 100m hurdles Having lead the competition after two events, a poor showing in the shot put - her best throw of 11.55m was the worst in the field and well below the 13.14m PB she set earlier this month - saw her drop to sixth overall.But she responded brilliantly to clock 22.79secs in the 200m, the final event of the first day, to win her race ahead of Theisen-Eaton and was well-placed to lay down a serious marker ahead of Rio.Johnson-Thompson told the BBC: This is my first big competition, especially after a knee operation last autumn, so I just want 6,200 points and to be injury free and to be going home with my ticket for the Olympics. 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Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short. LONDON -- It was a foreboding touch to hear a gong-type noise played on U.K. television coverage as Andy Murray failed to save a fifth set point against Kei Nishikori in an epic 18-minute first-set tiebreaker on Wednesday.A similar booming sound played over Arthur Ashe Stadiums loudspeakers in Septembers US Open. After the mysterious noise, Murray melted down in a five-set quarterfinal defeat to Nishikori. But this time, Murray just about regrouped at the World Tour Finals to beat the world No. 5 6-7 (9), 6-4, 6-4.He still flirted with disaster here. Several times he got wound up into a similar state of agitation as he had in that fourth set at Flushing Meadows; he was distracted throughout, remonstrating with himself and shouting at his box.I didnt feel like I was hitting the ball as well as I would have liked, Murray later told a news conference. He was dictating so many of the points. For me it was frustrating. Didnt matter whether I tried to hit the ball a bit harder, adjusted my position on the court, nothing was making me hit the ball cleaner.As the match went on, I was getting kind of frustrated, then becoming like sarcastic with myself that I couldnt seem to hit the ball as clean as I wanted to. Yeah, I dont often do that, but today I was definitely being more sarcastic towards myself than usual.His frustrations almost cost him dearly when he failed to take two set points at 5-4 in the second set, having already been broken back once. He then needed four games to finally put away Nishikori, after building a 5-1 lead in the decider.No doubt about it, this was a step up in class for the Scot -- not since his French Open final defeat to Novak Djokovic in June had he faced a top-five opponent.There was nothing really in it, Murray admitted. He could have won in two sets, for sure. He was dictating many points. He had a number of chances.Murrays place in the semifinals is far from guaranteed, though, after Stan Wawrinka?rebounded from an opening loss to beat Marin Cilic 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3) in Wednesdays evening session at Londons O2 Arena.If Wawrinka beats Murray in two sets, and Nishikori wins against Cilic, then Murray will be out of the tournament and Djokovic will finish as year-end No. 1. But if Cilic gets his first win here, Murray and Wawrinka will both qualify for the semifinals regardless.All I know is if I want to have a chance to qualify, I need to win, said Wawrinka. Thats all I know. Thats all Im trying to do.ddddddddddddIm going to try to play my best tennis, to beat the world No. 1. Its going to be a tough match. We played many times each other. Hes playing his best tennis so far. Its going to be interesting. Im happy to play here in front of his home crowd. Im sure its going to be a great atmosphere.One man who definitely wont be here at the weekend is Gael Monfils, who withdrew from the Tour Finals with a rib injury that he first picked up in Stockholm last month. The Frenchman had lost his opening two matches to Milos Raonic and Dominic Thiem -- Djokovic will now play alternate David Goffin in his final round robin match Thursday.Definitely I cant play for tomorrow because I still feel worse and worse, my ribs, that I had lately, Monfils told a news conference. Yeah, I feel that even yesterday was tough in the game. I feel unfortunately today I couldnt be feeling great and couldnt practice, so I just decide that I couldnt play tomorrow.Monfils announcement pushed Murrays own news conference even further back -- the Scot had already been scheduled to come in to press two hours after his match against Nishikori finished.I was in the ice bath after the match, he said when he finally turned up. That obviously helps kind of make you feel a bit better. But, yeah, sort of 10, 12 hours afterwards the body starts to stiffen up. Im sure tomorrow Ill be a bit sore. But its positive I get a days rest, a days recovery tomorrow.He will need the rest -- this was officially the longest three-set match in Tour Finals history at 3 hours, 20 minutes.Not quite as long as the near five-hour epic between Murray and Nishikori that went five sets in the Davis Cup in March, nor the three hours, 57 minutes they played in New York, but still draining.While it wasnt a vintage performance, Murray found a way to get the job done, stretching his win streak to 21 matches, one short of his career-best set earlier this summer.For now, he is quickly learning that it is one thing to get to the top of the rankings, and another thing to stay there. He must match or outdo Novak Djokovics results here to finish year-end No. 1, and it could come down to a straight shootout in Sundays final.I think for the tournament and for everyone interested in tennis that would probably be the perfect way to finish the year, admitted Murray. ' ' '