Hampden Park officials have moved to allay fears about the state of the pitch ahead of this weekends Scottish Cup semi-finals. The playing surface at Scotlands national stadium has been relaid since last Sundays Petrofac Training Cup final but Peter Dallas, managing director of Hampden Park Ltd, believes it will cope with Saturdays match between Hibernian and Dundee United and the Celtic and Rangers showdown on Sunday.Dallas told Sky Sports News HQ on Thursday: The pitch is looking excellent. We are very pleased with the installation. The installation was completed on Tuesday night at 8pm. The process started on Sunday immediately after the Petrofac Cup final. We are very pleased with the surface, its been cut this morning and its looking good. We are looking forward to an excellent weekend of football. Its been well documented that there were certain areas where the grass was not developing as well as we expected. We had professional analysis taken on the pitch and therefore we had a decision to make.The overriding factors were that the pitch may have developed over the next few weeks or so, however there was a chance that the pitch may go backwards and might regress. There have been numerous problems with the pitch at Hampden in the past A big decision was made that we should relay the turf - that was a tall order for the installation company. Weve worked very closely with our supply chain and Im delighted to say that all parties came round the table and you can see the magnificent results over 48 hours work.The cost is cost neutral to Hampden Park Ltd. All parties have come together we have a good amicable relationship and we have installed the pitch at no cost to Hampden Park Ltd.We expect that this pitch will play well over the next few weeks and for time to come. 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Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and took the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. The match was similar to Isners quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber which went to three sets, all tiebreaks and contained no breaks of serve. Custom Houston Astros Nike Jerseys . Ronaldo produced a spectacular individual performance on Tuesday, scoring all three goals and guiding Portugal into the next years World Cup in Brazil with a 3-2 victory in Sweden. The Real Madrid forward has scored 66 goals in 2013, but the last three may be the boost he needs to upstage Messi after FIFA unexpectedly extended the voting period for the Ballon dOr to Nov. PHILADELPHIA -- Gordon Haywards return to the lineup just might make Utah a factor in the Western Conference.Derrick Favors had 16 points and 14 rebounds and Rodney Hood scored 18 points to lead the Utah Jazz to a 109-84 victory over the winless Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.Hayward scored 20 points in the second game of his return since he broke his right ring finger in training camp. He led the team in scoring last season, averaging nearly 20 points per game.Thats one of the better teams, I think, in the West, 76ers coach Brett Brown said.The Jazz won their second straight game on the road and cruised against a Sixers team again mired at the bottom of the NBA standings. The Sixers have lost 43 straight games in October and November. The Sixers last won a game in either of those two months on Nov. 22, 2013, against Milwaukee.The Sixers are 0-6 for the third straight season and have lost 10 straight dating to last season.Jahlil Okafor led the Sixers with 15 points.We were flat the entire night, Okafor said.The Jazz let the Sixers hang around until Shelvin Mack hit a 3-pointer during a 10-0 run that pretty much ended the game. Hayward, who 28 scored points in his season debut Sunday against New York, had four points during the run. He made 9 of 17 shots and had five assists and seven boards.Hes going to continue to have good games, Jazz coach Quin Snyder. Hes put a lot of time in, a lot of energy, a lot of work. You see it out there with his demeanor. Other guys look to him and they see that, too.Utahs Rudy Gobert and Philadelphias Joel Embiid had an anticipated battle of the big men curtailed by foul trouble. Gobert fouled out and scored eight points. Embiid was whistled for five fouls and scored 14 points.Gobert blocked a shot by Embiid early in the first quarter and Embiid missed a dunk late in the first half.We wanted to put hands on balls and be aggressivee defensively, Gobert said.dddddddddddd.Embiid, the franchise center nicknamed The Process, had a rare quiet game for a team desperately looking for a win. The Sixers lost their first 18 games of the season and 17 straight to open 2014-15. The winless count goes on again this season.Youre always wanting to know why and how to achieve wins, close-game wins, close-out wins, Brown said. The time that weve spent, I think is going to pay dividends.TIP-INSJazz: The Jazz beat the Sixers for the eighth straight time. ... The Jazz made 11 of 19 3-point attempts. ... Utah had 11 blocks.76ers: The 76ers fans, who have been patient during the rebuilding process, loudly booed Nik Stauskas when he missed a pull-up 3 trailing by 16 late in the third. They loudly booed as they fled for the exits with the Sixers down 20 late in the fourth.HILL OUTGeorge Hill sat out with a sprained right thumb. Mack started for Hill, who was named NBA Western Conference player of the week on averages of 20.8 points, 5.8 assists and 3.3 rebounds.Whoever plays for George isnt going to be George, Snyder said. The good thing about George is that I think hes prepared to score, to defend, to lead, whatever it is, at any moment that the team needs for him to do.JOEL EM-3IIDEmbiid actually led the NBA in 3-point percentage (67 percent) because he had made 6 of 9 attempts entering the game. He did not attempt a 3 against the Jazz.He has an unusual skill as a 5 man that we can use from time to time, Brown said.Embiid was again on a 24-minute restriction following two seasons off because of a broken right foot.I want to play more but its on them, Embiid said.UP NEXTJazz: Play Wednesday at Charlotte. Hill is questionable to play against the Hornets.76ers: Visit Indiana on Wednesday. ' ' '