Analysis, features, news plus more – on European football and sports galore!
They say revenge is a dish best served cold and it certainly was for this year’s Indian Wells champions: Elena Rybakina bested Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in straight-sets, before Carlos Alcaraz ended Daniil Medvedev’s 19-match winning streak with aplomb in the men’s final. Continue reading “Indian Wells: Rybakina pips Sabalenka to title, before Alcaraz ends Medvedev’s 19-match win streak”
World no. 1 Iga Swiatek endured some stressful moments but won in straight-sets over Emma Raducanu, who faded physically despite an encouraging display in places. That came after Jack Draper was forced to retire with an abdominal injury against Carlos Alcaraz, who now plays comeback king Felix Auger-Aliassime in the last-eight – who he has never beaten (0-3 H2H) before… Continue reading “Indian Wells: Swiatek stifles Raducanu, Draper’s injury woes return and Norrie’s double-header”
Monday was the day of youth – don’t tell Holger Rune – as Jack Draper followed up Emma Raducanu’s character-building deciding set victory with an unforgettable one of his own against an idol and mentor in former world no. 1 Andy Murray. His reward? A matchup against tournament top seed, Carlos Alcaraz, after he logged his 100th tour-level win over Tallon Griekspoor. Continue reading “Indian Wells: Raducanu-Swiatek, Draper-Alcaraz in R4 after big wins for young duo”
2023 brings a new year packed with resolutions, time-specific targets and compelling storylines too. With the year’s first Major tournament set to begin on Monday in Melbourne, here’s a news round-up before the big occasion finally gets underway – from player withdrawals, injury scares, progress reports from recent tournaments and my draw analysis for both tours.
Continue reading “AUS OPEN 2023: Nadal, Swiatek and more in round-up, draw analysis as year’s first Major starts Monday”
There’s going to be a lot of pressure and expectation on Carlos Alcaraz’s shoulders in the new year, something the Spanish teenager is aware of, but how will he handle it after his meteoric rise continued with two Masters 1000 titles and the US Open crown in an unforgettable 2022? Continue reading “Carlos Alcaraz aware a difficult 2023 season awaits him with newfound favourite tag”
2022 started with the now-former world no. 1 being embarrassed in Australia, deported as he prepared to defend his Grand Slam title – an easy target for vilification worldwide given his vaccination stance. It ends with Novak Djokovic clinching a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals title despite Casper Ruud’s best efforts, another result during an eventful week in Turin setting up the new season perfectly with plenty of compelling questions now bubbling to the surface. Continue reading “ATP Finals: Djokovic outlasts Ruud to seal record-equalling sixth title, ending a memorable 2022”
On a day where two of the world’s top male players both crashed out in the first-round of their respective tournaments, Emma Raducanu acquitted herself well but costly errors late in both sets saw her ultimately lose a competitive clash to Daria Kasatkina. Daniil Medvedev dropped just four games, while Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios excelled on his return to action too. Continue reading “Round-up: Alcaraz, Ruud stunned in straight-sets, Kasatkina outwits Raducanu in Ostrava and more”
21-time Major champion Novak Djokovic shrugged off a wrist injury to seize the 89th title of his career with a straight-sets victory against Marin Cilic in Tel Aviv last night, and now the 35-year-old ventures to Astana with US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev among the top seeds this week. How will the Serb fare in a draw featuring the new world no. 1 and more?
Continue reading “Djokovic downs Cilic to clinch Tel Aviv title, Astana Open with Alcaraz and Medvedev awaits”
Carlos Alcaraz began with renewed vigour, Casper Ruud pegged him back with some brilliant shot-making as questions over fatigue arose – after setting a record for the longest time played at a Grand Slam on record. The 19-year-old saved two set points in the third, before powering home in four as he earned his first Major title and will be the new world no. 1 come Monday. Continue reading “US Open – Day 14: Alcaraz topples Ruud in four sets, clinches first Major title and is new world no. 1”
Casper Ruud and Carlos Alcaraz will go head-to-head once more with a maiden Grand Slam title up for grabs, as well as the world no. 1 ranking on Sunday evening, after they earned contrasting wins over Karen Khachanov and Frances Tiafoe in Friday’s semi-final double-header. Ruud was largely excellent against the Russian despite a third set blip late, while Alcaraz rallied from a set down and again came out on top during another deciding set battle. Continue reading “US Open – Day 12: Ruud-Alcaraz for #1 spot in Sunday’s final after contrasting wins over Khachanov, Tiafoe”
Aryna Sabalenka will play Iga Swiatek, keen to erase her 0-3 H2H record this season in Thursday’s US Open semi-final after the pair earned contrasting straight-set wins over Karolina Pliskova and Jessica Pegula. Meanwhile, Frances Tiafoe will look to make more history after taking down Rafael Nadal and Andrey Rublev: he plays Jannik Sinner’s conqueror Carlos Alcaraz on Friday, having watched a 5-hour epic unfold into the early hours between the pair.
Continue reading “Day 10 – US Open 2022: Sabalenka-Swiatek, Tiafoe-Alcaraz in semifinals after Sinner-Alcaraz epic”
Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios produced some blistering tennis en route to a four-set win over defending champion Daniil Medvedev, before Frances Tiafoe did the same to earn his career-best result – extinguishing Rafael Nadal’s 22-match Slam winning streak to seal a quarter-final berth: the youngest American in the last-eight since Andy Roddick in 2004.
Continue reading “Day 7-8 – US Open 2022: Kyrgios blitzes Medvedev, Tiafoe topples Nadal in whirlwind 24 hours”
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