Analysis, features, news plus more – on European football and sports galore!
Reilly Opelka and Naomi Osaka suffered injury scares on the eve of this year’s Australian Open, as their respective final appearances had to be cut short in Brisbane and Auckland respectively – seeing history made for a pair of rising Europeans who haven’t always got the shine their talent deserves at the top. Continue reading “Opelka and Osaka undone by untimely injuries in finals, Sabalenka streaking”
2021 Australian Open semi-finalist Aslan Karatsev, who quietly enjoyed a resurgence in Madrid this past month, is among the top-ranked players currently vying for a main draw berth at this year’s French Open, kicking off on Sunday. As for the women, Camila Osorio vs. Mirra Andreeva is a compelling final round clash while Tamara Zidansek is also in the qualifying competition. Continue reading “French Open 2023: Karatsev, Osorio and Zidansek headline final round qualifiers”
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”
Three weeks shy of a year since her last competitive singles match ended in defeat by Su-Wei Hsieh in Chicago, seven-time Major winner Venus Williams returned to a rapturous reception in Washington and started brilliantly but sadly her tennis faded drastically against Canadian qualifier Rebecca Marino – losing 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 despite leading the decider 4-1 at one stage. Continue reading “Citi Open: Rebecca Marino secures three-set turnaround win, snaps Venus Williams’ comeback”
An unforgettable year for the British teenager ends with successive defeats in Cluj and Linz for the US Open champion, but the gutsy fightback shown here through injury against China’s Xinyu Wang – born 14 months apart – should stand her in good stead for 2022 and beyond. Continue reading “Linz 2021: Raducanu’s memorable year ends in tight last-16 loss to persistent Wang”
Emma Raducanu’s US Open campaign continued with a 6-2, 6-4 win over China’s Zhang Shuai but Britain’s teenage qualifier said it was much less one-sided than the scoreline suggested. By contrast, Olympic champion Alexander Zverev (#4) blasted past Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 in 75 minutes while world no. 1 Ashleigh Barty, Belinda Bencic and Iga Swiatek all prevailed.
Continue reading “US Open 2021: Raducanu, Zverev earn contrasting straight-set wins on Day 4”
Handed another wildcard entry, Emma Raducanu has officially broken into the world’s top-150 after an impressive run to the WTA Chicago 125k Final over the weekend. She lost in three sets against fellow teenager Clara Tauson but while now preparing for US Open qualifiers later this week, former world number one Murray provided a glowing assessment of her future potential. Continue reading “Raducanu finishes runner-up in WTA Chicago; Murray hails her future potential”
Mo and Sports 