Tennis

USA secure United Cup, Sabalenka and Gauff win clean while Djokovic saves match point to pip Korda

Novak Djokovic of Serbia mens champion after defeating Sebastian Korda of the USA during day eight of the 2023 Adelaide International at Memorial...

What a day of finals action. USA swept Italy in the inaugural United Cup, before American teenager Coco Gauff and world no. 5 Aryna Sabalenka both prevailed in straight-sets to clinch their first WTA singles titles since May 2021 while Novak Djokovic recovered from the brink – match point down – to eventually overwhelm Sebastian Korda to win his 92nd ATP title. Continue reading “USA secure United Cup, Sabalenka and Gauff win clean while Djokovic saves match point to pip Korda”

Tennis

USA vs. Italy sealed for United Cup final, Gauff-Masarova and Djokovic-Korda finals plus more

Greeces Stefanos Tsitsipas embraces Italys Matteo Berrettini after their mens singles in the semi-final of the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney...

USA vs. Italy awaits in the United Cup final after both nations took care of business. Coco Gauff faces Spanish qualifier Rebeka Masarova in tomorrow’s finale, while Tallon Griekspoor became a first-time ATP tour-level titlist with a recovery win over Benjamin Bonzi. Elsewhere, Sebastian Korda’s steady tennis helped him book a final berth, but not before witnessing an emotional outburst – while Novak Djokovic bested Daniil Medvedev despite weathering an injury scare. Continue reading “USA vs. Italy sealed for United Cup final, Gauff-Masarova and Djokovic-Korda finals plus more”

Tennis

USA and Italy lead in United Cup semis, Noskova-Jabeur and Djokovic-Medvedev confirmed

Jessica Pegula of the United States celebrates winning match point in the Semifinal match against Iga Swiatek of Poland during day eight of the 2023...

Jessica Pegula ended a four-match losing streak against the world no. 1, while Martina Trevisan played spoiler to sting Greece as the United Cup semi-finals got underway. Elsewhere, there were big wins for Sebastian Korda and Linda Noskova, while two first-time finalists will play each other in Pune. It’s always fun to get a Djokovic-Medvedev matchup too, right? Continue reading “USA and Italy lead in United Cup semis, Noskova-Jabeur and Djokovic-Medvedev confirmed”

Tennis

Tennis: United Cup’s final four teams confirmed, Rybakina and Andreescu lose in Adelaide and more

Greece's Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrate with teammates their win over Croatia's Petra Martic and Borna Gojo at the end of their mixed...

Maria Sakkari called this one of the best weeks in her career. Jessica Pegula spoke for team USA, stressing their excitement for what’s to come. Poland are deadly in unison and we’re only halfway through: the United Cup’s final four nations were sealed after a manic day’s action – with a few surprising results as expected across tour-level tournaments elsewhere today. Continue reading “Tennis: United Cup’s final four teams confirmed, Rybakina and Andreescu lose in Adelaide and more”

Tennis

United Cup: Berrettini, Sakkari, Wawrinka all prevail before Kubler clinches big win for team Australia

Jason Kubler of Australia celebrates victory in the Group D match against Daniel Evans of Great Britain during day two of the 2023 United Cup at Ken...

There were straight-set victories for Matteo Berrettini, Maria Sakkari and Stan Wawrinka among others but the big story came in the evening as home favourite Jason Kubler recovered from a 5-0 second set deficit to overwhelm world no. 27 Dan Evans and secure Australia’s first-ever United Cup triumph, on an eventful second day of group action at the tournament. Continue reading “United Cup: Berrettini, Sakkari, Wawrinka all prevail before Kubler clinches big win for team Australia”

Tennis

Australian Open 2023: Berrettini to use United Cup as confidence boost for long Grand Slam run

Matteo Berrettini of Italy during day one of the Diriyah Tennis Cup Riyadh 2022 on December 08, 2022 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

After surpassing his previous best, earning a semi-final finish at this year’s Australian Open, 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini has spoken about how he plans to utilise the upcoming United Cup as an opportunity to build towards an even better run in mid-January at Melbourne Park – where his deficiencies were laid bare by Rafael Nadal 11 months ago.
Continue reading “Australian Open 2023: Berrettini to use United Cup as confidence boost for long Grand Slam run”

NBA

NBA news round-up: Zion progressing, Williams’ knee surgery, Wembanyama’s draft caution and more

Victoir WEMBANYAMA of ASVEL during the Turkish Airlines Euroleague match between ASVEL LDLC and Olimpia Milan at The Astroballe on April 7, 2022 in...

As the domestic campaign gets underway this weekend in France, projected 2023 top draft pick and teenage center Victor Wembanyama spoke with understandable caution about preferring team fit as well as a favourable environment rather than just being the No. 1 selection. Zion Williamson’s strength-and-conditioning coach provided an encouraging endorsement, Robert Williams III (knee) will miss the start of the season and more besides. Read the round-up here. Continue reading “NBA news round-up: Zion progressing, Williams’ knee surgery, Wembanyama’s draft caution and more”

Analysis, feature pieces

U19 Euros: After flawless group stage campaign, tougher tests now await English teens

Liam Delap of England celebrates with teammates after scoring their team's first goal during the UEFA European Under-19 Championship 2022 Group B...

Ian Foster’s men topped Group B with three wins, seven goals scored and none conceded – finishing with a 1-0 victory over second-placed Israel on Saturday evening. Up next for them is the Italians on Tuesday afternoon in the tournament’s semi-finals, but will they hold firm again? Continue reading “U19 Euros: After flawless group stage campaign, tougher tests now await English teens”

Archives

Gareth Southgate’s contract extension felt inevitable, but is no less divisive

Gareth Southgate, Manager of England and Steve Holland, Assistant Manager of England pose for a photo after the England Press Conference after...

Gareth Southgate’s two-year extension announcement means, if all goes well, he’ll remain England manager until December 2024 – occupying the position for more than eight years, being their longest head coach since Bobby Robson. They’ve progressed considerably under his guidance and yet there remains an unwavering feeling he’s taken them as far as he can. Continue reading “Gareth Southgate’s contract extension felt inevitable, but is no less divisive”

Archives

Spain 1-2 France: Les Bleus seal Nations League title the hard way after nailbiting finish

Hugo Lloris of France lifts The UEFA Nations League Trophy following their team's victory in the UEFA Nations League 2021 Final match between Spain...

World champions France recovered from another deficit, for the second time in four days, to be crowned the 2021 UEFA Nations League champions with a 2-1 win over Euro 2020 semi-finalists Spain. Just like their comeback win over Belgium, goals from Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe saw them storm ahead in a frenetic second-half packed with chances for both sides.  Continue reading “Spain 1-2 France: Les Bleus seal Nations League title the hard way after nailbiting finish”

Archives

Belgium 2-3 France: Benzema, Mbappe key as Les Bleus earn second-half comeback win

Karim Benzema of France gives words of encouragement to team mate Kylian Mbappe before taking a penalty to level the scoreline at 2-2 during the UEFA...

In a week where he addressed the Real Madrid rumours and mother Fayza provided an update on her son’s future, Kylian Mbappe produced his best display since May to help propel France into the UEFA Nations League Final, where they play Euro 2020 semi-finalists Spain on Sunday.
Continue reading “Belgium 2-3 France: Benzema, Mbappe key as Les Bleus earn second-half comeback win”

Archives

Tokyo Olympics update: Gauff, Berrettini withdraw with COVID and injury issues

Coco Gauff of The United States, playing partner of Caty McNally of The United States plays a backhand in their Ladies' Doubles Third Round match...

In a field weakened by notable absences including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Simona Halep and Serena Williams, America’s prodigious teenager Coco Gauff and first-time Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini have withdrawn from this year’s rescheduled Tokyo Olympics. Gauff tested positive for COVID-19, while Berrettini has been struggling with a lingering thigh injury. Continue reading “Tokyo Olympics update: Gauff, Berrettini withdraw with COVID and injury issues”