Analysis, features, news plus more – on European football and sports galore!
Taylor Fritz beat Arthur Rinderknech in four sets before shushing the fervently partisan Suzanne-Lenglen spectators that had been hounding him all evening long, which didn’t go down well. Elsewhere, a compelling battle between two teenagers awaits between Mirra Andreeva and last year’s runner-up Coco Gauff, while Jannik Sinner lost despite having match point… Continue reading “French Open 2023: Fritz becomes the villain, Sinner stunned and more on Day 5”
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”
Neither played badly, but both were second best on the biggest points as world no. 1 Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff suffered straight-sets defeats against a pair of Grand Slam champions in Elena Rybakina and Jelena Ostapenko on a busy Day 7 at this year’s Major. Elsewhere, Jiri Lehecka’s giantkilling run continued and he’ll face an in-form Stefanos Tsitsipas on Tuesday. Continue reading “AUS OPEN 2023: Swiatek, Gauff beaten in straight-sets, Tsitsipas survives Sinner fightback on Day 7”
Adelaide 1 finalist and 29th seed Sebastian Korda produced some brilliant ball-striking as he stunned two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev in straight-sets to steal the show on an eventful Day 5 at this year’s Australian Open, with Jiri Lehecka a big winner after some tasty fourth-round ties on the women’s side were confirmed, including Swiatek-Rybakina and Pegula-Krejcikova. Continue reading “AUS OPEN 2023: Korda outplays Medvedev, Lehecka downs Norrie, Zhu stuns Sakkari and more on Day 5”
Reigning Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal was soundly beaten by 27-year-old American Mackenzie McDonald, a straight-sets defeat compounded after straining his left hip flexor deep in set two and severely struggled with subsequent movement. Iga Swiatek and Maria Sakkari had contrasting wins, Felix Auger-Aliassime recovered from two sets down to beat Alex Molcan while Auckland titlist Coco Gauff won a rocky battle against Emma Raducanu elsewhere. Continue reading “AUS OPEN 2023: McDonald beats hobbled reigning champ Nadal, Gauff outworks Raducanu on Day 3”
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”
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”
Novak Djokovic recovered from 5-2 down in set one and emerged without enduring a three-set battle against another determined Frenchman, setting up another intriguing clash with Denis Shapovalov. Coco Gauff avenged a defeat three years in the making, before Emma Raducanu tearfully withdrew after sustaining a freak ankle injury midway through her R2 match… Continue reading “Tennis: Djokovic, Gauff edge their way to tight victories while Raducanu retires with ankle injury”
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”
Jannik Sinner recovered from a set down to ice a home hopeful in the night session, after Petra Kvitova was pushed into a deciding set ten-point tiebreak as she edged past two-time Major champion Garbine Muguruza. Elsewhere, Cameron Norrie and Frances Tiafoe prevailed before Naomi Osaka’s conqueror Danielle Collins added another tricky opponent onto her resume.
Continue reading “US Open 2022: Muguruza, Bencic among big losers as Rublev-Shapovalov taken to brink on Day 6”
The talented pair, 20 months apart in age, will face off for the second time in four weekends tomorrow night with the Umag title on the line after their thrilling four-set clash at Wimbledon set tongues wagging about how the sport’s in good hands over the next decade and more. Continue reading “Umag: Alcaraz-Sinner in Croatian clay final after contrasting semi-final wins over qualifiers”
After all the controversy, drama, pressure and tension following him for countless months, Novak Djokovic can finally breathe again. The 35-year-old recovered from a set down for the third straight match, defending his Wimbledon title for a third consecutive year, outworking and outsmarting maiden finalist Nick Kyrgios in an entertaining four-set win on Centre Court. Continue reading “Wimbledon 2022 — Day 14: Djokovic recovers to outlast Kyrgios in four sets, clinches 21st Major”
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