PARIS: Top-ranked Novak Djokovic and No. 2 Rafael Nadal remain on course to face off in the Paris Masters final, a 55th match in their intense rivalry, after winning their quarterfinals in straight sets on Friday.
Djokovic demolished seventh-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-1, 6-2 after losing to the Greek three weeks ago in the Shanghai quarterfinals. It could have been even quicker since he led the first set 5-0, 40-0, but Tsitsipas saved three set points and held serve.
Nadal had a more demanding contest against 2008 champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, with the first set tiebreak reaching 3-3 after Nadal double faulted. But when the veteran Spaniard broke the unseeded Frenchman at the start of the second he took control in a 7-6 (4), 6-1 win.
“It was a tough first set where I had to play at a very high level,” Nadal said after beating Tsonga for the 10th time in 14 meetings.
Nadal and Djokovic are vying for the year-end No. 1 ranking. Nadal will guarantee it for the fifth time if he wins the Paris Masters for the first time, while Djokovic is chasing a fifth title at Bercy Arena and a sixth year-end finish as No. 1.
Iin Saturday’s semifinals, he takes on Grigor Dimitrov while Nadal plays Denis Shapovalov.
Nadal is 1-1 in career meetings with the Canadian, while Djokovic has an 8-1 lead over the US Open semifinalist Dimitrov.
Djokovic, chasing a 77th career title, even impressed himself with the level of his performance.
“I played one of the best matches of the season. I prepared myself very well for this match. I lost to Stefanos in Shanghai and obviously I went through the videos, understanding what I did well, what I didn’t do so well,” Djokovic said. “I served well. I read his serve very well, as well. Put him under pressure constantly.”
He broke Tsitsipas in the third game of the second set, then held and broke to love for 4-1. Tsitsipas, who dropped his serve four times, appeared to hurt his left ankle when retrieving a shot near the baseline in the second set.
Serving for the match, Djokovic clinched it on his first match point when Tsitsipas whipped a forehand long following a short rally.
Djokovic, last year’s runner-up, is wary of Dimitrov, who beat Roger Federer in the US Open quarterfinals. Although Dimitrov has won only eight career titles — and none since the ATP Finals in 2017 for his biggest prize — Djokovic talked him up.
“He has been one of the best talents we had in the sport in the last decade for sure. There’s been a lot of comparison with his game and Federer’s game,” Djokovic said. “Since the US Open he’s playing at a different level, a high level. He always had the game; it’s just sometimes it’s a matter of things coming together, really, mentally and at the right time.”
Djokovic also noted that Dimitrov, who is set to break back into the top 20 rankings next week after plummeting to No. 78 in August, has found a way to overcome a weakness on backhand.
“The backhand was always his kind of weaker shot ... so most of the players (tried) to attack that vulnerable side of his game,” Djokovic said. “But he mixes it up really well with the slice. He blocks a lot of returns and gets back into play and he moves extremely well. He’s one of the fittest guys on the tour. So that helps him, always being in the right position.”
Dimitrov reached his second semifinal this season by beating Cristian Garin 6-2, 7-5.
Shapovalov crushed Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-2, ending the Frenchman’s hopes of reaching the season-ending ATP Finals in London and sending US Open semifinalist Matteo Berrettini there instead.
Djokovic and Nadal on course to meet in Paris Masters final
Djokovic and Nadal on course to meet in Paris Masters final
- Djokovic demolished seventh-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-1, 6-2
- Nadal dispatched 2008 champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6, 6-1
Rybakina adds Sanguinetti to coaching staff amid Vukov investigation
- Italian is with Rybakina this week in Abu Dhabi, where world number five is top seed and defending champion
ABU DHABI: Elena Rybakina has added Italian former player Davide Sanguinetti to her coaching staff and has reiterated her displeasure at the WTA’s decision to provisionally suspend her coach Stefano Vukov for allegedly breaching the tour’s Code of Conduct.
Rybakina ended her trial period with Novak Djokovic’s former coach Goran Ivanisevic following her fourth-round exit from the Australian Open last month and has brought in Sanguinetti to accompany her at tournaments and work with Vukov, who is banned from all sanctioned events pending the WTA’s investigation into his conduct.
Sanguinetti is with Rybakina this week in Abu Dhabi, where the world number five is the top seed and defending champion.
The 2022 Wimbledon winner says she has not been notified by the WTA about a date for the conclusion of the investigation and insists the situation “was not handled well”.
“I don’t know much. It’s a situation I’m not happy with. But it is what it is but for now I don’t know much,” Rybakina told AFP at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open on Sunday.
“I think safeguarding is important but the case with what happened with us I don’t think it was handled well.”
Vukov told The Athletic that he “never abused anyone” and Rybakina feels she is not being heard.
“In the end of the day, I think you need to listen to the player, that’s the most important. Because as I said before there are a lot of comments from people which are also in our environment but they’re making comments not knowing me, not knowing him, and it’s just making a bad look for everyone.”
Rybakina says the coaching partnership with Ivanisevic was on a trial basis and the decision for them to part ways after just a couple of months of working together was mutual.
“We just sat down, we talked, and we decided to go our separate ways. But I think I learned a lot and it’s not easy to find a good collaboration,” explained the 25-year-old Kazakh.
“It of course takes time and everything but that was our decision. We’ll see how this year goes for me. I’m also not such an easy player maybe like some people think, ‘Oh it’s easy with her’, or something, but it’s not really like this.
“I think every person is different and there is no one who is perfect. I can be sometimes stubborn on the court, stubborn on some things, that’s at least my honest opinion.”
While Vukov is banned from joining Rybakina at tournaments, she says they are “communicating of course” and that he and Sanguinetti are always in contact, and spent some time together with her at a recent training block in Dubai post-Australian Open.
“He’s an important person in my career. We started when I was like 200 [in the world]. So it’s a lot of things, on the court, outside of the court, he’s helping out with,” she said of Vukov, who began coaching her when she was a teenager.
“I feel like of course it’s not ideal that he cannot be on the practice courts but at the same time we are finding a way also with help of Davide, his opinion. I hope it’s going to work out. We have a good team in the end of the day.”
Rybakina headlines a competitive field at the WTA 500 tournament in Abu Dhabi that also includes recent Australian Open semi-finalist Paula Badosa, world number 11 Daria Kasatkina, Tunisian star Ons Jabeur, and British wildcard Emma Raducanu.
Main draw action kicks off on Monday with the final taking place on Saturday February 8.
Afghans push back against international calls for ban on cricket team
- Cricket is considered the most popular sport in Afghanistan, representing hope for many Afghans
- British lawmakers urged their national cricket body to boycott Feb. 26 match against Afghanistan
KABUL: Afghans are pushing back against calls to ban their national cricket team from participating in international competitions, saying that such a move would not reverse the Taliban’s increasing restrictions on women in the country.
Regarded as the most popular sport in Afghanistan, cricket has represented a rare bright spot for many Afghans as they struggle amid a devastating economic and humanitarian crisis sparked by sanctions slapped on the Taliban administration following their takeover in 2021.
Since last month, foreign campaigns calling for Afghanistan’s men’s team to be barred from international matches have been gaining traction, as a protest of the Taliban restricting women’s access to education, the workplace, public spaces, as well as sports.
This includes British lawmakers urging the England Cricket Board to boycott the country’s upcoming match against Afghanistan in the ICC Champions Trophy, which is scheduled to take place on Feb. 26.
“There are problems in the country – we can’t deny that – but cricket is certainly not one of them,” Ahmad Nadim, a 23-year-old cricket fan in Kabul, told Arab News.
“The national players were among the first ones to criticize the restrictions on girls’ education and they have continuously voiced their support for Afghan women’s rights. Cricket has been a great source of happiness for Afghans and still continues to be one.”
Despite record-setting performances – including high-profile victories against England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia – over the last few years, Afghanistan’s place on the world cricket stage has become increasingly controversial.
After the Taliban disbanded the country’s women’s team following their takeover, most of the squad members fled to Australia, where they reunited for a match just last week.
Though the International Cricket Council requires member nations to have both a men’s and a women’s team, as Afghanistan kept its status as a full member in the ICC it triggered boycotts from countries like Australia and England, which have refused to play them in bilateral matches.
Human Rights Watch have also called on the ICC to suspend Afghanistan’s membership “until women and girls can once again participate in education and sport” in the country.
In their home country, Afghans are openly opposing the boycotts and called for sports to be separated from politics.
“Afghanistan’s cricket team is all supportive of women’s right to education because education is the foundation of a strong society and development in the country,” Hasti Gul Abid, Afghan cricketer who has played for the national team, told Arab News.
“Afghanistan’s cricket reached the current stage with a lot of difficulties,” he said. “The people of Afghanistan have been supporting their national team since day one. Our people contributed to the advancement of cricket as much as the players did.”
As the men’s team’s popularity and victories have brought joy across the country on many occasions, some argue that the squad should not be seen as representatives of the Taliban government.
“The cricket team belongs to the whole country and all Afghans. It represents us all, not a specific political or ethnic group,” said 21-year-old Khanzada Shaheen, who plays in a local cricket team in Kabul.
Banning Afghanistan’s cricket team will not change the Taliban’s policies against women, said Lal Pacha, a fruit vendor in Kabul.
“We all want Afghan girls to return to schools and universities but why punish our cricket team for that?” he told Arab News.
“Let’s say the cricket team is banned from playing internationally, will this change the Islamic Emirate’s policy? There’s no logic in the demand for banning the cricket team.”
Sofia Kenin and Cristina Bucsa win Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open qualifiers
- Mixed day for the Brits as Sonay Kartal progresses but Heather Watson is beaten
- Main draw pits Ons Jabeur against Jelena Ostapenko while Emma Raducanu meets Marketa Vondrousova
ABU DHABI: The Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open returned to the UAE capital on Saturday with qualifying wins for the likes of Sofia Kenin, Cristina Bucsa and 17-year-old Wakana Sonobe.
Meanwhile, the main draw produced clashes between crowd favorite Ons Jabeur and Jelena Ostapenko, and Grand Slam champions Emma Raducanu and Marketa Vondrousova.
The third edition of the Women’s Tennis Association 500 event takes place at the International Tennis Centre, Zayed Sports City, over the next week, with the final on Saturday, Feb. 8.
American Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, overcame Japan’s Aoi Ito in an entertaining match early on, edging a tight first set via tie-break before running out the winner, 7-6, 6-2.
In her match, Cristina Bucsa fought back from a set down to beat Kamilla Rakhimova 5-7, 7-6, 6-3.
Brit Heather Watson, the Wimbledon mixed doubles champion, suffered an early exit at the hands of Katie Volynets, losing 6-4, 6-3, but her compatriot Sonay Kartal produced a superb comeback against Chloe Paquet, overturning a one-set deficit to win 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Elsewhere, Sonobe, who won the girls’ singles title at the Australian Open one week ago, defeated Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 6-1, while there were also straight-set victories for Veronika Kudermetova and McCartney Kessler.
Meanwhile, Teodora Kostovic and Renata Zarazua progressed via walkovers following the withdrawals through injury of Diane Parry and Ysaline Bonaventure.
Away from the on-court action, the main draw took place in the new-look Mubadala Tennis Village which, at 15,000 sq. meters, is double the size of previous years.
Three-time Grand Slam finalist Jabeur takes on Ostapenko, who won the French Open in 2017 and the US Open doubles title in 2024, while 2021 US Open winner Raducanu, goes head-to-head with 2023 Wimbledon champion Vondrousova.
Elsewhere, Belinda Bencic, winner of the inaugural Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open in 2023, goes up against Rebecca Sramkova, Polina Kudermetova faces Liudmila Samsonova, and 2022 WTA Finals champion Caroline Garcia plays Lulu Sun.
Tournament director Nigel Gupta said: “The opening day of this year’s tournament has been a huge success, with some wonderful matches and fantastic off-court entertainment. Attendance figures have been great, and it was brilliant to see so many fans of all ages coming through the gates and enjoying the Mubadala Tennis Village.
“The draw has produced some really exciting matches, and everything is on course for the 2025 edition of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open to be the best yet. We look forward to welcoming many more spectators to Zayed Sports City over the course of the next week.”
Gulf Giants stay alive in DP World ILT20 playoff race after win over Abu Dhabi Knight Riders
- The Giants won by 7 wickets to sit 3rd in the table after 10 matches
ABU DHABI: The Gulf Giants returned to winning ways as they coasted to a seven-wicket win over the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the DP World ILT20 clash at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
The win sees the Giants climb to third in the table and gives a welcome boost to their playoff chances. The result also confirms the MI Emirates join the Desert Vipers as playoff qualifiers.
Needing a win to keep their competition hopes alive, the Gulf Giants were brilliant with the ball as they stifled the Knight Riders for 123. In response, they rode on a superb 70-run partnership between Gerhard Erasmus and Tom Curran and some late pinch-hitting from Shimron Hetmyer to clinch the victory.
The Giants were off the blocks well in what appeared to be a straightforward chase. However, David Willey worked his magic as he picked up two wickets in as many deliveries to put the opposition in a worrisome spot. James Vince played the ball onto his stumps to depart for seven and Willey trapped Jordan Cox LBW on the next to give his side a fighting chance. The Giants scored 27/2 in the powerplay, just three runs more than their opponents at the same stage. A disciplined bowling effort from Willey and Sunil Narine curtailed the Giants’ batting as they were restricted to 50/2 at the halfway point.
But it was just a matter of time before Erasmus and Curran found their groove, which happened in the 11th over. Curran let loose as he hit Andre Russell for a four, a six and another four to amass 17 much-needed runs. That gave the Giants the impetus they needed as they got 12 more runs off Terrance Hinds in the 13th.
The Giants were on track at this point, at 82/2, and needed a run per ball from the remaining seven overs. An impressive 70-run partnership between Curran and Erasmus came to an end when Jason Holder found the breakthrough in the 15th over. Erasmus was caught at mid-off, but Hetmyer joined Curran and made his intentions clear early on with a superb boundary. Narine, uncharacteristically, gave away four runs in extras as the Giants inched closer to the target.
Hetmyer displayed his big-hitting skills as he clobbered Irbar Ahmad for a maximum over deep midwicket and subsequently hit the winning runs to seal a remarkable victory for the Gulf Giants.
Earlier, the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders made a poor start when they lost both their openers — Kyle Mayers and Andries Gous — inside the opening three overs. Each made one run as the Knight Riders limped to 4/2. Roston Chase offered some hope as he struck a few boundaries to lead them to 24/2 at the end of the powerplay.
He departed for 15 soon after to Blessing Muzarabani, and Willey entered the fray. The Englishman steadied the ship and teamed up with Joe Clarke to put up 29 runs for the fourth wicket. The runs, though, were hard to come by as the Knight Riders went through four overs without a boundary. They were precariously placed at 55/3 after 12 overs when Clarke fell to Chris Jordan.
The Knight Riders made plenty of changes to their batting order. Russell came in next, his arrival seeming to swing the fortunes in his side’s favor as Willey launched two massive sixes before Russell hit a couple of boundaries. However, his stay at the crease was cut when Curran dismissed him for 15.
With five overs to go, the Knight Riders were at 80/5 and in dire need of some quick runs to put up a competitive total. Willey shouldered the responsibility and hit Mark Adair for a six, but the Irishman struck back on the next delivery. Willey’s resolute display ended after a crucial 41 off 29 deliveries.
Alishan Sharafu, the local boy who has been among the Riders’ better batsmen this season, was tasked with steering his side at the death overs. He got off the mark with a boundary, but the runs then dried up as his team managed just three boundaries in the final four overs to put up a modest total of 123.
Sunil Narine, captain of the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, said: “I think they bowled brilliantly and used the conditions to their advantage. We tried to take as many wickets as possible in the powerplay. We couldn’t take many wickets in the middle overs and it became easier for them. Jason Holder has been doing a fantastic job with the bat and the ball. He assessed the conditions as best as possible. We are on the backfoot, but we will be looking forward to that Mumbai-Sharjah game and are hoping for the best.”
Player of the Match Dan Worrall said: “Opening the bowling with Mark, we had to get us off to a good start. Our bowling group prides itself on diversity. Left arm, right arm, tall and short, we have a bit of everything. We’re glad that we’ve at least given ourselves a fighting chance. We’ll be crossing our fingers for the next couple of days.”
Brief scores
Gulf Giants beat Abu Dhabi Knight Riders by seven wickets
Gulf Giants 124/3 in 17.5 overs (Gerhard Erasmus 47, Tom Curran 38 not out, Shimron Hetmyer 20 not out, David Willey 2 for 17, Jason Holder 1 for 17)
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders 123-7 in 20 overs (David Willey 41, Alishan Sharafu 21 not out, Chris Jordan 2 for 20, Mark Adair 2 for 25, Dan Worrall 1 for 13)
Player of the Match: Dan Worrall
LeBron James becomes seventh NBA player to reach 2,500 3-pointers
- The NBA’s career scoring leader made his first 3 of the night midway through the third quarter
- Next on the list is No. 6 Reggie Miller, the Hall of Fame Indiana Pacers star who had 2,560
NEW YORK: LeBron James made his 2,500th 3-pointer Saturday night, becoming the seventh player in NBA history to reach that total.
The NBA’s career scoring leader made his first 3 of the night midway through the third quarter of what was shaping up as another strong game at Madison Square Garden, where he came in averaging 28 points in 20 career appearances.
James had moved ahead of Kyle Korver into seventh place when he made his 2,450th on Dec. 4 in a game in Miami. Next on the list is No. 6 Reggie Miller, the Hall of Fame Indiana Pacers star who had 2,560.
