Tennis star Ons Jabeur is ‘boosting sport in Arab and African countries’

Tunisian tennis superstar Ons Jabeur ‘is under a lot of pressure, but she is playing wonderfully, and her style suits grass,’ according to a sport analyst. (AFP)
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Updated 28 June 2022
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Tennis star Ons Jabeur is ‘boosting sport in Arab and African countries’

  • Abundance of talent but development needed, says Emirati tennis pundit Khalid Al-Ali
  • Veteran commentator outlines his thoughts on Wimbledon title contenders this year

DUBAI: Only hours before Tunisian tennis superstar Ons Jabeur launched her Wimbledon 2022 campaign against Sweden’s Mirjam Bjorklund, she was confirmed as world number two, the highest ranking of her career.

It was also the highest ever for an African or Arab tennis player, female or male.

For Emirati tennis pundit Khalid Al-Ali, Jabeur and other female players from North Africa are helping to raise the profile and popularity of tennis like never before.

“You can split the Arab world in two, and the Maghreb countries, like Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria, in addition to Egypt, are very advanced in tennis,” he said. “As well as Ons, there is the Egyptian player Mayar Sherif, who has ranked in the sixties. And that is also proof that women’s tennis is more advanced at this point in time than the men’s, where no one has reached these levels.”

As a tennis lover, Al-Ali enjoys, in particular at this time of the year, the established traditions that Wimbledon holds dear, and the intense rivalry on court for the men’s and women’s titles, which is this year tinged by a possible changing of the guard and politics.

“Wimbledon started in 1877, it has such rich heritage,” he said. “Traditions such as wearing all white, and having no advertising hoarding around the courts, have been maintained until now. There are changes this year, however. Players used to enter the courts from the side but this year there is a new tradition and the players will be making their entrance from the middle of the court.

“Also, it’s the first time that Wimbledon’s center court has been opened for practice before the start of the tournament. Traditionally, no one was allowed to step on (center) court before the first official match, so those are two new additions.”

But perhaps the biggest change this year is one of personnel.

“For the first time in 24 years, Roger Federer will miss the championship,” said Al-Ali. “So that differentiates this edition, as does the banning of Russian players. For that reason, the ATP has withdrawn all points that would have been awarded, as they see that as politics interfering with sports.

In Federer’s absence, eyes will, once again, inevitably turn to reigning champion Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, now ranked third and fourth in the world.

“Djokovic has won the last three tournaments, and logically, on grass he is the first seed,” Al-Ali said. “After that as always, Nadal, even when we don’t consider him a favorite, imposes himself on the tournament like we saw in Roland Garros. Before Roland Garros he had lost in Roma to Denis Shapovalov, the Canadian.

“And there were doubts that it would be his last tournament, as his body can’t take the injuries anymore. But he won it and now his confidence is high, and he hopes to achieve something that Novak almost managed but couldn’t. That is the Golden Grand Slam, winning all four (majors) in the same year. He’s already won in Australia and Roland Garros. He enters Wimbledon with his dream still alive.”

“Last year Djokovic won the Australian Open, then Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and headed to the US Open with high hopes of achieving something that only Rod Laver, the Australian player, had managed. He did it twice, once before professionalism, which did not count in the record books, but he came back to do it again after the Second World War.”

Djokovic lost the US Open final in straight sets to Daniil Medvedev. That setback and the unsavory episode at the Australian Open — when he was detained because he had not been vaccinated for COVID-19 — were big blows to his morale.

“But he has a great chance to hit back at Wimbledon,” Al-Ali said. “Also among the favorites will be (Stefanos) Tsitsipas, (Matteo) Berrettini, who won two grass tournaments this year, and who was the losing Wimbledon finalist last year against Djokovic. You can narrow it down to those players.”

“Andy Murray returns as a wild card as he has low ranking,” Al-Ali added. “Physically he might not be ready, but playing in front of his crowd could see (him) adapt.”

In the women’s competition, Wimbledon welcomes back the great Serena Williams, who, with 23 Grand Slam titles, still has hopes of equaling the women’s record of 24 held by Margaret Court.

“Serena Williams returns as a wild card after a long absence,” said Al-Ali. “She played a doubles (game) with Ons Jabeur at Eastbourne, where they reached the semifinal, but Ons had to withdraw through injury. It was a slight injury but she didn’t want to aggravate it ahead of Wimbledon.

“Williams looked heavier and was not the Serena we are used to. But she still has a shot or two that’s suited to grass, so she could possibly advance along with the favorites.

“Of course, (world number one) Iga Swiatek is among the favorites, and so is the Swiss player (Belinda) Bencic. And then there is the return of Petra Kvitova who won at Eastbourne, and has been Wimbledon champion twice.”

“In women’s tennis there are always surprises,” Al-Ali said.

Jabeur, though now the world number two is seeded third at Wimbledon, and the Emirati commentator has high hopes for her despite the heightened level of expectation.

“She reached the quarterfinals last year, which was her best performance in a Grand Slam,” said Al-Ali. “She is under a lot of pressure, but she is playing wonderfully, and her style suits grass. We might just see her in the final.”

Another run into the latter rounds, and her army of fans in the Arab world — not to mention her hero status — will continue to grow. For Al-Ali, it is hoped that her achievements, and those of other African Arabs, will one day spread to the rest of the Middle East.

“Geographical location always plays a role, whether in sports or any other field,” he said. “Proximity, costs, mentality, being close to the heart of this sport. It’s a sport that started in France and was then (organized by the) English. At its heart, there is a certain lifestyle, many sacrifices for the players, especially female players. But we see the Moroccans, Algerians, Tunisians and Egyptians excel in this sport. And of course the size of the population is a factor. They have experienced this education earlier than in this region.”

In the UAE and the GCC, the popularity of tennis continues to grow, thanks to the increasing numbers of events taking place, he said.

“Thankfully, things are improving here. All the world’s best players come here to Dubai, so the popularity of the sport has increased,” said Al-Ali. “What Ons is doing is similar to what happened in China. China is a massive and great country, but tennis only became popular after Li Na won two Grand Slams, at Roland Garros and the Australian Open. After that, the country started to pay attention.”

“So we hope that with Ons Jabeur, and after the rise of the three Moroccans Karim Alami, Hicham Arazi and Younes El Aynaoui, more will come,” he added. “There is Abdullah Shelbayh from Jordan who is playing at junior level at Wimbledon, and has won the doubles there. He trains at Rafael Nadal’s academy, I have high hope for him.”

With the right backing and funding, Al-Ali is certain the future will see more Arab tennis players follow in Jabeur’s footsteps.

“We are always optimistic,” he said. “We have a beautiful academy in Fujairah, established by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, and I’m on the board of directors there. When Ons Jabeur was a junior she played in the tournament there after it entered the ITF ranks, and Alexander Zverev won at Fujairah as well.

“We are no strangers to organizing the best tournaments in this region, what we have to do now is introduce development programs, we don’t have any clear programs at the moment. Also there is a lack of equality in funding between sports. We have to make sure individual sports like tennis are backed just like football.”


Mbappe misses penalty as Liverpool exact revenge on Real Madrid

Updated 58 min 57 sec ago
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Mbappe misses penalty as Liverpool exact revenge on Real Madrid

LIVERPOOL: Kylian Mbappe saw a penalty saved as Liverpool beat Real Madrid 2-0 on Wednesday to inflict a third Champions League defeat in five matches on the holders.
Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo scored the goals in the second half as the Reds maintained their perfect record to return to the top of the table.
Mohamed Salah also fired wide from the spot, but it mattered little as Liverpool secured a 17th win in Arne Slot’s first 19 games in charge.
Slot has already achieved what Jurgen Klopp could not as Liverpool boss by slaying the Spanish giants.
Liverpool had a score to settle with Madrid, who were unbeaten in eight previous meetings between the sides, including Champions League finals against Klopp’s men in 2018 and 2022.
Defeat sends Carlo Ancelotti’s side tumbling down to 24th in the table.
Only the top 24 progress to the knockout stage with the top eight advancing directly to the last 16.
Liverpool are well on course to do just that and the confidence coursing through a side also eight points clear at the top of the Premier League was in evidence throughout in front of a highly-charged Anfield crowd.
Madrid were hamstrung by a lengthy injury list and made the trip to England without Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, Aurelien Tchouameni and David Alaba.
Young center-back Raul Asencio has been pressed into action by those absences and he made a vital goal-line clearance on four minutes.
Darwin Nunez was sent in behind the Madrid defense by Salah and after his shot produced a fine save from Thibaut Courtois, Asencio reacted smartly to prevent the rebound bouncing off him and into his own net.
Courtois was Liverpool’s scourge with a man-of-the-match performance in the final two years ago as Madrid prevailed 1-0 in Paris.
The Belgian was at his best again as he blocked another big Nunez chance from point-blank range as the Liverpool pressure built without reward before the break.
Courtois was in sparkling form again at the start of the second period to parry Conor Bradley’s downward header.
But Liverpool were not to be denied as Bradley was this time the provider for Mac Allister, who manufactured the space for a shot into the far corner on 52 minutes.
The visitors were relying on Mbappe for a moment of magic in the absence of Vinicius, but the Frenchman was well-marshalled by his international team-mate Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk.
His chance to silence his critics arrived on the hour mark when Andy Robertson was harshly adjudged to have tripped Lucas Vazquez inside the area.
Caoimhin Kelleher has excelled in the absence of the injured Alisson Becker and leapt to his left to save Mbappe’s spot-kick.
Salah sparked a furor ahead of the game by declaring his disappointment with Liverpool’s failure to offer him a contract renewal.
The Egyptian has been in sparkling form this season and his pace and trickery fooled Ferland Mendy into a mistimed challenge.
Salah, though, gave Madrid a lifeline by firing his penalty off the outside of the post.
Liverpool had to wait just six more minutes for the cushion of a second goal as substitute Gakpo rose highest from a corner to power a header past Courtois.


Amorim eyes victory in first Man Utd home game to kickstart new era

Updated 27 November 2024
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Amorim eyes victory in first Man Utd home game to kickstart new era

  • The former Sporting Lisbon boss admitted after the draw at the weekend that United would “suffer for a long time” as he puts his stamp on the club

LONDON: Ruben Amorim said struggling Manchester United need a win to kickstart his Old Trafford revolution as he prepares for a “special” first home match against Bodo/Glimt on Thursday.
United had a disappointing 1-1 draw at Ipswich on Sunday in Amorim’s first game in charge since replacing the sacked Erik ten Hag, leaving them 12th in the Premier League table.
On Thursday they face Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League after one win and three draws in their opening four matches in the competition.
“It is said to me that it will be a special time,” Amorim told his pre-match press conference on Wednesday. “I just want to win the game, just to give that happiness to the supporters.
“Before the match it will be like a new sensation but after the whistle it will be one more game and we want to win that match.”
Amorim, who changed United’s formation against Ipswich, said the club needed to feel “momentum.”
“It’s important when you are putting an idea,” he said. “If you win it’s a big help.”
The former Sporting Lisbon boss admitted after the draw at the weekend that United would “suffer for a long time” as he puts his stamp on the club.
And on Wednesday he admitted he did not know how long it would take players to get used to his methods, explaining it was difficult to draw parallels with his previous experiences.
“You can say that this is a different league so it’s harder than in Portugal,” he said. “But I also have more experienced players and all these guys play for national teams.
“They just need to increase their confidence and at the moment I don’t know how to answer that question. I don’t know how long.
“But I will know that with a lot of games without time to train it will be tough for me but it will be tougher for them because they are on the pitch and they will suffer a little bit.
“I will try to help and we have to manage to win some games and try to increase that idea in the team.”
Amorim said United had firepower in their ranks despite their lack of goals this season and that he would try to help out-of-form Marcus Rashford.
“We will try to find the right solution for him, as for the other players,” he said.
“He has to be Marcus, first of all, to try to return to that moment. Then he will have the help of all the staff, all the club and all the fans because he’s a Manchester United boy. But he has to be the first one to really want it.”


Israeli soccer team prepares for closed-door match in Hungary after attacks on fans in Amsterdam

Updated 27 November 2024
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Israeli soccer team prepares for closed-door match in Hungary after attacks on fans in Amsterdam

  • The team will face off Thursday against Turkiye’s Besiktas in an Europa League match that was relocated to Hungary
  • Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Zarko Lazetic told a news conference on Wednesday that his team was focused on its game, regardless of what tensions may exist elsewhere

DEBRECEN, Hungary: Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer team returned to Europe on Wednesday for the first time since its fans were assaulted in the Netherlands earlier this month in attacks that were condemned as antisemitic by authorities in Israel and across Europe.
The team will face off Thursday against Turkiye’s Besiktas in an Europa League match that was relocated to Hungary. The contest at Nagyerdei Stadium in the city of Debrecen will be played without fans due to security concerns following the violence in Amsterdam on Nov. 7 that resulted in five people being treated in hospitals and dozens of detentions.
Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Zarko Lazetic told a news conference on Wednesday that his team was focused on its game, regardless of what tensions may exist elsewhere.
“It’s not a question for me what happened outside of the stadium. We saw some videos and everything, but we really try to focus on football,” he said. “We’ll see tomorrow what is the effect.”
The violence in Amsterdam came after local authorities banned pro-Palestinian demonstrators from gathering outside the stadium where Maccabi was playing Dutch team Ajax.
A large crowd of Israeli fans chanted anti-Arab slogans on their way to the match, video showed. Afterward, youths on scooters and on foot crisscrossed the city in search of Israeli fans, punching and kicking them, according to Amsterdam’s mayor.
The city’s police commander said the incidents had “an antisemitic character.”
Maccabi press officer Ofer Ronen-Abels said Wednesday the events in Amsterdam “had nothing to do with football.”
Before the assaults, Besiktas had requested its home game against Maccabi, originally scheduled for Istanbul, to be moved to “neutral ground” over security concerns.
The club later said on social media that Hungary was the only country willing to host the match and that Hungarian authorities requested it be played behind closed doors.
Hungary has hosted several home games for Israel’s national team for security reasons since the war in Gaza began.
Maccabi held its final practice session at the Kiryat Shalom training complex in Tel Aviv on Wednesday before departing for Hungary, the team said on its website.


Jeddah set for Fanatec GT World Challenge race

Updated 27 November 2024
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Jeddah set for Fanatec GT World Challenge race

  • Anticipated SAL Jeddah Race, which will be held for the first time in the Kingdom on Nov. 29-30, will feature two major motorsport races and cover 1,000 km
  • Iconic manufacturers taking part include Porsche, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes AMG, BMW M Sport, Audi Sport and Ford

JEDDAH: Jeddah is all set for the final round of the 2024 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe on Friday when a 49-car field tackles a six-hour Endurance Cup race at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

The anticipated SAL Jeddah Race, which will be held for the first time in the Kingdom on Nov. 29-30, will feature two major motorsport races and cover 1,000 km, making it the longest circuit race in Saudi history.

Iconic manufacturers taking part include Porsche, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes AMG, BMW M Sport, Audi Sport and Ford.

The GT4 European Series, supported by RAFA Racing Club, will feature four competitive categories, promising an exciting spectacle for motorsport enthusiasts in Saudi Arabia:

Pro: A showcase for the world’s finest drivers and teams vying for top honors.

Gold: Designed to cultivate and elevate emerging driving talents.

Silver: A competitive platform featuring a mix of amateur and semi-professional drivers.

Bronze: A unique category combining experienced professionals with promising young drivers, offering a valuable learning experience.

Saudi Logistics Services, the official title sponsor for the Jeddah GT Race 2024, announced on Monday the arrival of more than 70 cars from the ports of Barcelona and Valencia in Spain to the port of Jeddah.

The SAL Jeddah GT Race is an endurance racing event that encourages drivers to push their maximum limits and test their stamina, strategy and reliability throughout the intense competition.

The event’s fan zone includes live entertainment and fun activities for families, as well as food festivals.


Messi’s son debuts at Argentina youth tournament as grandparents watch

Updated 27 November 2024
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Messi’s son debuts at Argentina youth tournament as grandparents watch

  • The 12-year-old Messi played with the No. 10 jersey of an Inter Miami youth team
  • Thiago’s mother, Antonela Roccuzzo, and several members of his family, including grandparents Jorge Messi and Celia Cuccittini, were in the stands to watch him play

BUENOS AIRES: Thiago Messi, the eldest son of the Argentina star, has made his debut in the “Newell’s Cup” tournament in the countryside city of Rosario.

The 12-year-old Messi played with the No. 10 jersey of an Inter Miami youth team, which lost 1-0 on Monday to host Newell’s Old Boys in the traditional under-13 competition. The team also played Tuesday.

Lionel Messi took his first steps as a footballer in the Argentinian club in Rosario, 300 kilometers (186 miles) northwest of capital Buenos Aires.

Thiago’s mother, Antonela Roccuzzo, and several members of his family, including grandparents Jorge Messi and Celia Cuccittini, were in the stands to watch him play. Lionel Messi did not attend.

Thiago, who was substituted in the second half, played with his friend Benjamin Suarez, son of Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez, Messi’s teammate and close friend at Barcelona and now at Inter Miami.

Messi and Suarez are in Rosario after Inter Miami’s early elimination in the MLS playoffs. On Sunday, they watched a friendly game of Inter Miami’s U13 team against Union at the same sports complex.

The youth tournament in Argentina brings together eight teams from North and South America.