Medvedev starts with win as Diriyah Tennis Cup returns after 3-year absence

Defending Diriyah Tennis Cup champion Daniil Medvedev has never lost in Saudi Arabia. (AFP)
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Updated 09 December 2022
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Medvedev starts with win as Diriyah Tennis Cup returns after 3-year absence

  • Tournament is part of Diriyah Season and is taking part for the first time since 2019

Defending Diriyah Tennis Cup champion Daniil Medvedev kicked off his defense off the trophy with a superb quarterfinal win over German star Alexander Zverev as 12 of the world’s leading players returned to the Kingdom for the tournament’s first edition since 2019.

The three-day competition with the Super Tie-break format kicked off on Thursday in the setting of At-Turaif, the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Diriyah, and will conclude with the final on Dec. 10.

Medvedev, who has never lost in Saudi Arabia, raced to a 6-0 first set win despite a minor injury scare to his calf. The world No. 7 then proceeded to see out a competitive second set 6-4 against Zverev, who was making his eagerly awaited comeback from a seven-month injury lay-off.

“I felt I played better in the second set than the first one, but Sascha was really getting better as well,” said Medvedev.

“My injury was not so bad in the end. I was sliding unintentionally. My knee hit my calf, felt like a foul in football. It was painful to walk, but funnily I was much better to run. I love the crowd and how they cheered for me and look forward to tomorrow. We still have some weeks before the Australian Open to prepare more but I’m here and I want to win.”

Briton Cameron Norrie defeated Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios in target sets in the first round, before overcoming Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals.

Norrie, a 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist, was sharp and efficient in his 6-4, 6-4 win over world No.4 Tsitsipas — forcing the Greek star into uncharacteristic unforced errors in front of a lively crowd under the Diriyah Arena lights.

“The crowd really helped me through it,” said Norrie. “Playing in a stadium like this also helps a great deal in my preparation for the season. It has been a very good day and the crowd really got into tonight chanting our names. We’re trying to inspire some of the younger Saudi players and I saw some kids and that’s a reason I’m playing here — to inspire a new generation.”

Stan Wawrinka, the only competitor in his thirties in this week’s field, proved once again that he is still of the highest caliber by defeating Andrey Rublev, the eighth-ranked player in the world, 6-7, 6-2, 10-6 (tie break).

“It’s my second time here, I enjoy being here. There are many things going on,” Wawrinka, who visited Saudi in 2019, told Arab News.

“Now we don’t have too much time because we have to be ready in focus for tournaments because that’s why we are here — to try to do our best 27 days or longer on site. But I enjoy being here. And as I said, hopefully, I will have more time in the next few days or maybe next year to visit even more.

“I’m glad I won today, and I believe I’ll be able to get for the grade level; we played a great game, and I’m excited to be back here tomorrow in the semifinals,” he added.

After defeating Dominic Stricker 7-6, 7-5, American Taylor Fritz, who is ranked in ninth in the world, completed the lineup for tomorrow’s semifinals.

Earlier in the day, there were four Round One matches with a fast-moving best-of-three Super Tie-break format. There were wins for Wawrinka, Norrie, Hubert Hurkacz and Alexander Zverev. The event’s top four seeded players — Tsitsipas, Medvedev, Rublev and Fritz — had all received a bye.

In addition to the singles competition, there is also a doubles competition at the Diriyah Tennis Cup this year.

Over the course of the three-day tournament, Saudi tennis fans will have the chance to take in these thrilling matches and special interactions with some of the top tennis players in the world.

First Round Results:

Stan Wawrinka beat Matteo Berrettini (5-10, 10-4, 10-6)

Alexander Zverev beat Dominic Thiem (10-8, 10-7)

Cameron Norrie beat Nick Kyrgios (10-6, 10-6)

Hubert Hurkacz beat Dominic Stricker (10-7, 10-5)

The Diriyah Tennis Cup continues on Friday with the semifinals and a new doubles competition for Thursday’s losers:

Singles Semifinals

Daniil Medvedev vs. Stan Wawrinka

Cameron Norrie vs. Taylor Fritz

Doubles Semifinals

Alexander Zverev & Dominic Thiem vs. Andrey Rublev & Matteo Berrettini

Nick Kyrgios & Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Dominic Stricker & Hubert Hurkacz

The semifinals take place on Friday, Dec. 9.


Palmeiras ease past Al Ahly in Club World Cup

Updated 10 sec ago
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Palmeiras ease past Al Ahly in Club World Cup

The match was suspended in the 63rd minute because of a weather warning
Victory took Palmeiras provisionally top on four points

EAST RUTHERFORD, USA: Palmeiras drew first blood in Club World Cup Group A with a 2-0 victory over Al Ahly on Thursday in New Jersey.

Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami face Porto later on in the group’s other clash after two goalless draws in the first round of fixtures.

The match was suspended in the 63rd minute because of a weather warning, with players and fans at the MetLife Stadium instructed to “take shelter” because of a nearby storm.

Palmeiras were leading by two goals at the time, with a Wessam Abou Ali own goal sending the Brazilians ahead in the 49th minute before Flaco Lopez doubled their lead on the Egyptians 10 minutes later.

Victory took Palmeiras provisionally top on four points, with the other three sides level on one point each.

It was the third match at the tournament affected by adverse weather at the tournament.

On Tuesday Mamelodi Sundowns game against Ulsan HD was suspended just before kick-off for just over an hour due to a weather alert.

Then on Wednesday RB Salzburg’ s match against Pachuca was suspended in the second half for 97 minutes because of a storm.

Palmeiras, led by talented youngster Estevao Willian, who is set to join Chelsea, played well but were held by Porto in their opening clash.

Al Ahly kept them at bay in a tight first half, in which English referee Anthony Taylor sent off Palmeiras midfielder Raphael Veiga for a foul on Ahmed Zizo, before overturning his decision following a VAR review.

Palestinian striker Abou Ali headed Anibal Moreno’s free-kick into his own net to hand Palmeiras the lead.

Lopez finished coolly for the Brazilians’ second after Mauricio played him through on goal.

After the suspension of around 45 minutes for the weather warning, Palmeiras played out the remainder of the match comfortably without risking their advantage.

South American sides have come into the tournament strongly, in good condition given they are in the middle of their domestic seasons, and have stayed unbeaten to this point.

Man City fined more than a million pounds for delayed kickoffs

Updated 19 June 2025
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Man City fined more than a million pounds for delayed kickoffs

  • The club accepted and apologized for the rule breaches
  • City are awaiting the verdict of 115 unrelated charges of alleged breaches of the FFP rules

MANCHESTER: Manchester City have been fined more than one million pounds by the Premier League for breaching the rules around delayed kickoffs and restarts nine times last season, England’s top-flight league said on Thursday.

The fine comes a year after City paid 2 million pounds ($2.56 million) to the league for breaching the same game-delay rules.

The club accepted and apologized for the rule breaches, and confirmed they have reminded their players and staff of their responsibilities in complying with the rules.

“Rules relating to kick-offs and re-starts help ensure the organization of the competition is set at the highest possible professional standard and provides certainty to fans and participating clubs,” the league said in a statement.

“It also ensures the broadcast of every Premier League match is kept to schedule.”

Fines totalling 1.08 million pounds were imposed relating to City’s home games against Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Nottingham Forest, Manchester United, West Ham United and Newcastle United and their away fixtures against Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Ipswich Town.

The longest game delays were two minutes 22 seconds each for restarts v West Ham and Ipswich.

City are awaiting the verdict of 115 unrelated charges of alleged breaches of the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.

The charges cover a period starting from 2009 and continuing into the 2022-23 season. City have always denied any wrongdoing.


Soccer fans storm field in Libya and a Portuguese referee is injured during a suspended match

Updated 19 June 2025
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Soccer fans storm field in Libya and a Portuguese referee is injured during a suspended match

  • The match was suspended in the 39th minute
  • Al-Ittihad’s bus was set on fire, the club said in a statement

TRIPOLI: A highly-anticipated derby in Libya’s top soccer league was suspended after fans stormed the pitch and officials said Thursday the Portuguese referee and some fans were injured.

The match Wednesday between Al-Ahly Tripoli and Al-Ittihad was suspended in the 39th minute when Al-Ahli substitutes and fans stormed the pitch in protest of Al-Ittihad players’ celebration of their opening goal.

Al-Ittihad’s bus was set on fire, the club said in a statement.

Players and soccer officials fled the stadium amid a fan disturbance outside the facility. Footage circuited online showed clashes between fans and security forces in and around the stadium.

Al-Ahly blamed what they called a “provocative act” by one of Al-Ittihad players for the disturbance.

They said in a statement that security forces used “excessive force and live fire” against fans at the club’s headquarters.

Local media reported that Portuguese referee Fábio José Costa was injured.


FIFA hands four-match bans to Boca Juniors players sent off in Club World Cup opener

Updated 19 June 2025
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FIFA hands four-match bans to Boca Juniors players sent off in Club World Cup opener

  • Boca disagreed with the sanctions imposed on their players
  • “We have already contacted FIFA to submit an appeal,” said the club

MIAMI: Boca Juniors players Ander Herrera and Nicolas Figal were handed four-match bans by FIFA after being sent off in their Club World Cup opener against Benfica, a spokesperson for the Argentine club told Reuters on Wednesday.

Boca disagreed with the sanctions imposed on their players after Benfica’s Andrea Belotti received a two-match ban for catching Ayrton Costa in the head with a high boot in the 72nd minute.

“We have already contacted FIFA to submit an appeal,” said the club spokesperson.

Spanish midfielder Herrera, who was subbed off due to a muscle injury, was shown a red card in the 45th minute after protesting to Mexican referee Cesar Ramos from the bench over a penalty awarded to the Portuguese side.

Defender Figal was sent off in the 88th minute with a straight red card for a foul on Florentino Luis when the match was tied at 2-2.

Boca will face Bayern Munich at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Friday in their second match in Group C.


Biaggio Ali Walsh gets support from Muslim community ahead of SmartCage return

Updated 19 June 2025
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Biaggio Ali Walsh gets support from Muslim community ahead of SmartCage return

  • Grandson of boxing legend Muhammad Ali takes on Ronnie Gibbs on June 27 as part of PFL World Championship semifinals

DUBAI: Undefeated fighter Biaggio Ali Walsh has revealed how the Muslim community in Las Vegas, Nevada, is supporting him ahead of his highly anticipated return to the Professional Fighters League’s SmartCage.

Family, friends and members of the community gathered at Masjid As-Sabur, the oldest mosque in Las Vegas, on June 13 to show their support for Walsh ahead of his upcoming fight — a showcase lightweight bout against Ronnie Gibbs on June 27, which is part of the 2025 PFL World Championship semifinals, at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

Walsh explained: “Some people from the community, family and friends, came and helped, supporting my fight coming up.

“I’m just super grateful for all the love and support; I feel it radiating throughout me.”

It was a special night of fellowship as everyone prayed, enjoyed food, and wished Walsh well. 

Walsh, who is the grandson of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, spoke about the importance of faith and how essential it is to have a deep relationship with God.

He said: “Faith is everything in life, period. I feel like if you have good faith and deep faith in God and trust God, you can do anything.

“It’s everything, it’s the only thing I know, and that’s the only thing that helps calm me before these kinds of fights.”

He added: “I’m really excited for the fight … thank you guys so much for coming out, and inshallah, I will come back victorious.”

Initially making waves as a standout collegiate football player, the 26-year old found his way to mixed martial arts and ultimately made the full-time leap.

It was this transition to combat sports that, he said, helped strengthen his faith and his relationship with God.

In 2024, shortly after turning pro in MMA, Walsh deepened his devotion by partaking in Umrah, the spiritual journey to Makkah.

Coming from a family of elite fighters, it is no surprise that Walsh is making an impact on the MMA scene.

In addition to the Muhammad Ali connection, Walsh’s aunt is world champion boxer Laila Ali. His younger brother Nico is also a professional boxer.

Now with a 2-0 record in his professional MMA career, Walsh is determined to carry on the Ali legacy into a new era — and with faith, family, and community behind him, he has never been more ready.