NEW YORK: When things suddenly got quite tight in the second set of Aryna Sabalenka’s US Open semifinal, and the Arthur Ashe Stadium spectators suddenly got quite loud while supporting her American opponent, the 2023 runner-up found herself flashing back to a year ago at the same site.
“I was like, ‘OK, Aryna, you have to stay focused. Stay in your thoughts. Focus on yourself,’” Sabalenka said. “And, yeah, I was thinking a lot.”
The No. 2-seeded Sabalenka moved into her second consecutive final at Flushing Meadows with a strong start and a late surge, taking the last seven points to beat Emma Navarro 6-3, 7-6 (2) on Thursday night with her usual brand of high-risk, high-reward tennis.
Sabalenka, a 26-year-old from Belarus who won each of the past two Australian Opens, came up a victory short of claiming the championship in New York a year ago, when she lost to Coco Gauff in front of a rowdy partisan crowd.
This time, Sabalenka got past another American opponent, the 13th-seeded Navarro — and never let the fans play too much of a role until things got interesting down the stretch. Knowing she would be facing a player from the US in this semifinal, Sabalenka joked after her previous match she would try to sway them to her side by buying booze, saying, ” Drinks on me tonight? ”
Navarro did not fold in the second set, despite trailing for much of it, and as the noise around her grew, she broke when Sabalenka served for the victory at 5-4. But in the tiebreaker that followed, Sabalenka took over after Navarro led 2-0, grabbing every point that remained.
Sabalenka will play for the trophy on Saturday against yet another American, No. 6 Jessica Pegula, or unseeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic. The Pegula-Muchova semifinal began later Thursday under the Ashe lights on a cool evening with only the slightest breeze.
For Muchova, it was her fourth appearance in the final four at a Grand Slam tournament, including runs to that stage in New York and to the final of the French Open last year. Pegula had been 0-6 in Grand Slam quarterfinals until eliminating No. 1 Iga Swiatek, a five-time major champion, in straight sets Wednesday night.
“I’m ready to face whoever,” Sabalenka said. “Lesson from last year learned. I really hope I’m going to do a little bit better than I did last year.”
Navarro, who defeated Gauff in the fourth round, is a 23-year-old who was born in New York, grew up in South Carolina and won an NCAA singles title for the University of Virginia in 2021. This was her debut in a Slam semifinal and, while she displayed the skills and steadiness that carried her there, Navarro was not able to keep up with Sabalenka, who was playing in that round at a major for the ninth time.
If Sabalenka is as demonstrative as can be, often holding a fist aloft and screaming after a big point or rolling her eyes after a miss, Navarro is far more subdued, rarely, if ever, betraying a hint of emotion, whether positive or negative.
Even when she broke to 5-all late, there wasn’t really any way to tell what had just happened by looking at Navarro. The sounds from the seats were an indication. But soon, thousands of ticket-holders were saluting Sabalenka for her latest show of mastery on a hard court.
“Well, guys, now you are cheering for me,” she with a laugh during her on-court interview. “Well, it’s a bit too late.”
From 2-all in the opening set, Sabalenka reeled off three games in a row to wrest control of that set, repeatedly hitting shots out of Navarro’s reach, often accompanied by a yell. By the end of the contest, Sabalenka had produced 34 winners and 34 unforced errors — and in a fitting bit of symmetry, Navarro had 13 winners and 13 unforced errors.
Sabalenka showed she is not simply a swing-from-the-heels power player, even if that is the foundation of her game.
She delivered one optimally timed return winner to help break for a 4-2 lead early. She offered up two terrifically delicate drop shots to earn points later in that set. When Navarro failed to get a return in play off a 100 mph serve, Sabalenka was halfway to the win.
A break to go up 3-2 seemingly put Sabalenka in charge of the second set, too, but Navarro made a stand. In the end, it wasn’t enough.
US Open: Aryna Sabalenka beats Emma Navarro to reach her second consecutive final in New York
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US Open: Aryna Sabalenka beats Emma Navarro to reach her second consecutive final in New York
A’ja Wilson reaches 1,000 points becoming first WNBA player to do it in a season as Aces top Sun
- Earlier this week, the Aces’ star broke the single-season scoring record that Jewell Loyd set last year
LAS VEGAS: A’ja Wilson became the first WNBA player to score 1,000 points in a season when she had 29 in the Las Vegas Aces’ 84-71 win over the Connecticut Sun on Sunday.
Wilson hit a pull-up from the elbow with 2 minutes left in the game to reach the mark. Earlier this week, the Aces’ star broke the single-season scoring record that Jewell Loyd set last year. Las Vegas called timeout about 30 seconds later and her teammates mobbed Wilson.
She then went out on the court and acknowledged a loud ovation from the crowd clapping her hands.
The Aces (25-13) hold a one-game lead over Seattle for the No. 4 seed in the playoffs and home-court advantage in that series. Las Vegas has won seven of its last eight games.
Connecticut (27-11) trails the Minnesota Lynx by two games for the No. 2 seed. The two teams play in Connecticut on Tuesday.
The Sun made just 4 of 16 from the field — 0 of 5 from 3-point range — in the third quarter as the Aces stretched an eight-point lead at halftime to 71-51 going into the fourth. Young’s pull-up jumper midway through the period made it 58-47 and Las Vegas led by double figures the rest of the way. Wilson was dominant at both ends, making 6 of 8 from the field and both of her 3-point shots while scoring 14 points with four rebounds and two blocks in the third quarter.
Marina Mabrey led the Sun with 18 points. Brionna Jones added 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting and nine rebounds and Tyasha Harris scored 16 points.
Jones is averaging 20.1 points per game on 66 percent (59 of 89) shooting in seven games during the month of September.
Kelsey Plum, who finished with 14 points, hit a 3-pointer to five the Aces the lead for good and spark an 11-1 run that made it 48-40 when she capped the spurt with a step-back jumper to close the first half.
Rahm wins LIV Golf Chicago and 2024 individual crown
- It was his second victory in the past three events, sandwiched around a runner-up finish to Brooks Koepka in a playoff at LIV Golf Greenbrier in August
- In addition to his $18 million champion’s bonus, Rahm bagged $4 million for the tournament win
LOS ANGELES: Spain’s Jon Rahm fired four birdies — including a 12-footer at the 17th — to win LIV Golf Chicago on Sunday and clinch the Saudi-backed circuit’s individual season title worth $18 million.
The two-time major winner from Spain, who made the jump to the breakaway league last December, captured his second victory in the past three events, sandwiched around a runner-up finish to Brooks Koepka in a playoff at LIV Golf Greenbrier in August.
Rahm, who hasn’t finished outside the top 10 in 11 events, arrived at Bolingbrook Golf Course near Chicago this week with Joaquin Niemann — a two-time winner this season — his only rival for the season title.
After a six-under-par second round on Saturday, Rahm took a one-shot lead over compatriot Sergio Garcia into the final round, with Niemann three adrift and needing to finish in front of Rahm to bag the individual champion’s bonus.
Rahm had birdies at the third, sixth and 10th holes, and after letting a couple of birdie chances go begging, he sealed it with his birdie at 17, carding a four-under final round for a 54-hole total of 11-under par.
“I woke up really nervous today,” Rahm said. “I wanted to do a really good show and get it over the line. Just really happy I played as good as I did.
“To go bogey-free on the weekend, one bogey all tournament, it’s quite spectacular,” he said. “I’m very proud of the putt on 17, which made 18 a lot, a lot, easier.”
In addition to his $18 million champion’s bonus he bagged $4 million for the tournament win.
He finished three shots better than Niemann, whose four-under final gave him an eight-under total that left him tied for second with Garcia.
The LIV season concludes next week with the team championship in Dallas.
After that, Rahm has his sights set on playing a trio of DP World Tour events to maintain his Ryder Cup eligibility.
He said Wednesday he was unwilling to pay the fines levied by the DP World Tour on golfers who fail to obtain releases to play in LIV events that conflict with tour tournaments.
Rahm has reportedly appealed the fines, and as that process plays out would be eligible to tee up at the Spanish Open later this month.
Winners of Riyadh dodgeball championship crowned
- The competition had contests in three categories — men, women and under-16s
RIYADH: The winners at the Riyadh 2024 Dodgeball Championship were crowned on Sunday.
The competition had contests in three categories — men, women and under-16s — and the champions were awarded their prizes by Abdulaziz Al-Hazani, executive director of the Saudi Dodgeball Federation.
The championship saw 25 teams of 215 players compete, who were challenging for a SR7,000 ($1,865) top prize of a SR45,000 prize pot.
In the men's competitions, the Samurai team won the gold medal, with the Dark team taking the silver medal, and the Shabab Club team claiming the bronze medal.
The Doggers team won the gold medal in the women's competitions, the Flame team took silver, and the Raging Fire team won the bronze medal.
The Saudi Dodgeball Federation is preparing to hold two other tournaments in September, with a tournament in Jeddah on Sept. 19 and another in Dammam on Sept. 26.
Newcastle strike back to win at Wolves, move into Premier League top four
- Eddie Howe’s men have picked up 10 points from possible 12
WOLVERHAMPTON: Harvey Barnes’ stunning strike sent Newcastle third in the Premier League on Sunday after coming from behind to win 2-1 at Wolves.
Mario Lemina had swept the home side into a first-half lead at the end of a swift counter-attack.
However, Wolves remain without a win in the Premier League this season as Newcastle’s greater quality proved decisive after the break.
The Magpies’ performances have been far from convincing so far this season.
Yet, Eddie Howe’s men have still picked up 10 points from a possible 12.
Howe responded to another lacklustre opening 45 minutes with a triple half-time change with Alexander Isak among those to come off at the break.
Newcastle could have found themselves 2-0 down before the fightback started when Jorgen Strand Larsen smashed off the post.
Instead, fortune favored the visitors when Schar’s speculative shot flicked off the head of Craig Dawson and flew beyond Sam Johnstone.
Barnes needed no such luck as he arrowed a rocket into the top corner 10 minutes from time to snatch all three points.
Newcastle still required a brilliant save from Nick Pope to deny Matheus Cunha in stoppage time and leave Wolves in the bottom three.
However, they survived to move level with second-placed Arsenal, just two points behind Manchester City.
Gabriel strikes as Arsenal hit wasteful Spurs with sucker punch in north London derby
- Premier League title contenders dug deep with a combative display, benefitting from Tottenham’s latest display of wasteful finishing
LONDON: Gabriel Magalhaes headed Arsenal to a 1-0 win at Tottenham on Sunday as the Gunners overcame the absence of key midfielders Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard to extend their north London derby dominance.
Mikel Arteta’s side were without skipper Odegaard due to an ankle injury suffered on Norway duty, while Rice served a suspension for his red card against Brighton.
Losing two such influential players appeared to make Arsenal vulnerable on their trip up the Seven Sisters Road to face their bitter rivals.
But the Premier League title contenders dug deep with a combative display, benefitting from Tottenham’s latest display of wasteful finishing before Gabriel bagged the winner in the second half.
The Brazilian defender’s first goal since February made it three wins from four league games for unbeaten Arsenal as they chase a first title since 2004 after two successive runners-up finishes.
Arsenal have now won on their last three visits to Tottenham, losing just once, in May 2022, in their last eight meetings with their hated neighbors.
The second placed Gunners are two points behind Manchester City as they turn their attention to their Champions League opener at Atalanta on Thursday before traveling to face Pep Guardiola’s champions next weekend.
The 196th north London derby showed Arsenal have steel and spirit aplenty, but they also needed a dose of good fortune as Tottenham let them off the hook in the first half.
Failing to turn dominant spells into goals has been a familiar story for Tottenham this season and once again Ange Postecoglou’s men were let down by their lack of cutting edge.
Tottenham’s second successive defeat leaves them with only one win from four games in a worrying start to the season for Postecoglou after their late swoon last term cost them a top four place.
Turning to Jorginho and Gabriel Martinelli to replace Rice and Odegaard, Arteta had urged his team to show the “resilience, depth and hunger” needed to overcome their selection issues.
Arsenal had to call on all those qualities during a vibrant start from Tottenham, with David Raya making a fine save at his near post after Son Heung-min’s pass picked out Dejan Kulusevski for an instinctive strike.
Raya had to make an even more agile stop when Kulusevski’s cross flashed through a crowd of players toward the far corner until the Spaniard clawed it away at full stretch.
William Saliba had to make a crucial, last-ditch tackle to deny the unmarked Dominic Solanke, who took too long to shoot inside the area after Son pressured Arsenal into conceding possession.
Tottenham’s profligacy gave Arsenal encouragement and Kai Havertz rose highest for a close-range header that forced a superb save from Guglielmo Vicario, who was also equal to Martinelli’s curler moments late.
Picked out by James Maddison’s cross, Solanke did well to hold off Gabriel but his looping header dropped narrowly wide.
Amid a flurry of aggressive challenges, the simmering derby tension boiled over after Jurrien Timber’s tackle on Pedro Porro left the Tottenham right-back writhing on the turf.
Vicario confronted the Arsenal defender, with both players booked after a melee featuring a plastic bottle thrown from the stands.
By the time Kulusevski crudely up-ended Jorginho on the stroke of half-time, seven players had been booked in a fractious clash, including five from Tottenham.
Micky van de Ven’s glancing tested Raya soon after the interval, but toothless Tottenham were hit with a brutal sucker punch in the 64th minute.
With 23 goals from set-pieces since the start of last season, Arsenal have become dead-ball specialists this was another expertly worked routine.
Saka’s in-swinging corner arrowed toward Gabriel, who got away with a push on Cristian Romero before powering his header past Vicario from five yards.
Tottenham penned Arsenal back in the closing stages, but couldn’t find a way through as Kulusevski blasted just over.
