JEDDAH: Joao Fonseca became the second youngest champion of the NextGen ATP tournament on Sunday when he defied his lowly ranking of 145 to defeat Learner Tien in the final.
Brazil’s Fonseca, 18, came through 2-4, 4-3 (10/8), 4-0, 4-2 to see off his left-handed American opponent.
He is the youngest champion at the event since current world number one Jannik Sinner claimed the title also at the age of 18 five years ago.
“I was really nervous before the match. I knew it was going to be so difficult,” Fonseca said before lifting the trophy with tennis legend Rafael Nadal watching on from the stands.
“I played a final against Learner in juniors at the 2023 US Open and I know the way he can play. He is such a nice guy and a great player, so I knew it was going to be difficult, mentally and physically. But I got through.”
Fonseca, the lowest-ranked player in the eight-man field, won all five matches he played this week at the Red Sea venue.
He began the year ranked at 730 in the world and having made a maiden ATP quarter-final in Rio this year, he will be aiming to make significant progress in 2025.
“I need to believe when I go before a tournament that I can win,” Fonseca said.
“But now I have won it I am thinking, ‘Wow, I made it’. I am very proud of myself.”
Joao Fonseca follows Sinner as landmark NextGen champion in Jeddah
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Joao Fonseca follows Sinner as landmark NextGen champion in Jeddah
- Brazil’s Fonseca, 18, came through 2-4, 4-3 (10/8), 4-0, 4-2 to see off his left-handed American opponent
Son must forget Spurs woes, says South Korea coach
- Son Heung-min must forget his troubles with struggling Tottenham as South Korea look to clinch a place at next year’s World Cup, his national team coach said Monday
SEOUL: Son Heung-min must forget his troubles with struggling Tottenham as South Korea look to clinch a place at next year’s World Cup, his national team coach said Monday.
Son came off the bench at half time to rescue a point for Spurs with a late penalty in a 2-2 home draw with Bournemouth on Sunday.
But the 32-year-old forward has enjoyed less playing time this season and scored just seven Premier League goals as the London club languish in the bottom half of the table.
South Korea can qualify for their 11th straight World Cup if they beat both Oman and Jordan in home qualifiers this month.
Hong Myung-bo named Son in his squad and said the national team was “a completely different setting” for his captain.
Hong insisted that Son’s attempts to help Spurs win their first trophy in 17 years would not affect his performances for his country.
“I don’t want to link the trophy drought with the national team,” the coach said.
“Of course we want Son Heung-min to do well at his club and for him to carry that form into the national team.
“I believe he will continue to do well moving forward,” he added.
Son has struggled with injuries this season and completed 90 minutes just five times since the turn of the year.
Hong said there were no guarantees that Son would start as South Korea face Oman on March 20 and Jordan five days later.
“There are many discussions regarding his recent form, including his goal tally,” he said.
“However, we must not forget everything he has accomplished so far. If he joins us this time, we will communicate about his role and work together to find the best approach possible.”
South Korea are unbeaten in the third round of Asian qualifying, having drawn twice and won the remaining four games.
Hong named a full-strength squad that also features Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-jae, Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in and Wolves’ Hwang Hee-chan.
“I want to see a balance between the energy of the young players and the experience of the veterans,” said Hong.
“For that to happen, the younger players need to be confident and embrace the opportunity of being called up.”
Verstappen bids for 5th title and Hamilton’s at Ferrari as F1 prepares for a close fight in 2025
- Just like the only driver to achieve that feat, Michael Schumacher, Verstappen is a hard racer who isn’t afraid to bend the rules.
Lando Norris will have to defy plenty of history to win the Formula 1 title this year.
There’s his friend-turned-rival Max Verstappen’s bid for a fifth title in a row. Just like the only driver to achieve that feat, Michael Schumacher, Verstappen is a hard racer who isn’t afraid to bend the rules — as Norris knows from bitter experience.
Then there’s Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time champion going for a record eighth title in 2025. It’s his first season with Ferrari, which is itching to end a wait for a drivers’ title going back to 2007.
Norris is the under-pressure favorite
Norris is widely considered the favorite after he and McLaren had a strong second half of 2024 — though not strong enough to beat Verstappen — but it could be the closest season in years.
McLaren seemed competitive in preseason testing last month but Norris has to watch out not only for Verstappen and Hamilton, but also for his own teammate Oscar Piastri, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ George Russell. Five drivers from four different teams won the last six races of 2024.
“As much as we want to believe we’re the best, I guess we still want to feel like we’re underdogs. We have a lot to fight for,” Norris said last month. After slipping up from pole position in a few races last season, Norris insists he can thrive as the driver to beat.
“I know, coming into this season that for a lot of people I’m the favorite and as a team we’re the favorites,” Norris said. “I’ve always done much better under pressure. I’m able to think and to focus much more.”
Verstappen shows he’s still hungry
Ever since beating Hamilton to the 2021 title in a race that’s still controversial, Verstappen has been F1’s man to beat.
He’s long been clear he doesn’t want to stay in F1 into his 40s like Hamilton or Fernando Alonso, so could motivation be a factor in the Dutch driver’s bid for a fifth title? Verstappen says last season — when he tested Norris to the limit and sometimes beyond — shows he’s still hungry.
“My motivation is there because I think already last year it was not straightforward,” Verstappen said. “We had of course good wins, but I guess not as many as we would have liked, but we still won the championship.”
After a year when off-track events threatened to overwhelm Verstappen’s Red Bull team and his own father sparred with the management, Verstappen seems more settled at the start of his 11th season in F1. The team feels “like a second family,” he said last month.
Hamilton aims for title No. 8
Another title for Hamilton would break a tie with Schumacher for the most in F1 history.
The British driver proclaimed himself “invigorated” at F1’s glitzy season launch. Expectations from Ferrari’s “Tifosi” fans are so high that he could finally bring success to the Italian team that some cut down a tree to better watch Hamilton test the new SF-25 car.
“I know what a winning team looks and feels like,” he said last month. “The passion here is like nothing you’ve ever seen. They’ve got absolutely every ingredient they need to win a world championship. And it’s just about putting all the pieces together.”
Other contenders for the crown
Mercedes solved long-running car issues to win four of the last 14 races in 2024, including Hamilton’s emotional home win at the British Grand Prix. Three-time winner Russell is joined by 18-year-old rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who starts his career with some valuable advice from Hamilton.
If they can’t challenge for the podium right away, other teams like Aston Martin might opt to switch focus early to their 2026 cars. Next year brings a big change in the regulations and getting a head-start could pay off for years to come.
Off-track tensions
Watch out too for a simmering feud between the drivers and the governing body, the FIA, whose president Mohammed Ben Sulayem wants to crack down on drivers swearing.
New rules mean fines starting at 40,000 euros ($42,000) and even potential suspensions and point deductions for repeat offenders. Drivers have previously raised concerns about where the money from fines goes, a string of firings of senior FIA staff and Ben Sulayem’s “own tone and language.”
Pakistan fails, Kohli roars and Smith retires: Champions Trophy highlights
- Virat Kohli silenced critics over poor form in Test cricket by scoring century against arch-rivals Pakistan
- Veteran batter Steve Smith called time on his ODI career a day after Australia lost semifinal to India
DUBAI: India beat New Zealand by four wickets in the final of the Champions Trophy on Sunday in Dubai.
AFP Sport looks at five storylines from the 50-over tournament.
Virat Kohli silenced the critics over his poor form in Test cricket with an unbeaten 100 against arch-rivals Pakistan.
Kohli took time to get into the groove on a sluggish Dubai pitch to anchor India’s chase of 242 with key stands.
His mastery of the conditions, combined with his ability to rotate the strike, took India to victory with six wickets and 45 balls to spare.
Kohli was also India’s savior in the semifinal against Australia when his 84 steered another successful chase.
Opposition skipper Steve Smith called the 36-year-old “arguably the best chaser the game has seen.”
Pakistan hosted a major cricket event for the first time in three decades and excitement there was sky-high, despite India’s refusal to tour and instead play all their matches in Dubai.
But the Pakistan team’s poor showing on the field deflated the spirits of the cricket-crazy nation with successive losses to New Zealand and India.
That signalled the end of Pakistan’s title defense, and to add insult to injury, their dead-rubber final group match against Bangladesh was washed out.
One disappointed fan called the tournament a “wedding where you don’t know the bride or groom.”
New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips lit up the tournament with his fielding heroics, notably against India in the group phase for the key wicket of Kohli.
Phillips dived full stretch to his right at backward point and somehow held on to the ball to send Kohli back for 11 off fast bowler Matt Henry.
Kohli stood in disbelief for a few seconds before trudging back to the pavilion as the fans in Dubai fell silent.
Social media was abuzz with reactions to the catch, with one fan on X calling Phillips “the Superman of the tournament.”
Jos Buttler’s England came into the competition off the back of a 3-0 ODI whitewash in India, but piled on a mammoth 351 in their opener against Ashes rivals Australia.
England still managed to lose as Australia chased down the target to leave Buttler’s side on the brink.
Defeat to Afghanistan put England out of the tournament after just two matches.
Two days later Buttler quit as England’s white-ball captain after three successive flops in ICC events, including their failed T20 and 50-over World Cup title defenses.
Veteran batsman Steve Smith, 35, called time on his ODI career a day after Australia lost in the semifinals to India.
Smith top-scored for Australia with 73, but his knock was in vain after India overhauled Australia’s 264 and the captain’s innings turned out to be his last in the format.
Another retirement seemed highly likely after the final with intense speculation that India skipper Rohit Sharma would end his one-day career if they won.
Opener Rohit top-scored with 76 in the final and declared afterwards that he was not going anywhere, leaving Indian media stumped and fans relieved.
NBA hotshot Stephen Curry reaches 25,000 career points as Warriors crush Pistons
- The 37-year-old star became the 26th player in NBA history to cross the 25,000 points milestone
SAN FRANCISCO: Stephen Curry became the 26th player in NBA history to score 25,000 career points, reaching the milestone during the third quarter of the Golden State Warriors’ 115-110 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night.
“BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!” Curry yelled while running back through the hallway to the locker room following a quick return to the court postgame.
And that was actually a tribute to teammate Draymond Green, who loves to yell “boom” after making a 3-pointer and hit the go-ahead 3 with 35 seconds left. Green secured the game ball for Curry — but Curry said Green would keep it.
“He’s going to keep it for me. I heard he has a little bit of KD’s memorabilia,” Curry said in reference to former teammate Kevin Durant.
Curry, who turns 37 next Friday, surpassed 25,000 with a 3-pointer at the 8:32 mark of the third quarter then received a warm ovation when recognized during a timeout with 5:42 to go.
He finished with 32 points — pushing his total to 25,017 — on 8-for-22 shooting and converted all 12 of his free throws.
Curry wasn’t keeping track of his totals.
“It was a surprise actually. I knew I was coming up on it but I didn’t think about it until I heard it in game,” Curry said. “There’s a list, (broadcaster) Tim Roye told me after the game only 10 guys I think or now 10 guys that have done it with one franchise, so that’s pretty special. And the names that are on that list are synonymous with basketball history. so that’s pretty cool.”
His next remarkable task is becoming the first player in the league to make 4,000 3-pointers. Curry made four Saturday and needs seven more.
“It’s crazy, crazy,” coach Steve Kerr said. “It feels like 25,000 3s actually. It’s dynamite. Just night after night, and tonight was obviously not a great shooting night for him. But I loved that he played through fatigue and a physical defense and got to the line 12 times. He was brilliant on a night when his shot really wasn’t there, he was still brilliant. That’s the mark of a great player.”
Junior Hockey Championship to kick off in Riyadh with eight teams
- Tournament will feature eight teams representing Al-Tarbiyah, Al-Namouthajiyah and Al-Arqam schools
RIYADH: The 2025 Central Region Boys’ Junior Hockey Championship will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday at the indoor sports hall of Al-Manarat International Schools in Riyadh.
Organized by the Saudi Hockey Federation, the tournament will feature eight teams representing Al-Tarbiyah, Al-Namouthajiyah and Al-Arqam schools, competing for the championship title.
The event is part of a series of school tournaments initiated by the Saudi Hockey Federation to promote the sport at the grassroots level.
The federation emphasized that a key objective of the championship was to identify and nurture young talent while enhancing players’ skills.
The initiative aims to develop a new generation of athletes who could represent Saudi Arabia in international competitions in the future, and the tournament aligns with the country’s broader efforts to advance sports development and encourage youth participation in various disciplines.
