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Showing posts with label Tennis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tennis. Show all posts

Sunday, 28 October 2018

Oyedepo says Nigeria will divide the day it becomes an Islamic nation

October 28, 2018 0
Founder of Living Faith Church worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo, has warned Nigerians and politicians over the killings in the country.
Oyedepo gave this warning in a satellite telecast of the church’s prayer session for the nation monitored by NAN on Sunday.
The Bishop, while urging politicians to repent and have value for the lives of citizens, said if they do not repent after this warning, they would fall down for the sake of the nation.
“Politicians be warned, whether in power or not in power. There is no day Nigeria will become an Islamic nation and this nation will remain one nation,” he said.
“Allow the Christians to go to church, allow the Muslims go to their mosque and let the traditional worshippers do their thing.
“God is giving Nigeria peace by all means, the peace of those promoting this wickedness, God is taking away, if they refuse to repent. Their supplies shall dry up because Nigeria shall not see war.”
He said every leader is just a caretaker and God remains the creator and owner of every Nation including Nigeria.
“When a caretaker starts behaving like a landlord he will be removed. God is the permanent landlord of the earth,” Oyedepo said.
“The God of heaven has given you authority and power. He has given you might and glory. Pride makes us think that we do not need God. Pride separates us from God. Nebuchadnezzar did not give credit to God, and God had enough.
“God had warned Nebuchadnezzar and had been very patient with him. But finally, the prophecy came true. All of the things that he was so proud of were taken away.
“Nebuchadnezzar had to eat grass just like the goats and cows! He was used to living in a grand palace, but now he had no shelter over his head; For 7 years, the great King Nebuchadnezzar lived out there in the wilderness like an animal.
“He lost his mind; he became crazy without God, he was helpless because he refused to listen to the warning from the Lord.
“Politicians are not extraordinary people, they only have grace, if they don’t harken to this warning of the Lord they will suffer disgrace.
“Too many arrogant foes, who pose to own this nation, be warned because the day of God’s judgement is here. God enthrones kings and removes kings.”
Oyedepo cursed the killers of Maiwada Galadima, Agom Adara, a Kaduna traditional ruler who was kidnapped and later found dead.
He described those behind the cruel act as enemies of humanity and the Almighty God.


“All those involved in the killing of Galadima and his aides! Their generation will be forgotten. Everyone of the perpetrators they will end up in shame,” he said.
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Wednesday, 17 October 2018

Pliskova, Svitolina snatch WTA Finals spots

October 17, 2018 0
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Former world number one Karolina Pliskova earned a place in the year-ending WTA Finals despite a second-round defeat to Russian veteran Vera Zvonareva at Moscow’s Kremlin Cup on Wednesday.
Pliskova’s 6-1, 6-2 loss to Zvonareva, the 2010 Wimbledon and US Open runner-up, also secured Elina Svitolina’s spot in the eight-woman field in Singapore next week.
Czech star Pliskova’s participation was confirmed after fourth seed Kiki Bertens lost 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus.
“I’m delighted to be appearing at the WTA Finals for the third time,” Pliskova said.
“I have such great memories from playing in Singapore in 2016 and 2017, and I can’t wait to close out the year competing against the other elite players of 2018.”
Pliskova and Svitolina joined top-ranked Simona Halep of Romania, Germany’s Angelique Kerber, Japan’s Naomi Osaka, Czech Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and Sloane Stephens of the USA.
They will battle for a $7 million (6.1 million euros) prize purse in Singapore.
Bertens, who sits ninth in the race to Singapore rankings, could yet still feature at the season-ending event as Halep, who pulled out of the Kremlin Cup on Tuesday, is battling a back injury.
She was diagnosed with a herniated disk following her withdrawal from Beijing two weeks ago.
(AFP)
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Wednesday, 10 October 2018

Federer given huge scare in shaky start to Shanghai defence

October 10, 2018 0
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Roger Federer was given a huge scare before finally seeing off Russia’s Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to open his Shanghai Masters defence in unconvincing fashion on Wednesday.
The 37-year-old Swiss top seed faces Spain’s unseeded Roberto Bautista Agut on Thursday in the last 16.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion initially wasted little time stamping his mark on the tournament, breaking the 22nd-ranked Medvedev in the first game.
But Medvedev, fresh from winning the Japan Open, broke back and enjoyed even more luck on Federer’s service in the second set.
Federer’s large cheering squad — decked out in matching red T-shirts — looked on in disbelief as Medvedev grabbed the second set.
The 22-year-old then put the Swiss under immediate pressure on his serve in the deciding set, only for an uncharacteristically flustered Federer to hold.
In what was the first meeting between the pair, Federer broke in the ninth game to finally destroy Medvedev’s resolve in just under two hours.
With the exception of injured world number one Rafael Nadal, Federer’s chief rivals are all still in the mix.
Juan Martin del Potro and Alexander Zverev both defied illness to join Federer and Novak Djokovic in the next round.
Del Potro, the third seed, said that he is suffering from a virus and reviewing his health “hour by hour”, after labouring past France’s Richard Gasquet.
The Argentine lost Sunday’s final of the China Open in Beijing to unseeded Nikoloz Basilashvili and afterwards revealed that he had been unwell.
Three days on and the 30-year-old continues to be under the weather, but just about did enough to see off Gasquet 7-5, 7-6 (9/7).
Between coughs at his post-match press conference, Del Potro said: “It wasn’t easy to play for me today, I did what I can. I didn’t run too much.
“But I’m going like hour by hour and see how I’m feeling,” added Del Potro, who plays 13th seed Borna Coric of Croatia next in Shanghai.
“I got lucky that I won, but tomorrow will be a different day.
“If I have a good night today and I have a good recovery tomorrow morning, maybe I will feel a little bit better for tomorrow night and play better than today.”
The 21-year-old Zverev fought off a cold — he has had a sore throat and blocked nose for a few days — and the raw power of Basilashvili, winning 7-5, 6-4.
The fourth seed will play Australia’s world-ranked 33 Alex de Minaur.
Zverev said that Basilashvili, who is up to a career-high ranking of 23, “knows how to play, definitely”.
“Probably the hardest-hitting player I have ever played against,” said Zverev.
Number two seed Djokovic nailed his place in the last 16 on Tuesday with a convincing victory over Jeremy Chardy.
The Serb, who is in sparkling form having won Wimbledon and the US Open this summer, plays the 16th seed Marco Cecchinato of Italy on Thursday.
(AFP)
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Sunday, 7 October 2018

Wozniacki wins China Open to claim 30th title

October 07, 2018 0
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Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki won her 30th WTA singles title as she beat Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 6-3 in the China Open final on Sunday.
The Danish world number two was impressive all week in Beijing, never dropping a set and rarely looking troubled, sealing her spot in the WTA Finals Singapore in the process.
The 28-year-old Wozniacki, who won the China Open in 2010, was once more imperious against the 20th-ranked Sevastova, who briefly retired from tennis in May 2013 with an injury.
Wozniacki, whose form has been patchy in the second half of the year, was ruthless on her serve and wrapped up the first set with an overhead smash to underline her superiority.
Top seed Juan Martin del Potro will be the strong favourite when he faces unseeded Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili in the men’s final later on Sunday.

(AFP)
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Saturday, 6 October 2018

Great expectations stressing out Naomi Osaka

October 06, 2018 0
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Naomi Osaka admitted that she gets “stressed out” trying to live up to “the hype” after the US Open champion was beaten in the China Open semi-finals on Saturday.

The 20-year-old Japanese, who struggled with a back injury in losing 6-4, 6-4 to unseeded Anastasija Sevastova, opened up afterwards on dealing with ramped-up expectations.

The world number six made headlines last month when she stunned Serena Williams in New York to win her maiden Grand Slam, in a final overshadowed by the American’s bitter row with the chair umpire.

Osaka’s shock triumph — at such a young age and against one of the greatest tennis players of all time — propelled her into the limelight.

It is a place that she is not altogether comfortable in.

“I think definitely as the weeks go by, I have this feeling of wanting to prove myself. I think that sort of takes a toll on me a little bit because I stress myself out in a way,” said Osaka.

“If you don’t win a tournament, then people will say, ‘Oh, she hasn’t won a tournament.’

“If you haven’t won a Slam, they’ll say, ‘She hasn’t won a slam.’

“Then if you win one Grand Slam, they’re like, ‘Oh, she only won one Grand Slam.’

“I know it’s bad, but I sort of read the comments (online or in media). I’m just, like, ‘Oh, I guess I have to do more, to be better.'”

Osaka, who was attempting to reach a third straight final after New York and Tokyo’s Pan Pacific Open, was unhappy with her behaviour in Friday’s quarter-final victory over Zhang Shuai.

Osaka had been close to tears during the second set and threw her racquet, before recovering her poise.

She was more composed against the Latvian Sevastova, even though she was hindered by her back, which she said was more a case of fatigue than anything more serious.

Asked by AFP at her post-match press conference why she appeared happier in defeat than she did after winning on Friday, Osaka said: “I don’t have any regrets from today.

“But my back’s sort of been bothering me since the beginning of the tournament.

“I’m kind of happy that I was able to get this far.”
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Tuesday, 2 October 2018

Back injury sidelines Halep indefinitely

October 02, 2018 0
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Women’s world number one Simona Halep, who retired during her first-round match in Beijing over the weekend, said on Tuesday she has a herniated disc.
“I had an MRI on my back and found out that I have a herniated disc,” the 27-year-old Romanian wrote on social media. “I will consult doctors in the coming days and will keep you informed.”
“I hope to be back quickly,” she said, without offering any timescale.
On Sunday, Halep said she was “worried now” when a persistent back problem forced her out of the China Open after just 31 miserable minutes.
The Romanian never looked comfortable against Tunisian qualifier Ons Jabeur, losing the opening set of their first-round match 6-1 before calling it quits.
She said at the time she thought it was a different back problem from the one that contributed to her early loss in Wuhan a week earlier.
“I knew that there is pain, but I thought if I warm up during the match, it’s going to be better, but it wasn’t,” she said.
The Romanian has been struggling with injuries over the later stages of the season. She dropped out of the New Haven tournament at the end of August with an Achilles problem and then lost in the first round of the US Open a week later.
(AFP)
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Osaka thrash Collins to reach China Open third round

October 02, 2018 0
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Naomi Osaka is keen to move on from the “bittersweet” memories of last month’s US Open triumph and she did just that with a ruthless display at the China Open on Tuesday.
The young Japanese star thrashed unseeded American Danielle Collins 6-1, 6-0 in just 53 minutes on Beijing’s outside hard courts to saunter into round three.
The 20-year-old Osaka, whose maiden Grand Slam was overshadowed by Serena Williams’s row with the chair umpire in New York, faces 10th seed Julia Goerges next in the Chinese capital.
Osaka’s reputation is growing fast and organisers on Tuesday said that she has booked her place in the season-ending WTA Finals Singapore for the first time.
But the world number six has appeared to struggle with the fall-out from the tempestuous final at the US Open, where Williams branded chair umpire Carlos Ramos “a thief” and later accused him of sexism.
“For me, I don’t know, I don’t know, the memory of the US Open is a little bit bittersweet,” Osaka said on Monday.
“Right after, the day after, I really didn’t want to think about it because it wasn’t necessarily the happiest memory for me.”
(AFP)
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Sunday, 30 September 2018

Serena Williams causes internet stir with topless breast cancer awareness video

September 30, 2018 0
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Tennis superstar Serena Williams caused an internet sensation on Sunday by posing topless for a video while singing “I Touch Myself” to raise awareness for breast cancer.
In the Instagram video, Williams covers her breasts with her hands while singing a version of Australian band The Divinyls’ 1991 hit in support of Breast Cancer Network Australia.
“This Breast Cancer Awareness Month I’ve recorded a version of The Divinyls global hit ‘I Touch Myself’ to remind women to self-check regularly,” wrote Williams on the post.
“Yes, this put me out of my comfort zone, but I wanted to do it because it’s an issue that affects all women of all colours, all around the world. Early detection is key — it saves so many lives.”
The song was co-written by Divinyls Australian vocalist Chrissy Amphlett who died of breast cancer five years ago aged 53.
“The music video is part of the I Touch Myself Project which was created in honour of celebrated diva, Chrissy Amphlett, who passed away from breast cancer, and who gave us her hit song to remind women to put their health first,” said the 23-time Grand Slam champion.
The video was viewed more than 1.3 million times in the first 10 hours after it was posted early Sunday with fans lauding the tennis superstar for her bravery in performing the song.
“Amazing Serena, important message and such a beautiful voice!” wrote one under the username deedpaula.
Another alshaze47 commented: “This is powerful!! I’m a Breast cancer survivor!!”
The video appeared less than three weeks after her tempestuous US Open final defeat to Naomi Osaka, where Williams smashed a racquet and accused an umpire of sexism.
Williams, who celebrated her 37th birthday four days ago, pulled out of this week’s China Open in Beijing to bring a premature end to her 2018 season, her first back on tour since giving birth to a daughter a year ago.
(AFP)
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Thursday, 27 September 2018

Madrid chosen to host new-format Davies Cup

September 27, 2018 0
Madrid has been chosen to host the first two new-format Davis Cup finals in 2019 and 2020, the organisers of the venerable men’s team tennis event said Thursday.
Under a format proposed by the Kosmos group, headed by Barcelona footballer Gerard Pique, and adopted by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in August, the competition will bring together 18 nations in one place for a week at the end of the tennis season.
“We are delighted to be bringing the 2019 Davis Cup… finals to Madrid,” ITF president David Haggerty said in a statement.
“The city is a fitting location to stage the highest quality tennis and great entertainment for thousands of fans from all over the world,” he added.
The revamped finals are scheduled to take place at La Caja Magica, the current venue for the Madrid Open, in 2019.
For 2020 organisers still must decide between holding the event either at the same location or at the WiZink Center.
Kosmos, an investment group led by Pique with Japanese and Chinese support, will spend $3 billion over 25 years on the revamped 118-year-old Davis Cup.
The current Davis Cup format is a knockout event played February, July, September and November at venues around the globe, with best-of-five match ties following Grand Slam events until the final round.
Many top players have skipped the event in recent years to ease their schedule.
The four 2018 semi-finalists — France, Croatia, Spain and the United States — qualify directly. Twelve more places will be decided in qualifiers on Feb 1-2 next year.
That left two spots for wildcards selected by the organisers and they have chosen Argentina and Britain.
Under the reform the finals will take place in November featuring 18 teams: 12 winners from 24-team home and away qualifying ties in February, the previous year’s four semi-finalists and two wildcard nations. Argentina and Britain have been picked as the wildcards for the 2019 edition, organisers announced Wednesday.
Round-robin groups of three will send six group winners and two runners-up into knockout round playoffs.
The finals would feature two singles matches and one doubles match each day, all cut to best-of-three sets.
The overhaul of the competition received 71.43 percent support from about 120 delegates at the International Tennis Federation annual meeting in Orlando, Florida in August, well ahead of the two-thirds majority needed for approval.
But some fans are unhappy. French supporters protested against the planned changes at the Davis Cup semi-final against Spain earlier this month.
(AFP)
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Tuesday, 25 September 2018

Wozniacki, Kerber through to third-round of Wuhan Open

September 25, 2018 0
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World number two Caroline Wozniacki and Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber eased through their opening matches at the Wuhan Open in China on Tuesday.
Australian Open champion Wozniacki, who received a first-round bye, was barely troubled by the 61st-ranked Swede Rebecca Peterson, winning 6-4, 6-1 to set up a third-round clash with Olympic champion Monica Puig, who romped past Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 6-2.
Peterson offered some resistance in the first set, breaking Wozniacki’s serve at 5-2, but faded as the Dane — who lost her first match at Japan’s Pan Pacific Open last week — quickly regained control as she looks for a good run in Wuhan to secure a return to the WTA Finals, which she won last year.
“It’s great to get a good start, obviously. Every match counts,” Wozniacki said.
“I’m just trying to keep my head down and keep focused and try to win as much as I can to get that (WTA Finals) spot.”
World number three Kerber has already qualified for next month’s Finals which will be held in Singapore and advanced after a knee injury forced her American opponent Madison Keys to retire.
The German looked set for a big win over the 2017 US Open semi-finalist and was leading 6-0, 4-1 when Keys could not continue.
“I was feeling good. I played the first set really well,” Kerber said. “It’s nice to be in the next round.
“The first rounds are… not easy. You have to find your rhythm.”
Kerber, who could return to world number one with a successful end to the season, said earlier this week she was not concerned about rankings.
“For me it’s the most important thing, that I go on court, play my best, have fun out there, enjoying every single moment,” she said Monday.
“We will see what’s happening at the end of the year.”
Current number one and French Open champion Simona Halep plays later Tuesday against Dominika Cibulkova.
Nine of the world’s top 10 are at China’s $2.7 million Wuhan Open. US Open winner Naomi Osaka withdrew with an illness after losing the Pan Pacific Open final on Sunday.
Six spots at the WTA Finals next month remain up for grabs with only Halep and Kerber securing their places so far.
Sixth-ranked Elina Svitolina became the biggest Wuhan casualty so far when the Ukrainian was beaten 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 by 20th-ranked Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.
(AFP)
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Sunday, 23 September 2018

Osaka reduced to tears as Pliskova wins Pan Pacific Open

September 23, 2018 0
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Former world number one Karolina Pliskova stunned Japanese tennis sensation Naomi Osaka in straights sets to capture the Pan Pacific Open on Sunday.
The fourth seed took just 63 minutes to complete a clinical 6-4, 6-4 victory over the newly crowned US Open champion in Tokyo, bringing Osaka’s 10-match winning streak to a shuddering halt.
“I’m just happy it didn’t go to three sets,” said the Czech, who had been taken the distance in her previous three matches.
“My serve is my biggest weapon and it was key today,” added Pliskova after scooping an 11th career title.
“Naomi was maybe a little bit tired, you could see that. But the future is bright for her and congrats to her for an incredible few weeks.”
The players had split their previous two meetings, but Osaka started the final as the favourite after her historic New York triumph.
And the third seed began in menacing fashion, thumping an ace down the middle on the first point and holding her first two service games to love.
But Pliskova slowly turned the screws and broke for 3-2 with a fizzing backhand which her opponent swished well wide.
The world number eight was soon a set to the good after unleashing another brutal drive. Osaka was caught flat-footed and dumped it into the net.
Osaka, the runner-up in Tokyo two years ago,  climbed to seventh in the rankings after becoming Japan’s first grand slam singles champion but she looked lost for ideas against Pliskova.
The 20-year-old buried her head in a towel during the changeover and things barely improved in the second set, Osaka whacking her racquet against her sneakers in anger at her wastefulness.
As the strain began to show, a dejected Osaka called for coach Sascha Bajin and groaned: “I feel so stressed out!”
Sensing blood, Pliskova broke for 5-4 after a poor Osaka drop shot gifted her an easy put-away. Moments later she delivered the coup de grace with a sixth ace which Osaka barely wafted her racquet at.
“I didn’t want to try to overpower her because she just has more power than me,” said Pliskova.
“I just wanted to be patient and wait for my chances.”
For Pliskova, it was a first tournament victory since Stuttgart in April — and the first since wedding long-time partner Michal Hrdlicka in the summer.
“The first one this year was before the wedding,” smiled the Czech, who reached the top spot in women’s tennis in July 2017.
“I’m just happy that I also have a title as a married woman.”
A tearful Osaka could barely bring herself to speak at the trophy presentation.
“I’ve literally never felt more tired in my entire life,” she told reporters, confessing that she needed some time off.
“The chances of me playing in the next tournament are very low.”
(AFP)
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Friday, 21 September 2018

Naomi Osaka strolls into Pan Pacific Open semi-finals

September 21, 2018 0
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Japan’s Naomi Osaka exuded a major champion’s aura Friday as she dispatched Barbora Strycova 6-3, 6-4 to reach the Pan Pacific Open semi-finals, despite being nowhere near her best.
The third seed, who stunned Serena Williams to capture the US Open title earlier this month, failed to hit the same heights she did on that historic night in New York.
But she still had too much firepower for Strycova in Tokyo, advancing to face either Italy’s Camila Giorgi or former world number one Victoria Azarenka in the last four.
Eighth seed Strycova had little answer to her opponent’s venomous hitting and the world number seven bagged the first set with a sledgehammer forehand that almost tore the racquet from the Czech’s hand.
The 20-year-old Osaka, contesting her first tournament since becoming Japan’s first Grand Slam singles winner, never looked back against a player 12 years her senior, another forehand rocket bringing up a first match point.
Strycova saved that one but moments later, Osaka fired a bruising serve into the body to extend her current winning streak to nine matches.
“I’ve played her three times and each time it’s been very hard,” said Osaka, who reached the Tokyo final in 2016.
“I don’t feel any extra pressure playing in Japan,” added Japan’s latest sporting celebrity, who has a Japanese mother, a Haitian father and was raised in the United States.
“I’ve improved a lot of things in the last few years and I feel excited playing here.”
Earlier, fourth seed Karolina Pliskova saved two match points before the former women’s top-ranked player ended American qualifier Alison Riske’s run with a 6-1, 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/4) victory.
The Czech, who smashed a racquet in disgust after squandering multiple chances at 5-5 in the deciding set, completed a “lucky win” with a sliced backhand that Riske wafted into the net after two hours, 40 minutes.
“It was an important win for me,” said Pliskova after reaching her first Tokyo semi-final.
“I saved a couple of match points — she was a little bit better than me but you need a bit of luck in tennis. I’m just happy to be able to fight back.”
Pliskova faces Croatia’s Donna Vekic in the last four after she upset second seed Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-4.
Garcia blew an early break to allow Vekic to take the opening set and the Frenchwoman suffered a carbon-copy letdown in the second, the Croatian ending her misery with a backhand winner.
(AFP)
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Monday, 10 September 2018

Djokovic claims 14th Grand Slam title with US Open victory

September 10, 2018 0
Novak Djokovic defeated Juan Martin del Potro to win his 14th Grand Slam men’s singles title on Sunday.
Djokovic continued his dominance over Del Potro with a three straight set win of 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 to claim his third US Open title.
The duo last met in a Grand Slam in the 2013 Wimbledon semi-final when Djokovic prevailed in five sets after nearly five hours on court.
He holds a 15-4 record over the Argentine.
The 2018 US Open is the 23rd Grand Slam final that the 31-year-old Serbian featured in.
Djokovic, who won the Wimbledon title in July, took home $3.8 million prize money for his US Open triumph.
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Sunday, 9 September 2018

Aruna Quadri clinches first African men's title

September 09, 2018 0
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Nigeria's Aruna Quadri has defeated Ahmed Saleh in Mauritius to win the 2018 ITTF men’s singles title in Mauritius.
Quadri outplayed Egypt’s Ahmed Saleh 4-1 to win his first African championship title which he narrowly lost to Egypt’s Omar Assar in 2016.
The Nigerian table tennis star did not drop a point from the first round until the final.
An elated Quadri said he is still eager to win the African Games which he is yet to have in his kitty.
“I think I have won virtually all the titles in Africa, the only one I am still hungry to win is the African Games title which I believe I will continue to work hard in order to win it next year in Morocco,” Aruna said.
“I am happy that I am winning this African Championships title for the first time particularly less than one month after I won the ITTF Challenge Nigeria Open in Lagos.
“I am grateful to the Mauritian fans for their support throughout all my matches.
Egypt’s Dina Meshref, who lost to Nigeria’s Olufunke Oshonaike in 2016, reclaimed her title after a convincing 4-0 win over compatriot – Reem El-Eraky in the women’s singles final.
Meshref admitted that it was a bit hard to win back the laurel particularly with strong opposition from Nigeria’s Edem Offiong in the semi-final.
“I am happy winning my title back but it was not an easy task particularly with the match against Edem Offiong,” Mesheref said.
“But in all I am happy as I look forward to the ITTF World Cup which is my next tournament this year.”
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Naomi Osaka becomes first Japanese woman to win US Open after beating Serena Williams

September 09, 2018 0
Naomi Osaka defeated Serena Williams to become the first Japanese to win the US Open women’s final.
Osaka beat the former world number one in two straight sets of 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday.
Williams made her first Grand Slam appearance when the Japanese was three-months-old.
Osaka is the youngest US Open women’s finalist since 19-year-old Caroline Wozniacki won it in 2009.
The encounter is the fourth in the Open era where a player seeded No. 10 or higher will win the US Open title after wild card Kim Clijsters did it in 2009, Flavia Pennetta in 2015 and unseeded Sloane Stephens in 2017.
Osaka took home $3.8 million in prize money for winning the US Open.
The Japanese has now recorded a 2-0 victory over Serena in their two encounters so far.
The pair met in the first round of the Miami Open earlier in the year where Osaka cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 victory.
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Tuesday, 4 September 2018

Federer, Sharapova knocked out of US Open

September 04, 2018 0
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Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova crashed out of the US Open on Monday in back-to-back seismic shocks under the Arthur Ashe Stadium lights.
Federer, the five-time champion and looking to end his 10-year wait to add to his total in New York, was beaten by Australia’s world number 55 John Millman 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/3).
It was 20-time major winner Federer’s first loss against a player outside the top 50 in 41 meetings at the US Open.
He finished with 77 unforced errors and 10 double faults.
“It was very hot. I felt I couldn’t get any air and I was sweating more and more and became more and more uncomfortable,” explained Federer.
“I guess I was happy when the match was over.”
He added: “John dealt with it better — he’s from Brisbane, one of the most humid places in the world!”
It was the world number two’s earliest defeat at the tournament since a fourth round loss to Tommy Robredo in 2013.
The result meant there would be no quarter-final showdown with old rival Novak Djokovic who will now face Millmann instead.
“I have so much respect for Roger and everything he’s done for the game. He’s been a hero of mine,” said Millman.
“Today he was definitely not at his best. But I’ll take it.”
Sharapova, the 2006 champion, suffered a second successive last-16 exit in New York, blasted off court by Carla Suarez Navarro.
The Spanish player marked her 30th birthday in style with a memorable 6-4, 6-3 win over the five-time major champion whose last Slam title was in Paris in 2014.
Federer had cruised through the first set against Millman who was appearing in his maiden last-16 at the majors.
But the Swiss, who lost in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon where he was defending champion, began to look every bit the 37-year-old he is as he struggled in the suffocating humidity.
He squandered two set points in the second set and another in the third set tiebreak as the errors piled up.
Federer was 4-2 up in the fourth set but was reeled in and two back-to-back double faults sent him 1/4 down in the tiebreak.
(AFP)
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Thursday, 30 August 2018

Murray knocked out of US Open true to pre-tournament prediction

August 30, 2018 0
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Andy Murray lived up to his pre-tournament prediction that he would not win this year’s US Open when he was beaten 7-5 2-6 6-4 6-4 by Spain’s Fernando Verdasco in the second round on Wednesday.
The former world number one and 2012 US Open champion, who is still working his way back from hip surgery and had earlier downplayed his chances, battled Verdasco for nearly three hours and 30 minutes.
He finally surrendered on a fourth match point while trying to force a fifth set.
“I think some of the tennis I played today was some of the best I’ve played since I had the surgery or since I came back,” said Murray.
“But there were also periods in the match, especially in the first set where I really didn’t play particularly well.
“Then kind of at the end when my back was against the wall, I came up with some good tennis to make it close and interesting.”
Playing in just his fifth event since hip surgery in January, what Murray lacked in sharpness he more than made up for in gritty determination as the 31-year-old battled through a gruelling opening set that lasted 62 minutes.
Drenched in sweat, Murray slowly began to find his comfort zone in the sauna like conditions taking the second to level the match.
But Verdasco would not be rattled and dominated large chunks of play until the end of the clash, when Murray dug in and the 31st seeded Spaniard struggled to seal the match.
“It was tough of course to close the match,” said Verdasco, after collecting just his second win in 15 matches against Murray and his first in nine years.
“With Andy it is always tough. He is an … unbelievable fighter.”
Verdasco will face yet another former-US Open champion in the third round in big-hitting Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, who was a 6-3 6-1 7-6(4) winner over American Denis Kudla.
Murray, meanwhile, leaves Flushing Meadows with all signs pointing he is headed in the right direction.
“It’s still quite early in this process for me,” said Murray. “I did all right. I chased balls down right to the end of the match. I wasn’t giving up on points.
“But you just don’t know exactly what’s round the corner.
“If things keep going smoothly, physically I continue to improve, I believe that I will get back to competing for the biggest competitions because there’s no reason why I couldn’t.
“But you don’t know.”
(Reuters/NAN)
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Sunday, 26 August 2018

Serena looking to end comeback year with 24th Grand Slam title

August 26, 2018 0
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Serena Williams, riding an emotional roller coaster as she adapts to juggling tennis and motherhood, seeks to end 2018 on a high with a record-equaling 24th Grand Slam title at the US Open.
The US great counts six US Open victories among her 23 Slams and with one more would match Australian Margaret Court’s record for most major singles titles.
She could also join Court, Evonne Goolagong and Kim Clijsters as the only mothers to win Grand Slam singles titles, but since an impressive run to the Wimbledon final — where she fell to Angelique Kerber — Williams has endured a lackluster buildup to the hardcourt showpiece in Flushing Meadows.
“I’m still at the very beginning, this is a long comeback,” she defiantly told reporters after a second-round loss to Petra Kvitova — winner of five titles this year — in Cincinnati.
She had shrugged off an even bigger disappointment two weeks earlier — a 6-1, 6-0 loss to Johanna Konta in San Jose that was the most lopsided defeat of her career.
Williams later revealed she had learned shortly before that match that the man convicted of killing her sister Yetunde Price in 2003 had been released on parole, something she “couldn’t shake out of her mind”.
It was another instance of personal matters intruding on the tennis court in a way they never have before, with Williams opening up about her struggles with post-partum emotions since the birth of daughter Olympia last September, and wrestled with feelings of inadequacy that many new mothers experience.
“I have been through a lot of stuff in my life, but I have never been through this,” Williams said.
And then there’s her game, worryingly inconsistent in six tournaments so far this year — including the French Open where she withdrew before the fourth round with a pectoral injury.
“Basically, my whole game needs to improve,” Williams said, although she wasn’t stepping up the pressure on herself in her last chance to avoid her first season since 2011 without a Grand Slam singles title.
“I feel like I have to be nice to myself,” Williams said. “I have to just be happy, continue to work hard. I’ve been working incredibly hard. I feel like it will for sure pay off eventually.”
Awarded the 17th seeding, nine spots above her world ranking, Williams nevertheless faces a tough early road with a potential third-round clash with her sister Venus and a possible fourth-rounder against world number one and top seed Simona Halep.
Halep arrives at Flushing Meadows buoyed not only by her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros but by an impressive hardcourt campaign that included a victory in Montreal followed by a runner-up finish in Cincinnati.
The Romanian has reached six finals this year, displaying a new maturity on the court.
“Now she’s understanding what the problems are, when she gets a little bit emotional how many points in a row she’s losing because of that,” Halep’s coach Darren Cahill said.
Halep herself says that with her French Open victory, “Inside myself, something changed.
“I’m more relaxed. I feel thankful for everything I achieved. After French Open, I really started to believe that I’m a real No. 1.”
World number two Caroline Wozniacki arrives in New York amid injury uncertainty, having withdrawn from Washington with a right leg injury and then retired with a left knee injury from her second-round match in Cincy — where she also played with a shoulder strapped.
Sloane Stephens, the world number three, will be in unfamiliar territory as she defends her first major title. A third final in the last five Grand Slams appears to be within her reach, but she too could face an early hurdle with former world number one Victoria Azarenka a possible third-round foe.
Stephens endured a swift slide after her US Open triumph, losing eight straight matches.
She’s rebounded with the Miami Open title in March and a trip to the French Open final and the final in Montreal — losing both to Halep.
“I just hope to keep going forward, have some more success,” Stephens said.
Kerber will be aiming to expunge the memory of a first-round exit last year.
The Wimbledon champion has reached at least the quarters of each Slam this year and looks again like the player who won two majors in 2016 — including the US Open.
(AFP)
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Sunday, 12 August 2018

Aruna Quadri advances to finals of Nigeria Open

August 12, 2018 0
Image result for Aruna Quadri advances to finals of Nigeria Open
Aruna Quadri has made it to the final in the ITTF Challenge Nigeria Open.
The world number 18 defeated Thailand’s Wisutmaythangkoon Supanut in straight sets, 11-9, 14-12, 11-9, 11-8.
Aruna will face Hachard Antoine of France who defeated Rumgay Gavin of Scotland.
The Men’s single final is slated for 4:30pm.


All other Nigerian athletes who started the tournament have crashed out, leaving Quadri as the only one flying the nation’s flag.
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