Center Court crowd relish Arab stars Ons Jabeur, Mayar Sherif at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

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Ons Jabeur in action at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. (DDFTC)
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Mayar Sherif in action at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. (DDFTC)
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Mayar Sherif in action at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. (DDFTC)
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Updated 15 February 2022
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Center Court crowd relish Arab stars Ons Jabeur, Mayar Sherif at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

  • Tunisian, Egyptian role models revealed their mutual admiration after a day of contrasting fortunes

It was a special day to be an Arab sports fan on Tuesday as Egyptian Mayar Sherif and Tunisian Ons Jabeur played back-to-back matches on Center Court at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, showcasing the kind of grit and fighting spirit one has come to expect from the two pioneering women on the WTA tour.

While the pair came out with mixed results, Sherif falling to former world number three Elina Svitolina in straight sets before eighth-seeded Jabeur battled past Vera Zvonareva in three, the significance of the occasion was not lost on the buoyant Arab crowd in attendance, who witnessed a rare double-header featuring two talented women from the region competing on UAE soil.

“Mayar is a great player. I met her and her team. It’s so nice to see her here. Hopefully she will get better,” said Jabeur, who last year became the first Arab tennis player in history to be ranked inside the world’s top 10.

“I know it’s not easy to start those tournaments. I’ve been there. I played those tournaments; it was very tough to win the first rounds. I am 100 percent sure she is going to get there.”


Jabeur, 27, has helped pave the way for players like Sherif, who is following in the Tunisian’s footsteps and breaking new ground for Egyptian women in the sport.

World No. 65 Sherif is the first woman from Egypt to be ranked in the top 100 and made her Dubai debut this week courtesy of a wildcard.

The 25-year-old from Cairo has seen Jabeur make history time and time again and is thrilled to be sharing a locker room with the affable Tunisian.

“Of course Ons is a dear friend; I’ve known her since I was 14 years old. She knows my family well, I know her well. She is a lovely personality, so anytime I want to ask her about anything, she gives me advice or offers me whatever I am seeking,” Sherif told Arabic media on Tuesday.

“Even when I told her I’d love to play doubles with her one time, she agreed right away and said she’s looking forward to it.

“It’s a very nice feeling to have this kind of support from someone else on tour, especially from an Arab player. It gives you lots of hope as well, so it’s a great feeling that Ons is around all the time.”

Jabeur was contesting her first match in over a month, having missed the Australian Open with a back injury. The world No. 10 felt rusty during her two-hour 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 win over Zvonareva on Tuesday, and admits staying healthy is her top priority heading into her second-round clash with American Jessica Pegula on Wednesday.

For Sherif, facing two-time Dubai champion Svitolina was a tough initiation, but the Egyptian is ready to confront such challenges in order to take the next steps in her career.

“I came here knowing that every player in the draw is a very tough player, from the top seed all the way to the qualifying rounds. So drawing Svitolina in the first round was not a shock for me — I knew I was going to face someone very good,” said Sherif.

The Center Court stands were full of Egyptian and Tunisian flags on Tuesday, with lots of young kids making their way from school straight to the stadium to catch a glimpse of Sherif or Jabeur.

“It’s very heartwarming to see young Egyptians that come tell me they did a school project about me, or someone sends me a portrait they drew of me as a gift. These things really move me because you know that people are following you and see you as an image that they’re looking up to,” said Sherif.

“They see me as a role model. Of course it’s a bit of pressure on my shoulders but it also gives me lots of motivation to do better and better so people can follow in my footsteps. Seeing kids asking me for photos and telling me they’re proud of me — I carry all that in my heart.”

Unlike Jabeur, who turned pro as a teenager as soon as she wrapped up her junior career, Sherif took the college tennis route, attending Pepperdine University, US, where she reached the semifinals of the NCAA Championship.

Several former college players have made waves on the professional tour, most recently UVA graduate Danielle Collins, who reached the Australian Open final last month.

It is yet another encouraging sign for Sherif, who is thrilled to see her decision to delay her pro career while she developed her game and character during her college tennis years now paying off.

“You hear from many people that going to college would kill your game, going to college would kill your chance of being a professional. But seeing now this happening more often than before, now the players see us that are playing college, and that’s the vision, is that when they finish college, that’s what they want to do,” said Sherif.

“Especially players that were playing while I was there, I see them trying. I think they see us there and they’re, like, ‘if they can do it, why not us too?’

“I think it gives a lot of motivation for the players who are competing at a high competition in college. I’m so proud to be a part of that, to be honest.”

Jabeur’s journey in Dubai continues as Sherif shifts her focus to next week’s Qatar Open in Doha, where once again the two North African women will have an opportunity to inspire an entire Arab population.


USA vow to play ‘fearless cricket’ in World Cup debut

Updated 01 June 2024
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USA vow to play ‘fearless cricket’ in World Cup debut

  • The USA make their debut in the T20 World Cup against Canada on Saturday
  • Both teams are making their first appearances in the 20-team competition

DALLAS: The USA make their debut in the T20 World Cup against Canada on Saturday and vice-captain Aaron Jones says they are determined to play a ‘fearless’ brand of cricket.
Both teams are making their first appearances in the expanded 20-team competition but there is particular pressure on the USA, as tournament co-hosts, with the West Indies, to deliver a strong showing on home soil.
The explosive, short-format of the game, is seen by cricket’s leaders as being the perfect version to capture the imagination of mainstream American sports fans and Jones says the team doesn’t want to be afraid of going on the attack.
“Fearless cricket, positive cricket, smart cricket. I think that’s what we’re really and truly trying to do,” Jones told a press conference.
“We don’t want to regret anything. We want to leave everything out there on the park. And then, obviously, if we come out on top, it’s great. If we don’t come out on top, that’s how cricket goes sometimes. But we don’t want to regret anything,” he added.
The two North American teams have been drawn in a tough group however with India and Pakistan the clear favorites to be the two teams who qualify for the Super Eight stage.
Ireland, who in many ways are a role model for the USA and Canada, having come from relative cricket obscurity to be a regular in major tournaments, will be looking to pull off an upset and sneak into the top two in Group A.
But however the results turn out, it is a landmark moment for the USA team to be in an elite competition after decades of being stuck in minor tournaments.
“We’ve been speaking over the last couple of years about playing in World Cups, about getting test status, about taking USA cricket to higher heights,” said Jones.
“And obviously, we are playing a World Cup starting tomorrow. So that’s probably the highest height (so far),” he added.
Jones was born in New York but raised in Barbados, who he represented earlier in his career, before moving back to the USA to be part of the team.
He acknowledges that the team has the added responsibility of being ambassadors for the sport when they play games in Texas, Florida and New York.
“Obviously, what you do on the field is very important, but I also do think that off the field stuff is very important as well, especially being a country that don’t really know much about cricket,” he said.
“We want to get the fans up; we want to get a lot more support from the American born and raised people and I think we could only do that by playing good on the field and obviously interacting with the fans or the growing fans off the field as well,” added Jones.
Curiously, the first ever international cricket match was played between the USA and Canada in 1844 in New York and there were a multitude of clubs, particularly in Philadelphia and New York.
But baseball soon replaced cricket as the favored summer sport with cricket virtually disappearing apart from in a few hold-outs.
However, in recent years, the growing communities from South Asia and the Caribbean have led a revival with competitive amateur leagues now well-established and last year a new T20 pro league, Major League Cricket (MLC) was launched.
The Grand Prairie ground, a converted minor-league baseball park, was opened last year while the cricket venue in Lauderhill, near Fort Lauderdale in South Florida, has already hosted a number of international games.
The venue in Long Island, which will host the big India v Pakistan clash, is a 34,000 temporary stadium which will be dismantled after the tournament, although the cricket field itself will remain.
Jones, who made his debut for the USA in 2018, says the change in the past few years has been remarkable to be part of.
“I think that we are on the up right now as it relates to the amount of cricket we play, as it relates to the infrastructure, different fields, a lot more access to turf wickets which is very important for us.
“Definitely some quality players (have come into) the country over the last couple of years which obviously improves the competition. So right now, I think that things are only up and we just want to keep growing from here,” he said.


Gaza war protester ties himself to goalpost ahead of Scotland-Israel women’s football match

Updated 01 June 2024
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Gaza war protester ties himself to goalpost ahead of Scotland-Israel women’s football match

  • The protester, wearing a ‘Red Card For Israel’ T-shirt, was eventually removed before the teams emerged for a second warm-up

GLASGOW, Scotland: Kick-off in Scotland’s Women’s Euro 2025 qualifier with Israel in Glasgow on Friday was delayed for over half an hour after a demonstrator avoided security at Hampden Park and chained himself to a goalpost.
Both Friday’s fixture in Glasgow and the ‘return’ match in Hungary on June 4 are meant to be taking place behind closed doors, without any spectators.
That decision was taken against the backdrop of the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.
But on Friday, as pro-Palestinian protests took place outside Scotland’s national stadium, it emerged just before the scheduled kick-off time of 1805 GMT that somebody had managed to access the arena and chain themselves to one of Hampden’s goalpost.
The protester, wearing a ‘Red Card For Israel’ T-shirt, was eventually removed before the teams emerged for a second warm-up, with the game eventually kicking-off at 1836 GMT.
The Gaza war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,189 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Militants also took 252 hostages, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 the army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 36,284 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
 


Dortmund dream of shocking Real Madrid in Champions League final

Updated 01 June 2024
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Dortmund dream of shocking Real Madrid in Champions League final

LONDON: Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic believes “anything is possible” as his side aim to shock Real Madrid in Saturday’s Champions League final at London’s Wembley stadium.
The star-studded Spanish giants are heavy favorites to be crowned European champions for the 15th time, and a sixth in the last 11 seasons, against a Dortmund team that have beaten the odds just to make it to the English capital.
Madrid have lost just twice in 54 games in all competitions this season, storming to the title in La Liga by 10 points and thrashing Barcelona 4-1 to lift the Spanish Super Cup along the way.
However, they have had to once again dig deep to reach what coach Carlo Ancelotti described as the “biggest game of any season” in the Champions League.
Ancelotti’s men withstood a barrage from defending champions Manchester City to win their quarter-final tie on penalties before another legendary late fightback at the Santiago Bernabeu to beat Bayern Munich in the last four.
“We never stop believing, no matter how the circumstances are,” said Luka Modric, who along with Nacho, Dani Carvajal and Toni Kroos, in the final match of his club career, can win the European Cup for a record-equalling sixth time as a player.
“We always believe, keep believing, keep pushing, fighting until the end. In the end, we manage to find a way to beat opponents.
“Many people say there is luck, but when it happens so many times, I think it’s not just luck.”
The career path of Jude Bellingham exemplifies the scale of the task facing Dortmund.
Plucked from English Championship side Birmingham as a teenager, he was molded and developed by the German giants before being picked off by Madrid for a transfer fee in excess of 100 million euros ($109 million) 12 months ago.
Without him, Dortmund struggled domestically this season, finishing fifth in the Bundesliga, 27 points adrift of Bayer Leverkusen.
Yet, Terzic’s men have saved their best for the Champions League stage to reach the final for the third time in the club’s history and first since they lost at Wembley to Bayern Munich 11 years ago.
Dortmund topped the group of death featuring Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Newcastle.
PSV Eindhoven and Atletico Madrid were then seen off before a heroic defensive display kept out PSG over two legs in the semifinals.
“They are the favorites but we don’t care, we haven’t been the favorites against Atletico or against PSG,” said Terzic.
“But if we are brave and not here to watch Real Madrid lift the trophy, if we are here to give them a game, then we have a chance.”
In stark contrast to Madrid’s moniker as the kings of the competition, Dortmund’s only previous Champions League success came back in 1997.
Over 100,000 fans of the German giants are estimated to have made the trip to London despite the club being allocated just 30,000 tickets.
Marco Reus is one of only two Dortmund players who were in the side that lost to Bayern at Wembley 11 years ago and is dreaming of the perfect end to his time at the club.
Saturday will be the 429th and final game of Reus’ Dortmund career that could have a fairytale ending.
“I would say there is nothing better than playing your last game in a Champions League final and winning it,” said Reus, who turned 35 on Friday.
“Now the objective is to win the trophy because we cannot imagine how things could be the very next day in Dortmund.”
UEFA will be hoping the focus is on the protagonists on the field come full-time to ensure their decision to return to Wembley for a major final is not questioned.
Three years ago, the final of Euro 2020 was marred by violence as ticketless fans stormed the stadium doors to gain entry.
The English Football Association have invested £5 million ($6 million) into improving safety and infrastructure at Wembley, which is also set to host the Euro 2028 final.


Al-Hilal defeat Al-Nassr to lift King’s Cup after penalty shootout leaves Ronaldo in tears

Updated 01 June 2024
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Al-Hilal defeat Al-Nassr to lift King’s Cup after penalty shootout leaves Ronaldo in tears

  • Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou is the hero, saving two spot-kicks after three players were sent off and the game ended in a 1-1 draw

Cristiano Ronaldo’s season ended in tears on Friday as Al-Hilal completed the league and cup double by defeating Al-Nassr 5-4 in a penalty shootout, after two hours of play in a tempestuous King’s Cup final at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah had ended 1-1.

Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was the hero, saving two spot-kicks at the conclusion of a fierce battle between the Riyadh rivals that had a little of everything. There was an early goal from Aleksandar Mitrovic that seemed to put the league champions on course for their 11th triumph in Saudi Arabia’s premier cup competition. Then there was a late, late equalizer from Ayman Yahya that took the game into extra time — but not before three players had been sent off by Argentine referee Dario Herrera.

Al-Nassr goalkeeper David Ospina was the first to go, early in the second half. At that point, it seemed certain that Al-Hilal’s name was destined to be on the cup but then, late in the game, both of their central defenders, Ali Al-Bulaihi and then Kalidou Koulibaly, were red-carded.

Ronaldo and his teammates, who earlier in the week finished the league season in second place behind Al-Hilal, looked dangerous from the start.

 

Sadio Mane had the best opportunity of the early exchanges, firing just over from close range in the sixth minute. Seconds later, however, Mitrovic illustrated the difference between the teams this season as he made the Yellows pay for missed opportunities with the kind of ruthless efficiency that has been a trademark of this Al-Hilal side; if you do not take your opportunities against them, you will be punished. The Serbian striker was waiting at the far post to head the ball low into the net after Malcom curled a fine cross over from the right.

Just three minutes later, Al-Nassr had a great chance to equalize but Otavio fired just wide from inside the area. Shortly after the half-hour mark, Yahya had a shot cleared off the line by Al-Bulaihi, and then a low effort by Ronaldo was blocked by the legs of Bounou.

 

The Moroccan goalkeeper was in action again soon after, pushing another shot from the 39-year-old Portuguese superstar away and then saving Otavio’s follow-up header from the rebound. This summed up a frustrating first half for Al-Nassr in which they made most of the running.


GALLERY

View our photos from the drama-filled 2024 King’s Cup final in Jeddah


At the start of the second half, Ronaldo almost scored what might have been the goal of the season but his spectacular, near-perfect overhead kick, which left Bounou no chance, bounced off the post.

Things began to go wrong for Al-Nassr eight minutes after the restart when Malcom burst through on goal. Ospina came out of his area and handled the ball, earning him a red card.

Al-Nassr continued to give it their all, though, in an attempt to get back into the game, and Ronaldo forced another good save from Bounou with a well-struck free-kick. But the five-time Ballon d’Or winner appeared an increasingly frustrated figure.

Still, Al-Hilal were not quite able to put the game to bed and there were some nerves on display when a Mitrovic effort rolled just past the post when he had only substitute goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah to beat.

Then, three minutes from the end of the regulation 90 minutes, Al-Nassr were thrown a lifeline when Al-Bulaihi was sent off for seemingly headbutting Sami Al-Najei.

Yahya immediately took advantage by heading home from close range, sparking wild celebrations among the hordes of yellow-shirted fans and taking the game into extra time, but not before Al-Hilal went down to nine men when Koulibaly received a second yellow.

There was plenty of space on the pitch during the first period of extra time, given the reduced number of players, and both teams pushed forward in search of a winner. However, the longer they went without one of them managing to grab that all-important goal, the more inevitable it seemed the result would be decided by penalties. And so it proved to be.

Ruben Neves missed the first kick of the shoot-out but then so did Alex Telles. Bounou then saved from Ali Al-Hassan and Meshari Al-Nemer to secure another trophy for Al-Hilal and leave Ronaldo sprawled on the turf in despair.


Pakistan says ‘expects’ full US security for cricket team at World Cup following Daesh threat

Updated 31 May 2024
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Pakistan says ‘expects’ full US security for cricket team at World Cup following Daesh threat

  • The statement comes after Daesh Khorasan called for ‘lone wolf’ attack against the Pakistan-India match in New York
  • The foreign office spokesperson says Pakistani authorities are in contact with US officials to facilitate the team’s visit

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office said on Friday it expected the United States government to ensure full security for the national cricket team during the upcoming World Cup after a high-profile militant group threatened to target their match with India on June 9.

Media outlets around the world reported on the possibility of a “lone wolf” attack on the cricket stadium in New York after Daesh Khorasan released a message calling for independent attackers to act.

The 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is scheduled to be co-hosted by the West Indies and the US from June 1 to June 29. The Pakistan team is expected to arrive days ahead of their first match against the USA on June 6 in Dallas, Texas.

The players have just finished their tour to England where they lost the T20 series 2-0 to the home team.

Asked about their safety, foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told her weekly media briefing the Pakistani authorities were in contact with the US authorities to facilitate the cricket team’s visit.

“We expect the government of the US to fully provide security to Pakistan’s cricket team and Pakistani nationals who live in the United States,” she said.

Daesh Khorasan is a regional affiliate of the Daesh group that operates primarily in Afghanistan, though it is also suspected to have a presence in Pakistan and other parts of South Asia.

The group has been involved in various attacks in Pakistan, targeting public spaces, religious minorities and government installations, contributing to regional instability.

Their operations are part of a broader campaign to establish their influence and demonstrate their reach beyond the Afghan borders.