EASTBOURNE, England: Novak Djokovic overcame a spirited challenge from Donald Young, beating the American 6-2, 7-6 (11/9) on Thursday to claim the first of the semifinal places at the Eastbourne pre-Wimbledon event.
The Serb top seed, competing during the week before Wimbledon for the first time in seven years, saved a pair of set points in the second set before finally putting Young away after a lengthy tiebreak.
“The first set went my way and I played good, I felt good on the court,” Djokovic said. “It was a very close second set. Obviously could have gone easily his way.
“I’m just glad the way I held my composure, my nerves. This is the kind of match situation that I was looking forward to have, and I’m glad it happened today and managed to overcome it.”
The former world No. 1 is rebuilding for Wimbledon after a poor past year by his world-class standards and is pointing toward the grass-court major as an immediate goal.
Djokovic, who took a wild card into the tournament on the English south coast, is the second-highest-ranked men’s player ever to compete at Eastbourne behind then-No. 2 Marcelo Rios in 1998.
“There is always something that is going on (around the sport). But we are not robots. We are humans. We have to deal with those things,” said the three-time Wimbledon champion.
“Actually, those adversities that we have to face on the court and challenges are actually there to be presented as an opportunity for us to learn, to get stronger, to grow from that experience.”
With the rest of the field a round behind after two days of rain interruptions, organizers were playing catch up and praying for better weather.
Fourth seed and title-holder Steve Johnson finished off his contest with Italian qualifier Thomas Fabbiano, advancing 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
Second seed Gael Monfils dispatched Briton Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-2 while No. 3 John Isner staged a comeback to defeat Dusan Lajovic 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/4).
Australian Bernard Tomic surprised sixth seed Mischa Zverev 6-3, 6-2 as Richard Gasquet, seeded seventh, beat Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-4.
Women’s top seed Angelique Kerber thrashed Lara Arruabarrena 6-2, 6-1 in the first of her two matches on the day.
The German is clinging to her top ranking under heavy pressure from number two Simona Halep, who defeated Tsvetana Pironkova 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7/4), 7-5.
Third seed Karolina Pliskova advanced to the quarterfinals over China’s Peng Shuai 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 while sixth seed Caroline Wozniacki defeated Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-2.
Double Grand Slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova overcame French ninth seed Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.
Djokovic downs Young in Eastbourne quarterfinals
Djokovic downs Young in Eastbourne quarterfinals
Real Madrid exact revenge on Man City to reach Champions League semifinals
- City had not lost at home in the Champions League since 2018 but the holders were held at bay by a heroic defensive effort by the 14-time European champions
- City’s defense of the competition came to an end after Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic saw spot-kicks saved by Madrid’s unlikely hero Andriy Lunin
MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Real Madrid exacted revenge on Manchester City to reach the Champions League semifinals 4-3 on penalties after withstanding a barrage at the Etihad on Wednesday.
Rodrygo gave the visitors an early lead before Kevin De Bruyne hit back for the holders to leave the match level at 1-1 on the night and 4-4 on aggregate.
However, City’s defense of the competition came to an end after Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic saw spot-kicks saved by Madrid’s unlikely hero Andriy Lunin.
The Ukrainian, who has deputized this season for the injured Thibaut Courtois, had been at fault for City’s early opener in a thrilling first leg but more than made amends.
City had not lost at home in the Champions League since 2018 but the holders were held at bay by a heroic defensive effort by the 14-time European champions despite having 34 attempts on goal.
Madrid were blown away by an early City blitz in a 4-0 defeat at the Etihad 11 months ago as Pep Guardiola’s men went on to win the competition for the first time.
City also edged a semifinal first leg thriller 4-3 on home soil two years ago only to be stunned by a late Madrid fightback in the return leg.
This time Carlo Ancelotti’s men flipped the script with an assured start that was rewarded in the opening goal.
Jude Bellingham plucked the ball out of the sky with an immaculate touch to set Real roaming down the right.
Vinicius Junior picked out the unmarked Rodrygo and he tapped in the rebound after his first effort was parried by Brazilian international teammate Ederson.
If City were slow to warm to their task they quickly had Madrid penned against the ropes but failed to land a telling blow for 76 minutes.
Erling Haaland failed to score for a fourth consecutive clash between the sides but has rarely come up closer than when his looping header came back off the crossbar and left Bernardo Silva no time to adjust to turn in the rebound.
Lunin was forced to turn behind De Bruyne’s shot from outside the box and the tenacious Antonio Rudiger deflected Jack Grealish’s effort into the side-netting.
The Madrid goalkeeper saved two more from Grealish at the start of the second half before Guardiola sacrificed the England international for the extra pace of Jeremy Doku.
That proved an inspired change as Rudiger failed to deal with a Doku cross and presented the ball perfectly for De Bruyne to smash into the roof of the net 14 minutes from time.
De Bruyne should have turned the tie around single-handedly as he then blazed a glorious chance over.
However, City’s dominance of the ball and territory did serve to sap Madrid’s energy as their lethal counter-attack was largely subdued after the first half.
Guardiola made another big call as Julian Alvarez replaced Haaland for extra-time.
But the Argentine was no more effective at picking holes in the mass ranks of Madrid defense as it was Real who had the best chance of the extra 30 minutes.
Rudiger sliced over with a clear sight of goal after staying forward from a rare Madrid corner.
But the German defender was still to have the decisive say as he slotted in the final penalty of the shootout.
Italy’s under-20s win epee gold at fencing championship in Riyadh
RIYADH: Italy’s under-20s won gold in the epee at the Junior and Cadet Fencing World Championships in Riyadh topping France.
Princess Ahad Bint Al-Hassan Al-Saud, the director of operations at the Saudi Arabian Motorsports and Motorcycle Federation, awarded the Italians their medals. The French received silver and the Swiss team picked up the bronze.
The international competition will run until April 20 at Arena Hall, King Saud University.
The US topped the medal standings in the tournament with nine medals (3 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze) after winning the gold medal in the epee (women's team) by defeating Italy who took silver, while the French team won the bronze. Eseem Al-Hassan, a board member of the Saudi Fencing Federation, awarded the medals to the winners.
The president of the Saudi Weightlifting Federation, Mohammed Al-Harbi, and the executive director of the federation, Sakhr Al-Duwayyan, attended the sixth-day competitions, with Al-Harbi expressing his admiration for the organization of the championship and the efforts put into its success.
On Thursday, at 8:30 a.m., the individual sabre competitions for men and women will begin at the Arena Hall. The competition will continue until the end of the championship on Saturday. The Saudi team for Thursday’s games will include Mohammad Al-Amro, Abdullah Al-Mansaf, Ziyad Al-Mutairi, Jihad Al-Obeidi, Al-Hasnaa Al-Hammaad, Dana Al-Qahtani, Ahad Al-Moammar, and Talin Al-Qudmani.
World Endurance Championship camel race begins May 4 in Al-Ula
- Championship includes a 16 km race split into two 8 km stages, with a 30-minute break in between
- Inaugural event has a prize pool of more than SR2 million ($533,000) up for grabs
RIYADH: The International Federation for Camel Racing (IFCR) has announced that the first edition of the World Endurance Championship camel race will begin May 4 in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ula.
The inaugural event has a prize pool of more than SR2 million ($533,000) up for grabs.
The championship includes a 16 km race split into two 8 km stages, with a 30-minute break in between.
During the first stage, 20 male and 15 women riders will compete in order to qualify for the finals. The first place prize is SR500,000, the IFCR said, with the remaining money distributed among 10 winners for both categories.
IFCR member states can compete in the championship with 10 male and five female competitors. Non-members can borrow camels and submit a maximum of three competitors of both genders.
Al-Hilal’s record 34-match winning run ends at Al-Ain
- Morocco striker Soufiane Rahimi was the star of the show after he scored a first-half hat-trick in a 4-2 win for Al-Ain in their semifinal first leg
- Al-Hilal, the four-time Asian champions, last failed to win a game in September last year when they drew a Saudi Pro League match
AL-AIN: Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal saw their record run of 34 successive victories end on Wednesday at the hands of UAE’s Al-Ain in the Asian Champions League.
Morocco striker Soufiane Rahimi was the star of the show after he scored a first-half hat-trick in a 4-2 win for Al-Ain in their semifinal first leg.
Al-Hilal, the four-time Asian champions, last failed to win a game in September last year when they drew a Saudi Pro League match.
Wednesday’s game had been postponed 24 hours after torrential rain swamped the UAE and the record-setting Saudis must have wished it had kept raining.
Rahimi opened the scoring after just six minutes from a pass by Yahia Nader and added a second from the penalty spot 20 minutes later after he was brought down by goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais who was yellow carded for his troubles.
Rahimi completed his hat-trick in the 40th minute, again from a penalty after Ali Al-Bulayhi chopped down Brazilian defender Erik in the area.
Al-Hilal reduced the deficit early in the second period when Malcom scored from a pass by Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
However, the Saudis conceded yet another penalty just before the hour mark with Kalidou Koulibaly bringing down Rahimi.
This time Paraguayan star Alejandro Romero took over spot-kick duties to make it 4-1 for Al-Ain, the inaugural winners of the Asian Champions League in 2003.
Salem Al-Dawsari kept Al-Hilal in the tie ahead of next Tuesday’s return leg by scoring his team’s second goal of the night in the 78th minute.
Earlier Wednesday, South Korea’s Ulsan claimed a slender lead in their semifinal with a 1-0 first leg win over Japan’s Yokohama F-Marinos.
American Catlin shines as Attieh leads homegrown charge at 2024 Saudi Open
- John Catlin carried on his good form with a round of 66 at Riyadh Golf Club
- Saudi amateur Khalid Walid Attieh is the best-placed Saudi player at even par
RIYADH: John Catlin leads the 2024 Saudi Open presented by PIF after an opening round of 66 saw him carry on the strong form he showed when winning the International Series Macau in March, as he praised the facilities on offer at Riyadh Golf Club.
American Catlin is a five-time Asian Tour winner and sits at six-under par with Wade Ormsby, Justin Quiban, Tatsunori Shogenji and Scott Hend all just one shot back after the first day of action. Asian Tour Order of Merit leader and LIV Golf member David Puig was well-placed to end the day level with Catlin before a double bogey on the 16th dropped him back to the group of four players at four-under par.
Catlin played in the PIF Saudi International at Royal Greens Golf Club in King Abdullah Economic City three years ago, but this is his first visit to the capital and he praised the tournament, noting the strong field was inevitable given the standard of tournaments Golf Saudi continues to host.
Catlin said: “It’s my second time coming to Saudi Arabia and when I played the Saudi International it was a top class event and this is right up there with it. Everything so far has been run very, very well, the facilities are really good and I am enjoying myself for sure. Good players like playing good events, and if you put on a good event like this, you’re going to get a strong field.
“I played solid golf. It was playing difficult out there and the wind picked up from the start. You had to think your way around and I did that quite well. I had control of my ball flight and was able to get the ball pin high a lot, which is difficult out here. I holed a few nice putts too. I look forward to the challenge tomorrow when we might see even more wind.”
Khalid Walid Attieh made history in Oman earlier this year when he became the first Saudi amateur to make a cut at the International Series event in Muscat and he carried on his strong form on the opening day in Riyadh. His round of 72 was the best among the seven Saudi golfers in the field, while Moroccan Ayoub Lguirati ended on one-under par to lead the 20 invited Arab golfers.
Attieh said: “I was really pleased with how I played this morning as the wind made it really difficult. But my performance was at a good level and it confirmed to me that I am not far away from competing regularly with the best players on the Asian Tour.
“It is vital that Saudi players are given the opportunity to play in events with fields as strong as this, because we are all developing quickly. I thank Golf Saudi for their support and for the chance to play on the Asian Tour again.”
Last year’s runner-up Henrik Stenson is well placed to make a charge at two-under-par, while reigning champion Denwit Boriboonsub is one short further back after two bogeys in his final six holes.
The PIF Moment of the Day belonged to Thai golfer Itthipat Buranatanyarat, who teed off on the 10th hole and birdied his third, fourth, fifth and sixth holes of the day to storm to five-under-par, before ending the day joint-10th on three-under-par.
