MELBOURNE: Top seed and home hope Ashleigh Barty’s Australian Open came to a juddering halt in the quarter-finals on Wednesday, just as fans were cleared to return after an eerie, five-day coronavirus lockdown.
Barty had raised expectations of ending Australia’s 43-year wait for a home winner but her campaign was ended by Czech surprise package Karolina Muchova, who stunned the top seed 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Muchova will face Jennifer Brady in the last four after the 22nd seed beat her fellow American and close friend Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
In the men’s draw, Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev contest an all-Russian quarter-final and Rafael Nadal, targeting a record 21st Grand Slam title, plays Stefanos Tsitsipas in the night match.
As Victoria state’s six million people prepared to emerge from the snap lockdown, tickets went on sale for Thursday — heralding the end of an odd hiatus where matches were played in empty stadiums with fake crowd noises broadcast on TV.
Barty’s campaign, however, ended in front of 15,000 vacant seats at Rod Laver Arena in a stunning upset by Czech 25th seed Muchova, who came from behind to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal.
Muchova looked on her way out after Barty raced through the opening set, but after a medical timeout she returned to dominate as the Aussie crumbled.
“I was a bit lost on the court and my head was spinning so I took a break,” said Muchova, while Barty, a semifinalist last year, called her latest near-miss “heartbreaking.”
“Will it deter me, will it ruin the fact we’ve had a really successful start to our season? Absolutely not,” Barty said.
Barty pooper: Australian Open top seed crashes out
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Barty pooper: Australian Open top seed crashes out
- Ashleigh Barty had raised expectations of ending Australia’s 43-year wait for a home winner
Alex Palou ordered to pay McLaren Racing $12m in breach of contract suit
- The Friday ruling from London’s High Court came after a five-week trial last year
- McLaren initially sought almost $30 million in damages
FLORIDA: Four-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou on Friday was ordered to pay McLaren Racing more than $12 million in the breach of contract suit the team filed when the Spaniard backed out of two different deals with the racing team.
The Friday ruling from London’s High Court came after a five-week trial last year. McLaren initially sought almost $30 million in damages, but that number was reduced to $20.7 million as the racing juggernaut sought to reclaim money allegedly lost in sponsorship, driver salaries and performance earnings.
“This is an entirely appropriate result for McLaren Racing. As the ruling shows, we clearly demonstrated that we fulfilled every single contractual obligation toward Alex and fully honored what had been agreed,” said McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown. “We thank the court for recognizing the very significant commercial impact and disruption our business suffered as a result of Alex’s breach of contract with the team.”
McLaren added it is still seeking interest and reimbursement of its legal expenses.
Palou was not ordered to pay anything related to Formula 1 losses McLaren said it suffered when Palou decided to remain with Chip Ganassi Racing rather than move to McLaren’s IndyCar team in 2024. All the damages awarded to McLaren were tied to losses the IndyCar team suffered by Palou’s change of mind.
“The court has dismissed in their entirety McLaren’s Formula 1 claims against me which once stood at almost $15 million,” Palou said in a statement. “The court’s decision shows the claims against me were completely overblown. It’s disappointing that so much time and cost was spent fighting these claims, some of which the Court found had no value, simply because I chose not to drive for McLaren after I learned they wouldn’t be able to give me an F1 drive.
“I’m disappointed that any damages have been awarded to McLaren. They have not suffered any loss because of what they have gained from the driver who replaced me. I am considering my options with my advisers and have no further comments to make at this stage.”
Palou has won three consecutive IndyCar titles and the Indianapolis 500 since this saga began midway through the 2022 season. He has four IndyCar titles in the last five seasons.
The bulk of the damages awarded to McLaren were tied to loss of sponsorship. Palou was ordered to pay $5.3 million to cover the losses in the team’s agreement with NTT Data, $2.5 million in “other IndyCar sponsorship revenue” and $2 million in performance-based revenue.
IndyCar team owner Chip Ganassi said Palou has his backing.
“Alex has our full support, now and always. We know the character of our driver and the strength of our team, and nothing changes that,” Ganassi said. “While we respect the legal process, our focus is exactly where it should be: on racing, on winning, and on doing what this organization has always done best, competing at the highest level.
“We’re locked in on chasing another championship and defending our 2025 Indianapolis 500 victory. That’s where our energy is, and that’s where Alex’s focus is, on the track, doing what he does best: winning.”
McLaren has won the last two constructor championships in F1 and Lando Norris last season won the driver championship.
Palou first signed with McLaren in 2022 to drive for its IndyCar team in 2023, but Ganassi pushed back and exercised an option on Palou for the 2023 season. The matter was decided through mediation, with McLaren covering Palou’s legal costs. Palou could not join McLaren until 2024 but was permitted to be the reserve and test driver for the F1 team in 2023.
When McLaren signed Oscar Piastri for its F1 team, and Palou’s performance with Ganassi in IndyCar was so dominant, the driver decided he did not want to move to McLaren’s IndyCar team and reneged on his contract.
Palou argued his contracts with McLaren were “based on lies,” and he’d never have a chance to race in F1. His counsel also accused Brown of destroying evidence by deleting WhatsApp messages related to the case.
McLaren contended it lost revenue when Palou backed out ahead of the 2024 season and the team had to scramble to find another driver. McLaren wanted Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson, who had already committed to Andretti Global, so it instead used four different drivers that season.
Because none were as accomplished as Palou, McLaren argued both NTT Data and General Motors reduced their payouts to the team because McLaren did not field a driver of the caliber it had promised.
