Osaka eyes 4th Slam title in Australian Open final vs Brady

Japan’s Naomi Osaka speaks at a press conference after winning her women’s semifinal match against Serena Williams of the US on day eleven of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Feb. 17, 2021. (AFP PHOTO /ROB PREZIOSO/ TENNIS AUSTRALIA)
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Updated 19 February 2021
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Osaka eyes 4th Slam title in Australian Open final vs Brady

  • Osaka could be beaten by the 22nd-seeded American Jennifer Brady in the title match at Melbourne Park on Saturday

MELBOURNE: Whether or not Naomi Osaka claims the Australian Open championship — and make no mistake, she will be expected to win — this much seems certain: Tennis has a new dominant force.
Sure, it’s clearly possible that Osaka could be beaten by the 22nd-seeded American Jennifer Brady in the title match at Melbourne Park on Saturday.
Brady is, after all, emerging as a force on hard courts, too, thanks to a big serve and big forehand. She pushed Osaka to three sets before losing to her in the US Open semifinals last September, then shrugged off a two-week hard quarantine in Australia to reach her first Grand Slam final.
It is the No. 3-seeded Osaka, though, who overpowered and overwhelmed Serena Williams in the semifinals Thursday.
Who is riding a 20-match winning streak dating to last season.
Who already has spent time at No. 1 in the rankings.
Who is seeking her second Australian Open title and fourth Slam trophy — and she is still only 23.
Like 23-time major champion Williams, there is a determination that Osaka manages to display when the finish line is near on their sport’s most important stages: She has run her record to a combined 11-0 in Grand Slam quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.
Osaka often speaks about wanting more consistency, whether that’s at lower-level WTA tournaments or at every Grand Slam event.
She does occasionally stumble early at the majors, such as a third-round exit a year ago as the defending champion in Australia or a first-round loss at Wimbledon in 2019.
But once she gets close to the end, she seals the deal.
“For me, I have this mentality that people don’t remember the runners-up. You might, but the winner’s name is the one that’s engraved,” explained Osaka, who was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and Haitian father before the family moved to New York when she was 3.
“I think I fight the hardest in the finals,” she continued. “I think that’s where you sort of set yourself apart.”
Williams had been 8-0 in Australian Open semifinals until Osaka put a stop to that by winning 6-3, 6-4, reeling off the last eight points of the match after the second set was even at 4-all.
When they hugged at the net at the end, this is what went through Osaka’s mind: “Always a surreal moment, just to see her in real life, like, close up.”
Osaka has long viewed the 39-year-old Williams as an idol.
Their games are quite similar at the most foundational level: speedy serves, dangerous forehands and that steely attitude on court.
Brady got a sense of that during the entertaining matchup in New York last year against Osaka.
“She just puts a lot of pressure on you to serve well, because she’s holding serve in, like, 45 seconds. ... She’s coming at you with a lot of power, so it also puts a lot of pressure on you to be aggressive and try to get the first strike. Otherwise you’re the one running, and I don’t want to be running,” said Brady, a 25-year-old from Pennsylvania who played college tennis at UCLA. “She just puts a lot of pressure on you to perform well.”
Brady acknowledged that she expects to deal with some nerves against Osaka this time.
That’s only natural, given the stakes.
The key will be limiting how much — and for how long — that affects her play.
“Listen, I don’t know how I’m going to feel on Saturday. I can say I can enjoy the moment and just try to play tennis and not really think too much about it. But there’s going to be moments, there’s going to be games, there’s going to be points, where I’m going to be thinking about, ‘Wow, this could be my first Grand Slam title,’” said Brady, who needed five match points in the last game to close her three-set semifinal win over Karolina Muchova.
“Yeah, I will definitely have those thoughts,” she said. “But it’s more just trying to control the emotions, really.”


The continuous rise in value of the Indian Premier League

Updated 10 sec ago
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The continuous rise in value of the Indian Premier League

In the aftermath of the Punjab Kings’ record chase of 262 runs on April 26, team captain Sam Curran, remarked that the Indian Premier League “(is) becoming a bit like baseball, isn’t it?”

This was likely a moment that opponents of the IPL had predicted and feared — and, conversely, one that proponents of the IPL and T20 cricket in general relished.

T20 cricket is in line with the age of fast food. Instantly consumable, quickly forgotten and underpinned by mass advertising and high-profile personalities. Around the world, its sponsors include KFC for Australia’s Big Bash League, the very title encapsulating the format’s frenzy.

In England, the Hundred has a five-year deal with KP Snacks. Given governmental policy to reduce consumption of products that are high in fat, salt and sugar, the partnership has drawn criticism.

Meanwhile, in South Africa, SA20’s title sponsor is Betway, one of a growing number of betting companies associated with cricket. In the IPL, there is a myriad of sponsors. The title one, Tata, is paying $300 million between 2024 and 2028. Then there are three associate partners — My11Circle, Angel One and RUPay — plus an official broadcaster in Star Sports, official digital streaming partner JioCinema, official strategic timeout partner CEAT and an umpire partner in Paytm.

Each franchise team has a plethora of principal partners, associate partners, media partners and merchandise partners. These represent a broad range of different industry sectors which boost the brand value of the franchises. According to brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance, the value of the ten franchises at the end of the 2023 season ranged from $43.7 million to $87 million. The estimated brand value of the IPL was $10.7 billion.

Estimates of brand value are derived differently by different bodies. This is because brands are not tangible assets — they are subject to beliefs, perceived reputation, trust and experience. Their value lies in how consumers associate with the brand and how it influences their behavior. Attempts to quantify these factors require measurable elements such as trademarks, logos, taglines, visual assets, digital assets, customer retention and social media engagement levels.

Since it began 17 years ago, the IPL has generated all of these in abundance. Along with experience and engagement within the stadiums, an exponential growth in viewership reached close to 500 million unique viewers in 2023. The new media rights regime in 2024 has created further growth, with the Disney Star Network acquiring broadcast rights for all IPL matches in 2024. Live broadcast of the first 18 attracted over 400 million viewers, a 17 percent like-for-like increase over 2023. 

There is a big shift in live streaming, with Viacom’s JioCinema awarded digital streaming rights in the 2024-27 cycle. In 2023 it streamed the entire IPL season for free on its mobile app and website, a feature continued into 2024. The move took many by surprise but enabled it to set a record for the highest concurrent viewership for a live-streamed event — some 32 million viewers tuned in to watch the final. Now, digital streaming appears to be gaining momentum over traditional TV broadcasting with IPL viewers, depending on market segment. This can only increase as technology advances and accessibility improves.

As a result, brand value estimates after the 2024 edition are likely to be affected. Close inspection of existing estimates reveals the different methodologies in use. Cost-based valuations focus on how much it has taken to build the brand. Market-based valuations take account of how much sales of similar brands have raised. Income-based valuations focus on how much money the brand brings into the organization compared with non-branded similar products for services. Customer-based valuations analyze existing customers and predict future consumption patterns.

Another approach is the relief from royalty method, used by global investment bank Houlihan Lokey. This calculates value based on hypothetical royalty payments that would be saved by owning an asset rather than licensing it. In 2023, this produced a brand value estimate for the IPL of $3.2 billion — a difference of some $10.7 billion compared with other estimates. The methodology also produces different estimates of the franchise brand values. In this case, they are in a higher range of $83 million to $212 million, with a slightly different ranking.

Houlihan Lokey also undertook a valuation of the IPL’s value as a business, based on the standard discounted cash flow technique. This amounted to $15.4 billion in 2023, an increase of 80 percent over 2022. Most of this can be attributed to the renewal of the media rights deal covering 2023-2027, worth three times more than the 2017-2022 cycle. It is reasonable to assume that, given the year-on-year increases in viewership, the IPL will be able to command even more enhanced terms in the next cycle.

Intuitively, this makes the use of DCF techniques understandable. Under normal circumstances, the IPL can be reasonably sure of its future revenue streams. Once they are expressed in terms of present values, investors can assess what rate of return they are likely to achieve. Ultimately, returns on investment and profits are more important to stakeholders than differences in brand valuations, although the franchisees remain committed to brand enhancement through fan engagement, association with star players and top sponsors. 

Since 2008, the IPL has established itself as a global phenomenon and it has done so in a relatively short time. It attracts millions of fans and viewers, providing instant entertainment. All the signs are that it will continue to grow through increased sponsorship, viewer numbers and media rights income which, in turn, proliferates advertising revenue for the media. This is big business and looks unstoppable, but it may morph into a caricature of the game from which it took its roots.


Mitch Evans relishes ‘great’ first Formula E win of the season

Updated 02 May 2024
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Mitch Evans relishes ‘great’ first Formula E win of the season

  • The Jaguar TCS Racing driver secured top spot at the Monaco E-Prix last weekend

DUBAI: Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans said it was a “great feeling” to have secured his first victory in this season’s Formula E world championship as he looks ahead to the double-header in Berlin next weekend.

Evans reigned supreme in Monaco, leading Jaguar to a dominant one-two with his team-mate, Nick Cassidy, finishing second. The result meant Evans broke his four-race streak of leading without a win.

“I’ve always been very comfortable around this track,” said Evans. “I think I’ve had around 10 podiums in different categories and never won. It was bound to happen at some point but (it) just happened a little later than what I would have liked. It was a great feeling to finally get the victory and it was a strategic and exciting race. It was an important win and (it) was good to see the checkered flag first.”

The result leaves Evans 25 points off the top but strengthens Jaguar’s grip on the constructors’ title, in which they now have a 44-point advantage.

Evans believes there is no reason why his team will not be even better throughout the rest of the season — starting in Berlin.

“The one-two here in Monaco has never been done before so really proud of the team,” he said. “We have come on the back of trickier races so to get this strong result is fantastic. It’s good for everyone’s confidence and gaining momentum and we want to keep that going.

“We’ll be going into Berlin next where last year we got a one-two, so obviously (it) would be amazing if we repeat that, but there is a new layout so there’s a few new things to learn. The race will be quite strategic from an energy point of view so we need to do some work with the team to make sure we’re well prepared. Our Gen3 car tends to suit that circuit a bit more and hopefully we can continue from Monaco.”


‘Let’s go’: Ronaldo celebrates leading Al-Nassr to King’s Cup final

Updated 02 May 2024
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‘Let’s go’: Ronaldo celebrates leading Al-Nassr to King’s Cup final

  • A 3-1 win over Al-Khaleej means Al-Nassr will face Riyadh rivals Al-Hilal on May 31

RIYADH: Cristiano Ronaldo, having led Al-Nassr to the King’s Cup final with a 3-1 win over Al-Khaleej on Wednesday night, expressed his delight in a message to his fans on social media.

Ronaldo scored the first and third goals of the night, with Senegal star Sadio Mane netting the second from the penalty spot during the semifinal at Al-Awwal Park Stadium in Riyadh.

Al-Nassr will now meet fierce rivals Al-Hilal in the final on May 31.

The Portuguese star celebrated the win with brief message on X: “The King’s Cup … let’s go.”

He accompanied the message with pictures of his celebrations after scoring the two goals.

The King’s Cup final confrontation is set to be the fifth time the teams have met this season.

At the start of the season, Al-Nassr won the first clash 2-1 in the final of the 2023 King Salman Club Cup (formerly Arab Club Champions Cup) with a brace from Ronaldo.

Al-Hilal emerged victorious in the next two clashes. They first scored a 3-0 victory in the Saudi Pro League at King Fahd International Stadium on Dec. 1; and then a 2-1 win on April 8 in the semifinal of the Diriyah Super Cup in Abu Dhabi, a competition they would go on to claim by beating Al-Ittihad.

Apart from the King’s Cup final, the teams will also meet in the second SPL fixture of the season, on May 17, at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh.


Saudi Arabia’s Team Falcons reign supreme at ESL One Birmingham

Updated 02 May 2024
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Saudi Arabia’s Team Falcons reign supreme at ESL One Birmingham

  • BetBoom Team swept aside with a thrilling 3-0 win in the final at Resorts World Arena to take home $300,000
  • Team Falcons continue their dominance of the 2024 Dota 2 calendar, following wins at DreamLeague Season 22 and BetBoom Dacha 2024

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s Team Falcons have claimed the ESL One Birmingham Powered by Intel crown after beating BetBoom Team in a thrilling grand final clash at Resorts World Arena.

Team Falcons had a near-flawless run to the title, finishing top of Group A without dropping a series. Despite a slight stumble against Tundra Esports in the upper bracket, they flew through the lower bracket, dispatching Team Liquid and OG, before getting their revenge on Tundra Esports in the lower bracket final. They took home $300,000, a total of 6,400 points and the coveted trophy.

“We’re super happy with this win, we’ve been working so hard this year and it’s really showing with our performances” said Wu “Sneyking” Jingjun from Team Falcons. “The fans were brilliant, and we’re looking forward to seeing what else we can achieve this year with this great team.”

With this win, Team Falcons have now secured their spot for the Riyadh Masters at the Esports World Cup in summer 2024.

Europe’s biggest Dota 2 esports event in six years, ESL One captivated audiences worldwide and saw a viewership of over 327,000. In addition, over 18,000 fans attended the contest in the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham on the final three days of the tournament.

Making a return to Birmingham for the first time since 2018, the tournament commenced on April 22 with the group stage, where 12 of the world’s best teams were split into two groups of six.

DreamLeague Season 22 champions Team Falcons went unbeaten and topped Group A, with BetBoom Team finishing a close second. Team Liquid and G2.iG eked through in third and fourth place, respectively, with Team Liquid also unbeaten.

In the first matches of the upper bracket, UK representatives Tundra Esports took the win against Team Falcons to secure their spot in the final against BetBoom Team, who knocked OG to the lower bracket.

The first day saw Team Liquid take on HEROIC in a tense matchup which saw the latter become the first team to be eliminated from the playoffs. In the final matchup of the day, Team Liquid’s momentum from their earlier win was quashed by Team Falcons, who took the match 2-1.

The BetBoom Team were back against Tundra Esports for a spot in the final and crushed their opposition to emphatically secure their place. Tundra’s lower bracket final opponents were decided in the next match, where OG, despite battling bravely, fell 2-1 against a rampant Team Falcons.

In the lower bracket final, it was Team Falcons who brushed Tundra Esports aside with a 2-0 sweep, setting the stage for a blockbuster finale against BetBoom Team.

The last time these teams faced off was in the group stage where the match finished in a 1-1 draw, but at DreamLeague Season 22 earlier this year, Team Falcons took a clean 3-0 sweep over BetBoom Team, leaving them hungry for revenge.

After a rocky start, Team Falcons managed to rally quickly to dispel BetBoom Team’s chances of opening the scoring. Team Falcons continued this form into the second game, where, despite some early setbacks, they managed to overpower BetBoom Team to increase their lead to 2-0.

Almost directly replicating the DreamLeague Season 22 Final, Team Falcons resumed their dominance into the third game, sweeping BetBoom Team away to continue their almost flawless start to 2024.


Pakistan’s cricket body names 18-player squad for T20I series against England, Ireland

Updated 02 May 2024
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Pakistan’s cricket body names 18-player squad for T20I series against England, Ireland

  • A 15-player squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will be announced before the May 24 deadline
  • Fast bowler Haris Rauf along with all-rounders Hasan Ali and Salman Ali Agha have been recalled

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday announced the 18-player squad for the upcoming T20I series against Ireland and England & Wales beginning on May 10 and continuing till the end of the month.
According to a PCB statement, the squad will be reduced to 15 players for next month’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 after the first T20I at Leeds on 22 May to meet the ICC’s 24 May deadline.
The men’s national selection committee has recalled fast bowler Haris Rauf, along with all-rounders Hasan Ali and Salman Ali Agha, in the 18-player squad.
The two cricketers who did not make the cut from the original 17-player squad that faced New Zealand are wrist spinner Usama Mir and fast bowler Zaman Khan.
“Crafting this squad was a challenging task due to the outstanding talent available,” the PCB selection committee was quoted in the statement. “After thorough deliberation and considering various cricketing aspects, we have finalized 18 players.”
“The squad encompasses a robust top-order featuring Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub and Usman Khan; an effective middle-order with Azam Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed and Muhammad Irfan Khan; versatile all-rounders in Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan and Salman Ali Agha; a pace battery led by Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi; and the spin prowess of Abrar Ahmed,” it continued.
“We understand Usama and Zaman will be disappointed and they should be as they must be looking ahead to the tours of Ireland and England,” the statement added. “They are quality cricketers and have long careers ahead of them. They need to continue to focus on their cricket so that they are available, if required.”
Haris Rauf and wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan were sidelined for the New Zealand T20Is due to injuries, while middle-order batter Muhammad Irfan Khan and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan were rested from the two T20Is in Lahore due to niggles.
The four cricketers underwent fitness assessments at the National Cricket Academy on Tuesday afternoon, showing significant improvement.
The team is scheduled to depart for Dublin on May 7 following a three-day training camp in Lahore.