ALGIERS: A successful night for west Africa saw regional powerhouses Senegal and the Ivory Coast qualify for the African Nations Championship (CHAN) quarter-finals on Sunday in Algeria.
Senegal, who began the final round in Group B lying second, trounced two-time former champions the Democratic Republic of Congo 3-0 in the eastern city of Annaba.
The surprisingly comfortable victory elevated the Senegalese to first, and a last-eight showdown with the Group D winners, probably Mali, this Friday.
Ivory Coast were last in the standings as they kicked off against then leaders Uganda, but a 3-1 triumph lifted them to second and qualification for the knockout phase.
The Ivorians will face Algeria on Friday in Algiers at the Stade Nelson Mandela, a ground where the host nation won all three Group A matches without conceding.
Senegal finished with six points, the Ivory Coast and Uganda four each and the DR Congo two in a competition confined to footballers playing for clubs in their country of birth.
The head-to-head rule separated the Ivorians and Ugandans, and ensured all three west African contenders will be involved in the quarter-finals as Ghana have qualified from Group C.
After holding DR Congo and beating Senegal, a Ugandan side coached by Serbian Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic hoped to go beyond the group stage for the first time in six attempts.
But they began disastrously, allowing Sankara Karamoko and Vignon Ouotro to put the Ivory Coast two goals ahead after 27 minutes.
Moses Waiswa impressively converted a penalty on 34 minutes to halve the deficit, and Uganda missed chances before Aubin Kouame notched a third Ivorian goal 12 minutes from time.
Luck was not on the side of the east Africans as the woodwork denied Travis Mutyaba a late goal off a brilliantly taken free-kick.
In Annaba, DR Congo fell behind midway through the first half when Ousmane Diouf scored and they were reduced to 10 men before half-time after the red-carding of Kevin Mondeko.
Senegal sealed victory with two goals inside three minutes, from Pape Diallo and a Baggio Siadi own-goal, in the closing stages.
Senegal, Ivory Coast win to reach CHAN quarter-finals
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Senegal, Ivory Coast win to reach CHAN quarter-finals
- The Ivorians will face Algeria on Friday in Algiers at the Stade Nelson Mandela
Rublev marches on, Bublik and Draper fall at Dubai Tennis Championships
- No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev, the 2022 champion, dispatches Ugo Humbert in epic three setter 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3
- Tallon Griekspoor upsets No. 2 seed Alexander Bublik in straight sets to set-up quarterfinal clash with No. 6 seed Jakub Mensik
DUBAI: Andrey Rublev signaled his determination to reclaim the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title on Wednesday, as the ruthless Russian dispatched fellow former champion Ugo Humbert in a titanic, three-set tussle on center court.
As a two-time finalist in Dubai and the winner there in 2022, Rublev already has fond memories of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium. Meanwhile Humbert, who has also tasted success in Dubai having edged Alexander Bublik to the title in 2024, was looking to tame a second former winner in the space of 24 hours after eliminating reigning champion Stefanos Tsitsipas on Tuesday.
In the early stages of the match a smattering of vocal young fans stirred up an endless cacophony of noise from all four grandstands as the near-capacity crowd repeatedly serenaded both players with cries of “Let’s go, Andrey” and “Allez, Ugo,” the even split among the supporters mirroring the evenly matched contest.
The nail-biter of a match went with serve for the first six games before, as is so often the case in professional tennis, the seventh proved to be a critical turning point. Rublev took advantage of two break points afforded by a pair of uncharacteristic double-faults by Humbert to achieve what Tsitsipas had failed to do in the entirety of their Round of 32 clash: he broke the Frenchman.
The set then resettled into a familiar pattern as the pair once again held serve amid minimal threats. And so, after 41 minutes of the back-and-forth, Rublev claimed the opening set 6-4 courtesy of that sole break of serve.
The second set mirrored the first, this time with both players avoiding a break of serve, until Humbert, the current world No. 37, narrowly edged the tiebreak 7-5 to even the match.
With very little separating the battling duo at this point, their seesaw duel was akin to two prize fighters exchanging punches with neither able to land a decisive blow. Buoyed no doubt by the feverish support from their respective fans, both players refused to buckle.
But then, with the third set tied at 1-1, Rublev held serve, broke and held again to win three straight games and move 4-1 ahead. The match then, predictably, once again went with serve until it was 5-3.
Then Humbert, facing the prospect of elimination, suddenly found himself with two break points as his opponent wobbled while serving for the match. The steely Russian held his nerve, however, and dispatched a trio of massive serves, including two aces, to reverse the deficit and set up his first match-point.
That was all the 28-year-old needed, as another huge serve forced a Humbert error and sealed the match 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3.
“It was a very dramatic ending,” Rublev said. “I’m really happy I was able to keep going and save the last game.
“It’s difficult to close a match; you can make a double-fault or a mistake, but I made three good serves and that helped me a lot. It’s much easier to win points from the serve than playing rallies every time.”
He commended his opponent, saying: “Ugo played really well. I took my two break chances but he served unbelievably all match. He shoots super hard and very fast, so it’s not easy to do something. I had to be ready for the one chance to break him in a set, and I got those chances and was able to do it.
“This match gives me a lot of confidence, so we’ll see what will happen in the quarterfinal. I’m playing well, so let’s see.”
Rublev now faces another Frenchmen, Arthur Rinderknech, who emerged victorious from a grueling three-set marathon against the British No. 4 seed, Jack Draper, 7-5, 6-7, 6-4.
Their match, which finished well after midnight and with an eerie mist hovering over center court, yielded only two breaks of serve, both of which went Rinderknech’s way. Despite the defeat, Draper can head home with his head held high as his return to top-level tennis continues after a six-month injury layoff.
On the new court 1, Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands pulled off the biggest upset of the day by taming No. 2 seed Alexander Bublik in straight sets 6-3, 7-5. The win earned the world No. 25 a quarterfinal encounter with No. 6 seed Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic, who made short work of the Australian, Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-2.
