Belarusian star Aryna Sabalenka clinches fourth win against Ons Jabeur, seals match in two hours

Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka holding her trophy along with Tunisian player Ons Jabeur. @RiyadhSeason
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Updated 27 December 2023
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Belarusian star Aryna Sabalenka clinches fourth win against Ons Jabeur, seals match in two hours

  • Djokovic and Alcaraz vie for title on second day of Riyadh Season Cup for Tennis

Riyadh: Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka, ranked second globally, won Tuesday’s Riyadh Season Cup for Women’s Tennis.

Sabalenka outplayed Tunisian player Ons Jabeur, ranked sixth globally, with two sets to one in their match held at the Kingdom Arena, one of the new venues to host Riyadh Season’s activities.

This marks the Belarusian’s fourth victory over Jabeur in their fifth encounter, having won three times before, while the Tunisian secured a single win.

Audiences started gathering at the venue at 6:30 p.m., eagerly anticipating the final championship match organized by the Saudi General Entertainment Authority.

Djokovic and Alcaraz vie for the title

The Saudi capital is set to host the match on Wednesday between Serbian Novak Djokovic, the top-ranked tennis player, and Spanish contender Carlos Alcaraz for the Riyadh Season Cup for Men’s Tennis.

Djokovic holds the edge over Alcaraz, having defeated him three times in official tournament finals, while the Spaniard prevailed twice, as reported by the ATP website specializing in global tennis.

The highly anticipated showdown between the two global stars will commence at 7 p.m. Tickets are available on the WeBook app starting from SR100 ($27).


Real Madrid lose second straight match and miss chance to close gap on Liga leader Barcelona

Updated 14 min 22 sec ago
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Real Madrid lose second straight match and miss chance to close gap on Liga leader Barcelona

  • Getafe held on to secure a historic win, its first at the Santiago Bernabeu since 2008, and a vital three points in its bid to stay in La Liga

MADRID: Real Madrid lost a second straight La Liga match when a stunning volley from Martín Satriano gave Getafe a shock 1-0 win at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Monday.
The result prevented the capital club from cutting the four-point gap to leader Barcelona.
Getafe had lost all eight of its previous league encounters with Real Madrid and early saves from goalkeeper David Soria kept it from falling behind.
Soria turned over a shot from Arda Güler midway through the first half, not long after frustrating Vinicius Junior when he was through on goal.
Madrid had more of the ball but lacked punch up front and it paid a price for its profligacy six minutes before halftime when Getafe took the lead.
A hopeful cross from the right was headed clear but it fell to the feet of Satriano, who volleyed into the roof of the net from 20 meters out.
It was the second goal in three games for the Uruguayan, who joined on loan from Lyon during the last transfer window.
Madrid continued to dominate possession in the second half and Antonio Rüdiger and substitute Rodrygo were among those who came close to grabbing an equalizer.
But it could not find a way past Getafe’s stuffy rearguard and an in-form Soria.
Madrid’s task became even harder when Franco Mastantuono was sent off for dissent in stoppage time and although the numbers were evened up in the last minute when Getafe’s Adrian Liso was also shown a red card it came too late to make any impact.
Getafe held on to secure a historic win, its first at the Santiago Bernabeu since 2008, and a vital three points in its bid to stay in La Liga.
“Coming here is always very difficult,” Getafe defender Kiko Femenía told broadcaster DAZN. “We have to congratulate the team, we did a superb job at the back and we scored when had the chance. We might even have scored more on the counterattack.”
They jumped three league places into 11th and were eight points above the relegation zone.