PARIS: Novak Djokovic dominated rival Rafael Nadal at the start, then held off a comeback attempt to win 6-1, 6-4 at the Paris Olympics in the second round Monday, the 60th — and likely last — head-to-head matchup between the two tennis greats.
Djokovic claimed 10 of the initial 11 games, with Nadal nowhere near the skilled and ever-hustling version of himself that won a record 14 French Open trophies on the same red clay at Roland Garros that is hosting Summer Games matches. Instead, Nadal was diminished, showing every bit of his 38 years, and looking like someone who might be ready to head into retirement after playing only sparingly the past two seasons because of a series of injuries, including hip surgery.
Then, suddenly, the indefatigable Nadal got going, making a push to turn this contest competitive, which surely no one — least of all Djokovic — found too surprising. Nadal captured four consecutive games in the second set, including a forehand winner to break to make it 4-all. He raised his left fist, drawing roars from a packed Court Philippe Chatrier crowd that repeatedly tried to encourage him with chants of “Ra-fa! Ra-fa!”
And that’s when Djokovic, a 37-year-old from Serbia, regained control. He broke right back, pointing to his left ear while walking to the sideline as if to taunt Nadal’s supporters. Djokovic then served out the victory, before meeting Nadal at the net for a hug.
Djokovic owns 24 Grand Slam titles, and Nadal 22, the two highest men’s totals in the century-plus history of the sport, both have been ranked No. 1, and no pair of men has played each other more often in the professional era. They are two-thirds of the so-called Big Three of men’s tennis, along with Roger Federer, who retired with 20 Slam titles. That trio enjoyed unprecedented success and prompted endless debates about which was the “GOAT” — “Greatest of All Time.”
But Djokovic and Nadal are accustomed to meeting — and fans are accustomed to watching them — in the latter stages of events, including nine major finals. Not merely the second round. It happened that early this time because while Djokovic is the top seed at the Summer Games, Nadal’s ranking is outside the top 150 on account of a lack of matches.
Part of Nadal’s troubles Monday were caused by not being in tip-top shape. His right thigh has been taped up during these Olympics, where he is also competing in doubles for Spain with Carlos Alcaraz.
And part of the problem, to be sure, was that Djokovic was, well, the best version of himself other than during that brief stretch in the second set, sliding along the baseline to get to everything, striking shots exactly where he wanted them, occasionally using drop shots to set up winners and force Nadal to run a lot. Djokovic wore a gray sleeve on his right knee, just as he did while making it to the final at Wimbledon three weeks ago. He tore his meniscus during the French Open in early June and had surgery in Paris.
None of that mattered on this warm afternoon under a cloudless sky, with the temperature in the 80s Fahrenheit. Folks in the stands waved fans in an attempt to stay cool; both players wore cold white towels around their necks during changeovers.
Djokovic beats rival Nadal at Paris Olympics in 60th and likely last head-to-head matchup
https://arab.news/jxynk
Djokovic beats rival Nadal at Paris Olympics in 60th and likely last head-to-head matchup
- Djokovic owns 24 Grand Slam titles, and Nadal 22, the two highest men’s totals in the century-plus history of the sport
Saudi rugby players want ‘taste of international tournaments,’ says coach
- Sami Smara, technical director and head coach of young team, says players gained valuable experience at Asia Rugby Sevens Emirates Trophy event in Nepal
KATHMANDU: Saudi Arabia’s rugby team showed off a fresh and young lineup at the Asia Rugby Sevens Emirates Trophy competition held recently in Nepal’s capital city Kathmandu.
Despite the team finishing last, the tournament was an opportunity for the new-look squad to gain valuable experience.
The two-day tournament saw 16 men’s teams and eight women’s teams from Asia compete, with the Philippines winning both categories.
The tournament was held on Oct. 4 and 5 at the Dashrath Stadium in Kathmandu, which despite being 1,400 meters above sea level was praised for its great natural pitch.
Saudi Arabia fielded one of the youngest teams in the tournament with most of the players under 24 years of age.
Sami Smara, the technical director and head coach of the team, said the association has a plan for the Riyadh 2034 Asian Games.
“We want to join more tournaments to gain experience and build a strong team,” he said. “We have club activities in Saudi Arabia for young players, and this will help us grow.
“This tournament was our consecutive appearance and we wanted to focus on new players getting a taste of international tournaments.”
In Group C, Saudi Arabia faced strong opposition including Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan and Qatar. Although they lost all three matches, the team did well, scoring tries against Kazakhstan and Qatar.
Captain of the team, Mohammed Al-Janoubi, said that playing at a high altitude made it difficult for the players to breathe during their first match, which added to the challenge.
He also highlighted that although the team had been preparing for several months, injuries during the preparation phase hindered their readiness. This combination of factors made their opening game particularly tough.
Saudi Arabia put a up a strong fight against Qatar in their first match despite the final scoreline. They eventually went down 39-7 at the end but conceded only two tries and converted one themselves in the second half.
They then lost 55-5 to Kazakhstan and 52-0 to Sri Lanka.
In the 13th-place playoff match against Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia showed their fighting spirit and led the match briefly. They were down 12-0 in the first half but made a strong comeback in the second.
After two tries, Mohammed Almoalim converted to put the team ahead 14-12. Unfortunately, they conceded a late try and ended up losing 19-14.
However, Al-Janoubi was happy with how the team played.
“The opposition was of high level, but we fought the best we can,” he said. “Most of the players were playing at this level for the first time. Our focus was on gaining international experience, and we succeeded. This experience will help us as we move forward.”
Coach Smara said rugby was getting good support from the Ministry of Sport and the National Olympic Committee.
“The government is very supportive of sports, and rugby is getting the help it needs to improve. We want to encourage local players and make a better team over time.”
He said rugby in Saudi Arabia has grown over the past few years. “The rugby was limited (in the past) to expats and was only played in compounds. But now there is governance of the league too.
“Thanks to support from the national Olympic committee, the (Saudi Arabian Rugby Federation) now has senior and youth competitions. We have rugby in the sports curriculum of the Ministry of Education too. I feel good things are to follow now,” Smara added.
There has been other progress, with the under-18 team playing in Malaysia last month.
And Smara said plans for women to participate internationally are in the pipeline, with a full team ready and preparing back home.
Errani and Paolini among 3 doubles teams confirmed for WTA Finals in Riyadh
- Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe will be making their second consecutive appearance as a team at the prestigious season-ending event
- Katerina Siniakova won the WTA Finals doubles title in 2021, while Taylor Townsend will be making her tournament debut
RIYADH: The WTA has announced the doubles teams that have qualified for the WTA Finals Riyadh, which are Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini, Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe, and Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend.
They are the third, fourth and fifth pairings to secure their participation after Jelena Ostapenko and Lyudmyla Kichenok, and Hsieh Su-Wei and Elise Mertens confirmed their qualification in September.
Over half the doubles field is now set for the WTA Finals Riyadh, with three qualification places remaining on the PIF Race to the WTA Finals.
The WTA Finals Riyadh is a key element of the Saudi Tennis Federation’s plans to grow the sport in the Kingdom and have 1 million participating by 2030.
This is a part of the WTA’s aims to grow the game worldwide.
Paolini will debut at the WTA Finals, while Errani returns, having competed in doubles from 2012-2014 and qualified in singles in 2012 and 2013.
The Italian duo won the WTA 500 Upper Austria Ladies Linz and the WTA 1000 Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, finished as runners-up at Roland-Garros, and clinched gold in doubles at the Paris Olympics.
This season marks Canadian Dabrowski’s sixth WTA Finals appearance, with her partner Routliffe being the first New Zealand qualifier last year. They went undefeated in the 2023 group stages and won the WTA 250 Rothesay Open Nottingham.
They also reached four finals at WTA 1000 events in Toronto, Miami, Eastbourne, and Wimbledon, where Routliffe became the PIF WTA World No. 1 in doubles.
Siniakova and Townsend, who won Wimbledon in July, have also qualified for the WTA Finals. Townsend debuts, while Siniakova makes her sixth consecutive appearance, having won in 2021 and finishing as runner-up in 2018 and 2022.
The Czech-US duo teamed up in May, reaching the quarterfinals in Rome, winning Wimbledon, and making the semifinals at the US Open.
The 2024 WTA Finals features the top eight singles and doubles teams on the PIF Race to the WTA Finals Leaderboard, with the eighth spot going to the singles player and doubles team that have won a Grand Slam if ranked No. 8 to No. 20.
This showcases the world’s best eight singles players and doubles teams competing in a round-robin format.
The singles champion lifts the WTA Finals Billie Jean King Trophy and the doubles champions earns the WTA Finals Martina Navratilova Trophy.
Beterbiev and Bivol arrive for Riyadh Season’s ‘IV Crown Showdown’
- Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol fight for all 4 light-heavy belts
- Both unbeaten, but Beterbiev has boxing’s only 100% KO record
RIYADH: Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol have arrived here for one of the most anticipated fights of the year, which will see the winner take home all four light-heavyweight belts.
The event on Oct. 12, a part of Riyadh Season 2024, is an intriguing matchup between two unbeaten fighters. Bivol is 23-0, 12 knockouts, while Beterbiev is 20-0, but boasts boxing’s only 100 percent knockout ratio.
Fans and boxing enthusiasts gathered to witness the champions face-off here for their bout at Kingdom Arena, which is expected to garner millions of viewers worldwide.
The night will feature several compelling fights on the undercard.
In the middleweight division, Britain’s Chris Eubank Jr. will challenge Poland’s Kamil Szeremeta, and in the heavyweight category British boxer Fabio Wardley will face fellow countryman Fraser Clarke.
In the cruiserweight division, Australia’s Jai Opetaia will meet Britain’s Jack Massey. And in the light-heavyweight division Britain’s Ben Whittaker and fellow Brit Liam Cameron will square off.
The event will also feature a women’s bout between Australia’s Skye Nicolson and Britain’s Raven Chapman.
Additionally, fans will be treated to Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Al-Aqel facing Mexico’s Jesus Gonzalez in the welterweight division.
Padres edge Dodgers in a roller-coaster playoff game, Mets on the brink
- Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani once again struggled to make an impression on the Padres pitching
- Pete Alonso led an offensive onslaught and Sean Manaea produced a gem as the New York Mets took a 2-1 series lead against the Philadelphia Phillies
LOS ANGELES: The San Diego Padres sent the star-studded Los Angeles Dodgers to the brink of postseason elimination with a 6-5 victory in a roller-coaster Major League Baseball playoff clash on Tuesday.
A wild game at an electric Petco Park saw Los Angeles take a first-inning lead through a Mookie Betts solo home run before the Padres punished multiple Dodgers fielding blunders to erupt for six runs in the second inning.
The Dodgers recovered from that second inning disaster to get within one run after Teoscar Hernandez blasted a towering grand slam off Padres starter Michael King to make it 6-5 in the top of the third.
But after that early frenzy of scoring, the Padres pitching unit took over and closed out a win, which gives them the chance to seal victory in the best-of-five National League Division Series in Game 4 on Wednesday.
The Padres, who blitzed the Dodgers 10-2 in an ill-tempered game two on Sunday, once again turned on the offensive power early on.
Fernando Tatis Jr.’s two-run home run off Walker Buehler completed a second inning catastrophe for the Dodgers, who squandered the opportunity to take early outs through fielding mistakes from Freddie Freeman and Miguel Rojas.
Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani — the home run hero of his team’s Game 1 victory — once again struggled to make an impression on the Padres pitching, finishing with just one hit from four at bats.
“Just amazing. What can I say? It’s a beautiful time to be here,” an elated Tatis said after the win.
“We’ve still got a lot of work to do, so it’s one step at a time. We’re showing up — we’re going hard from the first pitch, and that’s the energy that we need.”
In Tuesday’s other playoff game, Pete Alonso led an offensive onslaught and Sean Manaea produced a gem as the New York Mets took a 2-1 series lead against the Philadelphia Phillies with a 7-2 win at Citi Field.
Alonso blasted a second-inning home run to open the scoring while Manaea shut down the Phillies bats through seven scoreless innings.
The result means New York, who finished in third place behind Philadelphia and Atlanta in the regular season, can book an improbable trip to the National League Championship Series with victory in Game 4 on Wednesday.
Philadelphia had yanked back the series momentum with a thrilling win in Game 2 on Sunday after being stunned in Game 1 a day earlier.
But the Mets reclaimed the initiative in clinical fashion on Tuesday thanks to the first playoff victory of Manaea’s career.
The win was especially sweet for Manaea, who had been battered for five runs in less than two innings by the Phillies during a nightmare playoff performance in 2022.
With Manaea dominant, the Mets batting jumped on Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola.
Alonso got things going with a 385-foot blast to right field in the second before Jesse Winker doubled the lead with the second homer of the game to make it 2-0 in the fourth.
Nola was hooked after giving up two walks to help the Mets load the bases in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Reliever Orion Kerkering came in to staunch the bleeding but shipped a two-out single to Starling Marte which allowed Alonso and Brandon Nimmo to cross home plate for a 4-0 lead.
The Mets tacked on two insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh after Jose Iglesias singled to score Harrison Baden and Nimmo, making the score 6-0.
Philadelphia finally got on the scoreboard in the eighth inning after singles from Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos, but the Mets extended their lead in the eighth before closer Ryne Stanek wrapped up the win.
Europe skipper Donald in talks with Garcia over Ryder Cup return
- Garcia, the all-time leading Ryder Cup scorer with 28.5 points in 10 appearances, missed last year’s tournament in Rome after opting to join the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit
- Donald said existing regulations meant other LIV players could also be available as captain’s picks
- US officials have already given the green light for LIV players to play on the American team, as they did in 2023
NEW YORK: Europe Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald revealed on Tuesday he has been in talks with LIV Golf player Sergio Garcia about making a possible return to the team for next year’s clash with the USA.
Speaking at an event in New York to mark the countdown to next year’s Europe-USA Ryder Cup showdown at Bethpage, Donald confirmed he had spoken to Garcia about his availability.
Garcia, the all-time leading Ryder Cup scorer with 28.5 points in 10 appearances, missed last year’s tournament in Rome after opting to join the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit.
However, Donald said on Tuesday that Garcia was now considering applying to rejoin the DP World Tour in a push to be eligible for selection.
“Obviously he resigned his membership a couple years ago,” Donald said of Garcia.
“But we have had some chats. He’s considering rejoining. He’d have to follow all the rules and regulations like everyone else, and if he does that, again, he will be eligible to partake in the Ryder Cup.
“We chatted on phone a couple weeks ago. He’s certainly very interested in doing that. He understands everything that’s involved, and again, the decision has to go to him, whether he’s prepared to do all that.
“But certainly, we’ve had that discussion, yes.”
Donald said existing regulations meant other LIV players could also be available as captain’s picks.
“The DP World Tour’s policies have been very consistent. There’s been a lot of clarity around that,” Donald said.
“It’s really the same as it was in Rome. You have to be a Member of The European Tour and born in Europe. If you fulfill the regulations and the rules that the DP World Tour set, then you’re eligible. There’s a bunch of LIV guys that play on LIV that they are eligible now; so I can pick them at will.”
US officials have already given the green light for LIV players to play on the American team, as they did in 2023 when Brooks Koepka was given a captain’s pick to join the team.
US captain Keegan Bradley said Tuesday he planned to select “the 12 best players.”
“So if we feel like there’s a few guys there, one guy, two guys, whatever it is, then we’re going to do that,” Bradley said.
“But we’re too far out to figure out how this is all going to play out. But we’re definitely going to take the 12 best players however that shakes out.”
The 2025 Ryder Cup takes place at Bethpage Black in New York from Sept. 26-28. Defending champions Europe are chasing their first victory in the tournament on US soil since the famous “Miracle at Medinah” in 2012.
