WUHA, China: World number two Aryna Sabalenka said Wednesday that she believes her rivalry with top-ranked Iga Swiatek is “much-needed” in women’s tennis.
The Belarusian advanced to the Wuhan Open third round with her 50th victory of the season, 6-4, 6-4 against Katerina Siniakova.
Swiatek is absent from the field in Wuhan and withdrew from the China swing after splitting with her coach of three years Tomasz Wiktorowski.
Sabalenka has a chance to close the gap on the Polish world number one with a strong run in Wuhan, with the battle for the top spot likely to come down to the wire at the season-ending championships in Riyadh next month.
“Having this rivalry with Iga is something big for tennis and something much-needed, I would say, in women’s tennis.
“To keep this competition going would be really good for tennis,” said Sabalenka, who will next face Yulia Putintseva in the last 16.
Sabalenka, 26, spent eight weeks at the summit of the rankings last season and says reclaiming the world number one spot is one of her biggest goals.
“I hope she’ll figure out the coach situation and she’ll be back in the finals in her best shape.
“Hopefully we can play against each other there in... a fight for world number one.”
Coco Gauff followed up her China Open title in Beijing on Sunday with a smooth 6-1, 6-2 win over Viktoriya Tomova.
Gauff has a seven-match win streak and faces 13th seed Marta Kostyuk in the last 16.
Kostyuk received a walkover after her opponent Amanda Anisimova withdrew with a left hip injury.
“Both mentally and physically I’m a little tired, if I’m being honest,” said Gauff. “But when I got on the court, I felt fine.
“How I approached Beijing, I was like, I want to approach this how I would play tennis as a kid.
“Sometimes I try to go back into that mindset and realize at the end of the day this is my dream now, and it was my dream as a kid.
“If I don’t want to do it for myself now, I can definitely do it for myself then.”
Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova crashed out to American qualifier and world number 102 Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 7-5 in just 94 minutes.
Seventh seed Krejcikova let a 3-1 lead slip in the opening set, as well as a 5-3 advantage in the second.
The 22-year-old Baptiste will next take on Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova for a place in the quarter-finals.
Aryna Sabalenka relishes ‘much-needed’ tennis rivalry with Iga Swiatek
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Aryna Sabalenka relishes ‘much-needed’ tennis rivalry with Iga Swiatek
- Top-ranked Iga Swiatek is absent from the field in Wuhan and withdrew from the China swing after splitting with her coach
- Sabalenka has a chance to close the gap on the Polish world number one with a strong run in Wuhan
Celtics defeat Bucks despite big night for ‘child’ Giannis
- Celtics survive Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 43-point performance for the Bucks
- The Bucks led 69-58 at half-time but the Celtics grabbed a 87-84 edge entering the fourth quarter
The Celtics improved to 9-2, two games behind unbeaten Cleveland in the Eastern Conference, while the host Bucks slid to 2-8.
Payton Pritchard scored 18 points off the Boston bench while Derrick White and former Buck Jrue Holiday each scored 15 points and Jaylen Brown added 14 for the Celtics.
“Team effort,” Holiday said. “It’s not easy doing it by yourself. We did it collectively.”
Greek star Antetokounmpo also grabbed 13 rebounds and elbowed Brown to the floor at one point, then offered a hand to help him up only to pull it away when Brown reached for it.
“Giannis is a child,” Brown said afterward. “I’m just focused on helping my team get a win.”
The win eased the memory of two lopsided Boston losses in Milwaukee last season.
“It’s nice,” Holiday said. “We got blown out twice last year so getting this win here with my family in the building is awesome.”
The Bucks led 69-58 at half-time but the Celtics grabbed a 87-84 edge entering the fourth quarter and closed with a 9-5 run to seal the triumph, Tatum scoring seven in the crucial stretch.
“We just picked up the intensity,” Holiday said of the third-quarter rally. “We came out, hit shots, not getting too ahead of ourselves and getting back to Celtics basketball.”
In a showdown of Western Conference contenders, Golden State’s Stephen Curry scored 36 points, hitting 7-of-13 3-point shots, to lead the Warriors in a 127-116 victory at Oklahoma City that left both clubs 8-2.
The Thunder, led by 24 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, lost star big man Chet Holmgren in the first quarter with a right hip injury after a fall and being helped off the court.
At Minneapolis, Tyler Herro scored 26 points and reserve Nikola Jovic made a game-winning 3-point play with 7.1 seconds remaining to give Miami a 95-94 victory at Minnesota.
Jaden McDaniels tipped in a 3-point miss by Mike Conley with nine seconds remaining to give the Timberwolves a 94-92 lead, but Jovic answered with a layup and free throw for the deciding points.
Conley missed a final 3-point shot to seal Miami’s triumph, which snapped a three-game Heat losing skid and three-game T-Wolves win streak.
In another late thriller, Michael Porter’s basket with 6.1 seconds remaining gave the Denver Nuggets a 122-120 home victory over Dallas.
Three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic had a triple double with 37 points, 18 rebounds and 15 assists to lead Denver while Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 43 points for the Mavericks.
With star forward Kevin Durant out due to a left calf strain, the Phoenix Suns fell to 8-2 with a 127-118 overtime loss to visiting Sacramento.
Keegan Murray tipped in a missed shot by DeMar DeRozan with 3.2 seconds remaining to give the Kings a 111-110 lead but Devin Booker’s free throw lifted the Suns level to force overtime.
DeRozan, who had a game-high 34 points, scored eight consecutive points for a 119-113 Kings edge and the Suns never led again, De’Aaron Fox scoring the last six in overtime.
Bradley Beal scored 28 to lead Phoenix, whose win streak ended at seven.
The NBA-worst Philadelphia 76ers outlasted visiting Charlotte for a 107-105 overtime victory, improving to 2-7 on the season.
LaMelo Ball’s 3-pointer with eight seconds remaining lifted Charlotte level at 97-97 to force overtime.
In overtime, Charlotte’s Grant Williams made a free throw with 0.1 of a second remaining and missed the next in hopes of a game-tying tip-in, but the 76ers grabbed the rebound to win.
At Indianapolis, Bennedict Mathurin scored 38 points and Tyrese Haliburton added 35 points and 14 assists to lead the Indiana Pacers over New York 132-121.
Orlando, meanwhile, had 23 points from Franz Wagner in a 121-94 home rout of Washington while Houston edged host Detroit 101-99 behind Alperen Sengun’s 27 points and Memphis routed host Portland 134-89.
3rd-place Nottingham Forest face home defeat to Newcastle
- Man Utd win to end Van Nistelrooy’s interim spell; Ipswich shock Spurs
LONDON: Third-placed Nottingham Forest’s fine run came to an end in a 3-1 home defeat to Newcastle on Sunday.
Forest had won three games in a row to sit just behind Liverpool and Manchester City at the top of the table and their dream run looked set to continue at the City Ground.
Murillo’s towering header from Anthony Elanga’s free kick opened the scoring.
But Newcastle hit back strongly after half time.
Alexander Isak’s fourth goal in as many games began the fightback.
Joelinton then curled in a sensational strike from the edge of the box before Harvey Barnes sealed the three points that lifts the Magpies into eighth.
Arsenal and Chelsea both start the day 10 points behind leaders Liverpool and in desperate need of a win if they are to challenge for the title.
Captain Martin Odegaard starts for the first time in two months for Arsenal, who are aiming to snap a three-game winless streak in the Premier League.
Meanwhile, Manchester United signed off Ruud van Nistelrooy’s temporary stint in charge with a 3-0 win over Leicester on Sunday as Ipswich stunned Tottenham 2-1 for their first Premier League victory in 22 years.
Ipswich will play host to Amorim’s first match in two weeks and go into that game buoyed by their first win since ending a two-decade wait to return to the top flight.
Spurs were finally made to pay for their slow starts at home as they went behind for the 13th time in 15 Premier League games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2024.
Sammie Szmodics took advantage of statuesque Tottenham defending to open the scoring with an overhead kick on 31 minutes.
Liam Delap doubled the visitors’ lead in far less spectacular fashion as he lashed in from point-blank range after Radu Dragusin directed a cross toward his own goal.
Spurs had come back to win in eight of the previous 12 matches they conceded first at home this year but this time left themselves with too much to do.
Rodrigo Bentancur reduced the arrears with a powerful header from Pedro Porro’s corner but they fell to a fifth league defeat in 11 games.
Ipswich move out of the relegation zone at Crystal Palace’s expense, while Spurs slip to 10th.
Elsewhere, in Italian football, Atalanta moved level with Serie A leaders Napoli on Sunday after coming back from a goal down to beat spirited Udinese 2-1 and continue an unlikely title bid.
Saudi delegation holds ‘productive discussions’ at global hockey assembly in Oman
- Event marked 100th anniversary of founding of International Hockey Federation
RIYADH: The Saudi Hockey Federation said on Sunday it had held “productive discussions” at the recent general assembly in Muscat which hosted both the Asian and the International Hockey Federation.
This year’s assembly, which finished on Saturday, marked the 100th anniversary of the International Hockey Federation’s founding.
The Kingdom’s delegation was led by Mohammed Al-Mandeel, chairman at the Saudi federation, alongside Ahmed Al-Jeaidan, vice president, and board member Reham Al-Ajroush.
The assembly provided an opportunity for member nations to collaborate and discuss the sport’s strategic development globally.
The Saudi representatives held discussions with key figures, including Tayyab Ikram, president of the International Hockey Federation, and Marwan Al-Juma, president of the Oman Hockey Federation.
The delegation also met several other international federation leaders. The meetings focused on shared goals for advancing hockey in the region and beyond.
A highlight of the visit was the delegation’s review of Oman Hockey Federation’s stadium facilities, during which the members observed pitch preparation and recent infrastructure improvements.
The Saudi delegation also attended a women’s hockey match in Oman, gaining valuable insight into the development of female participation in the sport and the strides being made in promoting gender inclusivity.
Kingdom’s esports chief ‘proud’ as Riyadh prepares to host 16th IESF World Esports Championship
- Event will bring together more than 50 nations
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is hosting the 16th edition of the International Esports Federation’s World Esports Championship in Riyadh from Monday.
The event, which is being hosted by the Saudi Esports Federation and runs until Nov. 19, will bring together more than 50 nations across six major esports tournaments at the SEF Arena at Boulevard Riyadh City.
The championship will feature contests in Counter-Strike 2 (including both an open and a women’s category), Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (open and women’s tournaments), PUBG Mobile, and Dota 2.
With over 200 matches set to take place, more than 480 esports enthusiasts are ready to participate and showcase their skills in what organizers hope will be a landmark international event for the Kingdom.
Abdullah Al-Nasser, head of esports at the Saudi Esports Federation, said: “Hosting the IESF World Esports Championship 2024 in Riyadh is another proud accolade for the federation in the Kingdom’s gaming and esports journey to becoming a global hub for the industry.
“We are delighted to welcome all athletes and countries to the WEC24 ahead of what is going to be a fascinating and intense competition.”
The championship’s opening ceremony is to be held on Monday at the main stage of the SEF Arena.
The event will include the introduction of participating teams, highlighted by a flag ceremony displaying the flags of each competing nation. Those attending will also be treated to a look back at the history of the showcase, featuring memorable moments, rivalries, and significant achievements from past editions of the World Esports Championship.
Basketball returns to NEOM Beach Games with FIBA 3x3 World Tour
- Single-hoop tournament’s new incarnation this year is the top tier of the 3x3 format
NEOM, Saudi Arabia: 3x3 basketball returned to NEOM Beach Games this week with the hosting of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour NEOM 2024.
Thrilling final matches saw Team Miami triumph in the men’s tournament and Bahrain’s Al-Zallaq come out on top in the Women’s Cup. The competition drew large crowds at the Beach Games Hub to witness the finalists secure their well-earned victories.
FIBA 3x3 World Tour NEOM 2024 at NEOM Beach Games featured 16 teams, including returning men’s teams Amsterdam, Hangzhou and Plunge. The presence of recent Olympic gold medalists Worthy De Jong, Dylan Travis and Frank Seguela brought an increased competitive edge to the event.
Four Saudi Arabia men’s teams — AlUla, Dammam, Jeddah and Makkah — took part in the tournament.
The NEOM Beach Games also saw strong women’s representation from Saudi Arabia, with Jeddah and Riyadh teams stepping on to the court.
Following their remarkable success in Manama, where Riyadh made history by winning the Kingdom’s first international 3x3 women’s trophy, they continued to impress by reaching the semifinals.
Jeddah excelled throughout the competition, finishing as the cup runner-up after a close match against Al-Zallaq.