TORONTO: After a long rain delay Germany’s Sabine Lisicki made quick work of Venus Williams, strolling into the second round of the Rogers Cup on Monday after routing the American 6-0, 6-3.
Rain wiped out most of the opening day action but play finally resumed on the Toronto hardcourts late in the evening following a nine-hour wait with Williams and Lisicki walking out onto a near empty center court.
For those who waited out the storm, the reward was brief as Lisicki needed just 66 minutes to dismiss the 14th seed.
“It’s always tough after a long rain delay, you don’t know if you are ever going to get onto the court and with a tough match against Venus,” said Lisicki.
“It’s always a pleasure to play her because you know you have to play well to beat her, so I’m really happy with my performance today.”
Lisicki, who got her North American hard-court campaign off to a shaky start with a first-round loss last week at Stanford, came out looking sharper and ready to play, opening the match with a break.
Williams, trailing 3-0, had a chance to break back but could not convert as Lisicki held to forge further ahead.
Williams’ resistance continued to crumble, with three straight double faults in the fifth game handing her opponent a third break, before Lisicki closed out the set 40-0.
Williams, playing just her second match since a fourth-round loss to sister Serena at Wimbledon, held serve to open the second set but then double faulted to gift Lisicki a 2-1 lead.
Williams later saved two match points but could not fight off a third as Lisicki improved her record to 4-1 against the American.
The match was only the second singles contest to be completed on a soggy opening day.
In the first match of the day on center court, Italian 15th seed Flavia Pennetta beat Canadian wild card Gabriela Dabrowski 6-4, 6-1 to set up a second round encounter with world number one Serena Williams.
A former doubles world number one, Pennetta needed just 69 minutes to dismiss the 222nd ranked Dabrowski and register her first match win since the French Open.
“It’s going to be nice because I’ll play one of the best players ever,” said Pennetta. “But it’s good because she’s the hardest test and I’ll see where my game is.”
Pennetta advances
In Toronto, Italy’s Flavia Pennetta breezed past Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski 6-4, 6-1 Monday at the WTA Rogers Cup, booking a second-round date Tuesday with world number one Serena Williams.
Williams, who like all top seeds received a first-round bye at the US Open hardcourt tuneup event, has won all six prior matches against the Italian, who will be the US superstar’s first hardcourt foe since winning her fourth Grand Slam title in a row last month at Wimbledon.
“It’s going to be nice because I’ll play one of the best players ever,” Pennetta said. “But it’s good because she’s the hardest test and I’ll see where my game is.”
Williams, who has dropped only one career set to Pennetta, is trying to complete a calendar-year Grand Slam and match Steffi Graf with an Open Era-record 22 Grand Slam singles crowns by winning the US Open, which starts in three weeks at New York.
Rain wiped out all other matches except a night start for Williams’ sister Venus, who lost to Germany’s Sabine Lisicki 6-0, 6-3.
Lisicki routs Venus Williams at rain-hit Rogers Cup
Lisicki routs Venus Williams at rain-hit Rogers Cup
Arsenal thrash Villa 4-1 while Chelsea and Man Utd both held
- Arsenal end Aston Villa’s 11-game winning streak
- Wolves earn third point of season against Man United
LONDON: Arsenal closed out 2025 in emphatic fashion, smashing third-placed Aston Villa 4-1 on Tuesday to surge five points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers, who collected their third point of the season, while Bournemouth grabbed a point at stuttering Chelsea, forcing a 2-2 draw after a frantic first-half display.
Man United are sixth, level on 30 points with fifth-placed Chelsea.
At the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal slammed the door shut on charging Villa, ending their club-record winning run of 11 games.
Goals by Gabriel Magalhaes and Martin Zubimendi early in the second half gave Arsenal control of a game that had looked fraught with danger.
Gabriel bundled in the opener from a corner in the 48th minute before Martin Odegaard slid a pass through for Zubimendi to score four minutes later. Arsenal secured the points when Leandro Trossard fired home from the edge of the area before Gabriel Jesus came off the bench to add the fourth.
Ollie Watkins grabbed a consolation goal for Villa in stoppage time.
“I think it was amazing,” Jesus told Sky Sports. “It’s always hard to play against them... The mentality of the team is really, really growing and each game is growing even more and I think we are winning today because of the mentality.”
Arsenal top the standings with 45 points, while second-placed Manchester City can close the gap when they play at Sunderland on Thursday.
Villa are six points adrift of Arsenal.
It took six minutes at Stamford Bridge for Bournemouth to shock Chelsea when David Brooks grabbed the opener. Cole Palmer equalized from the spot in the 15th minute and Fernandez put Chelsea ahead with a bullet shot eight minutes later.
Justin Kluivert brought Bournemouth back level in the 27th, to grab a point, adding to the London side’s unenviable record of one win in seven league games. Chelsea sit fifth, while Bournemouth are 10 spots below them.
Man Utd struggle
Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkzee made the most of a rare start by giving the depleted hosts the lead with a deflected shot from the edge of the box in the 27th minute.
But Wolves managed to level just before the break thanks to a header from Ladislav Krejci.
Patrick Dorgu briefly celebrated what he thought was a 90th-minute winner, but it was chalked off for offside.
“We struggled in all the game,” United boss Ruben Amorim said. “We had a lack of creation... the fluidity offensively wasn’t there.
“We didn’t play well. When you don’t play well with the ball, you struggle without it.”
Wolves have three points from 19 games, 15 points from the safety zone.
Newcastle United’s Joelinton scored after 65 seconds and Yoane Wissa doubled their lead five minutes later in a 3-1 thrashing of 19th-placed Burnley, who are winless in their last 10 games.
Josh Laurent pulled one back in the 23rd minute, but Bruno Guimaraes sealed Newcastle’s rare away win with a goal in stoppage time.
Everton climbed to eighth in the standings with a 2-0 win over their former manager Sean Dyche and Nottingham Forest thanks to goals from James Garner and Thierno Barry.
West Ham United drew 2-2 with Brighton & Hove Albion in a game that featured three penalties in the first half.
Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta, from the penalty spot, scored before the break for West Ham, while Brighton’s Danny Welbeck struck from the penalty spot in the 32nd minute but fired another off the crossbar.
Joel Veltman scored for Brighton in the 61st minute to secure the draw.
There are four more games on New Year’s Day, including fourth-placed Liverpool hosting Leeds United at Anfield.
