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Former Rangers coach Michael Beale discusses his return to Ibrox for the win over Aberdeen, his memories of the club and the pressure Giovanni van Bronckhorst is under.
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Tag: Tennis
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Sabalenka stuns Swiatek, faces Garcia for WTA Finals title
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FORT WORTH, Texas — Aryna Sabalenka stood stoically ever so briefly, before crouching for an emphatic fist pump to go with a scream.
Yeah, the seventh-ranked woman in the eight-player WTA Finals couldn’t hide the emotion, because she knew exactly what she had done.
Sabalenka ended world No. 1 Iga Swiatek’s 15-match winning streak against top-10 opponents, taking a 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 victory in the semifinals of the season-ending event Sunday night.
The stunner puts Sabalenka in final Monday night against No. 6 Caroline Garcia, who streamrolled Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-2 and can become just the second Frenchwoman to win WTA Finals after Amelie Mauresmo in 2005.
Swiatek, the French Open and U.S. Open champion and runaway leader with eight tour victories, cruised through three round-robin victories, losing just 13 games to give her the longest winning run against top-10 opponents since Steffi Graf won 17 straight in 1987.
Just like that, it was over when the 21-year-old from Poland lost the last five games against a player she had beaten in all four meetings this season.
Sabalenka was No. 1 when she beat Swiatek in round-robin play at last year’s WTA Finals, but neither player made the semifinals.
With that much out of the way for both, Sabalenka showed how comfortable she was on the temporary indoor hard court at Dickies Arena. Nine of her 10 career victories have come on hard courts.
“I just want to make sure that every time she plays against me, she knows that she really has to work hard to get a win,” said Sabalenka, whose fourth loss this year to Swiatek was a three-setter in the U.S. Open semifinals. “Only because of this thinking, I was able to play at this amazing level tonight.”
Swiatek fell behind one break in the final set with two wide forehands before another one put her down two breaks. Sabalenka gave herself a match point with her 12th and final ace, then hit another serve so good, Swiatek’s lunging return was wide and long.
After a tour-best 67 victories and a 37-match unbeaten run from February to June that was the longest in women’s tennis in a quarter-century, this wasn’t quite the ending Swiatek had in mind.
“In the third, I just started making mistakes from shots that I wouldn’t make mistakes usually,” Swiatek said. “At the beginning of the first set, I just wanted to be kind of focused. Maybe I didn’t realize soon enough that I should be more pepped up.”
Garcia was playing just 24 hours after beating Daria Kasatkina in a tense 80-minute third set to secure the last spot in the semifinals, but needed just 74 minutes total for a career-best fourth victory over a top-five opponent this season.
Garcia never trailed, dominating the fifth-ranked Sakkari in winners (21-8) and aces (6-0).
“I don’t know,” Garcia said when asked where she found the energy to dominate after the quick turnaround. “Yesterday, I was a little bit tired, but it was nothing unusual after such a big match.”
Garcia has advanced out of group play in both WTA Finals appearances. The 29-year-old lost in the semifinals in the eight-player event five years ago, which also was the most recent time a player older than Garcia reached the semis (Venus Williams).
“I guess I’m five years older, maybe five years wiser,” said Garcia, who was No. 74 about this time last year. “You try to learn from everything. I’ve got a good team behind me, supporting me when I was a little bit doubting myself.”
Sakkari also was among the five players who have reached the semis their first two times since the round-robin format was reintroduced in 2003. She lost in the semis last year.
Garcia used a 120 mph ace to help erase a break chance for Sakkari and extend her lead to 4-0 in the second set.
Garcia’s sixth and final ace answered a double fault that gave Sakkari another break point. Garcia closed out that game for a 5-1 lead on the way to a 3-0 career record against Sakkari.
Sakkari had three straight-set victories in the tournament after coming in with just one win over a top-10 opponent this season.
The 27-year-old from Greece never recovered after dropping her first set of the week, finishing with 11 more unforced errors (19) than winners.
“Not taking away anything from her, I played a very average match from my side,” said Sakkari, who didn’t qualify for the WTA Finals until the final event of the regular season. “I wasn’t sharp. I wasn’t energized.”
Defending doubles champs Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova advanced to the title match with a 7-6(5), 6-2 semifinal victory over Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko.
The Czech duo will play Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens, 6-1, 6-1 winners over Desirae Krawczyk and Demi Schuurs.
The event was moved to Texas from China over concerns about the safety of Peng Shuai, a Grand Slam doubles champion who accused a former government official there of sexual assault. Coronavirus restrictions also played a part in the decision. It’s the first WTA Finals in the U.S. since 2005.
. ———
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports
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Kirk Cousins celebrates Vikings win | ‘You like that?!’
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Minnesota Vikings’ Kirk Cousins enjoyed the win over his former side the Washington Commanders by delivering his now famous catchphrase.
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Winless Pegula tries to see bright side of WTA Finals debut
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FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Jessica Pegula dropped her head to the table in front of the microphone, smiling while hoping there might be just one victory awaiting the American in her WTA Finals debut.
She couldn’t even get a consolation prize.
The Buffalo native was New York honest about going winless in all three singles matches, capped by a 6-3, 7-5 round-robin loss to Aryna Sabalenka on Friday before a loss in her final doubles match that night with fellow American Coco Gauff left her 0 for 6.
Pegula also tried to remember the strong season that got her to Texas with a No. 3 ranking, and made her and Gauff the first Americans to debut at the WTA Finals in singles and doubles since Lindsay Davenport in 1994.
“I keep telling myself I had such a great year, but that’s the tough thing with tennis is you end the year really well and then I come here and I lose all my matches,” the 28-year-old said. “I mean, I don’t think I’ve lost this many matches in a short amount of time, this is like the same amount in like three months or something, almost?”
No. 7 Sabalenka finished 2-1 in group play and advanced to the semifinals when fifth-ranked Maria Sakkari won the first set of the late match against Ons Jabeur, eliminating the No. 2 player. Sakkari, who went on to a 6-2, 6-3 victory, had already qualified for the semis.
Sabalenka, who didn’t qualify for the semifinals in her WTA Finals debut last year in Guadalajara, knew a straight-sets victory improved her chances of advancing.
The 24-year-old got it — and a fourth consecutive straight-sets win over Pegula — despite double-faulting three times serving for the match at 5-3. She did the same thing earlier in the second set.
Pegula had a chance to force a tiebreaker on her serve, but Sabalenka finished her off with a backhand crosscourt winner on her second match point.
“I kept telling myself just stay focused, just keep fighting,” Sabalenka said. “It doesn’t matter, two or three sets. Just keep fighting. Just get the win, get extra points and then move on.”
The hard-hitting Sabalenka never trailed in overpowering Pegula from the start, finishing with a 26-13 edge in winners and five aces.
Even with her attacking style, Sabalenka had fewer unforced errors, finishing with 23 to 26 for Pegula, who mumbled to herself after many of hers.
“I feel like this week was a little bit of a grind,” Pegula said. “It definitely feels like I hit a wall a little bit today, just as far as physically, mentally.”
Pegula qualified for the WTA Finals on the indoor hard-court at Dickies Arena by reaching the semifinals in San Diego. Then a week before showing up, she got her first title of the season — and second of her career — by beating Sakkari in Guadalajara.
While saying she underestimated the difficulty of playing singles and doubles this week, Pegula didn’t regret it. She and Gauff, already eliminated, were blown out in their finale 6-2, 6-1 by Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova. The Czech duo was already in the semifinals and finished 3-0 in group play.
Gauff also is out of contention in singles with an 0-2 record, the No. 4 player set to wrap up against top-ranked Iga Swiatek in the final singles match of group play Saturday night.
“We’re used to playing both,” Pegula said. “But obviously this week, I think maybe the end of the year, it just kind of caught up, I don’t know about her, but it caught up to me a little bit.”
American Desirae Krawczyk and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands advanced to the semifinals in doubles with a 7-6(2), 6-3 victory over China’s Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan.
Sakkari took a 5-1 lead in the first set against Jabeur and was never threatened in her third victory over a top 10 player this week — all in straight sets — after coming in with just one all season.
“It was higher than the rest of the season, for sure,” Sakkari said of her confidence coming in. “But it wasn’t ultra high that I was feeling, like, unstoppable or anything. I was feeling good with my game.”
Sabalenka didn’t qualify for the season-ending event until the last week of the regular season in Guadalajara, and was two points from defeat in her opener before rallying to beat Jabeur, a U.S. Open finalist this year.
“That’s what I was thinking about, that no matter what happens, just win another match,” said Sabalenka, who has won nine of her 10 career titles on hard courts. “Just do it for the future. Even if I’m not gonna get through this group, I’ll take positive things from this one.”
She gets to play for more now.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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Kilmarnock 2-3 Livingston | Scottish Premiership highlights
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Highlights from the Scottish Premiership as Kilmarnock took on Livingston at Rugby Park.
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You’re no James Milner! | Jurgen Klopp x Joe Thomlinson FIFA rating
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Jurgen Klopp puts Joe Thomlinson through some physicality drills in order to give him a FIFA rating.
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Scores & Schedule
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Catch up on all the scores from the Paris Masters with Brits Cameron Norrie and Andy Murray in action from Bercy.
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Mexico City Grand Prix | Race highlights
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Highlights of the Mexico City Grand Prix from the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
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Parenting 101: The best Halloween card and board games
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If you’re planning a Halloween party and are looking for fun activities, look no further than the following Funko card and board games for the whole family.
Something Wild! The Nightmare Before Christmas (Ages 6+) – Is it a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie? In my house it’s both! If you’re a fan of the movie than this is a great card game for you. The game play itself is pretty quick, 15-20 minutes and it’s very straight forward. My kids both love this game, especially since they always beat me. I love games that are both simple and fun.
Boo Hallow: Pumpkin Showdown (Ages 6+) – This card game requires a minimum of 3 players but would best be played with up to 6 players. The object of the game is quite simple, dodge the pumpkins. Don’t worry though, you’re not literally throwing and dodging pumpkins! This is a strategic game where players can strategically eliminate other players, with the goal of being the last player standing. My kids had a lot of fun with this one.
Hocus Pocus: Tricks and Wits (Ages 8+) – It’s children vs witches in this fun card game that requires a really good poker face. There are two ways to win, either by being the team with the book card at the end, or the team with the 2 special cards. That poker face comes in handy when you score those cards (my kids cleverly jumped up and put face masks on to hide their smiles). I may have a hard time persuading my eldest to watch the movie, but he did have a blast playing the game.
Return of the Headless Horseman Game (Ages 6+) – The goal of this game is quite simple; get Ichabod to the covered bridge without being caught by the Headless Horseman. I absolutely love co-operative games, so this one was fun to play with my kids, strategizing together and winning together. I always get a little nervous when I see games with fancy spinners, but the quality of this game is wonderful and the spinner worked flawlessly each time.
Funkoverse: Universal Monsters (Ages 10+) – If you’ve played a Funkoverse game before and enjoyed it, then you’ll love this one. The Funkoverse games can be played as stand alone or expansions. The unique thing that stands out to me with this game is that it’s mostly in black and white. A few of the game play tokens have splashes of colour and there’s one red dice (the blood die) but everything else is black, white and shades of grey. This detail really elevates it as a Halloween game, setting that perfect spooky vibe. The game is for ages 10+, but the Funkoverse games can be a little tricker for 10-12 year olds. I recommend that when playing with that age group to make sure that you’ve read through the manual and can easily explain the game play to them so that you can dive right in a play.
Meredith is a Disney obsessed stay-at-home mom. When she’s not planning a trip, you’ll find her with her nose in a book. Follow her on Instagram.
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Why was Harry Kane’s goal disallowed by VAR?
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Sky Sports News presenter Pete Graves explains why Harry Kane’s stoppage-time winner against Sporting Lisbon was ruled out by VAR.
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Reports Of A Serena Williams Comeback Are Missing A Critical Piece Of Info
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Serena Williams gave a recent interview that seemed to indicate a chance that she’ll return to tennis from her supposed retirement. (Watch the video below.)
Some media outlets ran with the news this week, focusing on her “I’m not retired” comment at the TechCrunch Disrupt event in San Francisco.
But a more complete look at the Oct. 19 exchange with TechCrunch deputy editor Jordan Crook dims the prospect of the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion playing high-level matches again.
Crook noted Williams’ aversion to the word “retired” and the court queen said, “I’m not retired.”
“What are the chances that we get to see you play again?” Crook asked.
“The chances are very high,” Williams replied, and that was interpreted as a sign that a comeback was probable.
But the complete answer wasn’t so promising.
“The chances are very high. You come to my house, I got a court,” Williams said, appearing to joke.
“I’m definitely cashing in on that,” Crook noted.
Williams, 41, also implied she was content without the pressure of pro tennis.
“I did go on the court the other day and [realized] for the first time in my life that I’m not playing for a competition and that felt very weird,” Williams said, per the San Francisco Standard. “It was like the first day of the rest of my life, and so far, I am enjoying it. But I’m still trying to find that balance.”
Sure, the whole conversation offered a slight possibility that Williams might pull a Tom Brady and put off evolving away from the game, as she put it.
But for now it appears likely her celebrated run to the third round in the 2022 U.S. Open will remain her swan song.
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Should West Ham’s goal have stood? Dermot Gallagher explains all…
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Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher gives his insight as to why West Ham’s controversial first goal against Bournemouth was given.
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Islam Makhachev wins lightweight title at UFC 280 with a second-round submission of Charles Oliveira
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Islam Makhachev capped his ascent to the lightweight throne with a win by arm triangle choke against Brazilian Charles Oliveira; TJ Dillashaw suffered a dislocated shoulder against Aljamain Sterling and continued until referee Mark Goddard called a halt
Last Updated: 23/10/22 9:30am
Islam Makhachev pulled off a submission win over Charles Oliveira to win the lightweight title and Aljamain Sterling beat TJ Dillashaw by TKO to claim the bantamweight belt at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Makhachev capped his ascent to the lightweight throne with a win by arm triangle choke against Brazilian Oliveira, the holder of the UFC record for submission wins with 16.
Oliveira was stripped of the lightweight belt in May when he missed the weight for his title clash with Justin Gaethje and though he beat the American the title remained vacant, setting up the showdown with Russian Makhachev.
After spending much of the first round defending and trying to threaten with submissions off his back, Oliveira tried to keep the fight on the feet in the second round.
That tactic looked like it was paying off until he was decked by a punch from Makhachev, who wasted no time jumping on his opponent, locking in the choke and forcing the tap for Oliveira.
Makhachev dedicated the win to his late coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who died in 2020, saying: “Many years ago he told me just train hard and I will be champion”,
He then handed the belt to Khabib Nurmagomedov, who took over from his father as the Russian’s coach and is himself a former UFC lightweight champion.
Makhachev’s 11th submission win moves the 31-year-old to a record of 23 wins and one loss as a pro.
In the co-main event TJ Dillashaw, who had to give up the belt and serve a two-year suspension after testing positive for EPO in 2019, suffered a dislocated shoulder early in the first round but somehow made it through the first frame.
Reigning champion Aljamain Sterling did not let up and Dillashaw’s shoulder popped out again in the second round, allowing the 33-year-old Jamaican-American to take him down and dominate him until referee Mark Goddard called a halt.
“I probably popped it out about 20 times in training camp… I told the ref in the back that my shoulder is probably going to pop out, we’ll put it back so if it does don’t stop [the fight],” American Dillashaw said in his post-fight interview.
In the main card’s other big fight, American Sean O’Malley won a close split decision over Russian Petr Yan after a three-round brawl to put himself in pole position for a shot at the bantamweight title.
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Christian Horner: Dietrich Mateschitz was a remarkable man
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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner pays his respects to Dietrich Mateschitz.
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Rangers 1-1 Livingston | Scottish Premiership highlights
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Highlights from the Scottish Premiership match between Rangers and Livingston.
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Halep vows to ‘fight for the truth’ after doping suspension
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Former world number one Simona Halep suspended after testing positive for banned substance roxadustat at US Open.
Former women’s world number one tennis player Simona Halep says she will “fight for the truth” after she was provisionally suspended for doping.
The Romanian tennis star, who has won two Grand Slam titles, was provisionally suspended after she tested positive for the banned blood booster roxadustat, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said on Friday.
Halep was tested during the US Open, where both her A and B samples were found with the presence of roxadustat, an anti-anaemia drug that stimulates the production of red blood cells much like the prohibited substance erythropoietin (EPO).
The 2019 Wimbledon champion described the ban as the “biggest shock of her life” and denied knowingly taking any banned substance.
“Today begins the hardest match of my life: a fight for the truth. I have been notified that I have tested positive for a substance called Roxadustat in an extremely low quantity,” she wrote on Twitter.
— Simona Halep (@Simona_Halep) October 21, 2022
“Throughout my whole career, the idea of cheating never even crossed my mind once, as it is totally against all the values I have been educated with. Facing such an unfair situation, I feel completely confused and betrayed.”
Halep added that her fight was not about “titles or money” but her honour and she hoped that the truth would eventually come out.
In September, Halep announced that she was taking the rest of this season off after having nose surgery to improve her breathing. She considered retiring early this year after a series of injuries, but then said she felt rejuvenated after teaming up in April with coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
The suspension means that she cannot compete in or attend any sanctioned events organised by the governing bodies of tennis.
Another former world number one, Maria Sharapova, failed a drugs test at the 2016 Australian Open, saying a change in the World Anti-Doping Agency banned list led to the violation. She was initially banned for two years before it was reduced to 15 months.
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Former No. 1 Simona Halep suspended for positive doping test
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Former No. 1-ranked player Simona Halep was provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Integrity Agency after failing a drug test during the U.S. Open last month.
The ITIA announced the suspension Friday for Halep, a two-time Grand Slam champion who is currently No. 9 in the WTA rankings. She won the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019, beating 23-time major champion Serena Williams in the final.
Halep, a 31-year-old from Romania, who recently announced she was taking the rest of this season off after having nose surgery to improve her breathing.
She was seeded No. 7 at the U.S. Open when she lost to Daria Snigur of Ukraine 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 on Aug. 30.
The ITIA said Halep tested positive for the banned substance Roxadustat, a drug approved for medical use in the European Union to treat the symptoms of anemia caused by chronic kidney failure.
According to the EU’s medicines agency, which approved Roxadustat last year, it stimulates the body to produce more of the natural hormone erythropoietin, or EPO, which has long been a doping product favored by cyclists and distance runners.
During a provisional suspension, a tennis player is ineligible to compete in, or attend, any sanctioned events.
Under the World Anti-Doing Code, Halep faces a ban of up to four years for a positive test for a substance like Roxadustat. Athletes can earn a reduction in their ban, likely to three years, if they quickly admit an offense and accept their sanction.
Tennis authorities will handle Halep’s case and any ruling can be challenged by the World Anti-Doping Agency in an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
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AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.
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More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports
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Rashid Khan anticipates ‘great contest’ against England batters in T20 World Cup
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Rashid Khan talks to Eoin Morgan about Afghanistan’s T20 World Cup opener against England, expectations from their fans and taking on Jos Buttler.
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