Posted on

One-two home victory for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing

Toyota City, Japan, Sep 12, 2022 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - TOYOTA GAZOO Racing achieved a perfect one-two victory in the 6 Hours of Fuji to celebrate the return of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) to Japan in impressive style.Fuji Speedway hosted WEC for the first time since 2019 and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing strengthened its World Championship challenge and celebrated a memorable homecoming by winning on the GR010 HYBRID Hypercar's Japanese debut. Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa delivered a flawless performance in the #8 GR010 HYBRID to earn their second victory of the season, adding to their Le Mans 24 Hours triumph and delivering the team's eighth win in nine races at Fuji Speedway. World Champions Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez took second place in their #7 GR010 HYBRID, 1min 8.382secs behind, to complete a hard-earned clean sweep in the penultimate round of the 2022 WEC season. Maximum points from its home race brings TOYOTA GAZOO Racing a big step closer to retaining its manufacturers' World Championship, extending its lead to 26 over Alpine, who finished third at Fuji while the #8 crew are now level on points at the top of the drivers' standings heading into the final race. Another enthusiastic crowd packed the Fuji Speedway grandstands and saw Kamui in the pole position #7 lead the field away on a hot, sunny day. Kamui established a slender gap over Sebastien in the #8 as the GR010 HYBRIDs set the tone for the race by leading the way from the beginning. Just a few seconds separated the two during the first hour, which ended with both pitting for two new tyres and more fuel. Kamui retained the lead in the #7 but Sebastien was gradually closing the gap and moved into the lead on lap 64. As the two-hour mark approached, Kamui handed over the second-placed #7 to Jose. A lap later, Brendon took the wheel of the #8 and resumed with a 6secs lead, with the third-placed Alpine over 50secs behind. Brendon began to build a comfortable margin at the front and extended his advantage over Jose to 10secs at next pit stops, which came at half distance. By the time of the next driver changes, with just under two hours remaining, Brendon had a decisive 30-second lead. Ryo, already a winner at Fuji Speedway this season in Super Formula, took the wheel of the #8 as Mike replaced Jose in the #7 for the final stretch. With a one-lap advantage over the third-placed Alpine, the GR010 HYBRIDs controlled the remainder of the race, taking no unnecessary risks. After 232 laps without safety car or full course yellow, Ryo took the chequered flag to secure TOYOTA GAZOO Racing's third victory of the season, its 37th from 75 hybrid-powered WEC races since 2012. Mike followed 1min 8.382secs later, completing the team's second one-two of the season. The fight for both World Championships therefore goes to the final race of the season, when Bahrain International Circuit hosts an eight-hour title decider on 12 November.6 Hours of Fuji - Result:1st #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing 232 laps2nd #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +1min 8.382secs3rd #36 Alpine Elf Team (Negrao/Lapierre/Vaxiviere) +2 laps4th #93 Peugeot TotalEnergies (Di Resta/Jensen/Vergne) +7 laps5th #31 WRT (Galael/Frijns/Vanthoor) +7 laps6th #38 JOTA (Gonzalez/Da Costa/Stevens) +8 lapsFor more information, visit https://toyotagazooracing.com/wec/release/2022/rd05-race/. Copyright 2022 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

Read More
Posted on

Spa victory for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing

TOKYO, May 9, 2022 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - TOYOTA GAZOO Racing earned its first win of the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season after a dramatic, weather-affected 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.World Champions Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez, driving the #7 GR010 HYBRID, overcame a strong challenge from Hypercar competitors, as well as the notorious Ardennes weather, to win round two of the 2022 season, the final event before the Le Mans 24 Hours.The team celebrated its sixth consecutive victory at Spa-Francorchamps with the #7 bouncing back from an accident at Sebring to make it seven wins out of eight races since the GR010 HYBRID was introduced at Spa in 2021.Unfortunately, only one GR010 HYBRID reached the chequered flag at Spa. Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa were leading the race in their #8 car when an issue on the hybrid system forced its retirement after 90 minutes.The race had started full of promise for the #8, with Sebastien moving up from fourth on the grid to second on the first lap. Mike was close behind in third, having briefly lost a spot when he was boxed in at the exit of the first corner.On lap 16, the GR010 HYBRIDs hit the front, both overtaking the race-leading Glickenhaus on the same lap. Sebastien therefore led in the #8, but the race changed quickly when rain began to fall around the hour mark, followed by an LMP2 accident which caused a red flag.After a 25-minute delay, the race resumed behind the safety car but the leading #8 stopped on the side of the track. As Sebastien stepped out of the car to retire, the rain got heavier and Mike brought the #7 into the pits for wet tyres, dropping to third.Conditions worsened and caused further interruptions, including two more red flag periods, until the race restarted properly with just over two hours remaining, and Kamui running in second. He wasted little time in overtaking the #31 WRT for the lead as the rain stopped and track conditions started to improve.Inside the last hour-and-a-half, Jose took the wheel of the #7, now on hybrid intermediate tyres, for the final stint. He resumed in the lead of a close battle for victory among the three Hypercar competitors until three full course yellows late in the race disrupted the fight at the front.Jose controlled the final stages of the race as track conditions improved continuously and he crossed the line after six hours to win by 27.473secs from the #36 Alpine.The team now makes the short journey back to Cologne to prepare for the highlight of the WEC season, the Le Mans 24 Hours on 11-12 June when it will challenge for a fifth consecutive victory.Sebastien Buemi (Driver, car #8):"I am obviously disappointed for our car because I think we had a very good race developing. We started fourth and made it up to first, then managed to save fuel and go a lap longer on our first stint. This is always helpful at tracks like this when you can get lots of full course yellows. But then we had an issue on the car and obviously had to stop. I am really happy for car #7. They have done a great job, and this is the first win of the year for the team so that's fantastic. We need to understand better what happened on our car so that we can fight for the win at Le Mans next time out."Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8):"Clearly it's disappointing not to score points today. It was looking really good. Seb had a great start in the first stint, then we had the issue. That's racing sometimes. It's obviously better that it happens here than at Le Mans but it's a pity and it hurts our championship chances. On the other hand, I'm very happy for the team to win for the first time this season. Car #7 drove a great race to bring home the victory for the team. Now it's full focus for the whole team on Le Mans."Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8):"Today was not our day on the #8 car, unfortunately. Like Brendon, I didn't get to drive the car in the race. Seb had driven really well and put us in a strong position. But as a team it was a good performance and it's great to get the first victory of the season. Congratulations to Mike, Kamui, Jose and everyone on the #7 car. Now we are fully dedicated to preparation for Le Mans. I am really looking forward to being part of the team at Le Mans for the first time, and fighting for the win at the big race."Race:1st #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing 103 laps2nd #36 Alpine (Negrao/Lapierre/Vaxiviere) +27.473secs3rd #31 WRT (Gelael/Frijns/Rast) +1min 6.185secs4th #41 Realteam by WRT (Andrade/Habsburg/Nato) +1min 40.676secs5th #38 JOTA (Gonzalez/Da Costa/Stevens) +1min 48.571secs6th #5 Team Penske (Cameron/Collard/Nasr) +1min 57.610secsDNF #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Copyright 2022 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

Read More
Posted on

First and Third for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s Flying Finns on Snow

Toyota City, Japan, Feb 28, 2022 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team is celebrating the first win for its new GR YARIS Rally1 car after Kalle Rovanpera secured victory on Rally Sweden, round two of the 2022 FIA World Rally Championship. Rovanpera's fellow Finnish driver Esapekka Lappi finished third to complete a double podium finish for the team on his first start for TGR since 2018.Car 69 (Kalle Rovanpera, Jonne Halttunen)For most of the rally, all three of the team's drivers were part of a close fight for victory on the unfamiliar, high-speed, snow-covered roads around the event's new base in Umea. Rovanpera was disadvantaged on Friday by having to run first on the road as the highest-placed driver in the championship, but concluded Satuday leading team-mate Elfyn Evans by 8.3 seconds.Evans was penalised 10s overnight after an incident at the end of Saturday's final stage, but his hopes of victory were ended in Sunday's opener. Having started with the centrally-supplied hybrid system deactivated due to an issue, Evans then had a spin in the stage and damaged the front of the car. After stopping to make repairs he reached the end of the stage but, with the hybrid unit not showing the green light as required, was forced to retire in accordance with FIA safety procedures.Rovanpera won the first of Sunday's four stages as he added to his lead, even though he was also carrying a hybrid issue, and finished 22s clear as he and co-driver Jonne Halttunen secured the third win of their WRC career. By winning Rally Sweden, Rovanpera emulates his father Harri who achieved victory on the event in 2001. He has also moved into the drivers' championship lead by 14 points.Lappi was in a close fight for second position throughout Sunday, ultimately finishing just 8.6s away as he and co-driver Janne Ferm completed a fantastic comeback weekend with the team.TOYOTA GAZOO Racing has also taken the lead of the manufacturers' championship with an advantage of 24 points.Three GR YARIS Rally1 cars finished in the top four places overall, with Takamoto Katsuta and co-driver Aaron Johnston finishing in a fine fourth position and scoring good points for TGR WRT Next Generation.For more information, visit https://toyotagazooracing.com/wrc/release/2022/rd02-day3/. Copyright 2022 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

Read More
Posted on

Football: Manchester City go top as Chelsea suffer defeat at West Ham

LONDON (REUTERS) - Chelsea paid a heavy price for a 3-2 defeat at West Ham United as first Liverpool, then Manchester City, leapfrogged them in the Premier League title race on Saturday (Dec 4), with City ending the day on top for the first time this season. Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea began the day with a narrow lead and twice went in front at the London Stadium, only to be stunned by a late goal from substitute defender Arthur Masuaku. It looked as though Liverpool had let Chelsea off the hook as their later clash at Wolverhampton Wanderers went into stoppage time still goalless. But Divock Origi, making his 100th appearance as a Liverpool substitute, latched on to a Mohamed Salah pass to smash a winner past Wolves keeper Jose Sa in the 94th minute. In the day's late kickoff, Manchester City outclassed Watford in a 3-1 victory at Vicarage Road with Raheem Sterling paving the way before Bernardo Silva struck twice. Chelsea had seemed to be in control of their game after 28 minutes when Thiago Silva scored with a header from a Mason Mount corner but the European champions gifted the hosts a penalty in the 40th minute when Jorginho put his goalkeeper Edouard Mendy under pressure with a poor back pass. Mendy brought down Jarrod Bowen for a penalty that was converted by Manuel Lanzini. Mount restored Chelsea's lead with a superb volley four minutes later only for West Ham to draw level early in the second half when Bowen fired in hard and low. Masuaku clinched it for the fourth-placed hosts in the 87th minute with a cross that flew into the goal. It meant Chelsea slipped to third spot with 33 points from 15 games, one point behind Liverpool and two behind Manchester City. West Ham have 27 points. "We are not good enough in the details at the moment,"Tuchel told reporters. "We do too many big mistakes." Wolves had defended resolutely against a Liverpool side who have been in unstoppable goalscoring form. But all their hard work came to nothing as Origi showed what a great impact substitute he can be, with his winner sparking wild celebrations on the Liverpool bench. "It was clear: when you don't score you just have to keep going and that's what we did," manager Juergen Klopp said. "And then Divock Origi, the legend, came and finished it off for us. I love it." More on this topic   Related Story Football: Silva shines as Man City stroll to top spot in Premier League   Related Story Football: Origi tames Wolves to take Liverpool briefly top of Premier League There was no such drama for City who racked up a fifth successive league win and a 31st in the calendar year, surpassing their previous club record. "There are always things we have to improve but right now, the guys are playing at a really good level," manager Pep Guardiola said. "We scored three beautiful goals and we could have scored more." Newcastle United's wait for a first league victory of the season is over after Callum Wilson's goal earned them a 1-0 victory against fellow relegation battlers Burnley. The win lifted Newcastle off the bottom on goal difference, above Norwich City who play at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. Brighton & Hove Albion drew for the eighth time this season as Neal Maupay rescued a point in a 1-1 draw at Southampton. Maupay struck in the eighth minute of stoppage time to deny Saints their fourth league win of the season after Armando Broja had give them a first-half lead. More on this topic   Related Story Football: Newcastle finally get first win with victory over Burnley   Related Story On the Ball: The beginning of the end for Cristiano Ronaldo?

Read More
Posted on

Tennis: Ymer brothers give Sweden winning start at Davis Cup Finals

PARIS (REUTERS) - Brothers Elias and Mikael Ymer comfortably won their singles rubbers against Canada as seven-times champions Sweden made a roaring start in the Davis Cup Finals in Madrid on Thursday (Nov 25). The tournament began on Thursday with 18 finalists set to compete in six groups of three across three cities – Madrid, Turin and Innsbruck. Eight teams qualify for the knockout rounds and the final taking place in Madrid on Dec. 5. Elias eased by Steven Diez 6-4 6-2 before younger brother Mikael enjoyed a 6-4 6-4 victory over Vasek Pospisil. Andre Goransson and Robert Lindstedt made it a clean sweep for Sweden with a 7-6 (5) 6-4 win over Pospisil and Brayden Schnur. Mikael was impressive on serve, winning 80 per cent points on his first serve and facing just one break point. “I tried to stay in the moment and tried to enjoy it. At the end it’s just a game, even if it’s a lot we are playing for,” said the 23-year-old, who is ranked 93 in the world. “When you play someone like Vasek who’s so good in his offence it doesn’t give me, especially with my toolbox, it doesn’t give me a lot of other options then to try to counter.” Former US Open champion Marin Cilic and Borna Gojo gave 2018 victors Croatia a 2-0 lead over Australia in Turin before compatriots Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic completed the sweep in a doubles dead rubber against Alex de Minaur and John Peers. Gojo fired eight aces to secure a 7-6(5) 7-5 victory over Alexei Popyrin, who is 215 rungs above the Croatian in the ATP rankings, while Cilic came back from a break down in the third set to edge past de Minaur 6-1 5-7 6-4. “This is great path for me for going forward for next matches,” said Cilic. “If I can build up on this, build up on this form, it’s going to be fantastic.” More on this topic   Related Story Tennis: Djokovic won't want to risk missing Australian Open, says Tiley   Related Story Tennis: ATP calls time on calls of nature The Czech Republic’s Tomas Machac caused a huge upset on his Davis Cup debut when the 21-year-old, ranked 143 in the world, beat Richard Gasquet 7-6(3) 6-2 to give his side a 1-0 lead in Innsbruck before the French side rallied back to win the tie. Gasquet fired more winners at an empty Olympiahalle arena, which has no fans due to Austria’s reintroduction of a Covid-19 lockdown, but the 35-year-old made several unforced errors and allowed Machac to win five games in a row at one point. Adrian Mannarino levelled the tie by downing Jiri Vesely 6-7(1) 6-4 6-2 before Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut handed France a 2-1 victory following a 3-6 6-4 6-3 win over Jiri Lehecka and Machac. Defending champions Spain begin their Group A campaign on Friday in Madrid when they take on Ecuador. ATP Cup winners Russia are also in their group, with world number two Daniil Medvedev and number five Andrey Rublev in the team. More on this topic   Related Story Tennis: Zverev dethrones Medvedev to win second ATP Finals title   Related Story Tennis: World No. 1 Barty caps year by getting engaged

Read More
Posted on

Tennis: Badosa beats Sakkari to remain unbeaten at WTA Finals

GUADALAJARA, MEXICO (AFP) - Spain's Paula Badosa fired 10 aces in a 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 round-robin victory over Maria Sakkari on Saturday (Nov 13), remaining unbeaten in the season-ending WTA Finals. Badosa, whose late season run of form included her biggest title to date at the pandemic-delayed hardcourt tournament in Indian Wells, California, in October, had already posted a convincing victory over tournament top seed Aryna Sabalenka to open group play. With her second victory she appeared on track to reach the knockout phase as one of the top two on her four-woman group, but she had to await the result of the night match between Iga Swiatek and Sabalenka to see if she would be assured of a semi-final spot before playing her third round-robin match. The elite eight-player event was moved to Guadalajara from Shenzhen, China, this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. World number one Ashleigh Barty of Australia is not defending her title because of continuing pandemic travel restrictions. Saturday's clash between Badosa and Sakkari, the first Greek to qualify for the Finals, was the first meeting between the two. Badosa needed just over two hours to stretch her current WTA winning streak to eight matches. After eking out the first-set tiebreaker, she grabbed an early break on the way to a 3-1 lead in the second set. Unable to capitalize on a string of break chances in the fifth game, Badosa was broken herself as Sakkari knotted the set at 4-4. Badosa responded immediately with a break for 5-4 and a chance to serve out the match, sealing it with a backhand winner on her third match point.

Read More
Posted on

Football: Last-gasp Suarez penalty earns Atletico victory over 10-man Milan in Champions League

MILAN, (REUTERS) - Luis Suarez's stoppage-time penalty and Antoine Griezmann's first goal since returning to Atletico Madrid earned the Spanish side a 2-1 victory over 10-man AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday (Sept 28). Griezmann, who rejoined Atletico last month on a season-long loan from Barcelona, pounced in the 84th minute to level, before Suarez grabbed Diego Simeone's side their first win in this season's competition in the 97th minute in dramatic fashion. Milan, competing in their first Champions League match in their San Siro stadium since 2014, had looked on course for victory as they held on to the lead given to them by Rafael Leao in the 20th minute, despite Franck Kessie's first-half red card. But, as the game wore on, Milan retreated further and further back and Griezmann finally made the Atletico pressure count, firing into the bottom corner to level. Pierre Kalulu was then adjudged to have handled the ball in stoppage time to give Atletico the chance to snatch a dramatic victory at the death, with Suarez converting from the spot to a chorus of boos. The result leaves Milan without a point at the bottom of Group B, while Atletico are second with four, trailing leaders Liverpool, Suarez's former team, by two points following the Premier League side's 5-1 win over Porto in Portugal. "I'm very proud to be here," Griezmann said. "I think the fans want to see me like this like tonight. I want to bring them happiness and they'll be going to bed happy tonight." Milan supporters had been waiting a long time for this sort of occasion. Atletico were in fact the last side to face them in the Champions League in the San Siro before Tuesday's encounter, back in February 2014, when a Diego Costa goal was enough to earn the Spaniards victory. The iconic San Siro was abuzz ahead of the match. Stadiums are currently permitted to be only 50 per cent full in Italy, but the majority of those fans were concentrated together in a packed Curva Sud and roared out their team for the warm-up like they had just won the final. When the Curva unveiled their banner, in English, pre-match, the message was a simple one: "Milan is back". More on this topic   Related Story Football: Salah strikes twice as Liverpool thrash injury-hit Porto in Champions League   Related Story Football: Messi off the mark for PSG in Champions League win over Man City The raucous crowd, who bellowed out the Champions League anthem with gusto, seemed to give Milan extra energy, as they flew out of the traps early on. Moments after Ante Rebic should have opened the scoring, Leao did, drilling home to spark wild scenes of celebration in the stands. That euphoria was short-lived, however, as Kessie was given his marching orders following his second booking for a foul on Marcos Llorente before the half-hour mark, much to the hosts' fury. "I don't think it was the best evening for the referee," Milan coach Stefano Pioli said. "The numerical inferiority forced us to play another type of match, after the sending off there were many difficulties." More on this topic   Related Story Football: Sheriff Tiraspol stun Real Madrid with shock away victory in Champions League   Related Story Football: Chelsea's Kante tests positive for coronavirus ahead of Juventus clash Suarez was looking the most likely to get Atletico level, but it was left to Griezmann, who returned to the Spanish club at the start of the season after being sold to Barcelona for a reported fee of €120 million (S$190 million) in 2019, to get the vital equaliser. The drama was not done, however, as referee Cuneyt Cakir, villain of the evening for the home fans, pointed to the spot, before Suarez coolly silenced the San Siro.

Read More
Posted on

Tennis: Teen Ostapenkov stuns Schwartzman in Davis Cup

BUENOS AIRES (REUTERS) - Belarusian Daniil Ostapenkov, a teenager who had not played a professional-level match before, stunned world number 15 Diego Schwartzman 6-4 6-3 in their World Group I Davis Cup match against Argentina on Saturday (Sept 18). The 18-year-old became the latest young gun to cause an upset following a US Open where teenagers seized the spotlight and 18-year-old Briton Emma Raducanu became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title. Ostapenkov fired down three aces and saved seven break points to defeat Schwartzman on his home turf at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, although Guido Pella levelled the tie at 1-1 with a convincing win over Erik Arutiunian. Slovakia completed a 3-1 victory over Chile with Norbert Gombos thrashing world number 17 Cristian Garin 6-0 6-1 for his second win of the tie in Bratislava. The Slovaks must now wait to see whether they are automatically into the February qualifiers to reach the 2022 Finals. Norway were also triumphant with Casper Ruud’s 6-3 6-1 victory over Sanjar Fayziev handing them a 3-1 lead and keeping alive their hopes of reaching the 2022 Finals. The eight highest ranked winners from the World Group I ties will go into the Davis Cup qualifiers next February where they will attempt to qualify for the 2022 Finals. The other four nations will contest an additional knockout round in November with the winners entering the qualifiers. South Korea guaranteed a place in the qualifiers as they overcame New Zealand 3-1. Finland completed a victory over India although they must wait to find out whether they are automatically through to the qualifiers. More on this topic   Related Story Tennis: 'Focusing on what I had to do' helps teen qualifier Emma Raducanu win US Open   Related Story Tennis: Who are US Open teen sensations Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez?

Read More
Posted on

Football: Fornals, Torres goals give Spain victory over Kosovo in World Cup qualifier

PRISTINA (REUTERS) - Goals from Pablo Fornals and Ferran Torres earned Spain a 2-0 victory away to Kosovo in World Cup qualifying Group B on Wednesday (Sept 8) and dragged them back into automatic qualification contention. Fornals produced a fine near-post finish from the angle on 32 minutes after smart build-up play from Carlos Soler and Alvaro Morata. Spain dominated the ball for large swathes of the game, but were almost undone on numerous occasions as their high defensive line was exploited by the hosts. They were indebted to profligate finishing, in particular from Vedat Muriqi, who ran clear on goal but put his shot wide of Unai Simon's left-hand post. Simon then almost gifted the hosts an equaliser as he raced out of his box to meet a long ball over the top, only to get in a muddle with Inigo Martinez. The Athletic Bilbao stopper was just able to scramble back and stop Florian Loshaj's goalbound effort to keep Spain ahead. It proved a crucial save as Torres went on to seal the win in the 90th minute from a counter-attack. After initially being flagged offside, the goal was awarded following a VAR check. "It was a tough fought game right until the end," defender Aymeric Laporte said. "Getting that second at the end was liberating in difficult conditions. The pitch was a tricky to play our football on. "They've got their own weapons, and some quick forwards, but the important thing is we got the result. We need to win all our remaining games if we want to top the group." More on this topic   Related Story Football: Sane inspires Germany to big win over Iceland   Related Story Football: Italy return to winning ways with rout of Lithuania Luis Enrique's side moved clear at the top of the group on 13 points from six games, four ahead of Sweden who have played two matches fewer. Greece defeated Sweden 2-1 on Wednesday to move into third place on six points. More on this topic   Related Story Football: Italy return to winning ways with rout of Lithuania   Related Story Football: Poland strike late to end England's perfect record

Read More
Posted on

Tennis: Giorgi knocks out top seed Sabalenka at Eastbourne

EASTBOURNE, ENGLAND (REUTERS) - Italian qualifier Camila Giorgi continued her impressive form at the Eastbourne championships by removing top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals on Thursday (June 24). Giorgi, a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon in 2018, used her aggressive game to claim a 7-6(5) 0-6 6-4 victory and set up a semi-final against Estonian Anett Kontaveit. Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko is also showing impressive form ahead of Wimbledon, reaching the semi-finals with a 1-6 7-5 6-2 victory over Russia's Daria Kasatkina, She will face either fellow Latvian Anastasija Sevastova or Elena Rybakina in her first Tour-level semi-final since 2019. "I get very excited, but when it starts I get very sad because it's very short, the grass season," former junior Wimbledon champion Ostapenko said. "I wish it could be longer, I love to play on grass." Sabalenka had won her only previous meeting with Giorgi and looked on course for a comeback victory when she reeled off the second set with a flurry of winners to level the match. The Belarusian then earned the first break of serve in the deciding set but Giorgi's game re-ignited to claim victory. "It was a great match and very good level," she said. "At the end I think it was more mental than physical." Giorgi knocked out fifth seed Karolina Pliskova in the opening round, also in three sets, meaning it is the first time in her career that she has had two wins over top-10 players at the same tournament. Kontaveit battled back to beat qualifier Viktorija Golubic 2-6 7-6(2) 7-5. More on this topic   Related Story Tennis: Gauff beaten by lucky loser Sevastova in Eastbourne   Related Story Tennis: Karolina Pliskova fails to defend Eastbourne title

Read More
Posted on

Football: Mount goal gives Chelsea deserved victory at Liverpool

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND (REUTERS) - Chelsea reclaimed their place in the Premier League's top four as Mason Mount's superb first-half goal earned them an impressive 1-0 victory at champions Liverpool on Thursday (March 4). Mount cut in to curl a low shot past Liverpool keeper Alisson in the 42nd minute, after Timo Werner had had a goal disallowed, to give Chelsea a deserved halftime lead. Thomas Tuchel's side then showed great defensive discipline to stand firm in the second period as Liverpool improved. Liverpool, who substituted a disgruntled Mohamed Salah in the second half, struggled to carve out clear chances as they slipped to a club-record fifth successive home league defeat, having gone unbeaten in their previous 68 games at Anfield. Chelsea, still unbeaten since Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard in January, have 47 points from 27 games, one more than Everton who had briefly gone fourth by beating West Bromwich Albion. Liverpool's title defence is in tatters and Juergen Klopp's side have slumped to seventh spot with 43 points from 27 games.

Read More
Posted on

Football: Late goal flurry earns Tottenham Hotspur FA Cup win at Wycombe

HIGH WYCOMBE, ENGLAND (REUTERS) - Harry Winks and Tanguy Ndombele struck late goals as Tottenham Hotspur survived an FA Cup scare to reach the fifth round with a 4-1 victory at Wycombe Wanderers on Monday (Jan 25). Spurs were stunned when Fred Onyedinma gave Wycombe, bottom of the second-tier Championship, the lead in the 25th minute and a shock was brewing on a freezing night at Adams Park as the visitors were twice denied by the crossbar. But Gareth Bale levelled with a clever finish just before the interval and Tottenham's second-half dominance eventually wore down a resilient Wycombe side. Winks curled in a shot after 86 minutes and Ndombele fired home a minute later before the Frenchman added his second in stoppage time to make Tottenham's progress to the next round, where they will visit Everton, look easier than it was.

Read More
Posted on

Football: Zinedine Zidane determined to turn around Real Madrid slump after latest Shakhtar defeat

KIEV (AFP) - Zinedine Zidane rubbished suggestions he could walk away from Real Madrid and said the Spanish giants did not deserve to lose after going down 2-0 to Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday (Dec 1), their second defeat by the Ukrainians in this season's Champions League leaving their hopes of reaching the last 16 in the balance. Substitutes Dentinho and Manor Solomon both scored second-half goals in Kiev as Shakhtar stunned the 13-time European champions again, having already won 3-2 in Madrid in October. Shakhtar had lost their last two Group B matches against Borussia Moenchengladbach by an aggregate score of 10-0, but this victory allowed them to move above Real into second place in the group with one game remaining. Gladbach top the section, while Shakhtar now have the upper hand on Real thanks to their superior head-to-head record, and this result also allowed Inter Milan to retain an outside chance of qualifying before their game on Tuesday in Germany. Madrid have made it out of their group in every year since 1997 but now risk missing out on Champions League football in the new year. "I am not going to resign, not at all," said Zidane. "We are always going to have difficult moments, and we are on a bad run, but we need to keep going." "I have the strength needed to turn the situation around and I am going to give everything to do that, so are the players," added the French coach, whose team also lost at the weekend, going down 2-1 at home to Alaves in La Liga. "We played well and we deserved more. We just need to lift our heads up and think about the next game." Real team were returning to the scene of their victory over Liverpool in the 2018 final, but they looked a shadow of their former selves in the cold and the snow in Kiev's Olympic Stadium, and the result further underlined how much they miss defensive talisman Sergio Ramos when he is not there. More on this topic   Related Story Football: Shakhtar stun Real again to leave Spaniards on the brink in Champions League   Related Story Football: What you need to know about Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane This was Real's seventh defeat in the last nine Champions League matches they have played without Ramos, who is currently injured. Perhaps this game would have turned out differently had Marco Asensio scored in the fifth minute rather than turn Karim Benzema's cross onto the post, but they went on to slump to a third defeat in their last five matches in all competitions. Dentinho had replaced the injured Junior Moraes in the first half and the Brazilian got the opening goal just before the hour mark. Ferland Mendy intercepted a Viktor Kovalenko ball into the box but only succeeded in laying it on a plate for Dentinho to tuck past Thibaut Courtois and in. The Ukrainian champions then made sure of their victory on the counter-attack with eight minutes remaining as Israeli international Solomon picked up the ball on halfway and advanced unchallenged before picking his spot.

Read More