Jannik Sinner reaches the Wimbledon quarterfinals despite a bad elbow when an injured Dimitrov stops
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Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Alcaraz, Sabalenka take contrasting routes into Wimbledon semifinals
LONDON: Carlos Alcaraz swept into the Wimbledon semifinals for a third successive year as the defending champion demolished Cameron Norrie, while world number one Aryna Sabalenka survived a major scare to reach the last four on Tuesday. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport Alcaraz needed just 99 minutes to win 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 in his most commanding performance in this year's tournament. The Spanish second seed dropped four sets in a series of scrappy displays during his run to the last eight. But Alcaraz was back to his imperious best in the quarter-finals, blasting 39 winners against the overwhelmed British world number 61, setting up a last-four clash with American fifth seed Taylor Fritz. Alcaraz is on a career-best 23-match winning run since losing to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final in April — a superb streak which has brought him titles at the French Open, the Rome Masters and Monte Carlo. The Spaniard, who vanquished Novak Djokovic in the last two Wimbledon finals, has won 34 of his 37 Tour-level matches on grass, while his last defeat at the All England Club came against Jannik Sinner in the fourth round in 2022. 'To be able to play another semifinal here at Wimbledon is super special,' Alcaraz said. 'It's going to be great. I'm really happy with the way I played against a really difficult player,' Wimbledon's controversial line technology system malfunctioned again as Fritz beat Russian 17th seed Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7/4) to reach his first Wimbledon semifinal. Swedish umpire Louise Azemar Engzell had to stop a point in the opening game of the fourth set on Court One when 'fault' was incorrectly called after a Fritz forehand landed well inside the baseline. The call of 'fault,' rather than 'out,' and positioning of the ball suggested the system was still tracking Fritz's serve as opposed to a rally and the point had to be replayed. Tournament organizers were forced to apologize and make a change to the system to avoid further issues after a major error in Sonay Kartal's fourth-round defeat to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the women's draw. A fully automated system has replaced human line judges at Wimbledon for the first time this year, in line with the Australian Open and the US Open. Tournament organizers claimed the system had failed to reset because the ball from Fritz's first serve was still being retrieved when he started lining up his second. 'The player's service motion began while the BBG (ball boy or girl) was still crossing the net and therefore the system didn't recognize the start of the point,' an All England Club statement said. 'As such the chair umpire instructed the point be replayed.' Sabalenka fought back from the brink of a shock exit to reach the semifinals with a gutsy 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 win against Germany's Laura Siegemund. She twice trailed by a break in the final set on Center Court and was two games away from crashing out before staging a dramatic revival to win in two hours and 54 minutes of unrelenting tension. The 27-year-old top seed is through to the Wimbledon semifinals for the third time after losing at that stage in 2021 and 2023. Beaten in the Australian and French Open finals this year after winning the US Open in 2024, Sabalenka remains on course to reach a fourth successive Grand Slam title match. Sabalenka remains the only one of the top six women's seeds still standing at the tournament after two weeks of shocks. 'That was a real test. I need some time to cool down and recover after this,' Sabalenka said. In the semifinals, the Belarusian will face American 13th seed Amanda Anisimova, who defeated Russian world number 50 Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 7-6 (11/9). Anisimova took an eight-month break from tennis in 2023 after suffering with depression brought on by the scrutiny and expectations that came from her run to the French Open semifinals aged just 17. 'It's been an extraordinary year for me. So many highs. It's been such a ride,' she said.
Al Arabiya
3 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Carlos Alcaraz Makes Quick Work of Cam Norrie at Wimbledon to Reach Semifinals
Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the Wimbledon semifinals by beating Cameron Norrie 6–2, 6–3, 6–3 on Tuesday. Alcaraz extended his winning streak to 23 matches and became just the second Spanish player in history to reach the men's singles semifinals at Wimbledon on three occasions – the other was Rafael Nadal. After Norrie held serve to open the match on Centre Court, the second-seeded Alcaraz took control by rattling off the next five games against the left-handed Briton. Alcaraz never let Norrie into the match – facing only five break points and saving all of them. He compiled 39 winners and 13 aces to go with 26 unforced errors. 'To be able to play another semifinal here at Wimbledon is super special,' Alcaraz said in an on-court interview after finishing off the quarterfinal match in 1 hour 39 minutes. Alcaraz will face No. 5 Taylor Fritz for a spot in the final.
Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Euro 2025: England Needs to Play Without Fear Against the Netherlands to Avoid Historic Early Exit
England has never lost its first two matches at the Women's European Championship. If that changes on Wednesday, the defending champion could very well be out of Euro 2025. England endured a chastening 2–1 loss to France in its opener at the weekend, and another defeat when it faces the Netherlands would almost certainly see the Lionesses eliminated – unless tournament debutant Wales manages an upset against France. But forward Alessia Russo said Tuesday that it will be 'massively important to play without fear.' 'That's some of the conversations that we've had within the team,' Russo added. 'We have so many great players, and we want everyone to be as free as possible on that pitch tomorrow night and going forward. So I think making sure that everyone's in a good headspace going into that game tomorrow is important, and that's what we've been doing as a team.' Against France, England became the first titleholder to lose its opening match at a Women's Euros. The Lionesses could set another unwelcome first on Wednesday, as no reigning champion has failed to progress to the knockouts since the group stage was introduced for the 1997 tournament. 'We don't talk about consequence, we talk about our game plan,' said England coach Sarina Wiegman, who will be facing her home country. It is an unusual position for Wiegman to be in after her flawless record at the Euros was brought to an end by France. Wiegman had previously won 12 out of 12 matches across two tournaments as she steered first the Netherlands to the title and then England. She has lost only two matches at the World Cup: the 2019 final against the US when in charge of the Netherlands and the trophy match again four years later with England against Spain. The 55-year-old Wiegman has not felt this level of pressure so early on in a tournament. 'It's a game, it's a football game. And the outcome, of course, has consequences, but that was the same at the final in the Euros and the final in the World Cup,' Wiegman said. 'So then we bring it back to what do we have to do. And the focus is on what actions do we have to take to play our best. And that's the conversations we have with the players. And how can we stick together then. In good moments it's easier.' Apart from the result against France, there was also the manner of the performance, with few positives to take from England's display save the opening 15 minutes and the finale. Keira Walsh reduced the deficit late on, but her 87th-minute strike was England's first on target. 'Ultimately we were disappointed after that game,' Russo said. 'Obviously we came up against a great French side, but we know that we can be better and we have really high standards as a team. We've had a good few days to switch off, reflect, and now we're ready to go again.' In contrast to England, the Netherlands won its opening match comfortably, downing Wales 3–0 with a dominant performance that also saw it hit the woodwork three times. Another victory on Wednesday would see the Dutch book their place in the quarterfinals, as long as Wales does not manage to beat France. The Netherlands faces France in their final match on Sunday when England plays neighbor Wales in what could prove to be a meaningless match.
