Sports
Sabalenka out for vengeance in Gauff showdown
Four months after her defeat in the U.S. Open final, Aryna Sabalenka will have the opportunity to avenge that heartbreak when she meets Coco Gauff in the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Thursday.
Sabalenka is the defending champion, having landed her first Grand Slam crown at Melbourne Park last year, and is yet to drop a set in her run to the semis this season.
She is only the third woman to reach six consecutive Grand Slam semi-finals since the turn of the century after Americans Jennifer Capriati and Serena Williams.
The Belarusian baseliner was once famous for failing to master her emotions on court but the Sabalenka who has demolished all comers in Melbourne this year seems far more at ease with herself.
Her social media feeds are filled with lighthearted moments with her coaching team, and one of her rituals is to sign her name on her fitness trainer’s bald head before each match.
Levity aside, however, she remains a formidable competitor, with the raw power to blow her opponents away from the back of the court.
“After the U.S. Open, I really want that revenge,” Sabalenka said of her meeting with Gauff.
Teenager Gauff, who won her first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open, leads their head-to-head with four wins from six meetings and knows she will have to raise her game if she is to reach the final.
She eased into the quarters without dropping a set but her level dropped noticeably in her last-eight clash with Marta Kostyuk.
The 19-year-old struggled with her serve against the Ukrainian and was forced to fight her way back from 5-1 down in the first set, then lost a second set tiebreak, before finally finding her feet in the third set to advance.
“Definitely a ‘C’ game,” was Gauff’s verdict. “Didn’t play my best tennis.”
A lot will depend on whether Gauff can get her service game back to where it was before the quarter-final.
While the second semi-final could have been forecast before the tournament, it would have been a brave pundit who would have predicted the first between Dayana Yastremska and Zheng Qinwen.
The pair came through the top half of the draw where all but one of the 16 seeds were knocked out before the quarter-finals, including world number one Iga Swiatek.
Ukrainian Yastremska, who will be playing her ninth match at the tournament after becoming the first women’s qualifier to reach the last four in Melbourne since 1978, said she had been paying no regard to rankings.
“The girls at any ranking can show amazing game,” she said. “I was doing just my thing and focusing on myself, the way I play. I think that’s working.”
Zheng, the 12th seed, is looking to follow in the footsteps of compatriot and hero Li Na, who became the first Chinese player to win the Australian Open a decade ago.
Li, who played four semi-finals in Melbourne, gave the 21-year-old some advice when they met after Zheng’s third-round victory.
“She said to me ‘don’t think too much, just keep it simple’,” Zheng said.(Reuters /NAN)
In a thrilling encounter at Anfield on Sunday, Liverpool triumphed over Tottenham with a decisive 5-1 victory, clinching the Premier League championship with four games to spare and marking their historic 20th title in England’s top flight.
Despite conceding an unexpected early goal, Liverpool quickly regained their composure and dominated the first half, energizing the crowd of over 60,000 fans.
With this victory, Liverpool has ensured that second-placed Arsenal cannot overtake them, drawing level with arch-rivals Manchester United as the most successful club in English football history.
The match commenced with palpable excitement at Anfield, enhanced by a rousing performance of the club’s anthem, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” under the warm spring sun.
Mohamed Salah had an early opportunity, and Cody Gakpo nearly scored with a stunning overhead kick. However, Tottenham initially threatened to disrupt the celebrations when Dominic Solanke scored with a powerful header from a James Maddison corner in the 12th minute.
Liverpool responded swiftly, equalizing just four minutes later when Luis Diaz converted Dominik Szoboszlai’s precise cross, overcoming an offside call thanks to VAR’s intervention.
The momentum shifted entirely in Liverpool’s favor, with Alexis Mac Allister putting the team ahead in the 24th minute, driving the ball home from the edge of the box past goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
The atmosphere transformed into a festive celebration as Gakpo extended the lead to 3-1, slotting a shot into the bottom corner after Tottenham failed to clear the danger.
Tottenham’s manager, Ange Postecoglou, made eight changes to the lineup that lost to Nottingham Forest, prioritizing the upcoming Europa League semi-finals, leaving his team with a daunting challenge.
Liverpool supporters, who were unable to celebrate their 2020 Premier League title due to COVID-19 restrictions, filled the stadium with an array of songs as the second half progressed, eager for a fourth goal.
Top scorer Salah eventually delivered, receiving a pass from Szoboszlai, cutting inside, and driving a shot into the bottom corner. He celebrated by taking a selfie with a fan’s phone in front of the Kop.
Chants of “We’re going to win the league” and “We shall not be moved” echoed throughout the stadium.
The rout continued when Tottenham defender Destiny Udogie inadvertently redirected the ball into his own net, bringing the score to 5-1 with about 20 minutes remaining as the match turned into a procession.
As the game entered added time, the club’s anthem played once more, with scarves raised high, and the final whistle ignited a thunderous ovation from the crowd.
Liverpool now sits on 82 points, 15 ahead of Arsenal with just four matches left in the season. Meanwhile, Tottenham languishes in 16th place in the Premier League table, suffering their 19th defeat of the season, intensifying the pressure on Postecoglou.
Prior to kickoff, tens of thousands of fans gathered outside Anfield in anticipation of Liverpool’s crowning moment, igniting flares as the home team bus arrived. Vendors outside the stadium offered flags and scarves emblazoned with “Liverpool 20-time Champions.”
At the beginning of the season, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City were favored to secure a fifth consecutive title, but their form deteriorated. Arsenal posed a challenge but failed to capitalize on Liverpool’s rare missteps due to too many drawn matches.
Despite initial concerns regarding the adaptation of Liverpool’s players to new manager Arne Slot’s strategies, he has navigated the season smoothly amid ongoing speculation about the futures of key players such as Salah, captain Virgil van Dijk, and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Both Salah and Van Dijk have inked two-year contract extensions, though it is believed that Alexander-Arnold may soon be on the verge of a move to Real Madrid.
The chances of four key players of the Super Eagles playing in the upcoming friendly game against Ghana at the four-team tournament in England are looking very slim, as revealed by OwnGoalNigeria.com.
The first match of the Super Eagles in the four-team tournament comes up on the 29th of May against the Black Stars of Ghana, a day after the game opener, which will be Trinidad and Tobago vs Jamaica.
The date of the game is too sudden for four key members of the team, who will at that time still be involved with their clubs, raising the possibility of missing the game and probably the tournament.
The players who may be absent from the game are Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Maduka Okoye, and Samuel Chukwueze.
Osimhen will play his last game of the season on the 1st of June, two days before the Super Eagles’ first game of the tournament, which means he won’t be available until he is released by Galatasaray.
Also, Lookman will play his last club game for the Italian side, Atalanta, on the 25th of May, four days before the start of the tournament, and the earliest he can arrive will be around the 26th or 27th. More so, his club also wants the player to take the summer off and be fit for the next season, as he is presently battling to be at his best due to injuries.
Due to club loyalty, goalkeeper Okoye of Udinese and Chukwueze of AC Milan are also said to be considering not featuring in the tournament.
Tragedy struck in Ilorin, Kwara state capital following a 30-minute rainstorm which occurred on Monday.
An Ilorin-born Taekwondo coach and champion, identified as Musa Ismail, has been killed in a rainstorm at a badminton court in the Lower Niger River Basin Authority, in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital.
According to eyewitness accounts, a section of the newly renovated Badminton court executed by the former administration collapsed and fell on the coach.
The badminton court was completely destroyed by the 30-minute rainstorm.
Ismail, who was described as an upcoming and amiable badminton coach by some of his trainees, was said to have been crowned as the 2025 MKA Taekwondo Championship held in Ede, Osun state.
He was said to have been married for more than a year and was survived by a child.
Our correspondent gathered that Ismail played and trained at the facility with friends before the incident occurred.
Findings at the agency in Ilorin on Tuesday showed that the court had been sealed with the collapsed section visible from outside the structure.
Employees of the agency were not forthcoming when approached on the development.
Efforts to reach the leadership of the agency on the incident also proved abortive as of press time.
A member of staff, who pleaded anonymity, said that the incident happened on Monday, though the victim was not an employee of the agency.
“The incident is very tragic, it happened unfortunately during the rain on Monday but no one can speak on it except the managing director who is not around now.
“The MD will be in the office tomorrow and if you come, you will be able to speak with him,” the employee said.