Sports
US Open: Caroline Garcia ends Coco Gauff’s hopes to set up Ons Jabeur semi-final
Caroline Garcia will meet Ons Jabeur for a place in the US Open final after ending American teenager Coco Gauff’s hopes in New York.
French 17th seed Garcia, 28, produced a clinical display to reach her first major semi-final with a 6-3 6-4 victory against the 18-year-old 12th seed.
Tunisian Jabeur awaits after the fifth seed defeated Ajla Tomljanovic.
Jabeur, runner-up at Wimbledon in July, secured her first US Open semi-final with a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win.
The 28-year-old is the first African woman in the Open era to reach the last four in singles at Flushing Meadows after coming through the scrappy encounter against the Australian.
The in-form Garcia is still yet to drop a set in New York, with this her 13th successive win in a streak that included her claiming her first WTA 1000 win in five years at Cincinnati.
In only her second major quarter-final – and first since the 2017 French Open – Garcia immediately put Gauff on the back foot on Arthur Ashe Stadium and rarely relented.
Making her 42nd Grand Slam appearance, Garcia unsettled her opponent and subdued the home crowd with a fast start in which she quickly established a 4-0 lead with a second break of serve.
Contesting her first quarter-final at her home Slam, Gauff hit back in the fifth game but the damage had already been done. Garcia punched the air as she went on to clinch her first set point on serve after 45 minutes.
The teenager was bidding to become the youngest American woman to reach the last four in New York since Serena Williams did so aged 17 in 1999.
However, her task was made even tougher as she lost her serve in the opening game of the second set.
Willed on by the crowd, Gauff – set to make her top-10 debut after the tournament – saved two break points when trailing 3-1 but crucially she was unable to take an opportunity of her own in the following game.
Garcia dropped her racquet and held her hands up in disbelief as Gauff netted on the first match point to make her the first Frenchwoman to reach the last four since Amelie Mauresmo in 2006.
Jabeur, nicknamed the Minister of Happiness in her home country, often looked down on herself against the in-form Tomljanovic, who beat Serena Williams in a thrilling third-round match.
She apologised for her negativity afterwards, joking: “I think I am going to be fired as Minister of Happiness.
“It is tough to manage the frustration and I apologise for my behaviour.
“I wanted to stay calm but the racquet kept slipping away from my hands.”
Jabeur and Tomljanovic traded breaks in the opening set before the fifth seed took the lead with an outrageous reflex volley that landed just on the baseline
After closing out the first set on a long Tomljanovic strike, Jabeur instantly broke to start the second, but neither player could find any rhythm.
There were six breaks of serve in the first nine games, including when Tomljanovic served for the set at 5-3, before Jabeur eventually held for 5-5.
Despite rescuing the set and forcing a tie-break Jabeur cut a frustrated figure and was jeered by the crowd when she twice threw her racquet to the ground.
However, she was able to find her serve when she needed it most to keep alive her hopes of a maiden Grand Slam title.
“I know that I have it in me to win a Grand Slam – I had to keep working hard [after Wimbledon] and here I am in the semi-finals,” she said.
Source: BBC Sports
Harry Maguire, a Manchester United defender, has accepted Hon. Isaac Adongo’s apologies for dragging him through the dirt.
The Ghanaian politician previously rated the former Leicester City captain as the worst player recruited by the Red Devils.
Adongo was discussing the budget when he likened Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia’s economic management to Maguire’s on-field performances.
Mr Adongo, however, apologised to Maguire in Parliament on Tuesday, saying the Manchester United defender now performed better for his club than Dr Bawumia, whom he said had repeatedly supervised the country’s economic incompetence and had subsequently gone to the (IMF) for a bailout.
“I was very quick to compare my big brother Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to Harry Maguire. Mr. Speaker, I now apologize to Harry Maguire…Today Maguire has turned the corner; he is a transformational footballer. Maguire is now scoring goals for Manchester United.”
“Mr Speaker, Harry Maguire is now a key player for Manchester United. As for our Maguire, he is now roaming at the IMF with a cup in hand,” he stated.
Following the apology, Maguire stated on social media, “MP Issac Adongo apology accepted.” “Hope to see you at Old Trafford soon.”
Meanwhile, Everton will play Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday at Goodison Park.
Argentina’s World Cup-winning coach, Lionel Scaloni, has indicated that he is considering stepping down after five years in charge.
Scaloni made the stunning statement following Argentina’s 1-0 World Cup qualifying win against Brazil on Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro.
Before winning the World Cup in Qatar last year, the 45-year-old guided Argentina to the Copa America in 2021.
“Argentina needs a coach who has all the energy possible and who is well,” said Scaloni.
“I need to stop the ball and start thinking, I have a lot of things to think about during this time.
“It’s not goodbye or anything, but I need to think because the bar is very high and it’s complicated to keep going and it’s complicated to keep winning.
“These guys are making it difficult, so I need to think about it for a while. I will talk to the FA president and the players afterwards.”
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After a brief stint in command of Argentina’s under-20 team, Scaloni took over as manager in August 2018.
Argentina’s 2021 Copa America victory was their first major championship in 28 years, and it qualified them for the Finalissima against European champions Italy in June 2022, which they won 3-0 at Wembley.
Later that year, they won their third World Cup in Qatar, and first since 1986.
“We are sure and hope that Scaloni will continue,” said Argentina and Tottenham defender Cristian Romero.
“Let’s see now he will have time to think, he didn’t say anything in the dressing room about it. We will try to convince him.”
Argentina’s victory against Brazil on Tuesday was their first-ever away win over their rivals in World Cup qualification, and it took them two points clear at the top of the table.
The game at Rio’s Maracana stadium was delayed for 30 minutes due to a scuffle during the national anthems.
Chris Hughton’s Black Stars suffered their first competitive loss as head coach, falling 1-0 to Comoros in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.
Myziane Maolida’s first-half goal was enough to give the hosts their second straight victory over the Black Stars.
Ghana is now in fourth position, three points behind early group leaders Comoros, who have won both of their initial qualification games.
Following a tense, late win against Madagascar at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi last Friday, there was some hope that the Black Stars may capitalise on Mali’s slip-up against the Central African Republic to grab the group lead.
Ghana could have grabbed an early lead in Tuesday’s encounter when Inaki Williams set up Antoine Semenyo for a goal, but the Bournemouth striker hit the crossbar.
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