Cherki is only the latest talent fresh off the Lyon production line, but may be the best yet. He joined Lyon at the age of seven from AS Saint-Priest and, aged 16 years and 140 days, Cherki became the youngest goalscorer in the Ligue 1 side’s history in a French Cup tie back in January...
Following in the footsteps of Rafael Nadal as the second Spaniard to reach five major men’s singles finals, Alcaraz could emulate his childhood hero by winning his fifth major at the exact same age: 22 years, one month and three days. The two-time Wimbledon champion has taken just 82 matches to reach 70 wins at...
There was a time when serious questions were being asked Gauff’s mentality. With her second serve liable to cough up double faults, and her forehand identified as a weakness, there were debates whether the issues were down to her mentality or technical deficiencies. Some self-doubt appeared as recently as March, with her coach Jean-Christophe Faurel...
Coco Gauff won the first French Open singles title of her career by fighting back to beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a rollercoaster final played in testing conditions. American second seed Gauff claimed a 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-4 victory after a tense battle between the WTA Tour’s two leading players. It is the...
Dawn French has taken down a video she posted on Instagram about the war in Gaza, saying she apologised “unreservedly” for it. The video sparked a backlash, with critics accusing the actress and comedian of appearing to “mock” the 7 October 2023 attack. On Saturday, French acknowledged on Instagram that the video “appeared one-sided”, and...
Sabalenka and Gauff overcame two very different challenges in their respective semi-finals. Underlining her position as title favourite, Sabalenka ended four-time champion Iga Swiatek’s 26-match run with an impressive three-set victory. Gauff, meanwhile, was up against a partisan crowd but efficiently ended French wildcard Lois Boisson’s fairytale run in straight sets. Sabalenka continues to show...
A patchy season by Djokovic’s lofty standards led to questions about his stamina and motivation coming into Roland Garros. The departure of rival-turned-coach Andy Murray also indicated things were not functioning as hoped, although he did warm up by winning his 100th ATP title at the Geneva Open. Djokovic’s performance against Sinner showed he is...
Alcaraz has not been at his clinical best over the past fortnight and Musetti , 23, promised to be his sternest test yet. While Alcaraz leads the men’s tour in terms of clay-court victories this season, Musetti is right behind him, having won 19 of his 22 matches on the surface. The Italian reached the...
Jake Wallace BBC News, South West Royal Navy This is the first joint amphibious operation since 2018 An amphibious warfare exercise involving UK and French troops is taking place on a Devon beach that was used to train soldiers for D-Day. Exercise Catamaran is a two-week training operation spilt between North Devon and the Bay...
World number two Coco Gauff says she will manage the French Open final by remembering that “everybody is dealing with way bigger things in life”. Gauff will face world number one Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s showpiece at Roland Garros. READ MORE: Sabalenka takes out Swiatek to reach French Open final Read full article at source...
The era of the ‘Big Three’ may be coming to an end – but the threat has not disappeared. Players born in the 1990s were restricted to just two Grand Slam singles titles between them as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic diced up the major prizes for more than two decades. Two players...
In the eyes of many seasoned observers, Swiatek was the third favourite for the title behind Sabalenka and American second seed Gauff, who beat French wildcard Lois Boisson in Thursday’s second semi-final. Swiatek has been nowhere near her dominant best over the past year, failing to reach a final since last year’s French Open triumph...
World number one Aryna Sabalenka moved a step closer to a maiden French Open title by taking out four-time champion Iga Swiatek in a blockbuster semi-final. Belarus’ Sabalenka earned a 7-6 (7-1) 4-6 6-0 victory to end fifth seed Swiatek’s 26-match winning run at the tournament. After a slow start on the Roland Garros clay,...
Three-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka replaced Swiatek at the top of the rankings last year and has opened a commanding lead over her rivals this season. With 39 wins from 45 matches, her powerful style transcends all surfaces and is backed up by an unparalleled consistency. Sabalenka, who has won three WTA titles this year,...
“We have faced each other a few times so I know him quite well, but with him [Bublik] you never know what’s happening,” said Sinner. “He deserves to be in the quarter-finals, he beat very tough players. I tried to stay focused on my side and play as solidly as possible because he can have...