David Goffin yesterday claimed an upset victory over world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in Sydney to keep Belgium’s hopes alive in their quarter-final clash at the inaugural ATP Cup team event.
Goffin, ranked 11th in the world, proved to be one of the few players who can handle Nadal’s heavy spin, which he did with aplomb on both return of serve and in general baseline play, to claim a 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) victory.
The tie was to be decided by a high-stakes doubles match, after Spain claimed the opening singles earlier in the evening when Roberto Bautista Agut defeated Kimmer Coppejans 6-1, 6-4.
The winners of the deciding doubles are to play Australia in today’s semi-final.
As of press time last night, Belgium’s Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen had won a hard-fought first set 7-6 (9/7) against Spain’s Nadal and Pablo Carreno Busta.
In the day session, world No. 2 Novak Djokovic battled through a stirring challenge from rising Canadian star Denis Shapovalov to propel Serbia into the semi-finals with a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7/4) victory.
It was Djokovic’s fifth victory over the 20-year-old Canadian in as many clashes, but by far the toughest, after Shapovalov controlled significant portions of the match played in Australia’s intense summer heat.
The victory, set up earlier by Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic’s upset 6-4, 6-2 win over Canadian teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime, means Serbia are to play Russia in the semi-final, where Djokovic is to face in-form world No. 5 Daniil Medvedev.
The vocal crowds appear to be playing a pivotal role in the latter stages of the team event, after lifting hosts Australia on Thursday and then Serbia yesterday.
Djokovic said after the match that he understood Shapovalov’s frustration as the noise level kept threatening to interrupt play.
“They were so loud; they were engaged, sometimes a little bit too much,” Djokovic said.
“It was a Davis Cup-like atmosphere,” he said, referring to the traditional men’s team tennis event to which the ATP Cup is being compared.
Djokovic lost the first set against the heavy-swinging Canadian and struggled very early in the second before momentum shifted abruptly.
After some late third-set drama, where the two exchanged breaks of serve, the match fittingly entered into a tiebreak.
Shapovalov looked the more likely to prevail — but the Serbian had an ace up his sleeve he has successfully deployed over the years in tense situations: He simply refused to miss, daring his younger rival to find a way to hit seven winners and claim the tiebreak.
It was too much for the Canadian, and, after floating a ground stroke long, Djokovic raised his arms in victory.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
RSS