Phil Robertson yesterday steered Team Canada to its first SailGP victory by recovering from a penalty late in the podium race in Christchurch to deny Peter Burling and Team New Zealand a victory in home waters.
Robertson, himself a New Zealander, sailed his foiling 50-foot catamaran aggressively in the three-boat final to win the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix, the penultimate regatta of tech tycoon Larry Ellison’s global league.
Two-time defending SailGP champion Team Australia, which finished third in the podium race, and Team New Zealand remain 1-2 in the season standings heading into the final regatta in San Francisco on May 6-7, which will conclude with a US$1 million, winner-take-all Grand Final among the top three boats.
Photo: AFP / Ricardo Pinto / SailGP
The victory was huge for Canada, which is in its first season in SailGP. The Canadians reached the podium races in the season’s first two regattas, but did not reach another final race until yesterday.
Their wingsail was smashed and the platform damaged during an intense storm that hit just after racing concluded in the previous regatta in Sydney on Feb. 18. The rest of that regatta was canceled and the damage was repaired in time for this regatta.
The Canadian crewmembers whooped and hollered as their catamaran held off the Kiwis heading into the finish line and then had their first onboard champagne celebration.
“It’s awesome. I’m so stoked to win at home,” said Robertson, who sailed in front of several family members. “It’s super, super special for me. I’ve got good mates on the shore. I haven’t raced here before so I’m pumped. For Canada, it’s just amazing. This team is pretty new and pretty fresh, and we’ve been working hard to be competitive with all these top teams. Today’s just an example of what we can do when we put it all together.”
Australia, skippered by Olympic gold medalist and former America’s Cup champion Tom Slingsby, leads the standings with 84 points. The Aussies are to sail for a third straight US$1 million check, barring serious damage to their catamaran or a major penalty.
The Kiwis are second with 73 points. France is third with 69 and Emirates Great Britain is fourth with 68. Denmark has 60 and Canada 59 in the nine-boat fleet.
Slingsby, in fifth place after Saturday’s three fleet races, won Sunday’s two fleet races wire-to-wire to earn a spot in the podium race. Canada squeaked into the podium race by one point over Britain.
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
The Canterbury Crusaders edged the Waikato Chiefs 16-12 in an intense Super Rugby Pacific final battle in Christchurch yesterday to claim their 15th title in 30 years of the Southern Hemisphere competition. Hooker Codie Taylor scored a try and Rivez Reihana contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the most dominant team in Super Rugby history extended their perfect home playoff record to 32 successive matches since 1998. The Chiefs, who were looking for a first title since 2013, scored first-half tries through George Dyer and Shaun Stevenson, but were unable to register a point after the break and fell to
REUNION: Former Barcelona players Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Miami coach Javier Mascherano are to face their former coach Luis Enrique Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi faces a tantalizing reunion with former club Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup last 16 after both sides on Monday progressed to the knockout phase. Miami drew 2-2 with Palmeiras to go through second in Group A, after the Brazilian side fought back from two goals down to seal top spot. They now face an all-Brazil clash against Botafogo, who lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid, but progressed from Group B in second at the expense of the Spaniards. Champions of Europe PSG won the group with a 2-0 victory over Seattle Sounders, paving the