Sports

Alcaraz beats Tiafoe in five-set thriller

Published

2 years ago

September 10, 2022

Carlos Alcaraz is one win away from a maiden grand slam title – and the world No 1 ranking – after outlasting Frances Tiafoe of the United States in a sensational five-set US Open semi-final on Friday night in New York.

The 19-year-old Spaniard, whose sublime shotmaking and dogged hustle have seen him tabbed as the new face of the sport, came from behind and held on from ahead in a 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3 thriller to book a place in Sunday’s final opposite fifth-seeded Casper Ruud, who battled past Karen Khachanov in the day’s first semi-final.

Up against a opponent brimming with confidence and the crackling Arthur Ashe Stadium atmosphere of nearly 24,000 spectators largely in the American’s corner, Alcaraz conjured his best tennis in one pressure moment after another with a poise and nerve beyond his years, ending the deepest run by an American man at the US Open since Andy Roddick reached the 2006 final and further building on his reputation as the best teenager in men’s tennis since Rafael Nadal nearly two decades ago.

For more than four hours Alcaraz and Tiafoe traded hellfire in physical baseline rallies and tested their ample movement to the limit in dazzling cat-and-mouse exchanges that covered every inch of the court.

But it was Alcaraz, the No 3 seed whose previous two matches in this tournament spanned nearly 10 hours, who delivered the finishing kick of a champion by winning four of the last five games after holding match point in the fourth.

It was a devastating finish for Tiafoe, the son of Sierra Leonean immigrants who picked up tennis at the training center where his dad was the janitor. The 24-year-old from Hyattsville, Maryland, seeded 22nd, was the first American man to reach the last four at his home slam since Roddick and was bidding to become the first Black American man to reach a major final since MaliVai Washington at Wimbledon in 1996.

“Too good from Carlos tonight,” he said afterward, wiping away tears. “I gave it everything I have tonight and I gave it everything I had for the last two weeks. I came here to win the US Open and I feel I let everybody down. It really hurts. I’m going to come back and I will win this thing one day.”

The first set unfolded on even terms for the opening half hour as the players traded searing groundstrokes clocking upwards of 100mph, the smoldering tension building with each successive hold. Tiafoe survived the first test in the seventh game, holding from double break-point down, then again in the next service game, holding from 15-30 with a crunching ace and a backhand volley.

Then it was Alcaraz’s turn to wriggle, only to escape from a 4-5, 30-40 bind by showing a glimpse of the tactical intelligence and sophisticated point construction he’s relied on throughout his breakthrough season.

But after saving a set point to hold at 5-6, then three more in the first-set tiebreaker, Alcaraz finally cracked on the fifth with a double fault that handed Tiafoe the opener and ignited the partisan crowd that included Michelle Obama at courtside.

After a trade of holds to open the second, Alcaraz faced another gut-check moment serving at 30-all, when Tiafoe capped another hyperkinetic rally with a deft backhand volley winner for break point.

But Alcaraz coolly brushed it aside with a cheeky drop shot from just inside the baseline, then went on to hold after getting the best of an outrageous 17-stroke rally where both players looked beaten more than once, a sequence that left Tiafoe unable to contain his laughter as he slumped into his chair on the changeover.

Alcaraz held his nerve long enough to earn a long-sought break-point chance at 2-3, 30-40. Tiafoe saved it with a blistering 136mph service winner, but the Spaniard seized on his second chance moments later when Tiafoe overcooked a forehand from the baseline.

Even with the second set appearing lost, the American dug in long enough to make things complicated, fighting off the sort of mental lapse against elite players that has done him in in recent years.

Having split the opening two sets, both players emerged from off-court bathroom breaks to a best-of-three match for a place in the final, but Tiafoe’s first extended mental letdown of the night cost him dearly as he was immediately broken at love to open the third.

Alcaraz calmly backed up the break with a love hold to extend a streak of 10 straight points, mixing topspin and spice within the rallies with greater frequency and wearing Tiafoe down both mentally and physically with his variety of shotmaking.

After breaking twice more to close out the third set in a brisk 33 minutes without facing a break point, Alcarez pumped his fist toward his box as a hush fell over the crowd.

Tiafoe’s spiral continued into the fourth, dragged down in an eddy of double faults and unforced errors that left his composure shattered as he lost nine of 10 games. Alcaraz pounced on his flagging foe, drawing him in with drop shots before punishing him with surgical passes.

Were it a boxing match, the referee might have stepped forward to take a long, hard look at things. And when Tiafoe was broken in his opening service game of the set, the match appeared all but a handshake away.

But Tiafoe somehow beat the count. He broke Alcaraz for the first time all night in the following game to get back on serve, fell behind a break again in the very next game, then broke once more to send the crowd into deafening roars.

After chasing down a match point at 4-5 to claw back from the brink, the former First Lady sprung from her courtside seat and pumped her fist as a wall of sound cascaded down from the mezzanine.

Before long, Tiafoe had forced a fifth and deciding set by winning his eighth tiebreaker from as many chances in the tournament, eclipsing Pete Sampras’s previous US Open record of seven from seven.

“It was a tough moment for me, losing that match [point] in that way, doing a drop shot that I could finish with a good forehand that I hitting pretty well,” Alcaraz said. “I thought it is a new match in the fifth set. I have to stay there playing, playing well, playing my game, and believe.”

The crowd was silenced once again when Alcaraz broke to open the fifth. By then, they should have known better as the relentless Tiafoe broke back in the fourth game, pumping his fist as he sprinted to his chair. But from there the American was broken at love in the blink of an eye, double-faulting on triple break point.

As the match entered its fifth hour, Alcaraz consolidated the break immediately with a love hold, then ground Tiafoe away with one high-percentage shot after another, squeezing the will from his opponent and the gallery until crossing the finish line at five to midnight after 4hr 19min.

Carlos Alcaraz with Frances Tiafoe after the match. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters

Already the youngest men’s grand slam semi-finalist since Nadal’s breakthrough run through the 2005 French Open, Alcaraz becomes only the second teenager to reach a US Open men’s final in the professional era after Sampras in 1990.

Should he prevail in Sunday’s final, the prodigy from the small village of El Palmar on Spain’s southeastern coast will become the youngest ever player to reach No 1 in the ATP’s world rankings.

Tiafoe, whose $1.3m winnings for reaching the semi-finals and beating 22-time major champion Nadal along the way offered little solace in the teary aftermath, could only tip his hat.

“He’s one of the best players in the world, for sure,” he said. “He’s so young. He hits the ball so hard. I never played a guy who moves as well as him, honestly. I’ve seen him get a lot of balls, but I was hitting some drop volleys that I’ve been hitting. He’s getting there. How he’s able to extend points, incredible.

“He’s a hell of a player. He’s going to be a problem for a very long time.”

Writes /TheGuardian/

Reports /TrainViral/

Rugby

England challenge is to start beating the best

Published

5 months ago

July 15, 2024

An international season that started on 5 August in Cardiff ended for England on Saturday in Auckland with a feeling of deja vu in the air.

Just like in Dunedin a week earlier, England had stayed in the fight admirably in the first half, rallying either side of the break to take control and threaten to pull off a historic win, before frustratingly fading in the final quarter as the All Blacks bench proved decisive.

So how should England supporters view the 2-0 series defeat? A tour that showed Steve Borthwick’s side are moving in the right direction? Or a huge missed opportunity?

“Absolutely both,” said skipper Jamie George, who led the group with distinction on his first tour as captain.

England have played South Africa, Ireland and France over the past eight months, in addition to two games against New Zealand. The aggregate score against these top four sides in the world is 101-111, with one narrow win and four narrow defeats.

“We are definitely trending in the right direction,” vice-captain Henry Slade said.

“We are pushing the top four sides now and getting better and better week by week.”

The challenge for England now is to get on the right side of these tussles.

“I don’t want to revisit mistakes,” reflected Borthwick on Sunday in downtown Auckland, shortly before starting the long journey home via Sydney and Singapore.

“In each of those games, we’ve been in a position late in the game in a leading position on the scoreboard.”

‘I need to coach them fast’

There are some key areas where England need to improve if they are to become a genuine force on the world stage.

Keeping the scoreboard moving when matches tighten up – England scored only three second-half points in Auckland and five in Dunedin – as well as shoring up the scrum and being more streetwise are all areas highlighted by Borthwick.

“Test matches at this level are tight encounters, they are decided generally by a penalty or a drop-goal, one moment, one missed kick,” he said.

“That is the nature of it and the players have experienced that, we are going to be better for it. Every one of these has to be a learning experience.”

Where do England stand after All Blacks defeat?
Published

2 days ago
‘No ceiling’ to England’s development – George
Published

2 days ago

After relying on an older core to reach the World Cup semi-finals last year, Borthwick says 2024 has been the “second phase” of his tenure as he goes about building a new team.

“So far in these eight Tests [in 2024] we have had eight new caps,” he explained.

There is youth all across the backline. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso is 21. Fin Smith 22. Ollie Sleightholme, 24, made his debut in New Zealand.

Up front, 22-year-old Fin Baxter has come through. Chandler Cunningham-South at 21 and George Martin, only just 23, have continued to emerge. Experience, though, wins tight Test matches. And while Borthwick and his coaches can’t buy experience, they aim to accelerate the players’ learning.

“The England pack has changed from what was traditionally a very big powerful pack to more of a younger, dynamic pack,” Borthwick explained.

“You can see that younger pack developing. I need to coach them as fast as I can.”

‘We have to develop at tight-head’

While depth is building in some areas, other positions still look light with tight-head prop of particular concern. Too much is being asked of 37-year-old Dan Cole, who has now won more caps at prop than any other Englishman.

The scrum creaked in both Tests against the All Blacks.

“I’ll have a conversation with Coley and see what he wants to do,” said Borthwick. “But quite clearly we need to find some more tight-heads. That’s going to be a big development project.

“Will Stuart has done really well in the last couple of Tests. The New Zealand scrum is very good and outside the scrum I thought he did many things very well.

“Part of my next step is to do that kind of planning and decide on the right thing to do. I’m trying to have consistency in selection and build the number of caps, not just individually but together, so we maximise the cohesion.

“That’s clearly with a longer-term goal in mind but we need results now as well. That’s always a challenge the England head coach has. We need results now and we need to be preparing for several years in advance.”

‘World-class Ford to return’

Behind the scrum, England need more back-up to Alex Mitchell at number nine, with neither Harry Randall or Ben Spencer given much game time. Mitchell played the whole 80 minutes in Auckland.

At fly-half Marcus Smith was trusted with running the side throughout the tour, and while he missed some crucial kicks in the first Test against New Zealand, he excelled in Tokyo against Japan and set up three of England’s four tries against the All Blacks.

Namesake Fin came off the bench twice but didn’t have long enough to impose himself.

“I thought Marcus has done some really good things, when you see the ability he has to see space, to create tries, to open up a defence,” Borthwick said.

Meanwhile, the England boss was unequivocal when asked whether 96-cap George Ford still had a role to play after missing the tour through injury. If Ford returns to form and fitness, he could well wear number 10 again in the autumn.

“He is world class and I thought his performance in the Six Nations was exceptional,” Borthwick said.

“The three of them – Fin Smith, George Ford and Marcus – it puts us in a pretty enviable position.”

‘We have fight and spirit’

England’s players will now get a minimum five-week break before returning to their clubs. The new Professional Game Partnership between clubs and the Rugby Football Union has been agreed, which will give Borthwick slightly more control over a core group of 20 or so players.

Their next assignment in a white jersey will be at Twickenham in November with – fittingly – the All Blacks first up.

“We owe them one,” said George.

“To get the results we need to be tactically smart and we’ve got to be really well organised,” continued Borthwick.

“But fundamentally, there’s got to be something that sits underneath all that and that is the fight and spirit that we have within the team.

“What you see in this England team now is fight and spirit, and we need to make sure that gives us a good foundation for everything we do going forward.”

Reports /Trainviral/

Football

Argentina beat Colombia to vin 16th Copa

Published

5 months ago

July 15, 2024

Argentina beat Colombia to win a record 16th Copa America but the game was marred by the kick-off being delayed by 80 minutes because of trouble outside the ground in Miami.

Lautaro Martinez struck in the second half of extra time from Giovani lo Celso’s through ball to secure the win.

Captain Lionel Messi was left in tears when he had to be replaced midway through the second half after injuring himself while chasing for the ball – but was celebrating his country’s third successive major tournament at the final whistle.

Kick-off was delayed because of chaos outside the Hard Rock Stadium.

Organisers said ticketless fans tried to get into the ground, leaving some fans waiting for hours in the Miami heat for the gates to open.

Fans and police officers and security clashed with several arrests made. Several supporters needed treatment from paramedics.

On top of that the half-time break lasted for 25 minutes because of a concert by Colombian popstar Shakira on the pitch, a move that was criticised by Colombia boss Nestor Lorenzo beforehand.

It was a game of few clear chances in hot, humid conditions, with Colombia’s Jhon Cordoba hitting the woodwork in the first half.

Argentina thought they had taken the lead with 15 minutes to go but Nicolas Tagliafico’s effort was ruled out for offside.

Martinez would end up as the hero – and win the Golden Boot with five goals.

What now for Messi after Copa America glory?

Messi had never won a senior international tournament until the age of 34 and now he has won three in three years after the 2021 Copa America and 2022 World Cup.

The final was played at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami – which is just over 20 miles from the city of Fort Lauderdale, where Messi’s Inter Miami club play.

The 37-year-old said before this tournament he had yet to make a decision on whether he will play on for his country until the next World Cup, which is also in the US – as well as Canada and Mexico.

His powers seem to be waning and his only goal of the tournament came in the semi-final win over Canada. He missed a penalty in the quarter-final shootout against Ecuador.

In this game he was hurt by a tackle in the first half and hobbled off in the second period, holding an ice pack on his ankle on the bench.

Is this his final major tournament appearance of a legendary career?

It was certainly the final appearance of Angel di Maria’s international career. The 145-times capped player had already announced he would retire from the international stage after this.

Trouble before the game

The delays before the game were more bad news for organisers – with the Hard Rock Stadium due to host games at the 2026 World Cup.

In the semi-finals in Charlotte, Uruguay players clashed with Colombia fans after the final whistle – because they were worried about the safety of their families.

Players’ families were affected too in Miami.

Roberto Garnacho, brother of Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho, wrote on social media: “What a shame CONMEBOL, the families not being able to enter the stadium, unbelievable.

“We were with [Argentina defender Marcos Acuna’s] family outside, getting away from the fights… Argentina’s security had to come get us, children of players crying, people entering without tickets.”

Colombia’s wait goes on

Colombia had been unbeaten in 28 games, a run stretching over two years going back to a World Cup qualifier against Argentina.

But their only Copa America triumph remains the 2001 success in their home country.

They had chances against the Argentines, most notably when Cordoba hit the post early on with a hooked volley.

Writtes /BBC/

Reports /Trainviral/

Sports

Ex-Tory MP defects to Reform UK

Published

10 months ago

March 12, 2024

Ex-Conservative Party deputy chairman Lee Anderson has defected to Reform UK.

Mr Anderson was suspended as a Conservative MP after refusing to apologise for claims Islamists had “control” of London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

The defection ends weeks of speculation about the Ashfield MP and TV presenter’s future.

Mr Anderson said he had been given the chance to “speak out in Parliament on behalf of millions of people up and down the country” who support Reform.

He becomes Reform UK’s first ever MP, representing a party polling around 10% of national voting intention.

Speaking at a press conference, Mr Anderson said he was “prepared to gamble on myself” because he said he knew “how many people support Reform and what they have to say”.

“All I want is my country back,” he added.

Reform UK founder and honorary president Nigel Farage said called the defection “huge”. He said: “I don’t think Westminster really understands this yet.”

Mr Anderson ruled out calling a by-election in his own seat, telling the BBC it “would be pretty reckless for me to suggest a by-election when we could have a general election in May”.

Two years ago, Mr Anderson backed a failed bid to let constituents trigger a by-election when their MP changes parties.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said Mr Anderson had “made a real mistake” in defecting from the Conservatives.

“Reform is not the answer,” he added.

Mr Cleverly said he agreed with Mr Anderson’s comments from January this year, when he said a “vote for Reform will only let the Labour party in”.

Red Wall ‘champion’

Mr Anderson was elected in 2019 to the Red Wall seat of Ashfield with a 5,700 vote majority – having previously served as a Labour councillor for his home town.

The son of a coal miner, Mr Anderson belonged to Arthur Scargill’s National Union of Mineworkers. His first job in politics was working in the office of local Labour MP Gloria De Piero, serving as district councillor at the same time.

After switching to the Conservative Party, the staunch Brexit supporter became an ally of former prime minister Boris Johnson.

He was made deputy chairman of the Conservative Party in February last year, but resigned in January to rebel against Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill.

Announcing Mr Anderson’s defection, Reform UK Leader Richard Tice said his party had founds a “champion” for its plans to supplant the Conservatives in the Red Wall.

Mr Anderson was a “person of great integrity”, Mr Tice added.

The Reform leader said: “I think millions of British people endorsed the concerns and sentiments of what Lee was saying, which is that we are sick and tired of our streets being taken over by these pro-Hamas, extremist, antisemitic people and Islamist extremists.”

Reform UK has confirmed he will stand for Ashfield in the general election, superseding Henry Grisewood – who the party had initially chosen.

Ex-miner Lee Anderson joined the Conservative Party having previously worked for a Labour MP

Pat McFadden, Labour’s National Campaign Coordinator, said Mr Anderson’s defection showed “the Conservatives are falling apart”.

“The truth is that the prime minister is too weak to lead a party too extreme to be led,” he said.

Some of Mr Anderson’s former colleagues criticised his defection – saying it made “a less conservative Britain more likely”.

The New Conservatives, made up mostly of 2019 Tory Red Wall MPs like Mr Anderson, said “the responsibility for Lee’s defection sits with the Conservative Party”.

In a statement, the group argued the Tory party’s failure to stick to the promises of the 2019 general election had led to split in the party.

Mr Anderson sparked a backlash after he claimed last month that the capital had been “taken over” amid the weekly pro-Palestinian protests over the war in Gaza.

In an interview with GB News, Mr Anderson said: “I don’t actually believe that these Islamists have got control of our country, but what I do believe is that they’ve got control of Khan, they’ve got control of London.

“He’s actually given our capital city away to his mates.”

Mr Anderson was stripped of the Tory whip after he refused to apologise for the remarks. He instead doubled down on his comments although conceded his phrasing was “clumsy”.

Analysis by BBC chief political correspondent Henry Zeffman

Lee Anderson’s decision to join Reform is unquestionably a significant blow for Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives.

Despite having no MPs and just a small handful of councillors, Reform are reliably polling around 10%. That is a high enough figure that some Conservative MPs believe it is as important for them to win back voters they are losing to Reform as it is those who are switching to Labour.

By giving Reform a parliamentary figurehead for the first time, Mr Anderson may make it harder for the Conservatives to reunite the right.

There are some important caveats. Most importantly, Mr Anderson is not making his defection from a position of strength. He was suspended from the Conservative ranks at Westminster after accusing Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, of being controlled by Islamists.

Mr Anderson refused to apologise for his comments, making his suspension all but inevitable. There was grumbling from some Conservatives who wanted Mr Anderson to be handed a clear path back into the fold – but any such route would almost certainly have required him to apologise, which he again refused to do today.

It’s also worth noting that while Mr Anderson is well-known in Westminster for his pugnacious style, and has a show on GB News, he is not exactly a major national figure. Arguably a more worrying announcement for the Conservatives would have been the return of Nigel Farage to active campaigning duties.

Yet one person who definitely does rate Mr Anderson’s ability to connect with a slice of the British public is the prime minister himself. Mr Sunak appointed Mr Anderson a deputy chairman of the Conservative Party in February last year. And as recently as January Mr Anderson starred with him in a campaign video about how “we should be so proud of our country”.