French qualifier Alize Cornet stormed into the final of the Rome International on Saturday, dropping her first set of the tournament to Russian sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze before winning 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
The 18-year-old will face defending champion Jelena Jankovic after the Serbian fourth seed booked her place in the final without hitting a ball when Maria Sharapova pulled out of their scheduled semi-final with a calf injury.
If Cornet wins, it will be her third top 10 scalp of the tournament.
PHOTO: AFP
“It’s my second top ten in two days, and why not a third one tomorrow?” said Cornet, ranked 34th in the world.
The teenager from Nice was to have faced sixth-ranked Serena Williams in the quarter-final, but the American pulled out with a back injury.
In Saturday’s semi-final, Cornet recovered from a set down and 0-3 in the second before the tables began to turn as the Moscovite world No. 8 unleashed a string of errors including two double faults.
Cornet said she found her fighting spirit after contemplating losing 6-3, 6-0.
“I was afraid of being ridiculous,” said Cornet, who won the junior tournament at Roland Garros last year.
The Russian’s errors continued as Cornet, helped by a solid serve, got back into the match, winning the second set at 6-4 before going on to win the third 6-3.
Cornet met Jankovic at the US Open last year, when she lost to her in the second round while winning a set.
Sharapova, who will become the World No. 1 after Justine Henin’s retirement, had a marathon match with Switzerland’s Patty Schnyder at the claycourt tournament.
“In part it’s my fault for making some of the matches longer than they should be,” Sharapova said.
But the Russian also complained of tough playing conditions in Rome.
“For some people, like me, I had two night matches, two late nights ... It’s a pretty short turnaround to be able to compete,” she said.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their