Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic yesterday laid down a marker for the Australian Open with a dominant 6-0, 6-2 win over Daria Kasatkina in the final of the Adelaide International.
Bencic, who will move back into the top 10 after this tournament, overwhelmed the higher-ranked Russian in 67 minutes of almost flawless tennis.
She broke Kasatkina’s first service game and then raced through the opening set as the Russian offered almost no resistance.
Photo: AFP
Kasatkina, the world No. 8, had no answers to the power and depth of Bencic’s groundstrokes, and did not get on the scoreboard until the ninth game of the match.
And although she was able to offer more of a challenge in the second set, Kasatkina could do nothing to stop Bencic claiming her sixth title on the WTA tour.
Bencic said her success this week would help her heading into the Australian Open, which is to begin tomorrow.
“It’s my best result before the Australian Open and I’ve had the most matches going into it,” she said. “It helps me to be confident and to know and believe in myself. This is great, and I won this tournament, but in Melbourne it starts again.”
HOBART INTERNATIONAL
AP, HOBART, Australia
American Lauren Davis yesterday claimed her second WTA title six years after her first, beating Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto 7-6 (7/0), 6-2 in the Hobart International final.
The 29-year-old Davis upset fourth-seeded and 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the first round and did not drop a set all week. It was Davis’ first WTA title since winning the Auckland event in 2017.
“We put in a lot of hard work over the off-season, and ... over the past several years. To see the fruition of our hard work paying off is a really good feeling,” Davis said.
Both players were unable to convert several break-point chances in a tense first set before the 84th-ranked Davis ran through the tiebreaker to love. She kept the momentum going in the second set, breaking in the second game.
Cocciaretto, ranked 67th, was playing her first WTA final after a strong run featuring wins over third-seeded Alize Cornet in the first round and former Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin in the semi-finals.
The 21-year-old Italian, who played the match with strapping on her left thigh, but did not appear hampered, faces Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the first round of the Australian Open, which is to begin tomorrow.
Davis becomes the fourth qualifier in the past 11 years to win the trophy in Hobart, following Mona Barthel (2012), Garbine Muguruza (2014) and Elise Mertens (2017).
Davis is to play 54th-ranked Danka Kovinic in the first round of the Australian Open.
The win “gives me a ton of confidence,” Davis said. “I did a really good job of staying disciplined throughout the tournament. Going into next week I honestly feel pretty fresh, I don’t feel too tired at all.”
BOOT TO FACE: Wilfried Singo said that his actions were not intentional, ‘but I was able to see afterwards that’ the ’keeper had a significant face injury Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday came from behind to extend their unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season with a 4-2 win away against AS Monaco, but lost goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to a gruesome facial injury. The bloodied Italy international was left requiring 10 staples after sustaining lacerations to the right side of his face when he was caught by the studs of Monaco defender Wilfried Singo. “I don’t know if the referee was badly positioned, but VAR [video assistant referee] needed to intervene, you have to protect the players,” PSG captain Marquinhos said. “To not give a red in a situation like
India’s chess star Gukesh Dommaraju returned to a hero’s welcome in his home city yesterday after becoming the youngest world champion aged only 18. Hundreds of fans crowded the arrivals area of Chennai International Airport, cheering alongside banks of television cameras as Gukesh made his way out of the airport after victory in taking the World Chess Championship title. “It means a lot to bring back the trophy to India,” Gukesh told reporters, with garlands of flowers draped around his neck, brandishing the glittering trophy in his hand. “I can see the support and what it means to India, I
Zach LaVine on Thursday scored a season-high 36 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 117-108 upset victory against defending NBA champions the Boston Celtics, while LeBron James once again made history. LaVine went 11-of-19 from the floor and made six three-pointers while adding six rebounds and four assists for the Bulls, who improved to 13-15 for the season. “We’re a good team,” LaVine said. “We’re competitive and we’re a resilient group.” Ayo Dosunmu contributed 17 points for the Bulls, while Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Chicago. The Bulls outscored Boston 35-22 in the fourth quarter to rally past
Cheng Chen Chin-mei on Saturday beamed broadly as she hoisted a 35kg weightlifting bar to her waist, dropped it and waved confidently to the enthusiastic crowd in a competition in Taipei. Cheng Chen, 90, has been pumping iron since last year, encouraged by her granddaughter to take up the sport after she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. She credits the regimen with helping to fix her posture. Three generations of her family were among a couple of hundred people watching Cheng Chen and 44 others aged 70 or older in the weightlifting competition. In the three-round event, Cheng Chen lifted as much as
RSS