Sports
Novak Djokovic toils, will face Rafael Nadal in French semis
It took three and half hours, a cut on his hand and a delay to remove fans, but world No. 1 Novak Djokovic defeated Matteo Berrettini in the quarter-finals of the French Open on Wednesday to set up another date with Rafael Nadal.
The top-seeded Serbian defeated the ninth-seeded Italian 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 in three hours, 28 minutes in a match that was interrupted when the 5,000 fans at Roland Garros refused to leave Court Philippe Chatrier in adherence of a curfew that was put in place. Djokovic and Berrettini were asked to leave the court in the middle of the fourth set while the fans were cleared.
Djokovic lost his footing and cut his hand after play resumed.
“This match had it all: falls, crowd, break. It was a lot of intensity,” said Djokovic, who let out a roar when the match was completed. “I just felt under tension the entire time. It was just super, super stressful to constantly be under pressure on my service games, because his service games were quite smooth with the big serve.
Berrettini, 25, had 55 winners compared to 44 for Djokovic, but the Italian’s 51 unforced errors were the difference. Djokovic committed only 19.
“I’m really proud of myself, really proud of my team, what we achieved,” Berrettini said. “I’m really happy, but at the same time I don’t want to stop here. I’m still young. This is my second quarter-finals in a Slam. I don’t want to stop here.”
In the first quarter-final, third-seeded Nadal defeated 10th-seeded Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 in two hours, 45 minutes.
Nadal’s 36-set winning streak came to an end, but the Spaniard made it to his 14th semi-final at Roland Garros.
“I started badly in the second set, then I was able to come back,” Nadal said. “But at 4-4, returning with the wind, I played a bad game and hit a double fault in the next game. I needed to play more aggressively and I did so throughout the rest of the match. I won an important match today against a tough opponent. I was able to find a way to play my best tennis in the moments that I really needed to.”
Nadal won 108 total points compared to 77 for Schwartzman. Nadal converted on seven of 14 break points. Schwartzman was outdone by 39 unforced errors as Nadal committed 29.
Djokovic leads Nadal 29-28 overall, but Nadal is 10-6 vs. Djokovic in Grand Slam events, including a 7-1 mark at Roland Garros. The upcoming match will be their first semi-final meeting since Wimbledon 2018.
“Each time we face each other, there’s this extra tension, expectations and just vibes are different walking on the court with him,” Djokovic said after his match. “That’s why our rivalry has been historic for this sport and I’ve been privileged to play him so many times.
“Rivalries with him and Roger (Federer) have made me a stronger player and allowed me to understand how I need to improve my game to get to the level where they were when I actually started playing professional tennis. I’ll probably pick Raffa as the biggest rival that I’ve ever had in my career. The anticipation for the match against him, any match on any surface on any occasion is always different from any other.”
Latest News
Woods charged with driving under influence after crash
Tiger Woods has been charged with driving under the influence after rolling his car in a crash in Florida, police have confirmed.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said the 15-time major champion was also charged with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test.
Woods, 50, rolled his Land Rover after clipping a pressure cleaner truck while trying to overtake it at “a high rate of speed”, according to Sheriff John Budensiek.
The golfer, who had to crawl out of the passenger door of his vehicle, passed a breathalyser test after the crash but refused a urine test.
No-one sustained any injuries in the incident which took place on Beach Road in Jupiter Island just before 14:00 local time on Friday (about 19:00 GMT).
Sheriff Budensiek told a news conference: “The DUI investigators came to the scene and Mr Woods did exemplify signs of impairment.
“They did several tests on him. He did explain the injuries and surgeries that he’s had and we did take that into account, but they did some in-depth roadside tests.
“When it was determined, he was placed under arrest and taken to the Martin County jail.
“At the Martin County jail, and even on scene, we were really not suspicious of alcohol being involved in this case and that proved to be true.
“Mr Woods did a breathalyser test with triple zeros, but when it came time for us to ask for a urinary analysis test, he refused.”
Budensiek also said Woods had been “co-operative but was trying not to incriminate himself”.
“He has a right to refuse that test,” added the sheriff. “There is a statute which he will be charged with for refusing to take that test, but we will never get definitive results as to what he was impaired on at the time of the crash.”
US president Donald Trump was asked about the crash on Friday, saying: “I feel so badly. [Woods has] got some difficulty. There was an accident. That’s all I know.
“He’s a very close friend of mine, he’s an amazing person, an amazing man.”
Sheriff Budensiek said Woods would remain in jail for eight hours then be released on bond. The charges are misdemeanours, not felonies.
The BBC has contacted the golfer’s representatives for comment.
This is not the first time Woods has been involved in a car accident – he has played a limited schedule since the serious crash in 2021 that left him with extensive injuries and fortunate to be alive.
In 2017 police officers also found him slumped at the wheel of his parked Mercedes-Benz not far from his Florida home.
A toxicology report found Woods had several legal medications in his system and marijuana’s active ingredient, and he was sentenced to a year’s probation after pleading guilty to reckless driving.
In 2009 Woods hit a fire hydrant, a tree, and several hedges in a bizarre collision outside his home.
The incident sparked accusations of extramarital affairs which led to the end of his seven-year marriage and the loss of lucrative sponsorship deals.
[BBC]
Sports
Sri Sumangala cruise to semis after Kumarasiri heroics
Sri Sumangala College, Panadura secured a convincing five-wicket victory over Sri Dharmaloka College, Kelaniya in their Under-19 Division I Tier ‘B’ cricket quarter-final at Kuruvita on Friday, sealing a place in the semi-finals with two sessions to spare.
All-rounder Mevindu Kumarasiri played a decisive role in the win, following up his outstanding bowling performance with a vital knock of 44 runs to guide his team to the target of 157.
Sri Sumangala’s run chase was anchored by Kumarasiri and Neksha Iddamalgoda, who shared a crucial 85-run partnership for the fourth wicket after the early setbacks. The stand effectively put the Panadura side on course for victory.
Kumarasiri’s brisk 44 came at just under a run-a-ball and included five boundaries, while Iddamalgoda top-scored with 49, striking seven fours in a fluent innings. Although both batsmen were dismissed before the target was reached, their partnership had already taken the sting out of the chase.
Bihanga Silva and Sadika Damyuru then completed the formalities, steering Sri Sumangala past the target to wrap up an impressive victory.
The win was particularly remarkable considering Sri Sumangala had been bowled out for 144 in their first innings. However, Kumarasiri turned the game dramatically in their favour with a superb six-wicket haul that dismantled Sri Dharmaloka for just 89 in the second innings.
His match-winning all-round performance proved to be the turning point as Sri
Sumangala capitalised on the opportunity to book their place in the tournament’s semi-finals.
Scores
Sri Dharmaloka 211 all out in 76.3 overs
(Kaveen Deneth 106, Senuka Pehesara 29, Koshitha Adithya 19; Mevindu Kumarasiri 5/82) and 89 all out in 35 overs (Tharusha Mihiranga 24; Mevindu Kumarasiri 6/41, Methum Fernando 4/42)
Sri Sumangala 144 all out in 48.4 overs
(Neksha Iddamalgoda 47, Bihanga Silva 36, Mavindu Kumarasiri 21; Tishan Nipun 4/43, Sathindu Prabhoda 3/44, Koshitha Adithya 2/27) and 160 for 5 in 34.3 overs (Vidura Basuru 33, Sandeep Wijerathna 19, Neksha Iddamalgoda 49, Mevindu Kumarasiri 44; Koshitha Adithya 4/64) (RF)
Latest News
PSL 2026: Teams allowed to submit two XIs and pick one after toss
Shaheen Shah Afridi and Marnus Labuschagne, captains of Lahore Qalandars and Hyderabad Kingsmen, walked out with two team sheets each for the toss ahead of the opening matchof PSL 2026 and selected their final XIs based on which way the coin fell.
This was in accordance with a new regulation in the PSL playing conditions, which permits the captains to submit two team sheets to the match referee before the toss and finalise one of the submitted line-ups after the toss.
The clause 1.2.1 in the “Nomination and Replacement of Players” section reads: “Before the toss, each captain may submit two (2) different XI lineups in writing to the PSL Match Referee. Each lineup must include 11 players and a maximum of 4 substitute fielders (subject to Clause 1.2.5). After the toss, each captain must finalise one of the two submitted lineups by signing the selected team sheet. Once the final lineup has been nominated, no player listed in the selected playing eleven may be changed before the start of the match without the consent of the opposing captain.”
Tosses can play a significant role in this part of the world in night matches as a result of dew. The ball often gets wet and difficult to grip for the spinners, making them ineffective in the second innings. This change in the playing conditions is expected to provide a level playing field – a team batting first can add a fast bowler instead of a spinner while a team batting second can look to add depth to their batting.
There were no signs of dew in the first match of the season however because of the wind throughout the day and cloud cover.
[Cricinfo]
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