English
Indian
العربية
Español
Deutsch
Türkçe
Русский
Français (Afrique)
Williams sisters fall in thrilling return to US Open doubles
New York, USA: Serena and Venus Williams electrified Arthur Ashe Stadium but fell to Chan Hao-ching and Maya Joint in three thrilling sets in their return to the US Open women's doubles on Friday.
The superstar sisters, whose 14 Grand Slam doubles titles include two US Opens, rallied from a break down in the third set and led the deciding 10-point tiebreaker 5-0 but fell 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (10/7). esporist.com
Venus, 46, and Serena, 44, hadn't played Grand Slam doubles since the 2022 US Open and last won a title together at Roland Garros in 2018.
They showed flashes of their brilliant best, Serena proving particularly dangerous patrolling the net but struggling with her serve.
After recovering from losing the first set to level the match in the second-set tiebreaker.
They belted no fewer than 20 winners in the set, holding serve throughout and leveled the match when Joint smacked an overhead long to roars from the crowd.
Chan and Joint regrouped to seize a 4-2 lead in the third. The sisters rallied, but get to the finish line as Taiwan's Chan and Joint fought back superbly to clinch the victory.
For Serena Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion considered by many to be tennis's greatest women's player, it was her first return to the courts of Flushing Meadows since then.
The 44-year-old had returned to major singles play as a Wimbledon wild card four years after "evolving away" from the game.
At the All-England club she lost to Joint in a Centre Court clash that captured the imagination of both diehard and casual tennis fans.
Even that experience didn't prepare Joint for the atmosphere on the cavernous Ashe Stadium.
The sisters received a thunderous ovation when they took court, all business in understated white outfits.
Every blistering volley and overhead smash from the Americans received raucous cheers, and when they sprinted to the lead in the decisive 10-point tiebreaker the noise was deafening
"The atmosphere was surreal," Joint said. "Being able to play aginst such legends of the game is super special."
India, Japan to play first T20 cricket match
New Delhi: India and Japan will face off this month in their first-ever Twenty20 men's international cricket match against each other, India's cricket board announced Friday.
The match will be held at Japan's Sano International Cricket Ground on September 22, celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations between the two Asian nations, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement.
BCCI Honorary Secretary Devajit Saikia called it "a significant moment for cricket", taking reigning world champions India to "new territory" and introducing the sport to a wider audience in Japan and East Asia.
Japan Cricket Association chief executive Naoki Miyaji said he hopes that the match will encourage Japanese curious about cricket to come and cheer.
Taking note of India's ambition to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2036, the BCCI said the initiative aims to promote human exchanges and cooperation between India and Japan in the field of sports.
Alcaraz, Sabalenka into US Open last 16
New York, USA: Defending singles champions Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka sailed into the last 16 of the US Open on Friday as tennis icons Serena and Venus Williams suffered an agonising defeat on their long-awaited return to Grand Slam doubles.
Alcaraz, coming off a four-month injury absence, beat China's Wu Yibing 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 to book his place in the fourth round while Sabalenka was similarly dominant in a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Kamilla Rakhimova.
Alcaraz will face 20th-seeded American Tommy Paul for a place in the quarter-finals after Paul beat 15th-seeded Alexander Bublik 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 6-3.
"The way he plays is unbelievable, the rhythm he has on every shot -- forehand, backhand," Alcaraz said of Wu. "His balls skid a lot on the court and, for me, it's really difficult to control sometimes.
"But I think I stayed there. I played aggressive. I played smart in the toughest moments."
Wu recovered an early break in each of the first two sets, but Alcaraz pocketed both with breaks in the final games and after saving a pair of break points in the first game of the third the Spaniard rolled home.
"I think my level is really good," he said. "I've got into the rhythm of the competition. I'm getting there."
World number one Sabalenka didn't face a break point in her dismissal of Rakhimova, firing 29 winners with 10 aces.
The numbers didn't tell the whole tale of a match that saw 92nd-ranked Rakhimova challenge Sabalenka in a second-set slugfest.
Sabalenka, who must repeat as champion to have a chance of remaining number one, next faces Taylor Townsend, the 96th-ranked American who beat 15th-seeded Russian Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3.