10/10/2024

THURSDAY | OCT 10, 2024

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SPORTS

Ryder Cup skippers unite Have no issue bringing LIV Golf players to Bethpage R YDER CUP captains Keegan Bradley and Luke Donald said yesterday they will not shy away from including LIV Golf players on their respective teams for next year’s biennial showdown between the United States and Europe. do that,” said Bradley. “But we’re too far out to figure out how this is all going to play out. But we’re definitely going to take the 12 best players however that shakes out.”

Sinner to face Medvedev in Shanghai Masters quarterfinals WORLD NO. 1 Jannik Sinner will face Daniil Medvedev in the Shanghai Masters quarterfinals after both had straight-set victories yesterday. Sinner put some old demons to rest in overcoming American Ben Shelton 6-4, 7-6 (7-1), while Medvedev took out Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (7-3), 6 3. Shelton, ranked 16, knocked Sinner out at the same stage last year, but yesterday the Italian looked confident from the start as he won in 88 minutes. The US Open champion pulled ahead in the ninth game of the first set, breaking when Shelton hit long, then dominated the second set tiebreak. “It was very tough, you don’t have so much control when you play against him… I just tried to stay strong mentally,” said Sinner. World No. 5 Medvedev and Tsitsipas were meeting for the 14th time. Tsitsipas started the second set strongly, breaking in the first game, but Medvedev broke in the fourth and eighth to progress. Medvedev and Sinner have met four times this year already in the final stages of tournaments. Sinner beat Medvedev in the semifinals at Miami, the quarterfinals at the US Open and in the Australian Open final, but the Russian ended the Italian’s hopes in the last eight at Wimbledon in an epic five-set battle. Also through to the quarterfinals is world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Sinner in the China Open final a week ago. The 21-year-old was facing off against

interested” in re-joining the DP World Tour. “First of all, obviously he resigned his membership a couple of years ago but we’ve had a few chats,” Donald said of Garcia. “He’s considering re-joining (the DP World Tour). He’d have to follow all the rules and regulations like everyone else and if he does that then, again, he will be eligible to partake in the Ryder Cup.” Bradley, who earned the clinching point for the US at last month’s Presidents Cup, said it was too soon to discuss whether he would serve as a playing-captain at Bethpage Black. “It’s always a goal of mine to play on the Ryder Cup teams. It’s so far off now that it’s really – I’m not going to worry about it,” said Bradley. “Once we get closer to the tournament and I’m up there on the points list, then we’ll start to think about it. But I’m focused now on being the captain of the team and that’s it.” – Reuters

Five-times major winner Brooks Koepka was the only LIV Golf player to compete at the 2023 Ryder Cup where he was one of six captain’s picks for the US team. Koepka was eligible due to a grace period that allowed him to remain a PGA of America member through 2024. The PGA of America has since said LIV players are eligible to compete for US Ryder Cup teams going forward. LIV Golf players are technically eligible for the European team as long as they do not surrender their DP World Tour membership. Donald said he recently talked with LIV Golf’s Sergio Garcia, Europe’s all-time leading points scorer, and that the Spaniard is “very

Speaking during a Ryder Cup “Year to Go” news conference in New York, both Bradley and Englishman Donald were asked about their plans regarding players from the Saudi-backed circuit. “If you fulfill the regulations and the rules that the DP World Tour set, then you’re eligible,” said Donald. “There’s a bunch of LIV guys that play on LIV that they are eligible now; so I can pick them at will.” Bradley was more direct in his response. “For us, I’m going to take the 12 best players. So if we feel like there’s a few guys there, one guy, two guys, whatever it is, then we’re going to

Tiafoe apologises for swearing at umpire

FRANCES TIAFOE has apologised for his foul-mouthed tirade directed at a chair umpire after the American received a time violation and then lost to Roman Safiullin in the third round of the Shanghai Masters on Tuesday. Unseeded Safiullin beat 13th seed Tiafoe 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(5) in a three-hour contest where the American initially lost his cool when he received a time violation while serving with the score tied at 5-5 during the final set tiebreak. “No, no, I tossed the ball up… I was ready to serve. Dude, that’s the rule,” Tiafoe said repeatedly as he walked towards the net while trying to convince the Ecuadorian chair umpire Jimmy Pinoargote. “I’m not buying it, it’s the second serve,” the umpire said in response, putting an end to the discussion by announcing “second serve” on the microphone.

net, Tiafoe directed his anger at Pinoargote, repeatedly hurling expletives at the umpire as he walked back to his seat, as the small crowd of fans who had stayed behind laughed at his antics. The ATP did not immediately comment on the incident but the rule book says the 26-year-old can expect to be fined, with the amount going up to US$60,000 (RM258,000) for each violation at Masters 1000 tournaments. Tiafoe later posted an apology on Instagram for the way he acted. “That is not who I am and not how I ever want to treat people. I let my

frustration in the heat of the moment get the best of me and I’m extremely disappointed with how I handled the situation,” Tiafoe said. “That’s not acceptable behavior and I want to apologize to the umpire, the tournament, and the fans.” Tiafoe, who is ranked No. 17 in the world, had enjoyed some late-season form where he reached the finals of

veteran Gael Monfils, winning 6-4, 7-5 for a 12th straight victory. The 38-year-old Frenchman had upset Alcaraz at their last meeting in August at Cincinnati, and the Spaniard admitted that “was on his mind” during the match. “I’m just really, really happy I won the match, and that I stayed calm through the whole match,” he said. “Playing against Gael is never easy… You need to be focused on every ball,” he added. – AFP

T i a f o e went on to lose the point a n d eventually the match. s h a k i n g Safiullin’s hand at t h e

the Citi Open and the Cincinnati Open while he also advanced to the semifinals of the US Open. – Reuters

A f t e r

Frances Tiafoe. – AFPPIC

It’s hard to win all the time, says Gauff

Coco Gauff hits a return to Viktoriya Tomova (not pictured) during their women’s singles match at the Wuhan Open. – AFPPIC

WORLD NO. 4 Coco Gauff said yesterday that everyone should accept the roller-coaster nature of tennis, as she responded to criticism of her results this season. Gauff claimed what she described as an “unexpected” title at the China Open in Beijing last week and is on the cusp of securing her qualification for the season-ending WTA Finals for a third consecutive year. Despite reaching two Grand Slam semifinals and winning two titles this year, the 20-year-old Gauff has been under scrutiny, especially after her unsuccessful US Open defence last month. “People don’t realise people have

great moments in sports and bad moments,” Gauff told reporters at the Wuhan Open. “It doesn’t mean anything. I took inspiration from A’ja Wilson,” she said, referring to the Las Vegas Aces back-to back basketball WNBA champion. “She’s kind of like, ‘It’s hard to stay winning all the time. You need to go through losses to realise what you need to do to evolve’. “Tennis fans need to be more accepting of that,” said Gauff. Meanwhile, China’s Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen said she was “feeling the responsibility” as the new face of Chinese tennis and admitted she needed to find a way to handle the pressure.

Zheng shot to superstar status in her home country after reaching the Australian Open final and winning Paris gold this year. “There is a lot of activity for me, but I enjoy it. Especially I saw there are pictures of me everywhere. I mean, yes, that’s insane,” said Zheng, who turned 22 on Tuesday. “People have big expectations of me here. I hope I could stay here longer. But tennis is always tough to predict. “Of course, there is pressure. I’m also feeling the responsibility as a leader of the new generation, meaning what you are saying is under public scrutiny.” – AFP