22/05/2025

SPORTS THURSDAY | MAY 22, 2025

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‘I don’t need a coach’ Djokovic says he’s not in a rush to replace Murray as French Open looms N OVAK DJOKOVIC said yesterday he is in no hurry to find a coach to replace Andy Murray as he searches for his first win on clay this season 38 today. “My respect towards Andy remains the same, even more actually, I got to know him as a person.

Pep will quit if City squad too large

Maresca fumes over Betis fixture change ahead of final CHELSEA boss Enzo Maresca is “not happy” that Real Betis have been given an extra 48 hours to prepare for the Uefa Conference League final. Maresca was frustrated to discover Betis have changed their last match of the La Liga season from Sunday (May 26, Monday in Malaysia) to Friday (May 24, Saturday). Chelsea have to wait until Sunday (11pm Malaysian time) for their Premier League finale at Nottingham Forest. With Chelsea facing Betis in the Conference League final in Wroclaw on Wednesday (Thurs, 3am), Maresca believes the Spanish side have been given an unfair advantage. The Italian’s concern is exacerbated because Chelsea need to beat Forest to ensure they qualify for next season’s Champions League by finishing in the Premier League’s top five. In contrast to Chelsea’s do-or-die clash, Betis have nothing to play for when they face Valencia, with Manuel Pellegrini’s team already certain to finish sixth. “I’m not happy, one hundred per cent. You cannot allow a team 48 hours more than the other team when you play a European final,” Maresca told reporters yesterday. Despite Maresca’s complaints, Uefa have limited jurisdiction over the scheduling of domestic fixtures. The Premier League has a long-standing policy that all 10 final-day games kick off simultaneously on a Sunday afternoon. La Liga has no such tradition and Betis’ game is the only one of the final round of games brought forward to Friday. “I don’t know if it’s from La Liga, from the Premier League or from Uefa,” Maresca said. “If I ask you is it normal to play a final where a team has 48 hours more than the other team? It’s not normal. It’s not something correct. Asked whether Uefa needed to apply clearer rules, he replied: “Absolutely yes.” The final showdown in Poland pits Maresca against former Manchester City manager Pellegrini, who he describes as his “professional dad”. The Betis boss managed Maresca during his time as a player at Malaga before employing him as an assistant when he was in charge at West Ham between 2018 and 2019. – AFP PEP GUARDIOLA has said he could quit his position as Manchester City manager if he is given too large a squad next season as he can no longer bear to leave out large numbers of fit players from his team. City will head into the post-season looking to rebuild an ageing squad, with several senior players expected to follow Kevin De Bruyne out of the Etihad after the Belgian played his final home game for the club in Tuesday’s 3-1 win over Bournemouth. This season has seen City’s unprecedented run of four successive top-flight English titles come to an end, while their defeat by Crystal Palace in last weekend’s FA Cup final meant they will finish without a major trophy for the first time in eight years. Injuries have hit City hard this season but Guardiola, always in favour of a smaller group of players, insisted: “I said to the club I don’t want that (a bigger squad). “I don’t want to leave five or six players in the freezer. I don’t want that. I will quit. Make a shorter squad, I will stay. “It’s impossible for my soul to (tell) my players in the tribune that they cannot play.” The Spaniard added: “Now it happened to add players immediately. Maybe for three or four months we couldn’t select 11 players, we didn’t have defenders, it was so difficult. After, people come back but next season it cannot be like that. “As a manager I cannot train 24 players and every time I select I have to have four, five, six, stay in Manchester at home because they cannot play. This is not going to happen. I said to the club I don’t want that.” Despite the injury problems suffered this season – notably the lengthy absence of Rodri, who made his first appearance since September as a second half substitute yesterday – Guardiola said he would rather bolster his squad with academy players. – AFP

my life that I’m trying to navigate myself through,” said the three-time French Open champion. “And yes, I’m not particularly used to having this kind of circumstances where I would lose a consecutive match, tournaments, first rounds and so forth. I don’t think it ever happened for me in the last 20 years. “But I knew that eventually that moment will come.” After missing the event in Rome, Djokovic explained that he is competing in Geneva to prepare for the upcoming French Open.

“I think he has a brilliant tennis IQ, he has a very rare mind of a champion that obviously has achieved what he has achieved, and he sees the game incredibly well.” The Serb’s wait for a 100th ATP title goes on after his withdrawal from the Italian Open. Djokovic has not won a single match on clay this season, losing his openers at Monte Carlo and Madrid. His hopes of a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam triumph, which

ahead of the French Open. Djokovic last week parted company with Murray after a tough start to the season for the 24-time Grand Slam champion. “At the moment, I’m not in need of a coach,” said Djokovic who opens his title bid at the Roland Garros warm-up event in Genova against 134th-ranked Hungarian Marton Fucsovics yesterday. “I don’t need to rush in any context. I feel comfortable with the people around me ... in the next few tournaments, and we’ll see what happens.” Djokovic told journalists that Dusan Vemic, previously part of his coaching team had arrived in Geneva from the US, and would be working alongside Boris Bosnjakovic, his assistant coach and analyst. The partnership with Murray started well, with Djokovic defeating Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open, only to be forced to retire during his semifinal against Alexander Zverev as a result of injury. “We felt like we couldn’t get more out of that partnership on the court, and that’s all there is to it,” explained Djokovic, who turns

“That’s why I’m here, that’s why I’m playing the Geneva tournament, because I’m trying to do well, I’m trying to win more trophies, I’m trying to build my form for Roland Garros, and perform at the desired, necessary level in order to go far in the tournament and challenge the best players in the world. “So yes, the motivation is still there.” Nonetheless, Djokovic added he was comfortable with this new phase of his career. – AFP

would take him clear of Australian Margaret Court’s tally of 24 singles

major titles, appear to be fading. “It’s a different chapter of

Novak Djokovic during a press conference. – AFPPIC

Gauff seeks to eliminate service errors

COCO GAUFF managed to reach the finals in Madrid and Rome this month despite stumbling through a stream of double faults at both claycourt events, and the American knows she must get a grip on her service game to stand a chance at the French Open. Gauff’s only title on the surface came at the WTA 250 Emilia-Romagna Open event in 2021, a year before she lost to Iga Swiatek in the Roland Garros final. In Madrid, the 21-year-old claimed straightforward wins over top-10 players Swiatek and Mirra Andreeva, but seven double faults in the final – including two while serving for the second set - saw her lose to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

defeat by Jasmine Paolini at the Italian Open. WTA Tour statistics show Gauff has compiled 193 double faults in 32 matches this year, the most of any player on the circuit, and the 2023 US Open champion knows the issue is holding her back. “With the double-faults, it’s something I know I have to improve and do better,” she told reporters after losing to Paolini. “If I want to make it to the next level, it’s definitely something I have to improve. “I think it’s both confidence and motivation to do better. Hopefully I can get to the final in Roland Garros and maybe the ‘third time is a charm’ thing is a real thing … Overall I lost to two quality opponents, Aryna in Madrid and Jasmine here. “I made the (Rome) final with those errors, maybe not playing my best tennis. It just gives me confidence, if I can find that good form heading into Roland Garros, I can do well there.” Should Gauff be able to rein in the errors that have plagued her game in time for the May 25 to June 8 French Open she will be a force to be reckoned with. – Reuters

Coco Gauff. – REUTERSPIC

Two weeks later Gauff was in another WTA 1000 final, and while her opponent was different the result was the same. Gauff committed

eight double faults and racked up 55 unforced errors en route to a 6-4 6-2