05/04/2026

theSun on Sunday APR 5, 2026

SPORTS 13

SHORTS PEGULA REACHES CHARLESTON SEMIS

New Spurs manager Roberto De Zerbi. – REUTERSPIC

Top seed Jessica Pegula once again fought back from a set down to reach the WTA Charleston Open semifinals with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win against Russia’s Diana Shnaider yester day. Defending champion Pegula has lost the first set in all three matches so far, but again dug deep to maintain her hopes of retaining the title. The world No. 5 from the United States took two hours and 10 minutes to defeat 19th-ranked Shnaider, relying on a formidable service game that included eight aces. Shnaider battled well in the first two sets, and broke early for a 2-0 lead in the final set, before losing six straight games. Pegula, chasing her second tournament victory of the year after winning the title in Dubai in February, will face fourth-seeded fellow American Iva Jovic, who beat Russian Anna Kalinskaya 6 3, 6-4. On the other side of the draw, fifth-seeded American Madison Keys booked her semifinal spot with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over third-seeded Swiss Belinda Bencic in a battle of former Charleston champions. Keys will face Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva for a place in the final. Starodubtseva beat American McCartney Kessler 6-4, 6-4. Thiago Tirante stunned top seeded Ben Shelton 7-6 (7-5), 3 6, 6-4 yesterday to book a semifi nal showdown with friend and fellow Argentine Roman Burruchaga at the ATP clay court tournament in Houston, Texas. Tirante, ranked 83rd in the world, notched his second career win over a top-10 player as he sent the ninth-ranked Shelton packing to reach the second ATP semifinal of his career. “I knew that Ben was a very difficult player, a great player, so I had to take more risks at some times of the match,“ said Tirante, who fended off a break point early in the third set and broke Shelton for a 5-4 lead before serving it out with a comfortable hold. “I did sometimes good, I did sometimes bad, but that’s the key. (I had to stay) mentally strong all the time and try to break the serve – he serves amazing.” Burruchaga, the son of former football player Jorge Burruchaga, who won the World Cup with Argentina in 1986, upset third seeded American Learner Tien 7 5, 6-4 to reach his first career semifinal. Second-seeded American Frances Tiafoe saved a match point in the third set tiebreaker to reach the semifinals with a 3-6, 6 4, 7-6 (8-6) victory over Australian Alexei Popyrin. Tiafoe will face fourth-seeded Tommy Paul in an All-American semi after Paul beat Argentina’s sixth-seeded Tomas Etcheverry 6-4, 6-2. TIRANTE TOPPLES TOP SEED SHELTON

Spurs De Zerbi gamble Italian is anything but a perfect match for a club in crisis

THIS is not a “vibes” appoint ment. It’s the complete oppo site. Tottenham’s move for Roberto De Zerbi reflects the do-or-die situation they find themselves in, by the fact he could theoretically deliver either the miraculous best or cataclysmic worst case sce nario for the club. De Zerbi, on the surface, is a coup for a team verging on the most humiliating relegation in Premier League history. The Italian was a resound ing success story at Brighton, arriving with an unknown quality to English football only to become one of the conti nent’s most sought-after man agers by the end of his two season stint, apparently earn ing admirers at Barcelona and Liverpool. He took charge of the Seagulls early into 2022/23 after Graham Potter was poached by Chelsea, but rather than overseeing a spi ral he lifted the club to new heights, sealing European qualification for the first time in the club’s history. This proven ability to achieve the unlikely will surely have appealed to crisis-ridden Spurs. Tottenham must also be attracted by De Zerbi’s free flowing style of football. Traumatised by 44 days of Igor Tudor-ball, a footballing ideology bereft of inspiration,

the Tottenham fanbase. Some fan groups have raised objec tions to his support for Mason Greenwood during his time at Marseille. Former England interna tional Greenwood was sus pended by Manchester United in January 2022 following alle gations of attempted rape and sexual assault. Prosecutors dropped charges against Greenwood in February 2023, who always denied the allegations, and he joined Marseille not long after De Zerbi in July 2024. “I’ve never wanted to downplay the issue of vio lence against women or vio lence against anyone in gen eral,” De Zerbi said after he was appointed Spurs boss. “Those who know me well know that I’m not the kind of person who compromises to win one more match, or to win one more title. “I’m sorry if I’ve offended anyone with this topic. I have a daughter and I’m very sensi tive to these things. “I hope that as time passes, people will get to know me better and understand that I didn’t mean to take a stance.” Tottenham’s Tudor gamble catastrophically backfired, but one of the very few silver linings was that at least the fans were united in how bad things were. That was evidenced by the

such a tactical revolution is needed and desired. Implementing that now, how ever, is a big risk. De Zerbi likes to bait the press and build up. From goal kicks, he places the double pivot deep to draw the opposi tion high up the pitch, which then requires smart and swift play to evade the charging attackers and move the ball into the space created. Tottenham, exemplified in their Champions League quar terfinal hammering at Atletico Madrid, are like a child run ning around with scissors when playing out from the back. It’s heart in mouth. The Italian then strives for intricate possession-based football in the attacking phases, which again does not fit the bill of a team that only managed 50% or more of the ball twice in Tudor’s reign of error. The jigsaw pieces don’t fit. Assuming De Zerbi sticks by his tactical bible, his arrival does not promise a smooth transition when Tottenham can’t afford otherwise. The fact he went winless in his first five Brighton games will also not kindle confi dence; do that in London and Spurs are all but down. But there’s another problem attached to this choice. His appointment has not been universally welcomed by

vociferous welcome they gave their team bus before the cru cial Nottingham Forest game, which aged comedically poorly as Tottenham’s players curled over in a bruising 3-0 defeat. De Zerbi, however, risks completely dividing this fan base at the worst possible time. You only need to look at the social media comments of Proud Lilywhites’ statement to see the number of “anti-woke” supporters who diametrically oppose the group’s viewpoint. Tottenham have seven cup finals left to save their season. Four of them, including the last game of the season, are at home, where they’re winless in the League since December. Crowd infighting will not change the tide. Tudor was the short-term solution that combusted on arrival. De Zerbi joins with the long-term at the forefront, claiming to have been enticed by the club’s “ambition for the future”. If Spurs stay up, the ninth richest club in the world will feel well positioned to put this harrowing episode behind them and push back up the table. Sink to the Championship and Spurs may be left hope less and with a fractured fan base, their long-term plans torn to shreds. – The Independent