UN-hosted Cyprus Talks Uncertain as One Side Says it Wasn't Invited

FILE PHOTO: Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, walk during a visit to the CMP Anthropological Laboratory in the buffer zone of Nicosia airport, Cyprus, July 28, 2023. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, walk during a visit to the CMP Anthropological Laboratory in the buffer zone of Nicosia airport, Cyprus, July 28, 2023. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou/File Photo
TT
20

UN-hosted Cyprus Talks Uncertain as One Side Says it Wasn't Invited

FILE PHOTO: Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, walk during a visit to the CMP Anthropological Laboratory in the buffer zone of Nicosia airport, Cyprus, July 28, 2023. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, walk during a visit to the CMP Anthropological Laboratory in the buffer zone of Nicosia airport, Cyprus, July 28, 2023. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou/File Photo

Tentative UN plans to convene the leaders of Cyprus's divided communities for talks as early as next week were uncertain on Monday as one side said it had not received an invitation.
The United Nations has been trying to find common ground for the resumption of long-stalled talks between rival Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities in a conflict spanning decades, a major source of tension between Greece and Türkiye, Reuters said.
Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides told an audience late Saturday that he had been "sounded out" for talks hosted by the United Nations in New York on Aug. 13 with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar.
"My response was positive and I hope - we haven't been informed yet - for the same response from the Turkish side and the meeting to lead to positive results," Christodoulides said.
Tatar said he had not received an invitation and accused Christodoulides of trying to muddy the waters with his comment.
"There is no invitation from the UN Secretary-General ... for a tripartite meeting. In any case, under the current conditions, we would not approve a tripartite meeting. There is no basis for such a meeting," he said in a statement.
Christodoulides said any possible refusal from Tatar to meet would be a "disservice" to Turkish Cypriots.
A UN spokesperson in Cyprus referred queries to UN headquarters in New York, where there was no immediate response to a Reuters request for comment.
Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion in 1974 after a brief Greek-inspired coup. The seeds of division were sown earlier when a power-sharing administration crumbled and violence prompted the dispatch of a peacekeeping force.
Peace talks have been on hold since 2017. The Turkish Cypriot side, which administers a breakaway state in the north of Cyprus recognized only by Ankara, now says a resumption of talks can only occur if its equal sovereignty with the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government is accepted.



Sinner Eyes Back-to-Back Australian Open Titles against Zverev

 Italy's Jannik Sinner waves to the crowd after beating USA's Ben Shelton in their men's singles semi-final match on day thirteen of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 24, 2025. (AFP)
Italy's Jannik Sinner waves to the crowd after beating USA's Ben Shelton in their men's singles semi-final match on day thirteen of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 24, 2025. (AFP)
TT
20

Sinner Eyes Back-to-Back Australian Open Titles against Zverev

 Italy's Jannik Sinner waves to the crowd after beating USA's Ben Shelton in their men's singles semi-final match on day thirteen of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 24, 2025. (AFP)
Italy's Jannik Sinner waves to the crowd after beating USA's Ben Shelton in their men's singles semi-final match on day thirteen of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 24, 2025. (AFP)

Defending champion Jannik Sinner will look to seal back-to-back Australian Open titles and deny second seed Alexander Zverev a maiden Grand Slam crown in the men's final on Sunday.

Also on Sunday, the women's doubles final sees top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend face Taiwan's Hsieh Su-Wei and Latvian Jelena Ostapenko.

A year after overhauling Daniil Medvedev in five sets in the 2024 final, Jannik Sinner will be favorite to win Sunday's decider and become the first man to retain the title since Novak Djokovic's "three-peat" from 2019-21.

Top seed Sinner would become the 11th man to go back-to-back in the professional era, joining the likes of Roger Federer (2006-07, 2017-18) and Andre Agassi (2000-01).

Having won the US Open last year, Sinner could also become the first Italian to win three Grand Slam titles, moving past his tie with Nicola Pietrangeli, a back-to-back winner of the men's singles at Roland Garros (1959-60).

Sinner arrives in the final in top form, having won his last 20 matches.

He thrashed Australian number one Alex De Minaur in the quarter-finals and also beat rising American talent Ben Shelton in straight sets in the semis.

Physically, though, it has not all been smooth sailing for the 23-year-old, who suffered cramps against Shelton and had dizzy spells on a hot day during his four-set win over Holger Rune in the fourth round.

With a maximum 27 degrees Celsius (80 F) forecast on Sunday, Sinner may be relieved that the match is scheduled in the evening cool.

His run to the final has come while a long-standing doping case stemming from failed drug tests last March hangs over his head.

Though cleared to play by tennis's integrity authority, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is seeking a ban of up to two years for the Italian at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The hearing is set for April.

Sinner has so far proved impervious to external distractions, though, and the extra weight of being defending champion.

"I'm trying to take the things away in my head, the pressure," he said. "Even if it's easy to say, but difficult to do.

"I will try to do that and also enjoy these moments. We won six very, very tough matches."

ZVEREV CHASING LONG-AWAITED GRAND SLAM BREAKTHROUGH

As a teenage up-and-comer, Zverev once generated the same level of excitement that Sinner enjoyed before his maiden Grand Slam title win at Melbourne Park in 2024.

However, predictions of major trophies have not come to pass for the 27-year-old German despite a couple of near-misses.

He was overhauled by Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final last year when he was two sets-to-one ahead and also surrendered a two-set lead to fall to Dominic Thiem in the 2020 US Open decider.

Despite wielding a huge serve, one of the game's most potent backhands and decent court movement for a 6 ft-6 in (1.98m) man, Zverev is vulnerable to wilting under pressure and has struggled to shrug off perceptions of mental fragility.

Once shut down at the Grand Slams by Djokovic, Federer and Rafa Nadal, the younger generation led by Sinner and Alcaraz has more recently emerged to thwart Zverev's ambitions.

Chastened by his French Open final loss to Alcaraz last year where he tired late in the match, Zverev re-hired trainer Jez Green to build staying power for five-set matches.

He comes into Sunday's final relatively fresh after Djokovic retired injured after one set of their semi-final.

Zverev also holds a 4-2 winning record over Sinner which includes hardcourt victories at the 2021 and 2023 US Open tournaments.

But Sinner won their last match on hardcourt at Cincinnati last year when he was virtually untouchable.

With Sinner almost unmatched for the potency and accuracy of his shot-making, Zverev's best chance of victory may be in dragging the Italian into a long dogfight and putting his serve to work in tiebreaks.

"Again, my goal is still to compete with the big guys and to compete for these kinds of tournaments and try to win them," said Zverev.

"I'm looking forward to Sunday. I do feel like I have done the work, and I do feel like I'm ready for it."