Mazepin, Oligarch Father Added to EU Blacklist

Formula One F1 - Qatar Grand Prix - Losail International Circuit, Lusail, Qatar - November 18, 2021 Haas' Nikita Mazepin during a press conference Pool via REUTERS/Andrej Isakovic
Formula One F1 - Qatar Grand Prix - Losail International Circuit, Lusail, Qatar - November 18, 2021 Haas' Nikita Mazepin during a press conference Pool via REUTERS/Andrej Isakovic
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Mazepin, Oligarch Father Added to EU Blacklist

Formula One F1 - Qatar Grand Prix - Losail International Circuit, Lusail, Qatar - November 18, 2021 Haas' Nikita Mazepin during a press conference Pool via REUTERS/Andrej Isakovic
Formula One F1 - Qatar Grand Prix - Losail International Circuit, Lusail, Qatar - November 18, 2021 Haas' Nikita Mazepin during a press conference Pool via REUTERS/Andrej Isakovic

Motor racing driver Nikita Mazepin, sacked by the Haas Formula One team after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, on Wednesday was added to the list of Russians sanctioned by the European Union.

His father, oligarch Dmitry Mazepin, the owner and chief executive of chemical giant Uralchem, was also sanctioned.

Dmitry Mazepin "is engaged in activities in economic sectors that constitute a substantial source of income for the government of the Russian Federation", the EU said in a statement.

His son, whose seat at Haas was filled on Wednesday by former driver Kevin Magnussen, was also included on the EU blacklist as he was considered "a natural person linked to an influential businessman (his father) with an activity in economic sectors which constitute a source substantial revenue to Russia".

The EU list, drawn up since Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014, now includes 862 people and 53 entities in total.

They are banned from entering the EU and their assets in Europe have been frozen.

"On February 24, 2022, following the early stages of the Russian aggression", Dmitry Mazepin and 36 other businessmen "met with President Vladimir Putin and other members of the Russian government to discuss the impact of the course of action in the wake of Western sanctions," added the statement.

This showed "that he belongs to the circle closest to Vladimir Putin".

Earlier Wednesday, Nikita Mazepin said he was creating a foundation to help sportspeople who have found themselves barred from competing due to "political reasons out of their control".

Mazepin and Haas's Russian title sponsor Uralkali had their contracts terminated last Saturday as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Mazepin, 23, said the funds for the 'We compete as one' foundation would come from the money that Uralkali would have paid Haas.



Swiatek Fights Back to Down McNally and Reach Third Round

Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 3, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her second round match against Caty McNally of the US. (Reuters)
Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 3, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her second round match against Caty McNally of the US. (Reuters)
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Swiatek Fights Back to Down McNally and Reach Third Round

Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 3, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her second round match against Caty McNally of the US. (Reuters)
Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 3, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her second round match against Caty McNally of the US. (Reuters)

Iga Swiatek may not love the grass but relishes a battle whatever the surface and showed all that fight and bullish determination as she recovered to beat American Caty McNally 5-7 6-2 6-1 and reach the Wimbledon third round on Thursday.

McNally, the world number 208, looked poised to cause an upset when she clawed her way back from 4-1 down to take the first set against the five-times Grand Slam champion.

At that point Swiatek's mediocre record at the All England Club, where the Pole has never gone past the quarter-finals, seemed to be weighing heavily on her shoulders.

But rather than shy away from the scrap, the former world number one flicked a psychological switch that saw her come out for the second set transformed, upping her aggression and playing with a ferocity McNally simply could not handle.

She broke early in the second set and never looked back, losing only three more games to set up a clash with another American Danielle Collins.

"I started the match well, so I knew that my game was there," said Swiatek. "I knew that at the start of the second set I had to be more accurate. I just tried to improve and I'm happy it worked."

The eighth seed may have her sights set far higher than the third round, but by reaching the last 32 she underlined her consistency on the big stage.

The 23-year-old is the third player this century to reach the third round in 22 consecutive women’s singles Grand Slams after Amelie Mauresmo and Serena Williams.

DIFFICULT SURFACE

Whether such milestones are enough to persuade Swiatek she can excel on a surface that has so far proven difficult to master is yet to be determined.

With four French Open titles to her name, another at the US Open and two semi-final appearances in Australia, her unspectacular Wimbledon record stands out like a sore thumb.

A run to the Bad Homburg final in the grasscourt warm-up event showed her game is not entirely unsuited to the surface, though there was a period in the first set against McNally where she may have wondered if this tournament was simply not for her.

Having broken early and raced into a 4-1 lead, the wheels briefly came off as McNally did everything to push Swiatek out of her comfort zone.

The American pushed right up to the baseline to receive serve, trying to give Swiatek less time to react to the return and for a while it worked.

McNally spurned four break points in the seventh game before finally taking her chance at the fifth attempt before breaking again for a 6-5 lead when Swiatek swiped a backhand long.

When the Pole fired a wild forehand off target to hand McNally the opener, everything seemed to be going the American's way. But that was as good as it got.

DOUBLES PARTNERS

Swiatek knows McNally's game well - the pair were doubles partners in their youth, clinching the junior title at Roland Garros in 2018 - and set about dismantling it in double-quick time.

She broke for a 2-0 lead in the second set and again to level the contest at one set each.

Swiatek then did the same at the start of the third set, breaking to go 2-0 ahead, with a forehand swiped cross-court, while another forehand winner saw her break again to move 4-0 up.

It was then straightforward for the Pole, although she did have to save five break points before wrapping up victory with an ace.

As well as earning her spot in the next round, the match against her old playing partner offered a pleasing trip down memory lane.

"It's pretty funny because I remember these matches pretty well," she said of her junior days.

"We know each other pretty well ... She's one of the people who make you feel like you are not only rivals on tour but that you can also respect each other and like each other."