Russian Qualifier Upsets Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in Miami

Ons Jabeur of Tunisia fields questions from the media during the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 21, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
Ons Jabeur of Tunisia fields questions from the media during the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 21, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Russian Qualifier Upsets Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in Miami

Ons Jabeur of Tunisia fields questions from the media during the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 21, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
Ons Jabeur of Tunisia fields questions from the media during the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 21, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)

Russian qualifier Varvara Gracheva overpowered fourth-seeded Ons Jabeur of Tunisia 6-2, 6-2 on Friday in the second round of the Miami Open.

Jabeur, who is ranked fifth in the WTA, twice sought assistance from the training staff. She has been slowed by a knee injury this year, perhaps playing a role as Gracheva beat a player ranked in the world top five for the first time.

Gracheva said: "The plan was, of course like all matches, to be as stable as possible, to try to make her work as much points as possible, and of course wait for comfortable ones to attack."

Gracheva wound up saving three of the four break points she faced while converting five of her six break opportunities.

"I just probably caught this wave where I'm stable, where I always have a chance to play my game, be aggressive, cause troubles for the others by the game style," Gracheva said. "Just try to keep rolling on this way."

Two other highly seeded player joined Jabeur on the way out of Miami, as No. 5 Caroline Garcia of France and No. 7 Maria Sakkari of Greece both lost their second-round matches.

Romania's Sorana Cirstea cruised past Garcia 6-2, 6-3, while Canada's Bianca Andreescu overtook Sakkari 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.

Andreescu said of her victory, "I think the match was really good from both of our parts. Maria played amazing. She was playing very aggressive.

"I felt like I was on my heels a lot of the time during the match, but I made every ball. I fought to the end, and I think I played the important points just a little bit better today. But, yeah, it could have gone either way today."

Second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus produced a 6-4, 6-3 win over the United States' Shelby Rogers. Ninth-seeded Belinda Bencic of Switzerland demolished Canada's Leylah Fernandez 6-1, 6-1, but 11th-seeded Veronika Kudermetova of Russia fell 6-4, 6-2 to Czech Republic's Marketa Vondrousova.

Other second-round winners were 15th-seeded Petra Kvitova, 16th-seeded Barbora Krejcikova, 17th-seeded Karolina Pliskova, 31st-seeded Marie Bouzkova and Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic; 18th-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia; 19th-seeded Madison Keys and Sofia Kenin of the United States; 22nd-seeded Donna Vekic of Croatia; and Magdalena Frech of Poland.



‘I’m Not Flirting with Any Team’: Marseille Coach De Zerbi Denies Exit Talks amid Tensions

 Marseille's Italian head coach Roberto De Zerbi reacts during the French L1 football match between Stade de Reims and Olympique de Marseille (OM) at Stade Auguste-Delaune in Reims, northern France on March 29, 2025. (AFP)
Marseille's Italian head coach Roberto De Zerbi reacts during the French L1 football match between Stade de Reims and Olympique de Marseille (OM) at Stade Auguste-Delaune in Reims, northern France on March 29, 2025. (AFP)
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‘I’m Not Flirting with Any Team’: Marseille Coach De Zerbi Denies Exit Talks amid Tensions

 Marseille's Italian head coach Roberto De Zerbi reacts during the French L1 football match between Stade de Reims and Olympique de Marseille (OM) at Stade Auguste-Delaune in Reims, northern France on March 29, 2025. (AFP)
Marseille's Italian head coach Roberto De Zerbi reacts during the French L1 football match between Stade de Reims and Olympique de Marseille (OM) at Stade Auguste-Delaune in Reims, northern France on March 29, 2025. (AFP)

Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi says he wants to stay on at the French league club and insisted Friday that he has not been contacted by other clubs despite reports of a player mutiny and interest from AC Milan.

Speaking during a conference Friday, De Zerbi said he is "not flirting with any team."

"At the moment I have no desire to leave," De Zerbi said. "My intention is to stay here for many years. Since it takes two to make a marriage, we still need to see a lot of things, and how we finish in the league".

Marseille has developed an attractive and effective style of play under De Zerbi but has been going through a bad patch of results, losing four of its past five matches. The team, however, remains in third place in the French league standings, in a position to qualify for next season's Champions League ahead of Sunday's match against Toulouse.

According to L'Equipe, De Zerbi has been facing criticism from his players, who are questioning his authoritative methods. The sports daily reported that De Zerbi was so angry with his team after a loss at Reims that he refused to run a training session this week, leaving it to his staff, and that the club's director of football had to intervene to diffuse the dispute as many players felt humiliated.

"I know when it’s time to hug my players and when it’s time to be a little stronger," De Zerbi said. "I’m not afraid, I’m ready to do anything for my job. That’s what I want to pass on to the team. I don’t want everyone’s approval, but everything has to be done at 100%."

Meanwhile, La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that De Zerbi is now the favorite to take over at Milan, with Massimiliano Allegri and Antonio Conte also considered for the job.

Since American owner Frank McCourt bought Marseille in 2016, the former powerhouse of French soccer has failed to find any form of stability, with a succession of coaches and crises that sometimes turned violent.

The club has changed coach 30 times since the beginning of the century, the highest total of any top-flight team in France in that period. The 1993 Champions League winner missed out on European qualification after finishing eighth in the French league last season.

Marseille dominated domestic soccer in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It is the only French team to win the Champions League but hasn’t won the domestic league since 2010.