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Rybakina Sweeps Past Kasatkina to Win Abu Dhabi Title

Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan swept to her second title of the season in Abu Dhabi - AFP
Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan swept to her second title of the season in Abu Dhabi - AFP
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Rybakina Sweeps Past Kasatkina to Win Abu Dhabi Title

Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan swept to her second title of the season in Abu Dhabi - AFP
Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan swept to her second title of the season in Abu Dhabi - AFP

Top-seeded Elena Rybakina secured her second title of the season with a smooth 6-1, 6-4 victory over Daria Kasatkina at the Abu Dhabi Open on Sunday.

The world number five, who started the year with a title in Brisbane, added a seventh trophy to her resume and is now joint-second on the match-wins leaderboard with 11 victories to her name in 2024.

Light rain provided some late drama as it briefly interrupted the final game of the contest, with players instructed to wait on their benches with Rybakina leading 6-1, 5-4, 30/30.

It was only a short delay though as the 2022 Wimbledon champion closed out the win with two good serves on the 68-minute mark.

"First I want to congratulate Daria of course with a great week, congrats to you and the team," Russian-born Kazakh Rybakina said in her victory speech.

"Tough week, especially last matches, and tomorrow is already a match in Doha, so hopefully we both recover and we do well there and maybe play the final there."

Rybakina struck first but double-faulted to hand Kasatkina the break back, AFP reported.

Kasatkina returned the favor immediately, double-faulting to drop serve once again and the Russian failed to win another game in that set as Rybakina secured the set 6-1 in 24 minutes.

Kasatkina hit just two winners in that set, against a whopping 16 unforced errors, and her double-fault count was mounting as she struggled with the windy conditions.

The second set was a more competitive affair but Rybakina's power game ultimately made the difference with Kasatkina clearly feeling the after effects of the taxing three-hour semi-final she played against Beatriz Haddad Maia the previous evening.

Kasatkina has now lost her last four consecutive finals –- including two this year in Adelaide and Abu Dhabi -– and remains in search of a first title triumph since 2022.

"I'm playing a lot of matches, I'm winning most of them, which is very important," said Kasatkina, who is 10-3 win-loss so far this campaign.

"I think it's the best start of the year for me ever. I can be just happy with that.

"Of course there are moments that are disappointing –- to lose the final is not a nice thing but as Daniil Medvedev said after the Australian Open, it's better to play three finals than to lose three first rounds. So I will take that."

The Russian world number 14 has a quick turnaround and will catch a late flight Sunday from Abu Dhabi to Doha, where she is due to face her compatriot and good friend Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the first round of the Qatar Open on Monday.

"Right now I'm a bit disappointed of course. But sometimes being upset can help you maybe more than being super happy," said Kasatkina.

"That's what happened two years ago when I lost in the semi-finals from match point to Ons (Jabeur) in Rome. I really believe that match made me play semi-final at Roland Garros.

"So I will think this way, thinking that these losses in the finals they will just make me better and will push me to grow."

Seeded number three in Doha, Rybakina has a first-round bye and kicks off her draw there against Varvara Gracheva or Zhu Lin in round two.

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Flotilla on Seine, Rain and Celine Dion Mark Start of Paris Olympics

Members of delegations are seen during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Members of delegations are seen during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Flotilla on Seine, Rain and Celine Dion Mark Start of Paris Olympics

Members of delegations are seen during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Members of delegations are seen during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. (AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron declared the Olympic Games open on Friday after a soaking wet ceremony in which athletes were cheered by the crowd along the Seine, dancers took to the roofs of Paris and Lady Gaga sang a French cabaret song.

France's three-time Olympic gold medalists Marie-Jose Perec and Teddy Riner then lit the Olympic cauldron, suspended on a hot-air balloon, before Canada's Celine Dion sang Edith Piaf's "Hymn to Love", in her first public performance in years, drawing huge cheers from the crowd.

The 30-meter (98 ft) high balloon carrying a 7-meter diameter ring of fire took to the air and was hovering dozens of meters above the ground.

It will be in the air from sunset until 2 am local time every day, organizers said.

"We are so proud of this show, I'm so proud that sport and culture were celebrated in such a fantastic manner tonight, it was a first and the result was fantastic despite the rain," Paris 2024 organizing president Tony Estanguet told reporters.

A fleet of barges took the competitors on a 6 km-stretch of the river alongside some of the French capital's most famous landmarks, as performers recreated some of the sports to be showcased in the Games on floating platforms.

It was the first time that an opening ceremony has taken place outside a stadium, adding to the headaches for a vast security operation, just hours after a sabotage attack on the high-speed TGV rail network caused travel chaos across France.

"I invite everybody: dream with us. Like the Olympic athletes, be inspired with the joy that only sport can give us. Let us celebrate this Olympic spirit of living in peace," International Olympics Committee President Thomas Bach said as the ceremony came to an end at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

More than 10,500 athletes will compete at the Olympics, 100 years since Paris last staged the Games. Competition started on Wednesday and the first of the 329 gold medals will be awarded on Saturday.

As the show started four hours earlier, a giant plume of blue, white and red smoke, resembling the French flag, was sent high above a bridge over the Seine as part of a show that included many postcard-like depictions of France, including a huge cancan line performed by Moulin Rouge dancers on the banks.

A more modern image of the country was on display when French-Malian pop star Aya Nakamura, the most-listened to French female singer in the world, sang some of her biggest hits, accompanied by the French Republican Guard's army choir.

Nakamura's performance drew some of the ceremony's biggest cheers. Rumors of her inclusion had sparked a row over French identity, with supporters saying she represented the vibrancy of modern-day France while her detractors said her music owes more to foreign influences than French.

POURING RAIN

While the celebration of French culture, fashion and history was warmly cheered by many of the 300,000 spectators lining the river, hundreds were seen leaving early as the rain fell.

"It was good other than the rain, it was nice, it was different, instead of being in a stadium being on the river, so that's always a good thing - interesting, unique," said Avid Pureval, 34, who came to the Games from Ohio.

"Once you're wet, it's fine," he said. Still, he was heading back to his hotel after the French boat passed, long before the ceremony ended.

"It would have been better with sun," said Josephine, from Paris, sitting beside her 9-year-old daughter and who paid 1,600 euros ($1,736) for her seat.

With many world leaders and VIPs present, the ceremony was protected by snipers on rooftops. The Seine's riverbed was swept for bombs, and Paris' airspace was closed.

Some 45,000 police and thousands of soldiers were deployed in a huge security operation in Paris for the ceremony. Armed police patrolled along the river in inflatable boats as the armada made its passage along the Seine.

WELCOMED IN TAHITI

A mix of French and international stars, including soccer great Zinedine Zidane, 14-times French Open champion Rafa Nadal, 23-times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams and three paralympic athletes were among the last torchbearers before the cauldron was lit.

It will blaze until the closing ceremony on Aug. 11.

At the start of the parade, applause erupted for the Greek boat - the first delegation, by tradition - and there were even bigger cheers for the boat that followed, carrying the refugees' team. The French, US and Ukrainian delegations also got loud cheers.

The two most decorated athletes in the Games' history, Michael Phelps and Martin Fourcade, unveiled the gold, silver and bronze medals.

At one point, there was a live crossover to the early morning welcome ceremony at the surfing venue, 16,000 km away in the Pacific island of Tahiti.

ISRAEL DELEGATION

France is at its highest level of security, though officials have repeatedly said there was no specific threat to the opening ceremony or the Games.

But since the last Games - the Winter Olympics held in Beijing in 2022 - wars have erupted in Ukraine and Gaza, providing a tense international backdrop.

Israeli competitors are being escorted by elite tactical units to and from events and are given 24-hour protection throughout the Olympics due to the war in Gaza, officials say.

The Israel delegation got some boos, but also a lot of cheers, as it sailed by spectators, Reuters reporters saw. Chants of "Palestine! Palestine! Palestine!" rose from the crowd as the boat passed.

Macron, who won a second mandate two years ago, had hoped the Olympics would cement his legacy. But his failed bet on a snap legislative election has weakened him and cast a shadow over his moment on the international stage.