عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Sports

Defending Champ Medvedev, No. 1 Seed Alcaraz Advance to Miami Open Quarterfinals 

Daniil Medvedev serves against Dominik Koepfer of Germany during their match on day 11 of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 26, 2024 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
Daniil Medvedev serves against Dominik Koepfer of Germany during their match on day 11 of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 26, 2024 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
TT
TT

Defending Champ Medvedev, No. 1 Seed Alcaraz Advance to Miami Open Quarterfinals 

Daniil Medvedev serves against Dominik Koepfer of Germany during their match on day 11 of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 26, 2024 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
Daniil Medvedev serves against Dominik Koepfer of Germany during their match on day 11 of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 26, 2024 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)

Defending Miami Open champion Daniil Medvedev won his 350th career match to move into the quarterfinals for a fourth straight year, beating Dominik Koepfer 7-6 (5), 6-0 on Tuesday.

Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz also advanced with ease in a 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 23 seed Lorenzo Musetti.

Alcaraz, who beat Musetti in less than 90 minutes and looked comfortable as ever on the court, said he's “probably” playing his best tennis since last summer. That ankle injury from last month is no longer a concern, he said.

“I don't know if this is the best game that I'm playing, but without a doubt it's the best feeling,” the Wimbledon champion said. “I'm feeling great on the court. I'm moving great. ... I'm not thinking about the ankle anymore on the court.”

Alcaraz will face No. 11 seed Grigor Dimitrov on Thursday in the quarterfinals. Dimitrov beat No. 8 seed Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) after a tiebreaker in which Hurkacz was penalized for touching the net with his foot.

Tied at 2-2 in the tiebreaker, the match referee said Hurkacz’s foot touched the net as he charged forward on a return. It cost him a point. Hurkacz slammed his racquet in protest.

In a match that lasted well into Wednesday morning, 2018 finalist and No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev reached his fourth Miami Open quarterfinal with a 6-1, 6-4 win over 15th-seeded Karen Khachanov 6-1, 6-4.

No. 3 seed Medvedev, after a tight opening set, pulled away to win his ninth straight match in south Florida and continue his run at back-to-back titles.

Medvedev trailed 4-0 in the tiebreaker before rallying to take the set. He said he used that momentum to get out to a fast start and finish his milestone victory.

“I would say before the match, the desire to win is the same, but for sure, the feeling of winning, and during the match while you're winning, is different,” he said. “The feelings are different, but the desire is the same and that's what keeps me going."

Medvedev goes for victory No. 351 on Wednesday against Nicolas Jarry, the No. 22 seed who ousted No. 7 seed Casper Ruud 7-6 (3), 6-3.

Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, seeded No. 2, improved to 19-1 in matches this year with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Christopher O'Connell to reach the quarterfinals.

In the middle of the match, commentators said a spectator had fainted in the 82 degree temperatures and play was stopped. Sinner came to the sideline and passed up drinks and towels to the person.

Also advancing was Tomas Machac, who reached the quarterfinals to face Sinner with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Matteo Arnaldi.

On the women’s side, No. 4 seed Elena Rybakina outlasted No. 8 seed Maria Sakkari 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-4 in a grueling match that lasted 2 hours and 48 minutes to earn a spot in the semifinals.

Two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka defeated Yulia Putintseva 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-3 to also make the semifinals. It was the second time that Azarenka, 34, has made it to the semifinals this season after going that far just once in 2023. She has won the Miami Open three times.

Most Viewed

 
 
Sports

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)
TT
TT

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.