WWE SmackDown, King and Queen of the Ring Conclude in Jeddah

The two-day WWE SmackDown and King & Queen of the Ring events, organized by the General Entertainment Authority as part of Jeddah Season, culminated in thrilling matches at the Jeddah Superdome on Saturday. (SPA)
The two-day WWE SmackDown and King & Queen of the Ring events, organized by the General Entertainment Authority as part of Jeddah Season, culminated in thrilling matches at the Jeddah Superdome on Saturday. (SPA)
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WWE SmackDown, King and Queen of the Ring Conclude in Jeddah

The two-day WWE SmackDown and King & Queen of the Ring events, organized by the General Entertainment Authority as part of Jeddah Season, culminated in thrilling matches at the Jeddah Superdome on Saturday. (SPA)
The two-day WWE SmackDown and King & Queen of the Ring events, organized by the General Entertainment Authority as part of Jeddah Season, culminated in thrilling matches at the Jeddah Superdome on Saturday. (SPA)

The two-day WWE SmackDown and King & Queen of the Ring events, organized by Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority as part of Jeddah Season, culminated in thrilling matches at the Jeddah Superdome on Saturday.

In a captivating main event, Austrian Gunther emerged victorious over American Randy Orton, to claim the coveted King of the Ring title, igniting electrifying cheers from the packed audience.

Meanwhile, in the women's division, Australian Nia Jax emerged triumphant, defeating Irish Lyra Valkyria to capture the Queen of the Ring title.

The tag team action was equally intense, with Americans Bianca Belair and Gigi Dolin securing the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship belts after a hard-fought battle against fellow Americans Tamina and Candice LeRae.

American Liv Morgan successfully defended her WWE Women's World Championship title against Irish Becky Lynch, while American Cody Rhodes emerged victorious in the Undisputed WWE Championship, defeating fellow American Logan Paul.

The evening concluded with Canadian Sami Zayn retaining his Intercontinental Championship title, overcoming American Chad Gable and Australian Bronson Reed.



Medvedev Beats Monfils in Beijing. Draper Upsets Hurkacz in Japan

Russia's Daniil Medvedev celebrates after defeating France's Gael Monfils during the China Open tennis tournament held at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Russia's Daniil Medvedev celebrates after defeating France's Gael Monfils during the China Open tennis tournament held at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
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Medvedev Beats Monfils in Beijing. Draper Upsets Hurkacz in Japan

Russia's Daniil Medvedev celebrates after defeating France's Gael Monfils during the China Open tennis tournament held at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Russia's Daniil Medvedev celebrates after defeating France's Gael Monfils during the China Open tennis tournament held at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Daniil Medvedev safely navigated a tricky first outing at the China Open on Friday, winning 6-3, 6-4 against French veteran Gael Monfils.
The third-seeded Medvedev, runner-up to Jannik Sinner here last year, broke Monfils' serve three times in a dominant opening set, The Associated Press reported.
After trading breaks in a closer second set, former No. 1-ranked Medvedev clinched the match with another service break to seal the win in 92 minutes.
Roman Safiullin, who made the main draw as a lucky loser in qualifying, beat three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 6-4 and will face top-ranked Sinner.
No. 3-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, seeded second in Beijing, begins against No. 51 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France later Friday.
In the women's draw, sixth-seeded Emma Navarro was upset by Chinese wildcard Zhang Shuai 6-4, 6-2 in 75 minutes. The 35-year-old Zhang, a doubles specialist, played well above her current singles ranking of No. 595 as she took five of her seven breakpoint opportunities against the U.S. Open semifinalist.
Zhang will play Greet Minnen of Belgium, who beat 28th-seeded Anastasia Potapova 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, in the third round.
Also, 12th-seeded Diana Shnaider beat former Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin 6-2, 6-3 and Yuliia Starodubtseva had a 6-2, 6-2 win over 27th-seeded Katerina Siniakova.
Second-seeded Jessica Pegula was due open her tournament later Friday against Diane Parry of France, and Coco Gauff faced Clara Burel in a night match.
US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka plays Saturday against Thai qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew. Top-ranked Iga Swiatek was not playing this week for personal reasons.
Japan Open Second-seeded Hubert Hurkacz lost 6-4, 6-4 to US Open semifinalist Jack Draper in the second round in Tokyo, a day after top-seeded Taylor Fritz and third-seeded Casper Ruud were eliminated from the tournament.
While the 22-year-old Draper and Hurkacz were evenly matched on aces and winners, it was the Polish player's 30 unforced errors, to Draper's 20, that proved costly.
Draper will next play either Brandon Nakashima or Ugo Humbert in the quarterfinals.
Defending champion Ben Shelton also progressed to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Mariano Navone. Shelton, along with Fritz, traveled to Japan from the Laver Cup in Berlin, where they represented Team World in a loss to Alcaraz’s Team Europe.