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De Minaur Eases Past Inconsistent Humbert into Rotterdam Final

Alex de Minaur of Australia reacts against Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands during their semi-final men's singles match at the Rotterdam Open tennis tournament at Ahoy Rotterdam arena in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 13 February 2026. (EPA)
Alex de Minaur of Australia reacts against Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands during their semi-final men's singles match at the Rotterdam Open tennis tournament at Ahoy Rotterdam arena in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 13 February 2026. (EPA)
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De Minaur Eases Past Inconsistent Humbert into Rotterdam Final

Alex de Minaur of Australia reacts against Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands during their semi-final men's singles match at the Rotterdam Open tennis tournament at Ahoy Rotterdam arena in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 13 February 2026. (EPA)
Alex de Minaur of Australia reacts against Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands during their semi-final men's singles match at the Rotterdam Open tennis tournament at Ahoy Rotterdam arena in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 13 February 2026. (EPA)

Australia's Alex de Minaur Saturday cruised into the final of the Rotterdam Open, holding his nerve to overcome an error-strewn challenge from France's Ugo Humbert with a 6-4, 6-3 win.

 

Neither player were at their best in a semi-final marred by dozens of unforced errors but De Minaur produced more consistent tennis at the big moments, saving 10 break points.

 

"I tried my best to be as solid as I could and today was another great mental performance," AFP quoted De Minaur as saying.

 

"I was in a lot of tough moments on my serve and the fact that I was able to hang tough and find a way out of these service games was critical...
"Hopefully tomorrow I don't have to save that many break points."

 

The top-seeded De Minaur seized the initiative early in the first set, breaking serve in the third game as Humbert pushed a simple groundstroke wide.

 

Humbert had his chances to get back into the set, squandering four break points in the fourth game and two more in the eighth.

 

But the consistent Australian held firm, taking the set with an Humbert forehand dropping long.

 

More unforced errors dogged Humbert at the start of the second set, De Minaur breaking his serve in the first game as he dumped a simple forehand into the net.

 

The Frenchman had yet another three chances to break back into the match in the eighth game but was denied by some trademark De Minaur defending.

 

De Minaur sealed the win as Humbert dragged a backhand wide, leaving the Frenchman to rue 41 unforced errors and zero break points converted out of 10 chances.

 

The 26-year-old Australian is the first person in the tournament's history to reach three consecutive finals.

 

The world number eight is hoping to make it third time lucky in Rotterdam after losing the last two finals to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz respectively.

The world's top two are not in Rotterdam this year. Sinner did not enter while Alcaraz withdrew after his epic efforts to win the Australian Open earlier this month.

 

Barring his way in the final will be the winner of Saturday's later clash between second-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alexander Bublik from Kazakhstan.

Rotterdam has been a happy hunting ground for world number six Auger-Aliassime. He took home the trophy in 2022, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.

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Iran’s Sports Minister Says Country Can’t Take Part in World Cup Because of US Attacks

Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - FIFA World Cup 2026 Draw - John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC, US - December 5, 2025 General view as Draw Assistant Shaquille O'Neal draws Iran during the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw. (Reuters)
Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - FIFA World Cup 2026 Draw - John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC, US - December 5, 2025 General view as Draw Assistant Shaquille O'Neal draws Iran during the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw. (Reuters)
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Iran’s Sports Minister Says Country Can’t Take Part in World Cup Because of US Attacks

Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - FIFA World Cup 2026 Draw - John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC, US - December 5, 2025 General view as Draw Assistant Shaquille O'Neal draws Iran during the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw. (Reuters)
Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - FIFA World Cup 2026 Draw - John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC, US - December 5, 2025 General view as Draw Assistant Shaquille O'Neal draws Iran during the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw. (Reuters)

Iran’s sports and youth minister said it's “not possible” for the country to take part in the World Cup after the United States killed its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in its ongoing war.

Iran was expected to take part in the World Cup that will be held across North America in June, but Iranian Sports and Youth Minister Ahmad Donyamali told state television that his country’s soccer team players are not safe in the US, according to a video of the interview posted Tuesday.

“Due to the wicked acts they have done against Iran — they have imposed two wars on us over just eight or nine months and have killed and martyred thousands of our people — definitely it’s not possible for us to take part in the World Cup,” he said.

Iran is scheduled to play in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 before finishing group play against Egypt in Seattle on June 26. The US is hosting the tournament with Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.

FIFA said Tuesday night that it anticipates Iran’s national team will be allowed to come to the United States.

Last week, US President Donald Trump said “I really don’t care” if Iran takes part in the 48-nation tournament.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said he met with Trump on Tuesday night “to discuss the status of preparations” for the tournament and received assurances that Iran would be permitted to come to the US.

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‘Incredible Situation’: Spurs Coach Tudor on Subbing Kinsky After Errors

Tottenham's goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky leaves the field after substitution during the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Tottenham in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP)
Tottenham's goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky leaves the field after substitution during the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Tottenham in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP)
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‘Incredible Situation’: Spurs Coach Tudor on Subbing Kinsky After Errors

Tottenham's goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky leaves the field after substitution during the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Tottenham in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP)
Tottenham's goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky leaves the field after substitution during the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Tottenham in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP)

Tottenham's interim coach Igor Tudor bemoaned an "incredible situation" which led him to withdraw goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky after just 17 minutes of Tuesday's 5-2 Champions League defeat at Atletico Madrid.

The 22-year-old Czech stopper made two errors leading to goals as Spurs fell three behind inside the first 15 minutes of the last 16 first-leg clash at the Metropolitano stadium.

Tudor selected Kinsky, who had not played since October, over Guglielmo Vicario after five straight Premier League defeats before the game.

"(The situation was) very rare. I've been coaching for 15 years, I've never done this. It was necessary to preserve the guy, preserve the team," Tudor told reporters.

The Croatian coach defended his decision to start Kinsky.

"It was, before the game, the right choice to do in the moment like we are. With pressure on Vicario, in another competition... 'Tony' is a very good goalkeeper. It was, for me, the right decision.

"After this, of course, it's easy to say that it was not the right decision."

Kinsky slipped and gave the ball away in the sixth minute for Marcos Llorente to open the scoring.

After Micky van de Ven fell over allowing Antoine Griezmann to score the second, Kinsky erred again.

The goalkeeper bungled a pass and Julian Alvarez was able to walk the ball into the net.

Tudor sent on Vicario to replace Kinsky, who was applauded off by Atletico's fans.

"Unfortunately, it happened in this big game, these mistakes. So we paid this start of the game, it was too much for us," continued Tudor.

"(Kinsky) was sorry... the team is with him, me too. I was speaking with him. He understands the moment, he understands why he goes out.

"As I said before, he's a very good goalkeeper. We are with him, we are all together. It's never about one player."

Tudor, who has lost all four matches at the helm since replacing Thomas Frank in February, refused to say whether he should still be at the helm.

Tottenham, 16th in the Premier League, are facing a fight against relegation.

"I need to keep working. Not speaking too much, stay focused on the things we can do," Tudor added on TNT Sports.

"It's unbelievably difficult to explain all these things, the first time in my career that I saw these things, 15 years.

"I'm focused on the problems, the players also. We need to stay positive."

Sports

China Sprint Race Presents ‘Huge Challenge’ in F1’s New Era

Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 8, 2026 Drivers in action during the race. (Reuters)
Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 8, 2026 Drivers in action during the race. (Reuters)
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China Sprint Race Presents ‘Huge Challenge’ in F1’s New Era

Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 8, 2026 Drivers in action during the race. (Reuters)
Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 8, 2026 Drivers in action during the race. (Reuters)

Formula One's new era heads into its first sprint in Shanghai this weekend, with the Chinese Grand Prix promising a very different test to Melbourne, where George Russell led home a Mercedes one-two.

The Silver Arrows dominated the season-opener, Russell winning from Kimi Antonelli and followed home by the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in the first race under sweeping new regulations.

Lando Norris and McLaren struggled, the British world champion trailing home fifth and teammate Oscar Piastri failing to even start after crashing on his way to the grid.

Red Bull's four-time champion Max Verstappen carved his way through the field to sixth after starting 20th on the grid following a qualifying crash.

The Shanghai International Circuit, unlike the Albert Park track in Melbourne, has one long straight and several complexes of turns.

It will require a different approach to battery deployment and energy harvesting in the new cars, which have a 50-50 split between conventional and electrical power.

But with only one practice session before sprint qualifying on Friday, the teams will have little time to hone their set-ups and strategies.

Saturday morning will see the sprint race over 19 laps of the 5.451km circuit and grand prix qualifying in the afternoon.

Sunday's grand prix will be over 56 laps, and if the race in Melbourne is anything to go by, it could be very eventful.

"Shanghai is going to be important to be straight on point with deployment, with everything, because obviously we get only one practice and then we go into qualifying," said Antonelli.

"The rate of development is going to be massive and it's going to be important to not put any wrong step because the situation can flip very quickly."

Leclerc agreed: "To have a sprint race so early on in a season like this will be a huge challenge for everybody. It's going to be very tricky."

Race-winner Russell said his only reservation about the 2026 cars was a lack of control when the active front wing was opened up under the new "straight mode".

Introduced this season to reduce drag and give a boost of speed akin to the now-defunct DRS system, Russell said it made the cars skittish.

- 'Pretty big gap' -

"The only thing I would request from the FIA is that the front wing doesn't drop as aggressively," said Russell.

"When we open 'straight mode' we will have lots of understeer, and when I was behind Charles and I was trying to duck out of his slipstream it was like my front wing wasn't working.

"So, I think from a safety aspect that would make the racing safer, better. I don't see a downside of doing it."

Norris was highly critical of the new cars.

McLaren, so dominant last season, were off the pace all weekend in Australia.

"The gap to the guys ahead is pretty big and we clearly have a lot of work to do," said the world champion.

Verstappen admitted Red Bull also have problems to address.

"I had some issues at the start with the battery so as soon as the clutch was dropped, I had no power, so that is something we need to understand," said the Dutchman.

"It was a decent comeback from P20 and we will work as a team to close the gap further."

New to the grid, Cadillac were encouraged by Sergio Perez finishing 16th on the team's much-anticipated debut.

"It was great to see the Cadillac Formula 1 Team bring its first car home," said team principal Graeme Lowdon.