Sports

Canada’s Bianca Andreescu storms back against Azarenka, advances at French Open

Published

1 year ago

May 30, 2023

Canada’s Bianca Andreescu has advanced to the second round of the French Open with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over 18th-seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.

Andreescu started to take control of the match after a poor first set, overpowering Azarenka with an aggressive pace and confident shotmaking.

The 22-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., went up with an early break in the third set to take a 2-1 lead, then fought off a break point for a crucial hold.

Azarenka did not go quietly, however. The Belarusian fought off four match points in the final game before hitting the net to end the match in two hours 30 minutes.

“I felt like I started to become very passive and she was just hitting winner after winner so I told myself that if I want to even have a close match I really have to put pressure and I started taking the ball earlier,” Andreescu said after the match.

“My serve started to become a weapon and I think that really helped.”

It was the first meeting between Andreescu, who entered the tournament ranked 42nd in the world, and Azarenka, a former No. 1 and a two-time Australian Open champion.

Andreescu will face American Emma Navarro in the second round of the clay-court Grand Slam.

After the players exchanged holds over the first four games, Azarenka won the next four in convincing fashion to take the first set.

Andreescu went on a similar run to take the second set. She tied the set at 3-3 with a break to start a four-game run that tied the match at a set apiece.

The victory snapped Andreescu’s three-match losing streak that started with an injury retirement to Ekaterina Alexandrova in the fourth round of the Miami Open. Andreescu tore two ankle ligaments in the match and has struggled to return to form after weeks of rehab.

Andreescu became the first Canadian to win a major singles title when she captured the 2019 U.S. Open. She has not progressed past the second round at any of the other three Grand Slams.

Navarro, ranked 75th in the world, advanced to the second round with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win over Russia’s Erika Andreeva in her French Open women’s main draw debut.

Navarro advanced to the final of the 2019 French Open girl’s final, where she lost to Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que.

Fernandez is scheduled to face Denmark’s Clara Tauson in a second-round match on Wednesday. It’s a rematch of the 2019 Australian Open junior final, which Tuason won in straight sets.

Also Wednesday, 26th-seed Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., is set to face Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi in a men’s second-round match.

Source link

Sports

Red Wings sign Moritz Seider to 7-year deal worth nearly $60M

Published

2 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.

The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.

Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.

He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.

Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.

Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.

Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.

The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.

Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.

Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.

___

AP NHL:

Source link

Sports

Vancouver Canucks star goalie Thatcher Demko working through rare muscle injury

Published

2 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.

The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.

He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.

Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.

He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.

Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

Source link

Sports

Arch Manning to get first start for No. 1 Texas as Ewers continues recovery from abdomen strain

Published

3 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — No. 1 Texas will start Arch Manning at quarterback Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe while regular starter Quinn Ewers continues to recover from a strained muscle in his abdomen, coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday.

It will be the first career start for Manning, a second year freshman. He relieved Ewers in the second quarter last week against UTSA, and passed for four touchdowns and ran for another in a 56-7 Texas victory.

Manning is the son of Cooper Manning, the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning.

Ewers missed several games over the previous two seasons with shoulder and sternum injuries.

The Longhorns are No. 1 for the first time since 2008 and Saturday’s matchup with the Warhawks is Texas’ last game before the program starts its first SEC schedule against Mississippi State on Sept. 28.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and

Source link