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Elena Rybakina wins first career Grand Slam title at Wimbledon – Sportsnet.ca

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WIMBLEDON, England — Too nervous to wave, Elena Rybakina stepped into the Centre Court sunshine before the Wimbledon final Saturday and kept a firm double-grip on the black-and-red straps of the racket bag slung over her shoulders.

No wave. Not much of a look around. Her play early on betrayed some jitters, too, which makes sense considering it was her debut in a Grand Slam title match.

Nearly two hours of big swinging and plenty of sprinting later, she had won the championship at the All England Club with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Ons Jabeur — the first singles trophy at a major tournament for her adopted country of Kazakhstan.

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Even then, Rybakina’s reaction was muted as can be, a little sigh, a hint of a smile.

“Happy that it finished, to be honest,” the 23-year-old said, “because really, I never felt something like this.”

She was born in Moscow and has represented Kazakhstan since 2018, when that country offered her funding to support her tennis career. The switch has been a topic of conversation during Wimbledon, because it barred all players who represent Russia or Belarus from entering the tournament due to the war in Ukraine.

Since the WTA computer rankings began in 1975, just one woman ranked lower than the No. 23 Rybakina has won Wimbledon — Venus Williams in 2007 at No. 31, although she had been No. 1 and already won three of her five career Wimbledon trophies.

Rybakina used her big serve and powerful forehand to overcome the No. 2-ranked Jabeur’s varied style, with its mix of spins and slices, to put a halt to the 27-year-old Tunisian’s 12-match winning streak, which came entirely on grass courts.

“You have an amazing game, and I don’t think we have someone like this on tour,” Rybakina told Jabeur during the post-match trophy ceremony, then added this one-liner: “I ran today so much, so I don’t think I need to do fitness more, honestly.”

Jabeur also was participating in her first Grand Slam final.

“She deserved this. Hopefully next time will be mine,” said Jabeur, whose exuberance on the court and personality off it have earned her the sobriquet “Minister of Happiness.”

“Elena stole my title,” Jabeur joked, “but it’s OK.”

By the match’s third game, Jabeur was reading Rybakina’s serves and creating fewer inviting opportunities for baseline power. One squash-style forehand drew a forehand into the net to earn a break point, which Jabeur converted to lead 2-1 by putting a 120 mph serve into play then watching Rybakina sail a backhand long.

Jabeur turned toward her guest box, jumped and yelled.

Rybakina’s miscues mounted. A volley into the net tape with the full court wide open. A netted forehand after Jabeur barely got a short return in. When another forehand went awry, Jabeur broke at love to take the opening set, yelled “Yalla!” — Arabic for “Let’s go!” — and threw an uppercut as she walked to the sideline.

Jabeur was trying to become the first Arab or African woman to win a Slam singles title in the professional era, which dates to 1968.

“I love this tournament so much. I feel really sad. But it’s tennis. There is only one winner,” Jabeur said. “I’m really happy that I’m trying to inspire many generations from my country. I hope they’re listening.”

Rybakina, who beat Serena Williams at last year’s French Open, finally earned her first break chance to begin the second set and went up 1-0 when Jabeur missed a forehand. After saving four break points over her next two service games, Rybakina broke again and soon led 5-1.

Jabeur leads the women’s tour with 13 victories in three-setters this season, but Rybakina came out far stronger in the decider.

She broke once more to begin the third, and went up 3-1.

Jabeur needed to find a way to cut down on her mistakes and came close to changing the course of things while down 3-2 in the third. She parlayed a pair of points she won via a drop shot and a lob into love-40 on Rybakina’s serve.

But Rybakina erased that trio of break points and took the game, aided by a couple of 119 mph serves. The hold there made it 4-2, and Rybakina quickly broke again. Now she was just a game away from the biggest victory of her career — and she got to serve for it.

That game began with a 117 mph ace off Rybakina’s red racket. It ended with Jabeur missing a return.

Any apprehension, any unease, felt by Rybakina could disappear. Soon she was stepping over the green wall beside front-row seats to go through the stands for hugs with her coach, her sister and others.

Now she was, and forever will be, a Wimbledon champion.

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Allen on trade to Devils from Habs: 'Sometimes you've got to be a little bit selfish' – Yahoo Canada Sports

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Jake Allen loved being a member of the Montreal Canadiens.

The hockey-mad market, the crackling Bell Centre on a Saturday night, the Original Six franchise’s iconic logo.

The 33-year-old goaltender is also realistic.

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With the Canadiens still in full rebuild mode — and two young netminders in Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau ready for more playing time — Allen could see the writing on the wall.

Desperate for help in their own crease, the New Jersey Devils asked Montreal about the veteran’s availability. But the team, general manager Tom Fitzgerald told reporters earlier this month, was initially on Allen’s no-trade list.

There wasn’t anything the Fredericton product disliked about the organization or city. The Devils simply appeared to have their crease set for years to come.

But when the club that finished with 112 points and made the second round of the playoffs in 2022-23 was badly hampered by poor play from Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws and Akira Schmid — each netminder owned save percentages below .900 — the Devils circled back.

And Allen had changed his tune.

“Loved my time as a Hab,” he said of pulling on Montreal’s red, white and blue threads. “I always will cherish that. Put on probably the most special jersey in hockey, in my books. But you realize in your career, it doesn’t last forever.

“You’ve got to make decisions sometimes.”

Allen, who is signed through next season, eventually agreed to a deal that sent him to New Jersey ahead of the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline for a conditional third-round pick at the 2025 draft.

Apart from playing meaningful hockey on a team trying to claw its way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, the swap gave him more runway to get his family settled in a new city instead of waiting to see what this summer’s crowded goalie market might bring.

“Sometimes you’ve got to be a little bit selfish,” said Allen, a Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. “Look yourself in the mirror and wonder what’s best for you and your family.”

He’s been really good for his new team.

Allen was lights out in Tuesday’s first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs, making an eye-popping 25 saves in what would turn into New Jersey’s 6-3 victory.

So far he’s 4-2-0 with a .925 save percentage and a 2.51 goals against average in six starts for the Devils, who sit five points back of the East’s second wild-card spot.

“A real pro,” said interim head coach Travis Green.

Allen is a combined 10-14-3 in 2023-24 with a .900 save percentage and a 3.39 GAA. Across his 11 seasons with St. Louis, Montreal and now New Jersey, he’s 193-164-41 with a .908 save percentage and 2.75 GAA.

“Makes the saves we need to get some momentum back,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “If you have a solid goalie in the net, that makes your work easier.”

Allen is also 11-12 with a .924 and a 2.06 GAA all-time in the playoffs — a good sign for his new club should New Jersey manage to make the cut.

For now, though, he’s just enjoying being back in a post-season race.

“I thought this was a good opportunity to come in the rest of this year, play some games,” Allen said.

“It’s been a good start.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.

___

Follow @JClipperton_CP on X.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

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Matthews game-time decision for Maple Leafs against Capitals with illness – NHL.com

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TORONTOAuston Matthews will be a game-time decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, MNMT) because of an illness.

“It’s going to be on how he feels throughout the day,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.

The forward did not participate in Toronto’s morning skate. Max Domi took his place as the center on a line between Tyler Bertuzzi and Mitch Marner, a right wing recovering from a high-ankle sprain sustained March 7 and will be out the next two games.

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Matthews leads the NHL with 59 goals, one from becoming the ninth player in NHL history with at least two 60-goal seasons. He scored 60 in 73 games in 2021-22, when he won the Rocket Richard Trophy, Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. He had one goal and nine shots in 23:44 of a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, which extended his point streak to five games (four goals, seven assists).

He missed one game this season with illness, a 7-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 16.

“Of course, it’s an adjustment when your best player is out of the lineup,” Domi said, “when anybody is out of the lineup, but I think we’ve done a great job all year of guys stepping up when they have to, and we just have to continue to do that.”

Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury.

“He just remains day to day,” Keefe said. “We’re hopeful he’s going to bounce back here. The one thing that is good is once he gets through this day or two here, it’s not going to be a lingering situation. It’s not going to be an injury that’s ongoing. Once he’s past it, he’s past it so we just need to give him some time.”

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Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed all-star goalie Thatcher Demko on the long-term injured reserve list retroactively.

“It’s just cap related,” coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Wednesday. “We get some cap relief, that’s all it is.”

The 28-year-old netminder has been considered week to week since being sidelined with a lower-body injury midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

That injury designation hasn’t changed, Tocchet said.

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Demko boasts a 34-18-2 record this season, with a .917 save percentage, a 2.47 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Casey DeSmith has taken over the starting job for Vancouver, going 3-2-1 since Demko’s injury. He has a .899 save percentage on the season with a 2.73 goals-against average and one shutout.

The earliest Demko could be back in the Canucks’ lineup is April 6 against the Kings in Los Angeles.

He’s expected to be a key piece as Vancouver (45-19-8) prepares for its first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin also announced Wednesday that the club has called up forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.

“I’d like to see where [Bains is] at,” Tocchet said, noting he isn’t sure whether the 23-year-old winger will slot into the lineup when the Canucks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

WATCH | Bains makes NHL debut

 

Surrey, B.C.’s Arshdeep Bains makes Canucks debut

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Arshdeep Bains from Surrey, B.C., has made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. As CBC’s Joel Ballard reports, it’s been a hard-fought journey for the hometown kid to the big leagues.

Bains played five games for the NHL team in February before being sent back to Abbotsford.

“He went down, he’s done a couple of things that we like, and he’s got some speed,” Tocchet said.

Vancouver may get another forward back in the lineup Thursday.

Dakota Joshua practised in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Feb. 13.

The physical winger, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has a career-high 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) this season.

Sitting out injured “hasn’t been fun,” Joshua said.

“It feels like forever,” he said. “But at this point, that’s behind me and I’m moving forward.”

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