Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner set for Italian Open final showdown
It has not taken long for the best active rivalry in men's tennis to be renewed. Just one tournament into Jannik Sinner's return from a three-month doping ban, he will stand across the net from Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the Italian Open.
This promises to be quite an occasion and a juicy appetiser for the upcoming French Open. Most of their previous ten battles have been entertaining contests, with enthralling baseline rallies between the finest two players to emerge on the tour since the 'Big Three' era of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Underpinning Episode 11 on Sunday is the location of Rome. A partisan atmosphere is guaranteed in favour of the home favourite Sinner, who has been welcomed back at
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Daily Mail
38 minutes ago
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Moment 'world's greatest' chess player loses his composure and slams his fist into the table after losing game
A seething Magnus Carlsen pounded his fist on the table after losing his first game of chess to an Indian world champion. The Norwegian grandmaster was unable to contain his anger during the classical game on Sunday June 1 in Stavanger. Startling footage shows the 34-year-old cause the entire table to shake as he unleashes a loud thud when faced with the victory of his opponent. A defeated Carlsen, dressed in blue jeans and a white shirt, then immediately apologises and shakes his rival Gukesh Donmaraju's hand. But a few seconds later he exclaims 'Oh my god!' while an emotional looking Donmaraju paces down the room with his hand covering his mouth. Carlsen pats the 19-year-old Indian chess grandmaster on the back before storming out. The tension comes as Carlsen had had his opponent on the ropes for much of the match in the Norway Chess 2025 tournament. But his composure cracked under the pressure of a ticking clock and he committed a blunder that handed Gukesh a decisive advantage. Startling footage shows the 34-year-old cause the entire table to shake as he unleashes a loud thud when faced with the victory of his opponent Speaking to Gukesh said: 'I mean, (the win was) not the way I wanted it to be, but okay, I'll take it. '... I've also banged a lot of tables in my career.' Carlsen remained top of the standings after the defeat. It is not the first time a chess tournament has caused him anger. In December 2024 Carlsen quit a major championship after being told he could not participate while wearing jeans. The Norwegian was defending his World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in New York when governing body FIDE made the request. He said he offered to change his trousers for the following day before being fined and told he needed to change straight away. Carlsen pulled out of the championships with the chess governing body issuing him a $200 fine after giving him an opportunity to change into the correct attire, which the rejected. However, after being told he would not be allowed to continue, he reportedly responded 'I'm out, f*** you'. Carlsen, world champion between 2013 and 2023, said he had a lunch meeting before the round and had to change quickly. 'I put on a shirt, jacket and honestly like I didn't even think about jeans, even changed my shoes,' Carlsen told Take Take Take, an app for following chess. 'I didn't even think about it. First of all, I got a fine which is fine, and then I got a warning that I would not be paired if I didn't go change my clothes. They said that I could do it after the third round today. 'I said "I'll change tomorrow if that's OK, I didn't even realise it today", but they said, "well you have to change now". At that point it became a bit of a matter of principle for me.' The 34-year-old added he would not appeal the decision, saying: 'Honestly, I am too old at this point to care too much. 'If this is what they want to do. I guess it goes both ways, right. 'Nobody wants to back down and this is where we are. It's fine by me. I'll probably head off to somewhere where the weather is a bit nicer than here.' The Norway Chess tournament began on May 26 and will conclude on June 6. It features an approximately £109,204 cash prize.
Reuters
44 minutes ago
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Andreeva keeps Kasatkina's wristband as reminder of French Open win
PARIS, June 2 (Reuters) - Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva will hang on to the sweat-soaked wristband that Australia's Daria Kasatkina jokingly threw towards her at the net as a souvenir of their entertaining French Open clash on Monday. The prodigious 18-year-old underlined her credentials as a Roland Garros title contender by outwitting her frequent practice partner and 17th seed Kasatkina 6-3 7-5 to storm into the quarter-finals for a second straight year. Last year's semi-finalist approached the net to shake the hand of the Russian-born Kasatkina after the match and was met with a soggy wristband flying in her direction instead. "She's a great person and a great player. I had a feeling that after the match she's going to do something like this, and I knew that if I would lose I would also do something funny," sixth seed Andreeva told reporters. "When she threw her wristband at me, it was funny. It was a nice gesture from her. "After that, we exchanged kind words, and she told me congratulations. Of course, I said it was a good match. I kept the wristband so it's going to be in my bag for now." Andreeva joked in her on-court interview that she practised with Kasatkina only because she "hated" her and later said that a changed mindset helped her avenge a three-set defeat by the 28-year-old in the Ningbo final last year. "When I first played Dasha, it was much more difficult for me to stay focused and not to be nice on the court," she said. "Compared to the last match, today I knew that she's going to want to beat me on the court. I don't know what changed, but today was not that hard to change my mindset and step on court and be opponents. "I don't know how, but I managed to tell myself that I'm playing against the ball, not against the opponent. I just tried to focus on the ball that I have to hit, and I was able to keep this focus throughout the whole match so I'm proud of myself."
Daily Mail
an hour ago
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James Haskell admits what REALLY caused his marriage with Chloe Madeley to break down after 'dark and painful' final year - and reveals the truth about new romance rumours: RICHARD EDEN
James Haskell 's wife, Chloe Madeley, described their final year of marriage as 'dark and painful'. Now, the former England rugby star has admitted his love of boozing contributed to the demise of their union.
