
Max takes blame for crash with Russell
Max Verstappen has issued a veiled apology for his wild crash with George Russell by admitting it 'was not right and should have not happened.' The four-time Formula One world champion was hit with a 10-second penalty by the stewards for causing a collision with Russell with two laps remaining of Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. Russell said he felt Verstappen's move was deliberate and accused the Red Bull driver of letting himself down. He also suggested that Verstappen should have been disqualified for the crash. (PA Media/DPA)

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Sabalenka to meet Swiatek after ‘dance' thaws relations
PA Media/DPA Paris Aryna Sabalenka has revealed how her frosty relationship with Iga Swiatek thawed over a TikTok dance. World number one Sabalenka and four-time champion Iga Swiatek will meet in a blockbuster French Open semi-final on Thursday after both won in the last eight on Tuesday. It will be the first time the duo, who have been jousting at the top of the rankings for the past three years, have played each other at a Grand Slam since the 2022 US Open. They barely used to speak until an impromptu bonding session at last year's WTA Finals in Riyadh. 'Before it wasn't any communication, any practices with her, but now we are getting better,' said 27-year-old Sabalenka. 'We get along better and we practice more often and we know each other quite well. 'I think everything started when I just came to her and asked to do a TikTok in Riyadh. We just did, like, a little dance together. 'Since that, we were like 'OK, maybe we can communicate, we can be good to each other, we can practice sometimes'. 'So I think that was the first step to a better relationship.' The blossoming friendship will be put on hold when Belarusian Sabalenka continues her bid for a first Roland Garros title against the player who has won her last 26 matches at the French Open. Sabalenka has now reached the semi-finals in nine of the last 10 grand slams she has competed at after battling past Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng 7-6 (7-3), 6-3. It was a shame that the match between two top WTA stars began at 11 am (0900 GMT), meaning there were hundreds of empty seats around the vast Court Philippe-Chatrier. The scheduling of women's matches has been a hot topic again this fortnight, and Sabalenka said: 'I agree it was a big match and probably would make more sense to put us a little bit later just so more people could watch it.' Swiatek's patchy form since winning the title last year has seen her slip to number five in the rankings, but the 24-year-old from Poland remains the player to beat in Paris after a 6-1, 7-5 quarter-final victory over Ukrainian 13th seed Elina Svitolina. The second semi-final will be decided on Wednesday with Coco Gauff taking on fellow American Madison Keys and Russian sixth seed Mirra Andreeva facing the French Open surprise package, world number 361 Lois Boisson of Dijon.


Qatar Tribune
18 hours ago
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Kyrgios to miss Wimbledon due to injury
Nick Kyrgios will miss Wimbledon for a third successive year after another injury setback. The Australian has not played at the All England Club since reaching his only Grand Slam singles final in 2022, where he was beaten by Novak Djokovic. After more than two years on the sidelines with knee and wrist problems, Kyrgios returned at the start of this season but was forced to abandon plans to play doubles at the French Open after suffering another knee injury. (PA Media/DPA)


Qatar Tribune
18 hours ago
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Musetti goes through despite kicking a ball at a line judge
PA Media/DPA Paris Italian eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti was lucky not to be disqualified from the French Open after kicking a ball at a line judge. In the second set of his quarter-final win against American Frances Tiafoe on Tuesday, Musetti booted the ball in frustration and it hit the woman, standing about three metres away, in the chest. Tiafoe looked stunned at the other end of the court and gestured towards the umpire, who eventually gave Musetti a code violation. Later in the evening, Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz breezed past American Tommy Paul 6-0, 6-1, 6-4. There were echoes of Novak Djokovic being defaulted at the 2020 US Open after accidentally hitting a female line judge with a ball. Tiafoe, the 15th seed, said: 'I mean, obviously he did that and nothing happened. I think that's comical, but it is what it is. 'Nothing happened, so there's nothing really to talk about. Obviously it's not consistent, so it is what it is.' Former player-turned broadcaster Rennae Stubbs wrote on X: 'Wow Musetti is very lucky to be still on court right now. You cannot kick a ball and it hit the lines person and not be defaulted.' Musetti, who also reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon last year, won the match 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 to progress to the last four at Roland Garros for the first time. He said: 'Yeah, I was a little bit, honestly, scared, because I really didn't want to harm nobody, of course. 'So I immediately went to the line umpire, and I of course said 'sorry', I apologize to everyone. 'It was right to have a warning, but I think the umpire saw that there was no intention about that, and that's why probably just, you know, let me continue my game.' The French Open is the only one of the four grand slams to still use line judges rather than electronic line calling.