Luke Plapp in great escape as Italy's Ulissi take Giro lead
A series of attacks ensued early in the hilly stage, with the main contenders allowing the escape to make it far enough ahead of them for Plapp to climb the podium as winner and, to the delight of the crowds, drink a considerable amount of the fizzy wine he sprayed over them.
The 24-year-old Jayco-Alula rider from Melbourne shook his head in disbelief at the finish after his first major win following an impressive solo effort in the picture-postcard hills. But just 38sec behind Plapp, third-placed Ulissi gazed at the clock in a nail-biting wait for overnight leader Primoz Roglic to cross the line.
Ulissi had been 4min 01sec down at the start and the main contenders for the title were just a handful of seconds outside that limit, meaning he couldn't celebrate until he knew they had missed the time cut.
'I was going for the stage win, I hadn't thought about the race lead until the fans started to shout about the pink jersey along the road,' Ulissi said.
Ulissi now leads Roglic by 17sec in the overall classification and will ride out in pink Sunday giving home crowds something to cheer.
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Daily Tribune
16 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
Alcaraz claims Cincinnati title
Carlos Alcaraz won the ATP Cincinnati Open title on Monday after defending champion Jannik Sinner retired due to illness in the first set. World number one Sinner came into the final feeling unwell and lost the first seven points of the match before throwing in the towel at 5-0 down in a game played in 30-degree Celsius heat. Sinner will now focus on recovery with the US Open starting on Sunday. The Italian was due to take part in the US Open's revamped mixed doubles yesterday, but his partici - pation in that draw is now in serious doubt. 'I'm disappointed, I didn't feel great from yesterday,' Sinner said afterwards. 'During the night, I thought I would recover a bit better, but it was not the case. 'I just tried to go out for the fans, trying to give (them) a match - that's the reason why I went on the court. 'But it was not meant to be for me today. But I don't want to take anything a w a y from Carl o s . H e had a great week, great, great tournament again.' Sinner said he is now pointing to the final Grand Slam of the season. 'The main focus, obviously, is for the US Open. Recovery is the most important. And then we see,' he said. Despite the temporary health setback, Sinner is pleased with his showings in 2025. 'I feel like it's an incredible season,' he said. 'We'll keep going, keep pushing. I have some points to improve if I want to go far in US Open. 'It was a good test this week, trying to understand where my level is.' Sinner lasted for just 22 minutes, calling for the doctor after losing the fifth game and shortly after going to shake hands with Alcaraz. Alcaraz eyes New York It was the second match in a row Alcaraz had won over an ailing opponent, following his win over Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals. Alcaraz won his 22nd career title as he claimed his 17th victory in a row at the Masters 1000 level. He now leads Sinner 9-5 and lost to the Italian in their last match, the Wimbledon final last month. 'Obviously it's not the way that I wanted to win the final,' the Spaniard said. 'First of all, I just want to wish Jan - nik a speedy recovery. Hopefully in a few days he's going to be okay to prepare and practice well to the US Open. 'For myself, I'm just really, really happy to be able to leave the with trophy, since I just lost that final in 2023 (to Novak Djokovic) I just wanted really, really badly this, this trophy, so I just really proud and happy to be able to lift it.' Former Open winner Alcaraz, who was upset in the second round a year ago, is looking forward to a more respectable showing in New York. 'I'm feeling a lot of confidence. New York is a place that I love is where I got my first Grand Slam. 'I appreciate the love and the support that I received there every every year... last year it was disappointing, the level that I played there. 'So this year, I really want to show my really good tennis, my best tennis, try to go as far as I can, enjoy as much as I can.'
Daily Tribune
5 days ago
- Daily Tribune
Atmane stuns Rune to set up Sinner semi-final
French qualifier Terence Atmane toppled another top-10 player in Holger Rune on Thursday to line up a semi-final showdown with world number one Jannik Sinner at the Cincinnati Open. Atmane followed up his victory over fourth-ranked Taylor Fritz with a 6-2, 6-3 win over ninth-ranked Rune. The 23-year-old will now face the ultimate test against defending champion Sinner, who said he 'felt great' as he thrashed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-0, 6-2. 'I don't think any words can describe how I feel right now,' the 136thranked Atmane said after blasting 22 winners past Rune, 14 of them off his powerful lefty forehand. 'It's pretty insane to be honest,' added Atmane, who will move inside the top 100 in the rankings for the first time. 'I cannot believe it. Being here in the semi-finals of a Masters 1000, breaking into the top 100. It means a lot to me.' He will face a formidable challenge in Wimbledon champion Sinner, who powered through a rapid-fire opening set and bounced back quickly after dropping serve to open the second. Sinner prevailed in a brief 71 minutes as he claimed an eighth victory in a row at this event and his 30th match win this season. 'I felt great on the court today, you could see that,' said the Italian, who turns 24 on Saturday. 'But every day can be different. Let's see what I can do in the semis.' Sinner took advantage of Auger-Aliassime's serving troubles to take the first set in less than 30 minutes, the Canadian delivering three dou - ble-faults in the final game. After going down a quick break in the second Sinner broke back to level at 2-2 and advanced as Auger-Aliassime coughed up his eighth double-fault on match point. 'I served well today, that was the key for me,' Sinner said. 'I had a small drop in the second set and I'm happy that I broke back. He moves and serves well, he's difficult to play.' In the day's only other men's match, fifth-seeded Ben Shelton -- coming off a title in Toronto -- posted a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Jiri Lehecka to book a quarter-final clash with third-seeded Alexander Zverev. Gauff sets up Paolini clash French Open champion Coco Gauff, the wom - en's second seed, booked h e r quarter-final berth with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Lucia Bronzetti. 'I could have maybe made some more first serves in that second set, but overall I had a lot of aces and unreturnables,' said Gauff, the 2023 Cincinnati champion who went on to win the US Open title that year. 'I'm happy considering where (my serve) was last week.' The American next takes on seventh seed Jasmine Paolini, who crushed 2024 Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova 6-1, 6-2. Krejcikova had treatment on her left foot in the second set and her movement was clearly hampered. 'She's a great player and can do anything she wants with the ball,' Paolini, a finalist at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2024, said. 'But I don't think she was at 100 percent today.' France's Varvara Gracheva rallied to beat Germany's Ella Seidel 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 in an error-strewn battle of qualifiers. 'I made her play her best game,' Gracheva said. 'She was so hot at the end of the first set that I could barely see a ball.
Daily Tribune
13-08-2025
- Daily Tribune
Sinner triumphs amid Cincinnati chaos
Jannik Sinner ignored power failure interruptions and a blaring alarm to defeat Gabriel Diallo 6-2, 7- 6 ( 8/ 6 ) o n Monday's day of distractions at the ATP and WTA Cincinnati Open. The to p seeded defending champion got down to business against a Canadian ranked 35th who was plagued by eight first-set double-faults and 49 unforced errors in the match as he faced the best in the world. Sinner recovered smoothly from an early break down and had his hands full on his way into the fourth round, sending over an ace on match point after saving a set point in the tiebreaker. Play was stopped briefly with Sinner leading 4-2 as the audio portion of the electronic line-calling system suddenly failed. Earlier, both players had to deal with flickering LED screens directly behind them courtside. The pair agreed to soldier on without the system, with the chair umpire temporarily relaying the algorithm's decisions -- which he saw on his chair's tablet -- to the players when necessary as a re-boot was undertaken. That minor malfunction came two hours after the chaos of a widespread power outage which completely stopped play around the grounds for 75 minutes. Five minutes later, with Sinner leading 1-0 in the second set after winning the first, the chaos continued with an alarm going off somewhere in the stadium and play suspended for the third time. Sinner and Diallo continued to carry on with the distraction blaring somewhat faintly in the background before it finally halted after another game. Sinner polished off victory for his 23rd consecutive hardcourt win in under two hours. 'It was a very difficult day at the office,' the Italian said. 'You have to find the balance against these big servers. I struggled with that at times today. 'But I need tough matches like this, I'm happy I got one before the Grand Slam... I'm happy about today, but I know I can do things better.' US fourth seed Taylor Fritz endured a one-hour delay after the first set before defeating Lorenzo Sonego 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 for a 21st win in 25 matches. 'I can play better, but there has been no time to really train and get ready,' Fritz said. 'I'm looking forward to fine tuning the week before the US Open.' Compatriot Frances Tiafoe advanced past Ugo Humbert of France 6-4, 6-4 in 82 minutes and lines up next against Holger Rune, who beat Alex Michelsen 7-6 (7/4), 6-3. No.1 Sabalenka wins In the WTA event, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka fought through a three-hour battle to hold off an inspired Emma Raducanu 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/5) for a fourthround spot in a repeat of a victory from the Wimbledon third round in July. Defending champion Sabalenka endured a struggle but finished with two aces in the closing stages. 'I'm happy to get through this difficult match,' Sabalenka said. 'I just hope tomorrow is a day off. I need time to recover from such a great battle.' British number one Raducanu survived a 25-minute eighth game of the final set, which went to 13 deuces, with Raducanu saving four break points before finally holding for 4-all and eventually into a tiebreaker. Sabalenka squeezed out victory with a sixth ace for 5-4 in the breaker and delivered her seventh on her second match point to win in three hours and nine minutes. 'It was all about momentum,' Sabalenka said. 'I took some risks at the end, went for crazy shots, went to the net.' Sabalenka is bidding for her 10th trophy at the 1000 level and second this season after winning at Madrid. 'I can take lessons from this,' Raducanu said. 'With work and practice I think I can hold my level higher for longer. 'She's world number one for a reason. We had a three-hour match and I felt pretty good out there for the most part.' Raducanu was called out by the chair umpire on unauthorized conversations with new Spanish coach Francisco Roig. Australian Open champion Madison Keys lost just four games in defeating Japan's Aoi Ito. Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro ousted American wild card Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-1 and faces Sabalenka on Wednesday.
