Latest news with #fellow-Spaniard
New Straits Times
7 hours ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Alcaraz overcomes Munar marathon to reach Queen's quarters
LONDON: Top seed Carlos Alcaraz was pushed all the way by fellow-Spaniard Jaume Munar in a thrilling contest before clinching a 6-4 6-7(7) 7-5 win and advanced to the Queen's Club Championships quarter-finals on Thursday. Alcaraz recently came out on top in an epic French Open final against Jannik Sinner, and while this second round clash in London may not have reached those same dizzying heights, the British crowd were served up an enthralling battle. The world number two was a break down in the deciding set but showed his strength once more as Alcaraz stretched his winning run to 15 matches, the longest streak of his career. "It was a really tough battle that we had today," Alcaraz said after more than three hours on court. "He's a great competitor and he showed how difficult it is to beat him." Alcaraz, the 2023 champion, looked well in control as he eased to take the opening set, and after saving four break and set points at 5-4 down in the second he forced Munar to a tiebreaker. The pair traded early breaks with neither player holding serve over the first four points, before a Munar double fault allowed Alcaraz to take a 5-4 lead. He smashed an ace but then hit a double fault of his own on match point. Munar made him pay this time to force a deciding set. After Alcaraz went 2-0 up, the French Open champion was broken in his next two service games and Munar went into a 4-2 lead. Alcaraz, however, was not done yet, and two more breaks of serve sealed a hard-earned victory as he continued his preparations for Wimbledon, where the Spaniard will be aiming to complete a hat-trick of triumphs. "I'm proud of the level I showed today. It's my second match on grass this year," Alcaraz said. "There were moments I struggled a lot mentally and physically. I still don't know how I'm standing here. But I'm really happy I've given myself another chance in the quarter-finals." Alcaraz will face French lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech after his 7-5 7-6(3) win over American Reilly Opelka. Rinderknech has lost both previous meetings with Alcaraz, the last loss coming at Queen's in 2023. FEARNLEY ADVANCES British number two Jacob Fearnley reached his first ATP Tour quarter-final with a 6-3 2-6 6-2 win over French qualifier Corentin Moutet. "I'm very happy to be in my first quarter-final, it's even better to do it here in the UK," Fearnley said. "I tried to stick to my game plan and be aggressive. I did that better in the third set and the result speaks for itself." Fearnley raced into a 3-0 lead, and while Moutet broke back, the Briton responded immediately with another break of his own to ease through the first set. Moutet did likewise in the second, sailing 3-0 ahead before breaking for a second time to clinch the set and force the decider, where Fearnley broke twice before holding serve to love to clinch victory in style. The 23-year-old will now face Jiri Lehecka after the Czech beat Canada's Gabriel Diallo 6-4 6-2. — AFP
Straits Times
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Alcaraz overcomes Munar marathon to reach Queen's quarters
Tennis - Queen's Club Championships - Queen's Club, London, Britain - June 19, 2025 Spain's Carlos Alcaraz in action during his round of 16 match against Spain's Jaume Munar Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra REUTERS Tennis - Queen's Club Championships - Queen's Club, London, Britain - June 19, 2025 Spain's Jaume Munar in action during his round of 16 match against Spain's Carlos Alcaraz Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra REUTERS Tennis - Queen's Club Championships - Queen's Club, London, Britain - June 19, 2025 Spain's Carlos Alcaraz in action during his round of 16 match against Spain's Jaume Munar Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra REUTERS Tennis - Queen's Club Championships - Queen's Club, London, Britain - June 19, 2025 Spain's Carlos Alcaraz and Spain's Jaume Munar shake hands after their round of 16 match Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra REUTERS Tennis - Queen's Club Championships - Queen's Club, London, Britain - June 19, 2025 Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates winning his round of 16 match against Spain's Jaume Munar Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra REUTERS LONDON - Top seed Carlos Alcaraz was pushed all the way by fellow-Spaniard Jaume Munar in a thrilling contest before clinching a 6-4 6-7(7) 7-5 win and advanced to the Queen's Club Championships quarter-finals on Thursday. Alcaraz recently came out on top in an epic French Open final against Jannik Sinner, and while this second round clash in London may not have reached those same dizzying heights, the British crowd were served up an enthralling battle. The world number two was a break down in the deciding set but showed his strength once more as Alcaraz stretched his winning run to 15 matches, the longest streak of his career. "It was a really tough battle that we had today," Alcaraz said after more than three hours on court. "He's a great competitor and he showed how difficult it is to beat him." Alcaraz, the 2023 champion, looked well in control as he eased to take the opening set, and after saving four break and set points at 5-4 down in the second he forced Munar to a tiebreaker. The pair traded early breaks with neither player holding serve over the first four points, before a Munar double fault allowed Alcaraz to take a 5-4 lead. He smashed an ace but then hit a double fault of his own on match point. Munar made him pay this time to force a deciding set. After Alcaraz went 2-0 up, the French Open champion was broken in his next two service games and Munar went into a 4-2 lead. Alcaraz, however, was not done yet, and two more breaks of serve sealed a hard-earned victory as he continued his preparations for Wimbledon, where the Spaniard will be aiming to complete a hat-trick of triumphs. "I'm proud of the level I showed today. It's my second match on grass this year," Alcaraz said. "There were moments I struggled a lot mentally and physically. I still don't know how I'm standing here. But I'm really happy I've given myself another chance in the quarter-finals." Alcaraz will face either French lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech or American Reilly Opelka. FEARNLEY ADVANCES British number two Jacob Fearnley reached his first ATP Tour quarter-final with a 6-3 2-6 6-2 win over French qualifier Corentin Moutet. "I'm very happy to be in my first quarter-final, it's even better to do it here in the UK," Fearnley said. "I tried to stick to my game plan and be aggressive. I did that better in the third set and the result speaks for itself." Fearnley raced into a 3-0 lead, and while Moutet broke back, the Briton responded immediately with another break of his own to ease through the first set. Moutet did likewise in the second, sailing 3-0 ahead before breaking for a second time to clinch the set and force the decider, where Fearnley broke twice before holding serve to love to clinch victory in style. The 23-year-old will now face Jiri Lehecka after the Czech beat Canada's Gabriel Diallo 6-4 6-2. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
12 hours ago
- Sport
- The Star
Tennis-Alcaraz overcomes Munar marathon to reach Queen's quarters
Tennis - Queen's Club Championships - Queen's Club, London, Britain - June 19, 2025 Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates winning his round of 16 match against Spain's Jaume Munar Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra LONDON (Reuters) -Top seed Carlos Alcaraz was pushed all the way by fellow-Spaniard Jaume Munar in a thrilling contest before clinching a 6-4 6-7(7) 7-5 win and advanced to the Queen's Club Championships quarter-finals on Thursday. Alcaraz recently came out on top in an epic French Open final against Jannik Sinner, and while this second round clash in London may not have reached those same dizzying heights, the British crowd were served up an enthralling battle. The world number two was a break down in the deciding set but showed his strength once more as Alcaraz stretched his winning run to 15 matches, the longest streak of his career. "It was a really tough battle that we had today," Alcaraz said after more than three hours on court. "He's a great competitor and he showed how difficult it is to beat him." Alcaraz, the 2023 champion, looked well in control as he eased to take the opening set, and after saving four break and set points at 5-4 down in the second he forced Munar to a tiebreaker. The pair traded early breaks with neither player holding serve over the first four points, before a Munar double fault allowed Alcaraz to take a 5-4 lead. He smashed an ace but then hit a double fault of his own on match point. Munar made him pay this time to force a deciding set. After Alcaraz went 2-0 up, the French Open champion was broken in his next two service games and Munar went into a 4-2 lead. Alcaraz, however, was not done yet, and two more breaks of serve sealed a hard-earned victory as he continued his preparations for Wimbledon, where the Spaniard will be aiming to complete a hat-trick of triumphs. "I'm proud of the level I showed today. It's my second match on grass this year," Alcaraz said. "There were moments I struggled a lot mentally and physically. I still don't know how I'm standing here. But I'm really happy I've given myself another chance in the quarter-finals." Alcaraz will face either French lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech or American Reilly Opelka. FEARNLEY ADVANCES British number two Jacob Fearnley reached his first ATP Tour quarter-final with a 6-3 2-6 6-2 win over French qualifier Corentin Moutet. "I'm very happy to be in my first quarter-final, it's even better to do it here in the UK," Fearnley said. "I tried to stick to my game plan and be aggressive. I did that better in the third set and the result speaks for itself." Fearnley raced into a 3-0 lead, and while Moutet broke back, the Briton responded immediately with another break of his own to ease through the first set. Moutet did likewise in the second, sailing 3-0 ahead before breaking for a second time to clinch the set and force the decider, where Fearnley broke twice before holding serve to love to clinch victory in style. The 23-year-old will now face Jiri Lehecka after the Czech beat Canada's Gabriel Diallo 6-4 6-2. (Reporting by Trevor Stynes, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
Hindustan Times
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Tennis-Alcaraz overcomes Munar marathon to reach Queen's quarters
LONDON (Reuters) -Top seed Carlos Alcaraz was pushed all the way by fellow-Spaniard Jaume Munar in a thrilling contest before clinching a 6-4 6-7(7) 7-5 win and advanced to the Queen's Club Championships quarter-finals on Thursday. Alcaraz recently came out on top in an epic French Open final against Jannik Sinner, and while this second round clash in London may not have reached those same dizzying heights, the British crowd were served up an enthralling battle. The world number two was a break down in the deciding set but showed his strength once more as Alcaraz stretched his winning run to 15 matches, the longest streak of his career. "It was a really tough battle that we had today," Alcaraz said after more than three hours on court. "He's a great competitor and he showed how difficult it is to beat him." Alcaraz, the 2023 champion, looked well in control as he eased to take the opening set, and after saving four break and set points at 5-4 down in the second he forced Munar to a tiebreaker. The pair traded early breaks with neither player holding serve over the first four points, before a Munar double fault allowed Alcaraz to take a 5-4 lead. He smashed an ace but then hit a double fault of his own on match point. Munar made him pay this time to force a deciding set. After Alcaraz went 2-0 up, the French Open champion was broken in his next two service games and Munar went into a 4-2 lead. Alcaraz, however, was not done yet, and two more breaks of serve sealed a hard-earned victory as he continued his preparations for Wimbledon, where the Spaniard will be aiming to complete a hat-trick of triumphs. "I'm proud of the level I showed today. It's my second match on grass this year," Alcaraz said. "There were moments I struggled a lot mentally and physically. I still don't know how I'm standing here. But I'm really happy I've given myself another chance in the quarter-finals." Alcaraz will face either French lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech or American Reilly Opelka. FEARNLEY ADVANCES British number two Jacob Fearnley reached his first ATP Tour quarter-final with a 6-3 2-6 6-2 win over French qualifier Corentin Moutet. "I'm very happy to be in my first quarter-final, it's even better to do it here in the UK," Fearnley said. "I tried to stick to my game plan and be aggressive. I did that better in the third set and the result speaks for itself." Fearnley raced into a 3-0 lead, and while Moutet broke back, the Briton responded immediately with another break of his own to ease through the first set. Moutet did likewise in the second, sailing 3-0 ahead before breaking for a second time to clinch the set and force the decider, where Fearnley broke twice before holding serve to love to clinch victory in style. The 23-year-old will now face Jiri Lehecka after the Czech beat Canada's Gabriel Diallo 6-4 6-2. (Reporting by Trevor Stynes, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
The Star
02-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Soccer-Havertz and Jorginho could return for Arsenal before end of season
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Champions League - Arsenal v GNK Dinamo Zagreb - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - January 22, 2025 Arsenal's Kai Havertz celebrates scoring their second goal Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta delivered some positive injury news for the Champions League semi-finalists on Friday with possible returns for Kai Havertz and Jorginho before the end of the season. The Spaniard also told reporters ahead of Arsenal's Saturday home Premier League game against Bournemouth that he expected France centre back William Saliba to stay despite reported interest from Real Madrid. Germany forward Havertz has been out since early February following hamstring surgery, and had been expected to miss the remainder of the campaign, while midfielder Jorginho sustained a rib injury in April. "If everything goes the way it's going at the moment and the way it's planned, I think he will have a chance to play a few games here in the season," Arteta said of Havertz. "Jorginho is still out. Jorginho's got a bit more complicated than expected. Thankfully, he's fine, he's feeling good, he's recovering well. "Hopefully if everything goes well in the next week or so, I think he will gradually integrate in the team." On Saliba, he said recent conversations with the player indicated he wanted to stay. "I'm quite confident that William is very happy here and that's the place that he wants to be," he said. Arsenal are chasing a place in the Champions League final despite losing the home semi-final leg 1-0 to Paris St Germain and are second in the Premier League, with that title already clinched by Liverpool and four games remaining. Beating Bournemouth, managed by Arteta's old friend and fellow-Spaniard Andoni Iraola, could earn a Champions League slot again next year for Arsenal. Arteta congratulated Liverpool for their deserved title but said it hurt to miss out again. "Big time," he said. "I understand that (Liverpool) is a team that is being more consistent and they have a lot of ingredients that you need to win it, but it's very painful. "We have so much to play for still in the two competitions, Premier League and Champions League," he added. "The focus is there." (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)
