Barty rallies back to defeat Coco
WORLD number one Ash Barty was plagued by unforced errors but displayed plenty of fight on her return to the WTA Tour yesterday, as she rallied from a set down to beat American Coco Gauff 4-6 7-5 6-1 at the Adelaide International on Wednesday.
Barty, the 2020 Adelaide champion, last played competitively at the US Open in September before heading home to Australia and appeared rusty at times in the contest before mounting a brilliant comeback to reach the quarter-finals.
Earlier, world number 100 Kaja Juvan beat second seed Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(6) 6-1 while Shelby Rogers knocked out Maria Sakkari
Romelu Lukaku has issued a public apology to fans, the club and his coach. 7-6(5) 2-6 6-4.
World number six Sakkari forced the decider but Rogers hit back to close out the win and set up a clash with seventh seed Elena Rybakina, who secured a 6-3 6-4 victory over Czech qualifier Marie Bouzkova. REUTERS
Kiwis chasing semi-final spot
RNZ - Erin Routliffe is in the quarter-final of the WTA Adelaide International with her Canadian partner, the US Open singles finalist Leylah Fernandez. Toyko Olympic bronze medallist Marcus Daniell is playing with American Denis Kudla at the ATP Melbourne Summer Set. In this afternoon’s quarter-final Daniell and Kudla will face the British fifth-seeded team of Dominic Inglot and Ken Skupski. Fellow Olympic bronze medallist Michael Venus’ campaign was off to a disappointing start with a first round doubles loss in Melbourne on Wednesday.
League Cup postponed
REUTERS - The first leg of the League Cup semi-final between Arsenal and Liverpool on Friday has been postponed due to a severe outbreak of COVID-19 infections at Liverpool, the English Football League. The first of the two legs will now take place at Anfield on Jan. 13, while the rearranged game will be played as the second leg at the Emirates on Jan. 20. Liverpool had requested the EFL on Tuesday to reschedule the game because of the rise in COVID-19 cases at the club.
Aussie’s rally hopes alive
ABC - Australian motorcyclist Daniel Sanders has overcome a painful head-banging scare at the Dakar Rally to keep his title hopes alive. The Victorian’s face ended up with bruises after he smashed into the navigation screen on his GasGas 450 during the Saudi Arabian race’s longest stage — and one of its most taxing — on Wednesday. His vest airbag was fortunately deployed when Sanders suffered a jolting landing following a jump amid the dunes late in the 465km trek from Al Qaisumah to the capital, Riyadh. His face was left bruised but he felt he was lucky to get away without a serious spill, eventually recovering to make it to the finish of the fourth stage in 17th spot.