Serena to return to Auckland for Australian Open
WELLINGTON — Serena Williams announced yesterday she will warm-up for January’s Australian Open at the Auckland Classic, a tournament that has mixed memories for the American superstar.
Williams slumped to a shock secondround loss in her only previous appearance in New Zealand in 2017, lashing out at windy conditions she described as some of the “least favourite” she had ever experienced.
But she went on to win the Australian Open later that month, claiming the most recent of her 23 majors to pass Steffi Graf ’s Open-era benchmark of 22.
She also announced her engagement to Alexis Ohanian while in New Zealand and it later emerged she was pregnant with her first child while competing at the tournament.
Currently ranked eighth in the world, the 37-year-old said she wanted to show New Zealanders what she could do on the court.
“Oh man, I want to win that title so bad,” she said in a statement.
“Last time I was there I had so much going on and although I fought through to win my first match, I know I didn’t play to my level.”
Since her 2017 triumph at Melbourne Park, Williams has been chasing a 24th Grand Slam to match Australian Margaret Court’s record.
She is battling back problems ahead of the US Open that forced her to retire from warm-up tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnatti. — AFP. LAUSANNE — Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are the star names on the 10-player short-list announced on Monday by Fifa for its Puskas award for goal of the year.
They are joined by three women and five men, with goals scored between July 16, 2018 and July 19, 2019.
There are nominees from the Bundesliga, Spanish Liga and women’s World Cup and one, a jaw-dropping shot by Billie Simpson of Cliftonville Ladies, from a Northern Ireland women’s league game played on what appears to be a public pitch in front of no spectators.
Messi, who has yet to win the award, earned a seventh nomination with a delicate chip for Barcelona against Betis in Seville. Ibrahimovic netted with a balletic volley for LA Galaxy in Toronto in Major League Soccer. The award, which was established in 2009, is named after the legendary Hungary, Spain and Real Madrid striker Ferenc Puskas. Fans can vote until September 1 on the 10 candidates nominated by Fifa. The governing body of world football will then choose between the top three vote getters. The two other women candidates are Ajara Nchout for a dribble and shot for Cameroon against New Zealand in the World Cup and Amy Rodriguez of Utah for a dribble and longrange shot in the US National Women’s Soccer League. The winner will be announced at the Fifa Football Awards in Milan on September 23. — AFP.