The second day of the US Open didn’t turn out to be one of those days when seeds drop like ripe cherries. Indeed the favourites of the bookmakers and the public came up with emphatic wins.

Daniil Medvedev was the first to step onto court, where he stayed no longer than 1 hour and 14 minutes to put away Hungarian Attila Balazs 61 61 60 in the swiftest grand slam match of his career. His next opponent will be Cristopher O’Connell, who won the all-Australian clash against  Max Purcell in four sets. 

Sacha Zverev faced a much tougher challenge in the person of Aleksandar Vukic, one of the hot players of the American summer, finalist in Atlanta. The German played consistently and never relented pressure, earning a three-set win 64 64 64. In the first two sets he only conceded one break point, and broke Vukic once per set. He snatched an early break in the third game of the third set as well, but the Aussie broke back in the eighth game. He also had a chance to move ahead 5-4, but Zverev eventually succeeded in snatching a second break and closed off the match with a comfortable serve hold.

Andrey Rublev won in three sets against French lucky loser Arthur Cazaux, ranked 119. The 21-year old Frenchman set up a valiant fight in the first two sets, serving proficiently, hammering forehands and frequently raiding the net. Rublev kept his bearings though, and after prevailing in a close second set tiebreak, cruised away. 64 76 61 the final score. In the second round he is awaited by yet another French player: veteran Gael Monfils, who defeated Taro Daniel in four sets. That will be some match.

Among the other seeds, Cameron Norrie scored a convincing win, 62 64 62 over the young Russian talent Alexander Shevchenko, conceding and saving only one break point in the whole match.

Though not seeded, after a year which has been hindered by physical issues, Matteo Berrettini, US Open semi-finalist in 2019, played his best tennis to dismiss 29^th seed Ugo Humbert in three sets, 64 64 62. His greater overall power and some excellent returning made the difference, as well as his service, which got him through a few critical moments, such as the eighth game of the first set, when he saved three break points. By steering the gameplay away from Humbert’s most impressive weapon, his leftie two-handed backhand, he retained control of the match. Berrettini too will face another Frenchman in the second round: Arthur Rinderknech, who beat Diego Schwartzman 63 64 62.

We conclude with the feats of tennis greats: Stan Wawrinka, and John Isner, who joined their fellow veterans, Andy Murray and Gael Monfils, in the second round. The Swiss, US Open Champion 2016, just struggled in the first set, which he won in a battled tiebreaker, against Yoshihito Nishioka, and then cruised away to win 76 62 64. John Isner showed he is in no hurry to enjoy retirement and in three sets, 64 63 76, breezed past Argentine Diaz Acosta, currently ranked above him at 94. When rankings do not tell the whole story.

In the second round Long John will be up against Michael Mmoh, the American wild card who set up the greatest upset of the afternoon, knocking out 11^th seed Karen Khachanov, who is still struggling to get back to his best form after injury.

Isner vs Mmoh will be an enthralling generation clash to look forward to.

[ubitennis]

Manny Pacquiao wants to return to boxing for the Paris 2024 Olympics, Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino has announced.

The legendary Filipino eight-weight world champion retired from the sport following his defeat to Yordenis Ugas in 2021, but has since hinted at a possible return.

Pacquiao previously quit boxing to allow him to focus solely on his political career in the Philippines, where he is a senator.

However, he was unsuccessful in his run to become President of his home country in 2022.

As a result, the boxing icon has since returned to the ring for exhibition bouts.

But now, according to the Philippine Olympic Committee president, Pacquiao is eyeing a more serious return.

“Senator Pacquiao’s camp reached out saying our Filipino ring idol wants to fight in Paris,” Tolentino said in a statement.

Pacquiao is now 44 and would be 45 at the time of the games.

This rules him out of the main route of qualification – next month’s Asian Games – which has an age limit of 40.

However, Pacquiao could still qualify through one of the two Olympic qualifying tournaments that will take place early next year, or possibly through the Universality rule.

Previously, the competition was solely for amateur boxers, but this changed in 2016.

The rule change has led to mixed results, with Thailand’s former IBF flyweight world champion Amnat Ruenroeng being a notable name who suffered a humiliating defeat to an amateur at the Rio 2016 games as he struggled to adjust to the style needed to win the three-round fights at the tournament.

However, at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, rising pro heavyweight prospect Bakhodir Jalolov won super-heavyweight gold.

Time will tell if Pacquiao ends up participating, and whether he could end his career by bringing home Olympic gold for his country.

[talksport]

Venus Williams suffered her worst US Open defeat of her career on Tuesday night when Belgian qualifier Greet Minnen beat the two-time US Open champion 6-1, 6-1.

“I mean, I think first I have to give credit to my opponent,” said the American. “I mean, there wasn’t a shot she couldn’t make. Even when I hit really amazing shots, she just hit a winner or a dropshot, so…

“I don’t think I played badly. I think it was just one of those days where it’s just unlucky.

“My preparation was definitely minimal. But I don’t think that it necessarily affected the bulk of my performance. I think there are just shots where my footwork wasn’t really there. A lot of backhands I missed where my feet just weren’t there. That’s normal when you don’t spend a lot of time on the court.

“But I really have to give credit to her. It was just incredible, honestly. I mean, if she can play like that, you imagine that she can be in the top 10 or perhaps No. 1 or maybe win a Grand Slam, something like that, if she can play at this level.”

“I think that’s the best I ever saw Greet play. I don’t know. I mean, that’s great for her to reach that level.

“For me, I haven’t played a lot of matches this year, so the times I could play, I gave it my all. I got a handful of matches. It wasn’t the year I was expecting, but I gave it everything I had.””For me, I haven’t played a lot of matches this year, so the times I could play, I gave it my all. I got a handful of matches. It wasn’t the year I was expecting, but I gave it everything I had.”

No. 1 seed and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz followed Williams’ defeat by easily advancing to the second round when his opponent Dominik Koepfer was forced to retire with the Spaniard leading, 6-2, 3-2.

“Well, I felt great during the match,” said Alcaraz in his media conference. “I start pretty well. Really focus. Honestly, I didn’t expect to play such a great level the beginning, the first round, here in the US Open.”

“I am very, very happy with the level, even if Domi had to retire. Have to see myself and hopefully to keep that level into the next round.”

Earlier in the day session, both third seeds had easy wins in Ashe Stadium – Daniil Medvedev won 6-1, 6-1. 6-0 while Jessica Pegula won 6-2, 6-2.

Upsets on the day were: No. 21 Donna Vekic, No. 24 Talon Griekspor, No. 27 Anastasia Potapova, No. 12 Barbora Krejcikova, No. 11 Karen Khachanov, and No. 27 Borna Coric.

More to follow….

Promoter Frank Warren is adamant in his belief that Daniel Dubois was unfairly disadvantaged by referee Luis Pabon’s decision to deem a pivotal punch as a low blow during his controversial fight with Oleksandr Usyk.

At the same time, the veteran head of Queensberry Promotions suggested that his client could have shown greater resilience after getting knocked down for a second and final time.

Last Saturday night in Wroclaw, Poland, Ukraine’s Usyk successfully defend his WBO, WBA, IBF, and IBO titles, stopping London’s Dubois in the ninth round after landing a jab that forced Dubois to take a knee, which led to referee Pabon counting Dubois out.  

But Usyk had to overcome a shaky fifth round in which Dubois landed a right hand to the body that caused Usyk to bowl over in obvious pain. Much to Warren and Team Dubois’ dismay, Pabon ruled the punch as low blow. The public’s reaction to the kerfuffle has been fierce, with opinion seemingly divided on the legitimacy of the punch.

Warren has vowed to appeal the decision by filing a protest with the WBA, which sanctioned the fight.  

In a recent interview, Warren took issue with Pabon’s conduct not only in the fifth round but also his pre-fight instructions to both fighters, which Warren found wanting. Warren also insisted that Dubois’ punch did not strike Usyk below his navel.

“The referee got it wrong,” Warren told iFL TV. “That punch was legitimate. The referee didn’t even stop to even think about it. He just said low blow. And automatically gave him three minutes and forty-six seconds of recovery time, which is well over a round. …Usyk, to his credit, said he would’ve got up if the referee hadn’t done that. And he would’ve been able to get up and box on, so you got all this time, and it was wrong.

“He got it so wrong, Pabon. I mean, he was the referee of the second [Usyk vs.] Joshua fight as well, and it was a similar situation where Joshua caught him with a good body shot and the same thing happened there. He’s also, by the way, the WBA’s official committee chairman, so he’s got to excuse himself from this appeal that we’re putting through. He won’t be able to sit on it.”

Some fans and pundits have accused Dubois of commiting boxing sacrilege by "quitting" against Usyk and have pointed to Dubois' previous defeat to Joe Joyce in 2020, when Dubois reacted similarly, taking a knee and the full 10-count.

Warren suggested that Dubois could have taken a page from WBC titlist Tyson Fury’s book as far as “grit” is concerned. Fury famously got up from a right hand blow in the 12th round in his fight with Deontay Wilder in 2018.

“He went down from two shots that no one had expected and which I would have like to see him get up from,” Warren said of Dubois. “Well he did get up for one and the second one I would’ve liked to see him get up from. What happened in that round changed the whole dynamic of the fight. And the bottom line is, if you want to be the best, you've got to want to grit your teeth and you gotta look at videos of Tyson Fury on the floor and what he did to get up and get back in the fight, cuz that’s what you got to do.

“But that doesn’t take away the fact that it was 100% a wrong decision by the referee. He did not instruct the fighters or certainly didn’t instruct Daniel or the fighters correctly and he’s got it wrong.”

[boxingscene]

The Spanish Football Federation is exploring its options over whether it can sack Women’s World Cup-winning Head Coach, Jorge Vilda.

Vilda remains in post despite most of his coaching staff resigning in protest against Federation President Luis Rubiales’ refusal to quit for kissing squad member Jenni Hermoso after their World Cup win on August 20.

Eighty-one Spain players, including all 23 World Cup winners, have also said they would not play for the team again while Rubiales remained in position.

Vilda was spotted applauding Rubiales at the Spanish Federation’s (RFEF) extraordinary general assembly last Friday, when Rubiales repeatedly insisted he would not resign, though Vilda has since criticised his behaviour. 

The RFEF believes all those incidents combined may give them enough of a case to sack Vilda.

Federation regional leaders held an extraordinary general meeting with interim president Pedro Rocha on Monday where they called for a restructuring of the federation to start a new era.

However, a third of the local football association bosses do not want to push Rubiales out of a job so they only went as far as releasing a statement calling on him to resign, which he has so far refused to do.

Rubiales stood by Vilda in September 2022 when 15 national-team players pulled out of the squad, saying that Vilda’s management was affecting their emotional state and health.

Of those 15, only three opted to return to the Spain squad which went on to beat England in the final in Sydney.

Rubiales, 46, has been widely criticised after the incident that followed that match. Hermoso, 33, said the kiss on her lips was not consensual.

Spanish prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation into whether the incident amounts to a crime of sexual assault, while Rubiales was suspended on Saturday by world football’s governing body FIFA

[EagleOnline]

Former Chelsea striker, Chris Sutton, has named Liverpool as the team to challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title this season.

The former Premier League striker said, having watched the performances of the Reds.

Liverpool have been able to beat Bournemouth and Newcastle United in their most recent games.

The Reds went down to 10 men after Alexis Mac Allister and Virgil van Dijk picked up red cards in their respective fixtures.

Despite this, the Reds managed to secure all three points.

Sutton said that Jurgen Klopp’s team is showing the mentality of champions

“They are probably the ones who I think can push Manchester City the most,” he told BBC.

“I still think City will win the Premier League, but Liverpool needed that yesterday [against Newcastle] will go from strength to strength – if they can keep hold of Mohamed Salah.”

[DailyPost]

“So now that President Bola Tinubu has held his first Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting with his Ministers, what do you think?”

“When was that? You know, sometimes, I try to select what I pay attention to in this country. This place is so bad enough it can affect your mental health. You have to struggle with your own mental health even when you worry about the complex country called Nigeria.”

“Okay, for you to ask when confirms your point. For your information, President Tinubu’s inaugural FEC meeting was held yesterday at the Presidential Villa.”

“On a Monday? I thought the traditional day for FEC meetings is Wednesday of every week.”

“Traditional yes, but not statutory. There is nowhere in the Nigerian Constitution that it is written that the President must meet with his Cabinet on a Wednesday. Ministers are the President’s advisers and aides, he can meet with them as he deems fit, and because the Federal Cabinet represents voices from across the Federation, it is endowed with the toga of inclusivity and representation.”

“You have started again. You think these Ministers see themselves as representing anybody? You people just like to quote theory and sound bites from persons whose job is simply propaganda, and they are masters at it. When Minister Nyesom Wike declared that he would demolish any structure that could be in violation of the Abuja Master Plan, was he doing that in the people’s interest?”

“Master plans are meant to be respected. He is defending the rule of law. In fact, if you ask me, I would say that of all the Ministers, it is only Wike who has hit the ground running. Apart from his statement about illegal structures, he also inspected the Abuja mass rail transit system and openly declared that it is in a dysfunctional state.”

“What do you expect him to say? Was his arch-enemy Rotimi Amaechi, former Governor, former Minister, former Presidential aspirant not the man in charge of railways matters with the Chinese under the Buhari administration? Wike knows how to play the game of cutting your rival under the belly. I always tell people that he is a deft politician, whatever you may think of his style”

“Maybe you are right. After all, more than any other Minister, particularly any former Governor turned Minister, he has been able to capture the attention of the President. The other day, at the on-going Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual Conference in Abuja, the President publicly told Wike: “If I ask for free land in Abuja, don’t give me”

“Yes. The President said so. That is the Jagaban for you.”

“My friend, stop. Nobody gives anybody land free of charge. I put it to you that Wike will reserve choice plots of land for President Tinubu and his associates, and for anyone that the President approves of. Tinubu was talking about giving out free land, not the individual’s legitimate right to acquire and own land. Always learn to read between the lines before you run with the headlines.”

“What I know is that President Tinubu has fixed performance targets for his Ministers, and he has made it clear that any Minister that is surplus to requirement would be asked to leave.”

“When that happens, we ‘d see, we’d see.”

“You don’t believe him?”

“Of course, I do. But we’d see. After all, the same President has said that his administration will not service debt with 90% of the country’s revenue. We all know that such a revenue to debt ratio is unsustainable. But the question is how? How? How? The Buhari people may not know enough theory, but these new guys know the theory and they mouth the received wisdoms from IMF and World Bank so well, but the question is: to what effect?”

“What do you mean to what effect? This administration has rolled out robust cost-cutting strategies to reduce the cost of governance. The President has just directed ahead of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September that any government official that has no business in New York should not be attended to by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”.

‘You know what the Presidency has just done with that statement? They have just provided work for Omoyele Sowore and Sahara Reporters.”

“How? The President wants to cut costs”

“Is that how a government cuts costs? Stop supporting our leaders blindly. Try and have a critical mind of your own. You are already jubilating and inventing panegyrics because you don’t know. You should wait till some research journalists publish the list of the President’s entourage to New York in September, and the additional list of accompanying Ministers and their own aides. Don’t forget that at the next UNGA, Tinubu’s first, we have been told that he would be having a meeting with President Joe Biden on the sidelines. And it is not only President Biden that he would meet. He would need many government officials around him from the Nigerian Mission to the US and the UN, and a retinue of officials from home. You don’t think there would be Ministers who are scrambling to accompany the President just to take a photo with President Biden? I have my suspicions, but let’s wait and see, and please stop committing everything government says to heart. Learn to separate the wheat from the chaff.”

“I always do. I do, if you want to be fair to me, and in any case, I don’t have to see things as you see them. The problem with people like you is that you think you know it all.”

“I always tell you the truth”

“You sound like you are the only one with a monopoly of the truth. Truth is relative. If I tell you I stand on Asiwaju’s mandate, then that is where I stand, and that is the truth for me”

“And that is why you were saying the other day that Nigeria reporting a 4.1% unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2023 is a good sign, and I told you that’s nonsense.”

“And how is that the president’s problem? It was the office of the Statistician-General and the National Bureau of Statics that gave that report. They said they have adopted a new methodology in calculating Nigeria’s unemployment figures in line with best international practices. You need accurate data to plan.”

“What new methodology? Lying with data. Do you need to be a statistician to know that things are getting worse in Nigeria? And why would anyone quote Q1 figures in the light of present realities? The National Bureau of Statistics must begin to talk to us in the kind of simple language that we can understand. Now they say new methodology: how do we measure the effect in terms of the quotidian reality of our lives? Are you aware that any parents have slipped into depression because all the children they trained through university are all at home without work? Are you aware also that many of the Nigerians who have abandoned the country in search of greener pastures did so and are doing so because life elsewhere provides them with greater meaning?”

“This is the age of globalization. No government can legitimately stop its citizens from going anywhere. Those who want to live abroad will leave, those of us who are determined to remain here, will remain, life without end. People must learn to make sacrifices for the good of their country. Nigerians are always trying to compete with their leaders. Our Money, Our Money. People should know their place in the ultimate equation of things.”

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, I am”

“People tell you to make sacrifice for Nigeria, the same sacrifice that they are not willing to make. Are you aware…?”

“I am aware of everything. Stop asking me if I am aware. Are we not in this same…?

“Let me finish.”

“Okay finish.

“Are you aware that members of the House of Representatives in the 10th National Assembly have only recently agreed to give themselves N150 million each as constituency allowance, coming up to a total of about N54 billion. House of Reps members in the 9th National Assembly took N100 million each. Nobody ever knows what they do with the money these lawmakers continue to collect as allowances. Most of the time, a lawmaker would dig bore holes. At the height of COVID-19, many of them bought water buckets and called them constituency projects. Besides, investment in infrastructure is the job of the Executive not the Legislature.”

“Rome was not built in a day. Democracy is a learning curve. We will learn”

“After 24 years of return to civilian rule? We are still learning. Perhaps, you could be right you know? The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) has only just taken some Nigerian Governors on a three-day retreat to learn about how to re-imagine leadership in a fast-changing world. But does anyone need to go to Rwanda to learn that leadership is a major challenge in Africa and that there is a trust crisis between the leaders and the people they claim to lead?”

“The programme was in collaboration with the UNDP, and on the personal invitation of President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame. One of the subjects that they deliberated upon was how to promote inclusivity. There can never be any end to learning.”

“Except that Nigerian leaders going to Rwanda to learn about leadership is an indication of how low we have sunk as a country.”

“President Paul Kagame is a fine example of how to be a leader.”

“Give it to him. He is at best a benevolent dictator, and he has been able to re-write his country’s narrative. As for being a fine example, please. And all these your Governors that went for the retreat, the only thing they probably came back home with is a copy of the communique and may be cartons of Akabanga.”

“Akabanga. What is that?”

“Banga. Banga. Go and find out. It is a Rwandan national treasure, the kind of thing that would interest your Nigerian Governors.

“This is my problem with you. We will be discussing serious things your mind will be wandering here and there.”

“What I am saying is that those Governors had no business going on a retreat in Rwanda and packaging it as a major expedition of discovery. Governor Babajide Sanwoolu of Lagos State that should stay at home making sure his rejected 17 nominees are accepted by the Lagos State House of Assembly goes on a frolic in Rwanda at a critical moment. I don’t get it.”

“You don’t get it because you are not a politician. It is a political game. The Governor must carry people along when he makes his choices. He cannot assume that because Tinubu has made him the leader of the party and the state in Lagos, he can do what he likes and disconnect with other stakeholders. This is the mistake most people make. He must learn to listen to the other side. He is trying to fight people who know his political history. They have just told him that he is not Tinubu, and that there are forces in Lagos that can insist on their own preferences.”

“But what does he want to do with 39 Commissioners and his mentor is talking about cutting the cost of governance? Do these people connect the threads at all?”

“If Sanwoolu gets the politics right, he can have 100 commissioners if he wants and all of them will be approved. But to think he can dictate to the Lagos State House of Assembly, they will show him that there are powers behind the throne occupied by Tinubu in Lagos.”

“But how about technocratic competence? Professor Akin Abayomi did well as Commissioner of Health. Has anyone forgotten how he provided professional leadership during the COVID pandemic in Lagos? Gbenga Omotoso also served diligently as a sound technocrat. At least I know those two.”

“You don’t know politics. When Professor Akin Abayomi was setting up COVID centres and conducting money-guzzling research, how many of the stakeholders did he carry along? Technocrats. Many of you guys hide under that title to project an annoying image of hypocrisy. But technocrats know how to spend money and enjoy. But they don’t know party Chairman, Ward chairman and party members. They don’t even want to collect party membership cards. It is an open cinema. Let us all wait for the end. After all, THE END is what ends a film in the cinema.”

“I sense envy in your voice.”

“You must give me credit that I also know one or two things about politics. It is like Shaibu, the Deputy Governor of Edo State saying he wants to also become Governor of Edo State, and he remains loyal to his boss. Answer me, have they not shown him yesterday what his Governor thinks of his loyalty? His media aides were all blocked from attending a state event. When he expressed his anger, all his media aides were sacked on the authority of the Governor. The game of power can take any dimension. Babajide Sanwoolu no fit”

“What if Tinubu intervenes? This is clearly a case of the cat going on a journey and all kinds of mice and other rodents are flexing muscles in the kingdom. Who would dare carry a lantern to look at the face of the lion?”

“I don’t think Baba is going to get involved in Lagos politics for a while. He has more urgent issues at hand. Nigeria, ECOWAS, and now he is going to the UN in New York. He is where he wants to be, his place of dream. If he gets involved in Lagos matters, it is you people that will still accuse him of greed. People should learn to live without going through life as the parasite in a Godfather’s compound.”

“I just hope that someone will do something about the announcement by the Republic of Cameroon that water will soon be released from the Lagdo Dam which as we know would result in big floods on the Benue plains and 13 other states”

“The Minister of State for Environment, Ishaq Salako has said people have nothing to fear. The Lagos State Government says they have everything covered.”

“Okay. Okay. We’d see. What does the Minister know? The story of Nigeria is this: the more things are, the more they remain the same. Pathetic.”

CONFEDERATION of African Football president Patrice Motsepe has expressed his condolences following the loss of lives at a stadium in Madagascar.

A stampede of spectators trying to enter Madagascar’s national stadium for the opening ceremony of the Indian Ocean Island Games left 12 dead and injured around 80 on Friday.

Videos shared on social media showed Red Cross workers giving medical attention to scores of injured people next to the athletics track as Prime Minister Christian Ntsay said 11 of the injured were in a critical condition.

“CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe conveyed his heartfelt condolences and the condolences of CAF to the families and the Fédération Malagasy de Football in respect of the 12 people who lost their lives and all the persons who were injured during the football match at the Mahamasina Municipal Stadium in Antananarivo, Madagascar,” a CAF statement today said.

“CAF also extends its condolences to the Government of Madagascar and the friends and the colleagues of the 12 people who lost their lives.

“CAF is also wishing the people who were injured a speedy and full recovery.”

According to Reuters, it was not immediately clear what caused the stampede, but at least 15 people were killed in a similar incident at the Mahamasina stadium in 2019.

“An unfortunate event happened. There was a stampede at the entrance. There were a lot of injuries. We will observe a few seconds of silence because compatriots have died when they wanted to enter,” President Andry Rajoelina told the crowd in the stadium after the incident.

[Ntn]