Jasmine Paolini - players.bio

Exclusive: Andy Murray can 'upset people' at Wimbledon, could play for four more years - Mats Wilander

Eurosport expert Mats Wilander believes Andy Murray can cause surprises at Wimbledon and insists the two-time champion can play for at least four more years. The 36-year-old may have fallen down the rankings over the years, but a recent run of 10 consecutive wins as he lifted titles in Surbiton and Nottingham shows there is still fire in his belly. Ad Murray won two of his three Grand Slams at Wimbledon and Wilander insists the Scot can turn back the clock and ‘upset people’ in this year’s tournament — even if a first-round Queen's defeat to Alex De Minaur all but ended his hopes of being seeded.

Rybakina wins Ningbo title to close in on WTA Finals

NINGBO, China: Elena Rybakina rallied from a set down to beat Russian fourth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6 6-0 6-2 and win the Ningbo Open title on Sunday, as her late surge to reach next month’s WTA Finals gained momentum.A 10th career title for Rybakina means the Kazakh only has to reach the semifinals of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo this week to seal the last qualifying spot for the season finale at the expense of Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva.Others who have qualified for the WTA Finals, to be held in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh from November 1-8, are Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys and Jasmine Paolini.Alexandrova made a flying start, racing 4-1 ahead as Rybakina struggled to rein in the errors and mix up her game, before the 30-year-old comfortably took the opening set with a powerful forehand winner.Desperate to prevent a fourth straight defeat by Alexandrova on hardcourts, Russian-born Rybakina came out firing in the next set, hitting a crosscourt winner to consolidate an early break and lay the platform to level in the match.World number nine Rybakina cranked up the intensity from the baseline in the deciding set, but it was a foray to the net that earned the 26-year-old another early break, and she went on to claim her second trophy of the season.

Postecoglou fired around 20 minutes after Forest lose 3-0 to Chelsea in Premier League

LONDON: Around 20 minutes. That’s how long it took Nottingham Forest to fire Ange Postecoglou after the team’s 3-0 loss to Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday. It left Postecoglou without a win in eight matches since taking charge as the replacement for Nuno Espirito Santo on Sept. 9. In a 39-word statement, Forest said Postecoglou was “relieved of his duties as head coach with immediate effect” after “a series of disappointing results and performances.” British media has already been linking former Burnley and Everton manager Sean Dyche with the job, should Postecoglou get fired.

Marc Guehi to leave Crystal Palace, says Glasner

LONDON: Marc Guehi has told Crystal Palace he will not sign a new deal at the club, manager Oliver Glasner has said. The England center-back almost joined Liverpool on transfer deadline day last month, but Palace pulled the plug at the last minute, missing out on a sizeable fee. Glasner revealed the defender, in the final 12 months of his contract, has already informed the club this will be his final season at Selhurst Park. “The club wanted (him to stay). They offered Marc a new contract but he said, ‘No, I want to make something different’, and that’s normal,” he said. “And for us, it’s how we can deal with this situation.

Minnows Mjallby on verge of ‘impossible’ Swedish title win

Should the tiny club from a fishing village on the Listerlandet peninsula do so it will be the greatest shock in the history of footballA combination of superb scouting and a science-based approach have helped Mjallby top the 16-team leagueSTOCKHOLM: The nervousness of Hammarby and AIK fans ahead of Sunday’s Stockholm derby will pale into insignificance compared to those of Swedish minnows Mjallby AIF, who will become Swedish champions if Hammarby fail to beat their city rivals.Should the tiny club from a fishing village on the Listerlandet peninsula do so it will be the greatest shock in the history of football, according to Torbjorn Andersson, an academic specializing in football at Malmo University.“(It would be) completely unique in the history of football, and that it’s happening now is even more unlikely,” he told broadcaster Radiosporten ahead of what could be the decisive weekend in the Allsvenskan title race.A combination of superb scouting and a science-based approach have helped Mjallby top the 16-team league on 63 points after 26 games, 11 points ahead of second-placed Hammarby, whose resources dwarf those of their smaller southern rivals.Though the club draws support from all over the county of Solvesborg, the town of Mjallby has a tiny population of just over 1,200, and academic Andersson said that, on paper, a club of their stature should have no chance of winning the title.“There’s so much money in it (football), it should be totally impossible,” he said as Mjallby look to replace Malmo, who have won the title a record 27 times, as champions.“If you look at the annual reports the (Swedish) football association has published ...

Rain washes out the 1st T20 international between New Zealand and England

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand: Rain forced the abandonment of the first Twenty20 international between New Zealand and England after the visitors posted 153-6 in their completed innings Saturday. Sam Curran top-scored with 49 not out from 35 balls. He hit three fours and two sixes — and 19 runs from the final over of the England innings. Jos Buttler with 29 from 25 balls and Harry Brook with 20 from 14 both made starts but were unable to go on as the England batters struggled when the New Zealand bowlers took the pace off the ball. A shower caused a 15-minute break while England was batting, then returned more heavily between innings, finally causing the match to be abandoned around 10.10 p.m.

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner opens Six Kings Slam with dominant win in Riyadh

RIYADH: World No. 1 Jannik Sinner made a powerful start to his Six Kings Slam title defence in Riyadh by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets on the opening day of the tournament.

Italy boost World Cup qualifying chances with 3-1 win in Estonia

TALLINN: Italy’s hopes of at least making the World Cup qualifying playoffs were given a boost with a 3-1 win away to Estonia on Saturday thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui and Francesco Pio Esposito. Italy failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, twice missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their most likely chance after Norway’s 5-0 hammering of Israel in Group I earlier on Saturday. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six games. Italy have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points clear of Israel. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup with the runners-up going into the playoffs. Italy raced into a fourth minute lead when Federico Dimarco played the ball into the feet of Kean who twisted and turned his way into the area before unleashing a shot into the far corner. That was Kean’s fourth goal in three games for Italy, but the striker was forced off through injury shortly afterwards, replaced by Esposito whose only previous international appearance also came off the bench against Estonia in September. Retegui won a penalty when fouled by Marten Kuusk but failed to convert as Karl Hein tipped his effort onto the post. “The important thing is to create — missing goals and penalties can happen,” Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso told RAI Sport. “The boys are eager and continuing on the right path.” The Italian forward made up for that miss when doubling the visitors’ lead seven minutes before the break. Riccardo Orsolini played a pass back from the byline and Retegui smashed the ball past Hein from just outside the six-yard box.

UAE move closer to World Cup as late goals seal win over Oman

DOHA: The United Arab Emirates struck late goals through Marcus Meloni and Caio Lucas to earn a 2-1 win over Oman in Doha on Saturday as Cosmin Olaroiu’s side battled back to keep their hopes of qualifying for next year’s World Cup alive. Caio Lucas hit the fortuitous winner seven minutes from time after Meloni scored with a 76th minute header to cancel out an own goal by Kouame Kouadio that gave Oman a 12th minute lead. The win moves the UAE to the cusp of their first appearance at the World Cup since 1990 with Olaroiu’s team only needing a draw away to Qatar on Tuesday to progress as winners of Group A in the fourth phase of Asia’s preliminaries. The Omanis threatened in the early exchanges when Issam Al-Sabhi stole possession inside the UAE half only for the attack to fizzle out when his shot was eventually blocked.

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Jasmine Paolini Sport News

Exclusive: Andy Murray can 'upset people' at Wimbledon, could play for four more years - Mats Wilander

Rybakina wins Ningbo title to close in on WTA Finals

Postecoglou fired around 20 minutes after Forest lose 3-0 to Chelsea in Premier League

Marc Guehi to leave Crystal Palace, says Glasner

Minnows Mjallby on verge of ‘impossible’ Swedish title win

Rain washes out the 1st T20 international between New Zealand and England

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner opens Six Kings Slam with dominant win in Riyadh

Italy boost World Cup qualifying chances with 3-1 win in Estonia

UAE move closer to World Cup as late goals seal win over Oman