Naomi Osaka brings youthful challenge to women’s tennis… Solskjaer’s Man United carry winning ways into FA Cup… Australia crashes out of Asian Cup… Warriors’ streak continues… 13-year-old Alysa Liu makes figure skating history. This is your weekend in sport.
New No. 1 Osaka takes on the mantle
With Andy Murray tearfully announcing his impending retirement, and Roger Federer bundled out by 20-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas, it was tempting to hope for a changing of the guard in men’s tennis at this year’s Australian Open.
The men aren’t ready for that just yet, with veterans Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal meeting for the 53rd time on Sunday to contest the final. The Serb triumphed 6-3 6-2 6-3, winning a record seventh Aussie Open title in one of the most one-sided finals in the season-opening major in years.
But while the men’s sport is still waiting for its young guns to step up – Tsitsipas looked bereft against Nadal in his semifinal, and 24-year-old Frenchman Lucas Pouille barely strung two points together against Djokovic – Naomi Osaka, the 20-year old Japanese-American who won her long, often grueling final against Petra Kvitova on Saturday, is more than ready to take on the mantle of the player to beat.
Osaka, who beat her idol Serena Williams last summer to win her first major, is the first woman to follow her debut slam with another since Jennifer Capriati in 2001, and the first to win two in a row since Williams in 2015. The win bags her the world No. 1 slot for the first time, and while she still often fails to put away opponents when the opportunity presents itself, her future is undoubtedly bright.
After it was all over Saturday, the 21-year-old admitted that at the trophy presentation she “forgot to smile.” But the watching tennis world didn’t.
Solskjaer marches on; FA Cup continues to provide upsets
When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was shown the door at Cardiff City in 2014, it was a sad reckoning for the Manchester United legend. While his football intelligence was never in doubt on the pitch for the Red Devils, that early foray into management in the English game looked to have seriously dented his reputation.
It’s a good thing for Man U fans that their club didn’t use that spell in Wales as a yardstick for the Norwegian’s coaching abilities. He’s now won eight straight games in all competitions, and hasn’t seen anything besides a ‘W’ next to his team’s name since he took over the toxic mess left behind by Jose Mourinho.
Arsenal, the latest team to feel the sting of a resurgent United, will at least be grateful that the defeat came in the FA Cup rather than the league – modern realities mean that a return to the Champions League is the priority and an indomitable Man United make that goal that much harder, with the Manchester side now level on points and both just adrift of fourth place.
Elsewhere the FA Cup continued to throw up surprises, with Manuel Pellegrini saying he was “ashamed” of the way his West Ham crashed out in a 4-2 defeat to Wimbledon AFC, the League One club formed only 16 years ago.
Championship side Millwall also performed giant-killing duties, taking down Everton 3-2, and Crystal Palace provided another shock, dumping Spurs out – Tottenham’s second cup exit in under a week.
Australia’s Asian Cup defense in tatters
Host United Arab Emirates continued its dream run to a home tournament crown by putting out holder Australia in a tense, lively 1-0 victory at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.
Spare a thought for Australia’s Milos Degenek, who underhit a back-pass to keeper Mat Ryan, allowing UAE’s Ali Mabkhout to pounce, rounding the hapless Australian for the only goal of the meeting.
The distraught defender, earmarked for Socceroo greatness by coach Graham Arnold, heaped the blame on his own shoulders, telling Fox Sports Australia: “We didn’t go through because of me. I let the team down, the boys down, the country down.”
In the next round the hosts will meet Qatar, which ousted South Korea on Friday. The semifinal is already marred in controversy, with the UAE authorities reportedly announcing they have bought up the entire seating allocation to offer to “loyal UAE fans,” denying Qatari fans the chance to support their team.
The move has a distinctly political tinge, coming as the region continues to convulse under 2017’s ostracizing of Qatar by its fellow Gulf Cooperation Council members, and subsequent blockade.
Warriors cruise to 10th straight win
The Warriors are coming out to play. The Oakland, California, team celebrated their 10th straight victory, a 115-111 win over the Boston Celtics Saturday night, the sixth consecutive season that it has achieved at least 10 straight in a row, with a win against one of the best teams in the league. And let’s not forget, the Warriors appeared in the finals in the last four seasons.
So how much better can this well-oiled machine get? Just wait and see, Steph Curry says.
“It hasn’t been perfect, and we know we can still be better,” he said, after the win.
“We’ve talked about putting a run together for a while now, and we’re right in the middle of a really good one. You want to create good vibes, especially with the All-Star break coming up, and continue to build momentum the second half of the season.”
The game was tied with one minute remaining. “They had poise but they also got pretty lucky, too,” Celtics guard Kyrie Irving said, but Curry disagreed.
“He said we got lucky? I don’t know what that means.”
Irving surely knows luck doesn’t win championships; Curry and co.’s record proves there’s a little more to it than that.
Alysa Liu proves the kids are alright
It’s not only women’s tennis that is witnessing the benefits of youth: On Friday, 13-year-old phenom Alysa Liu became the youngest person to win an individual title at the US figure skating championships.
She did it in style, also becoming the first to land two triple axels in a single program, earning her 217.51 points, easily outpacing reigning champion Bradie Tennell’s 213.59.
The stunning result came after Tennell fell during her free skate, and breaks the record set by Tara Lipinski in 1997, when she was 14.
“Records are made to be broken,” Lipinski, who was in Detroit to witness the record smashed, said. “It is quite an honor that she is the one to do it. What a phenomenal talent.”
