NNBABA | Page 5 CYCLING | Page 7 LA Lakers Thomas power past primed to Miami Heat in salvage Ineos Finals opener season at Giro Friday, October 2, 2020 FOOTBALL Safar 15, 1442 AH Messi, Ronaldo in GULF TIMES Champions League group stage clash SPORT Page 3 TENNIS Djoko storms to 70th win Greek fifth seed Tsitsipas downs Cuevas in straight sets, while ninth seed Shapovalov at Roland Garros crashes out after loss to Carballes Baena AFP Paris, France orld number one Novak Djokovic took another confi dent stride closer to an W18th Grand Slam title with his 70th win at Roland Garros yes- terday. Djokovic, the 2016 champion, needed just 83 minutes to com- plete a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 demolition of Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis. The top seed went level with Roger Federer for victories at the tournament, although still 25 be- hind Rafael Nadal’s all-time best. He will now face Colombian lucky loser Daniel Elahi Galan, Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in action during his second round match against Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas (not ranked 153, for a place in the last 16. pictured) at French Open yesterday. (Reuters) “It was diffi cult for Ricardas in the third set as he had an injury Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in action during his French Open second round match against Lithuania’s Ricardas and couldn’t move very well,” Berankis (not pictured) at Roland Garros in Paris, France, yesterday. (Reuters) RESULTS sipas (GRE) bt Pablo Cuevas (URU) 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 said Djokovic whose afternoon Men (Round II) stroll was eased by his opponent SHAPOVALOV LOSES IN FIVE “Scheduling is absolutely aw- was to the semi-fi nals in 2012. 1-Novak Djokovic (SRB) bt Ricardas Berankis (LTU) Women (Round II) needing treatment on a back HOURS ful. It’s just complete trash,” The seventh seed defeated It- 6-1, 6-2, 6-2; Daniel Elahi Galan (COL) bt Tennys 8-Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) bt Darya Kasatkina problem after the second set. Garbine Muguruza, the 2016 raged the Canadian on having to aly’s 94th-ranked Jasmine Pao- Sandgren (USA) 6-2, 6-2, 6-3; 20-Christian Garín (RUS) 7-6 (6), 6-0; 30-Ons Jabeur (TUN) bt Nao “But I felt good just as I did in champion from Spain, knocked return to the court later to play lini 6-3, 6-3 to register her 25th (CHI) bt Marc Polmans (AUS) 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (3), Hibino (JPN) 7-6 (4), 6-4; Danielle Collins (USA) bt the fi rst round and I want to con- out Pliskova’s twin sister Kristy- doubles. French Open win. 6-4; 15-Karen Khachanov (RUS) bt Jiri Vesely (CZE) Clara Tauson (DEN) 6-2, 6-3; 11-Garbiñe Muguruza tinue like that.” na, 6-3, 6-2. Dimitrov downed Slovakia’s Kvitova next faces 18-year- 6-1, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (7), 7-6 (2); 10-Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) bt Kristyna Pliskova (CZE) 6-3, 6-2; Fiona Djokovic, bidding to become Ninth seed Denis Shapovalov Andrej Martin 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-1 to old Leylah Fernandez of Canada, (ESP) bt Attila Balazs (HUN) 6-3, 6-1, 6-2; 17-Pablo Ferro (FRA) bt 14-Elena Rybakina (KAZ) 6-3, 4-6, the fi rst man in half a century to committed 106 unforced errors reach the third round for a fourth last year’s junior champion, who Carreno-Busta (ESP) bt Guido Pella (ARG) 6-3, 6-2, 6-2; Patricia Maria Tig (ROU) bt Christina McHale win all four majors twice, also as he crashed out following a 7-5, successive year. reached the last 32 of a Slam for 6-1; Daniel Altmaier (GER) bt 30-Jan-Lennard Struff (USA) 6-4, 6-3; Irina Maria Bara (ROU) bt Alison Van dropped only fi ve games in his 6-7 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 8-6 loss to Rob- Greek fi fth seed Stefanos Tsit- the fi rst time by seeing off Polona (GER) 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3; 7-Matteo Berrettini (ITA) Uytvanck (BEL) 6-1, 4-0 retd; 4-Sofia Kenin (USA) fi rst round match against Mikael erto Carballes Baena. sipas, who made the fourth round Hercog 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. bt Lloyd Harris (RSA) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3; Marton bt Ana Bogdan (ROU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2; 7-Petra Kvitova Ymer who likened facing the Serb Spanish world number 101 last year, downed claycourt spe- Australian Open champion and Fucsovics (HUN) bt Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) (CZE) bt Jasmine Paolini (ITA) 6-3, 6-3; Leylah Fern- to a “snake killing its prey”. Carballes Baena prevailed after cialist Pablo Cuevas 6-1, 6-4, fourth seed Sofi a Kenin needed 7-6 (2), 6-3, 7-5; Thiago Monteiro (BRA) bt Marcos andez (CAN) bt Polona Hercog (SLO) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1; Victory stretched his 2020 a fi ve-hour battle on Court Su- 6-2 having needed to come back three sets to see off Ana Bogdan Giron (USA) 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-1; Kevin Anderson (RSA) Clara Burel (FRA) bt Kaja Juvan (SLO) 7-6 (8/6), 6-2; record to 33-1, his only defeat zanne Lenglen to set up a clash from two sets down against of Romania, winning 3-6, 6-3, bt 22-Dusan Lajovic (SRB) 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3; Zhang Shuai (CHN) bt Alize Cornet (FRA) 6-4, 7-6 coming via disqualifi cation from with 18th seed Grigor Dimitrov. Jaume Munar in his opener. 6-2 while eighth-seeded Aryna 13- Andrey Rublev (RUS) bt Alejandro Davidovich (3); 13-Petra Martic (CRO) bt Veronika Kuderme- the US Open. Shapovalov, who reached the Next up for Tsitsipas is Slov- Sabalenka of Belarus took down (ESP) 7-5, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1; Roberto Carballes Baena tova (RUS) 6-7 (1), 7-5, 6-3; Laura Siegemund (GER) Former champion Jelena Os- quarter-finals of the US Open, enia’s Aljaz Bedene, the world Russia’s Daria Kasatkina 7-6 (6), (ESP) bt 9-Denis Shapovalov (CAN) 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-3, bt Julia Goerges (GER) 1-6, 6-1, 6-3; Paula Badosa tapenko swept second seed twice served for the match in number 56. 6-0. 3-6, 8-6; 18-Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) bt Andrej Martin (ESP) bt 29-Sloane Stephens (USA) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2; Karolina Pliskova out of the tour- the final set at 5-4 and 6-5 but Also moving on was two-time Kasatkina has now gone two (SVK) 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-1; Aljaz Bedene (SLO) bt Nikola Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) bt 2-Karolina Pliskova nament, triumphing 6-4, 6-2 on was broken three times in suc- Wimbledon winner Petra Kvito- years without beating a top 10 Milojevic (SRB) 7-5, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4); 5-Stefanos Tsit- (CZE) 6-4, 6-2 the back of 27 winners. cession. va, whose best Roland Garros run player. Qatar 2022 Team Base Camp Sites Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy is preparing as many as 41 Base Camp training sites for the teams that will participate in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Each of the base camp will consist of two FIFA-compliant floodlit natural grass pitches, ancillary team facilities, spectator areas for public training sessions and more. Here’s a glimpse... (Twitter/RoadTo2022News) Gulf Times 2 Friday, October 2, 2020 TENNIS FRENCH OPEN SPOTLIGHT Tunisia’s Jabeur Ostapenko fi nds plays mind games to climb rankings Reuters to her game, Jabeur said: “The Paris, France mindset. “I put something in my head art of drop shot in that I kind of got sick being all ns Jabeur was fed up the time in 50 or top 100. I know with her ranking at the that I was able to win against start of 2020, having some players from top 10, top 20. dropped to 85th in the “I was not afraid to push more Oworld, but after making men- or get injured. Usually I was kind tal adjustments the Tunisian is of stuck in that side with my fi rmly on course to achieve her mind: If I want to push harder, I big Paris victory target of breaking into the wom- think that I will get injured. So I en’s top 20. took that off my mind. It really Jabeur became the fi rst Arab helped me.” Former French Open champion beats second seed Pliskova in straight sets woman to reach a Grand Slam She climbed to her career-high quarter-fi nal at this year’s Aus- ranking of 31st at the end of Au- Reuters tralian Open to start climbing the gust. Paris, France rankings and she has not looked “I always want to achieve back since. the top 20 ranking,” the former The 26-year-old also made French Open junior champion atvian Jelena Ostapenko the last eight in Qatar before the said after defeating Japan’s Nao is known on the tennis shutdown of the circuit due to Hibino 7-6 (4), 6-4 to set up a circuit for her aggres- the Covid-19 pandemic. third-round clash against eighth sive play and booming She continued her strong seed Aryna Sabalenka. Lgroundstroke winners. showing after the resumption on “Obviously, it’s going to be But the former French Open the hardcourts at Lexington and diff erent this year because there champion has rediscovered her New York, where she reached the is not a lot of tournaments.