Author: Nurudeen Obalola
Novak Djokovic finally claimed his 100th ATP Tour-level singles title with a hard-fought victory over Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in the final of the Geneva Open on Saturday. Djokovic fought back from losing the first set and being a break down in the decider to beat Hurkacz 5-7 7-6 (2) 7-6 (2) in a gruelling contest lasting three hours and four minutes. The Serbian is just the third man in the Open era – after Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer – to win 100 ATP titles. Djokovic, who turned 38 on Thursday, had not won a title since claiming Olympic gold in Paris last summer…
Stina Blackstenius scored the winner as Arsenal stunned European giants Barcelona 1-0 on Saturday to win their first UEFA Women’s Champions League title in 18 years. The Sweden international took one touch before firing the ball past goalkeeper Cata Coll from 10 yards after being played in by a superb pass from fellow substitute Beth Mead. Arsenal had been pitted as underdogs going into the match, with Barcelona having won three of the past four European titles. The victory reaffirms Arsenal’s status as one of Europe’s elite, echoing the achievements of those in 2007 when the Gunners enjoyed countless glory…
Teenager Tom Watson scored a 96th-minute winner to send Sunderland up to the English Premier League. The Black Cats secured a 2-1 win over Sheffield United in the Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday to return to the top flight. The 19-year-old, who is joining Brighton and Hove Albion next season, curled a low effort past Michael Cooper to secure the Black Cats return to the elite league for the first time in eight years. It was an incredible end to a match in which they had been second best for large parts to the Blades. Tyrese…
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has been named the 2024/2025 English Premier League Player of the Season, becoming only the fifth player in history to win the award more than once. The Egypt forward, who also won it in 2017/2018, has matched the records of two-time winners Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nemanja Vidic and Kevin De Bruyne. Having signed a new contract to stay at Liverpool, Salah will head into next season aiming to be the first-ever player to win it three times. Salah is eyeing more history on the Premier League’s final day on Sunday, as he leads the league for goals and assists and…
Lewis Hamilton is planning more movies after working with Brad Pitt on ‘F1’ and also documentaries and possibly a television series with his Dawn Apollo production company. The seven-times Formula One world champion, a co-producer and consultant on the upcoming F1 Movie starring Pitt, told reporters at the Monaco Grand Prix there was plenty more to come. “I’ve gone in very high, I couldn’t go any higher for the first movie, but we will be producing more movies over coming years,” he said. “I’ve got three concepts that I’m writing,” said the Ferrari driver, who launched his company in 2022.…
Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay scored a spectacular scissor-kick volley to help Napoli beat Cagliari 2-0 on Friday night and take the club to their fourth Serie A title. With second-placed Inter Milan leading 2-0 at Como, Napoli had to win to finish top of Serie A, with their supporters creating a sensational atmosphere at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. After the hosts dominated the opening stages, McTominay, who joined Napoli from Manchester United in a £25.7m move in August, made the breakthrough when he acrobatically connected with Matteo Politano’s right-wing cross. Napoli knew a victory would see them become Italian…
Manchester United have told some staff working at their Carrington training ground that they will lose their jobs in the second round of redundancies since Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought into the club last year. Club insiders say the actual process, which could lead to 200 staff losing their jobs, has been ongoing for a number of weeks, with most staff already aware if they are to remain at the club or not. However, BBC Sport has been told some staff connected to the first team were not informed of their fate until Friday so that preparations for Wednesday’s Europa League…
Five-time FIFA U-17 World Cup champions, the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria, have qualified for the semi-finals of the men’s football event of the 22nd National Sports Festival in Ogun State, tagged the Gateway Games. Abdulmuiz Adeleke, who netted the first goal in the 2-1 win over Edo State on Monday, scored a brace against Ebonyi State in Friday morning’s quarter-final encounter, as the the Golden Eaglets won 5-0 to sail into the last four. Mohammed Imrana, scorer of the second goal against Edo State, was also among the goals, though he received a red card in the closing minutes of the…
Real Madrid’s Croatian midfielder Luka Modric said Thursday he would leave the Spanish giants after the Club World Cup this summer. “Everything in life has a start and an end… on Saturday I will play my last match at the Santiago Bernabeu,” said Modric, 39, in a post on Instagram, as he reaches the end of his contract with Los Blancos. “I’m leaving with a full heart, filled with pride, gratitude and unforgettable memories. “And even though, after the Club World Cup, I’m no longer going to wear this shirt on the pitch, I will always be a Madrid fan.”…
Bayelsa State has maintained its lead in the medal table of the National Sports Festival in Abeokuta, Ogun. As at Thursday morning, Bayelsa has secured 19 gold, nine silver and six bronze medals four days into the festival. The official medal table released by the technical team of the NSF tagged ‘Gateway Games 2024’ showed that Delta is now second with 16 gold, five silver and nine bronze medals. The table also shows that Rivers is third with six gold medals, three silver and seven bronze medals. Team Osun, second on day three, currently occupies the fourth position with…