CELEBRITY
SERENA WILLIAMS EYES US OPEN FINAL
Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka renew their rivalry on Thursday (Sept 10) when they go head-to-head in the semi-finals to determine who is mother superior at the 2020 US Open.
Williams, chasing a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title, takes on unranked Azarenka, seeking a first tennis major trophy in seven years, for a spot in Saturday’s final.
“Can it get any better?” Azarenka asked Wednesday after booking her place in the last four with a 6-1, 6-0 demolition of 16th-seeded Belgian Elise Mertens.
“For me, it can’t. I’m so excited about this. It’s an amazing opportunity to play against a champion, somebody who I respect a lot, who is my friend,” added the two-time Slam winner.
Williams was forced to dig deep to secure a 4-6 6-3 6-2 US Open quarter-final victory over unseeded Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova on Wednesday.
Williams, a six-times champion in New York, struggled with Pironkova’s slice forehand early and was at risk of her earliest US Open exit in 14 years until she used her experience to find a way back against a resurgent Pironkova.
“I’m happy to be standing here… because at one point I was pretty close to not being here,” Williams said during the on-court winner’s interview. “I keep fighting and that’s one thing that I am super excited about is I never give up.”
Williams defeated Azarenka in the final of the US Open in 2012 and 2013. Azarenka’s last Slam title came at the 2013 Australian Open, when she retained the crown she had won a year earlier.
Her last appearance in the final of a tennis major was her US Open defeat to Williams that same year, which she lost in three sets.
Azarenka also suffered an agonising loss in 2012, when she served for the match at 5-3 in the third set only to lose 7-5.
The 31-year-old Belarusian is enjoying a fairytale run at the US Open after claiming last month’s Western and Southern Open tune-up event in New York.
Both Azarenka and Williams are looking to win their first Slam since becoming mothers.
It has been more than three years since Williams won her 23rd title at the 2017 Australian Open – when she was already pregnant with daughter Olympia.
Williams has come close since, reaching four major finals only to come away empty handed, and needs one more to match Margaret Court’s record of 24.
Azarenka became a mother in December 2016. A custody battle over her son has disrupted her career in recent years but she is up to 27th in the world rankings.
Williams and Azarenka are the last remaining mothers in the draw after nine started the tournament.
Only three women – Belgium’s Kim Clijsters, Court and fellow Australian Evonne Goolagong – have won Grand Slam singles titles in the Open era after having children.
In Thursday’s other semi-final, fourth seed Naomi Osaka takes on 28th-seeded American Jennifer Brady.
Japan’s Osaka, 22 is hunting her second US Open after lifting the trophy in 2018. Brady, 25, is competing in her first Grand Slam semi-final.
Osaka, of Haitian and Japanese heritage, has been wearing different masks honoring victims of racial injustice and police brutality throughout the tournament.
She has already donned face coverings bearing the names of Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin and George Floyd.
On Tuesday during an appearance on ESPN, Osaka was played video messages from the mother of Martin and the father of Arbery, who thanked the tennis star for her activism. She later revealed the words of gratitude had moved her to tears.
“I often wonder if what I’m doing is resonating and reaching as many people as I hope,” she wrote on Twitter.
“That being said, I tried to hold it in on set but after watching these back I cried so much. The strength and the character both of these parents have is beyond me. Love you both, thank you.
- AFP, REUTERS
Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first footballer to reach billionaire status, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which has valued the Portugal great’s net worth at an estimated $1.4 billion.
The 40-year-old striker’s financial ascent comes after he signed a new contract with Saudi side Al-Nassr in June reportedly worth more than $400 million.
Bloomberg said that Ronaldo earned more than $550 million in salary between 2002 and 2023, supplemented by a decade-long Nike deal worth nearly $18 million annually, and lucrative endorsements with Armani, Castrol and others that added more than $175 million to his fortune.
Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr from Manchester United in 2023 had already made him the highest-paid player in football history, with an annual salary of 177 million pounds ($237.52 million), plus bonuses and a reported 15% share in his Saudi Arabia club.
Argentina and Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi has earned more than $600 million in pre-tax salary during his career.
Ronaldo’s billionaire status places him among a rare group of athletes that includes basketball greats Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron James, golfer Tiger Woods and tennis player Roger Federer.
Ronaldo suggested he is not considering retirement any time soon.
“I still have a passion for this,” he said at the Portugal Football Globes gala on Tuesday. “My family says it’s time to quit and they ask me why I want to score 1000 goals if I’ve already scored 900-something. But I don’t think that way inside.
“I’m still producing good things, I’m helping my club and the national team. Why not continue? I am sure that when I finish I will leave full because I gave everything of myself. I know I don’t have many years left to play, but the few I have left, I have to enjoy them to the fullest.”
-Reuters
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Former England soccer captain David Beckham and actor Gary Oldman were knighted in King Charles’ annual birthday honours list on Saturday, while sculptor Antony Gormley was made a Companion of Honour.
Beckham, 50, joined Manchester United as a trainee in 1993, going on to make almost 400 appearances for the club where he won a string of titles and cups.
He subsequently played for Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, and Inter Milan, as well as captaining his country 58 times and making 115 appearances.
His marriage to fashion designer and former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham in 1999 cemented a celebrity status which went far beyond his sporting exploits.
Oldman, 67, started his career on the stage, where he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, before rising to prominence in film. He won the best actor Oscar for playing Winston Churchill in the 2017 drama “Darkest Hour”.
He also had roles in the “Dark Knight Trilogy” and the “Harry Potter” movie series and more recently starred in the TV spy drama “Slow Horses”.
Other famous names receiving honours included damehoods for musical theatre star Elaine Paige, novelist Pat Barker and ceramics maker Emma Bridgewater.
Roger Daltrey, lead singer of rock band the Who and a patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust, received a knighthood for services to charity.
More than 1,200 people received honours for their achievements, with a particular focus on those who had given their time to public service, the government said.
King Charles’ official birthday will be celebrated with the annual “Trooping the Colour” military parade in London on Saturday. His actual birthday is on November 14
-Reuters
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One of three judges in Diego Maradona’s closely scrutinized homicide trial in Argentina resigned on Tuesday amid a scandal triggered by the alleged filming of an unauthorised documentary, bringing uncertainty to the future of legal proceedings.
The high-profile trial over the death of soccer star Maradona began on March 11 in the South American country where the World Cup winner is still revered.
-Reuters
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