Britain’s Fery causes first shock of Australian Open

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The first surprise of the Australian Open was caused by the defeat of Italian 20th seed Flavio Cobolli by British qualifier Arthur Fery, who also claimed another notable Grand Slam victory.

Fery, 23, won 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 6-1 in a scorching Melbourne, matching his biggest win of his career, having previously defeated 20th seed Alexei Popyrin at Wimbledon last year.

Cobolli ran off the court at the end of the opening set for a toilet break, having a stomach issue from the beginning.

Fery, who is ranked 185th in the world, joked afterward, “It seems I like drawing 20th seeds at Grand Slams.”

“I enjoy playing on big courts and stages.”

After going off court, Cobolli, 23, requested a timeout from the medical staff after going 3-0 up in the third set, and he then requested a refill of the supply.

    • 4 October 2020

The Londoner, who was raised close to the All England Club in Wimbledon, played smart and aggressively, moving Cobolli around the court to further punish him.

Fery’s serve, which is 5 feet 9 inches tall, shows that he has plenty of venom in his groundstrokes as he fires forehands past his opponent, despite lacking the punch of some opponents.

As Fery clinched the victory, producing a number of double faults to tie the match 5-1 in the third set, the body language of a desolate-looking Cobolli revealed how much he was struggling.

Given his comfortable cushion, Fery was without a doubt serving out for his third career Grand Slam victory, not his third at the top of the standings.

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Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,424

On Sunday, January 18, 2018, this is how things are going.

Fighting

  • Since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian military, about 1, 225, 590 personnel have been lost, according to estimates from the general staff of the Ukrainian military.
  • According to the office, Russia has lost an additional 11 569 tanks, 23 914 armoured fighting vehicles, 74, 601 vehicles and fuel tanks, 36, 261 artillery systems, 1, 615 multiple launch rocket systems, 1, 278 air defense systems, 434 aircraft, 347 helicopters, 108, 605 drones, 28 ships and boats, and two submarines. Since the start of the war, it has been challenging to independently verify the causalties of both sides.
  • Russian forces reportedly seized Pryvillya and Prylukya, both of which are located in the Donetsk region, according to the Russian TASS news agency.
    in the Zaporizhia region, citing Moscow’s Ministry of Defense.
  • According to the ministry, 305 Ukrainian forces have lost 1,030 personnel in the past 24 hours, and 214 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones and two long-range Neptune missiles have been shot down by Russian air defenses.
  • In addition to “ammunition depots, assembly workshops, storage sites, pre-flight preparation and launch sites for long-range unmanned aerial vehicles,” Russia’s defense ministry reported that it carried out attacks on Ukrainian energy and transportation infrastructure in 167 locations over the course of the past 24 hours.

Energy strikes

    The Ukrainian Ministry of Energy reported that the Russian forces were continuing their assault on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure over the weekend night, carrying out attacks in the Kyiv and Odesa regions. Russian authorities have portrayed the attacks as an attempt to sabotage the country’s energy system due to the country’s current cold weather.

  • More than 20 communities in the Kyiv region were left without power as a result of the strikes, according to the Ukraine’s Energy Ministry in a post on the messaging app Telegram.
  • Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, claimed that the energy system of Ukraine’s second-largest city was “constantly operating at its limits” because of constant Russian attacks. He claimed that overnight strikes caused three injuries to three people.
  • The most pressing energy issues are affecting Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, during a meeting on energy coordination. He added that countries must increase their energy imports and seek out additional equipment from allies.
  • Despite power outages, infrastructure problems, and extreme cold predictions, foreign embassies are planning to remain in Kyiv, according to the Ukrainian news outlet Kyiv Independent. Weather forecasts for later this month range from 20 degrees Celsius (–4 degrees Fahrenheit). According to the report, Kyiv hosts about 80 foreign diplomatic missions.
  • Moscow is reportedly planning attacks to shut Ukraine out of three nuclear power plants in the coming days, according to Ukraine’s HUR military intelligence body. According to the intelligence agency, those efforts are intended to “force Ukraine to accept unacceptable capitulation demands to end the war” and undermine the nation’s energy infrastructure.

Peace talks

  • Kyrylo Budanov, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, said he was scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, US Secretary of the US Army, and Secretary of State Dan Driscoll, US President.
  • On Sunday, Rustem Umerov and Davyd Arakhamia, the negotiators from Ukraine, will also participate in the discussions in Miami, Florida.
  • On Friday, Zelenskyy stated that the weekend discussions would concentrate on developing ideas for a possible peace agreement regarding issues like economic reconstruction and post-war security guarantees.
  • The delegation’s statement, “in addition to stressing the destructive role that Russian continued strikes play on Ukraine,” was “constantly worsening” the country’s already constrained prospects for a peaceful resolution to end the war.
  • The two nations could sign a document at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, next week if the Trump administration and Ukraine reach a consensus on a proposal. Russian support would also be required for any such proposal.

Diplomacy

    Kaja Kallas, the head of the European Union’s foreign policy, claimed that the Trump administration’s threats to seize control of Greenland and impose tariffs on European allies who disagree with him should not be allowed to undermine the effort to put an end to Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, which she described as the “core task” of the bloc.

  • As Trump continues to threaten the self-governing Danish territory and NATO member, Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev made fun of European leaders by sending military personnel there. In a social media post addressed to EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, he said that European nations should not “provoke the daddy”.
  • Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, praised Denmark and Greenland as examples of how the continent’s “sovereignty is upheld,” and claimed that the concept of sovereignty underlies France’s support for Ukraine.
  • Before the upcoming Winter Olympic Games, Zelenskyy announced Ukrainian sanctions against individuals and organizations involved in Russian athletics, claiming that Moscow uses “sports venues to spread anti-Ukrainian narratives and Russian propaganda.” Russian athletes are prohibited from competing, but they can still be considered “neutral athletes.”

Higgins to face Wilson after thrilling Masters semis

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Judd Trump’s world-record-breaking 6-5 victory by John Higgins stunned him as he won the first Masters final since 2021 by beating him at 3-1 and 5-3.

After defeating Chinese debutant Wu Yize 6-5 in another thrilling last-four encounter, the Scot will now face Kyren Wilson in Sunday’s best-of-19 showpiece match, which will begin at 13:00 GMT.

Higgins appeared to be working hard in the opening three frames of his seven matches against Trump, making a number of errors.

However, Trump, whose best break to that point was just 60, was a lapse, allowing Higgins to reclaim the lead in the fourth frame.

Higgins, who won the second of his two Masters titles 20 years ago, told BBC Sport, “He should have been 4-0 in front and I maybe made it too easy for him.”

“I felt good at 3-1 because if he goes 4-0, it’s done,” said one viewer.

“People will make fun of me, but I believe I’m now a better player than I’ve ever been. You have lost so many games against Judd, and you play these legendary champions like Judd.

Higgins, 50, also placed fifth with a superb 104 break as the momentum was shifting.

After his rival’s red card failed, the Englishman pinched the sixth and eighth frames with a half-century later than Higgins, who made a 57 clearance in a similar fashion, taking frame seven.

With just four balls to go, Trump, 36, who has typically held sway in meetings between the pair since winning the 2019 world championship, surprisingly missed a routine brown with a win.

Wu passes Emotional Wilson.

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By the time Higgins and Trump’s epic encounter had come to an end, Wu and Wilson both had already made their way to Alexandra Palace.

No matter how unlikely it had been for them to have defeated Neil Robertson and Xiao Guodong, respectively, in the quarter-finals, they still delivered a drama-filled match for more than 2, 000 fans inside Alexandra Palace.

Wu, 22, won his first ranking at the International Championship in November, underscoring his status as one of the sport’s greatest new talents.

He also showed that he was not overawed when he won the tournament’s biggest stages by taking the lead with a 75-run lead and building a further 50-century to share the frames with the 2024 world champion.

Wu delivered the perfect riposte knocking in breaks 74, 87, and 58 to move into the frame of his first Triple Crown final as world number two Wilson appeared to be leading 4-2.

However, he was forced to spend the 10th frame by missing a routine red in the right corner.

Wilson let his emotions out after holding his nerve to deliver a sublime match-winning contribution of 116, which Wilson claimed was on the verge of a “mental breakdown” following his last-32 defeat at the UK Championship.

“Wu Yize will continue to exist for a significant period of time. I didn’t participate in any races. Wilson said, “I don’t know where I found those final two frames.”

Higgins perseveres despite his fighting spirit.

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Higgins, a member of the infamous “Class of 92,” along with Mark Williams and Ronnie O’Sullivan, has repeatedly understated his chances of capturing his first Triple Crown since 2011.

Since he won his fourth World Championship title, there have been a number of harrowing losses in the sport’s majors, three of which have come in consecutive Crucible finals between 2017 and 2019.

He lost to Yan Bingtao in the only other final at this prestigious invitational tournament in 2021, and he hasn’t had success at the Masters since 2006.

He has appeared revived since winning the World Open just over a year ago, having briefly fallen out of the top 16 spots after a four-year title drought.

And after staring down the barrel in both of his matches, his fiercely competitive match play, which has never been in doubt, has now allowed him to dispatch the reigning world champion and Trump in successive matches.

“I didn’t give up even with 5-3 down.” Zhao Xintong was the same opponent, according to Higgins.

“Who knows, maybe the trophy belongs to me?” You are simply ignorant. With so many years to go, I’ve probably been watching these finals back home.

List of Triple Crown winnersGetty Images

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