Holger Rune produced a sensational performance to stun home hero Carlos Alcaraz and claim the Barcelona Open title.
Denmark’s Rune matched the Spaniard shot-for-shot and held firm in the tight moments to beat his childhood friend 7-6 (8-6) 6-2.
It is Rune’s first ATP Tour title for two years and his biggest since the Paris Masters in 2022.
Rune, forced to retire in Monte Carlo last week with illness, said afterwards he had been inspired by Novak Djokovic’s victory over Alcaraz in the Olympic final at Roland Garros.
“I told myself OK, what did Novak do when he beat him? ” Rune, 21, said.
“I kind of played it in my mind, the Olympic final, and I thought to myself let’s try to play that kind of style, really make him play a lot of balls.
Alcaraz, who had been bidding for a third Barcelona title in four years, missed all four of the break opportunities he created in the second set and also required a medical timeout.
While Rune will return to the top 10 on Monday, Alcaraz will be replaced as world number two by Alexander Zverev.
The first set in Barcelona was a high-quality encounter between two players born just six days apart and who have been playing one another since their teens.
Alcaraz broke first, thumping his forehand with increasing ferocity, but Rune was equally impressive to immediately force the match back on serve.
Both aggressive baseliners, Alcaraz and Rune sent the ball thudding around Pista Rafael Nadal, but Rune was superior at the net, winning 12 of 16 points there.
Monte Carlo champion Alcaraz fended off four set points but a long forehand in the tie-break handed the initiative to Rune.
Again, Alcaraz had his chances, missing two break points in Rune’s first service game. But at 2-1 up, he left the court for a medical timeout, and could not find his rhythm on his return.
Rune reeled off the next five games, committing 24 unforced errors to Alcaraz’s 33, and ultimately secured victory on a missed Alcaraz forehand.
The pair are set to play in the Madrid Masters, which begins on Tuesday.
Holger Rune produced a sensational performance to stun home hero Carlos Alcaraz and claim the Barcelona Open title.
Denmark’s Rune matched the Spaniard shot-for-shot and held firm in the tight moments to beat his childhood friend 7-6 (8-6) 6-2.
It is Rune’s first ATP Tour title for two years and his biggest since the Paris Masters in 2022.
Rune, forced to retire in Monte Carlo last week with illness, said afterwards he had been inspired by Novak Djokovic’s victory over Alcaraz in the Olympic final at Roland Garros.
“I told myself OK, what did Novak do when he beat him? ” Rune, 21, said.
“I kind of played it in my mind, the Olympic final, and I thought to myself let’s try to play that kind of style, really make him play a lot of balls.
Alcaraz, who had been bidding for a third Barcelona title in four years, missed all four of the break opportunities he created in the second set and also required a medical timeout.
While Rune will return to the top 10 on Monday, Alcaraz will be replaced as world number two by Alexander Zverev.
The first set in Barcelona was a high-quality encounter between two players born just six days apart and who have been playing one another since their teens.
Alcaraz broke first, thumping his forehand with increasing ferocity, but Rune was equally impressive to immediately force the match back on serve.
Both aggressive baseliners, Alcaraz and Rune sent the ball thudding around Pista Rafael Nadal, but Rune was superior at the net, winning 12 of 16 points there.
Monte Carlo champion Alcaraz fended off four set points but a long forehand in the tie-break handed the initiative to Rune.
Again, Alcaraz had his chances, missing two break points in Rune’s first service game. But at 2-1 up, he left the court for a medical timeout, and could not find his rhythm on his return.
Rune reeled off the next five games, committing 24 unforced errors to Alcaraz’s 33, and ultimately secured victory on a missed Alcaraz forehand.
The pair are set to play in the Madrid Masters, which begins on Tuesday.
Bukayo Saka’s ankle injury is “nothing serious” after he was forced off during Arsenal’s 4-0 Premier League win at Ipswich on Sunday, manager Mikel Arteta said.
The winger was injured by a high challenge on the back of his ankle in the 32nd minute by Leif Davis, who was sent off.
England international Saka was substituted early in the second half and was pictured with strapping on his ankle.
Arteta said the winger was “sore” – but added that the decision to take him off was just a precaution, with Arsenal facing the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Paris St-Germain on 29 April.
“He was a bit sore, but it’s nothing serious, so it’s good,” Arteta said.
“I haven’t seen the slow motion, I’ve just seen the normal pace image and yeah, he cuts him from the back.
“I don’t think it’s intentional at all, but it’s dangerous because he cannot really react to anything, because you cannot see him coming. “
Arsenal have suffered an injury-hit campaign, with Saka, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus all absent for long periods.
And Arteta acknowledged that because of that, he does get concerned when he sees one of his players struggling during a match.
‘One of the best 35 minutes we played this season’
Arteta was thrilled with the way his players kept up their levels four days after sealing a Champions League semi-final place with a victory over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
“I think the first 35 minutes is one of the best 35 minutes we played this season,” Arteta said.
“We scored two goals [in the first half]; we could have scored three or four to be fair.
“We really dominated the game. Very high intensity and understanding what we had to do today to win here.
“And after, obviously, when they got the red card, the context of the game changed and we were much in control, scored another two goals, made certain rotations, so overall a very positive afternoon. “
With PSG to consider, Arteta must now decide whether to rest key players for Wednesday’s Premier League home game against Crystal Palace.
“We have to somehow put 11 players out there and have four or five changes, so let’s see how they recover in the next few days,” Arteta said.
“The good thing is they are willing to play because they like the rhythm as well.
“We are so used to that rhythm every three days that the boys are demanding and then we don’t have a game at the weekend, so we have a gap there, so let’s see how we get on Wednesday. “
At Portman Road, Arteta selected a midfield perhaps with PSG in mind – as Thomas Partey will be suspended for the first leg of the semi-final.
The manager moved Declan Rice to a deeper midfield role, with Mikel Merino – who has been playing as a makeshift striker – taking up his natural position in the middle.
Leandro Trossard came in up front and scored two goals – and is ready to start against PSG if needed, according to Arteta.
“Yeah, he’s certainly ready to play in any position,” he said.
“We have to make certain adjustments, not because of PSG but because of the situation we had with Thomas and a few other players.
Bukayo Saka’s ankle injury is “nothing serious” after he was forced off during Arsenal’s 4-0 Premier League win at Ipswich on Sunday, manager Mikel Arteta said.
The winger was injured by a high challenge on the back of his ankle in the 32nd minute by Leif Davis, who was sent off.
England international Saka was substituted early in the second half and was pictured with strapping on his ankle.
Arteta said the winger was “sore” – but added that the decision to take him off was just a precaution, with Arsenal facing the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Paris St-Germain on 29 April.
“He was a bit sore, but it’s nothing serious, so it’s good,” Arteta said.
“I haven’t seen the slow motion, I’ve just seen the normal pace image and yeah, he cuts him from the back.
“I don’t think it’s intentional at all, but it’s dangerous because he cannot really react to anything, because you cannot see him coming. “
Arsenal have suffered an injury-hit campaign, with Saka, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus all absent for long periods.
And Arteta acknowledged that because of that, he does get concerned when he sees one of his players struggling during a match.
‘One of the best 35 minutes we played this season’
Arteta was thrilled with the way his players kept up their levels four days after sealing a Champions League semi-final place with a victory over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
“I think the first 35 minutes is one of the best 35 minutes we played this season,” Arteta said.
“We scored two goals [in the first half]; we could have scored three or four to be fair.
“We really dominated the game. Very high intensity and understanding what we had to do today to win here.
“And after, obviously, when they got the red card, the context of the game changed and we were much in control, scored another two goals, made certain rotations, so overall a very positive afternoon. “
With PSG to consider, Arteta must now decide whether to rest key players for Wednesday’s Premier League home game against Crystal Palace.
“We have to somehow put 11 players out there and have four or five changes, so let’s see how they recover in the next few days,” Arteta said.
“The good thing is they are willing to play because they like the rhythm as well.
“We are so used to that rhythm every three days that the boys are demanding and then we don’t have a game at the weekend, so we have a gap there, so let’s see how we get on Wednesday. “
At Portman Road, Arteta selected a midfield perhaps with PSG in mind – as Thomas Partey will be suspended for the first leg of the semi-final.
The manager moved Declan Rice to a deeper midfield role, with Mikel Merino – who has been playing as a makeshift striker – taking up his natural position in the middle.
Leandro Trossard came in up front and scored two goals – and is ready to start against PSG if needed, according to Arteta.
“Yeah, he’s certainly ready to play in any position,” he said.
“We have to make certain adjustments, not because of PSG but because of the situation we had with Thomas and a few other players.
Palestinian Christians in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem have marked a second sombre Easter under punishing conditions and Israel’s war on Gaza.
In the Gaza Strip, where no food or aid has been allowed in by the Israeli military for nearly 50 days, people observed Easter on Sunday at the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City amid death and destruction.
Easter celebrations were limited to religious rituals as families cancelled other gatherings fearing more bombs would be dropped by Israeli warplanes, which killed dozens of people in the besieged enclave on Sunday.
Israeli forces bombed the Saint Porphyrius compound in October 2023, just days after the war began in the aftermath of Hamas-led attacks on Israel. Israel said it was targeting “terrorists”.
That attack killed at least 18 displaced Palestinians who had sought refuge in the church. More than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army since the start of the war.
During a brief appearance before thousands of Catholic pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square for the Vatican’s open-air Easter Mass, Pope Francis renewed his call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
He also called on the Palestinian armed group Hamas and other groups to release the remaining captives held in Gaza.
Heavy restrictions in occupied West Bank
Israeli authorities prevented many Christians, including Palestinians, from accessing holy sites for Easter in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli police clashed with Christian worshippers and even a priest as they tried to access the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in occupied East Jerusalem.
The Old City of Jerusalem was in effect turned by Israeli authorities into a military outpost, said Fathi Nimer, Palestine policy fellow at the Al-Shabaka think tank.
“Some would say that there are now more soldiers, security and police officers than worshippers around the Holy Sepulchre,” he told Al Jazeera from Ramallah in the West Bank on Sunday.
“There are dozens of checkpoints within the city, and these limitations have not only impacted Palestinian Christians from the West Bank but also from Jerusalem itself and within the 1948 territories. ”
Nimer said people were beaten, and Israeli officers and onlookers directed insults and slurs towards Christians.
Only about 6,000 Palestinians from the West Bank received permits to attend Easter services this year, and even the representative of the Vatican in Palestine was denied entry into the church.
Nimer said a tightening Israeli chokehold over holy places in the past few years has led to a dwindling number of worshippers of Palestinian origin.
“This is all part of the wider war on Palestinian culture and identity. Israel is basically saying they have an exclusive claim to Jerusalem and all of Palestine,” he said.
‘I don’t have a permit to go as a pastor’
Mitri Raheb, a Palestinian pastor and theologian and founder and president of Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem, concurred that current Israeli restrictions are among the toughest.
“I myself as a pastor don’t have a permit to go for the Holy Week, which is the most important week for Christians throughout the year because Jesus was crucified and risen in Jerusalem,” he told Al Jazeera.
“The Palestinian-Christian community that has been there for 2,000 years cannot go there to celebrate and mark this where it all happened. ”
Raheb said incitement against Palestinian Christians, especially clergy members, has also been on the rise with dozens of incidents of Israeli settler attacks reported this year.
“One of the first things you read about in church about Jesus is that he was like a lamb led to the slaughter. But when you hear this today as Palestinian Christians, you think it’s our whole people being led to slaughter, considering what is happening in Gaza. ”
Clergy celebrate Easter at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City [Ronen Zvulun/Reuters]
Israeli settlers and politicians, backed by armed police and soldiers, have also been increasingly storming the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to perform Talmudic rituals and challenge its status quo.
Non-Muslims are not allowed to worship at the compound of Islam’s third holiest site, which is located in East Jerusalem, as part of the status quo agreement that the Israeli government claims it remains committed to.
Pope Tawadros II, head of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church, strongly condemned the Israeli onslaught on Gaza.
A former presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tunde Bakare, has decried the relationship between the executive and legislative arms of government under President Bola Tinubu, asking the Nigerian leader to “stop playing God”.
Bakare, the Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church (CGCC), issued the warning in his state of the nation address delivered in the Lagos auditorium of his church on Sunday.
He raised the alarm over the state of affairs in the country, saying Nigeria is steering in the wrong direction.
“To the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, under whose brand of politics the institution of legislative oversight is collapsing and our democracy is faced with an existential threat, I say: Mr. President, Nigeria is too delicate for this kind of politics,” the preacher said.
“If this state capture was what you meant by emi lo kan, it is an anti-climax that can only be counterproductive in the end. I urge you, Mr. President, to think deeply and reflect on these words: ‘No man is wise enough nor good enough to be trusted with unlimited power. ’ Please, stop playing God! ”
FILES: President Bola Tinubu (L) exchanges pleasantries with Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, at a joint NASS sitting in Abuja.
“Mr. President, it is through your influence that the Nigerian National Assembly has become a haven for legislative rascality,” Bakare argued.
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‘Most Spineless’
FILE: Bola Tinubu, and former vice presidential aspirant, Pastor Tunde Bakare, exchange pleasantries at the venue of the APC national convention in Abuja on March 26, 2022. Channels TV/ Sodiq Adelakun.
Recalling the recent activities of the National Assembly, including the approval of a state of emergency in Rivers, the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, Bakare said the country’s legislative arm of government is now “an extension of the executive, grossly violating the principles of separation of powers, and rubber-stamping the whims and caprices of” President Tinubu’s office.
“This National Assembly, the Tenth, has by its unconstitutional endorsement of the president’s abuse of powers proven to be the most spineless in our recent history.
