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Draper rues missed chances in Rome loss to Alcaraz

By in News, Sports News
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Jonathan Jurejko
BBC Sport tennis news reporter
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British number one Jack Draper was knocked out of the Italian Open as Carlos Alcaraz showed his quality under pressure to reach the semi-finals.

Draper, 23, was beaten 6-4 6-4 on the Rome clay as world number three Alcaraz battled valiantly to save break points at key moments and take his own chances when they came.

Englishman Draper, who is fifth in the ATP rankings, led 4-2 in the first set before Alcaraz fought back to take the lead.

Looking to build on his run to the Madrid Open final at the start of May, Draper recovered in the second set and constantly applied pressure on Alcaraz’s serve.

But he was unable to convert three break points and, after coming through a lengthy eighth game to hold, reigning French Open champion Alcaraz ran with the momentum.

“I played with such a high rhythm during the whole match and didn’t let him dominate in the rallies,” said Alcaraz, who avenged a defeat by Draper in the Indian Wells semi-finals in March.

“It was a good weapon for me and I’m really proud how I approached the match.”

Positives to take for Draper before French Open

Coming into this European clay-court swing, Draper had won nine of his 20 matches on the red dirt.

Now, having reached the Madrid final and caused problems for Alcaraz in Rome, he has emerged as a genuine force on the surface going into the French Open, which begins on 25 May.

This, though, was a reminder of what it takes to beat the world’s leading men’s clay-courter.

Building up his physical durability – having struggled with fitness issues in previous seasons – has been key to Draper’s improvement on a surface which does not come naturally to the left-hander.

All his greater physicality was needed against Alcaraz – a player who glides around the clay and has more time to employ his weapons effectively on the slower surface.

Draper pounced on a loose game to take a 4-2 lead in the first set, but he was unable to consolidate the break as Alcaraz returned superbly to instantly hit back.

Continuing to make Draper work hard behind the baseline in the points, and electing to employ the drop-shot more regularly to end them, helped Alcaraz switch momentum.

Draper began to look weary as Alcaraz won five straight games to move a set and a break up, but he demonstrated his improved durability by digging deep to find another wind.

Draper instantly broke back in the second set, breezing through his next few service games while ramping up the pressure on Alcaraz.

Suddenly, Alcaraz looked flustered as his serve came under intense scrutiny.

The Spaniard played more than twice as many service points as Draper across the opening eight games but hung on with the help of his forehand to keep the set on serve.

Not breaking serve ultimately knocked the stuffing out of Draper.

The British left-hander was broken to love in the ninth game, bowing his head at the changeover to signal his frustration, before Alcaraz confidently served out.

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Sean Combs’s Ex Cassie To Face Defence Questioning In Court

By in Entertainment News, News

Sean “Diddy” Combs’s former partner Casandra Ventura is expected to be grilled by the fallen music mogul’s defense lawyers Wednesday as she returns to court for a second day of testimony.

Singer and model Ventura, better known as Cassie, is also likely to face questions about allegations Combs raped her in 2018, as well as her graphic accounts of elaborate sex parties organised by the hip-hop icon.

In an emotional first day of testimony, Ventura, who is heavily pregnant, also detailed beatings and abuse at the hands of Combs whom she painted as controlling and willing to wield his wealth and influence to get his way.

READ ALSO: Sean Combs’s Ex Cassie Says He Forced Her Into ‘Disgusting’ Sex Ordeals

COMBO: Singer Cassie and Sean Combs aka Puff Daddy or Diddy

She gave vivid accounts that will underpin much of the prosecution’s case against the music industry figure who is alleged to have used violence and blackmail to manipulate women over many years.

Ventura recounted so-called “freak-off” sex parties saying she participated because she was “just in love and wanted to make (Combs) happy — to a point I didn’t feel like I had much of a choice.”

Ventura, who is 17 years younger than Combs and first met him when she was 19, described how the mogul would sometimes urinate on her, or he would instruct one of the numerous sex workers he engaged to do so.

‘It was disgusting’

Singer and model Cassie Ventura

The escorts, almost always men, were paid thousands of dollars in cash after encounters.

“It was disgusting. It was too much. It was overwhelming,” she said, adding that the hotel rooms used for the marathon sex sessions were often trashed, with establishments charging sizable cleaning and repair bills including for sheets stained with blood and urine.

Combs’s defence team indicated that during cross-examination, which is expected as early as Wednesday afternoon, they would seek to emphasise that Ventura took drugs of her own free will, and behaved erratically.

Ventura said that during the encounters she took drugs including ecstasy, ketamine and cocaine, and that the “drugs honestly helped” her meet Combs’s demands to stay awake for days on end.

FILES: Sean P. Diddy Combs with Cassie Ventura attend the premiere of ‘The Perfect Match’ at the Arclight Theatre in Los Angeles on March 7, 2016. (Photo by Chris Delmas / AFP)

The drugs also had a “dissociative and numbing” effect, she said, “a way to not feel it for what it really was.”

In a hotel surveillance clip from March 2016 shown to jurors Monday and again Tuesday, Combs is seen brutally beating and dragging Ventura down a hallway.

The prosecution played portions of the footage while Ventura was on the stand.

When asked why she didn’t fight back or get up, Ventura answered simply that curled up on the ground “felt like the safest place to be.”

Combs’s defense team insists while some of his behavior was questionable it did not constitute racketeering and sex trafficking. He denies all counts and proceedings are expected to last eight to 10 weeks.

Gauff Sees Off Andreeva To Reach Italian Open Semis

By in News, sport-news

Coco Gauff marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open on Wednesday by beating Mirra Andreeva in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5).

American Gauff has guaranteed herself number two in the world rankings with her solid displays in Rome, where she saw off seventh seed Andreeva on centre court.

Former US Open winner Gauff said that she had “a lot of confidence” for the last four, where she could face tournament favourite Aryna Sabalenka with the world number one taking on Zheng Qinwen later on Wednesday.

US Coco Gauff celebrates winning her women’s singles match against Russian Mirra Andreva at the WTA Rome Open tennis tournament at Foro Italico in Rome on May 14, 2025. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP)

“Maybe some points weren’t my best. I still managed to be successful,” said Gauff.

Gauff, 21, is looking for her first title of the season, ahead of Roland Garros starting later this month, after losing the Madrid final to Sabalenka.

READ ALSO: Osaka knocked Out Of Italian Open As Fans Await Sinner

Indian Wells champion Andreeva, at 18 years old the youngest woman to reach the last eight at the Foro Italico since Gauff in 2021, put up surprisingly little resistance in a low-key first set.

And Gauff had too much for her in the second, quickly responding to each of Andreeva’s breaks of serve before coming through a tricky tie-break.

Later Carlos Alcaraz continues his bid for a first Rome crown when he takes on fifth seed Jack Draper, who has put in another strong showing on clay after reaching the Madrid final.

US’ Coco Gauff serves to Russia’s Mirra Andreeva during the Women’s WTA Rome Open tennis tournament quarter-final tennis match at Foro Italico in Rome on May 14, 2025. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP)

Draper could become the first British man to reach the last four in the Italian capital since 2016, when Andy Murray was beaten by Novak Djokovic in the final.

The winner of that match will then face one of reigning Rome champion Alexander Zverev and home hope Lorenzo Musetti, the day’s final pairing on centre court.

Casper Ruud set up a quarter-final clash with Jannik Sinner on Thursday after winning his postponed match with Jaume Munar 6-3, 6-4.

Sixth seed Ruud was supposed to play on Tuesday but an afternoon downpour forced his match to be moved to Wednesday.

73 Minors Arrested For Substance Abuse In Borno

By in News, Nigeria News

The Borno State Government has arrested 73 underage children involved in substance abuse.

The children were picked up from different locations, including Bulabulin Kasuwa and Gwange Kasan Gada.

The Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, which led the exercise, explained that the action was a bold and decisive step to curb the growing menace of drug abuse and the involvement of children in unlawful activities on the streets of Maiduguri.

The move followed the circulation of a disturbing video on social media showing a young boy, barely in his teens, openly admitting to abusing drugs.

According to a statement from the ministry on Wednesday, many of the children, aged between 12 and 15 years, were not only abusing substances but also exposed to criminal activities.

The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Zuwaira Gambo, said the children were successfully taken off the streets and transferred to the Bulumkuttu Rehabilitation Centre in Maiduguri.

There, they are expected to undergo comprehensive rehabilitation, counselling, and reintegration programs under the care and supervision of the Borno State Government.

READ ALSO: Police Rearrest Suspect Linked To Anambra Lawmaker’s Murder

While addressing the children before their relocation, Gambo expressed deep concern over the rising trend of drug use among minors and stressed that the government would not stand by and watch the future of its youth being destroyed.

“You are still very young, and you deserve a better life than this. We are not here to punish you, but to support you. The Borno State Government under the leadership of His Excellency, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, is committed to giving you another chance to live a meaningful and responsible life,” she told them.

The commissioner added that the ministry would continue to trace, rescue, and rehabilitate more children at risk across the state while working closely with security agencies, traditional leaders, community members, and NGOs to eliminate the root causes of drug abuse and child endangerment.