Author: AFP

Alexander Zverev moved to the verge of a long-awaited first Grand Slam title as the second seed saw off Jakub Mensik in four sets to reach his second French Open final on Friday.

The German will face either 10th seed Flavio Cobolli or his fellow Italian Matteo Arnaldi on Sunday after securing a 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Mensik.

Zverev has endured several near misses at major tournaments, with three previous final defeats, including against Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros two years ago.

“This is a Grand Slam, it’s best of five, things are going to happen, opponents are going to play better. I managed it,” said Zverev.

“I hope to play another great match on Sunday.”

But he will be a strong favourite against either Cobolli or world number 104 Arnaldi to finally get over the line and lift a Slam trophy.

The world number three was playing in his 11th Grand Slam semi-final and his experience showed against Czech youngster Mensik.

The 20-year-old, in the last four of a major for the first time, tired as the match went on as his previous exertions in Paris, including two five-set matches, took their toll.

Zverev has dealt well with the pressure of being the tournament favourite since the early exits of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic, in the second and third rounds respectively.

He will face one last test of his mental strength on Court Philippe Chatrier in two days’ time, but should at least be fresh physically after reaching the final having only lost two sets in six matches.

“Pure emptiness, there’s absolutely nothing in my head,” insisted a smiling Zverev in his on-court interview.

“We’re athletes, very few of us have anything in our heads. Sometimes it’s easier to be stupid and not to think too much.”

The 29-year-old has been within one set of victory in two of his previous Slam finals, when facing Alcaraz in Paris in 2024 and when he blew a two-set lead against Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open.

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Zverev is also aiming to end a 14-month title drought dating back to a clay-court event in Munich in April last year.

Zverev took a closely-fought first set courtesy of a break in the 11th game, having earlier saved three break points to deny Mensik a 5-3 lead.

The 26th seed could not keep pace at all in the second set, as Zverev broke twice and only dropped four points on his own serve.

Mensik called for a medical time-out just three games into the third set, appearing to struggle with a neck injury.

But he dragged himself back into the contest seemingly out of nowhere, breaking to take a 4-2 lead in the third set as his use of the drop shot started to make a greater impact.

That shot wrapped up a hold to love and the set — only the second Zverev had lost in the tournament.

Mensik could not keep up his momentum, though, falling 2-0 behind in the fourth set as consecutive backhand unforced errors gifted Zverev a break.

The three-time Grand Slam runner-up powered into the final from there, despite drawing the ire of some spectators for disputing two line calls and also receiving a warning for a time violation.

Zverev wrapped up victory on his first match point as Mensik netted a backhand.

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Tottenham Hotspur signed former Liverpool defender Andy Robertson on a free transfer on Friday, ending the Scotland captain’s nine-year spell at Anfield.

Robertson will officially join Spurs on a free transfer on July 1 after his Liverpool contract expires.

The 32-year-old nearly left Anfield for Tottenham in January, but Liverpool eventually halted the deal after they were unable to bring back Kostas Tsimikas from the defender’s loan at Roma.

Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi was appointed after that aborted attempt to sign Robertson, but he has given the green light to the left-back’s move to north London.

“Andy is someone I’ve admired for a number of years and he will bring outstanding technical qualities, experience, leadership and mentality to our team,” De Zerbi said.

“He is a proven winner at the highest level over a long period and is someone who can be a big player for us, both on and off the pitch.”

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Robertson’s immediate focus will be on captaining Scotland at the World Cup, before he links up with Tottenham ahead of the start of the domestic season in August.

“I’m in America just now preparing for the World Cup, but I just wanted to send you a quick message to say I cannot wait to play for you guys,” Robertson said in a video message from Scotland’s camp.

“I cannot wait to meet you guys, I cannot wait to play in the stadium for the first time in front of you and I’m already looking forward to next season.”

Robertson will compete with Destiny Udogie for the left-back role in De Zerbi’s starting line-up.

“First and foremost he is an outstanding left-back — one of the best of all time in the Premier League, and someone who will improve our squad,” Tottenham sporting director Johan Lange said.

“In addition, his quality, character and leadership have been evident throughout a career in which he has regularly competed for — and won — major honours.

“Andy’s professionalism and commitment will also be invaluable to the development of our squad, and he shares our ambition and determination to bring success back to the club.”

Robertson won the Premier League twice, the League Cup twice and the FA Cup once during his successful spell at Liverpool.

He was part of the Reds’ 2019 Champions League-winning team.

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The Las Vegas Grand Prix has secured its place on the Formula One calendar at least until 2037 with a new 10-year contract extension.

The deal was announced on Thursday in the run-up to the Monaco Grand Prix.

The first race in the US gambling and entertainment capital was held in 2023 and has drawn hundreds of thousands of visitors every November.

It has generated more than $3 billion in economic impact for southern Nevada over its three editions, and images of single-seat racecars tearing down the neon-lit Las Vegas Strip have become iconic.

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“We are thrilled that Formula One will continue racing in Las Vegas for many years to come,” F1 president and chief executive Stefano Domenicali said in a statement.

“We always believed that Las Vegas would become a cornerstone of our presence in the United States, and this extension, together with the success of recent years, reinforces our long-term commitment to this important market.”

Max Verstappen has won two of the three Vegas Grands Prix, in 2023 and 2025. George Russell won a scintillating 2024 edition that still saw Verstappen secure his fourth straight world driver’s championship.

The fourth edition is scheduled for November 19-21 and will be the 20th of 22 rounds of the 2026 season.

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Liverpool named Andoni Iraola as their new manager on Thursday after sacking Arne Slot following a calamitous Premier League title defence.

Iraola quickly emerged as Liverpool’s top target to replace Slot, whose two-year reign came to a shock end when he was dismissed last Saturday.

Liverpool gave no indication as to the length of the 43-year-old Spaniard’s contract, but British media have reported that he has signed a two-year deal.

“Really excited, really excited, because obviously you know about Liverpool, you know that it’s a big club, a massive club, one of the biggest in the world,” Iraola, who called time on his impressive spell with Bournemouth at the end of this season, said on Liverpool’s official website.

“But feeling inside and understanding a little bit more of this club, I always thought it’s a special club.

“You don’t need a lot of things to get attracted by Liverpool. Liverpool is Liverpool.

“But obviously, the atmosphere, the supporters, the club, the players, the chance for me to coach top-level players, the chance to fight for titles.

“I think it cannot be more attractive than this. It’s difficult to find it. So, really excited to start.”

After criticism of Liverpool’s lacklustre performances in Slot’s second season at Anfield, Iraola is expected to deliver a more urgent, aggressive style of football, which characterised the team under beloved former manager Jurgen Klopp.

Iraola earned rave reviews for Bournemouth’s sixth-place finish in the Premier League this season, which secured the club’s first qualification for Europe in the Europa League.

He arrived at the South Coast Club from Raya Vallecano in 2023, having previously managed Mirandes and AEK Larnaca in Cyprus.

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Bournemouth improved each year under Iraola, finishing 12th, ninth and sixth.

The former defender was praised for his astute tactics and development of youngsters, including Eli Junior Kroupi and Alex Scott.

Born in Spain’s Basque Country, Iraola played more than 500 games for Athletic Bilbao before a stint in Major League Soccer with New York City, where he teamed up with Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo.

He will arrive on Merseyside with Liverpool at a crossroads after Slot failed to maintain the club’s position at the summit of English football.

Slot had the tough task of replacing Klopp, who left in 2024 after winning the Premier League and Champions League during a golden nine-year spell at Anfield.

The former Feyenoord boss made a strong start, leading Liverpool to a record-equalling 20th English league title in his debut season, spearheaded by Salah’s 29 goals.

But Slot was unable to halt Liverpool’s slide in the 2025/26 season as the Reds collapsed from late September, finishing a turbulent season without a trophy.

The death of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota in a car crash last July had an immeasurable impact on the squad, while the club’s £450 million ($605 million) splurge on new signings failed to pay off.

Slot’s relationship with Salah also deteriorated, while Liverpool fans turned on the manager due to his team’s lifeless displays and poor results.

The club limped to a fifth-place finish, 25 points behind champions Arsenal, which at least guaranteed qualification for next season’s Champions League.

READ: Benfica say Real Madrid must pay 15m euros to sign Jose Mourinho

Portuguese giants Benfica confirmed on Thursday that Spanish club Real Madrid would have to pay 15 million euros to prise away their coach, Jose Mourinho.

Real president Florentino Perez has vowed to bring back Mourinho to the Bernabeu, 13 years after he left the club in 2013, as he seeks re-election this weekend.

Benfica released a statement saying that Perez had told them of his “firm intention to recruit” Mourinho, while stipulating that the Portuguese boss’s release clause was worth 15 million euros ($17.4m).

“Sport Lisboa e Benfica announces that, as part of his campaign for the Real Madrid CF presidency, President Florentino Pérez has stated his firm intention to appoint José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix as manager should he win the club’s presidential election, scheduled for 7 June 2026,” the Benfica statement shared with Portugal’s financial regulator, the CMVM, said.

“Should this scenario arise, the appointment will be made for a fee of €15,000,000, corresponding to the termination clause in the current sports employment contract.”

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Previous media reports had suggested that it could cost the Spanish giants as little as three million euros.

Mourinho has already appeared in a video on Perez’s Instagram account, affirming that he was ready to return to the club he first joined in 2010.

During his tenure, he won one La Liga title, a Copa del Rey and a Spanish Super Cup.

Appointing the divisive Mourinho would be a gamble on the part of Perez after Los Blancos finished without a major trophy for a second consecutive season.

But Perez sees Mourinho as the man to bring some discipline to a divided dressing room in which player power is rumoured to have got out of control.

Mourinho joined Benfica in September 2025 and led them to an unbeaten league season, although they only finished third. He has one year left on his contract.

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England pacer Ollie Robinson marked his first Test for more than two years with four wickets, including three in a sensational opening over, as New Zealand slumped to 61-6 before bad light cut short the first day’s play at Lord’s on Thursday.

This is the 150th Test at Lord’s and rarely in the long history of the London ground can the first day have been quite so dramatic, with 16 wickets in total falling before stumps.

Recalled Sussex seamer Robinson had remarkable figures of four wickets for 10 runs in just six overs at the close.

England led by 79 runs at stumps despite being dismissed for just 140 themselves after losing the toss.

Batsmen on both sides struggled in the overcast, bowler-friendly conditions, with even New Zealand great Kane Williamson, blessed with one of the best defensive techniques of his generation, falling for nought to Robinson.

Robinson, bowling the second over of the innings, took three wickets for no runs in four balls to leave New Zealand reeling at 2-3, with the normally reserved Lord’s crowd chanting his name.

The 32-year-old had Devon Conway lbw with his third ball and then removed Williamson and Rachin Ravindra for ducks with the last two balls of his first over.

Williamson, in what could be the 35-year-old’s last appearance at Lord’s, was caught off bat and pad as the ball lobbed gently to short leg.

Ravindra was then lbw to Robinson, after being hit on the back leg.

His review failed to overturn the decision of Australian umpire Rod Tucker, who was standing in his 100th Test. Robinson’s previous 20 Tests had yielded 76 wickets at an impressive average of under 23 apiece.

But doubts about his stamina and attitude, if not his skill, meant that this was his first Test since February 2024.

Gus Atkinson then had New Zealand captain Tom Latham lbw.

Robinson struck again, bowling Daryl Mitchell for 12.

Fast bowler Josh Tongue bowled Tom Blundell to leave New Zealand reeling at 29-6 in just 13 overs.

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Glenn Phillips (31 not out) and Nathan Smith prevented further collapse before bad light curtailed play despite the floodlights being switched on.

Earlier, New Zealand’s Kyle Jamieson took 5-62 in 14 overs — the sixth five-wicket haul of the towering 31-year-old fast bowler’s 20-Test career.

Harry Brook, with 56, was the lone England batter to offer meaningful resistance and he was dropped twice during an otherwise impressive New Zealand fielding display.

New Zealand’s pacemen made England suffer, even though Matt Henry, who was passed fit following a hamstring strain, only managed four overs before leaving the field.

Debutant opener Emilio Gay was out for eight, while Joe Root and Jamie Smith both scored just one run apiece in England’s first Test since their woeful 4-1 Ashes series loss in Australia concluded in January.

Gay, who was playing in place of dropped batter Zak Crawley, emulated England great David Gower by hitting his first ball in Test cricket for four before edging Jamieson to Mitchell in the slips.

Will O’Rourke (3-38) captured the key wicket of Root before Smith was bowled playing no shot by a Jamieson ball that cut back and knocked out his off stump.

England captain Ben Stokes, on his 35th birthday, fell for 12 when an edge off Jamieson was superbly caught low and one-handed by Williamson, diving in front of first slip.

Brook, who was dropped early in his innings had another reprieve, on 45, when Ravindra floored a straightforward catch at midwicket

The batter completed a 64-ball fifty but holed out soon afterwards before a last-wicket partnership of 22 between Tongue and Shoaib Bashir boosted England’s total.

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Mirra Andreeva raced into her first Grand Slam final as she beat an erratic Marta Kostyuk 6-1, 6-3 at the French Open on Thursday.

The 19-year-old Russian took one hour and 16 minutes to overcome her Ukrainian opponent. Andreeva will play either compatriot Diana Shnaider or Pole Maja Chwalinska in Saturday’s final.

“I’m still very, very nervous. I was very nervous coming into this match,” said eighth-seeded Andreeva on court at the end.

Kostyuk, the 15th seed, had won her previous two meetings with Andreeva, both this year. The most recent was on clay in the final in Madrid as Kostyuk put together a 17-match unbeaten run on the red dirt coming into the Roland Garros last four.

Yet, on Thursday, she quickly started to unravel against her teenage opponent. Kostyuk dropped serve in the very first game after two double faults and a pair of unforced errors.

She led 0-40 in Andreeva’s first service game but a combination of Kostyuk errors on high-risk strokes and the Russian’s steadier defence allowed Andreeva to recover to consolidate the break.

The pattern persisted as Andreeva grabbed the initiative to win through the 34-minute set.

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Kostyuk had a break point in the first game of the second set but could not take it.

Andreeva pulled 4-1 ahead. Kostyuk, who finished with 34 unforced errors, finally forced a break of her own but promptly dropped serve to love and Andreeva duly served out the win.

“She’s had an amazing season,” said Andreeva of Kostyuk. “She’s an amazing player, very tough opponent.

“I’m super happy with the way I played and then that I got revenge for Madrid final and I’m happy that I’m in my first-ever Grand Slam final.

“All of these feelings combined it’s amazing. I’ve never felt anything like this before.”

Andreeva was the only one of the women’s semi-finalists to have reached this stage at one of the four majors — she lost to Jasmine Paolini at the last-four stage of Roland Garros in 2024.

Shnaider and Chwalinska, a qualifier, meet to decide her final opponent later Thursday.

“I’m nervous but at the same time I’m very, very excited,” added Andreeva of playing her first major title-decider.

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World number one Aryna Sabalenka made a startling admission after crashing out of the French Open, revealing that she briefly felt like quitting tennis following a stunning quarter-final defeat to Diana Shnaider on Wednesday.

Sabalenka appeared firmly in control of the contest on Court Philippe Chatrier after claiming the opening set and racing to a 4-1 lead in the second with a double-break advantage.

However, the Belarusian suffered a remarkable collapse as Shnaider stormed back to secure a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 victory and book her place in the semi-finals.

The top seed struggled badly as the match slipped away, committing 57 unforced errors and losing the final 10 games of the contest in one of the most dramatic turnarounds of the tournament.

Speaking moments after the defeat, Sabalenka did not hide her frustration when asked about her emotions.

“No thoughts, no emotions. Just want to quit tennis right now,” she said during her post-match press conference. “But we’ll see. We’ll see in a few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.”

The three-time Grand Slam champion later elaborated on her mental struggles during the match, admitting she found herself unable to recover after momentum shifted in Shnaider’s favour.

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“I don’t know when was the last time that happened to me, that I lost 10 games in a row. I don’t know. I guess mentally I got into very deep, deep, dark hole over there, and I just couldn’t get back mentally on track,” Aryna Sabalenka told reporters.

Despite establishing herself as one of the dominant players on the WTA Tour, Sabalenka’s greatest successes have come on hard courts, where she has won all four of her Grand Slam titles. Her quest to capture a maiden French Open or Wimbledon crown, however, continues to prove elusive.

The latest defeat echoed last year’s heartbreaking French Open final loss against Coco Gauff, another match in which Sabalenka failed to convert a strong position.

The 28-year-old insisted she remains comfortable on clay and grass courts but acknowledged that her desire to break through on those surfaces may be creating additional pressure.

“I really feel great on clay. I feel great on grass,” she said. “I think maybe I’m focusing too much on the fact that I never won a Slam on either surface. Maybe that’s making me overthink things and become too emotional in certain moments.”

Sabalenka added that managing her emotions has become a priority as she looks to bounce back from another painful Grand Slam disappointment.

“This is something I have to step back and find a solution for because I’m tired of losing matches in this way simply because I became overemotional,” she concluded.

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New Zealand footballer Tim Payne met the influencer behind his stunning viral fame on Wednesday, presenting him with a team shirt after gaining almost five million Instagram followers in a week.

Argentine social media giant Valen Scarsini, known as “El Scarso”, last week asked his fans to boost unheralded Payne’s following, calling him the “least known” player at the World Cup.

It sparked an online explosion of interest, with Payne’s follower count increasing from 4,000 to 4.9 million in just a few days.

The two met for the first time at New Zealand’s training camp in Florida, with Payne thanking Scarsini for his support.

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“It’s obviously good for myself and New Zealand football too,” Payne said. “It puts a light on us which is a positive thing but at the same time, for me, I don’t change.”

“I’m still the person I am, so I just keep trying to do what I do, which is play football and focus on trying to perform for my country.”

Scarsini was asked, “Why me man?” by the defender who plays for Wellington Phoenix.

“Fly to Argentina!” Scarsini told him.

 

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Payne’s Instagram account now has more followers than the rugby-obsessed country’s All Blacks team, who have a mere 2.8 million.

Scarsini travelled to Florida to watch Payne and New Zealand in a pre-World Cup friendly at Inter Miami’s stadium on Tuesday, where they were beaten 4-0 by fellow World Cup qualifiers Haiti.

New Zealand will play England on Saturday in their final friendly before the World Cup begins.

They will face Iran, Egypt and Belgium in World Cup Group G.

READ: Nepali climber alive after six days missing on Mount Everest

Nepali climbing guide, Hillary Dawa Sherpa, who went missing on Mount Everest for six days and was feared dead, has been found alive after crawling back to Base Camp, officials told AFP on Thursday.

The experienced climber vanished on the upper reaches of the world’s highest mountain early on May 30.

He was found on Thursday morning close to Base Camp by the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC), a Nepali team that helps set routes on Everest and clean up waste left behind.

“He was crawling down,” Pemba Sherpa of 8K Expeditions, which was overseeing search and rescue efforts, told AFP. “A helicopter has been sent to bring him to a hospital in Kathmandu.”

Climber Chris Thrall, a former British Royal Marine, said he successfully summited the 8,849-metre (29,032-foot) peak with Sherpa around 5:00 pm on May 29.

He posted a video message on Instagram on Wednesday, mourning what he thought was the death of Sherpa. He called Sherpa an “absolute gentle giant of a man and a true ‘tiger of the mountains'”, in a post that assumed the worst.

Thrall described how on May 30, he had begun to descend from Camp Four — at around 7,950m — and just below the low-oxygen “death zone”.

He said that as he descended, Sherpa stopped.

“He sat down for a rest with his backpack, these guys carry huge loads,” he said. “And I turned, and I said, ‘Hillary, are you okay, brother?’ He said, ‘Yes, yes, fine, Chris, please go, go!’ This is nothing new, you know, I’d go ahead, he’d go ahead.”

As Thrall went down, he found a Polish climber who was struggling after running out of supplementary oxygen and had suffered frostbite.

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“It had been a long summit push. What should have been five days to the summit and back took us 11 days, that’s how challenging the conditions were,” said Thrall.

“So, do I go back for Sherpa, who’s probably going to rock up and be fine, as he has done hundreds of times before?” he added.

“Or do I help my fellow climber, who’s got no oxygen, frostbite in his fingers, and obviously you’re never far off hypothermia up there?”

Thrall described tough conditions, sharing his oxygen cylinder with the Pole as they descended, taking 11 hours to get to Camp Three. It would usually take two hours.

He said: “I realised we had a really serious situation.”

Search teams set out to find Hillary Dawa Sherpa, but he was not seen again until Thursday morning, having made his way down on his own.

The climb was one of the last of the season, meaning that there were few other mountaineers on the peak.

At least five people have died this season, two Indians and three Nepali climbers involved in Everest preparations.

More than one thousand climbers reached the summit of Everest this season, according to initial tallies by Nepali officials, making it the busiest season on record.

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