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Tennis-Queen of clay Swiatek rules again at Roland Garros
By Shrivathsa Sridhar
PARIS (Reuters) -Iga Swiatek produced a ruthless performance to crush 12th seed Jasmine Paolini and cement her reputation as the queen of clay on Saturday with a third straight French Open crown and fifth Grand Slam title of her young career.
Swiatek’s 6-2 6-1 win, her 21st straight victory at her happiest hunting ground, put her fourth on the list of longest streaks at Roland Garros in the Open era behind Chris Evert (29), Monica Seles (25) and Justine Henin (24).
She also became the third woman to capture three consecutive titles on Parisian clay after Henin (2005-07) and Monica Seles (1990-92).
The 23-year-old Pole, who arrived in Paris having lifted titles in Madrid and Rome, extended her run of victories on clay to 19 matches to clinch her fourth French Open title in five years.
“It means a lot. This tournament has been pretty surreal with its beginning and the second round, and then I was able to get my game better every match,” Swiatek told reporters, with the shining Suzanne Lenglen cup beside her.
“I’m really proud of myself because the expectations have been pretty high from the outside. Pressure, as well. I’m happy that I just went for it and I was ready to deal with all of this. And I could win.”
Swiatek, now 5-0 in major finals having claimed the U.S. Open in 2022, is the first woman to lift the same Grand Slam title for three successive years since American Serena Williams from 2012-14 at Flushing Meadows.
She came out all guns blazing but after narrowly missing the opportunity to break from 0-40 down in the second game, the top seed Pole made heavy weather of the next to surrender her serve, before bouncing right back.
The diminutive Paolini, the third Italian woman after Francesca Schiavone and Sara Errani to reach the Roland Garros final since the sport turned professional in 1968, went toe to toe with Swiatek before cracking in the sixth game.
SHIFTING MOMENTUM
With the momentum shifting, Swiatek began to dominate the exchanges from the baseline, superbly working the angles and sealing the opening set in 37 minutes after winning 20 out of 24 points since going down a break.
A shell-shocked Paolini smiled and won odd points early in the next set, but her challenge faded in the afternoon sun as Swiatek broke twice to build a 4-0 lead.
Swiatek, who dropped only one set throughout the tournament in a second-round clash with Naomi Osaka, won 10 straight games before Paolini got on the board but there was to be no late comeback.
Swiatek closed out the win in 68 minutes when Paolini hit a shot long, dropping to her knees and pumping her fists while letting out a huge roar, before joining her entourage in the stands to celebrate.
“I think to play you here is the toughest challenge in this sport,” Paolini, who will compete in the doubles final with Errani on Sunday, told Swiatek at the presentation ceremony.
The 28-year-old, who will rise to number seven in the world on Monday, expanded on the difficulties of playing Swiatek.
“She’s playing unbelievable here. She’s taking the balls early… She can defend really well,” Paolini said.
“She won four titles and she’s still 23. These numbers aren’t normal. They’re unbelievable.”
(Reuters) -Private equity firm Insight Partners is on the brink of closing a new $10 billion-plus fund, roughly half the amount originally targeted, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing five people with knowledge of its plans.
Insight will not formally close its 13th fund until early next year, the report said, adding that the final figure may be closer to $12 billion.
Insight Partners declined to comment on the report.
The report said Insight is using a private equity-style structure to sell more than $1 billion worth of stakes in start-ups and to free up cash to return to investors.
One of the start-ups is Israeli cybersecurity firm Wiz, which had called off a $23 billion deal with Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:) in July, the report said.
New York-based Insight raised $20 billion for its 12th flagship fund in 2022, aiming to ramp up investments in software and technology companies.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would inflict a “heavy price” on the Iran-aligned Houthis who control northern Yemen, after they reached central Israel with a missile on Sunday for the first time.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the group struck with a new hypersonic ballistic missile that travelled 2,040 km (1270 miles) in just 11 1/2 minutes.
After initially saying the missile had fallen in an open area, Israel’s military later said it had probably fragmented in the air, and that pieces of interceptors had landed in fields and near a railway station. Nobody was reported hurt.
Air raid sirens had sounded in Tel Aviv and across central Israel moments before the impact at around 6:35 a.m. local time (0335 GMT), sending residents running for shelter. Loud booms were heard.
Reuters saw smoke billowing in an open field in central Israel.
At a weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said the Houthis should have known that Israel would exact a “heavy price” for attacks on Israel.
“Whoever needs a reminder of that is invited to visit the Hodeida port,” Netanyahu said, referring to an Israeli retaliatory air strike against Yemen in July for a Houthi drone that hit Tel Aviv.
The Houthis have fired missiles and drones at Israel repeatedly in what they say is solidarity with the Palestinians, since the Gaza war began with a Hamas attack on Israel in October.
The drone that hit Tel Aviv for the first time in July killed a man and wounded four people. Israeli air strikes in response on Houthi military targets near the port of Hodeidah killed six and wounded 80.
Previously, Houthi missiles have not penetrated deep into Israeli air space, with the only one reported to have hit Israeli territory falling in an open area near the Red Sea port of Eilat in March.
Israel should expect more strikes in the future “as we approach the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 operation, including responding to its aggression on the city of Hodeidah,” Sarea said.
The deputy head of the Houthi’s media office, Nasruddin Amer, said in a post on X on Sunday that the missile had reached Israel after “20 missiles failed to intercept” it, describing it as the “beginning”.
The Israeli military also said that 40 projectiles were fired towards Israel from Lebanon on Sunday and were either intercepted or landed in open areas.
“No injuries were reported,” the military said.
PARIS (Reuters) – Eight people have died trying to cross the Channel from France to England, French authorities said on Sunday, confirming earlier media reports.
This latest incident follows the deaths of 12 people earlier this month when their boat capsized in the Channel on its way to Britain and highlights the pressure on the British and French governments to find ways to tackle the boat crossings.
Jacques Billant, the Prefect of the Pas-de-Calais region, said that rescue crews were alerted that a boat with 59 people onboard was in difficulty in waters off the coast of Ambleteuse in the Pas-de-Calais area.
“A new drama took place around one in the morning and we deplore the death of eight people,” he told a news conference, adding that the other 51 onboard were now in the care of rescue and medical crews.
The dead were men from Eritrea, Sudan, Syria, Egypt, Iran and Afghanistan, he added.
The Channel is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and currents are strong, which makes crossing on small boats dangerous.
The latest incident brings to 46 the number of people who have died trying to cross the Channel from France since the start of the year, Billant said.
On September 14 alone there were eight attempts to cross the Channel from France and some 200 migrants were rescued, he said.
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