CELEBRITY
‘KEEP FIGHTING!’ SERENA WILLIAMS YELLS HERSELF TO OPEN WIN
Her breathing loud enough to hear in an empty Arthur Ashe Stadium, her third-set deficit a point from growing to 3-1 against someone who beat her less than two weeks earlier, Serena Williams scrambled to extend a 13-stroke exchange until her opponent netted a forehand.
“Keep fighting!” Williams exhorted herself.
Locked in a tough fourth-round match Monday, and without the benefit of a pro-American audience, Williams provided her own encouragement along the way to coming back and beating 15th-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3, reaching the quarterfinals in a 12th consecutive appearance at Flushing Meadows.
“I feel like I’m pretty vocal with or without a crowd. … I’m super passionate. This is my job. This is what I wake up to do. This is what I train to do, 365 days of the year,” said Williams, who moved a step closer to a record-tying 24th Grand Slam title.
“Yeah, I’m always going to bring that fire and that passion,” she continued, “and that ‘Serena’ to the court.”
When the match ended, after Williams collected six of the last seven games, she turned and yelled toward her husband, who stood at his front-row seat and yelled right back.
How tight was this contest? Sakkari produced more aces than Williams, 13-12, and more total winners, 35-30.
Williams was two points from victory at 6-all in the second-set tiebreaker, but faltered there, sending a backhand return long to give Sakkari her fifth set point, then pushing a forehand out.
But as is so often the case, when the outcome was hanging in the balance in the third set, which Sakkari led 2-0 but couldn’t quite get to 3-1, Williams was better down the stretch, when it mattered the most.
“I have to be deadly honest: I wasn’t brave enough in the third set. I kind of like, not choked, but didn’t (convert) my chances,” Sakkari said. “And if you don’t get your chances with a good Serena against you, it’s done.”
This was a rematch from Aug. 25, when Williams faded after building a lead and lost in three sets to Sakkari at the Western & Southern Open, a hard-court tournament usually held in Ohio but moved to the U.S. Open site as part of a two-tournament “controlled environment” without spectators amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“Of course I thought about (the loss), but ever so little, because it’s a completely different match, completely different scenario, completely different moment,” Williams said.
In the earlier one, Williams’ legs were cramping by the end, and she blamed herself for that situation, memorably declaring: “I put myself in a bad situation. It’s like dating a guy that you know sucks.”
Asked about that line Monday, Williams joked: “Thank God, I got rid of that guy. Never want to see him again. He was the worst.”
That setback made the American 3-2 since tennis returned from its COVID-19 hiatus, all three-setters. And since? She is 4-0 at the U.S. Open.
Williams, who turns 39 in less than three weeks, will face unseeded Tsvetana Pironkova for a semifinal berth.
Playing in her first tournament in more than three years after taking time off to have a child, the 32-year-old Pironkova advanced with a 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over Alize Cornet.
No. 16 seed Elise Mertens knocked off second-seeded Sofia Kenin 6-3, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament for the second year in a row and deny the American a chance for back-to-back Grand Slam titles.
Kenin won the Australian Open and was trying to become the first with two straight Grand Slam titles since Naomi Osaka won the 2018 U.S. Open and the 2019 Australian Open.
Mertens will face Victoria Azarenka, who beat No. 20 Karolina Muchova 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 for her ninth straight win. Azarenka won the Western & Southern Open that was played in New York as an in-the-bubble warm-up for the U.S. Open.
In men’s action, where Novak Djokovic’s default on Sunday left zero past Grand Slam champions in the bracket, No. 2 seed Dominic Thiem moved into the quarterfinals by claiming a close first set and then running away with a 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-1 win against No. 15 Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Thiem, a three-time major runner-up, now meets first-time Slam quarterfinalist Alex de Minaur, a 21-year-old Australian who eliminated Vasek Pospisil 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-2.
With the 30-year-old Pospisil gone, this will be the first U.S. Open since 2010 without at least one male quarterfinalist who is beyond his 20s.
Williams first won the title in New York all the way back in 1999 as a teenager and now has six trophies from here. In her most recent 11 trips to Flushing Meadows, Williams has four championships, three runner-up finishes and three semifinal losses.
She lost in the final in both 2018 and 2019, part of a stretch in which she has been to the title match at four of the past seven Grand Slam tournaments, falling just short of getting that elusive 24th, which would tie her with Margaret Court for the most in tennis history.
Unlike Court’s, all of Williams’ major championships have come in the professional era.
“I always compete,” Williams said when asked what about her work in this tournament has pleased her the most so far, “but competing and having a good attitude, I think, is what I’m most satisfied about.”
-AP
The legacy of Brazilian football legend Pelé has taken a new turn after Neymar Santos Sr, father of Brazil star Neymar Jr, confirmed the acquisition of the commercial rights to Pelé’s name and image through his agency, NR Sports.
Speaking at the Pelé Museum in Santos, Brazil, Neymar Sr said the deal marks a new chapter for one of the most iconic brands in global sport.
“We are proud. I think it’s a very strong brand. We want to strengthen its identity and adapt it to the current era,” he said, describing the project as deeply emotional and nationally significant.
Although financial details were not officially disclosed, Brazilian media estimate the acquisition at around $18 million. The rights had previously belonged to US-based company Sport 10, which many in Brazil accused of underdeveloping a national treasure.
A ‘Repatriation’ of Pelé’s Legacy
NR Sports described the agreement as a “repatriation” of Pelé’s brand—bringing back to Brazil “one of the greatest symbols in the history of world sport.”
Pelé’s daughter, Flavia, attended the announcement and welcomed the move, saying the family had tried—and failed—to reacquire the rights after Pelé’s death in 2022.
“There are no words to describe the emotion of bringing back a brand that embodies soul, humanity, and love. It’s priceless,” she told AFP.
The unveiling was accompanied by an emotional tribute at the Pelé Museum, which erected a massive green screen with Pelé’s iconic logo. A video shared on Pelé’s and NR Sports’ official accounts celebrated the “universal language” of Brazilian football, showing some of the King’s most memorable goals from his World Cup triumphs in 1958, 1962, and 1970.
Neymar Jr: ‘Pelé Was Born to Change Everything’
Neymar Jr, who recently returned to Pelé’s former club Santos and has surpassed the King as Brazil’s all-time top scorer, featured in a promotional video congratulating his father’s company.
“Some are born to play, others are born to change the game. Pelé was born to change everything,” the 33-year-old forward said. “Pelé never stopped being one of us, and now he is officially part of Brazil, again and forever.”
A New Era for an Underused Global Brand
For years, Pelé’s image rights were more prominently exploited abroad than at home—a situation that drew criticism from the family and Brazilian football circles. The new deal is expected to revitalise the Pelé brand through modern marketing, partnerships, and heritage initiatives anchored in Brazil.
“This is the beginning of a motivating project for us. We are very moved,” Neymar Sr added.
Pelé, who died in December 2022 at age 82, remains an enduring symbol in Santos, São Paulo state, where he played from 1956 to 1974 and where thousands still visit his mausoleum.
With the rights now back in Brazilian hands, NR Sports says the goal is clear: preserve, expand, and enrich the legacy of the King of Football for generations to come.
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Lionel Messi expressed his wish to one day return to Barcelona’s Camp Nou on Monday, having made a brief visit to see the newly revamped stadium where he spent 21 years of his illustrious career.
The 38-year-old Argentine World Cup winner, who joined Barca’s youth academy at age 13 and went on to become the club’s all-time top scorer with 672 goals in 778 appearances, left the Catalan side in 2021 when they could not make it financially viable to keep him.
Having won 10 LaLiga titles, four Champions League crowns and three Club World Cups with Barca, Messi now plays for Inter Miami after two years with Paris St Germain.
Barca reopened the Camp Nou on Friday, 895 days after its closure, unveiling a revamped stadium by staging an open training session attended by 21,795 fans.
“Last night, I returned to a place that I miss with all my heart. A place where I was immensely happy, where you made me feel a thousand times like the happiest person in the world,” the eight-times Ballon d’Or winner wrote on Instagram on Monday.
“I hope that one day I can return, and not just to say goodbye as a player, as I never got to do.”
Messi extended his contract with Inter Miami in October, and has previously said that the Major League Soccer club would likely be his last.
“You’re always welcome at your home, Leo,” Barca posted on X.
-Reuters
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Argentina has paid a powerful tribute to its greatest football icon, Diego Armando Maradona, by unveiling a special commemorative silver coin celebrating both the late legend’s 65th birthday and the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The coin, released on October 30 — the date that would have marked Maradona’s 65th birthday — honours his unforgettable solo goal against England in the 1986 World Cup, often described as “the goal of the century.”
The Central Bank of Argentina announced that the limited-edition coin features a football motif on one side, while the reverse captures Maradona’s legendary dribble from his own half, past five English defenders, before coolly slotting the ball home in Mexico City.
That match, etched in global memory, also produced another of football’s most talked-about moments — the “Hand of God” goal, scored just minutes earlier. Together, those two goals defined not only a game but an era, as Maradona led Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986, their second in history.
“This coin immortalizes a symbol of Argentine pride — a goal that transcended sport to become a moment of national identity,” said the Central Bank in a statement.
The release is also timed to build excitement ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada — marking 40 years since Maradona’s most celebrated tournament.
Maradona, who passed away in 2020, remains one of football’s most revered figures. His blend of artistry, audacity, and passion continues to inspire generations of players and fans alike.
Across Argentina, tributes poured in from fans, clubs, and former teammates, with many visiting murals, statues, and shrines dedicated to the No.10. In Buenos Aires, street musicians played “Live is Life” — the anthem that once accompanied Maradona’s famous pre-match warm-up routine at Napoli — as a reminder of his enduring magic.
For Argentina, this special-edition coin is more than a collector’s item; it is a national homage to an eternal legend, a man whose left foot and spirit still define the heartbeat of Argentine football.
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