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SHANGHAI — Defending champion Daniil Medvedev made a strong start to the Shanghai Masters on Saturday, with his main rival, top seed Carlos Alcaraz, due to launch his campaign later.

Italy’s Jannik Sinner is also through after battling through an intense first set — saving four set points — against the United States’ Marcos Giron.

Medvedev, the world number three, beat Chile’s Cristian Garin in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 to proceed breezily to the third round.

Garin put up a valiant defence, with several hard-fought rallies inducing gasps from the crowd, but ultimately the 98th-ranked player struggled with the Russian’s relentless pace.

“[There’s a] long tournament ahead, with a lot of strong players, starting from my next match,” said Medvedev at the end.

“But the goal for sure is to try and win this beautiful trophy one more time.”

Medvedev won the 2019 title, but for the next three years the tournament was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m definitely happy to be back in Shanghai,” he said. “I honestly feel great and I want to stay here as long as possible.”

Medvedev is popular with Chinese fans, a chemistry on display when the indoor match was interrupted briefly after a red-and-white butterfly distracted the Russian from serving.

The crowd giggled as he played up his surprise for comic effect, before carefully handing over the insect, which had settled on one of his tennis balls, to great applause.

“I’m a little bit, not scared of insects, but, like, I don’t like when they go on me,” Medvedev said at a press conference afterwards, though he added it was “perfect for me” upon hearing they were a symbol of good luck in China.

The Russian next plays 26th-ranked Sebastian Korda, who beat him at their last meeting.

“He was very dominant, in a way, and that’s how he plays, so it’s going to be interesting for me,” said Medvedev.

“I’m in a good shape now, so I will try to do better than last time and try to win.”

Sinner prevails 

Sinner, who defeated Medvedev in the final of the China Open this week, had a more challenging route to the third round in his Shanghai Masters debut.

The Word No. 4 snatched a nail-biting first set 7-6 (9/7), before coming back strong in the second set for a quick 6-2 victory.

“[Giron] is a very, very good player... The first set is never easy, I got lucky a little bit but sometimes you need a bit of luck,” Sinner said after the match.

“In the second set I was able to raise the level a bit... so I’m very happy with that.”

Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas is also through to the next round after a straightforward job dispatching Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-2.

“In the beginning of a tournament, it takes some time to get the pace and rhythm of how things flow,” Tsitsipas said.

“I was very confident and very sure of what I was doing and what I was following and it worked out pretty well.”

World No.2 Alcaraz is also in action Saturday, playing France’s Gregoire Barrere.

Alcaraz is looking to close the gap on the absent Novak Djokovic at the top of the rankings with strong performances in China.

But he was disappointed in Beijing by Sinner, who defeated him in the semi-final before going on to beat Medvedev too.

AMMAN — Jordan’s medal tally at the 19thAsian Games currently under way in Hangzhou, Chinawent up to 9 on the weekend, with karate adding three medals on Saturday before the competition comes to a close on Sunday.

Jordan finished with five silver and four bronze medals in three competitions: Karate, taekwondo and basketball while 12 sports were eliminated including boxing, gymnastics and ju-jitsu which were expected to win.

On Saturday, Taekwondo’s Abdul Rahman Masatfeh added a silver (U67kg), teammate Mohammad Ja’fari added a bronze (U84kg) and Joud Darous won a bronze ( U67kg). 

With two previous medals on the weekend, by Hasan Masarweh who won silver in karate (U75kg) and teammate Abdullah Hammad a bronze ( U60kg), the three medals on the final day of Jordan’s competition brought the medals won by karate to 5.

Jordan had earlier secured three medals in taekwondo — two silvers by Saleh Sharabati (U80kg) and Zaid Mustafa (U68kg), and one bronze by Zaid Halawani (U63kg). Sharabati, the Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, now ranked 3rd in the world is eyeing the  Paris Olympics 2024

On Friday, another historic silver medal was added by the basketball team, after Jordan reached the final and secured the first ever team sports medal. However, the silver was more like a loss for Jordanian fans who had anticipated the nation’s team would win after an unbeaten streak in the event and repeat their  victory over the Philippines in the first round.

The basketball final was a setback for fans as the team seemed to lack the fighting spirit that enabled them to jump back after disappointing last place finish at the World Cup.

The Philippines team was fast, and adamant to win while Jordan played their worst game and lost 70-60 to settle for second.Most of the match, the lineup seemed to lack the cohesive teamwork as Rondae Hollis-Jefferson singlehandedly tried to reignite thelineup that was behind 17-12 at end of quarter one before the Philippines lead 28-15.

Hollis-Jefferson, Freddie Ibrahim and Sami Bza’i scored 4 consecutive three pointers to tie the match 29-29 before quarter two ended 31-31.

The Philippines took charge of  third quarter limiting the effective scoring and rebounding of Jordan’s towering Ahmad Dweiri who was given a break as Ahmad Hamarsheh and Mohammad Shaher were given play timeending the quarter 51-41.

Jordan seemed to be always trying to catch up with the Philippines continuing to play a fast-paced game that enabled them to win the low scoring match 70-60 with Jordan’s bench clearly not up to par and limiting the squad’s chances of securing easier wins over opponents.

Observers noted it will be imperative that sports federations are assessed with the Jordan Olympic Committee after all teams,apart from taekwondo,karate and basketball eliminated.

HANGZHOU, China — China's women's basketball team staved off a spirited fightback from Japan to retain their Asian Games title on Thursday, as a silver medallist became the latest athlete to fail a doping test.

The Chinese men crashed out in the semi-finals with a last-gasp defeat to the Philippines 24 hours earlier, breaking the hearts of the basketball-obsessed home nation.

But the women made up for it, taking an early lead and then just about keeping the Olympic runners-up at bay for a thrilling 74-72 win at a pulsating Hangzhou Olympic Centre Gymnasium.

Wang Siyu sank the game-winning basket with seconds remaining, sparking wild celebrations among the flag-waving crowd.

China coach Zheng Wei warned her team they will have to be better at next summer's Paris Olympics.

"We still have a lot of room for improvement and many problems to solve," she said.

China fielded 2.03m Han Xu and 6ft 7in Li Yueru, giving them a huge height advantage over their opponents.

Han, who has been compared to eight-time NBA All-Star Yao Ming, scored 10 points while Li bagged 13. Both were outscored by teammate Li Meng, with 17.

Japan, looking to win Asian Games gold for the first time since 1998, chipped away at China's lead until they drew level with just under three minutes remaining.

A huge three-pointer from Li Yuan eased China back in front before Wang settled it with a lay-up on the final attack.

In the battle for bronze, South Korea cut neighbours North Korea and their giant centre Pak Ji Na — who stands 6ft 9in — down to size to win 93-63.

Dream fulfilled 

China added to their medal haul — now standing at 179 golds — early in the day when He Jie fulfilled a dream by winning the men's marathon in 2hr 13min 2sec.

"I told my coach that I have a dream and I will do it no matter what it takes," said the 24-year-old He.

Bahrain's Kenyan-born Eunice Chumba was in a class of her own in the women's event, claiming victory by nearly two minutes in 2hr 26min 14sec.

In cycling, young Kazakh rider Yevgeniy Fedorov was gifted gold by decorated teammate Alexey Lutsenko as they crossed the line nearly six minutes ahead of the rest in the men's road race.

The pair, who ride professionally for Astana Qazaqstan, timed their race to perfection on the challenging 207.7 kilometre  course through the mountains.

After sitting in the chasing peloton, defending champion Lutsenko took control with 80km left and the duo stayed together as they pulled clear.

They were seen chatting as they cruised to the finish, with Lutsenko waving his teammate over the line first in 4:25.29.

"In the end, we decided that I could win a gold medal because Alexey had already won a gold medal in this race at the 2018 Asian Games," said the 23-year-old Fedorov.

Hasanboy Dusmatov gave a boxing masterclass to win flyweight (51kg) gold and complete his collection of major titles on a memorable night in the ring for Uzbekistan.

Olympic and world super heavyweight (+92kg) champion Bakhodir Jalolov also won his first Games gold.

North Korea claimed their sixth weightlifting gold with Song Kuk Hyang winning the women's 76kg category.

Medallist fails doping test 

Turkmenistan's Tejen Tejenov became the first medallist at the Games to fail a doping test, with a Saudi runner later becoming the sixth athlete in total.

The 30-year-old Tejenov, who came second in the heavyweight 90kg category of kurash, an ancient form of wrestling, tested positive for anabolic steroids, the International Testing Agency said.

He is now in danger of being stripped of his medal.

"He has the right to request the analysis of the B-sample," the ITA, which handles some areas of doping control at the Games, said.

Saudi middle-distance runner Wesam Nasser Al Farsi also failed a doping test, the ITA said, for the prohibited substance darbepoetin, which is usually used to treat severe anaemia.

All six who failed tests have been suspended.

BEIJING — Jannik Sinner beat Daniil Medvedev to win the China Open on Wednesday, edging out the Worl No.3 in a largely deadlocked men's final that came down to a pair of high-stakes tie-breaks in Beijing.

The Italian triumphed 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/2) to take the first such tournament since 2019 after Beijing finally ditched tight pandemic-era health restrictions.

Neither man was able to break the other's serve in a close-fought match, but Sinner came close in the opening set when he walloped a presentable overhead volley long on break point and allowed the Russian to hold from deuce.

But it was a different story in the tie-break, with the world number seven racing into a 5-0 lead and sealing the deal when Medvedev struck a forehand into the net.

A similar stalemate ensued in set two with the first dozen games going with serve before Sinner again showed his composure in the tie-break.

He took the lead with a deft drop shot and never looked back, whipping a stunning cross-court passing shot for match point and battering a Medvedev serve back across him to seize victory in front of a raucous crowd.

World No. 2 and tournament favourite Carlos Alcaraz was eliminated by Sinner in their semi-final on Wednesday.

The top-ranked men's player, Novak Djokovic, is not playing in China this year.

Earlier, World No. 2 Iga Swiatek swatted aside compatriot Magda Linette to surge into the China Open quarter-finals with a 6-1, 6-1 victory.

Swiatek raced into a 5-0 lead in the first set and snuffed out any hope of an unlikely comeback when she forced her fellow Pole to fire a forehand long.

The four-time Grand Slam champion then presided over a second-set masterclass, blitzing an exhausted Linette with an unrelenting salvo of mighty groundstrokes to wrap up the match in just over an hour.

Swiatek faces Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina or the ninth seed Caroline Garcia of France next.

World number four Jessica Pegula crashed out with a 6-4, 6-2 defeat to Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko.

Ostapenko faces Liudmila Samsonova in the last eight after the Russian defeated Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 7-5 in a match that took nearly three hours.

Meanwhile, the first round of the ATP Shanghai Masters kicked off in the financial hub Wednesday.

A delighted home crowd watched on as Zhang Zhizhen and Bu Yunchaokete both made it through to the second round — the first time two Chinese men have done so.

"Before the match, I was super nervous, like, super, super," Zhang told a press conference afterwards.

"But when I step on the court, I just need to focus on what I need to do."

AMMAN — Jordan made history by reaching the final of the basketball competition for the first time after beating Chinese Taipei 90-71 in Wednesday’s semifinal at the 19thAsian Games currently underway in Hangzhou, China.

Jordan’s Rondae Hollis-Jefferson carried the team together with sharp-shooter Sami Bza’i, Ahmad Dweiri, Freddie Ibrahim and John Bohannon to lead Jordan to the final thus securing the first medal in team sports when they play the Philippines, which edged China 77-76, in the second semifinal. The final will be played on Friday.

The Kingdom beat the Philippines 87-62 in Round 1, and if they play with the same momentum they are  favoured to win gold and take Jordan up higher on the medals table. The Kingdom’s previous best finish at the Asian Games was 4th in 1986 and 2006. They were 7th in 2010 and 9th in 2014.

Wednesdays’ semifinal saw Jordan build a solid start at first, however, Chinese Taipei’s fast paced game countered turnovers and limited bench support for Jordan as they levelled the score before Jordan won the first quarter 19-16.

The second quarter saw Hollis-Jefferson carry the team with rebounds and assists as Ibrahim’s two three pointers took Jordan to a 33-25 lead before ending half time 45-35.

Jordan expanded the lead in the third quarter which they won 24-12 through consecutive three-pointers by Bza’i and follow throughs by Dweiri while Hollis-Jefferson and Bohannon combined to give Jordan a commanding 69-47 lead.

Bohannon played his best match scoring a three-pointer and a dunk as Jordan led 77-50 and 83-55. Jordan’s benchplayed the dying minutes of the match leading 89-70 before sealing the score 90-71.

Jordan’s bench demonstrated that they area main gap in the squad’s chances of securing easier wins over opponents, especially at the recently concluded World Cup. The team gave its best as Jordan advanced in the competition, eliminating Saudi Arabia 76-57 in the quarters after they finished atop Group C in Round 1 beating the Philippines, Bahrain 84-60 and Thailand 97-63. 

In the quarters, the Philippines ousted Iran, China beat Korea, and Chinese Taipei beat Japan.In classification matches for 5-8th places, Iran beat Korea 89-82 and Saudi Arabia upset Japan 79-74.

The current edition of the Asian Games, which end on October 8 saw Jordan participate in 15 sports: Archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, fencing, golf, gymnastics, ju-jitsu, karate, shooting, taekwondo, weightlifting, triathlon and e-games.

Observers noted it will be imperative that sports federations are assessed with the Jordan Olympic Committee after all teams,apart from taekwondo, were eliminated  (Ju-jitsu and karate competitions start on Thursday).

Even in taekwondo, Jordan only secured 3 medals this time — two silvers by Saleh Sharabati (U80kg) and Zaid Mustafa (U68kg), and one bronze by Zaid Halawani (U63kg). Sharabati, the Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, now ranked 3rd in the world is eyeing the  Paris Olympics 2024.

Boxing was favoured to win a medal, after a bronze in 2018 and two silvers in 2014, but leading athletes including Mohammad Abu Jajeh 2023 IBA World Boxing Championshipsbronze medalist were eliminated early.Other athletes favored for medals included Jordan’s 2018 Asian Games gold medalist and 2023 World Championship silver medalist,taekwondo’s Juliana Al Sadiq, gymnastics star Ahmad Abu Saoud, silver medalistat the 2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championship who won gold at the Asian Championship in 2019 and 2022 and silver in 2023. 

AMMAN — Jordan beat Saudi Arabia 76-57 on Tuesday to advance to the semifinals of the basketball competition at the 19th Asian Games currently underway in Hangzhou, China.

In other quarterfinals, the Philippines edged Iran 84-83 and China beat Korea 84-70, while Japan lost to Taipei 85-66.

In the semis, Jordan will meet Chinese Taipei while China plays the Philippines.

In classification matches for 5-8th places, Iran will play Korea and Saudi Arabia takes on Japan.

In its quarterfinal win, Jordan seemed impressive with a 17-0 lead in the first quarter which ended 25-6. The coach enlisted most bench players in the match as star Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Ahmad Dweiri, as well as sharp-shooter Sami Bza’I, were given some rest time as John Bohannon, Hashem Abbas, Ahmad Hamarsheh, Malek Kana’an and others built on the first quarter 25-6 lead to end half-time  42-27.

Hollis-Jefferson, Dweiri and Bza’i combined to end the third quarter 65-36.

The fourth quarter saw Bza’i continue with his sharp-shooting three pointers as Jordan kept their lead 70-43 with Ahmad Hammouri getting play time and scoring a three pointer in the final half minute. As Jordan’s bench got some play time, Saudi Arabia struggled to catch up and led the fourth quarter, but failed to advance.

The squad just played their third World Cup after previously reaching the world’s premier event in 2010, 2019 with basketball being the only Jordanian team sport to reach a World Cup.While in the FIBA Asia Cup (previously FIBA Asia Championship) — Jordan has qualified 16 times, with the best showing runner-up in 2011, third in 2009 and fourth in 2022 after they reached the semis for the second time. 

With the Games heading into the final stretch, all eyes are on the basketball team, after Jordan only secured 3 medals — all in taekwondo —two silvers by Saleh Sharabati (U80kg) and Zaid Mustafa (U68kg), and one bronze by Zaid Halawani (U63kg). Sharabati, the Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, now ranked 3rd in the world is eyeing the  Paris Olympics 2024.

The Kingdom’s  delegation includes 79 athletes competing in  15 sports: Archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, fencing, golf, gymnastics, ju-jitsu, karate, shooting, taekwondo, weightlifting, triathlon and e-games.

The Games which run until October 8 and have 12,000 athletes from 45 countries competing,So far, China, Japan and Korea dominate the medals table. Arab countries on the medals table are led by Bahrain (11), Qatar (7), Kuwait (6), Saudi Arabia (4), UAE (6), Jordan (3),  Oman, Iraq and Lebanon (1).

Since first competing in 1986, it is Jordan’s 9th time at the Asian Games where out of 45 medals won previously by Jordan (5 gold, 16 silver and 24 bronze), 38 have been secured through martial arts (24 in taekwondo, 9 in karate, 5 in ju-jitsu( in addition to 4 in boxing, 1 wrestling and 1 in body building.

Jordan won its first gold at the 2006 Doha Games by taekwondo fighter Mohammed Al Bakhit andin 1998, Alaa Kotkot became the first Jordanian woman to win a medal- a silver  in taekwondo.

Total overall medals at the past Games for Jordan were: Seoul 1986 (4), Hiroshima 1994 (3), Bangkok 1998 (5), Busan 2002 (2), Doha 2006 (8), Guangzhou 2010 (6), Incheon  2014 (4),  Indonesia 2018 (12).

BEIJING — World No.2 Carlos Alcaraz slumped out of the China Open on Tuesday, collapsing in the second set to hand Italy’s Jannik Sinner a place in the men’s final against Daniil Medvedev in Beijing.

Both players traded several breaks of serve in a breathless first set that tipped Sinner’s way when he cracked a blistering return off the Spaniard’s second serve to take the all-important tie-break.

But Alcaraz — the tournament favourite in Novak Djokovic’s absence — then fell apart, gifting Sinner three service games before crowning an error-laden second set with a tame backhand into the net to give the World No.7 a 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 victory.

Sinner and Medvedev will go toe-to-toe for the trophy on Wednesday.

Earlier, Medvedev hailed his “perfect” serve as he eased into the men’s final with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Alexander Zverev.

The semifinal got off to a close-fought start but Medvedev then notched a crucial break of serve and managed to see out the first set.

It was a similar story in the second set, with the Russian breaking for 5-3 and serving out the match with a pair of fierce aces.

“Today was a perfect service match. I don’t think there was one bad thing I can say about my serve,” Medvedev said at a post-match news conference.

“I think the fact that the play was faster — the faster the court is, the easier you can hit aces... [and] the easier you feel when stepping into the serve,” the 27-year-old said.

“Today I was going faster and I was really not thinking much about anything, just serving.”

The top-ranked women’s player Aryna Sabalenka said her performances in “key moments” were crucial to surviving a major scare in the second round, after she defeated unseeded Katie Boulter 7-5, 7-6 (7/2) in Beijing.

Sabalenka saved seven break points at 5-5 and then forced the stubborn Briton, ranked 56th in the world, into a rare backhand error to clinch the opening set.

The Belarusian notched another must-win break in the second set to again draw level at 5-5 before triumphing in a tie-break by slamming down an unreturned serve.

She will battle Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in the next round for a place in the quarter-finals.

“I think what made the difference was that in the key moments I played a little bit better than her,” Sabalenka said at a post-match news conference.

“I think it was all about those last games in each set. She had the opportunity and I’m super glad that I didn’t give her those sets easily.”

“I kept fighting, kept trying, and that’s what made the difference,” she said.

Gauff hails ‘mental victory’ 

US Open champion Coco Gauff also had to dig deep to get the better of Croatia’s Petra Martic in a rollercoaster tie that lasted three hours.

Martic was serving for the match against Gauff but the world number three fought back to take the game and went on to dominate the ensuing tie-break, winning 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (7/2).

“Today was a mental victory. I was happy I was able to get through it,” said Gauff, who will face Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova in her next match.

AMMAN — Jordan plays Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in the basketball quarterfinals at the 19th Asian Games currently under way in Hangzhou, China, after finishing atop Group C beating the Philippines 87-62, Bahrain 84-60 and Thailand 97-63 .

Saudi Arabia beat Hong Kong 95-72 in the match on Monday. Alongside Jordan, Iran, Japan and China automatically moved to the quarters and will face Philippines , Chinese Taipei and Korea respectively.

The squad just played their third World Cup after previously reaching the world’s premier event in 2010, 2019 with basketball being the only Jordanian team to reach a World Cup in a team sport alongside the junior men’s team in 1995. 

The Games which run until October 8 and have 12,000 athletes from 45 countries competing, have so far seen Jordan pick up just three medals — all in taekwondo — with Saleh Sharabati (U80kg) and Zaid Mustafa (U68kg) securing silver, while Zaid Halawani (U63kg) won bronze.

Sharabati, the Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, now ranked 3rd in the world is eyeing the Paris Olympics 2024.

Athletes who were expected to play for medals were eliminated including Jordan’s 2018 Asian Games gold medalist taekwondo’s Juliana Al Sadiq, who won silver at the 2023 World Championship, and boxing’s Mohammad Abu Jajeh who won bronze at the 2023 IBA World Boxing Championships as well as Pan-Arab Games champ Ziyad Esheish who was eliminated.

Another athlete eliminated early was gymnastics star Ahmad Abu Saoud on the pommel horse. Back from injury, he made a name for himself and country when he won  silver at the 2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championship in Liverpool, becoming the first Arab to win a medal in the event. He won the gold at the Asian Championship in 2019 and 2022 and silver in 2023. Abu Saoud is now eyeing the  Paris Olympics 2024.

The Kingdom’s  delegation includes 79 athletes competing in  15 sports: Archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, fencing, golf, gymnastics, ju-jitsu, karate, shooting, taekwondo, weightlifting, triathlon and e-games.

So far, China, Korea and Japan dominate the medals table. Arab countries on the medals table are led by Bahrain (8), Qatar (7), Kuwait (5), UAE (6), Saudi Arabia (3), Jordan (3),  Oman, Iraq and Lebanon (1).

AMMAN  —  Faisali play UAE’s Sharja on Monday in their second match of the Asian Football Confederation  (AFC) Champions League round robin group stages. 

Faisali lost to Uzbekistan’s NasafQarshi 1-0 as Group B matches kicked off last week with Qatar’s Sadd tying Sharja 0-0 in the same group.

The top team from each group will advance to Round 2 alongside the top 3 second placed teams.

On the other hand, Wihdat, playing the second tier Asian competition, the  AFC Cup, will play Kuwait SC on Tuesday in their second match.

Wihdat beat Aleppo’s Ittihad 2-0 as Group Bmatches kicked off with a Iraq’s Kahraba’a tying Kuwait SC 0-0 in the group.

Earlier this season, Wihdat were eliminated from the AFC Champions League, losing 3-0 to Ahli Dubai in the preliminary round after they played in two earlier editions.

In 2022, Wihdat were eliminated in the Champions Leaguegroup stages after becoming the first of the Kingdom’s clubs to play in the round robin group stages in 2021. None of the Kingdom’s clubs have ever made it past the ACL preliminary round where Faisali played in 2020 and 2018,  Wihdat in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019 and Shabab Urdun in 2014.

Earlier this year, Shabab Urdun played at the preliminary round of the King Salman Clubs Cup (the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup, where they were eliminated by Mauritania’s FC Nouadhibou. 

A total of 37 teams participated in the 30th season of the event —  the Arab world’s leading club football tournament, organised by UAFA- with a total of $10 million of prize money awarded. Morocco’s Raja CA are the defending champions.