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Gauff unleashes power serve to down second-round foe Buzarnescu

It was an easy day at the office for American teenager Coco Gauff, who unleashed her mighty serve to beat Romanian Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-2 6-3 in the Wimbledon second round on Thursday.

The Roland-Garros finalist broke Buzarnescu’s serve in the fourth game and launched an 196 kilometer per hour (kph) rocket to win the fifth, only to best that with a 199 kph torpedo in the second set, the fastest serves so far in the women’s tournament.

Gauff, who never faced a break and won 85% of her first-serve points, broke the Romanian again to close out the first set in a brisk 31 minutes on Centre Court.

The 18-year-old slipped and fell in the sixth game of the second set but never lost her poise, forcing Buzarnescu into an error in the eighth game to break her serve.

She closed out the affair with an ace, one of 10 across the match.

“She means business”@CocoGauff is through to the third round following a 6-2, 6-3 win over Mihaela Buzarnescu#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/QERMphUysF

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 30, 2022

“I would say growing up I didn’t expect myself to be as comfortable as I am on the grass and the clay,” she told reporters.

“Playing an unpredictable surface, (what) I really credit a lot is my speed and my ability to be able to react and adjust. I think that’s what you need on these surfaces.”

The win set up a third-round showdown with compatriot and 20th-seeded Amanda Anisimova, who defeated fellow American Lauren Davis 2-6 6-3 6-4 on Thursday.

Gauff exploded onto the global stage in 2019 when she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon at just 15-years-old.

She advanced to the last 16 last year, as well.

“Today was the first time I walked on the court and really wasn’t nervous at all,” said Gauff. “It’s a little bit of a home-court advantage. I do feel like it’s a home court for me. Majority of the time when I’m playing on that court, I would say the majority of the crowd is with me.”

 

 

The post Gauff unleashes power serve to down second-round foe Buzarnescu appeared first on SABC News – Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa’s news leader..

BRDC to strip Piquet of his honorary membership

The British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) suspended the honorary membership of triple Formula One world champion Nelson Piquet on Thursday after he used racially offensive language to refer to Lewis Hamilton.

The BRDC, which owns the Silverstone circuit that hosts the British Grand Prix, said in a statement it planned ultimately to terminate Piquet’s membership.

It noted the 69-year-old Brazilian had apologised to the seven-times world champion but said it had a zero-tolerance policy towards racism.

“The BRDC Board has concluded that Mr Piquet Sr’s use of racially offensive language to describe a fellow BRDC member (and seven-times world champion) is unacceptable and represents conduct that is wholly inappropriate for an Honorary Member of the BRDC, notwithstanding his subsequent apology,” it said in a statement.

“Accordingly, we have advised Mr Piquet Sr that his membership has been suspended with immediate effect. “Following the Club’s due process, it is anticipated that the Board will terminate Mr Piquet Sr’s membership at a board meeting to be held after the required 7-day notice period.”

Formula One sources have said Piquet is also no longer welcome inside the paddock, although he has not been a regular attendee.

Piquet was four times a British Grand Prix runner-up, finishing second twice at Silverstone and twice at Brands Hatch.

Hamilton has won a record eight times at Silverstone.

Red Bull’s reigning world champion Max Verstappen, whose partner Kelly is Piquet’s daughter, told reporters banning the Brazilian from the paddock would be a wrong step.

“I think it’s better to open a conversation instead of banning him,” said the Dutch driver, who recognised the words used by Piquet had been offensive and should not have been used.

“When you ban people then you are actually not even helping the situation, you are not talking. You have to communicate. Communication is really important. “If you just ban them it is not helping what you are trying to enforce, right? You are trying to educate people, so it’s better to have a chat.”

Verstappen said he had spent some time with Piquet and the champion was “definitely not a racist. He’s actually a really nice and relaxed guy.”

He also said he had not talked to Hamilton about the controversy but the Briton already knew how he felt and had his full respect.

The post BRDC to strip Piquet of his honorary membership appeared first on SABC News – Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa’s news leader..

US says FIFA to get another $92 million in compensation from corruption probe

FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, will receive another $92 million in compensation for losses sustained in global soccer corruption schemes, the US Justice Department said on Thursday.

In August last year, the department had said FIFA was going to receive $201 million in compensation for the losses.

The money was seized from the bank accounts of former officials who were involved in the schemes and then prosecuted following a probe into years of corruption in world soccer.

“This distribution of approximately $92 million as compensation for losses suffered highlights the importance of asset forfeiture as a critical tool in this endeavor,” the Justice Department said in a statement on Thursday.

FIFA’s continental confederations CONCACAF, which governs the sport in North and Central America, and CONMEBOL, which oversees South America, were named among the victims in the Justice Department’s statement.

Since the department unveiled the corruption probe in 2015, more than 50 individual and corporate defendants from more than 20 different countries have faced charges, according to the DOJ, largely regarding bribes and kickbacks related to media and marketing rights.

“There was an extraordinary amount of money flowing between corrupt officials and businesses in this massive scheme,” Michael J. Driscoll, assistant director in charge at the FBI’s New York Field Office, said in a statement.

“It is gratifying to know assets seized from the criminals involved will be distributed to groups in need of the money, one specifically focused on educating and safeguarding football for women and girls.”

The post US says FIFA to get another $92 million in compensation from corruption probe appeared first on SABC News – Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa’s news leader..

Tsitsipas eases into the third round at Wimbledon

The Greek world number five and the fourth seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas eased into the third round at the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club in London. Tsitsipas made light work of Jordan Thompson of Australia securing a 6-2, 6-3 and 7-5 victory.

Meanwhile, fourth seed Paula Badosa of Spain is also through to the third round after defeating Irina Bara of Romania, in straight sets.

Badosa, who made it to the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, needed just an hour and 12 minutes to dispatch the world number 122, Bara.

Overwhelming her opponent with her booming serve and deep ground strokes from the baseline, the Spaniard dominated proceedings. She sealed the 6-3, 6-2 victory emphatically, with an ace.

Local hopeful Katie Boulter thrilled her home fans with the upset of the day at the All England Club. Buoyed by a packed Centre Court, Boulter upended last year’s runner-up and sixth seed Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic.

The world number 118, Boulter who has never been past the second round before battled back from a set down to storm to a 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 victory to progress to round three.

Australia’s Nick Kyrgios also advanced to the third round after dispatching the 26th seed Filip Krajinovic of Serbia. Kyrgios, ranked 40th in the world was in a class of his own against Krajinovic.

He fired 24 aces and reeled off 50 winners compared to his opponent’s mere 16, coasting to a 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 win in just a shade under an hour and a half on court.

The post Tsitsipas eases into the third round at Wimbledon appeared first on SABC News – Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa’s news leader..