Open architecture

Zheng Qinwen China's Zheng Qinwen said severe stomach cramps ruined her hopes of completing a shock French Open win against world number one Iga Swiatek on Monday and left her "wishing I was a man". Zheng, just 19 and playing in her first Roland Garros, took the first set off the top seed before slipping to a 6-7 (5/7), 6-0, 6-2 defeat in their last-16 tie. The world number 74 had needed a medical timeout to strap her injured right leg early in the second set but she revealed that was the least of her concerns. "It's just girl things," Zheng said in reference to her menstrual pain. "The first day is always so tough and then I have to do sport and I always have so much pain in the first day. Close "I couldn't go against my nature. I wish I can be a man so that I don't have to suffer from this. It's tough." In an 82-minute opening set, Zheng saved five set points, had two of her own and then clawed her way back from 2/5 down in the tiebreak to stun the top … [Read more...] about ‘Wish I was a man,’ says China’s Zheng Qinwen as stomach cramps end French Open bid

Poland's Iga Swiatek poses with the trophy after winning against US' Coco Gauff at the end of their women's single final match on day fourteen of the Roland-Garros Open tennis tournament at the Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris on June 4, 2022. Iga Swiatek cruised to her second French Open title by dominating teenager Coco Gauff in the final as the world number one claimed her 35th successive victory. Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP Iga Swiatek cruised to her second French Open title by dominating teenager Coco Gauff in the final on Saturday, as the world number one claimed her 35th successive victory. The 21-year-old Polish star stormed to a 6-1, 6-3 win in only 68 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier, equalling Venus Williams' record for the longest winning run by a woman in the 21st century. Swiatek celebrated her sixth straight title this year in the players' box with her friends and family. "I told Coco 'Don't cry' and that's what I am doing. Congrats to Coco," said an … [Read more...] about Iga Swiatek brushes aside Coco Gauff to win second French Open title

Nadal is now two Slams ahead of old rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. (File Image: AP) Rafael Nadal won a 14th French Open and record-extending 22nd Grand Slam title on Sunday with a straight-sets rout of Casper Ruud to become the oldest male champion at Roland Garros. In a disappointing final, 36-year-old Nadal won 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 with victory coming 17 years to the day since he claimed his first French Open as a 19-year-old in 2005. Nadal won the last 11 games of the final and is now two Slams ahead of old rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer with Sunday's victory coming against all the odds. Nadal, the oldest winner in Paris since a 34-year-old Andre Gimeno in 1972, had not been certain of taking part after a chronic left foot injury, which has plagued him throughout his career, flared up again. He also needed the best part of a gruelling 12 hours to see off Felix Auger-Aliassime, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev in the previous three rounds. Close … [Read more...] about Rafael Nadal wins 14th French Open and record-extending 22nd Grand Slam title

Asian league executives including PBA’s Willie Marcial during the EASL Draw on Tuesday at Shangri-La The Fort. –PBA IMAGES MANILA, Philippines—Commissioner Willie Marcial said the PBA is open to welcoming players from other Asian leagues like the Japan B.League and Korean Basketball League as imports amid the influx of Filipino talents overseas. Marcial is meeting with KBL commissioner Kim Hee Ok Tuesday night with one of the points of discussion a potential “exchange of players” as brought up by the Korean league. “Asian imports are welcome here with us any time,” Marcial said in Filipino Tuesday during the East Asia Super League grouping ceremony at Shangri-La Fort where top officials from other top-tier Asian leagues were present. “The KBL has also told us about exchange of players. I told them, we’ll see how it will work with the league and the (PBA) teams.” The B.League has become a hot destination for Filipino players with the likes of the Ravena brothers Kiefer and … [Read more...] about PBA open to ‘exchange of players’ with other Asian leagues

Officials from BC Card and the Busan city government take a commemorative photo to celebrate the opening of BC Card's big data platform lab Wednesday in Busan. [BC CARD] BC Card opened a second financial big data platform lab in Busan in support of the government’s Digital New Deal initiative, the company announced Thursday. “We hope businesses can utilize our big data platform lab for various purposes and eventually promote the big data ecosystem and relevant technologies,” said BC Card Chief Operating Officer Lee Kang-hyuk, at an opening ceremony in the Busan International Finance Center Wednesday afternoon. Big data technology analyzes large databases to extract meaningful information. BC Card’s big data platform lab is a data marketplace that extracts and sells both financial and non-financial data to individuals and companies. BC Card was selected by the government to head the building of a big data infrastructure for the finance sector in May 2019 as part of the … [Read more...] about BC Card opens big data lab in Busan

Chessable Masters: R Praggnanandhaa had beaten world number one Magnus Carlsen in the preliminary stage. Young Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa emerged winner in the Norway Chess Group A open chess tournament here with 7.5 points from nine rounds. The 16-year old GM, the top-seed, was in fine form and remained unbeaten through the nine rounds. He finished the tournament with a win over fellow Indian V Praneeth, an International Master, late on Friday. Praggnanandhaa (Elo 2642) finished a full point ahead of second-placed IM Marsel Efroimski (Israel) and IM Jung Min Seo (Sweden). Praneeth with six points was joint third but was placed sixth due to an inferior tie-break score. Apart from beating Praneeth, Praggnanandhaa posted wins over Victor Mikhalevski (in round 8), Vitaly Kunin (round 6), Mukhammadzokhid Suyarov (round 4), Semen Mutusov (round 2) and Mathias Unneland (round 1). He drew his other three games. The Indian teenaged star has been putting in impressive … [Read more...] about India’s chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa wins title in Norway chess open

Between the start of this year and last Sunday, June 26, just over 2 million foreign travellers were stamped into Thailand at immigration points, mostly at 2 airports – Suvarnabhumi and Phuket. During this time the impediments to arrival in Thailand also became less restrictive. This Friday, July 1, there will be an official declaration that Thailand is now in “post pandemic” mode. The word endemic is being avoided as Thai officials believe it will be up to the World Health Organisation to make that call. Arrivals from overseas have seen some newer demographics taking up the slack since the Russian and Chinese tourists are currently in short supply. It should be noted that these numbers are TOTAL travellers arrivals, not a list of tourist numbers. • India – 220,962 There has been a renewed push for tourists out of India, a country of nearly 1.4 billion and the fastest growing middle class in the world. And only 3.5 – 5 hours flight time from Thailand airports. With the … [Read more...] about Welcome to Thailand’s Post Pandemic Day – July 1. What will change?

Rafael Nadal will on Sunday attempt to win his 22nd Grand Slam title when he faces Casper Ruud in the French Open final. File Image: AP Photo Rafael Nadal will on Sunday attempt to win his 22nd Grand Slam title when he faces Casper Ruud in the French Open final. Here, AFP Sport lists all of the great Spaniard's Grand Slam successes so far: 2022 Australian Open bt Daniil Medvedev (RUS) 2-6, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 2020 French Open bt Novak Djokovic (SRB) 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 2019 US Open bt Daniil Medvedev (RUS) 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4 Close 2019 French Open bt Dominic Thiem (AUT) 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 2018 French Open bt Dominic Thiem (AUT) 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 2017 US Open bt Kevin Anderson (RSA) 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 2017 French Open bt Stan Wawrinka (SUI) 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 2014 French Open bt Novak Djokovic (SRB) 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 2013 US Open bt Novak Djokovic (SRB) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 2013 French Open bt David Ferrer (ESP) 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 2012 French Open bt Novak … [Read more...] about Roll of honour: Rafael Nadal’s 21 Slam victories

If you're looking for capitulation in 2022, it's in the bond market. And that tells you that investors' confidence in the global economy is very low. Inside the stock market, it's all about defense. Defensive stocks, which include big healthcare companies and dividend-paying value stocks, have been driving the gains. An index of global defensive stocks put together by Goldman Sachs, which is heavy in healthcare giants, has climbed to more than an 18-month high relative to the MSCI AC World Index. Inside the U.S., the defensive ETF ticker DEF has been outperforming the Spider ETF SPY all last week and all year. For market watchers, this feels a whole lot like a recession trade. While investors in the capital markets are battening the hatches for a recession, money in the private markets is also drying up. The value of venture capital deals in the U.S. dropped more than 25% in the second quarter to just $1 trillion, according to Dealogic . M&A activity in the United States … [Read more...] about What the Business Cycle is Telling us About a Recession

- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (June 28): Bursa Malaysia closed higher on Tuesday (June 28), lifted by buying interest in most heavyweights and in line with improving market sentiment across the region, said an analyst. At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 1.16% or 16.62 points to 1,454.74 from Monday's close of 1,438.12. The benchmark index, which opened 0.86 of-a-point firmer at 1,438.98, moved between 1,431.35 and 1,455.46 throughout the day. On the broader market, gainers led losers 470 to 410, while 420 counters were unchanged, 1,042 untraded, and 79 others suspended. Total turnover narrowed to 2.28 billion units valued at RM1.61 billion from 2.65 billion units worth RM1.43 billion on Monday. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said regionally, key indices ended mostly higher as foreign funds returned to the region amid economic concerns in the United States and European Union. On the local front, he said the … [Read more...] about Bursa ends higher in line with improved market sentiment