37-year-old Tatjana Maria storms into Queen’s final after stunning Madison Keys
Tatjana Maria knows a thing or two about fairytales, coming from the land of the Brothers Grimm and the Pied Piper of Hamelin.But not even she can quite comprehend the impossible magic of her last seven days at Queen’s Club.When the 37-year-old arrived in west London she had lost nine matches in a row and looked in danger of dropping out of the world’s top 100.Now, unfathomably, she has powered into a WTA 500 final after winning six matches in a row – including two in qualifying – and beaten three players in the world’s top 15.“To be honest, I cannot believe it,” Maria said.
“It’s a dream come true.”The German’s latest scalp was arguably her best yet as she defeated the reigning Australian Open champion, Madison Keys, who many fancy to go all the way at Wimbledon, 6-3, 7-6 (3) in a semi-final high on shot-making and finesse.But what made it extra-special for Maria was that her daughters, Charlotte, 11, and Cecilia, four, were there with her, even if Cecilia – who goes to sleep when she hears tennis balls bouncing – had nodded off in her pram.“We are travelling all the time together,” she said.“They are at all the tournaments with us from the beginning.
It’s super-special to have them around, and to live these moments with them, it’s something amazing.”Maria’s game has long been built on chaos.She likes to fiddle and slice, to seek unorthodox angles and patterns, to leave her opponents lost in her matrix.Her one-handed backhand is unusual these days and the way she slices her forehand makes it even harder for her opponents to find their rhythm, especially on grass.But although she reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2022, she had never beaten Keys in three attempts and was considered to be a 9-2 outsider coming into the match.
Once again, though, she did not read the script,If Maria was nervous beforehand, it did not show,Despite the swirling wind, the World No 86 held her opening service games comfortably before breaking to go 3-1 up when Keys hit a backhand long,From then on she dropped only four points on serve for the rest of the first set,It wasn’t that Keys was playing badly.
But her power was sometimes left untamed and she had no answer to the wiles and guiles of her opponent.One example from many: early in the second set, Maria lured Keys in with a drop shot before an impeccable lob volley floated over her head.Maria continued to press and at 2-2, Keys had to save a break point with a 118mph ace.When the American had a chance of her own in the next game it could have been a momentum changer, but she let it slip and soon the players were in a second set tie-break.Sign up to The RecapThe best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend’s actionafter newsletter promotionEarly on, Keys missed a chance of a mini-break when she put a straightforward volley into the net.
But from then on Maria was unstoppable.A backhand pass and a 116mph serve put her on the verge of victory before a mis-hit Keys smash sealed the win.Maria seemed at a loss to explain how she had turned her game around after not winning a match between late March and early June.“You always have to keep going,” she said.“You can never stop, no matter how it goes.
I’ve had my ups and downs but I love to play tennis, I love this sport, and we live for these special moments.”This was certainly special.Having been a 159-1 outsider to win Queen’s at the start of the week, Maria has now beaten three players in the world’s top 15, including the former French Open finalist Karolina Muchova and the 2022 Wimbledon champion, Elena Rybakina.Her reward is an extra 320 ranking points, a spot just outside the top 50 in the live WTA world rankings, and a place in Sunday’s final against Amanda Anismova, who beat the Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in the other semi-final.And who is to say that this magical fairytale is over yet?
Bavuma’s brave team make giant leap for South African Test cricket | Andy Bull
South Africa lost their shot at winning this World Test Championship in 2022, when their board announced the team were going to play 28 games in the next four years. They lost it for a second time during the spring of last year, when they packed their reserve team off to play a series against New Zealand because their centrally contracted players had to stay back and play in a franchise tournament.They lost it a third time when the team were bowled out for 138 on Thursday morning and they lost it a fourth when they let Australia’s tail put on 134 runs for the last three wickets, leaving them needing 282 to win. Finally, after they had just about run out of ways to lose, they won.The last runs came hard and the winning ones seemed to be the most difficult of all
Hitchins dismantles Kambosos inside eight to retain 140lb title at Garden
Richardson Hitchins delivered a career-best performance on Saturday night at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, stopping George Kambosos Jr with a withering body shot in the eighth round to retain the IBF’s version of the light welterweight championship.In his first defense of the 140lb belt, and his first time headlining a card in his hometown, Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) controlled every round before putting Kambosos down with a sharp left hook to the midsection. The Australian rose to his feet before the count of 10, but referee Michael Griffin waved off the fight as Kambosos visibly grimaced in pain, unable to continue.“I’ve been telling the boxing world I was coming and they should have listened,” Hitchins said afterwards. “I told his dad, if you love your son, you’ll stop the fight
Tyrrell Hatton cool but Matt Fitzpatrick rages as Sam Burns keeps US Open lead
If a quiz question was to ask which English golfer a) lacerated the setup at the US Open, as another b) fired himself into contention before offering a much calmer assessment, the answers from the vast majority of observers would be obvious: a) Tyrrell Hatton, b) Matt Fitzpatrick. The reality at Oakmont was the complete opposite.First to Fitzpatrick. The 2022 champion finds himself unimpressed by this golfing brute, as he was happy to declare after a third round of 72 left him nine over par. “I personally don’t think it’s fair,” said the Yorkshireman
US Open golf 2025: Sam Burns keeps hold of lead at Oakmont – as it happened
Moving Day took a while to get going, but once it did, it produced some exciting golf. Plenty of players are still in with a shout, so hopefully you’ll join us for the final round tomorrow. Thanks for reading this report!-4: Sam Burns -3: Adam Scott, JJ Spaun -1: Viktor Hovland E: Carlos Ortiz +1: Tyrrell Hatton, Thriston Lawrence +2: Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +3: Robert MacIntyre, Cameron YoungThe final stroke of the day is made by Sam Burns. He makes his par putt, he remains one of just two players yet to three-putt this week – Ryan Fox is the other – and he’s got sole ownership of the lead going into the final round. A 69 for Burns, which is exactly what his playing partner JJ Spaun shot as well
Caitlin Clark spectacular in return from injury as Fever hand Liberty first loss
Caitlin Clark totaled 32 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in a spectacular return from a left quad injury on Saturday leading the Indiana Fever to a 102-88 victory over the New York Liberty, snapping their season-opening nine-game winning streak.After missing five games, Clark scored 25 points in the first half to help Indiana (5-5) rally from an early 11-point deficit. Clark made 11-of-20 shots and tied a career high by hitting seven threees, including several from well beyond the arc.Clark finished with the second-most points in her career and three shy of her career-high (35) set on 15 September against the Dallas Wings. Clark scored 14 in the first quarter, including three 3s in the final 86 seconds after the Fever trailed by 11
Rory McIlroy says he ‘didn’t really care’ about making US Open cut at Oakmont
Rory McIlroy admitted he was in two minds over whether he wanted to make the US Open cut, in the latest nod to the Northern Irishman’s psychological struggles since winning the Masters in April.McIlroy made birdie on two of his last four holes on Friday evening to survive for the closing 36 holes at Oakmont. Until that point, he was heading for an early exit. McIlroy returned to the course to post 74 on Saturday, leaving him 10 over for the week, before addressing the media for the first time since Tuesday. McIlroy’s body language suggested he would rather be elsewhere
Keir Starmer to launch national inquiry into grooming gangs
Labour ‘staking everything’ on billions in investment to reverse UK’s decline
Civil service is ‘too remote’ from people’s lives across UK, says minister
Ministers step up efforts to quell growing rebellion over UK welfare bill
Russia adviser Fiona Hill’s alarming conclusion | Letter
Ministers to offer olive branch on welfare plans to avert Labour rebellion