Ruud says Sinner is ‘beatable’ as world No 1 seeks record run at Italian Open
Casper Ruud believes Jannik Sinner is not unbeatable but the rest of the field will have to catch the world No 1 on a favourable day as they try to stop him winning a record-extending sixth consecutive Masters 1000 title on home soil at the Italian Open.“His results this year kind of speak for themselves,” said Ruud.“Four Masters 1000s in a row to begin the year.Four of four.He’s already made history, he can make more history.
But he also showed in the beginning of the year, he’s beatable,Novak [Djokovic] beat him,[Jakub] Mensik beat him,“But when he’s on, not many can touch him,I would say that when both him and Carlos [Alcaraz] are on their highest level, they’re kind of unreachable for the rest at the moment.
It’s a reason why they have won the last [nine] slams, these two guys.”Despite Sinner playing only one match so far, easing past Sebastian Ofner in straight sets in his second-round match on Saturday night, his prospects look even stronger than at the start of the week because of the struggles of many other top players.The first few days in Rome have been disastrous for the highest-ranked challengers, with Djokovic, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Ben Shelton and Alex de Minaur, the players ranked No 3 to No 6, losing their first matches.On Saturday the 15th seed, Arthur Fils, one of the most in-form players, then retired early in his opening match due to a hip injury.Mensik, the last person to beat Sinner, meekly exited in the second round.
Ruud, the 23rd seed, has also struggled recently and this week marks his first outside the top 20 since 2021 as a consequence of not defending his title at the Madrid Open,However, he reached the fourth round on Sunday with an excellent 6-3, 6-4 win over the 11th seed, Jiri Lehecka,He was succeeded as champion in Madrid by Sinner, whose record run of Masters 1000 titles has led to some discussions about the possibility of the Italian achieving things that most people had never even considered possible, such as holding all nine Masters 1000 titles at once,The 24-year-old is now more than halfway there,Ruud believes it would be impossible for Sinner or any other player to hold all nine titles, primarily because of how the calendar falls.
“After Wimbledon, if you make the finals of Wimbledon, to be ready in Toronto or Montreal is pretty much impossible,” he said,“You just played the final or won the biggest title maybe there is in tennis and then 10 days later, you have to be fit to leave for North America,So I think we’ve seen already a couple of times that whoever does well in Wimbledon, they tend to skip Montreal or Toronto,And I think that will probably continue to happen, unfortunately, for the tournament with the schedule that we have,”Ruud was joined in the fourth round by Lorenzo Musetti, the eighth seed and Italian No 2, who pulled off an emotional 7-6 (7), 6-4 win over the 25th seed, Francisco Cerúndolo.
Elsewhere, Naomi Osaka continued to build rhythm and momentum as she produced her best win of the year, dismantling the 19th seed, Diana Shnaider, 6-1, 6-2 to reach the fourth round.There were few problems for the surviving leading seeds, with Jessica Pegula demolishing Rebeka Masarova 6-0, 6-0 and Elena Rybakina rolling past Alexandra Eala 6-4, 6-3.Aryna Sabalenka, the women’s No 1, was knocked out on Saturday by Sorana Cirstea.
Give Starmer the chance to carry out his promises | Letters
As a local Labour activist, I understand the general wailing and gnashing of teeth that has beset the party after our drubbing in the local elections. But amid the panic about who should or shouldn’t resign, or what may or may not happen in three years’ time, I’d like to propose a philosophy that I’m calling “positive defeatism”.For only the fourth time in a century, a Labour prime minister has won a general election with a large majority – with a mandate that takes us to July 2029. What if we stop worrying about a second term and just get on with making consequential changes in this term?Here’s my list for starters: Locking in the great transition so that climate deniers can’t undo it; reducing the voting age to 16 so young people get a chance to vote for their future; and reforming party funding laws so that shadowy cryptocurrency barons can’t hijack our democracy. There are other priorities of course – cost of living, housing, inequality…So let’s make the most of the time we have now
PM must resign to save Britain’s future | Brief letters
Keir Starmer’s word salad of banal platitudes – “we will deliver the change that people are desperate for” (which change?) – exemplifies his inability to capture the imagination (These election results don’t mean tacking left or right…, 8 May). If he stays on as PM, it is extremely likely that Nigel Farage will succeed him. While I’m uninspired by any potential Labour successor, it is possible one of them might step up into the role and succeed. Starmer must resign to give us that chance for the future.Dr Kimon RoussopoulosCambridge If Keir Starmer is seeking to reassure voters that he is really the man to deliver change, it seems bizarre to bring in Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman (9 May)
What’s behind surge in support for Reform and Greens across England? Five key takeaways
Local elections have fundamentally reshaped the political landscape in England. Labour suffered heavy losses, losing ground to the Green party and Reform UK, while the Conservatives also sustained significant losses to Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats.Reform and the Green party made significant gains, in results that laid bare an increasingly fragmented political system. Reform gained 1,349 council seats and control of 14 councils, while the Green party won 376 council seats, control of five councils, and took two mayoralties.With both insurgent parties making inroads, what is behind the surge in their support?So far, Reform’s vote in English council seats has grown the most in areas with greater socioeconomic deprivation, early analysis shows
Don’t let Farage and Reform divide us, Labour’s Sarwar urges Holyrood leaders
The Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, has warned other Scottish political leaders not to spend the next Holyrood parliament “shouting about Nigel Farage”, saying his job is to ensure there is a credible opposition at Holyrood “that holds the SNP’s feet to the fire”.While the Scottish National party won a fifth successive Holyrood victory and ended up with 58 MSPs, Labour had its worst result since devolution in 1999, tying for second place with Reform UK as both parties secured 17 MSPs.Speaking for the first time since he conceded defeat on Friday, Sarwar said he did not believe it was Reform’s intention to do anything more than create division, and he said he would work with other political parties in the Scottish parliament that shared his views.Interviewed on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show, Sarwar refused to be drawn on speculation about Keir Starmer’s future as Labour leader and batted away questions about his own position, saying: “I’ve got a job to do and I intend to do it.”He said: “If we think the next parliament is all about shouting about Nigel Farage, that only serves the purpose of those who want to use politics to divide us
Farage trying to avoid scrutiny over £5m gift from crypto billionaire, Labour says
Labour has accused Nigel Farage of attempting to dodge scrutiny as the Reform leader continued to face questions over the £5m gift he received from a crypto billionaire shortly before the last general election.Asked about the gift from Christopher Harborne on Sunday, the party’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, sought to present it as an irrelevance to voters and said it had complied with all the rules.When questioned about the Guardian’s revelation of the gift, which Farage had not disclosed, Tice insisted it had been a personal gift that did not need to be declared.“Nigel was not involved in politics at the time. He’s complied with all the laws,” Tice told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme
Plaid Cymru leader says he hopes to be made first minister as early as Tuesday
The leader of Plaid Cymru is hoping to become Welsh first minister as early as Tuesday after his party won a historic victory in the Senedd elections, soundly beating Labour and holding off Reform UK.Plaid fell short of winning a majority in the Welsh parliament but Rhun ap Iorwerth said on Sunday he hoped other parties would work with him and told UK Labour not to punish Wales over the result.Asked on BBC Radio Wales when he hoped he would be elected as first minister, ap Iorwerth said: “We’re ready to go as quickly as we can. We hope for it to be Tuesday. If there’s a delay it won’t be much
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