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LONDON :There are few benefits to losing in the semi-finals of a Grand Slam but when Iga Swiatek had her fingers prised off the French Open trophy, it had one unexpected benefit – it lifted the pressure off her shoulders heading into Wimbledon. Swiatek crushed Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic 6-2 6-0 to reach the Wimbledon final on Thursday after years of trying and failing to make a major impact at the grasscourt Grand Slam. She has made no secret of her preference for clay courts and her four French Open titles... Read More

LONDON – Iga Swiatek banished the last of her grasscourt demons to blaze into her first Wimbledon final as the former world number one produced a performance of sizzling intensity to complete a quick-fire 6-2 6-0 demolition of Belinda Bencic on July 10. Swiatek, the claycourt specialist who had never gone past the quarter-finals at the All England Club before this year, was simply on another level to her Swiss opponent as she teed up a final against American Amanda Anisimova. Anisimova had stunned world number one Aryna Sabalenka earlier... Read More

Before this year, Swiatek had only moved into the second week of Wimbledon once, when she reached the 2023 quarter-finals. After a shock third-round defeat by Yulia Putintseva last year, Swiatek said she had not given herself enough time to mentally recover from her French Open win. This year, having lost to Sabalenka in the Roland Garros semi-finals, she went to Mallorca for a week’s training on grass before returning to competitive action in Bad Homburg. Swiatek reached the final at the WTA 500 event, where a defeat by Jessica... Read More

Another round of rain, thunderstorms moving in High temperatures will be in the low 90s Thursday with thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. THURSDAY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS LIKELY, MAINLY AFTER 3 P.M. PATCHY FOG BEFORE 8 A.M. OTHERWISE, INCREASING CLOUDS, WITH A HIGH NEAR 91. CALM WIND BECOMING SOUTHWEST 5 TO 8 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION IS 60%. NEW RAINFALL AMOUNTS BETWEEN A TENTH AND QUARTER OF AN INCH, EXCEPT HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE IN THUNDERSTORMS. THURSDAY NIGHT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS LIKELY BEFORE 2 A.M, THEN A SLIGHT... Read More

Asia-Pacific markets close mixed Thank God it’s Friday! Asia markets closed mixed as we head into the weekend. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.19% to close at 39,569.68, while the Topix added 0.39% to end the trading day at 2,823.24. South Korea’s Kospi was 0.23% lower at 3,175.77 and the small-cap Kosdaq closed 0.35% higher at 800.47. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.11% to end the day at 8,580.1. Mainland China’s CSI 300 rose 0.12% to 4,014.81. — Lee Ying Shan Australia-listed mining stocks pop as investors continue to assess Trump’s copper tariffs Australia-listed mining... Read More